"Where could she have been?" Mother Gothel paced back and forth, her only companions were the trees and grass around her, along with the crickets.
Night has come and after scouting the Snuggly Duckling and finding no signs of her daughter, she proceeded to roam around the forest, hoping she'd find her by calling out her name.
'I should've known she might try something like this after asking me that question this morning.' She gritted her teeth. She had grown complacent during these past few years.
'I did everything she wanted. I bought her the things she wanted, I gave her everything, my everythjng! How hard could it be to stay still inside the tower like a good girl!?'
She stared at the small pond on the ground, her own near-aging face staring back at her. She couldn't let this happen, not when she's already enjoying the fruits of her labour.
She's already 467 years old. If it were really that easy to escape from her clutches, it's only because she's grown complacent.
Her face turned into a deadly monotone and emotionless expression, "I have long refrained from delving into the ways of dark magic again, too much exposure to it back then cost me a severe backlash…" After all, how else could she have escaped Corona Kingdom's pursuit when she kidnapped their infant princess?
Her face shifted into a growling anger, "But that doesn't mean I've abandoned it completely!" Within her eyes, a faint glint flashed for the briefest moment followed by a hard thum in her surroundings—as if nature itself had awakened to denounce her presence.
With that being uttered, she turned around with her dark hood flaring dramatically.
———
After returning the boat to the seaport, Henry gently carried Rapunzel back to the land, roaming the now-empty streets of Corona Kingdom. In the end, he couldn't find it within himself to reveal the harsh truth in front of her.
So instead, he found another way to help her realize who she really is.
"There once was a princess in this Kingdom, did you know it?" He asked.
Rapunzel appeared deep in thought at first. She indeed noticed several wall paintings depicting an infant with the King and Queen standing behind.
But she never took it seriously considering it's not her business to know more of it.
But now that Henry mentioned it, Rapunzel assumed that the infant she saw on the mural was the Princess that he was talking about.
She curiously asked, "What happened to her?"
"She was kidnapped on the same night as her day of birth. She was never seen again for the next 17 years even until now…"
Rapunzel gasped, covering her mouth. Just as Henry thought she had finally puzzled everything out, she spoke with teary eyes, "That must've been so painful for the King and the Queen…"
Henry's cheeks twitched, "Yeah, right. I'm gonna ask you, Rapunzel. Do you think their missing daughter is still alive? Somewhere in this world? Perhaps oblivious to her true origins as she was kidnapped as an infant?"
Rapunzel appeared thoughtful for a brief moment, "I actually think their daughter might still be alive!" Then her gaze landed back on Henry and realization dawned upon her.
"Are you telling me…" Henry leaned forward as her voice trailed off.
Rapunzel's gaze on him turned serious, "Your task was to find their missing daughter? If so, it must be a very daunting task for a lone man like you, don't you think?"
Henry sighed heavily, scratching the back of his head before nodding, "Right. You're right, it's my task to find the lost princess…"
From the looks of it, Rapunzel would remain clueless no matter how many hints he gave her. As much as possible, Henry wanted her to figure it out by herself, as the impact of that would be less than revealing it directly to her face.
"…You helped me realize my dream. I was able to see the lanterns up close and even flew one myself." With that being uttered, she looked up to him with a determined expression on her face, "I'll help you find that lost princess!"
'Help you find yourself? What an extremely daunting task! It's almost suicidal!' Henry mentally rolled his eyes.
"Well, how about we start by going back to your tower? Your mother should be really worried right now." He held his hand out to her and said.
"But the lost Princess…" Rapunzel pouted, thinking Henry was rejecting her from helping him.
"Finding the princess will happen in a matter of time. It takes more than a single night to finish the task. For now, let's head back to the tower."
Although still reluctant, Rapunzel nodded her head. Now she finally got what she came here for and it's really time for her to go back. Mother Gothel would probably scold her for doing dangerous things.
'But I'll prove mother wrong! I came back to her just as safe as I left. I met many people and there aren't any bad people that she was talking about. Perhaps, someday together we'd leave the tower and live here peacefully in this Kingdom…' As she murmured to herself, she couldn't help but look back, staring specifically at the huge castle at the heart of the Kingdom.
Henry told her that it's the place where the King and Queen lived. And also where the lost Princess once lived.
'Someday.' She wished inside her heart.
"By the way, Rapunzel?"
"Hm?" She confusedly lifted her head at Henry who was now smiling softly at her.
"Happy Birthday."
———
A purple liquid from the cauldron bursts upward, spilling some of its contents on the vicinity. Yet, Mother Gothel didn't stop, instead she continued her chant.
An unfamiliar language resonated throughout the empty cave, with the only source of light being the jagged hole above her where the moonlight spilled inside.
On her hand, she held a long wooden spoon, constantly stirring the contents of the cauldron. She's been at it for an hour and she's bow near completion.
"Now all that's left is a piece of her hair…" She murmured as she took out a strand of dark hair—this once belonged to Rapunzel, but every time her hair gets cut off even if it's just a single strand, it would lose all of its power, turning into normal dark hair.
But for Gothel, that's enough to complete what she's been doing.
The moment she threw the hair in, the cauldron exploded into the shape of a mushroom.
This time, she couldn't help herself anymore and started giggling before turning into a full-blown evil laugh that resonated throughout the empty cave.
It was a raspy and high-pitched cackling that would curdle the blood of anyone who heard it.
"Hiahahahahaha!"
———
Henry suddenly felt a chill down his spine. He looked around the area—aside from Rapunzel's sleeping figure on the ground, Boy lying down on the grassy ground without a care for his armor and saddle, and the crackles of the bonfire in front of them, nothing seemed to be out of place.
"That's weird…" He murmured under his breath before leaning back on the fallen tree branch.
He recalled the things that had happened earlier, more specifically the one at the tavern. He still couldn't forget about the part when they made him contemplate about dreams.
'Right, I'm a man who doesn't have any dreams…' He raised his head and took a short glance at Rapunzel's sleeping face—she looks cute, if it wasn't for the chameleon on her side that was glaring at him, as if daring him to do something bad to Rapunzel while she sleeps.
'I'm not that kind of person, geez…' Henry's eye twitched.
'But still, how am I supposed to find my dream? Would it come naturally someday or do I have to keep going until I find it?'
Nevertheless, Henry was grateful for the words that Rapunzel dropped on him earlier. At least this time, he believes that he could still have a dream even though he already has everything that people usually dream of.
'Someday. Someday I'll find a dream that is a hundred times grander than the rest of the people in this world.'
With that being said, he got up and went around to patrol. Thanks to the Sunlight's nourishment blessing, he never felt tired during the day, and even at night, his body was still filled with energy not because of the sunlight but because he never wasted a single drop of it earlier until now.
'Probably the best blessing I ever had in this entire lifetime.' He chuckled to himself.
———
As soon as the morning arrived, Henry, who had been awake the entire night, had already started to feel a bit sleepy and tired. That is until the sunlight touched him that he felt rejuvenated all of a sudden.
'Basically, as long as I don't waste my energy during the night, I could stay up forever without feeling the urge to get a wink.' The realization puts a smile on Henry's face.
He went ahead and woke Rapunzel up, who was groggy at first. She flipped around and even murmured something incoherent.
'Fascinating. Her hair remained smooth and there's not even a single strand of her hair that is messy. Usually, girls have the most disheveled hair when waking up.' Henry could only imagine how many women in the world are ready to kill for just to have the same quality of hair as Rapunzel.
"Rapunzel, it's time to wake up." Henry crouched beside her, nudging her shoulders slightly. However, she remained unmoving.
He turned his attention to Pascal who had been watching him since and urged him, "Well, are you gonna help me wake her up or are you going to just stare at me?"
The chameleon rolled his eyes at him. He made a face that seemed to tell him to 'Watch and Learn' before opening his mouth and his elongated tongue came out, tapping Rapunzel's cheek with it.
Perhaps because of its inertia or mass, the tap turned into a loud slap that instantly brought Rapunzel back to the world of the living.
Pascal gave him a smug face amidst Rapunzel's groggy yawn.
"Right, next time, use my tongue to wake her up." Henry murmured with a nod of fake understanding.
Ignoring the chameleon who suddenly glared at him, Henry spoke again, "It's sunshine, we'd better get going."
Rapunzel's eyes instantly snapped open, her pupils darting towards Henry's face before contracting and muttering to herself, "So yesterday wasn't a dream." She then looked around their surroundings.
The trees and blades of grass are still there, seemingly greeting her with their slow swaying.
"If it were a dream, you wouldn't be able to feel this." Henry slightly flicked her forehead, enough force to snap her out of her trance.
"Ow!" Rapunzel hissed before holding her forehead, "Why'd you do that for?!"
"You've been asleep for 9 hours. Usually, sleeping should only require 8 hours max, beyond that is not healthy." Henry pointed out before continuing before she could reply, "Anyways, the road at this time of the day is very empty, we can resume without encountering hurdles."
Pouting, Rapunzel could only nod her head reluctantly, making a note to herself to get back at Henry for flicking her forehead.
———
As they got back on the road, Rapunzel's arms around his stomach, Boy trudged forward, energetic as usual especially during the first few hours of the day.
"Rapunzel." Henry called out while still staring straight into the road, according to his car driving lesson, one should never have their eyes off the road—even if the said car is just a horse but still.
"Hm? Yes?" Rapunzel blinked her eyes at him.
"Can you tell me more about yourself? What made you dream of seeing the lanterns for yourself? And, what's the reason you left your tower by yourself?"
Facing the question, Rapunzel didn't even need to contemplate for an answer, "Because I always see the lanterns every night during my birthday. I've been curious about it ever since I first saw it during my sixth birthday, Mother didn't tell me about them and I only learned about them from a book. And it's also the reason I left my tower, the place I've never left in my entire life…"
She looked down on her open palm, "Not even I would've thought about leaving my home. But when I see those lanterns, my heart keeps telling me to see them for myself, and every time I do, it keeps getting stronger until. Until I could no longer hold myself back I guess."
"Dreams are truly fascinating. They can make you do things that you never thought were possible…"