"WHAT!? Varian!?" Rapunzel stumbled backward into Cassandra, who caught her by the shoulders.

Cass looked quickly to her father. "Did he escape?" she asked urgently.

"No, no!" Eugene exclaimed, trying to calm them. "Nothing like that!"

Rapunzel's head was spinning. At the mention of Varian's name, the hairs on her neck had stood up, and her stomach turned cold and sour. She could barely hear anything other than her heartbeat pounding in her ears. "Eugene, what? I don't-how? How? I, I. . .uh. . ." Rapunzel felt Cass pushing her down into a chair, which seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. She struggled to form any kind of words, or even see straight.

She suddenly couldn't take her eyes away from the bloody towel in her hand. Eugene's blood. On the towel. On his shirt. On his face. On Esther's hands. On her own hands. An overwhelming dread took over her body. She hadn't seen Eugene bleed like this since. . . She clenched fistfuls of her dress as memories of that day flooded her vision. She felt hands on her back, and her father's voice came from somewhere distant. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't catch her breath. She saw Eugene's lifeless form lying limp in her arms, blood soaking his shirt, and the floor beneath them. The metallic, sickly sweet smell filled the air. She was powerless against the burning tears that fell down her cheeks.

"Now look what you've done, Rapunzel."

"No. . ." she whimpered aloud.

"Hey, hey," Eugene's voice came from directly in front of her. She felt his hands gripping her arms, giving her a small shake. "Rapunzel," he said sternly.

She looked up to see his face inches away from her own. His deep brown eyes stared into hers, bringing her back to reality.

"I'm okay Rapunzel. I'm fine," He said in a slow, soothing voice. "Everything's okay."

She closed her eyes and rested her face in her hands.

"Captain, I think it would be wise to check in with your men, and get an update on the situation," Rapunzel heard her father's calm, authoritative voice. "And Esther, I believe the kitchen could use an extra set of hands.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Cassandra, come with me, please," the king ordered.

Rapunzel heard footsteps leaving the room. Then, it was just her and Eugene. She took a deep breath and looked up at him again. His face was filled with concern and guilt.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I really thought I was done with those," Rapunzel said quietly. " But yeah, I'm fine."

Eugene said nothing, but tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. She took another steadying breath and looked him in the eye.

"Now tell me what happened.

...

For the last half hour, Eugene had been wandering the castle halls, deep in thought. He had left Rapunzel's room with the intention of meeting up with Lance and the others to help with repairs to the castle front, but instead had been aimlessly walking around for the last 45 minutes, overwhelmed with indecision. Eugene hadn't even realized how conflicted he felt over what had happened, until Rapunzel had forced him to talk about it.

"Maybe. . . maybe I should go see him?"

"Rapunzel, I don't think that's a good idea."

Eugene knew that it wasn't a good idea. Yet once more, he found himself standing at the top of the staircase that led to the dungeons.

Eugene stared down into the darkness. Considering how many times he had been imprisoned in his life, he could not believe that he was thinking about walking down these steps of his own free will. In the year that he had lived in the castle, he had done his best to avoid them, except when Rapunzel had sent him and Cass on that ridiculous scavenger hunt. If felt wrong, and confusing. Like there should be a pang of shame. But he was a free man now. There was nothing hanging over his head. He was respected by the very same people who would have spat on him a year ago.

Before he knew it, he was halfway down the staircase.

Why was he doing this? What was he going to say?

On one hand, Eugene was furious. He wanted to throttle Varian. To take pleasure in seeing him behind bars for nearly taking away the love of his life.

On the other, he wanted to. . .apologize? Comfort the kid? Tell him that he forgave him, and that they were going to figure it out, and fix everything?

Part of him only wanted to look into the kid's eyes to try and understand the why and how of it all.

Eugene stopped and tried to shake his head clear. How on earth would he explain this to Rapunzel? Would he even tell her? He felt like a hypocrite, doing the exact thing he told her not to do.

Yet his feel continued down the steps.

He reached the bottom and was met with two guards standing in front of the heavy, barred door.

"Can we help you, sir?" one asked.

"I just need to talk to someone," Eugene replied stoically.

The guards looked at each with uncertainty, but reluctantly opened the door to let him through.

Eugene stepped into the hallway. The left side was lined with doors that led to the cells. As he was deciding which door to try first, the door opposite the one he had entered through swung open, and in walked the Captain.

"Fitzherbert, what are you doing down here?" he asked, a slight suspicion in his voice.

Eugene's relationship with the Captain had evolved into one of mutual respect, if nothing more. During the attack, the Captain had gotten hit hard - Eugene noticed that he still had a sling on his arm.

Eugene squared his shoulders nervously. "I . . . need to see Varian," he said, still uncertain of what he was doing.

The Captain raised an eyebrow. "What for? To interrogate him?'

Eugene looked at his feet. "I just want to talk to him."

To his surprise, the Captain opened the last door in the hallway, and motioned for Eugene to follow him. Eugene jogged to catch up.

As he stepped through the door, Eugene noticed that the cells were empty, for what he could see. He looked down the length of the hall, and noticed two guards stationed in front of the last cell on the left.

"I don't think you're going to have much luck, son," the Captain said stoically. "The kid's lost his mind."

Eugene stopped. "Wait, what do you mean?"

The Captain sighed. "He was fine, the first couple of days. Quiet, but he seemed normal enough. Then overnight, he just snapped. Started talking to himself, constantly. Doesn't seem to know where he is most of the time. It's like he's in another world," he explained, a rare hint of pity in his voice. "He has these episodes where he'll just go nuts, throwing himself against the walls, pulling his own hair. I've seen this kind of thing happen before, but never with someone so young." He motioned to the guards at the end of the hall. We have men stationed in front of him, for his own protection. We originally had him in the first hall. We moved him away from everyone else to try and make it less stressful on him, but it doesn't seem to have helped." The Captain eyed Eugene up and down. "You can try to get through to him, Fitzherbert, but don't get your hopes up."

The Captain continued down the hall. Eugene swallowed hard as he followed him to Varian's cell.

When they arrived, Eugene peered through the bars into the darkness. In the corner, he could just make out Varian's figure, sitting cross-legged on the floor, facing the wall. He was rocking himself back and forth, muttering something that Eugene couldn't quite hear. He noticed a spot of blood on the wall.

With a coldness in his stomach, Eugene turned toward the Captain.

"Does the King know about this?" he asked with a dull horror.

"Yes," he nodded grimly. "But I hope you understand why he has chosen to not worry the Princess over it, with her departure nearing. Personally, I have wanted to keep my own daughter's emotions out of this as well."

Eugene did understand. He knew the guilt that Rapunzel was already carrying. And based on how she had been acting this week, he could imagine that Cassandra was feeling it as well. No sense in making them feel worse if there was nothing they could do about it. Still, he didn't know how he would keep this a secret from them.

Eugene stood up against the cell, placing his hands on the bars. He took a deep breath.

"Varian," he called.

Varian gave no indication that he heard Eugene. He called his name again, with the same outcome.

"I told you, son," the Captain's gruff voice came from behind him. Eugene couldn't tear his eyes away. "It's like he's not in there."

A flash of anger shot through Eugene, but it left as quickly as it came. He sighed. "We're going to make it right, kid," he murmured.

Suddenly, Varian's head shot up. He whipped around, stumbled to his feet, and ran to the bars where Eugene stood. Eugene had to bite his cheek to keep from yelling out loud.

Eugene took in the sight of the boy before him. It was Varian, but in a week's time, he had become nearly unrecognizable.

His forehead was mangled with bruises and knots, and his face covered in scratch marks. His knuckles were raw and bloodied, as were his fingertips. Deep, black circles hung under his eyes, and his hair was a knotted mess. His eyes were bloodshot and hollow. He looked right at Eugene, but didn't seem to see him.

"Flynn? Flynn Rider?" his voice was crackled and hoarse, and there was a crazed desperation in his tone. "You-you got my messages!? I-I've been writing, to you-and you came! We have to go! My dad! He needs our help! We have to GO!" Varian clung to Eugene's vest through the bars. "You're a hero, you can help!"

Eugene stood in stunned silence for several seconds. When he finally found the words, his voice trembled.

"Varian, that's not my name. I'm Eugene, you know that!" He said with all of the sternness he could muster.

Rage contorted Varian's face. "NO!" he screamed, backing away and doubling over. "Don't LIE to me!"

He grabbed fistfuls of his hair, and began to pull.

"Hey, hey!" Eugene yelled. "Varian, stop! Varian-" he whipped around to the guards. "Open the door!" he shouted impatiently.

One of the guards fumbled for the key, and unlocked the door. Eugene ripped it open and dashed inside. He tackled Varian into a sort of bear hug from behind, pinning his arms to his side. "That's enough, Varian!" Eugene said breathlessly. "You have to stop."

Varian struggled desperately against Eugene's grip, but Eugene held him firmly in place.

"Let go!" he growled. "I have to get help! I have to-find-Rapunzel! She's the only-one who can help!"

Eugene looked over to the guards, who were all standing at the cell door, staring helplessly, unsure of whether or not they should intervene.

"She promised! She promised!" he yelled feverishly. "YOU PROMISED!" he lunged against Eugene's arms. When he didn't break free, Varian seemed to give up. He stood motionless.

"I just want you to be proud of me, dad." he whispered. "I just want to make you proud." He began to sob, leaning heavily against Eugene's arms. Eugene lowered him to the floor, getting down on one knee. He bit his cheek and turned his face away from the guards, trying to hide the tears that fell down his own face. Slowly, he loosened his grip on Varian, keeping one hand on his back.

Varian stood shaking on all fours. "That is enough, Varian," he mumbled through his tears. "Children have no place in court. You're just not ready."

"Yes I am," Varian continued the conversation with himself. "You have no idea what I'm capable of. I will make you proud of me dad, if it's the last thing I do." Then, he doubled over, and screamed.

"DAAAD!" He slammed his head against the cell floor. Eugene immediately grabbed his arm to pull him up - but Varian whipped around and swung at Eugene with a growling scream, catching him directly in the neck. Eugene felt a sharp sting on his skin. Immediately the guards rushed in. One of them grabbed Varian, and another took ahold of Eugene's vest and pulled him to his feet and out of the cell.

Varian was pinned to the ground in the blink of an eye. With his face pressed against the stone floor, he stared up at Eugene with a blank expression, looking simultaneously at and through him with hollow eyes.

Eugene stood in shock, unable to move.

"Come on, son. We need to get that cleaned up ASAP. They'll take care of him."

Eugene realized numbly that it was the Captain who had pulled him out. He pulled his hand away from his neck, and saw that it was streaked with blood.

"Come on," the Captain mumbled again, and began leading Eugene out of the dungeon. The pain began to register. With a heaviness in his stomach, Eugene walked up the stairs and through the castle. He half-heartedly made an effort to keep from dripping blood everywhere. Somewhere along the way, the Captain told one of the guards to get the King. Before he knew it, Eugene was sitting in a chair in the laundry room, while Esther pressed a rag into his neck.

...

Eugene looked up at Rapunzel, prepared for her anger. Instead however, she focused on the wound on his neck, a sadness in her eyes.

Eugene was forced to sit still as she wiped at the scratches. "I'm sorry. It was a mistake to go," he said regretfully. "I don't even know why I. . ." his voice trailed off. "I'm sorry."

Rapunzel was silent for a moment.

"I'm just glad you're okay," she said finally.

"You're not mad?" he asked timidly.

"How can I be?" she sighed. "I almost did the same thing."

They fell into silence. When Rapunzel had finished tediously cleaning his face and neck, she set the rags on the floor, and looked up at him. Neither of them had any words. Eugene took her hands in his.

"Was it the blood earlier? That upset you?" he asked guiltily.

She nodded. "It just took me back," she said quietly. She stared at their joined hands. "Can you believe how much has happened in a year? "How much everything has changed?" she asked, changing the subject. "For so long, every year of my life was the same. Every day was the same. It seems so unimaginable now. So distant. Like it was a different life, lived by someone else." she said. "So much has happened in a year's time, that I can barely remember sitting in a tower every day."

Eugene thought for a moment, running his thumb over the back of her hand. "I feel like I wasted twenty years of my life," he said morosely. "Living such a lie, chasing something that didn't exist. Being the bad guy." He squeezed Rapunzel's hands in his. "I haven't been Flynn Rider in over a year, and it still feels like he's too close."

Rapunzel pressed her forehead into his. "I'm just ready to start another new chapter. I want to put the past even farther behind us," she said with an exhaustion in her voice. "And as far as Varian. . .I just want to do whatever we can to start making this right."

They were silent for a few minutes, simply soaking in each other's presence.

"I feel like I've been awake for a week," Eugene said finally, struggling to keep his eyes open.

"Me too," Rapunzel agreed. "Do you want to go take a nap?"

"I would like nothing more, Blondie," he replied.

They stood up. "Let's stop by the infirmary and see if they have any herbs for that," Rapunzel said, eyeing the scratches.

"Fine," Eugene agreed reluctantly. He grabbed a blanket out of the pile of clean linens. "But then, we're going to find a tree to sleep under."

He took her hand, and together they headed down the hall.

...

Hi everyone! If you made it this far, thank you SO much for reading my story! I'm so glad I decided to write it. I would love to hear what you thought of it! What you liked, or any *constructive* criticisms you might have.

I have a few more ideas for Tangled stories, mainly oneshots, so I might do something with those in the future.

Also, there's another Tangled story that I wrote called 'Sunshine' that I wrote a while ago, feel free to check that out if you'd like!

Thanks again, see you around!