Rise of the Tangled

Chapter 5-Acceptance

Rapunzel went to her room and thought. She thought about her life at the orphanage. She thought of her future. She didn't really have a future and life at the orphanage was no rose. She figured that this was the chance of a lifetime. She would accept in the morning. She got ready for bed in some sleepwear that North laid out for her and got into bed.

The covers were nice and warm for her. The mattress was soft and the pillows were fluffy and comfortable. It was a complete switch from her life at the orphanage and she was enjoying it.

She had good dreams that night. She dreamt that she was romping through the snow with Jack. They were having such a good time. She was shooting at him with glowing snowballs. They were playing around this mountain. It was covered in snow and looked out over many other mountains around it. There was an icy blue staircase that connected a gap in the mountain. She had never seen this place before, yet it seemed familiar.

The next morning she got dressed in the purple frock that she had on the day before and ran down the stairs to find North and Jack talking. She suddenly became very conscious of the way she looked. She finger-combed her hair before she came into sight. She entered the room with a cheerful, "Good Morning!"

---Jack's POV---

I flew in the window of North's place at 5:00. North was already up and busy with Christmas planning that was two months away.

"Sup North," I said as I flew down beside him.

"Oh, hello Jack," he said in his usual booming voice.

"Is Punzie up yet?" I asked with a little hope in my voice.

"No, not yet." North replied, "I hope she takes careful consideration of her decision... though she doesn't have a choice."

"Yes I've had experience with that." I said as I rolled my eyes.

"That's right! So don't go asking her anything else before we get that settled okay?"

"Sure. What else would I be asking her?" I asked confused. 

"Oh Nothing," North said. He was snickering a little. Oh gosh! I finally got what North was trying to say.

"Come on North! We have jobs to do! I'm not gonna waste my time on -blech- romance," I said.

"We'll see," North said with a gleam in his eye. I rolled my eyes again. Before I could react anymore, I heard someone behind me,

"Good Morning!"

North and I turned around to see Rapunzel with a million dollar smile on her face. I started feeling weird. I smiled back, "Hi Punzie!'

"Good morning Rapunzel! Have you made your choice?" North said.

"I have! And I choose....YES!" Rapunzel said with a huge smile and a little dance. She stopped with a sheepish grin, "I-I mean. I am very obliged to be held to such a task," She said with a fake composure.

"AH! Good choice!"  North shouted.

"You didn't have a choice anyway," I added.

We all went to a table that was laid out with food. North sent out the Northern Lights to call the guardians.When they all arrived, we sat down and ate together to celebrate. A question had been haunting me and I needed to ask Punzie.

"Hey Punz? Did you believe in these guys before we brought you here?"

She seemed to be thinking it over.

---Rapunzel's POV---

"Hey Punz?" 

Punz? That was new! My name was getting shorter and shorter!

"Did you believe in these guys before we brought you here?" Jack asked me.

Uh oh! I had an answer for this question, but it was a little embarrassing. I decided to go ahead and tell the truth.

"Well....here's the thing. When I first saw you, I was, obviously, surprised, but when I told you my name, I was thinking that it was just a dream. Then after you left, the more I thought about it, the more real it became. I figured that if you were real, then all my childhood fantasies...no offense guys...must be real too! So I started believing!"

"I don't know if that was offensive or not," Bunny said. We all laughed. 

"I think she meant it to be offensive to just you kangaroo," Jack said. We laughed some more, while Bunny glared at Jack.