deconflagration

[ As he kisses her cheek, she reads off: ]

"'Rapunzel, Rapunzel, Let down your hair to me.' "

[ Must be weird for her to have to read that line. ]

"Im...me...diately.... the hair... fell down... and the... king's... son... climbed... up."

And I never let him climb up my hair ever. [ Hmphs! ]

[ She points to her part and starts to read now. ]

" At first Rapunzel was terribly frightened when a man, such as her eyes had never yet beheld, came to her; but the king's son began to talk to her quite like a friend, and told her that his heart had been so stirred that it had let him have no rest, and he had been forced to see her." [ She takes a little breath. ] " Then Rapunzel lost her fear, and when he asked her if she would take him for her husband, and she saw that he was young and handsome, she thought: 'He will love me more than old Dame Gothel does'; and she said yes, and laid her hand in his. "

[ His faces gets progressively more sour as he reads. ]

"She said: 'I will... will...ing...ly... go away... with you... but I do... not k... know... how to get... down.... Bring with... you... a skein... of silk... every time that... you come... and I will... weave a... ladder... with it... and when that... is ready... I will... descend... and you will... take me... on your horse.'"

[ She places her hand on the page and covers it. ]

Maybe we should take a break from the story.

It's just a story.

Well yeah but....

[ You seem really uncomfortable, Zuko. ]

We're almost done, anyway.

Well.... okay.

[ She takes her hand off the book and frowns little. ]

" They agreed that until that time he should come to her every evening, for the old woman came by day. The enchantress remarked nothing of this, until once Rapunzel said to her: 'Tell me, Dame Gothel, how it happens that you are so much heavier for me to draw up than the young king's son - he is with me in a moment.' "

[ Slowly turning the page. ]

"'Ah...! You wi...cked child...' cried the... entran...tress. 'What do... I hear... you say. I thought... I had... se... sepa...rated... you from... all the... world and yet... you have de... d-deceived me....'"

[ She frowns and grips Zuko's hand a bit tightly. ]

" In her anger she clutched Rapunzel's beautiful tresses, wrapped them twice round her left hand, seized a pair of scissors with the right, and snip, snap, they were cut off, and the lovely braids lay on the ground. And she was so pitiless that she took poor Rapunzel into a desert where she had to live in great grief and misery. "

[ ...How pleasant. ]

"On the... same... day... that she... cast out Rapunzel... however... the enchantress... fast...ened... the braids... of hair... which she had... cut off... to the hook... of the window... and when the... king's son... came and cried:"

[ She closed her eyes and repeated. ]

" 'Rapunzel, Rapunzel, Let down your hair to me.' "

[ Giving her hand another squeeze. ]

"She let the... hair down. The king's... son... a...ascend...ed... but instead... of finding his... dearest... Rapunzel... he found... the... enchantress... who gazed at him... with... wicked and... veno...mous... looks."

[ She frowned and turned the page. ]

" 'Aha!' she cried mockingly, 'you would fetch your dearest, but the beautiful bird sits no longer singing in the nest; the cat has got it, and will scratch out your eyes as well. Rapunzel is lost to you; you will never see her again.' "

[ Hmph. Bastard Flynn. ]

"The king's son... was beside... himself... with pain... and in his... des...pair... he leapt... down from... the tower.... He escaped... with his life... but the... thorns... into which... he fell... pierced his eyes."

" He wandered quite blind about the forest, ate nothing but roots and berries.... and did naught but lament and weep over the loss of his dearest wife... Thus he roamed about in misery for some years, and at length came to the desert where Rapunzel, with the twins to which she had given birth, a boy and a girl... lived in wretchedness. He heard a voice, and it seemed so familiar to him... that he went towards it, and when he approached, Rapunzel knew him and fell on his neck and wept. Two of her tears wetted his eyes and they grew clear again, and he could see with them as before. He led her to his kingdom where he was joyfully received, and they lived for a long time afterwards, happy and contented. "

Th-the end?

That was a stupid story.

Whoever wrote it got most of their facts wrong.

You and that Flynn guy had kids. Two.

[ Yeah. Because he can talk. You know, what with his grandson being on board and all. ]

I never had a kid with anyone! And I wouldn't have one with him either! [ She makes a disgusted looking face. ]

And my moms not some kinda.... enchantress thing!

[ He frowns and stares aside. Things that happen on the ship don't affect outcomes at home. That's why his grandson's here. That means she probably did marry Flynn and have children with him. ]

...Yeah. I know.

If you know that then why do you look so down now?

I'm not down!

[ She reaches over to him and turns his face and before anyone says anything she leans forward and kisses him. ]

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