First and Last

First and Last.

"Eugene!" Rapunzel cried out against the cloth that bound her mouth trying to tell him to turn back. He fell to the floor with a cry of agony, the woman who she had once called mother walked out of the shadows with a bloody knife in her hands.
"Now, our secret will die with him." she looked at the man on the floor and then at Rapunzel with cold eyes, "It's time to go Rapunzel."
Rapunzel screamed, taking in the reality of what had just happened. She struggled against the chain that bound her to the wall, "Rapunzel, there's no use fighting, we are leaving and that's final." Gothel hissed.
Rapunzel shook her head in such a way that the cloth that was wrapped around her mouth fell to her neck. "I will never stop fighting. No matter what you do or say, I will always try to get away from you." She cast a look at Eugene, he was lying on his injured side, obviously in too much pain to comprehend what was happening. Rapunzel looked Gothel in the eyes and said, "If you let me heal him, I will go with you. And then, everything will be just like it was. Just the way you want..."
"Rapunzel no, don't do it!" Eugene had cried out from the corner of the room, "Please, don't worry about me. Just run!"
Rapunzel looked at Gothel, "Just the way you want."
Gothel sighed, "Very well." She walked over to Eugene and chained him up. "This is in case you try any funny business."
Gothel unchained Rapunzel and walked to the other side of the room, carefully stepping over the shattered glass from the table.
"Eugene," Rapunzel cried as she rushed to his side and took his face in her hands, "Eugene look at me." his eyes were closed and his breathing inaudible. Frantically she stroked his cheek and ran her fingers through his hair, damp from sweat. "Eugene, please."
Then, a low moan of pain came from the dying man, "Rapunzel..."
"Oh Eugene...don't worry, you're going to be okay. I'm going to make it better." She unbuttoned his vest to reveal his white shirt stained with bright red blood. There was a rip in the shirt from where the knife had pierced it. Carefully, Rapunzel tore the rip open more to get a better look at the wound. It wasn't too grotesque as the knife was very sharp causing the cut to be clean and deep. She used a piece of his shirt to wipe up some of the blood, but he screamed when she got close to the cut. Rapunzel brought a length of her hair to his wound, but he pushed it away lightly with his hand.
"No, if you heal me...then...then...you will die." He lifted his hand to her cheek and tucked her hair behind her ear.
She grasped his wrists and sobbed, "I can't let you die..."
"Rapunzel..." he leaned in towards her face, closing his eyes as he did so. Rapunzel leaned in too, taking his face in her hands. Then, she heard a scraping sound and a tremendous weight lift off her head. She touched the back of her head and realized that he had cut off most of her hair using a shard of glass from the broken table. She looked behind her and saw all of her beautiful golden hair turn brown before her very eyes.
"Eugene!" she cried, realizing that in this act, he had prevented her from healing him at all.
Mother Gothel screamed as she tried to save her "daughters" magic hair, "What have you done, you fool?" What Rapunzel saw then truly frightened her, her "mother's" features began to shrivel up and her hair turned a snowy white color. Gothel wailed and pulled the hood of her cloak over her aged face. "What have you done?!" She traveled dangerously close to the open window of the tower and in all of her pain and panic, she stumbled and fell.  Rapunzel outstretched her arms instinctively but brought them back to her sides as she became aware of her actions. Rapunzel heard the screams of her "mother" followed by a sickening thud as Gothel hit the grass below the tower.
Gothel's screams were followed by the groans of Eugene, "Rapunzel...Rapunzel..."
"I'm here Eugene, I'm here." Rapunzel laid his head in her lap and put his hand in her hair, "Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine. Make the clock reverse bring back what once was mine."
"Rapunzel," Eugene whispered
"What?" tears streamed down her face as she held Eugene in her arms.
"You...you were my new dream." he whispered in her ear. Out of the corner of her eye, Rapunzel could see a small smile on his face.
"And you were mine." Rapunzel sobbed. Eugene used his remaining energy to lift himself up and kiss her. His lips were cold, but still full of passion. They also seemed apologetic: it was as if he was saying sorry that this would be their first, and last kiss.
"I love you Eugene." Rapunzel whispered although she knew that he was already gone. She laid her head on his chest, feeling it's final feeble rise and fall. Then, she broke down, her body shaking with sobs as she clung to the lifeless form of the man that taught her all about the world outside her tower; the man who taught her how to love.