[Perched on a swing at the playground, Rapunzel is about as forlorn as a girl can get. She has spent the day trying not to think of her mother
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[Passing the playground on his daily walk in the woods, Frederic sees the young girl sitting on her swing and walks up to her. Obviously even he can see she has such sadness about her, so he tries to see if he can help her.]
Excuse me young miss, is it all right if I sit with you? By the expression upon your face, I thought you might need someone to speak with.
And by the look on her face ... well, he can guess what's on her mind.
With a sigh, he heads over, only stopping when he can lean back against the swing set's frame. He folds his arms over his chest, and casts a look at her over his shoulder. ]
... so ... not to interrupt or anything, but you seem kind of down.
[She tries OH SO HARD to cover up some of that misery, gently toeing her swing into motion.
But even the SWING seems sad.]
I'm not---it's just that I was thinking of getting a new dress today, Flynn. But then I thought, "Oh, Mother got me the material for this dress. She worked all winter to save up for it for my seventeenth birthday." And she likes pink. She thinks pink is a nice, sweet color. But then I went in the store and saw a blue one I liked. And then I saw some...some...
Pants. I saw some pants that I liked.
[Her head drops into her hands as a sob wracks her thin frame.]
[ He sighs. When this had happened back home, he hadn't cared. All he'd wanted was to get his satchel and leave. But now ... now he cares, except he doesn't think he'll be any better at comforting her. He unfolds his arms and moves, coming to stand in front of her instead. For a minute he's at a loss, awkward -- then gently reaches a hand out to touch her shoulder. ]
Hey, come on. Pants aren't so bad! You should try 'em, really comfy. I mean... [ GAH. DAMMIT, FITZHERBERT, YOU SUCK AT THIS. Eugene takes a deep breath and tries again. ] Rapunzel. [ He hopes the way he says her name -- a little differently, a little lower -- will get her to look up at him, and the hand he's holding out to her. ] Why don't we try looking together? I really don't think your mother would mind you getting some new pants. [ Or ... maybe she would. But Eugene doesn't care about that. He cares about seeing Rapunzel happy. ]
[That hand on her shoulder is appreciated--or at least it will be later on, when she has a chance to think all of this over--but for now, Rapunzel is so wrapped up in these anxieties that she can't fully drink in the comfort in that, or in the way he has just said her name.]
Flynn? Do you think she's...missing me? Do you think she's searching for me, worried? I know we're supposed to go back at the same moment we leave, but what if she notices I'm gone and--and gets frightened that I'm lost or sick or hurt? And I can't tell her I'm fine and just...trapped, here.
Oh, because Mother bought the fabric for this one last year and she told me so many times how hard she worked to save up the extra money just so I would have the extra-nice fabric and how perfect this fabric would be for my complexion because my complexion tends to get a little washed out in the wrong kinds of light and the light is ALWAYS wrong in the tower and she didn't want her daughter walking around looking like a little ghost all the time. It gave her the creeps.
[She has to take a rather deep breath after spilling all that to this stranger. Sadness seems to have trumped her stranger-danger warning signals today.]
Almost eighteen years? They brought me here right before my eighteenth birthday, but the calendars are different here than in my world...and no. No contest. I don't know anyone with hair as long as mine.
[He's so......blue. Blue-looking. And he has a tail. Maybe she should pretend not to notice the blueness. Oooor maybe she should be afraid of him...would he be on Mother's List to Avoid?]
I am feeling a little blue today.
...Um. Sad. I am feeling sad today, what with all the...sad things.
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Excuse me young miss, is it all right if I sit with you? By the expression upon your face, I thought you might need someone to speak with.
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I do? I mean, I might? [Trying to play dumb and act happy is a plan that is obviously going to fail today, but she is trying anyway.]
Who are you?
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My name is Frederic Francois Chopin, may I have the honor of knowing your name?
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And by the look on her face ... well, he can guess what's on her mind.
With a sigh, he heads over, only stopping when he can lean back against the swing set's frame. He folds his arms over his chest, and casts a look at her over his shoulder. ]
... so ... not to interrupt or anything, but you seem kind of down.
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But even the SWING seems sad.]
I'm not---it's just that I was thinking of getting a new dress today, Flynn. But then I thought, "Oh, Mother got me the material for this dress. She worked all winter to save up for it for my seventeenth birthday." And she likes pink. She thinks pink is a nice, sweet color. But then I went in the store and saw a blue one I liked. And then I saw some...some...
Pants. I saw some pants that I liked.
[Her head drops into her hands as a sob wracks her thin frame.]
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[ He sighs. When this had happened back home, he hadn't cared. All he'd wanted was to get his satchel and leave. But now ... now he cares, except he doesn't think he'll be any better at comforting her. He unfolds his arms and moves, coming to stand in front of her instead. For a minute he's at a loss, awkward -- then gently reaches a hand out to touch her shoulder. ]
Hey, come on. Pants aren't so bad! You should try 'em, really comfy. I mean... [ GAH. DAMMIT, FITZHERBERT, YOU SUCK AT THIS. Eugene takes a deep breath and tries again. ] Rapunzel. [ He hopes the way he says her name -- a little differently, a little lower -- will get her to look up at him, and the hand he's holding out to her. ] Why don't we try looking together? I really don't think your mother would mind you getting some new pants. [ Or ... maybe she would. But Eugene doesn't care about that. He cares about seeing Rapunzel happy. ]
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Flynn? Do you think she's...missing me? Do you think she's searching for me, worried? I know we're supposed to go back at the same moment we leave, but what if she notices I'm gone and--and gets frightened that I'm lost or sick or hurt? And I can't tell her I'm fine and just...trapped, here.
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Excuse my intrusion, but is something wrong Miss?
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Why would buying a new dress make you so unhappy?
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[She has to take a rather deep breath after spilling all that to this stranger. Sadness seems to have trumped her stranger-danger warning signals today.]
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I've never seen so much hair before...
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[She totally thinks you'd win]
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[She would so totally win.]
What's your name?
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Wow, you look bummed.
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Oh! Sorry, I didn't know you were there. Would you like a turn on this swinging seat-hanging-from-chains thing?
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And it's called a swing.
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I am feeling a little blue today.
...Um. Sad. I am feeling sad today, what with all the...sad things.
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