We were sitting on the chair, chatting and enjoying the peace and quiet yesterday when this happened. We'd been planning to spend the weekend on the chair, just to get away from all the tension...Hah, little did I know. Little did I know!
Zelia showed up at the chair, asking me stiffly to come talk for a minute.
Not knowing what to expect, I went. She wordlessly led me down to the floor before turning to me. Her eyes were troubled.
"There's no easy way to explain this." She sat down, so I did, too. But as soon as she sat, she jumped back up and started pacing. "I was one of the first 2011 Rapunzel doll produced. I was set on the shelf at the warehouse...right beside you. They...they told me I was your sister."
WHAT?
I gasped. The room started spinning. I jumped up, but, dizzy, I stumbled forward, almost falling. Zelia grabbed my arms and held me upright.
"I-I don't believe you." I spat, letting an angry thought come out of my mouth. She was just trying to get me upset, I knew she was! But then I looked up to see her eyes, which were distraught.
"No. I'm...just...hear me out. I-I...you left to go to your first home. I didn't go with you. I spent days hoping I'd go to the same home as you did, but..I didn't. I...I just wanted to find my sister! I can't even tell you how much I wanted to be with you, to get to know my own sister...but I couldn't. I have been in almost ten homes before I came here. For the first four homes, I was always hopeful to find you. But I never did. I...you know how horrible I was to you? I...I started putting that on as an act to cover up my discouragement and sadness that I would likely never see my sister. And then...when you came...and Piper and Emma had already warned you about me...imagine how upset I was to see that I'd become such a monster that even you were scared of me. And...so I couldn't shake off the personality I'd adopted. Until...actually, after I had to watch you go through your breakup with Eugene...that was when I decided I needed to tell you. I told everyone...Anna, Elsa, Piper, Emma, Punzie, even Kristoff and Hans..but nobody believed me. And then I told your husband about it..the day after you got married. I thought he would tell you, but...he didn't, apparently. So...hey, sis."
I didn't know what to think. All this time....all those horrible pranks and name-calling...and she was my SISTER. What hurt even more was that everyone else had known, and yet nobody had had the sense to tell me. Not even my own HUSBAND. I didn't know whether to be mad or upset. Or scared. I was so confused.
Zelia stood there, watching me.
"I..I can't...I just...this is just too much. It's all true?"
She nodded, and I could see her composure slipping away. "I'm so sorry for how I acted towards you, Rapunzel, I seriously am!"
I nodded dumbly. I couldn't even construct a sentence.
The rest of the few minutes I spent on the floor with Zelia is a fog. I can't tell you anything more because I can't remember myself. I only remember climbing back up onto the chair to confront my husband. Why hadn't he TOLD me?!
I stumbled numbly back up onto the chair, my brain and stomach churning.
Eugene met me at the edge of the chair. "Did she...uh...tell you?"
I pushed past him, covering my mouth as I tried to think of what to say.
I was mad, sad, upset, horrified, and confused, all at the same time. Finally, I nodded.
"She told me. Sh-she also told me that you knew. You knew since the day after we got married. They ALL knew!"
He took a step towards me, but I put my hand up.
"What's...?"
"You knew, Eugene. You've known. I have been your wife for over a month. And you didn't think that that was important for me to know?!" I heard my voice get louder. "Eugene, you don't just hide that! Why on earth did you? And....and..." I trailed off as a bigger thought pushed its way into my already frazzled mind.
"I wanted to keep you from getting hurt. I knew that if I told you, this is what would happen...so I figured that I'd save you that much heartache-"
"And instead, you only created more." I informed him, and he gave me an expression of sheer remorse. "Wh...which only makes me wonder what else you could hide. If you could hide a secret like THAT, Eugene....you know you could hide just about anything! I-it even makes me wonder if this"-I waved my hand between us-"is real."
His eyes misted over. "Ohh, honey...I am so, so sorry. I-" his voice cracked, and he reached for me. I tried to back up, not wanting to be touched, but I bumped into the back of the chair. I turned my head away, to give him the idea that I didn't want bothered, but he reached to cup my chin in his hand anyway.
Before he could say anything, I pulled away. "I'm going back to the dresser. I don't care if you come with me or not."
He gave me a sad look, opening his mouth to speak, but I brushed past him.
I rushed off of the chair, ignoring him when he called my name.
In my rush and during my run back to the dresser, I even forgot Pascal. When I finally realized that, I wondered if I should go back to get him. But then I decided against it. I'd go back for him once I'd cooled off.
And then a hand grabbed my arm.
I screamed, terrified, and wheeled around to see none other than Eugene.
"Let go of me!" I cried. I had been so scared and surprised that the tears I'd been fighting started streaming down my cheeks. I tried to twist and yank away, but he was too strong.
"No. I won't. Just...just hear me out, okay?" He told me frankly. I would have been upset by his sharp 'no', but then I looked up into his face. I kept fighting him, but once I met his eyes, his grip loosened, and I jerked away from him. His eyes were rimmed with red and full of pain. I didn't even try to run. When he saw that, he cautiously put his hands on my shoulders.
"I didn't...think that you'd get this upset if you found out..it's not like I didn't WANT you to know, but I knew you'd be...be upset if you knew. I was an idiot to think that. And it doesn't make much sense, now that I told you."
My anger slowly trickled away. I couldn't stay mad at him. I was just...scared. "You're not an idiot. I'm j-just...I'm scared that I was tricked again. Lied to about everything. That's all I've e-ever really known, and when I met you, you don't know how happy I was to find someone who cared a-about me..and I'm just terrified that all of it was...not true...you know?" I told my concerns frankly.
I glanced up at his face, and his eyes caught and held mine in an intense gaze that I couldn't look away from. He spoke slowly and precisely. "Rapunzel, I apologize for making you think that. I apologize profusely. I...I am so sorry that I didn't tell you. I truly am...but trust me-" his voice cracked, and he ducked his head down away from my gaze, his face burning red. "I love you more than words can express. I know it sounds dumb, and I know you probably don't believe me right now, but...it's true."
He rolled his eyes up to watch my face, and I slowly lost my composure again. I couldn't believe how dumb I'd been to think he'd been a liar like..like Flynn from my previous home had been.
Burying my face in my hands, I choked on my tears. "I'm sorry, Eugene..I'm sorry I doubted you...I just...I was so scared...a-and I don't know what to think or do or ANYTHING!"
I felt his arms wrap around me hesitantly, so I leaned into him, and he finally held me tight. He let me cry out all my frustration and fear out on his shoulder, while he stroked my hair silently until my tears had dried up.
Finally, I pulled my head up to look at him, noticing the bags under his eyes.
I pulled away from him. "G-go to bed..., please. You look so tired. I'll come back to the chair later."
He reached an arm out, resting his hand on my side. "I'm fine. But are you? Okay, that is."
I snorted. "Would YOU be fine if you found out that Zelia was your sister?"
My husband chuckled quietly. "No, I don't suppose I would be. I'm sorry."
Sighing, I shut my eyes for a couple of seconds, my eyes burning from the tears I'd just cried. "I just...I feel so horrible for doubting you, and for always treating Zelia the way I treated her...and...it's just so complicated!"
He rested his chin on top of my head. "I know. Things will get easier to accept and understand, though. And as far as you treating her the way you did, I think you were basically just defending yourself against how she treated YOU. So don't get upset about it, okay, sweet girl?"
I nodded, leaning into my husband. He took the hint and wrapped me up tightly in his arms. Planting a kiss on the top of my head, he nuzzled my hair a moment before whispering into it. "I'm sorry. I love you...so, so much. And don't be afraid to just talk with me about something, okay? I'd feel better if we talked something out than if...this happens again,"
"Don't, or I'll have to get upset with you. You're going t-to make me cry again," I tried to keep fresh tears from coming and lighten the mood at the same time.
"Sorry," he chuckled.
"Stop apologizing," I told him, gaining composure and grinning into his shoulder.
"Sorry," he repeated, giving me a silly grin, and despite myself, I laughed as I pulled away from his arms, giving him a playful shove.
"You're terrible. And you need to get to bed. You look really tired," I told him. "Let's go back to the chair."
He was silent the whole way up to the chair, picking up the conversation again when we got back.
"I am tired, but I'm staying up with you until you feel better about things." He said adamantly, sitting down.
I melted a tiny bit at that. "I'm fine. Well...as fine as I'm going to be right now, over this! Ugh...I just...I can't believe this."
He chuckled. "Yeah," he reached to hold me in his arms again, so I sat, reaching to kiss his cheek before resting my head on his shoulder. And that's the last thing I remember.
Read Part 2 HERE.
No comments:
Post a Comment