Rapunzel gasped¹ as she stared at the shadowed figure of Mother Gothel.

 

"Hello, dear," Mother Gothel said.

 

"What ... what are you doing here?" Rapunzel said, fumbling² for words. "I mean, how did you find me?"

 

Mother Gothel walked up to Rapunzel and gave her a hug. "Oh, it was easy, really," she said. "I just listened for the sound of complete and utter betrayal and followed that."

 

Rapunzel tried to find a way to explain. She couldn't help feeling guilty.

 

"We're going home, Rapunzel," Mother Gothel commanded. "Now."

 

"You don't understand," Rapunzel said. "I've been on this incredible journey, and I've seen and learned so much! I even met someone."

 

"Yes. The wanted thief." Mother Gothel frowned with disgust.

 

"No, Mother, wait! I think he likes me."

 

"Likes you?" Mother Gothel said, scowling³ at Rapunzel. It was ridiculous for Rapunzel to think that this ruffian could be fond of her, the unworldly child! "This is why you should never have left!" Mother Gothel scoffed⁴. "This whole romance that you've invented just proves that you're too na?ve to be here. Why would he like you, really?"

 

Mother Gothel was mocking her, trying to unravel⁵ the trust she had put in Flynn.

 

Rapunzel had heard Mother Gothel's scornful dismissals before. She had even accepted them. But she no longer believed them the way she used to. Mother Gothel had lied to her throughout her life. Rapunzel knew Flynn liked her. She knew she had made friends in the outside world. But at the same time, her doubts remained, tickling⁶ the back of her mind. Maybe — maybe Flynn was just trying to be honorable, to keep up his side of their deal.

 

"Come, come," Mother Gothel said. "You know that I'm right." She tossed the crown to Rapunzel. She challenged Rapunzel to give it to Flynn and find out what he really wanted.

 

Rapunzel began to wonder: If she gave the crown to Flynn, would he stop being nice to her? Would he leave her alone and run away with his prized crown?

 

"No," Rapunzel said firmly.

 

The firelight flashed across Mother Gothel's face as it filled with rage. Rapunzel was doubting her own mother.

 

"Don't say I didn't warn you. Show him this." Mother Gothel gestured toward the crown. "Then see how much he likes you!"

 

"I will!" Rapunzel said defiantly⁷. But seeing her mother move to leave, Rapunzel called out, "Mother, wait!"

 

Mother Gothel simply turned her back and disappeared into the dark forest.

 

Rapunzel sat in silence. Minutes ticked by, and Flynn returned.

 

Flynn began talking to her lightheartedly, but Rapunzel hardly heard a word.

 

"Hey, you okay?" Flynn asked, returning from the woods.

 

Rapunzel turned around. "Sorry, yes," she told him. "I was just, uh, lost in thought, I guess."

 

Flynn began to tend the fire. "So, I have a question," he said, still intrigued⁸ by Rapunzel and her amazing gifts. "Will your hair work if you sing about anything? Like, I don't know, if you sang a song about cupcakes?"

 

Rapunzel didn't answer him. She just stared up at a knot in the tree where she'd hidden the crown and the satchel⁹. She had believed in Mother Gothel her entire life. But now that she knew Flynn, she felt lost. It was impossible to believe in them both.

 

Meanwhile, the Stabbington brothers were hiding in the woods with Mother Gothel. They wanted to grab Flynn, the crown, and the girl with the golden hair right then and there. But Mother Gothel held them back. "Patience, boys," she whispered. "Trust me, it's all going exactly to plan."

 

乐佩盯着高瑟妈妈的黑影，喘着气。

 

“你好，亲爱的。”高瑟妈妈说。

 

“你……你在这儿做什么？”乐佩笨口拙舌地现找词语，“我是说，你是怎么找到我的？”

 

高瑟妈妈朝乐佩走去，抱住了她。“哦，很简单，真的，”她说，“我只是听着那彻底背叛的声音，跟着来了。”

 

乐佩想要解释。但是她无法摆脱愧疚感。

 

“我们回家，乐佩，”高瑟妈妈命令道，“现在就走。”

 

“你不明白，”乐佩说，“我已经踏上了不可思议的旅程，我也看到了、学到了很多东西！我甚至遇到了一个人。”

 

“是的，被通缉的盗贼。”高瑟妈妈厌恶地皱着眉。

 

“不，妈妈，等等！我觉得他喜欢我。”

 

“喜欢你？”高瑟妈妈沉下脸，对乐佩说道。真荒谬，乐佩竟然觉得这个恶棍喜欢她，真是不谙世故的孩子啊！“这就是为什么你不应该出去！”高瑟妈妈嘲弄道，“所有的浪漫都只是你的臆想，只能证明你太天真，不该在这儿。他为什么会喜欢 你呢？”

 

高瑟妈妈讥笑她，试图动摇她对费林的信任。

 

乐佩以前也听过高瑟妈妈那些轻蔑、不屑一顾的话。她甚至接受了那些轻视。但是，她不再像过去那样全部信以为真。高瑟妈妈这一辈子都在欺骗她。乐佩知道费林喜欢她。她知道自己在外面的世界交到了朋友。但与此同时，她仍心存疑虑，疑惑在她的脑海中挥之不去。说不定——说不定费林只是显得正直而已，只是做好他们的交易中他那方的事。

 

“来吧，来吧，”高瑟妈妈说，“你知道我说的对。”她把皇冠扔给乐佩。她要乐佩把它交给费林，看看他究竟要什么。

 

乐佩开始疑惑，要是她把皇冠还给费林，他会不会不再对她好了？他会不会抛下她一个人，带着珍贵的皇冠跑掉？

 

“不。”乐佩坚定地说。

 

篝火的火光闪过高瑟妈妈怒不可遏的脸。乐佩在怀疑自己的母亲。

 

“不要说我没有警告过你。给他看这个，”高瑟妈妈指着皇冠，“看看他有多喜欢你！”

 

“我会的！”乐佩反抗道。但是看到母亲真的离去时，乐佩大声叫喊着：“妈妈，等等！”

 

高瑟妈妈只是转过身，然后消失在了幽暗的森林里。

 

乐佩默默地站着。时间一分一秒过去，费林回来了。

 

费林轻松愉快地跟她说话，但乐佩几乎听不进去一个字。

 

“嘿，你没事吧？”费林从森林里回来后问道。

 

乐佩转过身。“抱歉，我没事，”她说，“我只是，呃，在想事情，我想。”

 

费林开始给篝火添柴。“那么，我有个问题，”他说，仍然对乐佩和她的惊人天赋好奇不已，“你随便唱什么歌，你的头发都会那样吗？比如，我不知道，你唱一首关于纸杯蛋糕的歌呢？”

 

乐佩没有回答他。她只是盯着树上的一个节疤，她把皇冠和包藏在了那儿。她这一生都很信任高瑟妈妈。但是现在，她认识了费林，她感到迷茫。不可能同时信任他们两个。

 

这个时候，钉刺兄弟和高瑟妈妈正一起躲在树林里。他们当时就想抓住费林，拿到皇冠，还有捉住那个金发女孩。但是高瑟妈妈阻止了他们。“耐心点，小伙子们，”她低语道，“相信我，一切全在计划内。”

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