In a menacing tone, the Stabbington without the eye patch told Flynn everything that he and his brother had learned from wicked Mother Gothel. "We heard you found something. Something much more valuable than a crown." Both brothers looked in the direction of the boat where Rapunzel sat waiting.

 

Flynn cringed as he realized the brothers had somehow found out about Rapunzel's magic hair. Desperately¹, he began to fight.

 

A little while later, Rapunzel was relieved to see a man finally step from the bushes.

 

"I was starting to think you ran off with the crown and left me!" she said with a laugh, thinking it was Flynn.

 

"He did," a rough voice answered. Rapunzel gasped². She wasn't looking at Flynn. And it wasn't just one man, but two — the Stabbington brothers.

 

"What?" Rapunzel said, confused and panicked. "No, he wouldn't."

 

"See for yourself!" the talking brother replied, pointing toward the water.

 

Rapunzel looked and saw Flynn standing³ at the helm of a small ship.

 

She called to him. But Flynn didn't call back or turn to look at her. Rapunzel was crushed.

 

The brutish men behind her laughed. "A fair trade: a crown for the girl with the magic hair," the one brother said. "How much do you think someone would pay to stay young and healthy forever?"

 

Rapunzel didn't understand. How could this be happening? Had Flynn betrayed her, trading her and her magical hair for that thing in his satchel⁴ — that crown, which would bring him some reward money?

 

"No. No, please. No!" Rapunzel shouted as the brothers approached. And then she ran. She ran as fast as she could into the darkness.

 

Sadly, the braid that had held her hair up all day had begun to unravel⁵. It caught on a branch, holding Rapunzel back! Terrified, Rapunzel struggled to get free. From behind her, she heard a loud clatter⁶ and some thumps⁷.

 

Rapunzel looked back warily⁸.

 

"Oh, my precious girl!" Mother Gothel said, brimming with emotion. The Stabbington brothers lay at her feet, knocked unconscious.

 

"Mother?" Rapunzel gasped. Mother Gothel threw her arms around the girl. Rapunzel hugged Mother Gothel, too, and finally broke down and cried.

 

"Are you all right? Are you hurt? Did they hurt you?" Mother Gothel asked.

 

"No. I'm fine, but, Mother, how did you ... ?"

 

Mother Gothel was wringing⁹ her hands. "I was so worried about you, dear! So I followed you. And I saw them attack you, and ... Oh, my, let's go, before they come to."

 

Rapunzel paused and looked back toward Flynn. He was sailing farther and farther away.

 

"You were right, Mother," she said, nodding.

 

Her eyes were blank and her heart was numb¹⁰. So Flynn was the liar¹¹. "I'll never leave you again." Rapunzel had never felt such deep sorrow in her entire life.

 

"I know, darling. I know," Mother Gothel said as she held Rapunzel tight. Mother Gothel's voice seemed sad and sympathetic, but a small smile curled at the corners of her mouth. The evil woman had planned the whole series of events. She had tricked the Stabbington brothers into helping¹² her trap Flynn and tie him, unconscious, to the ship. She had promised them a girl with magical golden hair who would bring them great wealth. And then she had betrayed them, knocking them unconscious. It was all for the sake of another lie. Mother Gothel had to make Rapunzel believe, once again, that Mother Gothel was the only person in the world whom she could trust.

 

Out in the harbor, the ship was now moving toward the dock, but not because Flynn was steering¹³ it. The Stabbingtons had knocked him unconscious and lashed¹⁴ him to the mast.

 

Following Mother Gothel's instructions, the brothers had tied the crown tightly to Flynn's hand. They knew what would happen when the palace guards found the drifting ship. Flynn Rider would be going off to jail.

 

Flynn was still unconscious when the current slammed the small ship into the dock. Two nearby palace guards heard the wood splinter. They looked over and saw Flynn Rider, the man on the wanted poster, standing at the ship's helm.

 

钉刺兄弟中不戴眼罩的那个用恐吓的音调对费林讲了他们从邪恶的高瑟妈妈那儿听来的一切。“我们听说你找到了些东西。远比皇冠更值钱的东西。”兄弟俩同时望向船的方向，乐佩正坐在那儿等待。

 

费林意识到钉刺兄弟已经发现了乐佩魔法头发的秘密，就退了一步。他不顾一切地开始和他们扭打起来。

 

过了好一会儿，乐佩见到灌木丛里走出一个人，她如释重负。

 

“我还以为你带着皇冠跑了，丢下我了呢！”她笑着说，以为那人是费林。

 

“他是跑了。”一个沙哑的声音回答。乐佩倒抽一口冷气。她见到的不是费林。而且不止一个人，是两个——钉刺两兄弟。

 

“什么？”乐佩困惑不安地说，“不，他不会的。”

 

“你自己看吧。”说话的那个钉刺兄弟回应地指着水面。

 

乐佩望过去，见到费林站在一艘小船的船舵边。

 

她叫他的名字。但费林没有回答，也没有转身看她。乐佩被击垮了。

 

站在她身后的粗野男人大笑起来。“公平交易： 一顶皇冠换一个有魔法头发的女孩，”兄弟中的一个说，“你觉得人们会为了青春永驻和健康长寿付多少钱给我们？”

 

乐佩不明白。怎么会发生这种事？费林背叛她，用她和她的魔法头发就为了换他包中的东西——那顶可以给他带来赏金的皇冠？

 

“不，不，求求你们，不！”兄弟俩逐渐逼近，乐佩大喊。她开始逃跑。她拼命跑进黑暗中。

 

可惜她束起一整天的辫子开始松散了。辫子被树枝勾住，拖住了乐佩！乐佩惊恐万分，挣扎着想要逃脱。她听到身后传来一声响亮的哗啦声，然后是几下重击声。

 

乐佩小心翼翼地往后看。

 

“哦，我的宝贝女儿！”高瑟妈妈饱含深情地说。钉刺兄弟躺在她的脚边，被打晕过去了。

 

“妈妈？”乐佩喘着粗气。高瑟妈妈伸出手环抱住她。乐佩也抱着高瑟妈妈，终于支撑不住，哭了起来。

 

“你没事吧？你受伤了吗？他们伤害你了吗？”高瑟妈妈问。

 

“没有，我很好。但是，妈妈，你是怎么……？”

 

高瑟妈妈紧握她的双手。“我很担心你，亲爱的！所以我跟着你，然后我看到他们攻击你，好了……哦，好了，我们走吧，趁他们还没醒。”

 

乐佩停了停，回头望着费林。他的船开得越来越远。

 

“你是对的，妈妈。”她点着头说。

 

她的眼神空洞，她的心麻木了。所以，费林是个骗子。“我再也不会离开你了。”乐佩这一生都没有如此悲伤过。

 

“我知道，亲爱的，我知道。”高瑟妈妈说着抱紧乐佩。高瑟妈妈的声音听起来充满悲伤和同情，但是她的嘴角弯起一抹浅浅的微笑。这个邪恶的女人计划了这一系列事件。她耍诡计让钉刺兄弟帮她抓住费林，把他打昏，绑起来，挪到船上。她许诺给他们一个拥有魔法头发的女孩，会给他们带来巨大的财富。然后，她背叛了他们，把他们打晕。这都是为了另一个谎言。高瑟妈妈要乐佩再一次相信，她才是这个世界上乐佩唯一可以信任的人。

 

现在，船漂到了港口，正向码头靠拢。但这不是因为费林在掌舵。钉刺兄弟把他打晕，绑在了桅杆上。

 

钉刺兄弟照着高瑟妈妈的指示，把皇冠紧紧捆绑在费林的手上。他们很清楚，宫廷卫兵发现这艘随波逐流的船之后会发生什么事。费林·雷德会被关进牢里。

 

波浪把小船推送到码头的时候，费林还没有恢复意识。附近的两个宫廷卫兵听到了木头撞裂的声音。他们顺着声音望过去，见到了费林·雷德，那个通缉令上的男子，就站在船舵前。

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