When he sees the Stabbingtons on the shore, Eugene leaves Rapunzel and intends to let them have the crown. The group reaches the kingdom and enjoys the festivities, culminating in an evening cruise as the lanterns are released. The next morning, Maximus finds the pair and tries to capture Eugene, but Rapunzel arranges a truce in honor of her birthday. Eugene and Rapunzel take refuge in a forest, where Gothel, now in league with the Stabbingtons, gives the crown to Rapunzel and suggests challenging Eugene's interest in her with it. Rapunzel starts to reveal her hair glows when she sings, but realizes that is their key to escape as her hair provides enough light to find a way out of the cave. Fearing this is the end, Flynn reveals his real name is Eugene Fitzherbert. The dam is inadvertently breached, and the resulting deluge traps Flynn and Rapunzel in a flooding cave. The soldiers give chase, led by Maximus, one of the lead horses in the royal army, and locate them at a dam. When the royal soldiers appear, searching for Flynn, the pub regulars help the pair escape.
Gothel agrees and departs, and Rapunzel convinces Flynn to escort her to see the lanterns in exchange for the crown.ĭuring their excursion, Flynn takes Rapunzel to the Snuggly Duckling, a pub filled with the types of people Gothel warned Rapunzel about, but who instead are charmed by Rapunzel's innocence. Rapunzel plans to show Flynn to Gothel to prove she can take care of herself, but when Gothel becomes enraged at Rapunzel asking again to leave the tower, she instead asks for a special paint, one that will take Gothel three days to obtain. Rapunzel captures Flynn and discovers the crown, but is unaware of its significance. Elsewhere, a thief known as Flynn Rider has stolen Rapunzel's crown from the kingdom and inadvertently discovers the tower after ditching his cohorts, the Stabbington brothers.
Nearing her eighteenth birthday, Rapunzel asks Gothel for permission to leave the tower and discover the source of the lanterns, but Gothel refuses. Once a year, the King and Queen release sky lanterns on her birthday, hoping for their daughter's return. Gothel discovers that Rapunzel's hair has the flower's healing properties, but that cutting the hair causes it to lose its magic, so she kidnaps Rapunzel and raises her as her own daughter in an isolated tower.
The flower, used by Mother Gothel to retain her youth, is discovered by soldiers of a nearby kingdom, who use the flower to heal their queen, who soon after gives birth to Princess Rapunzel. Long ago, a drop of sunlight became a golden flower capable of healing any decay or injury.