The thieves were outwitted as the sun rose. Will watched from the window as they gathered about the lane, trying to find the house their man had marked but unable to because of Morgiana's identical markings. At least that part of the plan had worked out properly. The whole time, Will was in a grieving fog—and he didn't even know who it was he was mourning.

The thieves came for lunch that day, according to Morgiana. A man brought forty jars—Morgiana said the man who failed to mark the doors properly was dead—and offered to sell his oil to Ali Baba. To show his good will, the man revealed one of the jars of oil. Ali, thrilled, invited the man in for lunch.

Part of Morgiana's trouble was Ali Baba's foolishness. He never learned from past Stories, and indeed he always fell for the thieves' plan—mostly because he couldn't remember what they looked like. Will knew it exasperated the slave girl.

Morgiana didn't let Will dwell on his grief. She dragged him into the servants' quarters and dressed him in "proper" attire—baggy breeches and a vest with no shirt beneath it. He wasn't particularly comfortable in the clothes, but it was either that or stay upstairs and let Morgiana take care of the thieves.

Morgiana had a guess that Rapunzel was in one of the jars. Because of her magic hair, they couldn't have left her alone, so she was probably unconscious in one of the jars. It made sense to Will, but, as Morgiana explained, it apparently made her job that much more difficult. Normally she would pour burning oil over all of them to prevent them from killing Ali, but with Rapunzel in the jar she couldn't risk it.

Her plan required more finesse, she explained to Will with relish. Apparently she was enjoying the challenge. Will? Not so much. It was annoyingly tantalizing to know that Rapunzel was outside, within reach, and there was nothing he could do. If he lost her on top of whoever else had died...No. I won't let that happen. I will not let Rapunzel die. There was more than just a stubbornness against losing another person behind his reasoning; he had a sneaking suspicion that they were going to move past being "just friends".

The leader of the thieves and Ali Baba reclined at their table, and Morgiana and Will brought them their lunch. Will wasn't really sure of what the food was, but it didn't look very appetizing to him. He laid the plates out and Morgiana nudged him as they moved over to the corner. "Go outside and draw some water," she said in a normal tone of voice. Speaking in a whisper, she added, "Pour this wax over the jars, and once you've done all of them, tap on the side of each. If they answer, tell them to wait a little longer. If they don't, it's your friend. Once you have her, break the jar and get out of this Story. Understand?"

"What about you?" Will asked in the same tone of voice.

"I'll manage," Morgiana answered with a crooked grin. "Now get going!"

Will needed no further invitation. He grabbed a small vase and hurried out of the house towards the courtyard behind it. In the vase, he saw melted wax quickly hardening. Working quickly, Will poured the wax over the top of the jars, sealing them shut. They were extraordinarily large, and Will took a moment after he had finished pouring the wax to wonder who the thieves thought they were fooling. Then he shrugged. Ali Baba wasn't very smart, even if he was kind, and the thieves had evidently fooled him, if not his extremely intelligent slave Morgiana.

Will went about tapping on the jars and murmuring the message Morgiana had given him when they answered him. His fingers were getting tired of tapping by the time he reached the final jar and tapped on it. There was no response, and he tapped harder. "Hello?" he whispered to the jar. Again, no answer. It had to be Rapunzel. He took the sword Morgiana had given him and slammed the pommel into the ceramic jar, shattering it.

Rapunzel slumped out of the jar, nearly hitting the ground. Will caught her and lifted her in his arms, her massive amount of hair falling all over the ground. "C'mon, wake up," Will murmured, yanking the gag out of her mouth. If she didn't wake up, she couldn't make the Story door, and if she didn't make the Story door...

"Hey!" Will swung around and saw the head thief in the doorway, staring at him. Will stared back, balancing Rapunzel, his sword, and dropping her gag to the ground.

He couldn't run. He'd trip on Rapunzel's hair and fall before he made it anywhere. And he certainly wasn't going to leave her behind. The man drew his sword and advanced on Will, cursing as he recognized the red-head. Will started to back away, horrified.

Then Morgiana appeared behind the man and wrapped her scarf around his neck. She held him back, and he dropped his sword in surprise. "Run!" she yelled at Will.

"Thank you," Will said, and gathering Rapunzel's hair and piling it on top of her, he ran.

Rapunzel's hair was a good deal heavier than it looked. He stopped at the front of the house, panting, meeting the eyes of the hated camel. Ignoring the humped beast, he ran past it and hurried through the streets, his bare feet searing against the burning-hot stones of the road. Lord, give me strength! he prayed desperately. Please—at least save her. I can't lose someone else. Please!

As if by some miracle, Rapunzel's eyes opened. She absorbed the situation in seconds, and—God bless her—reacted instantly. A Story door appeared in front of them, and Will banged it open and ran through. Laying her on the ground of whatever Story lay beyond, Will quickly slammed the door shut and fell back against it, gasping for breath. Then he remembered Rapunzel's bound wrists and ankles and quickly cut through them with the sword from Morgiana. "Thanks," Rapunzel said, rubbing her chafed appendages.

Will wasn't paying attention. The door disappeared from behind him and he sank back against a wall, sighing. Rapunzel frowned at his sudden glumness. "What's the matter?"

"Can't you hear it?" Will asked quietly. "That music...I can hear it. There's something so...sad."

Rapunzel cocked her head, obviously listening. She shrugged. "It's just a ballad," she said. "But I'll go check it out. You want to come with me?"

Will shook his head; the overwhelming feeling of grief that had overcome him seemed to have paralyzed him. Rapunzel shrugged and went out of the room. Will heard the low murmur of voices and the music stop. He wished it would come back. It sounded like an old friend come home.

For a few minutes there was silence. Then Rapunzel's voice echoed up the stairs and into Will's room. "That's all well and good, but who are you people?"

Will hauled himself to his feet and went to the top of the stairs behind Rapunzel. Looking down, he saw Rachel, Merlin, Red Riding Hood, and another young woman standing there. But Will's mind only arrived at the one person who wasn't standing there. "Alan," he said, his voice breaking. "Where is he?"

Rachel stepped towards him and stopped, her face broken with grief. "Will, I'm sorry," she said in a low voice.

Will didn't answer. He fell to his knees, covering his face with his hands. His sobs rang through the house, sounding as though Will's heart was broken. The only words he spoke were, "The heart knows best."