Title: Tangled Masks.

Rating: T

Warnings: Not much except what you see in the movie and some swearing in later chapters. I'm hesitant to add anything else at the moment so as to not give anything away.

Spoilers: Plenty.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by the Disney. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended

Author Notes: I am SO SO sorry! I know I should have been working on On The Outside Looking In. I haven't abandoned it, I promise! It's just this story demanded that it be written too and it wouldn't let me focus on anything else until it was. Unlike my other story, I actually have a posting timeline that I'm going to follow. I'd like to post about once a week. So look for updates every Tuesday.

I've read several retellings of the movie and decided to do my version. I hope the twist I put in it is enough to set it apart. It probably won't be obvious in this first part, but it will all come clear in the next. Well, mostly. Hope you enjoy.

The old saying is 'never judge a book by its cover' and that's true for more than just books. People are often judged based solely on what the other person perceives as their appearance or style of dress. The thing is you can never tell if that's who they really are or if it's just the mask they wear over their real self.

Sometimes you have to risk everything to find out the truth.

This is the story of how I died. But don't worry, this is actually a very fun story and the truth is; it isn't just mine. It all starts in a hidden Tower deep within the forest…

She crept slowly towards the closed shutters of the window. It was, after all, about the only place that her best friend could be hiding. She put both hands on the shutters, paused for a second, and then flung them wide open. The bright early morning sunlight revealed a girl, a young woman really. Her emerald green eyes glinted with child-like enthusiasm and the long golden mane of hair framed a slender body clad in a simple embroidered purple dress.

"Ha!" Rapunzel cried with excitement. Nothing was out there, or rather, nothing immediately visible. She knew her friend was out there though. After all, that painted flower pot didn't always have a chameleon shaped lump on it. "Hmm… Well, I guess Pascal isn't hiding out here…" She linked her hands behind her back and pretended to walk away from the window, knowing that her chameleon friend would let down his guard.

She was right since she heard his soft chortle. With a grin, she silently climbed up onto a rafter just above the window. So he thinks he's won this round? she thought, We'll see about that. It was an easy thing to do really, she had plenty of practice. Carefully using a thin lock of her hair, Rapunzel caught Pascal unaware by the tail. She pulled him into the air at the same time as she hung upside down from the rafter.

"Gotcha!"

Pascal gave a surprised yelp and faded from the brown and yellow flower design of the pot to his usual bright green. Rapunzel swung down from the rafter and lowered the chameleon to the windowsill. "That's twenty-two for me." She said, flicking back some of her hair from her face with a toss of her head. Having released Pascal, she set her hands on her hips. "How about twenty-three out of forty-five?"

The chameleon gave her a look. Rapunzel was getting very good at interpreting Pascal's squeaks, looks and motions. It was probably the result of having only one other person to talk to and her mother tended to spend many hours away from the tower where they lived. Pascal was her dearest friend, her only friend really. He had been ever since he had shown up on her windowsill last fall.

This particular look of his said, You have got to be kidding me. She couldn't really blame Pascal. She was much better at seeking than he was at hiding, even with his ability to change his colour.

Rapunzel sat down on the sill. "Okay. Well, what do you want to do?" she asked.

He brightened and pointed outside with his tail. His message was clear, only there was one problem.

"Yeah, I don't think so." She said, picking Pascal up by his tail and swinging her legs so that they dangled out the window. She set him down on her lap, nodded to the room behind them, and then pointed at him. "I like it in here and so do you."

Her friend just gave her an unbelieving look and flicked out his tongue. It was his way of saying, Liar.

Rapunzel smiled, she knew he had a point but that didn't change the facts. They couldn't go Outside because Mother never allowed it. The Outside World was dangerous and Rapunzel had to stay inside to stay safe. So she always tried to make the best of the situation. "Oh, come on, Pascal. It's not so bad in there." She picked him up and flipped around to return inside. But even as she said that, she wondered who she was really trying to convince of that.

No matter. Enough fun and games for now. It was time to start their day.

Her long hair trailed behind her as she ran across the main room of the tower. Noticing there wasn't quite enough light inside she climbed up into the rafter to open the skylight. It wasn't hard at all since she had done it every day of her life. It only took a second to fling her hair up over the lever and pull it down. With the skylight open, Rapunzel took the quickest way back down to the floor, which was to slide down her hair like it was a rope.

As she reached to ground she started to sing, "Seven am, the usual morning line up. Start on the chores and sweep until the floor's all clean…" She scooped up Pascal from his perch on the wall clock and went to get the broom and dustpan. Sweeping didn't take long as very little dirt ever managed to make into the tower. As they worked their way through the rest of the morning chores, Rapunzel continued to hum, the words of the song she had come up with going through her mind. Polish and wax, do laundry and mop and shine-up. Sweep again and by then it's, like, She glanced at the clock just as she finished the second round of sweeping. Seven-fifteen!

Rapunzel couldn't believe it had taken so little time to finish the chores. Then again, the tower wasn't all the large and since she did those same chores nearly every day, it didn't get all that dirty. Maybe she should start cleaning only every other day just so there would be more work to do. With a shrug she headed up to her room, Pascal riding on her shoulder.

Once there she looked around, time to find something else to do. "And so I'll read a book or maybe two or three." She sang as she snatched up them up from her shelf. She really only had three books. It had been a very long time since Mother had gotten her another book. One was on botany, one of geology, and a cook book. She loved all three, even if they were all well-worn from much reading. Sadly, since she did read them so often, it took only a few minutes to get through all of them. So they were returned to their shelf.

Time for something else. Rapunzel looked around a noticed that there was a spot on the wall that looked a little bare. "I'll add a few new paintings to my gallery!" She grinned and gathered up her art supplies. The area she wanted to paint was quite high up, but that was no problem. It only took a moment to arrange her hair into a type of harness that could easily hold her suspended right where she wanted. Pascal helped by clinging to the wall and holding her painter's palette with his tail.

What do now? she wondered once the paintings were finished. I'll play guitar and knit and cook… Those were all good ideas, but just like the reading and painting, she did them so often that then didn't end up holding her attention very long. …and basically, just wonder when will my life begin?

Just as she was pulling the apple pie from the oven, something caught her eye. Above the fireplace was a large wood panel just a little taller than she was. The way the tapestries draped over the plaster covered chimney bricks gave her an idea. It would be the perfect spot for her absolutely favourite scene. Closing one eye, Rapunzel used her thumb to measure the spot both vertically and horizontally. Yep, just right. she thought.

Pascal cheeped encouragement from her shoulder as she hurried to open her paint box. Rapunzel quickly mixed up the deep blue paint she wanted for the sky. Using her largest brush, that colour was quickly applied, as was the forest green to represent the hills surrounding the tower. With the background done, she had to wait until the paints dried before she could add the rest. She didn't mind though since it was now time for lunch. Well, not really, it was technically still too early, but she decided she was hungry so why not.

Later, as she sprawled on the floor to work on a puzzle, Rapunzel found herself humming her morning song again, only now she changed the words to fit the new activities. Then after lunch it's puzzles and darts and baking. Papier-mâché, a bit of ballet, and chess. Pottery and ventriloquy, candle making. As she went through each of the activities, she started to find she was really only going through the motions of them. Then I'll stretch, maybe sketch, take a climb, sew a dress. Things that used to keep her occupied for hours took only minutes to do now. Even adding to her new painting was a little dull.

And I'll re-read the books if I have time to spare.she thought as she picked them up again, though she only flipped through them bored. And as for painting, which she always loved to do, I'll paint the walls some more, Unfortunately where ever she looked, was already covered in her myriad of paintings. I'm sure there's room somewhere.

Well there's always one thing I can do that will keep me busy. she thought. She set down her paintbrushes and palette, and picked up her hair brush. And I'll brush and brush and brush my hair. Doing that always took a while since she had so much of it. Diligently she worked her way around the room along the massive length. By the time she reached the end, she was up in the rafters of the tower again. Tired from all that brushing, Rapunzel collapsed against one of the cross members. Stuck in the same place I've always been.

She looked down at the golden trail that looped around her. I wonder just how long my hair's gotten now. The last time she had done it her hair had circled the room two and a half times. She jumped down from the rafters, gathering up the entire long length. "And I'll keep wondering and wondering and wondering and wondering…" she sang as she ran around the room, tossing loops of hair so that it would make smooth circles as she went. Reaching the center of the room she looked around. Her hair now made four complete circles. "… when will my life begin?"

Rapunzel went over to the window. "Tomorrow night, lights will appear. Just like they do on my birthday each year." She sang, explaining to Pascal who had yet to see the floating lights. There was just something about those lights that drew her. Why did they only come once a year? What were they? Not stars, she was sure. She turned away from the window to look at her newest painting which depicted them. "What is it like, out there where they glow? Now that I'm older, Mother might just let me go."

There was only one thing left to add to that painting. Slowly Rapunzel added a figure of a girl, herself, watching the sky full of floating lights from the top of a tree, her long golden hair trailing far to the ground.

The ceramic tiles covering the roof rattled underfoot as three figures slide down the steeply pitched slope. All three were being careful to not make any further noise as they moved. It would be very bad thing for all if anyone caught them up there. Getting caught roof-walking down in the city was bad enough, but this time they were on the roof of the castle. The stakes were much higher here.

Two of the three were nearly identical. In fact they were the identical twins known only as the Stabbington Brothers. They were the same height (tall), same build (hulking), same general features (brutish, red hair, grey eyes). The only differences between them was that one had an eye-patch and favoured black leathers while the other had long side-burns and preferred green and brown for his attire.

The third member of the party was far different. Shorter, slimmer build, with longish brown hair tied back in a tail at the nape of the neck. While Flynn Rider was just as crooked as the Stabbingtons, the thief had a slightly more refined appearance than the two brutes.

The small group made their way from cupula to cornice to roof-tree. Circling around one of the towers, they made it to their destination. The roof over the Great Throne room. It was from here they would pull off their heist. The Stabbingtons immediately set to work, pulling up the roof hatch they had made on a previous visit. Hearing the sounds of heavy footsteps far below, Flynn went to the edge of the roof to make sure none of the patrolling Guards had noticed. The thief grabbed onto a part of the decorative stonework and leaned out over the edge of the roof.

All to be seen was a passing Guard making his rounds.

Certain they were still undetected, Flynn looked up and was caught by the view of the city. "Wow! I could get used to a view like this." The thief murmured. It was an incredible view. The entire kingdom spread out like an intricate tapestry. The gold and browns of the thatched or tiled roofs, interspersed with the lighter colours of the cobblestone streets and all the various shades of green of the trees. Even the people below seemed no more than tiny dolls moving about. Such a view was wasted on Flynn's companions though.

"Rider," the one in green whispered harshly; Flynn had mentally pegged this one as Stabby One since he seemed to do most of the talking for the pair, "come on!"

"Hold on." The thief held up a hand and then stepped back from the edge and placed hands on hips. Flynn wanted to just savour that view a while longer. "Yep, I'm used to it. Guys, I want a castle."

Stabby One was clearly not impressed by this declaration. "We do this job, you can buy your own castle." He said, coming over and grabbing Flynn by the back of the collar. He dragged the thief over to the hatch before letting go.

"Hey, easy, easy, easy." Flynn protested, dusting off the blue tunic. "Watch the threads."

"Shut up and hold still, Rider." Stabby One grunted as he picked up the length of rope they had brought with them.

Flynn's eyebrows went up and the thief took a step back. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. What do you think you're doing?"

"Tying this rope, what's it look like?" the man said in an annoyed tone. "You're not chickening out on us now, are ya?" Beside him, Stabby Two cracked his knuckles pointedly.

Flynn snorted and rolled brown eyes. "No, but you think I'm going to trust your knots? When it's my neck on the line? Forget it." The thief snatched the end of the rope from Stabby One's hand. "Give it here. I'll do it myself."

"Fine, but hurry it up."

In truth Flynn had a much bigger reason to not want either Stabbington get that close besides a mistrust of their knot-tying skills. Flynn didn't want anyone to get closer than necessary. The thief always kept everyone at arms-length. Flynn's reasons for this; partly it was because the further you kept people the less likely you would get hurt by them. Mostly, however, it was because the further you kept people the less likely they would find out certain secrets about you. Flynn much preferred for people to only believe what they saw. The dashing, clever, cunning, and, most importantly, male thief.

Flynn especially didn't want the Stabbingtons to realize she was actually female.

After tying the rope securely around her waist, Flynn sat on the edge of the hatch. "Now, remember. Nice and easy, guys."

The Stabbingtons grunted in unison and took up the long end of the rope. Flynn picked up the leather satchel she would use to carry the loot and lowered herself down through the hatch. Smoothly she was lowered down into cavern that was the Great Throne room.

It was a huge, ostentatious affair. Tall stained glass windows let in the morning light along either side of the room. Great banners hung from the ceiling, all depicting the same thing; the Corona Sun in Glory in either purple on a white shield and a sandy coloured background or in the kingdom's colours of gold and a slightly deeper purple. There was a huge tapestry of the latter hanging behind the two thrones and directly below where Flynn was being lowered stood a white marble pedestal at the front of the dais. On it, sitting on a purple velvet cushion, was the prize.

The Cornet of the Lost Heir.

It was a beautiful object, really. Gold with intricately inlaid knot-work of precious and semi-precious stones surround the three large white diamonds that decorated it. It was a symbol of the hope the King and Queen had of recovering their lost child. Absolutely priceless to the kingdom.

Flynn figured she could get at least a couple thousand for it, once it was taken apart. Maybe more.

Of course such an expensive piece of jewelry was not left unguarded for anyone to take. If it was that easy, she wouldn't have needed to team up with the Stabbington Brothers just to steal it. There were nine palace Guards standing watch, each armed with a halberd. With that many eyes and ears on duty, one would think it would be impossible for anyone to even think about breaking in to steal anything. Especially in broad daylight.

The thief grinned as she looked around at the nine shiny gold plated helmets and nine shiny gold-washed chest and back plates. Here she was, right in their midst and not a single man realizing it. The Guards had failed to cover a very potent blind-spot. All their focus was one watching for anyone coming in the huge doors at the far end of the throne room. They never planned for anyone daring enough to break in through the roof. As a consequence, every one of the Guards had his back to the dais and was completely unaware of the intruder.

Without making a sound, Flynn lifted the cornet from its plush velvet pillow and tucked it safely in the satchel. There. Now to make a clean…

"ACHOO!"

Flynn froze for just a second and then grinned. The opportunity was just too perfect. She set her elbow on the pillow and rested her chin on her hand. "Ugh, hay fever?" she asked nonchalantly.

The Guard, casually glancing over his shoulder, replied, "Yeah." He faced forward again as if there was absolutely nothing wrong with a person commenting from where no one was supposed to be. It took the man about five seconds to realize the error and apparently that was plenty of time for the Stabbingtons to haul Flynn back up. Just as they yanked her up through the hatch, she could hear the Guard call out from below, "huh? Wait! Hey – wait!"

The three didn't even bother with closing the hatch. They needed to get away and get away fast. "Nice going, Rider." snarled Stabby One. Stabby Two was already making his way back across the palace roof. Flynn was too busy getting the rope off from around her waist to reply right away.

"Less talking, more running." She said cheerfully, once she was free and took her own advice.

The hue and cry was going up all over the palace as the trio made it off the roof and over the walls into the city below. They stayed to the back and side streets as much as possible. One reason was to confuse their pursuers and the other was to avoid any of the early morning foot traffic through the streets of Corona. They made it out of the city gates without getting caught. Still it wouldn't be long before the Guards sent out a group after them so none of the three paused as they ran across the bridge that connected the little island to the mainland.

Flynn, being smaller and lighter than her partners, managed to take the lead. "Can't you picture me in a castle of my own?" she asked over her shoulder. "Because I certainly can. All the things we've seen and it's only eight in the morning!" she held the satchel aloft as they reached the forest beyond the end of the bridge. "Gentlemen, this is a very big day!"