Rogue Knight: A Tangled Fanfiction

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters are the property of Disney. I do not own them but am grateful for the opportunity to use them in the unleashing of my own imagination.

Rating: This story is rated K+ for action and possible mild language.

Prologue

This is the story of the day I died.

Don't worry! It only begins there and obviously my death wasn't permanent; otherwise I wouldn't be here, now telling you about it.

This is a story about a princess and… it begins like this.

Once upon a time, I broke out of prison and raced to save the life of a girl who somehow managed to steal my heart and change my entire life's vision over the course of two days. Crazy right? Well, it wouldn't seem so crazy if you knew the girl.

That girl… was Rapunzel. Spunky, cheerful, grotesquely optimistic, handy with frying pan, incredibly long hair, beautiful, wonderful, amazing Rapunzel. There wasn't another girl like her in the whole world and I had fallen deeply, deeply in love with her.

Which is why I was risking everything to save her from being trapped in a tower for the rest of her life.

I raced to her tower on the captain of the guard's faithful stallion, Maximus, who didn't really like me but loved Rapunzel and so was more than willing to help me out for her sake. Upon reaching the tower, I called out to her.

"Rapunzel! Let down your hair!"

And she did. Down from the tower cascaded seventy-two feet of gorgeous and incredibly strong blonde hair. I used it to scale the tower wall, climbing to the small window which, for eighteen years, had provided Rapunzel's only glimpse into the outside world. I wasn't about to let her spend another day trapped like that. A girl like her didn't deserve to be locked up in a tower. She deserved to see the world.

Leaping through the window, I spotted Rapunzel on the other side of the room, her hands tied and handkerchief around her mouth. But where was…?

I felt the pain before I saw her. Rapunzel's mother dug a dagger deep into my side as I collapsed in pain. How did I let her sneak up on me like that? I should have been more aware. How could I be so stupid?

The witch had kept Rapunzel locked up her whole life, using Rapunzel's hair to keep herself young and beautiful. Did I mention that Rapunzel has magic hair that glows and heals things when she sings? Yeah, that's kind of important.

So, anyway, I was dying and all I could see was Rapunzel panicking, begging her 'mother' to let her save me with her hair. The witch refused at first, but then Rapunzel threw down an ultimatum.

If I died, she'd spend the rest of her life fighting the witch, always trying to get away. But if she was allowed to save me, she'd go willingly and spend the rest of her life keeping the witch young and beautiful.

She promised. And Rapunzel always keeps her promises.

The witch agreed but I wasn't about to let Rapunzel give up her life, her freedom, for me. So when Rapunzel came to me, covered me in her hair, and was about to start singing her song, I grabbed a shard of glass from a broken mirror that was laying on the ground beside me and used it to cut her hair, thus eliminating the magic and taking away the one thing the witch wanted. What I didn't expect was for the witch to then disintegrate into dust as she fell out the window. I guess her life was more tied to Rapunzel's hair then I thought. But that didn't matter anymore.

Rapunzel was free. She was safe. She could now go on to live her life however she wanted and I… I could feel my life slipping away from me.

Rapunzel leaned over me, begging me to hold on, but I knew it was too late. I wiped her tears away, whispering to her in my last moments, letting her know how important she was to me.

And then… I died.

What happened next, I only learned about much later. Apparently, Rapunzel's power hadn't all disappeared when I cut her hair because she cried over my body and in her grief and desperation, she sang the healing incantation she had used to make her hair glow. It shouldn't have done anything. But it did.

Her tears became the new medium trough which the magic was transferred. A single tear fell like a golden drop of sunlight and it healed me.

Unfortunately, it didn't work right away. Maybe it takes longer to bring someone back from the dead than it does to simply heal them. I don't know. All I know is that I didn't wake up for some time after that and, as far as anyone could tell, I was still dead.

In the meantime, Rapunzel fell asleep. Her grief and the stress of the day had drained her. Then the guards showed up. They were looking for me because I had escaped from prison, remember that? Yeah, so Maximus was worried about us so he brought them to the tower. They went up the hidden stairs in the back of the tower and found us there.

They brought both of us back to Corona. Rapunzel was apparently really tired because she didn't wake up during the trip and the King had the guards put her in a room in the castle. I was still thought to be dead so they put me in the morgue.

Which is where I woke up several hours later, extremely befuddled because I had also been sure I was dead. With no immediate explanations for this strange miracle available, I turned my thoughts to figuring out where I was and, more importantly, where Rapunzel was.

There was no one else in the morgue, except for two box-coffins which probably held bodies… I didn't really want to know, so I went outside. I half expected there to be guards there which was pretty dumb of me. Who would station guards for a dead body?

It didn't take long for me to figure out that I was in the dungeon of the castle. After all, I had been there just that morning and dungeons look pretty much the same no matter which part of them you're in . But if I was here, where was Blondie?

Lost in thought trying to figure out how I ended up there and why I was even alive, I wasn't really prepared when I ran into the guards. Turns out, I didn't need to be. They saw me and freak-out, running away, crying,

"Ghost!"

So apparently being dead for a short time has its benefits.

I made my way out of the dungeon and into the main part of the castle where I was met by a whole bunch of guards, including the Captain, who had been alerted by the cries of the other guards. These new guys all looked freaked out to see me, but I knew it wouldn't take long for them to figure out I was real flesh and blood, and well, there was no way for one of me to get past twenty of them in a tiny hallway. Plus, I needed to figure out what they did with Rapunzel. So I just leaned against the wall, folding my arms across my chest.

"Hey guys. How's it hanging?"

Then they captured me. I was taken to an interrogation room where I was sat down and questioned.

"How are you alive?"

"I don't know."

"Did you really die?"

"I don't know."

"Who helped you?"

"I don't know."

"How -"

"Can I ask a question?" The Captain glared at me. "Where's Rapunzel? Where's the girl who was with me?"

"That's none of your business!"

"Look, I don't know how I got here and I don't care what you do to me. All I care about right now is the girl. So will you tell me where she is or do I have to break out of here and find her myself?"

To my surprise, it wasn't the Captain who answered. The King of Corona himself step forward through the crowd of guards. "The girl is safe and sound, here in the castle."

I looked up at the imposing figure of the King. I had seen portraits of him before and even seen him from a distance at a parade once. Up close, he towered over me with a stern face and authoritative voice. But there was kindness in his eyes. King Anders was known throughout the kingdom for his justice and mercy. He was the seventh in a long line of good kings and the kingdom loved him. Still, it's pretty scary to have the most powerful man in the kingdom staring at you.

He turned to the Captain and ordered the guards to leave the room, which they did, leaving me alone with the king. I gulped and fidgeted in my seat. This couldn't be good.

"Tell me, Flynn Rider, who is this girl to you? How did you come to know her?"

"Uh…" I wasn't sure how to respond. This wasn't the kind of questioning I'd expected. "It's kind of a long story."

"Well, why don't you start at the beginning."

So I told him… everything, all the way up to –

"And then I died."

"You died?"

"Uh… yeah. Or I thought I did anyway, until I woke up in your morgue. Honestly, I have no idea how that happened."

King Anders nodded. He'd listened very patiently to my tale, not interrupting except to ask for clarification, and it seemed like he believed me which was both a surprise and a relief. He said nothing for several moments, so I decided to break the silence.

"Look, Your Majesty, I know I'm not in any position to ask for anything but, I just need to know that she's alright."

He looked at me, seeming to consider the question carefully before answering. "Rapunzel is fine. Physically, she is healthy. She has gotten quite a bit of sleep and had a bite to eat with me just before I came here."

I caught the 'physically' part. "But…"

"But emotionally, she is distraught. She is grieving the loss of someone by the name of Eugene. You wouldn't happen to know who that is, would you?"

"Uh… that's me." I mumbled, uncomfortable with revealing my true name. "My real name, Eugene Fitzherbert… Flynn Rider is just an alias."

"I see… then she still believes you are dead." After a moment, he stood up. "Come with me."

Bewildered, and having no idea what else I should do, I followed him out of the room and down the hall to a window overlooking a garden. It was day – sometime early morning from what I could tell – but already the court seemed to be busy. Two men were pruning bushes in the garden and beyond I could see guards busy preparing their horses at the stables. I briefly found myself hoping that Maximus was being well cared for.

"Look there."

Startled out of my thoughts, I looked where the king indicated. There, on a bench in the far corner of the garden, sat Rapunzel. I pressed my hand against the glass as I recognized her and felt a strange relief pass through me as my heart leapt into my throat. Having someone tell me she was fine was one thing. But only when I saw her did I truly relax.

She sat there apparently talking to Pascal whom I could just barely make out – a little green blob on her knee, standing out against the deep blue of a dress I'd never seen before. As far as I knew, she only had the one purple dress. I lifted my gaze to her face and her newly cropped brown hair, atop of which sat a crown – the same crown I had stolen only a few days ago…

Wait… What?

"I gathered from your tale that you were unaware that the girl you saved was in fact my daughter, the lost princess of Corona."

I was speechless. I stared down at her, baffled.

"Princess? But…"

And then suddenly it all made sense. Eighteen years old, blonde hair, green eyes, locked away in a tower… it all fit.

"Princess Rapunzel… who'd of thought? But of course, she'd have to be a princess. Why else would she be so…" I trailed, realizing that I was speaking out loud.

"So what?" The King asked.

I wasn't sure how to respond at first but then I sighed, leaning my forehead against the glass and going with the truth. "So perfect… so utterly and incredibly amazing."

"You love her."

He wasn't asking. He knew.

"Yeah." And then it hit me… she was a princess. And here was I, a lowly thief standing next to the king and confessing that I loved his daughter, a princess who could never be mine.

"Your Majesty?"

"Yes?"

"Again, I know that I'm not in any position to ask for anything – you've already allowed so much." And he had, because frankly, I should be in prison right now, not standing next to the king, staring at his daughter without any guards to make sure I didn't take off. "But, please, don't tell Rapunzel I'm alive."

It hurt me to ask it. All I wanted was to go down there and pull her into my arms and never let her go. But I knew that I couldn't. Because one way or another, I would have to let her go. I would be taken from her and she would be hurt again. It was better this way. She was a princess. She'd found her true family and they would love her and care for her and treat her the way she deserved to be treated. That was all I wanted for her. She'd be happy. Eventually she'd forget about me and some prince would come and sweep her off her feet.

I cringed at the thought, but was spared from thinking about it further when the king questioned my request. "I don't understand. I assumed you would want her to know."

I looked at him, formulating my answer carefully. "I'm a thief. I know my fate. It would only hurt her more if she knew I was back, only to lose me a second time."

"You may have been a thief, Flynn Rider, but having heard both her story and yours, I can see that you have changed your ways. You found my daughter and saved her life, giving your life for hers. You are a hero and as such I am granting a full pardon for all of your past crimes."

I stunned. Literally. I couldn't move. I just stood there, staring at him, unbelieving. Suddenly, a new life opened before me. I could start over. I could make something of myself. I could fulfill my new dream. I could be with…

But no, I couldn't be with her. Pardon or no, I was still a nobody and she was a princess. Princesses marry princes. They live in castles and everybody loves them.

I turned back to the window and looked down at Rapunzel who had been joined by an older woman I could only assume was the Queen. She embraced her mother, her real mother, and a sweet smile lit her face as they spoke.

"Still," I finally said. "It's better she doesn't know. I can't stay here. I don't belong here. But she would never understand that. She belongs here. She'll be happy here. And she'll forget about me soon enough. It's better that I just disappear now."

I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Are you sure about this, son?"

I looked up at the King, surprised. No one had ever called me that before. I looked back at Rapunzel and made up my mind.

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Very well, then. I will honor your request."

"Thank you."

"Now then, you're a free man, Flynn Rider. I would like to offer you a job."

"A job?"

"I'm in need of someone with your particular talents – the ability to sneak in and out of places undetected, to… gather information, if you follow my meaning."

It wasn't my dream, far from it in fact. But it was something – a way to start my new life. I looked down at Rapunzel, one last time, memorizing her features from a distance. And then I turned away, walking down the hall with the King.

"I'm listening."

And that's how I became the Rouge, an employee of the kingdom, both under the law and a law unto myself. It was a good time for me. I enjoyed my work. I was making more than enough money to live comfortably and I always had something to do, something to keep my mind off of what I couldn't have.

As for Rapunzel, she quickly won the hearts of the whole kingdom. She blossomed as a princess, the delight of everyone who met her. I kept an ear out for information about her, learning what I could.

But it would three years before I saw Rapunzel again.