The Runaway Princess

"At last," Rapunzel said, as she ran through the castle gate. "Finally. I just don't know how I'll get back before they start to miss me."

She looked around for a direction to turn into, any direction right now. She shouldn't be wasting time. The Guards could come for her any minute. She decided on going west, but she had no idea where she was headed. 18 years of castle life felt just like a prison. Being the daughter of the King and Queen of Corona did have its advantages and, to be honest, sometimes she was glad she was a princess. Other times, she was bored silly. She wanted to get out. She wanted to experience life like everyone else. In short, she wanted to be normal human being. No titles, no fuss, no servants hovering over her catering to her every single need. And no arranged marriages!

Rapunzel thought of herself as a reasonably good looking woman, big green eyes, a cute little pug nose and medium length blonde hair. It had been cut once, but stayed blonde. It was at that time that her hair just stopped growing. No one had questioned why and neither had she, although she often wondered why.

She started to run; she wanted to get away from the castle as quickly as possible, looking over her shoulder to see if anyone was following her. Hopefully, she would have some time to herself before the Guards…

"You lost, Blondie?" a voice came from behind her. She turned around and came face to face with a familiar looking male who was smiling at her. He was handsome with big brown eyes and chestnut brown shoulder length hair parted in the middle. He sported a small goatee.

Rapunzel looked into his eyes. He looked so familiar to her; she just couldn't place that face.

"Well," she said, "I'm new here and I would love to see some of the sights. Do you know a few good places to start?"

"It just happens that I do, beautiful," he smiled as he walked closer to her side. "But you're headed in the wrong direction. Everything is back that way." He pointed eastward, just the way she had come.

"You mean the castle?" Rapunzel asked. "I've seen that already. Any other things, you can show me?" She was guessing he was her age, maybe a bit older and hopefully wiser.

The young man shrugged his shoulders. "Well, maybe we could start over here," he said, pointing to Corona Fountain. "Throw a coin in there and make a wish, it's a legend in this village."

"Um, I don't seem to have a coin on me," she said, shaking her head.

"Well, I guess I can lend you something just this once." He pulled out a copper coin and handed it to her. "Go on, throw it in. Don't forget to make a wish."

Rapunzel watched him as she walked toward the fountain. He seemed nervous as he too, looked over his shoulder. It was as if the Guards were after him as well.

"Hey you never introduced yourself," he said as she threw the coin into the fountain. He was standing in back of her, his breath on her neck. "The name's Flynn; Flynn Rider."

She smiled. So that's where she'd seen him before. Wanted posters all the Sheriff's wall his office. But somehow, she couldn't turn him in. He seemed to kind to be a thief.

But then, she didn't really know him, now did she.

"Hello, Flynn Rider," she answered. "Any relation to the The Tales of Flynnigan Rider? I've read all his books."

"Just the name," he whispered, and then he directed her to the left a it. "That's the Bridge of Flowers over here and that's..."

Every building it seemed had a history as did every plant and flower. Rapunzel couldn't remember ever having a great a time as was now. She completely lost track of time.

XXXX

"Rapunzel?" Her name rang throughout the castle. Everyone seemed to be looking for the missing Princess. Upstairs, Rapunzel's ladies ran down the hallway to look for her; maybe she was still asleep. The Princess had a lot to do today. Besides schooling, she had her jobs to perform just like everyone else. A reporter would be there later to interview her about the upcoming Lantern Festival. Every year, the villagers and the Royals celebrated her birth by sending up a lantern. But this year, it would be special and different. Lots of new things had been added and besides, Prince Devon, her betrothed, was coming for a visit. She couldn't miss him.

"Rapunzel, get up," Cora, her best friend, called out as she opened up the door to her bed chamber.

The bed had been slept in, Rapunzel just wasn't there.

This sent all the Ladies into a panic and Cora ran for the King and Queen.

"This isn't the first time she's done this," her father roared when he heard the news that his daughter was missing, again.

"But this is the first time she's managed to leave the castle walls," the Queen answered.

The King turned to his wife. "You sound like you're on her side."

"Maybe she does need to get out, my lord," the Queen said, shaking her head. "In a few weeks, she's getting married. You can't keep her locked up forever."

The King just looked at her. "So what should we do?"

"Wait a little while," the Queen said, "If she isn't back by the stroke of 12, call out the Guards."

Little did the Queen know that the King had already sent the Guards to look for his daughter. As of this moment, she was being watched, very carefully.

XXXXX

A church bell chimed from St. Basil's, it was now 3. It didn't feel like a half a day had gone by. Time was moving so quickly and she was having the best day of her life. She didn't want to leave, she wanted to see the whole world. She looked up at Flynn Rider who was standing next to her on the Bridge of Flowers. It brought the outside world into the village. She'd been over it a thousand times before, but this time it was with someone she cared about.

Flynn looked out into the water. It was peaceful and after a whirlwind day of sightseeing, it was nice to finally enjoy the quiet. He thought about asking her to stay the night, but he didn't know how to ask. Besides, he didn't really have a room.

He turned to look at her and found her staring back at him. He looked into those big green eyes of hers. He could get lost in them. All of a sudden he felt a feeling of warmth come over him and leaned in a little to kiss her.

It was meant to be a light kiss, but it lasted longer than it should have. They both pulled away from each other.

"I'd best be going," Rapunzel said, "it's getting late."

"To where?" Flynn asked, "you're new here, aren't you? Do you need somewhere to stay? Besides, you never told me anything about yourself?"

"Flynn," she started, "I have something to confess. You see, I'm not..."

Suddenly a scream split the air and the two turned to look. There was a commotion going on on the other side of the bridge, the one outside the courtyard. Flynn grabbed her hand and they both ran to the scene. A woman was being assaulted by none other than his rivals, the Stabbingtons, although he only saw Eyepatch. He didn't see the other one. He was actually surprised. They usually traveled together. And the woman he recognized. It was none other than Lisa Stabbington, the twins sister. They had been set up.

"Well hello, Princess," she said hearing a voice behind her back. She felt cold steel pinch her back.

"Princess?" Flynn thought as her turned toward her. That's when he noticed what was happening. Instinct just took over from that point on.

"I have nothing for you," she said, staring up at him.

"Your crown will do nicely," Lisa said, reaching up for it, but Flynn was there first.

Leave her alone, she's mine," Flynn said, as he kicked Sideburns in the groin, causing him to drop the knife. He knocked Lisa's hand away causing her to drop the crown. Eyepatch came up behind him, but Rapunzel took care of that, knocking him out with a rock she picked up.

"Alright, break it up, that's enough," another male voice interrupted. "And she's not yours, Flynn Rider, she ours,"

Rapunzel cringed. It was the Captain of the Guards, grabbing Flynn and bound his hands together while two others went after Rapunzel. They had been following her all day, hadn't they? They waited until now to do something.

She watched helplessly as Flynn was dragged away by the three Guards.

"Come on," the Captain said, "I'll escort you home, keep you out of trouble."

XXXXX

Flynn Rider found himself inside a prison cell. He was accused of kidnapping Princess Rapunzel, even though he had told guards that that wasn't the case. She had just showed up, he told the Guards, and he offered to help her find her way around.

"She didn't know where she was going," Flynn said, staring at the three Guards opposite him. "She said she was new in the village and she wanted to see the sights."

The Guards looked at each other and laughed. "A likely story coming from a thief like you. Come on, Rider, you can do better than that."

And so, he was deposited here, waiting for a judgment from the King. He thought about her all day after watching the Captain drag her away. He couldn't stop thinking about her as a matter of fact. He was surprised at his feelings. He never felt like this before, not about anyone. He had lots of experience with women, but nothing like this. He shook his head. It was impossible. He was a thief and she, well, she was royalty. They didn't stand a chance being together. If things were different, maybe, just maybe…

He heard voices down the hall, one of them female.

"Do you know which cell he's in, Guardsmen?"

"Right down there, Princess."

"Alright, follow me,"

Flynn heard footsteps headed his way. They stopped when they reached his cell.

"Open the door," he heard Rapunzel say, as he turned around and caught the Princess staring at him. Their eyes locked.

"Your Highness?" the Guardsman questioned.

"You heard what I said, Guardsman, Release this man. He saved my life."

The Guardsman sighed. Yes, he had been given the order to release him and it was by the King himself.

He stuck the key in the lock and opened the door.

The Princess and the thief stared at one another before the Guardsman grabbed Flynn's arm.

"Come on, Rider. You're one lucky man, at least today. I have a feeling you'll be back."

Rapunzel watched as they led Flynn Rider down the hallway. When she lost sight of him, she turned and made her way back to the castle. She stopped though to stare out the window that faced the street, wondering if she could catch a glimpse of him.

She didn't want to let him go, in fact, she had the best day of her entire life just being with him. She didn't know if she could trust a thief and a con man with a ready smile and some enticing words, but she also knew that the marriage that her parents arranged for her wasn't going to work. She had to have a heart to heart with her parents. She wanted to talk to them about giving Flynn Rider a chance to adjust to society, maybe giving him some job here at the castle. Well, we'll see. She'd cross that bridge when she came to it.

But she needed to get back to reality, she did have her chores to attend to after all.

XXXXX

Flynn Rider stood outside the castle gate, staring up at one of the lighted windows. He almost thought that he could see the Princess from there. He wondered if she was looking at him as he was looking for her. She was kind as well as intelligent. She was the first woman who hadn't wanted anything from him but his friendship. She didn't ask for much and she trusted him. He wished that they had a bit more time together, make her see that he had grown to care for her, even in that short span of time. Maybe he would do as the Guardsman suggested. Maybe he would return, but he wouldn't return as Flynn Rider. It was at that point, that he decided to go straight, change his thieving ways and win the heart of Princess Rapunzel. He could do it, he could do anything if he set his mind to it.

Starting now, Flynn Rider would disappear and Eugene Fitzherbert would take his place. It would be a challenge after all.