Hello all! This is my first Tangled fanfic! Hope you enjoy :)
Today was the day. The day to escape. She'd been counting the numbers of twenty-four meticulous hours, waiting, waiting.
But that was over. She was done waiting for the prince charming that would never come to save her from the tower, or more specifically, her suffocating room.
She grabbed her brown knapsack. In it contained her tools for survival. A pocket knife, rope, a compass, a spare change of clothes, food, money, a journal she treasured, and most importantly, a frying pan.
"At least I've learned something from you, mom." She said, as she stared into her own reflection in the shattered mirror.
She'd defeated the mirror long ago. Its forlorn use, it's haunting presence. Its indefinite glares staring right back into her own face. She was done with that, too.
Then there was the bird. It was free, unleashed. Unlike her, it was not bound by chains. And yet, it followed her, like a loyal servant.
The last task was simple. She gracefully lifted her crown from her head, its many jewels glittering in the sunlight. No note, no goodbyes.
She closed her eyes tightly, there was no going back. She knew that.
All that was left was to escape.
"Halt!" A voice called out. She looked around. No one was there. She peeked out through her window. A guard was chasing after something, someone. That one guard was followed by many other backup guards, some on horses.
"A petty theif?" The princess wondered. Though it was rare for the horses to be required..
She brushed away her insignificant thoughts and focused on the task at hand. This was a perfect chance to escape. A diversion from the heavens.
She grabbed her wooden board, a long, thin at the edges yet thick in the center, wooden plank, and climbed to the top of her bed. She jumped and reached the latch on the ceiling with ease, having practiced her escape route a number of times.
She slung the knapsack over her shoulder and hauled her board onto the roof and pulled herself up.
But this was only the beginning. The sun glinted in her green eyes. Her silky and fire like waist-length scarlet red hair and flowing pastel blue dress waved with the wind.
She took a deep breath. "Now or never." She said, as most of the guards had caught up with the thief. She perched herself and her board on the side of the building. She leaned forward and let herself drop.
"Let's do this." She smiled mischievously. The board sailed smoothly against the rough scales of the roof.
"And this, dear kingdom, is why you don't make castles in mountain form." She laughed. Mountain form seemed to be her way of saying downward slopes..
She could hear the rush of wind in her ears. She was so close. She could see the gate. She could taste freedom.
Then, a loud 'crash' echoed throughout the courtyard. She had collided with something. The princess shook her head after getting up. A sharp pain spread through her arm. A cut. It wasn't deep. She brushed it off.
What did she crash into? She didn't see anything blocking her path to escape..
"Watch where you're going, wouldja?" A voice yelled. She was taken aback. But not for long. she was mad. This character had ruined her chance at freedom.
"I could say the same to you." She took a look at the person she had crashed into.
It was the thief.
"This yours?" He asked me, pointing towards my board.
He was tall, slender, but still looked muscular. He had short brown hair and bright gold eyes. His gaze was fierce, yet oddly warm at the same time.
"Uh, yeah.." She said, replying to his question.
The guards, coming to their senses from the thief knocking them out, started to call for reinforcements and began to chase the thief.
Most were surprised though. Who would've thought the princess would be with him, practically falling from the sky? The situation seemed like the princess was an accomplice. But no, she was the princess for goodness sake. She wouldn't do such a thing. She was the King and Queen's pride and joy. Then of course, her next move wasn't exactly what you'd call 'comforting'.
The princess was not going to back down now. If she got caught, multiple guards would be stationed to watch her, 24/7. No, she had to continue and escape.
She started running towards the entrance gate.
She heard footsteps behind her and looked back. The thief was trailing behind her, not far behind.
"You goin' somewhere, kid?" He asked her.
"Kid?" She thought. They seemed to be around the same age.. But this was good. He didn't recognize her. He didn't know she was the princess.
"I'm escaping." She said briefly, not wanting to be associated with the man when the guards would report the break in, and break out.
"Hm." He said. He suddenly dashed to catch up with her and snatched her board away from her.
He mounted onto it. The princess was surprised but kept running. Her shoes were thin and scraping against the hard ceramic roof but she couldn't afford to lose even a second. There was a slope up ahead. If she could get the board back she would make it out to freedom.
The man called out to her, "Thanks for the board!"
Just as he was about to ride off with it she said, "You owe me! Give it back!" She needed to escape and the board would be her best chance.
"I do not owe you anything!" He called back.
"Yes. You. Do!" The princess yelled. She fought back all those years of torturous etiquette lessons, horse riding sessions, and hours of queasy confinement and did something that surprised even herself. She tackled him.
Bad timing. They had already reached the slope. And so, they tumbled down.
"What was that for?!" He yelled as they finally came to a stop and had brushed themselves off.
"You're not ruining my chance to escape!" She exclaimed, still full of fury, the fall not seeming to have affected her. Suddenly, her emotions snuck up on her and tears began to stream down her face.
"I need to get out. Please." She exasperated, wiping the tears away.
The man scrunched his eyebrows. He seemed to finally have realized that the two had the same goal: escape, alive.
Guards were running towards them, the ones on horses coming closer by the second. There was no time to spare.
"Fine." He agreed, giving in to her pleading eyes.
He remounted onto the board.
"Jump on, if you can." He said. Little did he know that he was underestimating her power.
"Of course I can," She thought.
With ease, she jumped onto the board and put her arms around his waist, trying to ignore the embarrassing part of such an action.
And they rode off into the distance, escaping what one thought of as a prison, and another thought of as a treasure chest.
XxXxXxXx
Once they were deep in the forest surrounding the kingdom, they stopped for a short break.
The girl collapsed onto the floor.
She didn't trust the man, he was a thief after all. And she had to hide the fact that she had to hide her power. She decided not tell him that she was the princess, heir to the throne, in case he would try to kidnap her.
She decided she would fake it off as a maid who had been forced into work in the castle. But unlike her mother's story, the one she had been told millions of times, she knew to not be naïve. She wouldn't trust anyone. She would travel alone.
"How's that for a king in shining armor?" The man smirked after the two had recollected their breaths.
"I think it's a knight in shining armor, actually. Anyways, that's definitely not what you are." The princess replied, correcting him.
"Oh, we've got ourselves a feisty one, folks!" He laughed, not taking offense to what she had said.
She rolled her eyes.
"Well." She said, grabbing her board from his grasp, "Nice meeting you, I'll be off now."
"Wait." He said. She stopped.
"You need me." He paused. "From the looks of it." He nodded at what she was doing.
She was amazed by a three leafed plant growing at the base of a huge tree.
"That, my friend, is poisonous oak."
"What? What is that? Is it bad?" She questioned. An itch on her arm, the one with the cut from earlier, was starting to irritate her. But it didn't seem to be from the cut.
He noticed her scratching. "Yep. It is bad." He commented. An evil thought sprouted in his mischievous mind. "You'll die from it."
The girl gasped. "Are you serious? I can't die! I just got out!" Her heartbeat quickened. She really did believe the man.
"Yes, and I know exactly where to get the cure. You'll definitely need me." He replied, keeping a straight face. He found it amusing how innocent she was.
"It would seem that way..." She trailed. But she didn't want to be like her mom. Then again.. it was how she found 'true love'... Whoa. That would mean... No..
".. But what?" He asked, noticing her hesitation. She snapped out of her bizarre daze.
"Why would you help me?" She asked.
The question took him by surprise. Why was he helping her? A girl, no older than 17? Well, he was about the same age. But something seemed weird about the girl. Something off. Something odd. Maybe that was what was keeping him interested in the girl.
"You're interesting." He smirked, finally coming to an answer.
A slight blush spread across her face.
"W-What kind of answer is that?" She sputtered.
"A valid one?" He tried. She seemed to accept the answer. She needed him, anyways. She was going to 'die' without him.
The girl kept scratching her arm and the area started to hint traces of red spots from irritation.
He sighed. What was this magical force that intrigued him about her?
"Well," He said. "It looks like we'll be partners for a while. The name's Marco."
The girl panicked. She couldn't tell him her real name. Her identity would be revealed. She had to make up a false identity. Ooh, a false identity.. she liked the sound of that. But she had to make up a name, and fast. Otherwise Marco would be suspicious..
"Scarlet." She blurted out. Often, when she met people, which was rare, they'd take note on her oddly fierce red hair. Her brain must've made some connection..
"Like your hair?" Marco pointed out.
"I, uh," Now that she thought about it, she thought it was stupid. But it was too late now. He'd be suspicious of her if she suddenly changed it..
"Yep, that's me, Scarlet." She giggled nervously.
"Uh.. Well, okay then, Scarlet, it looks like we're partners now." Marco said, reaching out a hand and flashing a gorgeous smile.
And she, despite the rash that was starting to form and the mountain of worries that seemed to pile higher and higher by the minute, smiled back.
How was it? Please tell me your feedback so I can improve!
2 Reviews and 2 Follows for the next chapter! (Just because school is restarting)
Thank you SO SO SO much if you've read this far! If you actually make it here, comment "TEA" (Tangled Ever After) haha wow that acronym actually worked out lol...
till the next!
-Sammyy