Prologue

Flynn took her face in his hand, his fingers brushing the back of her neck and sending shivers down her spine. The lanterns made her skin glow so beautifully, and he knew that this feeling in his chest, well, it wasn't something that was going to go away. He leaned in towards her, and she followed suit, her eyes closing. He pressed his lips to hers, vaguely realizing that she had probably never kissed anyone before, but it was banished from his mind, as her hands cupped his face.

It was like sparks began to fly, and he felt a little warmer, emotion overflowing from his heart like many cups of wine. They pulled away from each other, her cheeks tinted a lovely shade of pink, though her smile never faltered. Over her shoulder, he saw the glow of a green lantern light, and narrowed his eyes very slightly. "Blondie, listen to me," he said, taking her by the shoulders. She tilted her head but he prevented her from turning around to see what was waiting on shore for them. "Listen to me okay?"

"Okay," she said, almost breathlessly, her heart racing from the kiss and the intense expression on his face.

"Come with me." For a moment Rapunzel looked confused, not sure what he referring to. "Come with me, away from here. Let's run, far away, and never look back, never come here ever again. Never go back to that tower." Her eyes widened and she was speechless, her hands to her chest. It began to grow dark again as the lanterns blew out, flickering and falling into the water around them. There was a moment of complete silence around them as he took her hands in his, squeezing them hopefully, tightly, wishing that she would say yes.

"Eugene," she said nervously, looking at their entwined fingers. "I... what about Mother?" He winced, knowing that this was the main factor that she was going to bring up. He didn't know quite what to say to that, because leaving her mother, despite the woman locking her up in a tower for eighteen years of her life, was not something done lightly.

He sighed and brushed his hand across her face. "I don't want to ever lose you, Rapunzel. I don't want to see someone like you locked up again forever. Come with me, be free." She watched him, her heart thumping wildly in her chest, the thought of adventure and running away with him tantalizing her more than he could ever have known. Her imagination ran wild, thinking of spending nights out under the stars again with him, spending all her days and all her nights with him, never having to leave his side. Never being cooped up in a room for years at a time, without seeing the world and those who are in it.

She bit her lip, and closed her eyes for barely a second before she looked up at him with that fire in her eyes that sent a jolt through his body. "Let's go, Eugene."

Flynn rowed the boat quickly back to the dock, away from the side of the inlet that the Stabbington Brothers occupied. Maximus still sat there, the apple cores around him, waiting for their return. Flynn quickly leaped out of the gondola and pulled Rapunzel up with him. Pascal tucked himself under her hair, not sure what was going on as Flynn tugged the satchel out of the boat. "Max," he said, putting the bag around the horse's saddle, "this is all you. Take it and bring it back to where it belongs. When you see the Lost Princess, tell her hey from her biggest fan."

Maximus whinnied, happy to see that Flynn had turned over a new leaf, and wagged an eyebrow at Rapunzel, who hugged his face tightly. "Don't follow us Max." The horse looked hurt for a moment as she kissed his muzzle. "Eugene and I are going away now, somewhere you can't follow. I have to get away from someone and so does he. We're going to hide." Maximus nodded sadly and nudged her with his nose, making her scratch behind his ears for a moment.

"We gotta get going, Blondie," he said edgily, the green light around the other side of the water starting to move. She nodded and took his hand, the two of them hurrying off into the fog. Maximus watched them go, giving the brown satchel a sad glance, wondering if he'd ever see them again.

AN: This is a request story from FunkyWatermelon and her sister, so I hope I do their idea justice.