The place was a dive.
And that was putting it nicely. The point was, Flynn was not impressed as he pressed his way from the entrance to the bar. Motioning the bartender for a beer, Flynn sat on the nearest stool, taking it all in.
The lighting around the room flickered in a dim, golden yellow. And most of the furniture had seen better days; the barroom was littered with rundown tables and chairs. A slight mildew odor hung in the air. Yes, the Mother's Den had seen better days. However, Flynn, like many of the other patrons here tonight, did not come for the subpar environment and service. They came for the entertainment. This hole-in-the-wall was best known for the dancing girls that came through. Twice a month, the small stage in back corner of the Den was graced with the presence of up and coming dancers, looking for money, attention, a way to get out of the shitty underground of Corona.
Flynn was no different.
That is not to say that he was here for the dancing girls, but rather curious if they were as impressive as the underground seemed to build them up to be. The dive was not far off his supply route, so why not. He could waste one night on drinking.
Although, Flynn thought frowning in disgust at his bottle, this local brew is more horse piss than beer. His disdain for the place grew, as he spared a glance at his phone. 10:52.
"I haven't seen your face in here before," said a gruff voice to Flynn's left. Flynn spared a glance to the giant sitting next to him, whose face was set in a stern glare.
Deciding it was better to answer than ignore, Flynn said, "Yep, you caught me, friend. I'm a newbie here."
Giant's frown seemed to set deeper, "You think you can just show up here and take all the girl's attention."
Okay, now Flynn was totally confused, "I'm not following here, what now?"
Giant motioned a meaty hand in his direction, "You. With your face. Don't play stupid, asshole. Or I might have a reason to kick your ass out of here."
Jesus, it was not worth the $20 to enter this shithole, Flynn groused to himself, wondering if the dancing girls were even worth it. Giving the man a hard look, Flynn said, "Look dude, I'm just here for the show and then I'm out. I'm not trying to hit on your territory," although God help whatever girl catches this oaf's eye.
Said Oaf just sat back and laughed. A disgusting, gut-clenching laugh. He grinned at the bartender and cackles, "Hey, this asshole's new to the Den!"
"Well, he is in for a surprise then," the bartender chortled.
Feeling very much left out and the butt of a joke, Flynn was annoyed, snapping, "So what's so damn funny guys?"
"Well," Big, Stupid, Hairy Oaf began, "at the end of the night, the King of the Den is crowned, by the girls themselves. Whosever caught their attention the most. Look at this crowd boy, most of us could be their fathers. None of us have a lick of a chance against young blood like you."
Flynn, who became more nauseated the more the man spoke to him, had trouble digesting this information. What kind of establishment was this?
"I was expecting visual entertainment rather than physical, actually," Flynn said.
Big Oaf laughed, smacking Flynn on the back in the process, forcing his beer to spill on the floor, "You won't have a choice, boy. Think of the visual as foreplay."
"I have a name, you giant oaf," Flynn grumbled, tired of being called boy. He was 21, for crying out loud.
"Yeah well, I don't care to know it," the Oaf said, unaffected by Flynn's name-calling.
"Seriously though. The Crown outlawed prostitution. How is this place still in business?" Flynn asked, more to himself than anything. The monarchy's power had been consolidating into more absolute control since Flynn was child. It was felt most strongly in the slums of the capital.
"Kid, we might be in Corona. But this isn't the capital. Now, just shut up and be happy you'll be getting some tail tonight," the Oaf said, taking his drink and finding a table closer to the stage.
Once the man was far enough away, Flynn shuddered, sighing to himself. The locals here were so not worth a repeat visit, no matter "how amazing" the girls were said to be. Nursing the remainder of his beer in hand, Flynn turned his attention back to the stage, where the lights flipped on to a blinding white before dimming. Settling himself into his spot, Flynn waited impatiently for this to be over.
With a prolonged drumroll, each girl sauntered on stage, ten in total. All long-legs, curves, soft peach skin and petal pink lips. All wore a variety of what looked like skimpy princess outfits, with a small crown sitting on each of their heads. The first one who came out, who was clearly the most confident of them all, continued her saunter to the lone microphone on stage. The other remaining nine girls stayed behind, looking beautiful to the crowd. Flynn had to admit she was objectively beautiful. She was tall, not taller than Flynn though, because women taller than him weren't his thing. And she was a dirty blonde, with soft brown eyes. She was bundled tight in a blood red corset complemented by a tiny wisp of skirt. But, easily her most alluring feature was the lovespot below her right eye.
Taking the microphone in hand, Confident Girl spoke in a seductive, husky voice, "I am so happy to see such a big audience here tonight. Myself and the other girls are just lost princesses looking for our Prince Charming to take us back home. But there can only be one princess and one prince for this fairytale. For anyone new out there tonight, you all choose your princess and we choose our prince. So let's make this a good night for everyone okay?" She finished to the roars of approval from the audience.
Flynn sunk further into loathing. Themes he could handle. Making a mockery of Corona's allegedly lost princess was another thing. For Christ sake, assuming she was still alive, she wasn't even of age yet. Flynn downed his beer, setting the empty glass on the bar. Looking at the stage again, he realized that several of the girls were causally making eyes at him.
Looking away, Flynn muttered, "Fuck this," and left for the exit. Standing outside, Flynn reached into his pocket for his lighter, watching his breath form around him. It was an unusually cool autumn night. Behind him, he heard a couple others leave the bar. Trying to ignore their conversation, Flynn took another drag.
"Look, those girls in there are nice, but the real show is at midnight," one voice carried over to Flynn.
"Like an encore? I didn't know there was a second act," said the other voice, surprised.
"It's not, it's –," the voice hesitated, "I'll tell you on the way, so we can make it on time." Both men headed toward the parking lot, their voices lost over the distance.
Good riddance, Flynn thought, before stomping out his cigarette. He checked his phone.
It was 10:23 and exactly a half-hour walk back to the apartment. The quickest way was to pass through the woods behind Mother's Den, which he had become more familiar with in the past few months. Heading, in what he estimated was the northwest direction Flynn set off on foot, determined to just get home and sleep off this awful night.
It was somewhere around 11:00 when Flynn thought he might be going in the wrong direction. But, once 11:15 rolled around, Flynn realized he was seriously fucked. Of course, there was no signal on his phone; he had the misfortune to be lost in a dead zone.
"Just a great fucking night all around," Flynn muttered, digging for his lighter again in anger. Taking a deep breath, he tried to gauge his surroundings, which was difficult on this overcast night. No north star to guide him home that was for sure. He kicked at the ground in frustration, realizing that he must have went further west than he had intended too and now was completely turned around.
I don't have time for this, Flynn thought. For Flynn time was money. And wasted time was a loss of money. Not to mention, the temperature was starting to drop again. Of course he would be lost in the woods on the night of the first frost.
And then, like a beacon of salvation, a golden glow shined not 100 feet from where he was. It was bright enough to illuminate what looked like a house on a hill. Deciding, that the least he could get was directions, if not a ride back to town, Flynn set off. However, upon closer inspection, he realized that the house on a hill was not a house, but rather a tall tower, with a tall fence surrounding it. Too tall for Flynn to scale without necessary equipment. The golden glow, really did help Flynn see on this dark night. Because of it, he saw that there was a solid, thick tree standing close to the tower. Could the drop from the tree to the ground inside the fence be dangerous? Well that wasn't something Flynn was willing to think about. The point was to get home, and hell he had faced worse obstacles before.
Walking up to the tree, Flynn scanned the trunk and limbs for appropriate footholds. Truth be told, this was an excellent tree for climbing. Flynn couldn't have been more fortunate if he had tried. Sparing a glance to the waning light in the window, Flynn made his ascent. Hand over hand, foot over foot with assured steadiness. And in no time he was resting comfortably on a sturdy branch about 25 feet above the ground, taking a moment to catch his breath.
From his position, he eyed the next phase of his plan, which seemed more foolish the longer he sat there. Okay, so dropping down doesn't seem to be an option now. Unless, I move from this branch to the tree next to me and down…Or, I could –
"What are you doing in a tree?"
A voice cut into Flynn thoughts, almost unseating him in surprise. He flinched, eyes looking for the owner of the voice, but finding just the darkened window of the tower.
"Who's there?" Flynn demanded, unnerved that someone got the jump on him.
There was a rustling and light filled the window again, as well as a silhouette. It took a moment for Flynn's eyes to adjust to the brightness. But he realized he was looking at a girl.
"Me? Who are you? You're outside my window. In the middle of the night? I think that you owe me an explanation instead, intruder." she said, her voice trying to sound strong and confident.
Flynn sighed, "Look, girlie, I was lost, saw a light and thought I could get directions. Okay?"
The silhouette folded her arms, "Why not use the gate, like a normal person? I still find you highly suspicious –".
"I'm not suspicious! I'm just a guy trying to get home, girlie," Flynn retorted, already annoyed with the girl.
"…I'm going to call Mother," the girl said, already turning away from the window.
"Hey! heyheyheyhey! Look, don't leave. Just help me out for a moment okay? I'm not a bad guy. I just need some help. Can you do that girlie?" Flynn called out, trying to avoid a parental confrontation. He didn't need whatever the Corona police would make up to add to his record.
"Stop calling me 'girlie'. I have a name," Girlie spat in annoyance.
"Oh yeah? What is it then?"
"Yeah, well, I don't give my name out to strange men and intruders," Girlie stuttered, defensively.
"Okay, look. This banter is getting us nowhere. Now can you give me a hand. So I can be on my way and you can do whatever you were doing beforehand," Flynn said, trying to make headway of what had become a meaningless conversation.
There was a pause, where it seemed like the Girlie silhouette contemplated his offer. With one hand on her hip, she finally said, "Okay, but I am not afraid of you. And if you try to hurt me, I will defend myself. Got it?"
"Crystal, girlie." Girlie then walked away, coming back with a high beam flashlight. As she caught his eyes, Flynn raised his hand to deflect the brightness.
"Okay, so right above your head is a pulley system. There is a hand and foot hold for you to hold onto. It was built into the tree, and attaches to the wall of this tower. I'll shine the light above you so you can see it," Girlie explained, slowly leading his vision to said pulley. Flynn examined the design. This was not just some simple rope; the system was built into the tree and camouflaged to be missed by the naked eye. The cable itself that fed from the tree to the tower wall was a reinforced steel cable. Slowly, Flynn stood up, balancing his weight and took the attachment he was meant to hold onto. This itself was a double braided rope, knotted at the end for one foot hold.
"You know this is the strangest thing I've seen" Flynn said, surprised, because he had seen many strange things in his time.
"You asked for a way for me to help and I am. Now you're going to complain about it?" Girlie tsked, "you could just climb down and keep on wandering around, you know."
"Fine, fine," Flynn said, stepping off the sturdy tree branch and placing his foot into place in one fluid motion, trying not to make a sound to the give the rope structure allowed before stabilizing, "Just pull me in, Girlie."
Setting down the light, the girl then moved to the left of the window, making a motion that seemed to bet turning some kind of crank. Slowly, but surely Flynn was pulled toward the tower. It was a slow process, and Flynn had to wonder if the girl was just drawing out the process to literally leave him hanging twenty-five feet above the ground. Finally, he reached the window. As the Girlie locked the system into place, Flynn reached for the window and pulled himself in quite easily. Clearly, this window was designed to accommodate such an entrance.
Pulling himself up, Flynn looked around the room he had entered. It was a large, single dome-shaped room. The walls were littered with serene murals and designs, but all in all it looked like a normal girl's room. His eyes eventually landed on the girl who had helped him. She was young, younger than him at least, with clear. green eyes and brilliant blonde hair. Flynn, no stranger to being hailed ruggedly handsome, was surprised to see such beauty in the middle of nowhere. Correction, the more Flynn looked he realized she had very long hair. Feet upon feet of long hair that trailed behind her. Steel-cable pulley system aside, this was now the strangest thing he had ever seen.
Scratching the back of his head as the silence built between them, Flynn said, "So this is your place? Nice. Really like what you did to the walls here." Blondie, Flynn thought that he should at least upgrade her name, continued to scrutinize him, and Flynn noticed she seemed impervious to his charms that all the other women seemed to swoon over.
"Thank you. I enjoy painting. But more importantly, who are you?"
"Ah, that's not important." Blondie seemed annoyed with his non-answer.
"What are you doing walking around in the middle of the night then? I thought only ruffians and criminals did things like that?" Blondie asked. She sat herself down, and motioned for Flynn to do the same.
Placing his hand on his knee, he leaned forward, and gestured to Blondie. "Look, Blondie," Blondie quirked an eyebrow at the new name, "What's important is that I'm not here to rob you. Believe me, if I was, I would have put way more effort into it. Stake outs. The works, kid. You just caught me on an off night."
"Well, where are you going then? How did you end up here?"
"It depends on where 'here' is. Where are we? Are we close to town?" Flynn asked Blondie, noticing that she looked uncertain.
"I…I am not sure where we are." Blondie said, her voice small. Flynn gaped at her.
"Let me get this straight, you have no idea where we are…But you live here! You must go to town to shop or to school. How can you have no idea?" Flynn said. New annoyance was building, now that this entire endeavor would not yield any useful way for him to get home. Not only that, but what kind of place did he stumble upon, what person was so cut off from civilization that they do not know where they were. Flynn looked closer at his surroundings. If this chick was some psycho, and the insanely long hair was the first indicator that something weird was going on, he needed something the defend himself with before he could make a quick getaway.
"I might not know where 'here' is, but I can show you where to go. I chart stars and constellations. Just tell me the direction," Blondie said. Flynn looked at her face, the girl seemed eager to help. Hell, what do I have to lose, Flynn thought.
"Do you know where Corona is?" Flynn asked, adding, "you know the capital?"
"I know what Corona is! And I do know the general direction it is in too," Blondie retorted, annoyed that he thought she was stupid.
"When Mother goes out to town, it's to the capital. She always goes east," Blondie said.
"Is that the most direct route?"
"Well…that's the direction she always goes. I guess?"
"Wait she's never told you?"
"It's the direction she always walks in, okay. That's all I know," Blondie huffed, annoyed with the boy for his questions, for making her feel like she knew nothing.
Flynn, realizing that he may have been wearing out his welcome, then asked, "So which direction is east then?"
Blondie went to the window, and motioned for him to follow. Turning back to the sky, she pointed to the far right, "Do you see those hills in the distance? The tallest one in the middle? Right above that is the Carver, it's –,"
"The carver?" Flynn interrupted, disbelief coloring his voice because he was not aware of such an oddly named constellation.
"Yes. Can't you see how the stars are lined and bent to show a carver sitting at his work station?" Blondie asked, voice genuine and surprisingly passionate about said constellation.
Flynn did not see shit.
"Yeah okay. Which direction is north then, just in case I lose site of the Carver."
"Oh, well that one's easy," Blondie said, pointing straight ahead and up, "the North Star is right there!"
Flynn realized that in the time since he had been wandering aimlessly, the sky had cleared, with the moon bright and the north star right ahead of them. With the north star and the alleged carver constellation, Flynn could plot his way back home.
"Well thanks, Blondie for the help, I should be on my way," Flynn stated, eager to head out. Looking to his left, Blondie seemed put out with her eyes downcast.
"You okay, Blondie?"
"That's not my name, you know."
"Well, I seem to remember, some Blondie telling me she doesn't give her name to strangers, much less dashing rouges like me," Flynn smirked at her blush.
"That was before, I feel like we at least owe each other our names," Blondie said.
"Yeah, I guess it's fair. You first then, since you're so eager."
"You know, you're the first person I've ever had visit my tower other than Mother. This is kind of exciting," Blondie gushed, excited that she was making her first friend. However, her comment, struck Flynn differently. What kind of mother keeps her daughter in a tower? "It's like I'm making a friend," Blondie squealed, showing how young and girly she was.
"Anyway, my name is –,"
"RAPUNZEL!" cried a voice from below, outside of the tower. Both tower occupants froze, Flynn in surprise, and Rapunzel in horror.
"Mother!" she whispered, her eyes wide in fear. Honestly, the amount of terror she showed was catching, and Flynn found himself getting anxious.
"What? What's wrong?" he asked, trying to understand her reaction better.
"You can't be here. She'll be so upset! I'm not suppose to have any guests. No one is suppose to know that I'm here," Rapunzel whispered frantically, eyeing the room around her.
"Here, follow me," she grabbed Flynn by the collar quite roughly and with more strength he would expect in a girl her size, "Hide under the bed."
"Wouldn't the closet be better?"
"No. No, I have to change, you would be found. She won't find you here."
"RAPUNZE! WHAT'S TAKING SO LONG?" Mother's voice was tinged with ire at being ignored.
"Coming Mother!" Rapunzel shouted back. Pushing Flynn, toward the bed, she said, "Be silent and don't move. Okay?" Flynn nodded in response and Rapunzel made toward the window. How did I get in this situation? I just wanted directions home. I didn't want to be caught between a corrosive mother-daughter relationship.
"Well, come on, Rapunzel. Let down your hair!" Flynn heard Rapunzel's mother say.
"Right away, Mother," Rapunzel responded quickly, her voice sounded strained. And then, Flynn heard a woosh sound and realized that it was her own hair she tossed out the window! What the literal hell I have got myself in?
A couple moments passed, with the sounds of Rapunzel pulling both her hair, and her mother, into her tower window. All Flynn could do was remain quiet and motionless. Admittedly, he was a little curious about this Mother that Rapunzel had scared shitless.
"Welcome back Mother! It's so late, I didn't you would be home tonight," Rapunzel said, her voice happy and bright.
"Yes, yes. Well I thought you would forget, and I see I was right. You're so scattered-brained, Rapunzel," Rapunzel's mother criticized, her voice airy, despite the harshness of her comments.
"I didn't forget," Rapunzel began, trying to defend herself, "I just got distracted?"
"Scatter-brained, indeed, child."
"I'm sorry, Mother. I'll go get ready now, okay?"
"Very well, I will be back in 15 minutes. Be ready then." Rapunzel's mother then walked across the room, leaving and locking the door behind her. He waited a moment, and then the bed sheets were lifted from his place on the floor. Rapunzel's face poked down to his level, "You need to leave now okay? Can you make decent headway in 15 minutes?"
Working himself out from underneath the bed, Flynn nodded in the affirmative, looking at Rapunzel in slightly new eyes. She didn't seem so childlike now after that strange encounter with her mother. At his response, she looked away and went to her dresser.
"Hey," Flynn said, a little concerned for her, "Are you going to be okay?"
"Why would you ask that?" Rapunzel asked, still looking away from him.
"Something just doesn't seem right," Flynn was clutching straws here, not really sure if it was appropriate be so nosy after having just met this girl. Rapunzel looked at him and smiled.
"Mother's just really protective of me and sometimes she overreacts. I didn't want this to be one of those times. Even though we started off on the wrong foot, I'm glad I met you."
At her last comment, Flynn felt the tips of his ears warm. There was just so much honesty and kindness in that statement. He was not used to being on the receiving end of such a complement. He scratched the back of his head again, searching for something to say.
"Yeah, well, it's been a good time. But, I guess I'll be on my way," Flynn said.
"Of course," Rapunzel agreed, "will you come back?"
Well, that pulled Flynn up short.
"Maybe if I'm in the area." A noncommitment, no promises meant no hurt feelings and no expectations. Rapunzel's eyes saddened.
"Well," her voice was morose, "have a safe trip home, okay?"
Flynn flashed her a half-smile, the smirk all the ladies back in the capital loved. He was half-disappointed that Rapunzel did not even so much as blush at the action. Walking towards the window, Flynn took the rope contraption in hand as he sat on the edge of the window and looked at Rapunzel.
"Going back is pretty simple. It works more like a zipline. Just hold on tight," Rapunzel said, as he got into position. Rapunzel unlocked the system, and Flynn eased himself into the empty air. Flynn looked out at the sky again, spying the north star and the kind of carver constellation before looking back at Rapunzel.
"Bye, Rapunzel." And then he was gone, gliding silently into the trees. But, Rapunzel had no more time to think about him, her first friend, who she didn't even know the name of.
As Flynn landed safely and the tree branch, where this entirely strange encounter began, he looked back at the tower window again, but it was empty and the light was out. Once more, Flynn oriented himself in the right direction and began climbing down. The entire forest was silent, save for the wind blowing and rustling of leaves. He checked his phone for service with no luck and noted the lateness of the night. Pulling the last cigarette from his pocket, Flynn finally headed home.