A/N: Hey guys! Wow, this was my fastest update ever, I think! Yay! Anyway, here's chapter two. It does divulge from the Tangled script and gets... a little weird... Oh well!

Oh! Shout-out to Guest for guessing that France and England are the King and Queen. And yes, Iggy's the Queen... *evil cackle* And to OTHER Guest, no, the Captain of the Guard is not Denmark. However, Alfred is the chameleon! The Captain of the Guard is actually Germany. Don't ask, it just happened. *shrugs*

Anyway! On with Chapter Two!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Hetalia in any way, shape, or form. Nor do I own Tangled in any way, shape, or form. Tangled is the property of Disney (and by extension, the Brother's Grimm, because Rapunzel). NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED! On with the story!


"There. Finally. We did it, Alfred," Matthew panted, collapsing against the wall. Alfred followed suit, falling on top of him and panting.

After much struggling, Matthew (with Alfred's help) had managed to lock the mysterious guy in Matthew's closet. Currently, a chair was keeping the door closed because the lock sucked.

"I did it, Alfred. I really can handle myself. Ha... hahahaha..." Matthew laughed breathlessly, staring at his frying pan in awe. Alfred made a little croaking noise that sounded a lot like laughter before he climbed off Matthew's leg and wandered back over to the closet. Matthew glanced at the closet as well, his cheeks flaming a little when he thought about the guy's handsome face. Alfred noticed his red cheeks, and shot him a cheeky grin. Well, as much of a cheeky grin as a chameleon could make.

"Oh, shut up you. This is the first human I've ever seen besides Mother. Oh God, I made a horrible first impression, didn't I?" Matthew panicked. What should he do?! What if Mother came back?!

A groan from within the closet broke through Matthew's train of thought, and he quickly jumped up and scrambled back, holding the frying pan out in front of him.

"W-what should I do?" he hissed at Alfred. Alfred shrugged, looking just as panicked as Matthew did.

"H-hello? Is someone out there?" a voice with a thick accent that Matthew couldn't place called.

"Um... Yes?" Matthew answered weakly.

"Great! Hi! Hello! Could you maybe get me out of here?" the voice asked, sounding flustered. Matthew gulped.

"O-only i-if you t-tell me w-who you a-are," Matthew finally stammered out, trying to sound brave. The voice sighed.

"Okay, fine. My name is Gilbert Beilschmidt. Happy?" Matthew nodded and moved to move the chair. Alfred smacked him on the hand and glared at him.

"What was that for?!" Matthew hissed. Alfred glared and shook his head, pointing at the closet and then Matthew. Matthew rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"Oh come on, Alfred, nothing bad's gonna happen," Matthew replied.

"Um, hello? Are you going crazy out there?" the voice piped up. Matthew flushed.

"N-no! Just... talking to my chameleon friend is all!" Matthew answered.

"Right. Because that doesn't sound crazy at all," the voice drawled sarcastically. Matthew huffed and puffed out his cheeks.

"I'm not crazy!" he pouted. The voice chuckled.

"Whatever you say. Now, come on, could you please let me out? I'm starting to become claustrophobic."

"Oh! Right! Right away!" Matthew yelped, wrenching the door away from the closet. The guy toppled out a second later, hitting the floor with a thud.

"Ow! What was that for?" the guy complained, rubbing his sore head. Matthew froze, blushing furiously as he took in the messy silver hair, the dazzling garnet eyes, the finely sculpted cheekbones, and... Matthew mentally smacked himself away from those thoughts.

It seemed the guy was having a similar internal crisis, seeing as he was bright red as well.

"Oh. I-I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to sneak into a lady's home. I-I'll just be leaving now," the guy stammered out, scrambling to his feet and making for the window. Matthew snapped out of his haze and grabbed the guy's wrist.

"Wait!" Matthew yelped. The guy froze and turned to face Matthew.

"M-ma'am? Would you please let me go? I'm sorry for disturbing you," the guy mumbled, shifting his feet awkwardly. It dawned on Matthew that this guy thought he was a girl.

"I'm not a girl! I'm a boy, just like you!" Matthew fumed, letting go of the guy's wrist in favour of smacking his shoulder. The guy (Gilbert, Matthew remembered) blushed even harder.

"I'm sorry! You kind of look like a girl with the long hair, is all. Why is it even that long, anyway?" the guy (Gilbert, Matthew mentally corrected) asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"I-I can't cut it. My Mother won't let me," Matthew mumbled, tugging on the ends of the braid. Gilbert blinked.

"Really? That's stupid. Does she let you wear guy clothes, at least?" Gilbert asked. Matthew glanced down and saw that he was wearing one of the tunics Natalia had brought back from one of her travels.

"Yeah, she does," Matthew answered. An awkward silence fell over the room. Alfred crossed his arms and huffed at the two of them.

"A-anyway, what's your name?" Gilbert stammered out after a moment.

"Oh! I'm Matthew," Matthew replied, relieved to have gotten rid of the awkward silence. Gilbert smiled.

"So, Matthew, why are you living in this tower in the middle of nowhere?" Gilbert asked, smirking a little. Matthew was starting to hate that smirk just a little bit.

"Mother says it's to keep me safe from the outside world. I've never been outside before," Matthew answered, wincing a little. Gilbert was going to think he was a freak.

"What? That's stupid. Outside's not so bad. I mean, sure, it has its bad moments, but beyond that, it's great!" Gilbert smiled.

"R-really? Would you mind... showing me?" Matthew blurted out before he could think it through. Gilbert blinked a little, and Alfred let out a croak of surprise before scrambling up Matthew's arm and flicking him with his tongue.

"Gross! Alfred, stop it! There's nothing wrong with asking!" Matthew cried, prying Alfred off his shoulder. Gilbert stared.

"Oh, sorry, this is Alfred, my only friend. He's a bit touchy," Matthew explained. Gilbert blinked. "What?" Matthew asked, starting to get uncomfortable again.

"Did you really ask a dude you just met to take you around the outside world?" Gilbert finally said. Matthew blinked.

"...Yes...?"

Gilbert broke into a grin. "I'd love to! Just let me find my satchel quick, and we can be..." Gilbert paused. "... Where's my satchel?"

A neigh from below broke both of their thoughts, and both Gilbert and Matthew quickly rushed to the window. Gilbert groaned as he saw the horse triumphantly holding the satchel in its teeth.

"I'm guessing that's your satchel?" Matthew asked. Gilbert groaned and nodded.

"Well, let's go!" Matthew cheered, throwing his hair over the hook and sliding down to the ground, startling both Gilbert and the horse. Gilbert gawked down at him.

"... How did you do that?!"

"Practice. Now come on! We've gotta get going! Mother will be back soon!" Matthew cried impatiently. Gilbert sucked in a deep breath, took hold of Matthew's hair, and slid down, squeezing his eyes shut the whole way. Alfred had made it down on Matthew's shoulder, and sniggered as Gilbert face-planted upon his landing.

Matthew was about to go help Gilbert up when the horse neighed angrily and charged Gilbert.

"Whoa!" Matthew yelped, diving in front of the horse. The horse tried to dodge around Matthew, but Matthew just went with its movements until the horse finally gave up and glared at Matthew with a huff.

"Hey hey hey, it's okay. I don't know what he did, but no need to kill him," Matthew soothed, rubbing the horse's nose. The horse relaxed and nuzzled into Matthew's palm, causing Matthew to chuckle.

"What's your name, big guy?" Matthew asked, spying a harness on the horse. Quickly checking it, he saw the name LUKAS emblazoned within a sun. "Lukas, huh? Pretty, just like you," Matthew grinned. The horse whinnied happily before shooting another nasty look at Gilbert.

"So, Lukas, can we ride you out of here? Mother may come back soon, and I'd like to be gone before then," Matthew asked. Lukas bent down, and Matthew grinned in delight. "Come on, Gilbert! Let's go see the world!"

"After we return the horse. He's one of the palace horses," Gilbert said, climbing on and helping Matthew up as well. Alfred just ran up Lukas' leg and sat on top of the horse's head, looking triumphant.

"Okay! Let's head to the palace and give him back!" Matthew grinned. Gilbert looked a bit panicked for a second, but quickly covered it up with an enthusiastic grin.

"Yeah! Let's do it, Birdy!" he cheered, nudging Lukas forward.

Matthew frowned. "Birdy?"

"You remind me of a little bird, all soft and fluffy and cute," Gilbert replied before blushing furiously. Matthew blushed as well.

"O-oh. That's why." An awkward silence descended between them. Finally, Gilbert broke it.

"Hey, listen. Sorry if I freaked you out. With, you know, my sudden appearance in your home."

"No, no, it's fine. I'm sorry for hitting you with a frying pan," Matthew replied, shaking his head even though Gilbert couldn't see him. Unless Gilbert had eyes in the back of his head. Which would be creepy.

Gilbert laughed a little. "Your reaction was quite appropriate, I assure you. Anyway! It's only about a couple hour's ride into town, and it's decently early. We should get there before it's too dark. I even know a place where we could stay!"

"Really? That would be great!" Matthew cheered.

"Alright then! Onwards, Lukas! To town!" Gilbert yelled in an over-dramatic voice. Matthew giggled a little, while Lukas shot Gilbert a dirty look before galloping off. This was sure to be an interesting ride.


Now, don't go forgetting about me! Your awesome narrator has returned! *smack* BIRDY QUIT IT!

Ahem, as I was saying, hello again! I know, Matthew and Gilbert's story has gotten interesting, but there are other players at work here as well.

One such person is Mother Natalia. A few hours after Gilbert and Matthew left the tower, Natalia returned from her little journey to get dinner. She approached the bottom of the tower and called out for Matthew like normal. When no one responded, she frowned in suspicion.

"Matthew? Are you there, darling? Are you alright?" she called again. When there was still no response, she headed for the base of the tower where there was a secret door.

Hey, Birdy? Who knew? There was a secret door into your tower all this time! *clang* OW! PUT THAT FRYING PAN AWAY!

Now, where, was I? Oh, yes, the secret door. Mother Natalia opened it and rushed inside to find the entire tower empty. She flew into a rage. Someone had taken her flower! Either that, or her flower had disobeyed her direct orders! Fuming, she gathered some equipment and left to go find her flower and drag him back, no matter the cost.

At the same time, in the castle, Matthew's parents, the King and Queen, were preparing for their lantern lighting the next night. The Queen was getting very emotional, although this is understandable. He'd lost his only child, for Christ's sake!

"Are you okay, mon amour?" the King asked, wrapping his arms around the Queen's waist. The Queen sniffed and leaned back into the King.

"It's been eighteen years. I just want our son to come home," the Queen whispered. The King spun him around in order to give him a proper hug.

"It's alright, lapin, I feel the same. We just have to have faith, oui? He'll return to us. I just know it."

Of course, the King didn't know how true this statement really was.


"So this is what a town looks like," Matthew breathed in awe as they entered the town. Gilbert laughed a little, tugging on Lukas' reigns as the horse made towards the palace.

"This is one of the bigger ones since the palace is here. Not many are this size," Gilbert explained, gesturing around them. As they walked past a wall, Matthew caught a glimpse of... a very familiar sketch.

"Wait! Can you stop for a moment, please? I'd like to look at something," Matthew asked. Gilbert pulled the reigns, and Matthew jumped off Lukas and ran over to look at the drawing. He gasped. It was a drawing of Gilbert.

"Aw, man, this one didn't get it right either!" Gilbert whined upon seeing what Matthew was looking at. Matthew shot him an incredulous look, and Gilbert's face fell.

"I-I'll explain once we get to my friend's house, okay? Just, please- trust me for another two minutes," Gilbert promised, looking at Matthew with emotion-filled ruby eyes. Matthew nodded tentatively and climbed back onto Lukas. Gilbert sighed in relief and continued steering Lukas down streets. Alfred shot Matthew a look saying You're stupid, and Matthew weakly smiled back. Meanwhile, his thoughts were in turmoil. Why was Gilbert's face on a wanted poster?

"We're here!" Gilbert called a couple minutes later. They were standing outside of a decent-sized little shop, tucked away between others, but with a little garden out back where they would presumably put Lukas for the night. Gilbert slid off Lukas and went to knock on the door. Matthew slid off as well but stayed by Lukas' side, apprehensive about who was inside.

The door opened to reveal a grumbling man with dark brown hair and copper eyes. Upon seeing Gilbert, he glared.

"You know the guards are looking for you right, you figlio di puttana?" the man grumbled. Matthew frowned. The language sounded vaguely similar to French, which he had learned, but it wasn't French.

Gilbert chuckled. "Nice to see you too, Lovi. Can my friend and I come in? We need a place to crash just for the night. I swear, we'll be out by morning." The man, Lovi, still looked a little unsure, but a cheerful voice called from within "Lovi, let Gil and his friend in! And please take their horse out back!"

"Sure, sure, whatever you say, tomato bastard," Lovi grumbled, opening the door wider before going to take Lukas' reigns. Matthew followed Gilbert inside, nervous about what he might find.

A cheerful man with caramel-coloured skin greeted them. "Gil! Good to see you! It's been so long! Oh, and who's your new girlfriend?" Matthew's eye twitched. Alfred lashed out his tongue and smacked Gilbert's friend on the head. The guy just laughed.

"Aw, what a cute chameleon! What's your name, young lady?"

"Toni, he's a guy," Gilbert finally piped up. The guy, Toni, had the decency to look embarrassed.

"Oh my God, I'm sorry amigo!" Toni yelped. Lovi walked in at just that moment, scowling.

"What did you do now, idiot?" he grumbled.

"He called me a girl!" Matthew complained, puffing out his cheeks. Gilbert laughed a little.

"You and Lovi look about the same size. Lovi, can Mattie borrow some of your clothes to make him look more like a guy?" Gilbert asked.

"It would work even better if you cut his hair, but sure. Follow me," Lovi grumped, stalking off towards his room. Matthew eagerly followed.

A few minutes later, Matthew came back in a pair of trousers, a collared shirt, and a vest, just like Gilbert's. Gilbert's eyes widened when he saw him.

"What?" Matthew asked, both suspicious and embarrassed. The new outfit didn't really warrant that much staring, did it?

"Oh! Nothing! You just look really nice, is all," Gilbert replied, also looking slightly flustered. Toni laughed a little.

"You sure I can't do anything with your hair, Matthew?" he asked. Matthew nodded, and Toni deflated a little. "At least would you let me tie it back more to make you look more like a guy?"

"Sure," Matthew said, going to sit on a chair. "Now, Gilbert, why was your face on a Wanted poster?"

Gilbert shuffled his feet and didn't meet Matthew's eyes. "I-I'm a thief. I... kinda stole the lost prince's crown, and now everyone's on my back trying to find it. And me."

"Oh," Matthew blinked. That... wasn't as bad as he thought it would be, actually.

"I'm planning on turning myself in tomorrow when we give Lukas back. I'm gonna give the crown back and atone for what I've done. It's only right," Gilbert said with conviction. Matthew blinked again, this time in shock.

"Gil, you don't have to do that!"

"Yes, I do. It's about time I stopped running. I know I didn't take you to see the world like I promised, but..."

"But, nothing, Gilbert Beilschmidt. If you're going to get yourself arrested, I'm coming with you. End of discussion," Matthew firmly stated. Toni, Lovi, and Gilbert's jaws all dropped.

"ARE YOU CRAZY?!" they all screeched at once. Matthew nodded, and all of them laughed a bit.

"We're all mad here, it seems like," Toni chuckled.

"Anyway, Toni, I'm starving. Mind if I go make some dinner?" Gilbert asked. Toni waved as if to say Go ahead, and Gilbert headed off to the kitchen to make some dinner. Matthew settled back and let Toni play with his hair. He was a bit tired, and it was nice to just sit back and relax after a long day. Besides, tomorrow was special. Tomorrow, he would finally get to see the floating lights in person.


Later that night, in the castle, the Queen bolted upright in bed, sweating and panting. The King murmured and woke up.

"What's wrong, lapin?" the King asked drowsily. The Queen was already climbing out of bed and going to get dressed.

"I had another prophetic dream. Our son is here, in the city, and I know where. I'm going to go find him," the Queen panted, pulling on his boots. This statement caused the King to sit up.

"Are you crazy?! It is the middle of the night! Come, we can deal with this in the morning," the King whispered. The Queen turned to face him with tears in his emerald eyes.

"You believe me?" he whispered. The King scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Of course I do. Everyone knows you possess magic, and your prophetic dreams have never been wrong before. Plus, you can tell the difference between that and a regular dream. Now, come back to bed, and we'll deal with this in the morning."

"I'd prefer to do it tonight. I promise, you'll meet your son first thing tomorrow morning, but I can't wait. I'll see you in the morning, frog," the Queen whispered back, kissing the King before slipping out.

The Queen walked a ways before coming to the location from his dreams, a small shop nestled in a quiet corner of town. He spied a white horse out back, and upon further inspection, it was Lukas, Ludwig's missing horse.

"Lukas? What are you doing here?" the Queen murmured, scratching Lukas' ears. Lukas whinnied quietly and rubbed the Queen's arm. Taking a deep breath, the Queen left Lukas and went to knock on the door, praying someone would be awake to hear it. The Queen did not feel like breaking in magically.


Matthew awoke to Toni gasping "My Queen!" Frowning, Matthew wrapped a blanket around himself and went downstairs, squinting his eyes to adjust to the candlelight. There were Toni and Lovi, looking both scared and honoured, and Gilbert, looking paler than ever before. And then there was a fourth figure, with messy blonde hair and brilliant green eyes. The new person raised their eyes to Matthew, and seemed to stop breathing for a second.

"Hello?" Matthew asked, feeling like he should know who this was. A long forgotten memory, from when he was a baby...

"Matthew?" the person whispered shakily. Matthew nodded, confused, and the person sobbed and threw themself onto Matthew. "Oh my boy, my beautiful, darling boy, you're alive, you've come back to me, you're safe, you're alive," the person sobbed.

"Um... hi? Do I know you?" Matthew asked, confused. The person raised teary eyes and shakily placed a hand on Matthew's cheek.

"I'm one of your parents, Matthew," the person whispered. Matthew blinked in shock.

"What?"


A/N: Aaaaaand that's where I'm going to leave you! Mwahahahahahahaha! Don't worry, there will be a happy ending. And you haven't seen the last of Natalia or those Braginsky siblings, either... So, this will probably have either one or two more chapters, depending on how far I want to take this. Hope you enjoyed this! Remember, concrit is LOVED, flames are used to grill hamburgers for America. See you soon!