Before you guys read, I know some of you are wondering why I deleted The Parent Trap. As I said on my profile, it's because I saw what a problem the story was. I never liked it because of the huge problems I saw in it. To be honest, I never got why people even loved it so much. To be blunt, I feel sad because people wanted THAT story to be updated and no one is even paying to attention to the stories I am enjoying writing, like this one. I think the only one everyone wants updated more is The Princess and Me, and I don't mind because I love that story. However, when I see a review pop up for one of my stories and I click on it expecting a review on how people like it, I get this: "When are you going to update The Parent Trap?" ...do you guys even know how disheartening that is? To use one of my other stories to ask me about another story? It's annoying. That's why I put on my bio that I don't want anyone to ever ask about my other stories. And it's also why I deleted The Parent Trap. I hated that story and it had to go. Sorry. I really hope you guys enjoy my other stories that I worked hard on. Like this one. So please, don't ever ask about my other stories because I will get to them eventually. Bugging me about it will only tick me off.
Danny was glad to get a lunch break. He was already starting to feel rather achy and tired from the bustling shift. He sat on a crate outside the building and he stared out at the docks below. He really did long to get off of Corona. He hoped with all his sake that he will take Rapunzel off without drawing Gothel's attention. But was that even possible? After the close call he had with those royal guards today, he was starting to worry.
"Nice lunch you got there. Got any to share?"
Danny jumped and turned to see the same white haired young man who helped him with the soldier Jones. Behind the man was a blue haired girl with pink eyes, wearing a light blue dress. Danny knew he had never seen these two before. As much as he usually kept to his business and not caring about anyone who lived here, this guy and the girl with him would certainly leave an impression on him,
"Oh it's you. What do you want?" Danny sighed and went back to eating his sandwich. He wasn't exactly in the mood to be talking to them right now. He hoped they will go away.
Jack opened his mouth to answer but Carrie beat him to it, "Gee rude much? My friend just saved your neck and all you can do is ask what we want?" she glared at Danny, who didn't even flinch.
"Hey, hey, easy. It's okay. I would be upset too." Jack shrugged with an easy laugh.
"I'm not upset. I just don't like being called a little kid." Danny said and he glanced back up to look at Carrie for a moment, "And who's she?"
"You can call me Jack, kiddo," Jack had to grin when he saw Danny flinch at the nickname, "And this is my friend Carrie. What's your name?"
"Danny. And don't call me kiddo either." Danny gave Jack the stink eye before adding, "Besides, you don't look much older than me."
"Yeah considering you both have white hair. I'm surprised neither of you are hitting off from the start." Carrie pointed out with a playful smile.
"That's not how it works, Carrie." Jack began but Danny cut him off,
"Just because our hairs are similar colors doesn't mean I can easily trust him. Besides, you have some room to talk. I mean, I've never seen blue hair before. Did you dye your hair to make it look like that? And why are your eyes pink?" He didn't really care if he was being blunt up front. He learned never to trust any strangers. These two were no exception even if they both did look intriguing.
"Watch it, buster!" Looking rather furious, Carrie started towards Danny. She had always been touchy when it came to her hair and eyes. Jack noticed and immediately stopped her before she can advance on the other white haired boy.
"Come on, Carrie, no need to get all upset. He doesn't even know." Jack tried to reason and Carrie rolled her eyes,
"Well he's the one being rude about it. I'm thinking I shouldn't have asked you to help him out."
"I would have done it anyway without your consulting." Jack shrugged and nearly laughed when he saw the girl giving him a childish glare.
"Whatever." She got out of Jack's grip and marched off to face the neighboring building's dirty wall.
"Uh, what's her problem?" Danny asked with a frown. He knew he was being a little rude but he didn't think she would take it so personally.
"Eh, bringing up about her hair and eyes is never a good idea especially if you are giving her a hard time about it. Anyway, I didn't come here to get a thank you from you." Jack decided to go down to business.
Danny's frown deepened as he looked into Jack's blue eyes, "Then why are you here?"
"I wanted to ask you about the missing princess." Danny was expecting anything like maybe money but not that. He was drinking some of his water only to spit it back out from Jack's reply. He wiped his mouth and gazed up at the smirking older guy.
"T-the m-m-missing p-princess?" He stuttered and suddenly felt nervous.
Jack saw the younger boy shaking and was immediately suspicious. Did Danny know something of the princess after all? "Yeah. We've heard rumors of how she went missing five years ago. And since we saw how interested you were of what those royal guards we're talking about, Carrie and I figured we hear you tell us stories about her."
"I-I don't know anything about her!" Danny said all too quickly and Jack chuckled,
"Look, you don't need to try to hide anything from me. Besides, we're not going to tell those soldiers." He said reassuringly.
This only made Danny glare again, "How do I know you won't?"
"Because we're not ordinary citizens ourselves," Carrie suddenly piped up that caused Jack and Danny to glance over at her. She was still glaring at the wall before she turned her head to look directly at Danny, "If we really want to tell those royal guards about this princess so much, we wouldn't waste our time just on you. Besides, we hate punks like that."
There was a long silence and Danny glanced down at the sandwich Rapunzel made him. He closed his eyes and thought it over. He made a promise to never tell anyone about her. But there was something about these two that made him think. He sighed and finally spoke,
"All right, before I say anything, I just want to know one thing," he looked back at Jack and Carrie, "Where did you two come from?"
Jack blinked, "Well…" he was going to speak but Carrie suddenly grabbed his arm,
"Hold on a second, would ya?" she said with a fake smile to Danny before she pulled Jack away to speak quietly.
This time, Danny quirked an eyebrow. He shrugged and continued to eat silently to wait out their private conversation.
"What's wrong?" Jack questioned and Carrie sighed,
"Do we really want to know this badly about this princess? What if this kid doesn't know anything?"
"To be honest, I don't know," came Jack's honest response and Carrie gave him a dirty look. He sighed while he rubbed his hair, "Call me crazy but there's something about this kid that might help us with more than just getting supplies on this miserable place. Or it's because I feel sorry for him?"
He watched the girl roll her eyes which made him chuckle, "Give me a break, Jack. It's the hair right? It's because he has white hair like you that you are so desperate to get more info out of him."
"No, come on Carrie. Sure he has style like me but-"
"Jack!"
"Okay look, I just have this hunch that maybe this kid would need our help as much as we need his. Besides, Captain Merida did say we should look into this rumor and this boy could be our best chance."
"Captain Merida?" Jack and Carrie jumped a little and turned to see Danny standing not too far away. It was clear he was done eating his lunch, "I guess I was right. You guys aren't from Corona. That could explain why I haven't seen a guy with white hair like me and a girl with blue hair and pink eyes before. Who's Captain Merida? And how did you guys get into Corona? Queen Gothel's law is that only supply ships are to come and go around here."
Jack and Carrie glanced at each other before the former glanced back at the waiting boy, "Okay, you're right. We're not from Corona. Our ship is in the hidden cove on the left side of this island. We came here just to get supplies but we also heard about the missing princess."
"Why would you guys even risk that? Aren't there other islands you can go to for your supplies?" Danny questioned and folded his arms to hear them out. He still had ten more minutes of his break so he had time.
"True. But we're not ordinary sailors." Carrie said a little nervously and started to tug at one of the loose stands of her hair.
"You're not? Then you're…" Danny's eyes widen in realization, "Pirates? Crap if any of those royal guards know about this, you will-"
"We get it. That's why we carefully planned out to not get caught. But now that you know who we really are, mind telling us more about the princess?" Jack questioned and Danny sighed at this.
He knew he had to tell them since he did promise after he was to hear what they had to say. He didn't think he would ever get tangled up with pirates. He was starting to wonder if he should just lie when an idea was forming in his head. This was probably better than he thought. If he can somehow convince these two to get him and Rapunzel both on their ship, they can be off of Corona. He wasn't exactly sure of how he and his sister were going to get away in the first place due to only supply ships coming in and the tight security. Here he got two pirates that snuck in through the Gothel's soldiers.
'Rapunzel, I think we've got our ticket outta here.' He felt a smile cross his face and jumped when he saw two fingers snap in front of his face. This brought him out of his ringing thoughts and could see it was the blue haired girl who snapped her fingers.
"Hey! Mind answering please?" Carrie said looking a little annoyed.
"Yeah, Carrie is usually the one whose head is stuck in the clouds." Jack joked and Carrie let out a frustrating groan to indicate she wasn't amused by the joke.
Danny mentally sighed and decided to say next very carefully. After all, even though these two haven't done a thing to him, they were still pirates. And he had heard that pirates tend to be greedy and would do anything to get what they want. If they ever find out what he or Rapunzel was capable of doing, the thought of being free could go away. And he may lose Rapunzel forever if these pirates try to sell her. He could never risk that.
"Okay look. The thing is, I am not interested in the rumors about the princess. The reason why I even listen because I want to know how impatient Gothel is being." Danny explained that caused the two to frown at him,
"Why is that?" Jack asked rather curiously.
"Because…" he took a deep breath and looked around to make sure no one else was listening. Finally he looked back at Jack and Carrie and leaned over to say softly, "The princess is living with me."
"What?" Carrie nearly shouted but Jack clamped his hand against her mouth to hush her.
"Living with you?" Jack repeated to make sure he heard right.
"Yeah. She came to me five years ago and since then, we stuck together in a hidden cottage. I've been keeping her away from Gothel all this time. That's why I didn't want to risk telling anyone because I know if anyone were to find out about her, the soldiers would find her and take her back to that evil woman." Danny sighed and looked up to see Jack and Carrie's faces were both emotionless. He decided to continue, "The thing is, I have this job so I can save the money to get me and the princess off this island forever."
"I see. And now that you know who we are, you hope that we'll take you and the princess with us?" Jack questioned that caused Danny to blink in amazement.
"How did…?"
"I'm good at reading people, kiddo," Jack smirked again to see Danny twitch at the nickname, "And don't worry about it. I think if Carrie and I talk to the Captain, we'll probably get you two on board."
Danny again was amazed, "Wait, you serious?" Carrie too was a little shocked by Jack's words. She was okay with the idea of having more friends. But would Merida even agree to bring TWO strangers on their ship?
"Sure. We'll work something out." Jack nodded and gave Danny a grin.
Before Danny could even give a jump for joy, a loud voice boomed, "Hey boy! Your break is over! Get back in here!"
"Coming!" Danny shouted and turned back to Jack and Carrie, "I godda go. Please don't tell anyone about the princess."
"You have our word." Carrie swore and Jack nodded to confirm.
"And meet me later after my shift tonight." Danny turned and walked off back to the bar.
Once he was back inside the building, Carrie turned to Jack, "Jack, as much as I'm starting to like him, would Merida even want two more people on the ship?"
"I'm sure. Besides, I think there's more to the princess then Danny is letting on. Maybe it could be useful." Jack shrugged and he started to walk back to the street.
"Or maybe you're hoping to meet this princess yourself right?" Carrie suddenly teased while she elbowed him hard in the side.
"Be more original will ya, Carrie? I don't work that way. I've never met a girl that caught my interest anyway." Jack shrugged off the elbow.
"Sure, sure. Whatever you say. When do you think his shift will be over?"
"Not sure. Judging by that crowd," Jack pointed to all the people walking into the bar, "It's probably not going to end for a while. We probably have time to let Merida know of the situation and then be back in time to meet up with Danny."
Carrie nodded in agreement. Taking their supplies they could carry, they headed back to the hidden cove. The two made sure no one was following them so they can get back to the cliff. Once they were safely in the same place they were dropped off, Jack gave the call. After a few minutes, Toothless came flying up. Hiccup was of course perched on top of the dragon and they landed gracefully beside the two.
"Hey guys. Did you get the supplies?" he questioned and took noticed of the bundles near Carrie and Jack.
"No, these are our new clothes. Shouldn't be surprised of course of what we're wearing." Carrie rolled her eyes and Jack chuckled.
"I'll take that as a yes. But you guys were fast." Hiccup started to place the packages on the night fury.
"Actually, getting back with the supplies wasn't the only reason we are here." Jack said while helping his friend.
"What do you mean?" Hiccup questioned and Carrie replied,
"We'll tell you when we get back to the ship. Merida is going to need to hear this."
"Is she going to like it?"
"Oh sure." Jack said with a playful smirk that only made Hiccup and Carrie glance at each other in worry. Toothless let out a soft growl.
"Excuse me?"
Hiccup, Carrie, and Jack all winced from Merida's shout. This was to be expected after Jack explained the situation.
"You mean ta tell me you promised some kid you never met to come on board with a princess without MY knowing?" Merida asked glaring straight at the one who dared tell her all this.
Jack sighed, "Look, Captain, I didn't exactly promise him. But I have a feeling there's more to this princess this boy is keeping safely away."
"Bullshit, Frost! The only reason yer even helping him is because he reminds you of him! And you wanted to annoy me even more!" Merida spat.
Carrie glanced at Hiccup, "That's what I said." She whispered and saw the red head glaring at her next.
"Don't think yer outta trouble, Carrie! Why didn't you stop him?"
"Captain, relax! I told him he should have said something to you first. But Jack could be right." Carrie waved her hands to defend herself.
"Typical. Should have guess ye take his side." Merida sighed while pinching the bridge of her nose.
Jack glared, "Captain, look, I know I should've told you first before making a promise to this kid. But, again, this might help us out. Besides, we're not ordinary pirates. Didn't you always say that fate had different ways of leading us to our destiny? Maybe we're considered their fate to get off of Corona. If what Danny said is true and hearing of how awful Gothel is, maybe we should allow these two on the ship. Not to mention, you were a princess once. You probably understand what's like to want to get away from a place you didn't want to be on anymore."
Merida mentally rolled her eyes. Jack had a good point there. It was one of the reasons why she even let Hiccup, Carrie, and Jack on her ship. No, scratch that. If it hadn't been for any of them, she wouldn't be on this ship. She knew Hiccup and Carrie long before she wanted to get away from her mother and the place she once called home. She became friends with them but secretly because she knew she was supposed to be enemies with them. Once her mother wanted her daughter to marry a suitor, Merida met up with Hiccup and Carrie along with Toothless, got on the biggest ship they had, and sailed away.
It also turned out that Hiccup and Carrie had to get away from Berk themselves due to their own personal problems back at home. Their father, Stoick the Vast the chief of the Vikings, told his two children to get away for a problem was arising from a rival Viking village. Merida asked what was the reason and Hiccup wouldn't exactly explain what it was. Carrie would become uncharacteristically quiet that the red head decided not to push either sibling.
When they arrived in a city called Burgess to get more supplies and a few crew members, that's when they met Jack. He was a strange one himself. He wanted very much to go out to sea and Merida reluctantly let him on. She figured it was because she took pity on him. But it was also because she figured Jack's strange ice powers may come in handy. And now, two years later, it would seem the captain had to make a choice of letting two more individuals on her ship. She did admit that having two more people on wouldn't be a big problem. She could probably use some more help. And if one of them is a princess who wanted to get away, she can understand.
Finally, after some long thought, she turned back to see Jack, Carrie, and Hiccup all waiting for her answer. She gave a heavy sigh and said, "Fine. I will allow these two on my ship. But only if I think they are useful enough."
"Awe, Merida, you really are a softie." Carrie teased with a smile and Merida gave her a glare even though a smile was tugging at her lips,
"Don't push it, Carrie. You may be Hiccup's sister but that doesn't mean I can't harm ya." This only made the other girl laugh, "Now, lets focus. You said you had to meet this kid after his shift tonight?"
"Yeah. Not sure how long it will take but Carrie and I better head back to get ready. I'm sure he'll introduce us to this princess when we meet up with him." Jack responded and Merida nodded,
"Got it. Try to get back here as fast as you can then. I really don't want to stay here longer then we have to." She ordered and they all moved off to set things in motion.
"I think in the meantime, we can get more supplies." Jack pointed out as he, Hiccup, and Carrie got on Toothless.
"Okay. I really hope the kid's shift isn't too long because I can't wait to get out of this dress." Carrie said with a groan.
"You're not the only one." Jack said with a laugh. Hiccup rolled his eyes and had Toothless fly them back up to the cliff.
Throughout the rest of the day, Danny worked even harder on his shift. The place was still of course bustling that usually left him irritated and exhausted. But now he had something keep him going. He may have found the hope to get off this miserable island. He seriously couldn't wait to tell Rapunzel. A thought occurred to him; he would have to explain to her about these strange two people. He wasn't sure why he could even trust them in the first place.
For some reason, he just knew. It was nearly eight by the time the bar started to get less crowded. He sighed in relief to think that maybe his luck was turning around. He was serving some drinks to a sailor who already had too many when he heard,
"One over here." He turned and noticed Jack and Carrie sitting at one of the farthest tables.
"Guess you listened." Was his reply when he came up to them, "Any word from your captain?"
"Well she was a little pissed that I decided something without her saying so. But she's willing to take you and the princess on as long as you two prove to be useful." Jack replied softly after he made sure no one was listening.
"I'm sure she'll find what I can do will be pretty useful. And I think the princess can too." Danny whispered back and moved off to fill out more orders.
Carrie watched him go and glanced back at Jack, "What do you think he means? I mean what can a princess do?"
"Come on, Carrie, hasn't Merida proven that there's more to princesses then looking pretty? Besides, you were a chief's daughter, so you aren't far off from being a princess." Jack teased while he poked Carrie in the shoulder.
"Shut up. Being the daughter of a Viking chief is totally different to being a princess." She retorted while pouting, "Besides, my dad never pampered me. He only taught me how I should defend myself."
"Right, if you say so. Somehow, from what Hiccup has told me, you were always a daddy's little girl."
"I am so going to get Hiccup for telling you that." She mumbled to herself.
After having a couple of drinks, Danny told Jack and Carrie to wait in an alley that was across the bar. He promised them his shift was going to be done in an hour. Luckily, he was true to his word. After he got his pay, he hurried out of the bar and walked into the alley he instructed the two pirates to be waiting for.
"Hello?" he called cautiously and a hand went on his shoulder. He gasped before turning to defend himself. His hands started to glow bright green as well as his eyes.
"Whoa! Take it easy! It's only me!" Jack held up his hands defensively.
"Um…why are your hands…and eyes glowing?" Carrie pointed out in shock.
Danny frowned and could see the two staring at him rather shockingly. He glanced down and saw she had a point. He wasn't exactly expecting them to surprise him so it was in his instinct to defend himself with his powers.
"Sorry. It's one of my…unusual abilities." He admitted and lowered his hands that stopped glowing and his eyes too, "I've had it for as long as I can remember. I guess I'm a freak to you guys."
"Actually no. Seems like you're going to fit in just fine on the ship." Jack said with a smile that caused Danny to blink up at him.
"Sorry?" he questioned to make sure he heard right.
Carrie laughed and waved her hand, "We'll explain later. Right now, don't we have to meet this princess?"
"Right. Come on." Danny turned and led the two down the streets quickly and quietly. However, little did they know that a shadow was following them closely behind.