The chair was itchy. Why couldn't they have said whatever they needed to with her standing up? Rory- she never went by Rapunzel anymore, not even to herself- scratched awkwardly under her nose, waiting as Julien adjusted himself and Art sat down on a stool nearby. Rider was leaning against a wall, seeming only half-into the conversation.

Julien leaned forward, tenting his fingers and placing his elbows on his knees. "Here's the deal, Rore. You've been here a while."

"Almost two years, yeah," Rory cut in, snorting.

"Almost two years. Well, I've been thinkin' it through, and I've decided somethin'."

Rory scratched her head, leaning to scuff something brown off her boot with the other hand. "What's that?"

"There's gonna be a very big heist opportunity in the next few weeks or so. This would be the summer the princess turned eighteen, right?"

"Yes," Rory replied tentatively, not liking the direction this conversation was going in. Unfortunately, she couldn't see a way to steer it back to safety. Let it run its course, she advised herself. They almost never got suspicious of anything.

"Alright. So we thought, considering how well you and Rider were doin', we'd all four of us make the birthday party the event of the year."

"You can't very well do that any more than they've done it before," Rider interjected. It was true; last year, it had been an extravaganza. The four of them had gone into Corona for the day, curious as to what it would be like and hopeful that there would be some collectors' memorabilia that would be worth a mint in time. The commemorative Where Did Rapunzel Go? plates and Flower of Corona vases were ugly as hell; still, dinner was good when they bargained with them.

Julien nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, but this year they're gonna display the princess's crown in the chapel. Heavily guarded and not open to the general public, but imagine what we could get with even a crystal off the side 'a that thing!"

There was a collective intake of breath. It was true. Art, Julien, and Rider knew vaguely what the crown looked like, with all its opulent jewels and sparkling gold. But Rory knew full well what they could do with it. God, even as a toddler she'd been told to never let it out of her sight. Half the Coronian jewels were jammed onto the thing.

One thing was bothering her, though. "Are you- wait, you are suggesting that we lift it, right?" Julien looked at her excitedly. "Whaddaya think? The heist of the decade, coupled with the tragic story 'a the lost princess comin' of age, we'd go down in history, comfortably."

Art and Rider were already on their feet, pulling down knives and cantines from behind paintings, under chairs, the flipside of a step. "There're only a few weeks, then! When's Princess's birthday? Rore, you know this one, right? You were the monarchy freak, remember." Art laughed at his own joke while Rory scowled. "Funny. Well, if I still remember-" and it was hard, after all this time, to remember a birthday she'd changed- "Rapunzel's birthday is the day before mine, so… August sixth?"

Snapping his fingers and pushing himself off the stool he'd sat in, Julien grinned. "Nice birthday present, 'specially considerin' you're comin' of age, too." That's right. Rory had forgotten it was important, what with all the escapades she and Rider had been doing recently.

"Good things are happenin', Rore. Your first major heist, your big birthday, fame, fortune- it's all comin' together!" Julien grabbed Art's elbow, mumbling something about packing the nonperishables, and pulled him into the kitchen.

And then it was just Rory and Rider. His smirk broke into a genuine grin and he pulled her up from her seat, grabbing her in a tight hug. "This is really happening," he laughed into her hair (frankly she was surprised his neck could bend so low). They stayed like that for a moment, just swaying comfortably, before Rory lifted her head to look him in the eye. "Why're you so excited? It's just another job, isn't it?"

Rider grinned again and shook his head lightly. "Not at all. No, for one thing, this'll really put us in the books." Rory snorted. "What?"

"Nothing. It's just that we're pretty infamous already."

Rider groaned jokingly. "Yeah, but people'll remember this long after we're gone and everyone else is, too. And we'll be in the green for the rest of our lives with this! It's just- everything we could've wanted, right?"

Even if she'd wanted to disagree, Rory couldn't have. It was true. They'd talked about this- lightly- on the road, running from the authorities, splitting up their hauls. All they'd wanted was some security, and if they could pull this off, they'd get it.

"Okay, I guess you're right about this one. Just hope we get it alright." Rory sighed and set her head against Rider's chest, still a little concerned about the whole thing. Stealing at her old home? The hair will be all the disguise you need, she reassured herself. As if he could hear her thoughts, Rider lifted her chin up. "It'll be fine, Rore. Really." He leaned in, closing his eyes, only to kiss Rory's hand.

"Hey- there are still two weeks, Rider. Until then, it's creepy."

Alright! Somebody mentioned a lack of New Dream, and to be honest, I missed it too, so here's a little fast-forward action to get this ship afloat! Buckle your seatbelts, folks!

-Hannah