This will be a pretty long chapter! Thanks for the story-alerts/reviews, means the world (:

Chapter 3

When Flynn awoke, he realized that there was an awful crick in his neck. And then he realized that he was in a very tight, enclosed space. He stretched out an arm to feel around his surroundings, and struck wood. He cursed.

It was stupid of him to climb into a random tower and fall asleep. It certainly was not the way he usually did things. He was normally a lot more cautious. What had happened?

He squeezed his eyes tight shut. Bud Darly had led him straight into the Duckling, right into Mr Crystal's trap. He shuddered to think what might have happened if he had hung around Stabbington for a minute longer.

He remembered Stabbington's fingers fumbling to grab the cold gun hooked on his belt. He had a pretty good idea what would have happened.

He hadn't gotten the goods. The burning sense of defeat burned in him, made him scowl in embarrassment. It wouldn't happen again.

That was supposed to be your last job.

His shoulders slumped in defeat. It felt wrong to end his career on such a sour note. He'd had a good run, with a perfect streak of successful heists and gambles. Why did this have to happen on his very last job?

He opened his eyes and became aware that there was a slim beam of light shining on his face. He squinted, and spied the outside curiously.

It was a slightly dim room, but quite large, with polished, clean-looking floors. The most striking thing about the room was the sweeping paintings that stretched from the ceiling to the floor. They were very feminine paintings of nature, but they suited the pleasant atmosphere of the tower. He tried to push the door open, but he looked down and saw that it had been bolted.

With a rolling pin.

Unsure whether to be amused or suspicious, he struggled against the door for a while, before he gave up when his neck gave a painful twinge.

Suddenly, pair of large green eyes were peering at him through the doors.

He gave a yelp of surprise.

'He's awake!' the girl breathed.

Her eyes narrowed.

'What are you doing here, and who are you?'

Flynn silently heaved a sigh of relief. The girl didn't know who he was. She hadn't called the authorities on him. And most importantly, she seemed to be quite alone. He cleared his throat, and tried answering as smoothly as he could from a closet,

'I'm Flynn Rider, at your service.'

The name didn't seem to register with her, for there was no blink of recognition, no gasp of horror.

Her eyes however, did narrow further. A few strands of blonde hair fell over her eyes, and she swept them away carelessly. An indignant little squeak was heard.

'Well, Flynn Rider-'

Flynn didn't like the way his name rolled off her tongue. It sounded more wrong than he knew it already was. It sounded more like a lie than he liked to acknowledge. Maybe it was her accusing tone. He cringed just a little.

'I don't think you crept into my tower to be of service to me.'

She sounded bemused now. And her green eyes seemed to be laughing. Just a little. Flynn decided to play along.

'Well, Blondie-'

'Rapunzel.'

Huh. Weird name. Sounded german.

'Rapunzel, I was in a situation, ran across your tower, smelled some delicious cookies, decided to climb your tower, and crashed 'cause I was tired.'

It was quite an understatement for all that had happened yesterday, but she hardly needed to know all the heartbreaking details, right?

'That's all?' she seemed to relax significantly. Somehow he seemed to hear a wheezing noise.

She was trusting and gullible. He didn't think that worked as a point in her favor, considering the current situation. But it was kind of cute.

Flynn nodded.

And now the girl looked pleased.

'You could smell my cookies?'

He could've sworn that the squeak he heard previously that had turned to a wheeze was now a squeal. Where the heck was that coming from? Was this girl a ventriloquist?

Flynn was still stuck in the closet till lunchtime.

He knew it was lunchtime because Rapunzel told him so. She also babbled on about the forest and did-he-see-the-blueberry-shrub-that-is-right-beneath-her-tower? She talked about different kinds of jam, and how some of her cookies hadn't turned out quite as expected.

Flynn barely replied or joined in her conversation, but she didn't seem to mind. In fact, she seemed to be chirping and squealing back to herself a fair bit. He wondered if he should be concerned for her sanity.

He was getting an eerie feeling that she talked to herself a lot, and his lack of response was nothing out of the ordinary.

'Flynn-' she called from the kitchen.

'Are you hungry?'

His stomach suddenly gave a low grumble. He had forgotten that it had existed.

'Um, yeah,' he said cautiously.

Her green eyes were staring at him again.

'If I let you out,' she said slowly, 'I am armed,' she finished lamely.

Flynn raised an eyebrow. This girl was getting stranger by the minute.

She slid out the rolling pin and opened the door.

And Flynn got his first proper look at Rapunzel.

Rapunzel was pretty short. She was… young. And she smelled nice. Like baked goods. She was a teenager, he decided. She had a pert nose and full lips, which were currently pursed. She looked intelligent. She had a… frog, who was holding a cookie nestled on her shoulder, quite comfortably. The frog gave a cheerful chirp. So that was the cause of the weird noises. He was starting to think Rapunzel was a bit insane.

'Pascal,' she gestured.

And her hair was… Wow.

He felt the breath whoosh from his body.

He knew her hair was blonde, but it was incredibly long. It tumbled down her back, beyond her ankles, to the floor, and was lying in circles on the floor. It was unlike anything he'd ever seen before.

'Is that- hair?'

Rapunzel looked rather self-conscious, as she tugged on it rather nervously, a frying pan tucked under her other arm.

'Yes, yes it is,' she answered defiantly. Crossing her arms, she shot him her bravest, most careless glance.

'Do you want lunch or not?'

Pascal squealed.

Lunch was pie. Some sort of fruit pie. Flynn was starting to think that the girl lived on a diet of baked goods. She also had a plate of cookies on the table, which Pascal (whom he now learned was a CHAMELEON, not a frog) was stuffing into his mouth continuously.

But it was delicious, and Flynn had third helpings. Rapunzel looked absolutely delighted- you'd think that she'd never received any sort of compliment- verbal or non-verbal, before.

To his amusement, Rapunzel had sat him down next to the closet, and used a length of her hair to tie him to it. She told him it was a precaution, but he couldn't help but think this was one of the most ridiculous situations he'd ever gotten into.

Shoveling pie into his mouth, he decided that it was time he found out a little bit more about this strange girl. He was genuinely curious. What kind of girl stayed in the middle of the forest in a deserted valley in a 40-foot tower with no door? And how did she get her food supplies? And most baffling, why did she keep her hair like that?

'So, Blondie-'

'Rapunzel'

'Rapunzel, what brought you to this tower?'

Rapunzel bit her lip, as though reluctant to tell him anything. She'd never met another human being before, besides her mother- and furthermore, he was a man. A nice man from how he treated her so far- but her mother had warned her about men.

She would have to be careful. She toyed with the rim of her teacup.

'I've been here for a while,' she hedged.

'Really?' Flynn was a master at concealing his emotions. 'How long, exactly? You can't be very old- sixteen? Seventeen?'

'I'm eighteen tomorrow,' Rapunzel said proudly.

Flynn had to grin. He was an entire eight years older. She made him feel old.

'And you've been living here for a while?'

'Quite a few years,' Rapunzel said casually.

'That explains all the paintings- nice work by the way.'

She gaped with surprise and then flushed with pleasure, and Flynn once again wondered if compliments were such a rare occurrence for her.

'You live here alone?' Flynn couldn't help but think that living alone here wasn't the safest thing to do, especially for a young, rather attractive young girl, and if she did- perhaps she wasn't as intelligent as he had first thought.

'Oh no,' Rapunzel said brightly, 'I live here with my Mother.'

'Oh.' Flynn tried to imagine a slightly older version of Rapunzel, but couldn't make it past the blonde hair. Maybe if her mother had brown hair…

'Mother is coming back tomorrow,' Rapunzel continued, 'if you need to stay here longer than that-' her face changed, became more anxious, 'you'll have to cooperate with me to see that she doesn't find out.'

'Your Mother isn't very welcome to visitors,' Flynn joked.

Rapunzel shook her head silently, then turned her head to stare squarely at Flynn, the first man she had ever seen in her life.

What a day it had been. She downed her tea in one gulp as she wondered what her Mother would think.

'You have no idea.'