Chapter 2: That's When Your Life Begins
Rapunzel slid the chair in front of the cabinet and held her frying pan out like a weapon. "Okay, okay, okayokayokay…" She stammered, trying to recollect herself. She couldn't freak out now; she had people in her closet.
"I have people in my closet." The realization hit her. "I have people in my closet!"
Too weak to handle herself out there, now? If she could deal with a threat in the Tower itself, she could probably handle the outside. And since they're still here, she could show them to Mother! Then she'd have to let Rapunzel go!
Rapunzel's thoughts were diverted as she saw the objects the travelers had left on the ground. A glass globe, cracked from when it dropped. Sparkles swirled through it freely, as if they were dancing on air. A long branch, taller than Rapunzel, that rose up and formed a hook…some sort of weapon? Rapunzel attempted to grab it, but it felt like ice on her fingers. She decided to let it be for now. A metal hat, with large horns of the top of it. Rapunzel scrunched her nose at that. Wouldn't it just make it easier for people to grab you? A small brown satchel with an object inside. Rapunzel reached inside, and scrunched her nose as she studied it. It was some sort of accessory, sure, but too big to be a bracelet. Gently, she placed it on her head. A hat then? It didn't seem to be doing much, but maybe it was something that would only work outside…
"Rapunzel! Let down your hair!"
Mother was back already? Rapunzel tossed the objects into a nearby pot. She could investigate them later. Right now, she had to prove herself to Mother.
"I have quite the surprise for you!" Mother called as Rapunzel worked.
"I do too!" Rapunzel replied.
"I bet mine's bigger!"
"I seriously doubt it…" She mumbled, and with one last tug she pulled Mother up.
"Parsnips!" Mother said, holding out a basket. "I'm making Hazelnut Soup for dinner tonight!"
Rapunzel's lack of enthusiasm on that must have shown on her face, because Mother sighed. "Oh Rapunzel, you know how I feel about leaving after a fight. Especially when I've done nothing wrong."
"I know, but I have something really important to show you!"
"Does it have to do with the stars, again?"
"Floating Lights! And I'm leading up to that."
"Because I really thought we'd dropped the issue, sweetheart."
"Yes, but if you'd let me explain-"
"I really don't want to talk about this anymore, dear…"
Rapunzel decided to keep going. Going around like that wasn't getting either of them anywhere. "I know you think I'm not strong enough to handle myself out there—"
"Dear, I know you're not,"
"But if you'd let me show you—"
"How many more times do I have to explain it!? YOU ARE NOT LEAVING THIS TOWER! EVER!"
The Tower fell deadly silent. Rapunzel froze. Mother almost never raised her voice like that, and the only times she really did had been when she was little and a handful. Mother was serious about this, then. Rapunzel's hand inched away from the cabinet.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the painting of the Floating Lights. She can't give up on her dream that easily!
"Great, now I'm the bad guy." Mother sighed and collapsed in the chair, a hand pinching the bridge of her nose.
"I just wanted to say…I know what I want for my birthday now." No response came, so Rapunzel decided to continue. "New paint…from those white shells you got me once."
Mother sighed. "Dear, that's a very long trip. Three days, tops."
"I know. I just thought…it would be better than the…stars."
The words felt bitter on Rapunzel's mouth. But for better or for worse now, Mother was sealed. She stood and hugged Rapunzel. "You're sure you'll be able to handle yourself for that long?"
"I know I'm safe as long as I'm here." Rapunzel replied dutifully, but her mind was elsewhere. It was on the people she had in her closet…
Flynn woke up to a sudden wet sensation in his ear. He scrambled to inspect it, but his hands wouldn't move. He glanced down. He had been tied down with a rope. No…
"Is this…" He started as he glanced around the room. From where the rope had wrapped around him it continued, spreading across the room haphazardly.
"Hair?" The kid finished for him. Flynn tried to glance over his shoulder. So the Kid was here too, tied next to him. So was Carrot Top. He strained his neck over, trying to see past his shoulder if anyone else was with them.
"Struggling…" A new voice spoke. Flynn traced it back to where the hair started, hidden in the shadows. It was very clear that the source was trying to be brave, and failing miserably. "Struggling is useless."
"What." Was all Flynn could manage.
The source of the voice came out of the shadows. It was a girl, probably no older than him, dressed in a long purple dress and holding a frying pan out like it was a sword. Her bright green eyes were wide with fear, and the blonde hair that wasn't tied around them or hanging loose on the floor framed her nicely. "Who are you, and how do you know my location?"
"Uh huh…" The kid responded. He was obviously just as shocked as Flynn was. Carrot Top, on the other hand, was trying to get a good look over Flynn's shoulder.
"Who are you, and how do you know my location?" She tried again, an extra hint of malice in her tone.
Flynn cleared his throat. He could handle just one scared girl. He wasn't Flynn Rider: Master Thief and Lady-Killer Extraordinaire for nothing. "I know not who you are, nor not how I came to find you. But may I just say…hey. The name's Flynn Rider."
Blondie's eyebrows formed slight creases in confusion. Next to him, Carrot Top tried to hold back a laugh.
"Good job there Casanova." The kid laughed.
Blondie held the frying pan closer to his face. "Who else knows my location, Flynn Rider?"
"Listen, Blondie—" He started.
"Rapunzel!" She said sternly.
"…Gesundheit. We aren't here to trouble you. We were just gallivanting through the forest, following the Wisps, and we…wait…" Flynn started looking around. Only Carrot Top mustered a slight "wotch it!" as they shook, and Flynn was hardly paying attention at that point. "Where is it!? Where's—"
"Your satchel? Or was it the staff or the helmet?" Blondie asked, smirking just slightly. "Either way, I've hidden them all. Somewhere where you'll never find them."
Flynn glanced over. "It's in that pot over there, isn't it?"
Blondie blinked, and swung the frying pan again.
The pile spun forward, and now Hiccup was facing Rapunzel. "So what exactly are you planning on doing with my hair?" She asked. "Cut it? Sell it?!"
"No!" Hiccup protested. "The only thing I want to do with your hair is get out of it!"
Rapunzel loosened up slightly. "You…don't want my hair?"
"Why would we even won' ye hair?" The red-headed girl replied.
"Well, there's certainly enough of it…" The boy next to him responded.
Flynn jerked awake. "Stop doing that!" He shouted.
Rapunzel turned away, taking the small chameleon with her. Hiccup couldn't hear the specifics (especially because one of them wasn't even speaking, so much as making clicking noises), but he could tell the two were arguing. It seemed Rapunzel won out and she turned back. "Alright then, I'm prepared to offer you a deal."
She turned to a painting over a fireplace, spinning the pile as she did. "Do you know what these are?"
Hiccup studied the painting. It depicted what looked like Rapunzel with her very long hair, staring out at the night sky as lights filled it.
"The lantern thing they do for the princess every year?" Flynn asked.
"Lanterns! I knew they weren't stars!" It was a brief break in her stoic demeanor, but Rapunzel recovered quickly. "Tomorrow night, they will fill the night sky. You four are going to act as my guide, take me there, and escort me back safely. Only then will I give you back your stuff."
"Wait, four?" The pile spun around so the man next to Hiccup could confront Rapunzel. "…You can actually see me?"
"Weel of course we can see ye!" The red-headed girl spoke up. "Why wouldnae we be able ta?"
"I…" The man seemed shocked. He glanced around wildly, as if he were looking for proof that they could see him.
"There's nothin' ye can offer me." The little red-headed girl said. "I didnae bring anything with me."
Rapunzel's eyes widened, making her resemble a kicked puppy. Hiccup would have felt bad for her if he wasn't wrapped up in her hair. "Then maybe..." Rapunzel seemed to think about this. "How about I offer you a new dress?"
"I don'-" The red-head stopped herself as she realized that she did need a new dress. She huffed and fell silent.
The pile spun around again so Flynn could face her.
"No can do, Blondie…" Flynn said. "The kingdom and I aren't exactly on speaking terms, so…"
"And I've dinnae know this kingdom." The red-head said. "I was jus' passin' through!"
"So was I!"
Rapunzel sighed. With a quick yank of her hair, the pile was pushed forward. "Listen. Something brought you here. Call it what you will; fate, destiny…"
"A horse." Flynn sighed.
"An idiot." Hiccup chorused.
"The wisps." The red-head added.
"A snowglobe…" The man said.
"But I've decided to trust you because of it."
"You really shouldn't." Flynn said.
"I'll vouch for that." Hiccup added.
"But trust me when I tell you this." The pile lurched forward, and now Hiccup could just barely stand up. Flynn was nose to nose with Rapunzel. "You will never find that satchel of yours without my help."
"So…I I take you to see the lanterns, you'll give me back my satchel."
"I promise." A pause. "And when I promise something, I never, ever break it."
Another pause.
"Alright Blondie, I didn't want to do this. Here comes the Smoulder."
Hiccup glanced over. Flynn was making puppy dog eyes at her. To her credit, Rapunzel wasn't breaking, and still focused on him with a narrow glare.
After a few minutes, Flynn sighed. "It's been a bit of a bad day for the Smoulder."
The boys were the first ones out of the Tower. Flynn had insisted on climbing down the way he did before, saying something about not trusting lizards, so Hiccup called to Toothless and floated down safely.
Strangely, the other kid was already down there. Hiccup supposed he might have jumped, but nobody would be that stupid.
This was the first time Hiccup really got a good at him. He was lean and tall, but unlike Hiccup he wasn't awkward with it. Nearly white hair (and if Hiccup didn't know any better, he would say it was all white) that sat unkempt and nearly vertical on his head, dressed very casually in a pair of brown pants that stopped at his calf and a blue sweatshirt, no shoes, bright blue eyes that were gazing around with wonder…and then narrowed at Hiccup in confusion.
Hiccup stopped staring. "Sorry, sorry, I just didn't really get to see you before."
"No problem." He said casually. "I'm just not…very used to people seeing me."
You could say that again, Hiccup thought. What kind of person doesn't even recognize that people could see him? "I'm Hiccup."
The man studied him carefully. The blue eyes lit up with something Hiccup couldn't quite place, but something that made him rather scared. "Jack Frost." He greeted. Clearly he was expecting a better reaction than the one Hiccup gave him. Even if Hiccup did have a reaction, it was lost Flynn jumped down and joined them.
"So, what did Blondie take from you?" He asked, clearly upset by these turns of events.
"My helmet." Hiccup sighed.
"My staff." Jack added. "And I suppose a snowglobe, but it wasn't really mine to begin with…"
Flynn scoffed. "What's the big deal about a stick and a helmet!?"
"What's the big deal about a satchel!?" Jack argued back.
Flynn didn't respond. Instead, all of their attention was being turned to Merida, who was gently being lowered to the ground on Rapunzel's hair. She didn't seem too upset by these turns of events, and offered them a wide grin when she hit the ground. She stepped back just a bit, and then Rapunzel came down, sliding on her own hair. She stopped just as she would have hit the ground. Hesitantly, she put one foot down, then the other…
Rapunzel ran off.
Author's Note: Hiccup and Flynn are the Kings of Sass. Merida and Jack are just along for the ride, but Hiccup and Flynn are already 500% done with this field trip. (and it's only gonna get worse for them)
