Disclaimer: I own nothing related to the Tangled universe including, but not limited to, characters, names of places, lyrics, dialogue, or any other piece of product. Disney retains all the rights to this universe. I am making no money or receiving any kind of compensation, material or non-material, for this fiction. It's all for fun. Please don't sue me. I do claim the writing, the idea behind this particular narrative, and any peripheral characters or locations created to augment Disney's work.
Time loses meaning in the dark, so Flynn couldn't tell how long he'd been kept in his cell. It was just dark stretches of solitude, punctuated by stale food, and he wasn't sure if he was dead or alive. His current condition could pass for hell, except even more horrible. He lived on fresh air and open spaces - this was worse than death. That is why when they finally came to take him, he didn't fight, didn't run. He just went. No noose could be worse than that cage.
Flickering candles lined walls of damp stone. The armor of his guards glinted as rats scurried in their shadows. Two men held his bound arms, and he was flanked in the front and back by four more. His reputation preceded him.
Flynn assumed he was on the fast track to the gallows when they pulled him from his windowless cell, but he knew the way to the courtyard where men like him hung for their crimes. He paid attention to the twists and turns when they brought him in, just in case the opportunity for escape presented itself, and they were not going that way.
Where were they going?
He never could have guessed.
They entered a small room dimmer than the hall. One lamp on sat a heavy wood table, and the effect gave Flynn no gauge for the width or depth of the room. That made Flynn anxious. Not knowing your surroundings meant less chance of escaping them.
Escape became even less likely when the two guards that held his arms forced him into a wooden chair. Many hands cinched leather ties around Flynn's chest, thighs, ankles, shoulders, and wrists until he winced. He didn't like where this is going. Anything that had him tied to a chair and surrounded by half-witted men in shiny suits seemed like a one way ticket to nowhere he wanted to be.
The darkness across from him stirred and spat out a shadow. It wafted from the unknown space behind it like the darkness itself birthed it. Flynn had never seen anything creepier.
The figure sat in a chair opposite Flynn, hood hiding its face. The figure rested old, but soft, hands on the table in front of him. There were no rings on his fingers, but Flynn could see where the sun marked bands that normally were there. At least five more guards glinted in the darkness behind.
"Wow." Flynn broke the silence first because he could feel it twitch under his skin. "All this individual treatment for me? You sure do know how to make a boy feel special." He tried to keep it light, keep it casual, but the atmosphere in the room sucked all the levity out of his voice.
"Quiet you little -" One of his guards snapped, but the man at the table raised his hand in silence. The guard quieted without even finishing his threat. Now that was power.
"Flynn Rider." The man across the table spoke.
"Yours truly."
"I am certain you are aware of the gravity of your situation."
"I was doing a pretty good job of ignoring it, but you all make it pretty difficult with your theatrics." Flynn tried to shrug, but his restraints made it impossible.
"Your acts of piracy and violence against Corona are despicable. The crimes you committed against people and property are appalling."
Flynn bristled.
"It is all in the job description: mayhem, murder, and general debauchery. Still not really sure why I am here. Isn't there a rope you'd rather see me hanging by?" Flynn said not because he was in any particular hurry to hang, but because he had very low tolerance for people talking to him like he was stupid.
The figure sighed. This clearly wasn't going the way he expected either. Then he said: "I am here to discuss the terms of your pardon."
Flynn blinked.
"You what?"
"Certain - circumstances - have shown that it may be potentially – advantageous to grant you a full pardon."
Flynn looked around the room in disbelief, trying to find the joke, the glimmer of deception in one of the guards' faces. He found none of that. A full pardon? Not only was it unheard of – it was unthinkable.
"Right. Okay. Very funny. Ha, ha." Flynn exaggerated the laugh as much as he could while bound to a chair. "You had me for a second there. I almost believed you. Good joke."
"This is not a joke."
"Right. And I am the king of Corona."
The room floods with a rush of silence when he said that. The guards shifted in a murmur of clinking armor.
"No. You're not." The figure agreed, and grasped the edges of his hood. "I am." With that he threw back the cowl to show his face.
The air caught in Flynn's throat.
He'd never seen the man up close and personal before, but he was on the coins in his pocket and on the murals on every wall of this damn city. He would know that face, heavy eyebrows, square jaw, sad eyes, anywhere. It was the king of Corona. He, Flynn Rider, was an ass to the king of Corona. He wasn't sure if he should be proud or not
"That is one hell of a punchline." Flynn laughed forcibly and a hand whacked the side of his head.
"Show some respect, you." A guard growled, but the king held up a hand to desist.
Flynn rolled his head around once, twice, trying to work out the loose parts clattering around in his skull. That bastard was lucky he was tied up or else... The king was talking again. It took Flynn a second to realize and tune back in.
"... so I am afraid the matter is rather grim, Mr. Rider."
The line of the king's mouth tightened, and Flynn braced for another jarring smack to the head, but it didn't come.
"Your knowledge of the sea is the exact reason I called you here today." The king said. "I have a mission for you."
Flynn didn't like the sound of that word. Mission. It sounded official. It sounded like rules and limitations. He didn't like those things, but he did like not getting hit so hard he saw stars, so he decided to play nice for the time being.
"What kind of mission?" Flynn asked, and tried to not make a face when he said the word 'mission'.
"I need you to find The Fountain of Youth, retrieve water from it, and bring it back here with as much speed as you are able."
Flynn waited five solid seconds for the king to follow up with something else, to clarify or retract, but he didn't.
"Wait - what?" Surely Flynn misunderstood.
"I need you to find The Fountain of -"
"No. No. I heard you." Flynn cut off the king because this wasn't entertaining anymore. This was just crazy. "The Fountain of Youth. Right. Got it."
"So you've heard of it."
"Of course I've heard of it. I've also heard of pigs flying - doesn't mean much."
Flynn had heard plenty of tall tales drunk sailors made up to pass the time on long voyages. There was no real fountain, no actual spring of life, just like there were no mermaids. It was simple. The king had to understand that, right?
Wrong.
"We have a map."
"You wouldn't be the first." Flynn said. "There's been maps to the fountain as long as there have been ships to sail there."
"I'll show you."
The king reached inside his voluminous robe and pulled out a dark leather scroll. Its weathered and beaten exterior spoke of time and travel. At least whoever made the fake took the time to make it look legitimate. The king unfurled the scroll onto the table, turned it in Flynn's direction, and shoved it towards the pirate king.
In the dim light Flynn could make out markings and coordinates. He saw the detailed outline of an island he didn't recognize with navigational instructions scrawled on the margins. There were notes of rivers and mountains, forests and a cove, and a large solitary X conspicuously drawn near the center of the isle. It was, by far, the best forge he'd seen, but it was a forge nonetheless since there was no possible way it could be real.
"I hope you didn't pay too much for this." Flynn said. "You're looking at nothing more than a good wall hanging."
"I have sent three of my best crews and ships to this island in the past year. None have returned."
"Well you've got the map here, so that may be the problem." Flynn sass was instant, but he didn't regret it. Did this man really believe that this place existed?
"Corona's three lead cartographers transcribed the map to another copy for each voyage. The men had maps."
"So some of your minions wised up and went rogue. Men of the sea are the freedom loving sort. No big mystery there."
"These men were the finest sailors and countrymen a navy could ask for. Their loyalty was unparalleled. They would complete a mission or -" The king stopped midsentence but Flynn knew the words he didn't say: or die trying.
Flynn didn't like where this was going.
"So what you're saying is you want me to go on a ship to some unknown island where you assume that everyone else you have sent there has died a terrible death. Then I have to search out and bring back some magical water that doesn't exist, bring it back to you, and then you wave your magic wand and all the terrible nasty things I have done get erased and I am a free man."
The king looked less than pleased at Flynn's breakdown of his role in this situation. "If you want to put it like that, then, yes."
Now Flynn was an adventurous man. He'd done plenty of crazy things in his life and this wouldn't be the craziest. He had nothing to lose by agreeing to go on this fool's errand, but the promise of opportunity was dawning on him. The king was out of options. Flynn had leverage.
"I think I'll pass, sir. I am not one for looking for things that don't exist. So if it is all the same to you, I'd rather swing now."
The expression on the king's face told him that it was far from all the same to him.
"You fail to recognize that this is not a choice." The king said. His voice ground out each syllable.
"Everything is a choice." Flynn said. "You can stick me on a boat, but you can't make me sail."
"Then you should choose wisely."
Flynn knew better than to be intimidated. The king needed someone who knew the sea differently than his naval force did. If he didn't, Flynn would be long dead by now.
He knew that infamous pirate captains were rare, and the capture of one in such fine condition was even rarer. Flynn had a reputation for doing the impossible. That reputation gave Flynn the right to charge a premium.
"I want a ship." Flynn said. "In addition to my freedom, I want a ship."
The king's eyes widen. A guard coughs like he choked. Negotiation wasn't anticipated.
"I am not here to bargain with you. I am being generous as it is."
"You're sending me on a mission to an unknown and possibly torturous death. That doesn't sound too generous to me. Here I know what I am up against. Hanging is painful, sure, but it is quick. Out there, who knows?" Flynn wished he had his hands free to gesture. Terms always looked much nicer with hand gestures. "If I fulfill your little mission, a captain isn't much without a ship. Your little men destroyed my last one. Seems fair you replace the one you broke. Also, I'll need a crew I can trust so if I agree to do this - I want to pick my own men."
"Absolutely not!"
This objection came from behind Flynn. The king seemed as surprised as Flynn was at the interruption. Flynn turned his head to see who spoke, but the man was outside of his restricted field of vision.
"A thousand pardons, Your Excellency, but I must object. A ship crewed with only robbers and thieves would not do." His voice was rough and low, like it was used to barking orders and found difficulty doing anything but. "With your permission, Sire, I have years of experience dealing with criminals like this one and I would like to accompany him with my men to assure his most thorough loyalty to the crown."
Flynn rolled his eyes. What a kiss-ass.
"Your men are militia men, Captain Herrmann." The king said and Flynn smirked. Militia men? Talk about worthless.
"Yes, My Lord, but our operative would be to keep Rider and his crew on task. We would go as sailors as much as we would go to keep the order and keep the men on target. Your royal court will not raise eyebrows of a few missing foot soldiers the way they will another ship and crew."
"You understand that if Rider disappears - it will be on your head." The king replied in warning, and Flynn felt his jaw drop. The king wasn't implying what he thought he was implying. Was he?
"Yes, Majesty."
"Very well then. You will be on point for all of Rider's activities in regards to this voyage."
"Whoa. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa." Flynn interjected, not believing his own ears. "Let's all get on the same page now, shall we? As far as I am concerned I have not agreed to any 'activities' for the tin hat brigade to monitor, and more importantly we have not settled on ample compensation if I do agree to this idiotic quest."
"I don't make bargains with pirates." The king said.
Flynn locked eyes with the king who clenched his fists on the table. Flynn was pushing his patience. Well. Good. The king was pushing his.
"I don't make bargains with royals."
The reply was met with stony silence. If the king were ever to pull the plug on this deal, it would be now, but he didn't. There was only Flynn Rider and every moment they didn't kill him proved further how deep their need for him was. It was time to make them beg.
"Your freedom, your crew as approved by Captain Herrmann, and ten thousand crowns for the purchase of a ship on your successful return."
"My freedom, a crew as I want and freedom for them as well for faithful service on your fool's errand, and twenty thousand crowns." Flynn flicked an eyebrow at his opponent. "Haven't spent much time buying ships lately, have we, Sire?"
The king put on a stone face, blocking out Flynn's taunting. "Twelve."
"Nineteen."
"Fourteen."
"Sixteen and safe harbor here. I'll leave your precious kingdom and its ships alone, but I have enemies in other ports. It would be nice to have a place to call home."
The king turned an unhealthy shade of red. His body quivered. Then the king exhaled, and it seemed that all of his resolve fell out of him in that breath. His fight crumbled with his expression. His appearance melted from distinguished to ancient.
"By the gods, Rider, my queen is dying. Have you no love for your country?"
Flynn had six dozen comebacks for the question, all cutting, all true, but he held his tongue. He saw the expression on the king's face and it held anguish he knew too well. It was a reflection of every feeling he felt watching The True North splinter and be swallowed in water and flame.
"I did. Once." Flynn conceded, careful to not let on that the king's revelation had changed anything. "You made it a little more difficult to care when you burned the woman I loved." He deludes his honesty with a smirk.
The king looked at him, and for the first time in their conversation, Flynn felt like they understood each other.
"Your freedom, your crew, your crew's freedom, safe harbor, and fifteen thousand crowns. Final offer, Captain Rider."
Flynn knew better than to barter now. This was it. He saw the fight drain from the man across from him at his confession and he knew the feeling. Still, he didn't want it to feel like he was just giving in, so paused before answering. He wished he had a free hand to stroke the goatee on his chin for thoughtful effect.
Then, with an effortless grin, cat-like and cunning, he lowers his face so he can look up at the king from beneath raised eyebrows.
"You've got a deal." Flynn said. "Now can someone untie me? I've got to piss."
A/N: This fiction is my attempt at the hero's journey. Flynn is the (kind of anti)hero. I promise Rapunzel comes in soon, just not immediately. This is a very Flynn-centric fiction. So for my readers that are much more used to my steamy Flynn/Eugene and Rapunzel one-shots, don't give up hope. There will be steam. Just not for awhile. I have to give you incentive to stick around, don't I?
Wanna see when updates are coming and/or want to harass me for not writing? Follow my fanfiction twitter: ravenswrite