A/N: Hello everyone, it took longer than I thought but I finally did it. It was a real blast to write so I hope you guys like it.

Dear reviewer,

Reverend Lovejoy: Come on, the Captain's not hated that much. And sorry about that, I could never get people's nose right ;)

The Rules: Chap 2

Flynn Rider's POV, 5 days earlier

I was just a simple guy with simple dreams. When I was five, I wanted toys. When I was eight, I wanted a friend. When I was thirteen, I wanted the Hell out of my life. And what do I want now you may ask?

It's nothing really. Just an island, enormous piles of money, all with my three closest friends; me, myself, and I.

Ahh, I can just imagine it now; me laying down on the fine white sand, arms stretched, hands behind my head. A sunny cloudless sky settled up above, shining down just enough rays for me to get a good tan while I'm sipping a pina collata or maybe some coconut milk straight up. Yeah, that's my dream.

Unfortunately, to get anything in this life, you gotta work for it.

And that's exactly what I do; I work my ass off stealing for other people too lazy to get what they want themselves. A thief-for-hire, you might say. And I'm the best in the kingdom, if not the world, at what I do.

But right now, I'm sitting with a client. I was with some really shady guys in a dark office at the back of a very nice, marble building. There were 4 guys, one sitting down behind a fine hard oak desk and three others in simple black cloaks with hoods, probably his security if not entourage, behind him. The man sitting down had long black hair, a trimmed beard. He was wearing a silvery vest underneath his flowing dark blue robes, and had a circle of pure silver resting on his head. It wasn't really Corona's style or choice of colors, but it was obvious the man was pretty high up the social ladder; which begs the question of why a man of his stature would need my services, but hey, I'm not complaining. That just means this is a big job, with a lot a money involved.

"I assume you are the infamous Flynn Rider, correct?" he said. If I didn't know better, I'd say I heard a bit of doubt in his tone, like it was too hard to believe the guy in front of him was one of the most wanted criminals in the kingdom.

I laid back comfortably in the smaller chair across from him, calm and collective, but slightly offended as well. "Do I have to prove it to you?" I asked slyly.

"Oh, it's that I don't believe you," he assured, "but there's just a bit of a discrepancy between you and your. . ." suddenly one of the men behind him handed me a poster; a wanted poster with a really gorgeous and familiar guy on it, only problem was his nose looked like a squashed tomato. Underneath the picture, it read:

'WANTED THIEF: FLYNN RIDER'

CAUTION: SUSPECT IS ARMED AND EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. CONTACT GUARDS ON SIGHTING.

"Umm, image, so to speak." He finished.

I was two seconds away from face-palming myself before I thought that would make me look stupid in front of my client. Instead, I just sighed, threw it away in disgust, and said "Well, Corona's not really known for its decent artists if you know what I mean. Hell, you should've seen the mural they did for the Lost Princess. I swear, a blind man could've painted a better picture."

"Fair enough," The man said calmly. "Getting back to business, my name is-"

But I cut him off and said "Let me just stop you right there buddy. Rule number 1: NO NAMES. All you need to know is who I am, and what I can do. And all I need to know is what you need, and how much you're willing to pay. Other than that, the less we know about each other, the better."

He didn't look too happy with me interrupting him, but I could see the gears turning in his head. He was thinking one of three things; 1) The man's got guts, he's dead meat. 2) The man's got guts, he's hired. Or 3) Where did he get such a handsome face? Ok, probably not the 3rd one but come on, who wouldn't think that?

"A man with rules," he said nodding slowly. "I respect that."

I smirked; the job was mine. Hook-line-and-sinker. "That issue aside. . ." I said, resting my feet on top the fine desk. "What can I steal for ya?"

The client didn't seem to take having somebody's boots on his desk too kindly, but he restrained himself to just eying me sternly. But even that couldn't stop a mischievous grin from playing across his thin lips. A different man behind him handed me another poster, but it wasn't a wanted poster; it was a picture of a circle of gold, encrusted with all kinds of different colored jewels and jems, and in the middle were three diamonds probably the size of my fist. My eyes widened, and my brain went completely blank as I felt my heart skip a beat in recognition of it. The thing every thief in the kingdom has daydreamed of stealing, none of whom have succeeded, and all have died trying. "That's the-"

"The crown of the Lost Princess of Corona, yes." The man said still grinning. "The people I work for have a great interest in it, and they're willing to pay top dollar to get their hands on it."

It took me a few seconds to recover from the shock before answering "They'd have to if this is how their messenger dresses."

His grin faded. "I'm nobody's messenger, they just can't be seen talking to people like you. So, do we have a deal Mr. Rider?"

'No! Don't do it! You'll die!' said my conscience. But I answered "That depends, how much are they paying for such a beautiful crown?"

"One. . .million. . .pounds." He said slowly.

And that. . .is what caused me to faint for the first time in my life.

Rapunzel's POV

I'm just a simple girl, for the most part, with simple dreams; to go outside and see the floating lights on my birthday. There's just one teeny tiny problem; I'm not allowed to leave my tower.

Normally, I'm ok with that. I mean, home is where the heart is, right? And besides, I have everything I could ever want in my tower; food, a bed, dresses, paints and brushes, a guitar, and even a living breathing. . .albeit not human, friend; Pascal the chameleon. But still, I feel like I need to see those lights.

I remember when I was four, and my mother and I were sitting down by the fireplace. She was brushing my long, golden hair while I sang the new song she had just taught me. When I finished it, I remember asking her "Mommy, why can't I go outside?"

She sighed slowly, "The outside world is a cold, dark place flower. Filled with many bad things; ruffians, thugs, poison ivy, men with pointed teeth!"

"Oh my." I replied.

"But we're safe in here flower, that is why you must stay in this tower."

I nodded slowly. "Yes mommy."

And so I did, but on that very same night, I snuck out of my bed, tip-toed my way past Mother's room, and opened the shutters to see lights up in the sky; big, bright, moving yellow lights streaming under the stars like water in a stream. They were, without a doubt, absolutely beautiful. I reached out to touch them but they were so far, and they were outside. I prayed for one, just one, light to fly away from the rest and come to me. . .but not one did. And then. . .an idea sprang up in my mind, and when I get an idea, I never forget about it. What if I left to see the lights? Just for one day. I ignored it of course, but every year on my birthday, when I look up at those lights, it comes back and it's getting harder to ignore.

With only five days left till my birthday, it's come back again, and I'm finally going to do it. Today, I'm going to ask Mother if I can go outside for the lights! And everything has to be perfect when Mother gets home. So, I've been cleaning the entire tower from top to bottom spotless all day long.

"This is it Pascal," I said twirling around the room for last minute checks, a wide smile on my face in the anticipation of her arrival. "Today's the day I'm finally going to ask her!"

Pascal smiled widely and nodded quickly at the words.

"What do you think we should do first when we go outside? Running? Racing? Dancing? Prancing? Singing? There's so many things to do and see, but what?"

Then, a voice came from the base of the tower "Rapunzellll, let down your haaiiiiir!" Mother said in a sweet voice.

"Coming Mother!" I answered. "Go, hide Pascal. Wish me luck."

A/N: Please, please, please REVIEW! You have no idea how much they mean to me.