Chapter 15: Trust in Me
Office of the Archpriest, a few minutes previous,
The Archpriest sat in a simple wooden chair behind a fine desk made of dark wood. His office was illuminated by a few wax candles, which cast shadows across the bookcases that lined the walls behind him and to his sides. In front of him, laid out on top of the desk, was an old, dusty tome. Its cover had faded throughout the years and the pages had yellowed with age. The Archpriest sat hunched over the book, his old eyes squinting as he read the writing.
On the yellowed pages there was a series of pictures along with words describing their meaning and importance. The picture he was studying at that moment was one depicting a yellow flower, colored in such a way that it seemed to glow on the page. Beneath it was written the description naming it the "Sundrop Flower."
"The Sundrop Flower is a blessing from the Lord Soliel," he read quietly to himself, "It is created when a titular sundrop, part of Soliel's very being, is released to the earth, from which the flower grows. The flower, if invoked in some way, can heal wounds and even reverse aging, effectively granting immortality if it is continually invokd, as the flower's power will never wane on its own."
He then scanned over a few descriptions in which members of the church recorded times when Sundrop Flowers had been found. He quickly glanced at his own handwriting, recounting the hunt for a Sundrop Flower in order to heal the queen, written almost twenty years before. As he did, he noticed another description, the first description in fact.
"I once came across a bear which had been mortally injured by a hunter's trap," the Archpriest read, "I approached the creature, thinking perhaps to put it out of its misery or at least ease its passing. Before I could do anything, it stumbled through some brush and I followed it. Together we discovered it. A Sundrop Flower, even more beautiful than any legend had told. Before I could stop it, the bear, consumed by some unknowable understanding, devoured the flower. I let out a cry of dismay and moved to strike the creature, but my anger left me as I saw the bear's wounds heal before my very eyes! The bear then pushed itself to its feet and after giving me a glance and curious sniff, wanderd away into the woods."
"The event was still on my mind as I wandered the lonely road, the Lady Lune and the spirits of my ancestors my only company," the Archpriest continued to read, "Or so I thought. Before I knew what was happening, a group of brigands descended upon me, greedy for money I did not possess. When they discovered this, they decided that I must instead pay their toll with my blood. Before they could enact their crime however, a ferocious roar came from the forest as a mighty beast burst from the foliage. It tore into the villains, killing some and scattering the others. After the criminals had fled, I was left alone with the beast, the light from my Lady illuminating it for me. It was a bear and I knew in my heart that it was the same bear that I had encountered that morning. As if to confirm my suspicion, the bear game me the same glance and curious sniff before wandering away into the woods, blood still fresh on its claws and its teeth. I knew then and there that my Lord had saved me, and I swore to make use of this blessing he had given me."
"I returned to the woods the next spring, hoping to find the bear and give it thanks for saving my life. For though I knew that it would be rewarded with a human body by my Lord upon its death, I felt the beast deserved my own human thanks. So with a basket full of raw fish and sweet berries I ventured through the forest near where I knew I had encountered the bear before. Eventually, I stumbled across a cave that a bear clearly lived in. Now it may seem strange, but as I lay down the basket and the bear came out to investigate, I knew that this was the same one that had saved my life. I was astonished though, when the bear was followed out by a cub, whose fur was colored golden blonde that almost shined in the sunlight."
"Had this cub been blessed with the power of the Sundrop Flower?" The Archpriest read in astonishment, "Had the power been passed on through its parent? I never got to find out, as when I returned the next spring to further investigate, the young bear now had a brown coat. Apparently the power was shed with its old coat of fur."
Looking at the bottom where the teller of the tale had signed his name, the Archpriest was shocked to see that it was written by the first Archpriest, the man who had built the cathedral he was sitting in.
The Archpriest leaned back in his chair, his mind racing. If someone consumed the Sundrop Flower, they would pass its essence onto their offspring. The queen had consumed such a flower. The king and queen were brunettes yet the princess was a blonde. A golden blonde. The queen had passed on the flower's essence to the princess! And that girl, Rapunzel, she has golden blonde hair too! And she said…she said it could heal! Like the flower! And it was so long…like it had never been cut. Because if it was cut, it would lose its power like the bear cub! Rapunzel had the power of the flower! And she…she couldn't be more than eighteen years old. She said her mother wouldn't let her leave their home and that she used her hair to heal her even when she wasn't hurt. That woman was using her to restore her youth! She must have been keeping Rapunzel unknowingly against her will! Which means she must have kidnapped her…and that means…
"Rapunzel is the Lost Princess," he whispered in shock.
The Archpriest quickly rose to his feet, marking the page he had been reading, closing it and carrying it with him as he began to move towards the door. As he did, a knock came from the door. Confused as to why someone would be coming to his office at this hour, he answered it. Behind it, he found two men standing there. They looked like they were the rough and tumble sort, with many scars on their faces, and one of them was missing an eye. In stark contrast of this, they were dressed in the gold and blue armor of a captain of the guard.
"Evening, Your Grace," Drake Stabbington said, a smirk on his face.
"W-What is the meaning of this?" the Archpriest demanded, caught off guard, "Who are you men?"
"We're the Minister's new captains," Drake explained.
"New captains?" the Archpriest questioned.
"Yeah," Fletch chimed in, smirking as well, "Things have been…getting out of control lately so he decided to bring in more help to control the chaos."
"Control the chaos?" the Archpriest asked, confused, "What are you talking about?"
"You'll see," Drake answered cryptically, "As for why we're here, the Minister would like to see you."
"Well I'm going to have deny his request," the Archpriest said as he began to push his way past the two men, "I have urgent matters to attend to."
Before he could move past them, Drake reached out and clasped his hand on the Archpriest's shoulder, stopping him.
"I don't think you understand, Your Grace," he said dangerously, clenching the Archpriest's shoulder so hard the old man hissed in pain, "This isn't a request."
Later,
For a few moments, there was only the sound of the wind blowing over the cathedral's rooftop as Rapunzel and Quasi stared at Frollo in shock.
"What…What did you call me?" Rapunzel asked.
"Princess," Frollo repeats, "You are the Lost Princess. Princess Rapunzel of Corona."
"You're…You're lying," Rapunzel refuted, though it was clear she was shaken by the revelation, "That can't be true."
"But it is," Frollo said as he began walking towards the two of them.
"No, it can't be, my mother…" Rapunzel began to argue as she took a step away from Frollo.
"Kidnapped you when you were just a baby," Frollo explained as he continued to advance on her, a few of the soldiers following him.
"No, she couldn't have!" Rapunzel shouted back, tears welling up in her eyes.
"It's true, Rapunzel!" the Archpriest spoke up, struggling to lift his head as he looked at her through bruised eyes, dropping the book he had been carrying, "You're the Princess! And that means you have to run! Don't let him-oomph!"
"Shut up!" Fletch growled as he dug his knee into the Archpriest's stomach, causing him to double over in pain as the breath was knocked out of him.
"Hey!" Quasi shouted as he moved to stop them, but was halted as a group of guards stepped in front of him.
"Seize them!" Frollo shouted pointing at Quasi and Rapunzel.
"Run!" The Archpriest coughed as the guards advanced on them.
Rapunzel turned to run away, but was stopped as Frollo reached out and grabbed her arm. She cried out in pain as he pulled her over and latched onto her other arm, holding her as she struggled against his grip.
"Let her go!" Quasi bellowed as he ran over to them as the guards moved to intercept him. Lowering his shoulder, Quasi barreled into one of the guards, knocking him on his back as Quasi rolled over him and continued on. Another guard drew his sword and swung at him, but Quasi leapt over the attack, flipped through the air, and drove his feet into the man's face, breaking his nose as Quasi springboarded off of him and flipped over the rest of the guards, landing behind them before he raced towards Rapunzel and Frollo.
"Quasi!" Rapunzel shouted in warning as Frollo dragged her farther away from Quasi. Looking to his side, Quasi saw one of the guards leaping at him a split second before he was tackled to the ground. Quasi fell hard on his back with the guard on top of him. However, Quasi was able to get his feet under the man's stomach and used the momentum of the fall to flip backwards and throw the man off of him. Quasi rolled to his feet as the guard landed hard on his back.
Looking up, Quasi saw that three of the guards had caught up with him. Ducking as one of the guards tried to grab him, he punched the man hard in the gut, denting his armor and causing him to double over in pain before Quasi grabbed his legs and set his shoulders against his chest and stood up, flipping the man into the air before he crashed to the ground. Before Quasi could react, another guard wrapped his arms around Quasi's and lifted him into the air, while a third guard charged at him with his fists clenched. When the third guard got close enough, Quasi lashed out with his feet, kicking the guard in the chest and causing him to stumble backwards. Before the second guard could react, Quasi threw his head back, smashing his skull against the guard's nose. The guard cried out in pain as his broken nose gushed blood and he let Quasi go to bring his hands up to his face. Landing, Quasi rushed the third guard and punched him hard in the face. Stunned by the blow, the guard was unprepared as Quasi grabbed him by the chest and turned around before lifting the man off his feet and throwing him into the other guard, knocking them both to the ground.
"Look out!" Rapunzel shouted, but her warning came too late as Quasi was sucker punched in the side of the head. As he stumbled and tried to regain his senses, Quasi saw that Drake was rushing him. Before he could do anything, the other man was on him, driving his fist into Quasi's stomach. As Quasi doubled over, Drake hit him in the face with a right cross followed by a left, sending Quasi reeling.
"I've been waiting for the past two days to do this," Drake sneered as Quasi tried to recover, "I'm going to enjoy this."
Quasi tried to throw a punch as Drake advanced on him, but Drake dodged the attack and grabbed Quasi's wrist before pulling Quasi toward him will simultaneously holding out his elbow, smashing it into Quasi's face. As Quasi's nose began to bleed, Drake held onto his wrist while punching him in the face with the other which he quickly followed with a backhand as he let Quasi's wrist go, letting the hunchback stumble away. As Quasi desperately tried to stay on his feet, Drake walked up, grabbed the sides of Quasi's head and drove his knee into Quasi's face, flooring him.
"Stop it!" Rapunzel pleaded as Drake walked over to Quasi, who had pushed himself to his hands and knees, before kicking him in the stomach, knocking him down again, "Stop it please!"
"Pick him up!" Drake ordered, before two guards walked over and picked Quasi up, holding him up by his arms. Drake reached down and lifted Quasi's chin, studying his face, the bruises already forming and swelling.
"And here I thought you couldn't get any uglier," Drake sneered before punching him in the face again. He laughed as he continued to beat on Quasi, as Rapunzel screamed for him to stop, fighting against Frollo's grip as tears streamed down her face. Thinking quickly, she lifted her bare foot and slammed it onto Frollo's. The older man screamed in pain as he let her go, kneeling to clutch his injured foot. Rapunzel raced across the roof, and before anyone could stop her, she leapt onto Drake's back. As the bigger man stumbled, Rapunzel reached out and dug her nails into his face and biting his right ear. Drake cried out in pain as blood began to leak down his face while he tried desperately to get Rapunzel off of him. Reaching up, he grabbed onto Rapunzel and flipped her over his shoulder and slammed her onto the roof. She coughed in pain while Drake stumbled backwards, clutching his injured face. Drake gingerly touched his injured ear, finding a portion of the top was gone, replaced with oozing blood. He glared down at Rapunzel who had pushed herself to her hands and knees.
"And here I thought you couldn't get any uglier," Rapunzel mocked as she spat out Drake's blood and skin, some blood tinkling down the sides of her mouth.
"You little-!" Drake roared before stomping over and grabbing Rapunzel by her hair and lifted her to her knees as she tried to fight him off. Swinging his hand around, Drake slapped her hard across the face, leaving an angry red mark. As he raised his hand again, Frollo walked up and grabbed Drake's arm, stopping him.
"That's quite enough, Captain," Frollo said, glaring at Drake. Drake glared right back before releasing Rapunzel and jerking his arm out of Frollo's grasp.
"I'm sorry for my Captain's rash actions," Frollo apologized, reaching down and cupping Rapunzel's chin, lifting it to look at the mark on her face, "He can be quite the brute."
"Why are you doing this!?" Rapunzel demanded as she ripped her chin from Frollo's grasp and glared at him.
"Because I need your help," Frollo replied.
"My help?" she asked, clearly confused, "Why do you need my help?"
"Because I'm going to rule this kingdom," Frollo explained, "And the transition will be so much easier with the Lost Princess to back me."
He reached out and running his hand through some of her hair that had come undone in the struggle.
"And it will be so much longer with the help of your magic hair," he continued.
"You know about my hair?" Rapunzel gasped pulling away from him.
"Your so called mother told me much," Frollo explained, grabbing the back of her neck to stop her from pulling away.
"You have my mother?" she asked, her blood running cold.
"Yes," he replied simply, standing up and nodding to the guards, "And now I have you."
Before Rapunzel could react, two guards grabbed her and restrained her arms behind her back.
"What about Quasi?" she asked as the guards pulled her to her feet.
"Well, he is a criminal now," Frollo replied, before turning to Drake, "And what do we do with criminals, Captain?"
"Give them a long drop with a short stop," Drake replied wiping some blood from his cheek before sneering at Rapunzel. Rapunzel's eyes widened in horror and realization before she began to thrash wildly against her captors.
"Quasi!" she shouted as the guards began to drag the two of them away, "Quasi!"
"Ra…Rapunzel," Quasi replied, barely holding onto consciousness as the guards brought them down the stairs. As Frollo followed them, he passed Fletch, who was still holding onto the Archpriest.
"You can't do this, Frollo!" the Archpriest shouted at him, "I've given these people sanctuary! You can't just barge in here and take them!"
"But I can and I did," Frollo replied snidely.
"You've desecrated the house of our Lord for a second time, Frollo!" the Archpriest bellowed at him as Frollo continued down the stairs past him, "You've spilt innocent blood on holy ground! You'll burn for this! Burn in hellfire!"
As the Archpriest's words reverberated off the walls around him, Frollo paused at they're implication. As he did, a gust of wind came up the stairwell, and on it Frollo could swear he heard the whispers of years past.
"You can lie to yourself and your minions," the whispers said, with words that were the Archpriest's but in a voice all their own, "You can claim that you haven't a qualm! But you never can run from nor hide what you've done from the very eyes of Eglise Soliel."
Frollo froze in his step as he glanced around to see where the voice had come from, not even entirely sure he had heard it at all.
"Everything alright, sir?" a passing guard asked him, snapping him out of his thoughts.
"Yes, fine," Frollo replied, before glancing over his shoulder and looking around, "Everything is fine."
Meanwhile, Pascal, colored the grey of the stone, crawled from his hiding spot on one of the spires. He looked around in a panic, before spotting the book the Archpriest had dropped, still lying on the ground. Scurrying over to it, he opened the book and quickly flipped to the page that the Archpriest had marked and skimmed over it, his eyes widening in realization. He quickly closed the book, before placing his sticky front legs on the front and lifting the heavy tome above his head, his legs shaking from the effort. He moved to go down the stairs, but could still here the guards moving about in the cathedral. Instead he turned and began to crawl slowly down the side of the cathedral, struggling to hold onto the book as he did.
Later,
Phoebus' laughed mingled with the giggling of the two women who were accompanying him across the courtyard towards the cathedral, his arms looped around their shoulders, with Maximus and Djali trotting along behind him.
"And then Maximus kicks him in the back and he goes flying and lands face first in a cowpie!" he said before all three of them laughed uproariously, Maximus whinnying along with them.
"And then what happened?" one of the women asked through her giggles.
"Well…" Phoebus began, but trailed off when he glanced over to the cathedral in time to see Quasi, Rapunzel and the Archpriest being dragged out by Frollo and his guards. The sight caused him to freeze in place as his blood ran cold.
"What's wrong?" one of the women asked him, concern on her face.
"You ladies need to head home now," Phoebus replied quickly, not looking at them as he took his arms from their shoulders.
"What?" the other woman asked, confused.
"It's not safe here anymore," Phoebus explained, looking at them with a deadly serious expression, "You have to go home."
"What about you?" the first woman asked.
"Don't worry about me," he replied, giving them a reassuring smile, "I can take care of myself. Now you two should get going."
The two women nodded and hurried away. At the same time, Maximus looked at Djali and motioned for him to hide. The goat nodded in understanding before disappearing into the shadows of a nearby building. Phoebus glanced over at the horse, who nodded at him before they walked over towards Frollo and the guards. Frollo noticed them as they approached and smiled at them.
"Captain Phoebus, I was beginning to wonder what had become of you," he stated, turning to face him, "I'm glad to see you unscathed."
"Thank you sir, last night was…rough to say the least," Phoebus said as he eyed Rapunzel and Quasi as they were lead away. Rapunzel gave him a pleading look, which Phoebus returned with a brief glance that he hoped showed he was still on her side. "Seems I missed a lot," he stated.
"It would seem so," Frollo replied, "We managed to capture the fugitive, the Archpriest who had been illegally harboring him, and the young woman he had kidnapped. Sadly, we haven't recovered the crown."
"I think I can help you with that," Phoebus replied, before pulling the satchel off of Maximus's saddle, taking the crown out of it and handing it to Frollo, "I managed to recover it before they got away from me."
"Well done, Captain," Frollo congratulated him as he inspected the crown, "I knew I could count on you."
"Thank you, sir," Phoebus replied, before eyeing the Stabbington brothers as they walked by, "Sir, if I may ask, aren't those men criminals? Why are they wearing Captain's uniforms?"
"They were criminals, Captain Phoebus, this is correct," Frollo replied, "But they were very willing to help catch the fugitive and have shown a certain…zeal for justice. I need men like that for what is to come."
"What is to come, sir?" Phoebus asked, feeling uneasy.
"There are going to be some changes in this kingdom, Captain," Frollo explained, "The wheels are already in motion."
"In motion towards what?" Phoebus questioned, already dreading the answer.
"I am taking control of this kingdom away from those who have let it fall into chaos and sin," Frollo explained.
"You're talking about overthrowing the king," Phoebus surmised, his face betraying nothing.
"In so many words, yes," Frollo answered, "Surely you see that this is needed. The people have become lazy and sinful. They need to be controlled. And we both know the king is not up for the task of putting them in their place. That is why he needs to step aside, one way or another."
Frollo took a step forward and put it on his shoulder before looking him dead in the eyes.
"I need your help, Phoebus," Frollo said, "I know how you feel about what happened between your father and the king. I know you still hold resentment over that."
"So you're offering me revenge," Phoebus stated.
"Again, in so many words," Frollo replied with a smile.
"I'm at your service, sir," Phoebus lied, a fake smile spreading across his face even as he felt his skin crawl.
"Excellent," Frollo said proudly, "Now, I think you've been through enough. Go home and get some sleep. I'll see you at the Palace of Justice tomorrow."
"Of course sir," he replied, nodding. Frollo nodded back and turned before leaving with his guards. Phoebus waited to watch him go for a few moments until he was sure they were gone, before he whirled around and leapt onto Maximus's back. Before he took off however, Phoebus heard a light squeaking sound coming from a nearby wall. Looking over, he saw the jade colored form of Pascal crawling down the wall, barely holding onto the book he was carrying. Phoebus reached out and took the book from him while holding out his other hand which the chameleon practically collapsed into. He gestured wildly, trying to explain to Phoebus what had happened while Phoebus glanced curiously at the book and slipped it into the satchel.
"I know," Phoebus said solemnly, causing Pascal to give him a sad look. Phoebus placed Pascal on his shoulder, before grasping Maximus's reigns.
"Come on, we have to find Esmeralda and Flynn!" he cried as Maximus reared up on his hind legs. Maximus turned and bolted away from the cathedral, his hoof beats echoing across the courtyard. As they did, Phoebus let out a quick whistle, causing Djali to emerge from his hiding spot and race after the horse.
The captain of the guard and the three animals raced through the city, darting between alleys and streets, Maximus's and Phoebus's hot breathe mixing together. Eventually, they raced towards one of the harbors, where Eugene and Esmeralda were pulling their boat into harbor, chatting happily with each other.
"Flynn!" Phoebus shouted as he rode up, trying to catch their attention, "Esmeralda!"
They both looked over to him, confused as to why he was racing towards them so quickly.
"What's wrong?" Esmeralda asked, immediately concerned.
"He's taken them!" Phoebus replied as he pulled Maximus to a stop and slid off his back in a single fluid motion, "Frollo has taken Quasi and Rapunzel!"
"What!?" Eugene shouted in surprise.
"How did this happen!?" Esmeralda asked, aghast, "How did he find them!?"
"I don't know," Phoebus replied, shaking his head, "But that's not the worst of it."
"What could be worse!?" Eugene demanded.
"Frollo is planning a coup against the king and queen," Phoebus said gravelly.
Eugene and Esmeralda stared at Phoebus for a few moments in shock.
"That's a lot worse," Eugene commented.
"What are we going to do?" Esmeralda asked.
"I don't know," Phoebus replied, looking lost.
"Well we have to do something!" Esmeralda shouted frantically.
"What if we told the king and queen?" Eugene provided.
"I have no doubt Frollo has them surrounded with guards that are loyal to his cause," Phoebus explained, "I still have his trust and I doubt even I could get to them and explain what was going on without tipping Frollo off."
"Then what do we do?" Eugene asked, desperate.
"I think I have an idea," Esmeralda spoke up, a thoughtful look on her face as she looked at Phoebus, "But I don't think you're going to like it."
A/N: Hey guys! So thinks took a dark turn, which kind of marks where we're leaving Tangled's narrative and entering more into Notre Dame's again. I hope you guys liked this chapter, it was very exciting to write and I can't wait to continue. Things are going to get exciting from here on out! Hope you guys like it! Please review! Later!