Author Note: There were some questions in the reviews about Annabelle's age. As far as I can figure, she is around 11-12 years of age, but acts much older. Blame it on her intelligence and for having Eugene as a dad Oh, and I realized that I mixed up some of the sequences of the movie, but I think it works out okay since it helps separate the characters. I was also listening to Pirates of the Caribbean music last night and you should be able to catch a bit of that thrown in here today hope you enjoy it! :D Thanks again for the reviews, I really appreciate them!
P.S. One last thing: my brother's getting married this week so I don't know if I can keep posting each day but… I can try
Soli Deo Gloria
Disclaimer: Tangled, its characters and its story, belong to Disney. I only own the children and the side-comments
"Now, before I start this part of the story, I want to ask you a question," Eugene said, slipping into his 'Flynn Rider' persona of lofty voice. "Have you ever heard about Flynn Rider?"
Thomas nodded vigorously, but Ginger shook her head.
Their father frowned, "I need to start telling you those stories, then, Ginger-snap. All right, well, let me tell you about Flynn Rider. Flynn Rider was a tall, strong, handsome fellow. He had wavy brown hair, a small goatee," he touched the neatly trimmed beard at his chin, "and the most desirable nose west of the Lockridge Mountains. Unfortunately," Eugene sighed, truly sounding disappointed, "none of the artists who did his wanted posters ever managed to get it just right."
"Wanted posters?" Thomas shook his head, "I don't remember any wanted posters."
Eugene nodded, "You wouldn't, Thomas. The reason for this is because that man is a different Flynn Rider. The one in this story was not the richest man in the world—though he wanted to be. No, this Flynn Rider was different because," and his voice lowered slightly ", he was a thief."
"A thief!"
"Yes, he was a thief, bandit, or any other name for the most notorious burglar the kingdom had ever seen. He was very good at his job and, when we find him in this story, Flynn was actually attempting the grandest heist of his career. Attempting it around the very time Rapunzel asked Gothel to take her to see the lanterns."
Eugene stooped slightly and began to sneak around the room, "Flynn scurried across the palace rooftop, morning sunlight warming his back as his feet lightly tread upon slippery shingles. Behind him, huffing somewhat, crept his not-as-talented accomplices—the Stabbington Brothers. They were big, hulking figures," he raised his shoulders and lowered his head, imitating the stance of a gorilla, "with short-cropped red hair and pale scars stretching across their grimy faces. One had an eye-patch and the other one, the taller of the two, had bushy sideburns each the size of a small bush. All three bandits were tough and skilled, though of course, as you all can probably guess," he grinned broadly, "Flynn Rider was the best among them."
"So, he's still better than the other guys?" Thomas asked, watching his father trot carefully around the minefield of toys strewn about the floor.
Eugene shrugged, "I'd say so."
"But aren't thieves bad?"
"It's never a good thing to steal and, sadly enough, Flynn had stolen much of his way through life. He stole to eat, to sleep, to pay the bills—though never to the king—and to get rich enough so that he could buy his own island."
"What for?" Ginger asked, even as Eugene leaned nonchalantly on a desk that was meant for a five year-old.
Her father's face fell slightly, and he answered, "I honestly don't know. But he wanted one anyway, and in order to get it, he was going to steal something incredibly valuable."
"What's that?"
Eugene smiled wryly, "A crown. But not just any crown. He," he reached across the desk and picked up one of his daughter's tiaras from the edge of the table, "was going to steal the crown of the lost princess."
"That's Rapunzel, right?"
"Right. But since they had not found their daughter, the king and queen kept her crown in the palace chapel. It was surrounded by guards inside and out, and was probably the most protected royal artifact in the kingdom. But, Flynn and his fellow thugs had found a way to reach the crown without disturbing the soldiers. Instead of doing what hundreds of thieves had tried before them, these three bandits approached the crown from above."
Eugene knelt and pretended to pry up a piece of the imaginary roof, "Taking up some of the shingles, the Stabbington Brothers glanced over to where Flynn was standing, admiring the kingdom. Their accomplice sighed dreamily, 'I could get used to a view like this'. After another second he nodded to himself, 'Yep, I'm used to it. Guys, I want a castle.' Growling out the response, 'If we do this job right, you can have your own castle', the Stabbington brothers strapped Flynn with rope and lowered him down into the depths of the quiet chapel. With careful hands, and hardly daring to breathe, Flynn reached forth and snatched up the crown." Eugene retrieved the crown from where he had set it upon the floor.
Thomas gazed at him, open-mouthed, "Did he get caught?"
"Well, at that moment, one of the guards—there were about five in number, all facing the door with their backs to the crown—let out a sneeze. Flynn, being the witty guy he was, could not help but ask 'Hay fever?' The soldier nodded, 'Yeah.' But then he realized what had happened, and all the men turned around to watch as the crown of their lost princess disappeared through the roof above. They yelled out 'Stop! Wait! Wait!' but to no avail, for the three thieves had descended from the palace walls and were now racing through the town below.
"Darting in and out of the marketplace shops, Flynn and his illegal compatriots quickly made their way out onto the main street of the city. They could already hear the bells of the guard tower ringing furiously as soldiers ran to the stables and clambered onto their mounts. The Captain of the Guard himself—a determined, mustachioed man—took the lead and began the chase out of the city gates. His horse was a white stallion, intelligent and faster than lightning, and he too, had one goal in mind. That goal, my dear children, was justice."
"Justice?"
"Yes, Ginger-snap, justice. They were going to catch Flynn Rider, and his accomplices that no one really cared much about, and finally see the man behind bars. But instead, they didn't realize that today was the day, that they would always remember was the day that they almost caught, the infamous thief, Flynn Rider."
"So no one caught him, then?" His son asked, grinning at the idea of being uncatchable.
"Well, I wouldn't say that because someone did catch Flynn that day. But at this moment, Flynn and the Stabbington Brothers had entered the forest that lay across the water from the kingdom. It was an enormous forest, full of shady trees and plenty of places for a thief to hide. Unfortunately for Flynn and the gorilla-men, the Captain of the Guard knew most of those places. He was very good at finding criminals, this Captain. His horse was even better."
Ginger smiled, "Was he like Maximus?"
Eugene smirked, "Exactly like Maximus. In fact, I'm going to call his horse 'Maximus' from now on, just because they are so much alike. Anyway, the three thieves ran down a slight dip in the forest, the sounds of soldiers shouting and horses snorting echoing in the trees behind them. Flynn looked up in surprise," Eugene raised his arms in front of him, "before them was a wall of stone—cut into the forest floor and nigh impossible to get over. They couldn't go back, not with the guards following them. Time was disappearing fast and there seemed to be only one option of escape.
"So Flynn turned around and tried to get the Stabbington Brothers to form a human ladder for him to scale. 'Give me a boost,' Flynn said, 'and I'll pull you up!' The gorilla-men did not trust Flynn, so they made him give them the bag that had the crown in it. But, Flynn stole back the satchel even as he climbed up his erstwhile companions. The sideburn bush-face brother held up a huge hand, demanding, 'All right, pull us up.' Flynn, however, merely grinned and revealed the crown he had stolen. 'Sorry boys,' he said smugly, 'my hands are full.' Then, as Flynn ran away, he could hear Bush-face's bellow," Eugene took a deep breath and roared, 'RIDERRRRRRR!'"
Thomas grinned admiringly, "Wow he's good."
Eugene shook his head, "In some ways, maybe, but he was pretty selfish at first. Okay, so Flynn was running through the forest when suddenly," he ducked, "Three of the king's fastest horses came flying out of nowhere, each with a soldier astride upon its back. They leveled their crossbows and shot at the thief. Flynn dove forward as several bolts 'plunked' into the soft earth behind him. He hastily straightened and sped onward, slipping underneath an overturned tree. The Captain of the Guard barked orders at his soldiers, 'Secure the crown at all costs!' His men replied with a resounding 'Yes sir!' and spurred their horses on, hooves cutting into the grassy turf of the forest floor.
"Then," Eugene leapt forward, "Flynn jumped through the branches of a wide tree. The two other men were unable to steer their horses around it, but the Captain of the Guard reined in Maximus and they both charged through the woods, intent on capturing the elusive, the dashing, the absolutely amazing-."
"Dad, I think we get it." Annabelle interrupted her father, effectively deflating his ego.
Thomas glared at his sister and snapped, "Annie stop talking! Flynn is gonna escape and whack the old rhino lady!"
"Did Flynn win?" Ginger asked, turning her big green eyes upon Eugene.
He cleared his throat, "Well, Flynn did win one battle. As the captain continued to pursue him, Flynn realized he had to cut the chase soon. Thinking fast, he climbed onto a nearby boulder, took hold of the vines hanging down from a tree and waited…" he watched his youngest children, a small smile coming over his face. Then, quite suddenly, Eugene let out a loud, 'ah ha!' and mimed a kick in the direction of the imaginary Captain of the Guard.
Thomas fell over laughing as his sister jumped a foot in the air.
Eugene continued to narrate, "With a flying leap, Flynn knocked the captain off his horse and seized Maximus's reins. He prepared to make a quick escape again when, strangely enough, his mount skidded to a halt. Flynn glared at the creature, ordering: 'Come on, Fleabag, forward!' But do you know what that horse did?"
They both shook their heads.
"He tried to steal back the satchel containing the crown! Maximus snapped at it with his horsey teeth—literally horsey teeth—and pretty much fought with Flynn all the way to the edge of a cliff. Then, there was a 'thwack!' and the satchel flew out of Flynn's hand and landed around the very last branch of a tree that had grown out over the cliff. Immediately the thief shoved Maximus aside and tried to reach the crown. They both continued to struggle with one another until an ominous cracking sound met their ears."
"Uh oh." Ginger said, even as Thomas sat up, his eyes wide and intense.
Eugene made a raspy crunching sound deep in his throat, "With an abrupt, grinding 'crunch', the tree they were standing upon tore clean away from the cliff and fell down the side of its rocky face. It struck again and again upon the ragged stone, Maximus and Flynn holding on for dear life as they yelled in terror. Then, suddenly it broke in half, causing both horse and thief to tumble onto the green slope below. Maximus immediately jumped up and began searching for Flynn, his nose to the ground and his annoyingly-keen horse senses atingle with fervency."
Thomas leaned forward, "What happened to Flynn?"
"He was hiding from Maximus. Then, reaching out behind him, Flynn discovered a secret passage leading away from the forest. He could hear the horse getting closer, and quickly, Flynn slipped into the tunnel and made his way out onto the other side. What he saw next nearly made him drop his satchel."
"Was it the mean scary lady?" His youngest daughter asked.
Eugene shook his head, "Nope."
"Was it the horse?"
"Not even close."
"Dad, tell them what it was." Annabelle said impatiently.
He smiled, "Flynn walked out into a large, mountainous basin. Healthy green grass grew at his feet and a rippling brook tumbled down from a nearby waterfall. But what made him stop—what made his very heart stop, he was so stunned to see it—was the sight of a tall, ivy-tangled tower rearing up from the very center of the clearing. Never before had he seen such a structure, and much less was he expecting to find it here, deep in the forest of all places. It was as if he had accidentally tripped into a whole other world.
"Now, the thief needed a hiding place badly. He could still hear Maximus snorting and knew that the rest of the palace guards were not far away. So, he approached the tower, looking for the door. But there was no door, and instead, the tower just stood straight up, unattainable by any means of a normal man. However, Flynn Rider was not a normal man. He was a thief, and he had spent his life getting into places that normal men would never dare to tread.
"So, using his ingenuity, he fetched two arrows belonging to the palace guard. Then he plunged the arrow tips between the stones of the tower and began to climb. Wind rustled past him in the silence, and Flynn made very sure not to look down until he reached the top. Finding a windowsill, he heaved himself up and through the shutters, landing carefully within a wide, open room.
"It was dim in the room, as if someone had turned out most of the lights, and eerily quiet. For a moment, Flynn stood still and searched for any signs of life. Upon seeing none, he let out a sigh of relief and turned to the satchel in his hand. Unbuckling the flap, Flynn glanced down to see the sparkling crown. Then, suddenly, there was a sharp pain at the back of his head, followed by complete and utter blackness." Eugene finished, his voice a mere whisper.
Thomas let out a moan and Ginger clapped a hand over her mouth.
Their father smiled at them, "Now, you won't believe what happened next…"