Author Note: It's getting a bit harder to write this while having to deal with the knowledge of school starting back in a week... :) but hopefully I can still manage to spit some more out before rejoining the academic world. Once again, thanks for all the reviews, it means a lot :D I hope you guys enjoy this part!

Soli Deo Gloria

Disclaimer: Disney owns Tangled, its characters, and its story.

"So after being released from Rapunzel's hair, our beloved thief walked over to the window and prepared to descend. As he was lowering himself carefully outside, Flynn could see Rapunzel steeling herself for leaving the tower. She was talking to her pet frog again, and Flynn saw that she was shaking slightly. But there was nothing he could do. After all," Eugene said, sighing, "he didn't even like the girl all that much.

"With careful hands, Flynn began to climb his way down the tower, once again sinking arrows between the stones. Above him, Rapunzel approached the rim of the window ledge. She stared down, past the sarcastic thief and at the green grass far, far below. You have to understand, Rapunzel was still unsure about the world she was about to enter. She hadn't left her tower for basically her entire life. Thoughts flashed through her brain—maybe Gothel was right, maybe she was too weak to handle herself, maybe the people out there were cruel and vicious and always after her hair. But, suddenly one blazing idea flared into being, outshining all her worries. She was about to experience true freedom for the first time. She was going to leave her tower—and the world was just below her, waiting.

"Then she heard Flynn shouting up to her, 'You coming, Blondie?' Rapunzel smiled and, securing her frying pan and Pascal, she once more looped her hair up onto the hook. Then she kicked it out the tower and leapt down, nearly knocking Flynn off from his perch. The wind blew past her ears and rushed through her hair. Somewhere—in the very back of her mind—she could hear the exultant sound of trumpets calling. But abruptly, she stopped short in her drop and gazed down at the earth beneath."

"Why did she stop?" Ginger asked.

Eugene shrugged, "As far as I can tell, I think she was amazed at how green the grass was and how amazing each, tiny little blade looked."

Thomas frowned, "But it's just grass, right?"

"Well, yes. But imagine, for a second, that you had never seen grass up close. That you had only read about it or saw it from so far away that it only looked like a green blur. Imagine that you had never even smelled it before. If you can imagine that, then you know what Rapunzel felt like at that moment."

"Did she ever step on it?"

He smiled, "Yes, she did, and this is how it happened: Rapunzel gently lowered her bare feet onto the ground, instantly feeling the satisfying combination of softness and prickliness. Slowly, she sprawled out upon the grass, running her fingers through the fresh, summer blades. She could sense the heat of the sun-warmed earth and smell the sharp, healthy greenness of it all. It was wonderful, lying on something that wasn't a bed—that wasn't the cold, stone floor of her tower. Something that was, in fact, living. And then, with quiet recognition, Rapunzel knew that something had started to live within her as well."

Annabelle smiled at him, "What was it, Dad?"

Eugene closed his eyes and said, simply, "She started to live."

All three of his children watched him, uncertain of whether or not to break the spell of silence. Then he opened his eyes to look at them.

"For the first time ever, she was completely free. Free of Gothel's control—free of her tower and free of the fear that had gripped her for so long. Now Rapunzel could do anything she wanted. She could run, she could race, she could dance, she could chase, she could leap, she could bound." He held out his hands, "Her soul soared with the possibilities stretching endlessly before her. Everything seemed possible. Everything was amazing."

Thomas narrowed his eyes, "You mean the bad old lady didn't let her see all that?"

"Nope."

His son growled and stretched his slingshot—which he had once again stolen—to its limit. Muttering, Thomas vowed, "If Flynn Rider doesn't whop her, I will."

Eugene knitted his brow, murmuring, "How did you get that slingshot?"

"Daddy, what happened next?"

Shaking his head, Eugene stood up from his chair and began to walk around the room. "Anyway, Rapunzel, after her initial excitement wore off, started experiencing something parents like to call guilt. It's an unfortunate side-affect that comes from either not doing something you're supposed to do or doing something you're not supposed to do. She knew she had done what Mother Gothel had told her not to do. She-," he winced painfully, "-she loved her fake mother and could not deal with both the joy of being outside as well as the guilt that came from disobeying Gothel. She felt bad—then good—then bad—and then good again. One second, she was leaning her head against a tree and muttering that 'I have to go back' and then, the next second she was rolling down a hill and screaming 'I am never going back!'.

"When he first started seeing this, Flynn couldn't quite understand it. Here was this strange girl—with hair that had to be seventy feet long—arguing with herself. She also seemed to be convinced that she had never seen a tree before, that the sound of a brook running was beautiful, and that the green frog on her shoulder understood everything she said. But, gradually, as Rapunzel continued to have, and then not have, her meltdown, Flynn started to gather information.

"Finally he wandered over to where Rapunzel was leaning against a boulder, crying. Flynn was uncertain of how to comfort her, but something about seeing the girl so distraught touched his heart. And, well, he also had an idea of how to get rid of her."

"Flynn's mean." Ginger declared, crossing her arms in such a way that her father was immediately reminded of his wife.

Thomas came to the defense of his hero, "No he's not! He's just—just doesn't know her yet!"

"Does he get better, Daddy?"

Eugene nodded, "Yeah, he does. But right now, Flynn is still looking out for number one—himself. So, he told Rapunzel that he knew where she was coming from. He said he understood about the forbidden road-trip and overprotective mother. But he also told her that a little rebellion was good—healthy, even. And then he said that it would most likely crush Gothel's heart like a grape, which of course made Rapunzel very upset.

"Sighing, Flynn said that he would let Rapunzel off the deal. He handed the girl her frying pan and Pascal, saying, 'Here's your pan; here's your frog. Now let's get you back to your tower and a mother and daughter relationship based on mutual trust and understanding, and we'll part as unlikely friends.' Rapunzel pushed him away. 'No!' she said determinedly, 'I want to see the lanterns!' Flynn scowled at her, 'Oh come on! What's it going to take to get my satchel back?' Rapunzel glared at him and waved her frying pan warningly, 'I will use this.'

"Then, suddenly, there was a rustling in the bushes. Immediately, Rapunzel jumped onto Flynn's back, brandishing her frying pan at the bushes. 'Is it Ruffians? Thugs? Have they come for my hair?' Rapunzel asked, remembering Gothel's warning. The thief tried to concentrate with the girl hanging onto him for dear life—she had him in a choke-hold while simultaneously trying to clamber onto his shoulders. There she was, talking about her hair again. What was with this girl?"

"She's got magic hair." Ginger replied as if the idea were perfectly reasonable.

"Yes, Ginger-snap, she does have magic hair. But Flynn Rider didn't know that."

"So what came out of the bushes—was it the creepy lady?"

Eugene shook his head, "No. It was a bunny rabbit."

Thomas stared at him for several seconds, his face one of extreme disappointment. Then he protested explosively: "A BUNNY RABBIT?"

Unfortunately, he had been wielding his slingshot in his father's direction at the moment of his outburst. Time seemed to slow down as Eugene stared at the slingshot's missile—a hard, glass marble—approaching his face. Then there was a 'thud', and a short span of blackness later he woke up with his youngest daughter sitting on his chest while his eldest sat at his head.

"Dad?" Annabelle asked apprehensively.

"Ugh." He responded, closing his eyes as the throbbing in his forehead went down.

"Are you all right?"

Eugene sat up as Ginger got off his chest, nodding and muttering, "Yeah. I'm fine."

He looked over at his son, who was currently holding his slingshot behind his back and wearing the expression of extreme innocence on his face. Eugene grunted and held out his hand.

"Thomas."

The crown prince of Corona sighed and gave him the slingshot, "Sorry, Dad."

"It's okay. I'm," he got to his feet, "just going to have to hide this better."

"So what happened next?" Ginger asked, watching her father moving about the room.

"In the story? Where was I?"

"The bunny." Thomas said, a trace of disenchantment still in his voice.

Eugene nodded and searched for a hiding-place for his son's slingshot. Finding it, he turned around to face his children, smiling, "Ah, yes, the bunny. Well, after realizing that the threat she had been so scared of was nothing more than Thumper the Rabbit, Rapunzel got off Flynn's back. 'Sorry,' she said, shrugging in embarrassment, 'I guess I'm just a little jumpy.' "Flynn, despite having been used as a ladder, had already formulated yet another plan to get rid of Rapunzel. He smiled knowingly, murmuring, 'We wouldn't want to run in to any ruffians or thugs, eh?' She nodded. Flynn snapped his fingers and asked, 'Are you hungry? I know a great place for lunch!' And so, without further ado, our thief grabbed Rapunzel's frying pan and began to drag her along the forest path."

"Now," Eugene said, walking slowly across the floor, "I'm going to have to backtrack a bit. See, this story is not just about Rapunzel—though she's the main character—and Flynn—though he's the most interesting. This story also concerns Gothel, and currently she is walking through the forest, on her way to the seashore to find the paint Rapunzel had requested for her birthday. There she is, strolling along and seriously thinking she should have read 'Dr. Lipschitz's Parenting Manual', when suddenly she comes across Maximus.

"Understand that Maximus had been scouring the forest for that ever-elusive but oh so good-looking rouge, Flynn Rider. He had not been reunited with the Captain of the Palace Guard, and was still searching for the thief who had, so far, made his morning a very bad one. But now Gothel runs into him, still riderless and bedecked in the kingdom's colors. Gothel stared at him, and Maximus, after giving her a cursory snort to ensure she wasn't Flynn Rider, continued his search.

"Something about the palace horse irked Gothel badly—it was strange that he had no rider. Then she felt a tremor in her heart. Rapunzel was left alone in the tower, and this horse was missing its soldier. Someone must have found out her secret at last!"

"Bet she can't guess who." Thomas said, ignoring an impatient 'shhh!' from his sisters.

Eugene mimed the lady running through the forest, "She raced past trees and streams, heading directly back to the place where the tower was hidden. Her heart was pounding in her chest, her cloak flying out behind her. She had to find out if Rapunzel was still safe—if her magic, youth-restoring flower was still trapped in the vine of deceit she had nurtured for nearly eighteen years. Gothel reached the tower and called up for Rapunzel to throw down her hair—but there was no window opening, and no answering shout.

"Then Gothel threw herself at the secret door hidden behind an ivy bush at the base of the tower. Ripping away leaves and thorns and stones, as well as skinning her knuckles severely against the harsh rocks, Gothel uncovered her doorway. She ran up the stairs and knocked open the loose flagstone that concealed the stairwell. Gothel emerged out to see an empty tower room swimming in grey darkness. She kept screaming for her flower's name, 'Rapunzel! Rapunzel!' but no matter where she searched, she could not find the girl. Finally she tore aside a curtain and gazed in horror at the empty window seat."

Eugene slumped onto his knees and seized his hair, "She was gone, and Gothel had no clue where-," he squinted his eye and turned to look to his left. "Something was glinting in the light of the window! Just there—below one of the steps leading to Rapunzel's bedroom! Gothel reached out and discovered Flynn's satchel. She opened it and pulled out the crown of the lost princess. Instantly she dropped it, feeling almost scalded by this reminder of her past crime. What could this mean? But wait… there was something else in the bag."

"What was it, Daddy?" Ginger asked, hugging her knees as Pascal crawled up onto her head and gazed up at Eugene through his wide, chameleon eyes.

"It was a wanted poster. And, upon its crinkled surface with his nose spectacularly ruined, was the drawn picture of our infamous thief, Flynn Rider."