Disclaimer: I do not own Tangled or its characters. But I do own all OCs.
I Wish…
The Kingdom of Corona was always lively in the morning. From the jolly venders in the shop to the mannerly citizens who walked the streets everyday greeting everyone they passed. But within the castle walls of the sunny town, the pattering of little feet was heard every morning.
Well, not quite. This pattern of taps wasn't heard everyday. At least, not this early in the morning.
The pitter-patter echoed through the hallways of the castle. A passing maid stepped aside as the little tike ran. He suddenly stopped in front of a large door. This door was the same size as any "regular" bedroom door in the vast palace. The little boy struggled to open the huge door, but he could only open it to a crack he could squeeze through not so easily. He fell to the floor with a thump but quickly recovered before getting caught. Fortunately, that didn't faze whoever was in the bed. The little boy slowly crept to the bed, climbed on with a bit of difficulty, and he put his little green companion on one of the pillows. The chameleon crawled onto the unsuspected victim's head and stuck his tongue in his ear.
"AH!" The covers and pillows flew all over the place, and the little boy fell over in a fit of giggles. "What the…?"
"SURPRIIIIIIIIISE!"
The older boy gawked at the little boy and his pet as he wiped his wet ear. "What are you and Pascal doing in my bed, squirt?"
As soon as the boy was sobered up, he exclaimed happily, "HAPPY ALMOST BIRTHDAY, FLYNN!"
Flynn ruffled his little brother's hair. "Thanks squirt, but, uh… my birthday's tomorrow."
"That's why I said 'Happy Almost Birthday.'"
"I knew I'd find you here, Teddy." At the now open doors of Flynn's room was a steamed 13-year-old girl. Her arms were crossed, and her long brown hair fell over her shoulders. Her green eyes shot daggers at her brothers. "You weren't supposed to wake him up. You were supposed to be in the dining hall waiting with us. And you," she pointed at her disheveled, older brother. "You need to stop sneaking out of the castle at night causing mischief. I don't want to keep covering for you. Do you even know what time it is?"
Flynn sighed. "Calm down, Rose. I wasn't out that long."
"Whatever. Just get ready. It's almost time for breakfast." She crossly slammed the door as soon as she was done barking at her brothers.
When she was gone, both brothers let out a breath. "Rosemarie seems crankier than usual," Teddy said.
"She's just wants to go back into the kitchen to be with her boyfriend, Tony the chef," Flynn joked. It made both boys laugh. When they were done, Flynn took his younger brother in his arms as he got out of bed and set him down on the floor. "Wait outside for me and don't let anyone in the room."
Teddy's brown eyes beamed. "Okay!"
When the boy left, Flynn fell back on the bed to try to get a few more winks before his brother suspected anything. When he did so, he heard a squeak and jumped up. "Oh! Sorry, Pascal!" He picked up the little chameleon and petted him remorsefully. "When did you sneak back into my bed?" Pascal stuck out his tongue. "Wait outside with Teddy." The little chameleon scurried out the room, probably afraid the young man would squash him again. After that little incident, he was afraid to find anything else that Teddy could've left in his bed.
Flynn went into his bathroom to wash up and get ready, instead. As soon as he was done, he went out to get his brother and they both went to the dining hall.
Flynn wasn't too excited to get to the dining hall. Nothing exciting happened inside the castle nowadays because of his busy schedule as the prince and future king. And the only way he could leave was to sneak out.
On their way to the dining hall, Flynn lifted Teddy onto his shoulders, causing the little boy to giggle. As soon as they were there, Flynn put his little brother down and knelt down to his eye level. "I'm going out for a while, so if Mom or Dad ask, I'm in the lavatory."
"Got it!"
He ruffled his brother's hair. "Thanks, squirt. I'll see you later."
Flynn snuck into the kitchen and through a secret exit that he had made himself. No one would ever suspect that he'd escape that way; he didn't like going into the kitchen because the chef always yelled at him for stealing the apples. But whenever the chef and the cooks left the kitchen, it was always the opportune time to go through the secret passage.
As soon as he was outside in front of the castle, he took a deep breath. "This is more like it."
The crowned prince of Corona was always welcomed in the town. Every villager liked the socialite very much. He was very amiable to the townsfolk, being the grandson of Corona's deceased, beloved king and the son of Corona's reigning, just king who was just as beloved, gave him a very renowned reputation—and also having his mother's charm and his father's wanderlust made him very prominent.
"Hey, Flynn!" one said.
"How're you doing, Flynn?" another said.
"Send my regards to the king and queen."
It was like this every time he snuck out of the castle.
"Flynn!" The young man turned to see his best friend, Jerrod, the baker's son. He was just as old as the crowned prince. He had sandy hair tied into a ponytail and a pair of dark eyes. He and the prince had been friends for a long time, but they had their differences like any pair of friends. "What are you doing out here?"
"Oh, well I had a few minutes to spare so I decided to spend them walking among the commoners," he replied in a fake, snooty accent. "What do you think?"
Jerrod snickered. "Nice impression of the duke of Orae. But seriously, what are you doing in town? You're going to get caught if any of the guards catch you."
"You know how I enjoy the thrill of the chase."
"What's wrong with you? Why so chipper?"
The boys passed a fruit stand where the vender throw each of them a fresh apple. Flynn took a bite of the apple, savoring its taste. "It's not everyday you get a sweet apple like that. You see this?" He pointed to his chin. "You see the juices sliding down my chin? That tells ya it's a quality apple. Dee-licious." He took another bite and continued walking ignoring the weird look his friend gave him.
"Okay, now you're freaking me out. Since when are you a fruit connoisseur?"
Flynn took another bite of his apple before confessing to his best friend. "My parents set up another date for me. They've had me meet suitors for the past month and I can't take it anymore." Despite his calm tone, it still sounded painful for him to admit.
"So? You should consider yourself lucky. A lot of guys would kill to be in your position, literally."
"Yeah, well, it's not so fun when your parents have you meet a bunch of spoiled princesses who don't care about anyone but themselves. And most of them are morons. I don't want to have to be stuck with one of them for the rest of my kingship, no less my life."
"Well, your birthday's tomorrow, isn't it? Maybe they'll give you a break."
"Yeah, maybe. The Festival of Lanterns has always been a family thing. But you know the other night, I had an epiphany." Jerrod eyed him suspiciously. He'd never heard his friend talk this way before. "Once I turn eighteen, my life will go down the drain. It'll be filled with so much responsibility that I won't have time for anything fun; I'll probably never see you again." Both friends took the time to dwell on that comment. Flynn was a prince learning to be a king, and Jerrod was the baker's son and protégé, learning to take over his father's business. They were both living two different lives. "You've always been like another brother to me, Jerry, and I won't forget you when I become king." He patted Jerrod's shoulder fraternally.
"But before that happens, my friend, I'll go out and live like there's no today. And for my birthday, my one wish is to do what I want—not to have to sneak through the kingdom just so I can talk to you or anybody else, and not to have to be pressured to marry princesses I've just met."
"What are you telling me for? You should talk to your parents about that."
Flynn spit out the contents of his apple. "Are you kidding me? They'll never go for it. They won't allow me in town during the daytime; I'm risking my neck being out here with you right now."
Jerrod shrugged. "You won't know unless you try. Maybe if you'd actually talked to your parents every once and a while, you wouldn't have to sneak out."
"Perhaps you're right. Maybe if I talked with Dad first, he could egg on Mom and I'll be—"
"We've been looking for you, Your Majesty."
Flynn and Jerrod quickly whisked around, faced by two guards. The prince gulped. "—busted."
Deep in the forests beyond Corona, a wolf was lurking around sniffing out its prey. As soon as she caught the scent, she chased after her target. She caught the kill without difficulty. A whistle called for her to return to her master and show her what she caught. She arrived at a covert, little hovel and through a room where her master was now. Her master was a girl with a pale complexion and lavender eyes. The sun ray's shone through the small window and glistened off her white hair.
One bark bought her master's attention. "Lupe, what'd you find?"
"Bark!"
The girl went crawled to the wolf and took her catch. "Oh! These are lovely, Lupe!" Lupe rubbed her head lovingly against her hand. "Begonias, daffodils, daisies—these are perfect!" She rewarded her wolf with a bone with a few strips of meat still stuck to it before petting her one more time. "You did a good job today."
The girl went back to work with the flowers. A large canvas laid on the floor with other white and purple-tinted flowers. She added the additional carnation to her flowery mosaic. "Done! How is it?" She held up the canvas of pressed flowers to the wolf. It looked like the wolf herself. Lupe barked happily. "I knew you'd like it." She hung the canvas higher up on the wall with a collection of her other flower canvases.
"Now if only I could finish this one." She turned her attention to the largest frame she had. It consisted of only three colors: violet, blue, and lavender, and they were all of the same variety. She couldn't figure what kind they were, though.
"I just need one more, but I can't seem to find that perfect one."
She turned back to her canine friend who was gnawing at her bone. "What should we do now?"
Lupe pointed her nose to the door. "No, I can't go out. You know that."
She whined.
"You know why. It's for my own good, remember? Plus Sis locked the door; I can't leave no matter what."
Then she barked.
"No, I'm not going through the doggy door. I wouldn't fit through it, anyway. Besides, we have plenty of fun in here."
She snorted in disagreement.
"Oh come on! There are plenty of fun things we can do. We could, um… wax the floors, again. Or we could dust everything… again."
She shook her head.
"Fine, I admit it—there's nothing fun we can do in here and I do want to go outside!"
She barked again.
"Don't worry, Lupe, because this is it. This is the day I finally ask her… I've never felt so nervous."
Another groan. "I know, I know. It's either now or never. I'll ask her as soon as she enters through the door."
"Selena!"
She gasped. "It's time!" she squealed. Selena ran out of the room, followed by her canine companion. She stopped in front of a young woman. She was a beautiful young woman, with silky blonde hair, dark eyes, and flawless skin. She smiled as she welcomed the young woman, "Welcome back, Ambrose."
Ambrose's rosy lips pursed into a thin line. She set down the basket in her hand before hugging her sister. "Oh, Selena! Look at you! It must be so exhausting having to keep the house neat and tidy by yourself while I'm out," she coddled her sister.
"No, no! It wasn't that hard," was Selena's reply.
"Then I don't see why everything still looks so dirty." She poked her sister's little nose and laughed. "I'm just teasing! It always looks like this."
Selena gave a weak laugh and looked at her friend. Lupe gave her an assertive look. It was either now or never, she reminded her. "Um, so Sis. I have a proposition for you."
"Uh-huh…" As she talked, Ambrose didn't pay attention to anything she was saying. She was too busy gazing at herself in the mirror set up in the corner of the room. She looked at herself lovingly until she saw a liver spot at the corner of her widow's peak. She tensed a bit but quickly recovered so her sister wouldn't notice. "Can you do me a favor and sing for your tired, ole' sister, Selena? It'll make me feel so much better."
"Um… sure," was her thwarted answer, but Ambrose still didn't notice.
Selena quickly arranged the room to sing for her sister as fast as she could. She retrieved a brush, Ambrose's chair, her stool, then she had her sit down and sat in her little stool in front of her sister while singing as quickly as she could, "Let your power reveal, in order to heal…"
"Selena, slow down…!" Her white hair glowed and shimmered so fast, Ambrose couldn't keep up with her brush. Her hair sparked, restoring her youth at an alarming rate. "Selena—!"
"So Sis," Selena jumped up from her stool and leaned over her sister's chair, "I was thinking since tomorrow's my birthday—"
"What?" Ambrose laughed. "No, no, no. I distinctively remember your birthday being last year."
"That's the thing about birthdays, Sis—they're kind of an annual thing. And there's something I've been meaning to ask you."
"Can you tell me about it later? I just remembered I forgot to get some fresh cheese from the market." She retrieved her basket and ran up to the door. "Don't forget, if anyone knocks on the door, don't answer it."
"The door will be locked anyway, Sis."
"I know. I was just testing you. You know how you're so inclined to forget. I'll see you later." She blew a kiss before leaving her sister in their little hovel again.
As soon as she was sure she was gone, Selena slumped into Ambrose's chair. Lupe put her head in her lap and whimpered softly. Selena petted her head in consolation. "Don't worry, Lupe. I'll try again when she comes back. I'll have us leave this place together. You'll see…"
R&R!