Near Death Confessions

Selena was ecstatic. She faced all those hoodlums on her own and she didn't even faint. Who knew hoodlums were such softies? She misunderstood them; at first, she thought they were all bloodthirsty crooks, but now she knew not everyone was who they appeared to be.

"That was… something, wasn't it?" Flynn said, breaking the silence. "You were really something back there. I didn't know you had it in ya. It was really… impressive."

"I know!" she exclaimed. She jumped when she realized how loud she was. "I mean, I know," she repeated nonchalantly.

Flynn rolled his eyes. Selena wasn't fooling anyone.

Speaking of people who aren't who they appear to be…

As the two continued to go down the trail, Selena stared at Flynn. She didn't forget what he did up there in the Cuddly Kitten. He knew those ruffians—he was friends with them. It didn't seem right since everybody else was after his bounty. It made her question who Flynn Rider really was. Was he the infamous thief he wanted her to believe, or was he just some random stranger who bared a very identical resemblance? Was it just a coincidence when he entered her home at such a convenient time?

"So, Flynn," she began, "where're you from?"

"Oh, no," he said. "Sorry, Snow White, but I do not give back-stories. However, I am becoming very interested in yours. Now, I know I'm not supposed to mention the hair."

"Nope."

"Or the sister."

"Uh-uh."

"Frankly, I'm too scared to ask about the dog."

"Wolf."

"Same difference. So I'll ask you this: if you wanted to see the flowers and the lanterns so badly, why haven't you gone before?"

Selena stopped walking. Flynn looked at her curiously. How was she supposed to answer that? "My sister kept me locked up every year on my birthday"? It wasn't an appropriate answer, but what else could she tell him? She wasn't the best liar.

Selena chuckled nervously and glanced at Lupe for help. The wolf shook her head, telling her not to say a thing. But before she had the chance to answer, the ground suddenly began to quake. The tunnel rumbled and the clatter of running feet grew.

"Um, Flynn…"

Behind them, Luna's guards were approaching them. "Rider!"

"Run," he said. "Run!" He pushed Selena in front of him and quickly followed behind.

As soon as they were out of the tunnel, the gang stopped at an edge. Below them was an empty ravine that was gradually being filled with water. Next to them was a dam threatening to burst.

Flynn face-palmed. "You've got to be kidding me!"

Suddenly, across from them, the two robbers broke through one of the blocked out passages. "Who's that?" Selena asked.

"They don't like me."

The guards were finally caught up to them. "Who are they?"

"They don't like me, either."

All of a sudden, a white stallion jumped in front of the guards. "Who's that?"

"Okay, let's just say for the moment that everyone here doesn't like me!" Flynn searched around for some kind of escape. "Does your hair happen to be long enough to use as a rope?"

"Nope, but this may be useful." The young woman held up a rope she conveniently found on the ground. "Here." She shoved her frying pan in Flynn's hands. "Lupe, help Flynn." Then she addressed the chameleon on her shoulder. "Let's do this." The young woman grappled the rope on a broken piece of wood that was still nailed to the unstable structure. She jumped off the precipice, leaving Flynn and Lupe to fend against the guards.

Flynn stared the frying pan quizzically. "I don't suppose you know how to use this, do you?" he asked the wolf. Lupe rolled her eyes knowing full well that was a ridiculous question. "Right."

A sword was suddenly swung at his head, but he dodged it in time. Flynn hit the guard with a frying pan. Another guard lunged at him, and he blocked the sword with the pan. Behind him, another guard prepared to strike, but then Lupe bit his leg. He yelped in pain and the wolf butted him over the edge. She bit another guard and Flynn also knocked him into the half-empty gulley.

"Whoa mama! I have gotta get me one of these!" Then he turned to Lupe. "We make a pretty good team, huh?" She barked in agreement.

When another sword was brandished at him, Flynn confidently pointed the pan at his new opponent. However, he paused when he saw who was holding the sword. "Maximus?"

Jerrod abruptly ran out of the tunnel. "Flynn?"

"Jerry?"

Flynn wasn't paying attention when the horse knocked the frying pan out of his hand. Everyone stared over the edge and watched the pan until it splashed into the shallow pool. "How about two out of three?" Maximus put the sword near his neck. Lupe growled at the horse.

"Max, what are you doing?" Jerrod hollered.

"Yes, Max. If you've come to take me home, I think my parents would prefer me alive!"

"Flynn!" Selena suddenly called out. She had one end of the rope tied around her waist. "Grab Lupe!" She threw the other end of the rope, which latched around his wrist, and pulled. The wolf jumped into Flynn's arms as he saluted Maximus and Jerrod. They watched in astonishment as the wolf and the young man were both pulled off the precipice and into the canyon.

"You must know that this is the strangest thing I've ever done!" he said to the wolf.

"Flynn, look out!" the young woman shouted. The two robbers on the other side prepared to chop him to piece as he was swung over. She pulled the rope so Flynn and Lupe were unreachable.

"Ha!" Flynn laughed. "You should see your faces because you both look—!" He gasped when his body was slammed into a protruding piece of wood. "…ridiculous." Lupe whined as she was crushed between the wall and Flynn's body. Selena winced; that looked extremely painful.

From across the valley, Selena saw that the horse was trying to kick down of the wooden planks propping the rickety dam. She also saw some of the unconscious guards recovering from their blows. The plank soon fell, making a bridge that the horse began to cross.

"Jump, Snow White!" Selena turned to find Flynn and Lupe in a floating piece of debris. It edges made for a boat big enough for all three of them (four, if they included Pascal's teeny size). He was still holding the rope firmly. "Jump!" he repeated.

Selena didn't hesitate. She jumped just in time before the horse could grab hold of her. As she swung down, she grabbed her floating frying pan from the water. The boat creaked when she landed. She hesitantly looked back at the dam, which would explode at any moment. "I hope this thing holds up."

"Yeah," Flynn said. He also glanced at the dam with dread. "Me too."

As the dam fell apart, the men, the guards, and Jerrod watched fearfully as water came crashing. Maximus was the only one who stood his ground even as the water blew him away.

"Hang on!" Flynn shielded Selena, Lupe, and Pascal, preparing for the harsh wave to come. Selena held him anxiously. As soon as the water came, their little "boat" went flying.

Even after the wave, Selena managed to stay on the debris raft. She pulled Lupe on, who had Pascal by the tail. Only one person was missing. "Where's Flynn?" She frantically looked around. She couldn't see the thief anywhere in the water. "Flynn! Flynn, can you hear me?"

"Snow White!" Further ahead, the white-haired girl saw the young man trying to swim up to them. "Selena!"

"Hold on, Flynn!"

"To what!"

Selena gasped. The rope was still tied around her waist. "Flynn, catch!" She threw the rope to him, which latched around his hand. She tried pulling him, but the rapids were too strong. "I can't pull you! You're too heavy!" On the contrary, as she pulled the rope, the boat floated closer and faster to Flynn. "Don't worry! We're catching up to you!" When she glanced over Flynn, her face blanched. "Oh no!"

"What is it?"

Selena was too terrified to speak. She could see an end to the boundless rapids—that was a huge problem. From all the books she ever read in that little hovel, she learned that the world had no edge because of its spherical shape. So if there was no end, where would they end up?

"Selena, what are you—?" Flynn disappeared over the edge.

"Flynn!" Suddenly, the rope that was attached to Flynn began to pull Selena. She hung onto the boat with all the strength she had left, which pulled them all faster with the current. "Lupe, grab hold of me!" The wolf cautiously stalked across the brittle debris to her master with Pascal still dangling from her maw. Selena put one arm around Lupe before she let go of the boat.

The three drifted through the water until they also fell down the deluge. However, the fall was short. Selena found herself overhanging from the deluge, struggling to keep the heavy wolf in her arms.

"You okay, Snow White?" Next to the young woman was the thief, who she assumed was dead. He was hanging onto the rope for dear life. His hat was long gone, revealing his glistening blonde hair. His tight grip on the rope was turning his hands red.

"Flynn!" she exclaimed. "How are you not dead?"

"The rope," he quickly pointed up. "It's hanging on a rock over the waterfall."

Selena didn't bother to look up. "How do we get down?"

"I don't know."

"You do have a plan, right?"

"I don't know."

"How are we going to make it out of this?"

"… I don't know."

Selena became scared. Flynn usually had the answer to everything. He knew about the bar, the escape route, he even protected her from the terrible wave. Now that they were suspended fifty feet in the air above jagged rocks that could kill them, she was trembling with fear.

She choked on a sob. "I'm so sorry, Flynn. I'm sorry, Lupe. I'm sorry, Pascal. This is all my fault." She couldn't hold it in anymore. Selena bawled her eyes out, and the tears fell pitifully in the pool below. "Ambrose was right; I should've never left…"

Flynn heart nearly tore in half. Selena was so stubborn to live her dream, and now she was going to die. She depended on him to protect her, and he completely failed. He lied to her, on many accounts. Well, now that they were dangling above their demise, he might as well confess the truth.

"Fitzherbert."

Selena sniffed and stared at him questionably. "What?"

He sighed before he elaborated. "My real name is Flynnigan Fitzherbert, not Rider. I was going to tell you before, but... I thought I might as well tell you now before… you know…"

Selena chuckled as she sniffed again. "I have magic hair that glows when I sing."

Flynn did a double take. "What?"

They both froze when they heard a snap! A second later, the rope around Selena's waist broke. "Flynn!"

"Hold on, Selena!" Flynn, who also fell, dived after her. His mind was telling him he was completely crazy for doing something so… crazy! But his heart told him not to let her go. He had to save her. Once he was close enough, he took Selena in her arms with the rope still in his hand.

A tree he saw from their depth caught his eye. He swung the remainder of the rope at a branch and swung them all onto land. Flynn quickly let go of the rope and held onto Selena as they fell on the ground. Their animal companions fell next to them.

The young man groaned when his back hit the surface, but he never felt so relieved. They were on land again, which meant they were alive. And now he found himself blushing red, staring into a pair of lovely lavender eyes. That was when he realized Selena was on top of him.

The young woman stared at him, still a bit flabbergasted by the events that happened a few seconds ago. She almost died, and now she was here, on top of Flynn.

Wait… we're alive?

"We made it," she said. "We're alive!" She got off the ground and ran to Lupe. "Lupe, we're still alive!"

Flynn was filled with utter shock, even as he sat up from the ground slowly. Pascal stared at him curiously. The chameleon cautiously wandered next to the young man and poked his face with his tail. "Her hair glows," he finally said. Then he turned to Pascal. "Her hair glows, Pascal."

"Flynn?"

"Her white hair glows. I mean, I shouldn't be surprised—"

"Flynn."

"—but how is that possible?"

"Flynn!"

"What!"

"It doesn't just glow," Selena said. She was wringing her lustrous, long, white hair over the river. "You haven't even seen anything yet."

Lupe, who was sitting beside the confused young man, smirked at him.

Flynn's expression didn't change. "Why's she smiling at me?"

Later that night, the two decided it was better to rest and wait until morning instead of continuing their journey to Luna. Now they were sitting around a campfire munching on the freshly cleaned apples in Flynn's drenched satchel. The night was awkwardly quiet, and as Flynn subconsciously chewed on the core of his apple, he couldn't stop staring at Selena's white hair.

What she told him over the deluge was just… what was the word he was looking for? Incredible? Unbelievable? He couldn't say that. It was just as unbelievable as his magic hair. Maybe that was the reason why her hair was so white. But was she telling the truth, or was she just pulling his leg and jabbering nonsense in a life/death situation?

Selena, who finally noticed the young man staring at her hair, glanced at his hands. His left one was especially red from the rope burn. "Flynn, give me your hand."

"What?" He quickly glanced at the young woman nervously. "Did you say something, Snow White?"

She ignored him as she took a seat next to him and grabbed his hand. There was dry blood on the scratch. She touched it lightly and Flynn slightly flinched. She then began wrapping her hair around it.

"So"—Flynn cleared his throat—"you're being awfully cryptic as you wrap your white hair around my injured hand." He didn't even realize his hand was still itching with pain. He would've healed it on his own, but he didn't feel like telling her his other secret right now. He was still dealing with hers. He groaned when strands of her hair rubbed against the wound.

"Sorry," Selena apologized sheepishly. She sighed when she was done. "Just… try not to freak out, okay?" She took another deep breath and closed her eyes.

He stared at her curiously. Was she really going to heal his hand?

His question was answered when Selena suddenly began to sing:

Let your powers reveal,

In order to heal,

Go back in time,

And bring back what once was mine,

Flynn's eyes widened as a glow in Selena's hair grew from her roots and began to spread, turning her hair the purest white color he had ever seen.

He glanced at Lupe and Pascal, who weren't very shocked by the sight. Lupe gestured her head towards his hand. He looked down and saw that the glow finally reached the hair encasing his hand.

Flower shining bright,

Revive what has been grayed,

Recover and be found,

It was incredible. The song—the most beautiful melody he heard anyone sing—was exactly like the song he had to sing in order to heal others. But the song wasn't what was enticing him. It was Selena's graceful voice. It was absolutely lovely, melodic, pure. It reminded him of his mother's voice when she sang to him when he was younger.

Flynn became so engrossed with the song, he sang the last lines with her.

Bring back what once was mine,

What once was mine.

Selena opened her eyes and stared at him, a bit shocked when she heard him join her in song. He knew the song, she could tell, but how? It was just another mystery about Flynn Rider—or Flynn Fitzherbert—that made her stupefied.

Once the song was over, her hair stopped glowing. Flynn unwrapped her hair and stared at his hand. The scratch was gone.

"Um… how long have you had these powers?" he asked casually. That wasn't really the reaction she expected, but at least he didn't freak out.

"I don't know. Forever, I guess. My sister told me that ever since I was born, people have tried to steal me away and hoard my powers for their own selfish reasons."

"Steal you? Couldn't they just… cut your hair?"

She shrugged. "They could, but it would be pointless. You see, my mother had difficulty giving birth to me, so she died. I was saved because of my magical abilities. And since I was born with these abilities, they stay with me forever. So if you try to cut my hair, it'll stay white and powerful for as long as I live." She began running her hands through her hair as she explained. "A gift like that has to be protected. That's why Ambrose never let me…" She stopped herself. "I mean, that's why I never…"

"Why you never left that little hovel," Flynn finished for her. "And you're still going to go back?"

"No!" she answered firmly. "I mean… yes? I don't know. It's complicated." She covered her face with her hands. Lupe put her head in her lap consolingly. Pascal, who was on Flynn's shoulder, croaked sadly.

That was a hard question to answer. She wasn't very happy in that little hovel, being locked up every year on her birthday. This trip had been exhilarating, fun—if she were to return home, she'd be miserable again. But if she didn't go back, then Ambrose would be alone, and she was the only family she had left. Then again, she had Flynn…

Selena quickly regained self-control before she started crying again. She sighed and looked at Flynn. He still had some things to explain to her, starting with his real identity.

"So, Flynnigan Fitzherbert, huh?"

"Actually, Flynnigan Frederick Fitzherbert is my full name, but Flynn is just fine." Selena gave him a look that told him to get to the point. He couldn't hide this any longer. Pascal patted his cheek in encouragement. Flynn looked at him gratefully. He was glad to have a supportive friend with him. "Flynn Rider was actually… my dad."

"Your father's a thief?"

"Was. I'll spare you the sob story of my dad's melancholic orphaned past; it's a little bit of a downer." He cleared his throat before he told her the story his father told him on many accounts as a child. Selena scooted closer to him and propped her elbows on her knees as she listened closely. "He took the name from his favorite childhood character in a book used to read all the other orphans, The Tales of Flynnigan Rider—swashbuckling rogue, richest man alive, not bad with the ladies, either. Not that he'd ever brag about, of course."

"Was he a thief, too?" Selena asked.

"Uh… well, no. Actually, he had enough money to do what he wanted do. He could go anywhere he wanted to go. My dad… being the little orphan who had nothing, thought it was the better option. It wasn't until he met my mother when everything changed."

"Was it love at first sight?"

Flynn chuckled. "Yeah, I guess it was. The thief and the girl with extremely long blonde, magical hair."

Selena gave him a quizzical look. "Your mother had magical hair, too?"

"Yep. It turns out that my mother was a princess, and someone stole her when she was just a baby so they could use her power to stay young forever. My father cut it all off to save her life. Now it's short, brown, and powerless. They lived 'happily ever after', just like in those lovey-dovey fairy tales you read about. Then I came along, and my sister and brother after me. Now we rule the wonderful kingdom of Corona as one big happily family."

"So… you're a prince with magic healing abilities?" Flynn nodded hesitantly. "Why'd you leave if you were so happy?"

"Well I wasn't that happy." He ran a hand through his blonde hair. "The power my mother used to possess was passed along to me, so when I was born, I had blonde hair. They tried cutting it off, but," he plucked off one of his hairs, but it didn't change color, "as you can see, it stays blonde. My mother was afraid that someone would kidnap me and take me away to exploit my gift. So, in order to protect me, she kept me in the confines of the kingdom. She took me to the town a few times when I was little, but as I grew older, she stopped letting me go. Then she began picking out suitors for me! Do you know how angry I was then? Do you know how insane that is? Choosing the love of my life for me? I was just..." Flynn took a deep breath before he could blow a fuse.

"I couldn't take it anymore, so… I ran away. I wasn't planning on returning until tomorrow, which also happens to be my 18th birthday, but then I ran into those guards from Luna. Your house was the closest place for shelter, so I hid there, then you hit me with that blasted frying pan. You assumed I was Flynn Rider, so I decided to just stick with it. I guess that wasn't the smartest thing to do because now I'm being accused of larceny, but, hey! At least I got to meet you."

Selena blushed at the sweet comment. "So, I guess we're both the guilty ones."

"Yeah, I guess so." There was a moment of silence before Flynn continued, "This sounds like a bunch of nonsense, doesn't it?"

"After everything we've been through today, it's not very hard to believe. I thought you seemed too nice to be a thief."

Flynn chuckled. "You can't tell anybody about this, alright? No one can know that I'm the prince of Corona. If they did… well, let's just say that horse would drag me back there faster than those guards could get a hold of me."

"Ah, we wouldn't want that."

"Well, a fake reputation is all a man has when he's on the run."

Selena shook her head and laughed. "I think it's a nice coincidence that our birthdays are on the same day, though. Now we can celebrate it together." Flynn smiled. That did sound nice.

The two continued to stare into each eyes. A warm feeling began to swell up in Flynn as he stared into Selena's lavender orbs. They were filled with such brilliance compared to the fear that filled them this evening when they were hanging from a rope. Selena's thoughts requited. Flynn's eyes were very handsome, as well as Flynn himself. And, prince or thief, Flynn was such a wonderful person to be around.

As the two leaned in, Flynn suddenly became uncomfortable. "Well, that's enough excitement for one night!" he said. He stood from his spot and stretched his arms. "How about we hit the hay? We've got to be well rested if we want to hit that festival early."

Selena stood as well and yawned. "Okay. I'm a bit tired, anyway."

The teens prepared their resting places. Lupe went over to Selena and laid by her side. Pascal crawled onto the little makeshift pillow Flynn made. The prince put out the fire before he laid down next to the chameleon.

Before they went to sleep, Selena rolled over to face Flynn. "By the way," she said, "I like Flynn Fitzherbert much better than Flynn Rider."

Flynn blushed at the compliment. "Thanks. Goodnight, Selena."

"Goodnight, Flynn."

As the night went on, Flynn found it very hard to sleep. Now that everything was out in the open, he couldn't help feeling guilty about running away from home. He almost died; he got lucky today. The kingdom would've been in shambles if they found out their prince was dead. His family would've been devastated. His father would probably have been angry. Rosemarie would most likely have been indifferent about it, but nonetheless sad. Teddy would've probably bawled his eyes out, along with his grandmother. His mother would've had the worst reaction; he couldn't even imagine what she would've done if he died.

He wondered if any of them even knew he was gone.

After hours of guilty thoughts, Flynn was finally able to fall asleep, dreaming of nothing but white tresses…

Rapunzel sighed as she made her way to Flynn's room. He hadn't come out of his room since their fight. She felt terrible about it, but she also felt really hurt that he had been ignoring her this long. So the queen decided to take this opportunity to sort things out with her son.

As she continued to walk to his room, Rapunzel began preparing her apology. She struggled to come up with anything he'd listen to. Rosemarie and Teddy were so much easier to deal with.

But everything was different with Flynn. Flynn was special—not that her other two children weren't special; all of her children were precious to her. Flynn was born with something that endangered his life, he had to understand. Surprisingly, Eugene could get through to him easier than she could with the other two. She wished he was here with her now, but she knew she couldn't disturb him while he was working.

When she was in front of his door, Rapunzel took a deep breath. "Okay, you can do this," she coaxed herself. She knocked on the door gently. "Flynn?" There was no reply. She knocked a little louder. "Flynn!" Still no reply. "Flynn, I'm sorry for what I said earlier. May I come in so we can talk?" Flynn still said nothing. "Flynn?"

She opened the door slightly to look inside. Rapunzel saw no trace of Flynn. "Oh no." She opened the door wider and saw that the room was completely vacant. "Flynn!"

"Blondie!" Rapunzel turned to see her husband running towards her. "The royal guards told me Maximus is missing."

"Flynn's gone, too!"

"What?" Rapunzel gestured towards Flynn's room. Eugene gasped when he saw that it was also empty. "Maximus must've helped him escape. I knew that horse was evil ever since that time—"

"Flynn, Maximus would never help Flynn escape. He's too noble."

"Then he must've gone after him."

"So Flynn really did run away." Rapunzel sat on the bed slowly. "This is all my fault. I did it. I finally drove him away."

"No!" Eugene said firmly. "This is not your fault!"

"Yes it is! You know it is, Eugene! If I hadn't pushed him to find a suitor so soon, if I didn't keep him trapped in here… Flynn could be in danger and it's all my fault!" Rapunzel began to cry. "I'm such a terrible mother."

"Rapunzel…" His words were heard on deaf ears as Rapunzel continue to mourn her son's absence.

Eugene sat next to his wife and held her, comforting her while she lamented. Who knew what kind of trouble their son was getting into now? Hopefully, no one would discover his gift, otherwise, who knew what would happen?

I didn't plan to have this chapter so long, but I feel very accomplished! I think the next chapter may be even longer! You just wait!

R&R!