The Kingdom of Luna
Flynn couldn't remember the last time he rested so peacefully. Maybe it was from tremendous exhaustion or the softness of the grassy earth beneath him. Either way, the prince didn't have a problem waking up in the morning. He was woken up by a cool sensation dripping on his forehead. When he opened his eyes, he found the white stallion that was chasing him snarling over him, his snout dripping wet.
Flynn thought it was a dream at first, but Maximus was only in his nightmares. So as he stared up at the mad horse, the prince simply said, "Well I hope you're here to apologize."
He should've known better than to say that to Maximus.
Flynn's shouting immediately woke up Selena and the others. When she saw him being pulled away by the horse, she ran to his aid. Selena was successfully able to pull him away with the loss of his boot, but the horse still went at him. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Easy boy!"
From behind, Jerrod pulled at his reigns. "Calm down, Max! We're here to retrieve Flynn, not kill him!"
Flynn backed up to a tree as Maximus continued to go at him, but Selena was getting in the way. Lupe barked at the horse, and he tried to defend himself by stomping over her. "Hey!" Selena cried. "Stop that!"
Jerrod couldn't surpass the strength of the magnificent stallion, so when he saw Selena, he nearly dropped the reigns. "Hey, get out of the way!"
However, the girl didn't listen. "Easy boy. Easy…" This time, she spoke soothing words to him.
Jerrod couldn't watch. He closed his eyes as he continued to struggle with his reigns.
Suddenly, the horse's fierce neighing and struggling stopped. When Jerrod opened his eyes, he saw Maximus was completely calm. His was staring into the eyes of the white-haired maiden like he was hypnotized. He wondered how this girl was able to tame this beast so easily.
"That's it," she said. Pascal, who was now on her head, also motioned for him to calm himself.
As she calmed down Maximus, Jerrod went over to Flynn, who was still cowering against the tree. "You okay, buddy?" he asked.
"Does it look like I'm okay? Maximus just tried to kill me!"
"Don't worry about Max. That girl calmed him down."
"What?" The boys looked over at Maximus, who was staring at the girl. The horse was completely enticed. "No way."
Maximus was in love. The warmness in her eyes was similar to a certain green-eyed queen's when they first met. It was like déjà vu.
"Now sit," she commanded. Maximus neighed against it. How dare she tell him what to do? "Sit!" she said in a firmer tone. He did so reluctantly.
"What?" Flynn said in disbelief. Jerrod's mouth went agape like a fish. Whoever this girl was, she was a miracle worker.
"Now drop the boot." The horse grunted. "Drop it." After a beat, Maximus did what he was told. "Good boy!"
Selena suddenly began to shower him in cute compliments and praises. She even scratched under his chin. Max wouldn't admit it (not like he could) but he loved it when anyone scratched on his chin. It was another one of his foibles.
"You're such a good boy!" Selena cooed him on. "Yes, you are!" Maximus's tail wagged happily. "You all tired from chasing this bad boy all over the place?" Maximus nodded sadly.
Flynn was appalled. "Excuse me?"
"Nobody appreciates you, do they? Do they?" Maximus snorted in reply. It was like this girl could read his mind.
"Oh, come on!" Flynn and Jerrod shouted at the same time. "He's a bad horse!"
Max glared at them. Selena hugged him to calm him down. "Oh, he's nothing but a big sweet heart. Isn't that right…" Selena looked at his badge attached to his saddle. "Maximus?" He neighed happily when she said his name.
"Maybe to women," Jerrod said.
"He's been after our hides for as long as I can remember!" Flynn said. "Did you forget that he just tried to kill me a second ago!"
"He hung me over a cliff just so I could come with him!"
"Well, maybe if you two weren't so bad," Selena offered.
"You've got to be kidding me!" the boys cried.
Maximus glared at the two boys. They glared back.
Selena looked at Pascal and Lupe for help. Lupe tipped her head to the side, and Pascal did something similar to a shrug. She knew these three wouldn't get along as long as they were together. Maybe if she could convince them to cooperate for today, everything could work out. After all, today was a special day.
"Look," she said. "Today is kind of the biggest day of my life. Actually, our lives." She grabbed Flynn's arm and hugged it. "And the thing is," she pulled Flynn up from the tree. "I need you not to take him back to Corona—" Maximus immediately shook his head to that. "—just for 24 hours, and then you and…"
"Jerrod."
"You and Jerrod can chase Flynn back to Corona to your hearts' content, okay?"
"Wait, wait, wait!" Flynn interjected. "Have you forgotten it's my birthday, too? I was planning on returning home yesterday, but then you," he pointed at Selena, "and you," he waved his finger towards Maximus, "and somehow you," he pointed to his best friend, "totally wasted my day of freedom with all the chasing and merrymaking and floods! So I want compensation."
"Well, what exactly do you want?"
"A break. I think I deserve it after all I'd been through yesterday. It is my birthday, after all."
"Me too," Jerrod added. "If hanging me over my death wasn't enough, then I think I deserve to relax after being caught in that flood." Flynn and Selena didn't realize he was still slightly wet.
"Fine. Flynn promised he'd escort me into Luna anyway—"
Jerrod shot a questioning glance at Flynn. "Don't ask," the prince said.
"—and I guess two more escorts could be more fun. But you all have to promise to be nice."
Jerrod sighed. "As long as we're not chasing anybody, or hanging around any cliffs."
Selena turned to Flynn and Maximus. "Deal?"
They glared at each other for a moment. Flynn sighed and took out his hand for Maximus to shake. He turned away. He had a job to do. He couldn't folly about with a bunch of teenagers because it was Flynn's birthday.
"And it's also my birthday, just so you know," Selena quickly added.
Maximus looked at her for a brief moment. Her eyes were pleading him to give in and allow Flynn stay with her for just a bit longer. He couldn't ignore that innocent face—and it was her birthday. He gave in and gave Flynn his hoof to shake.
Selena smiled happily at this arrangement. When a bell suddenly rang, and Selena stepped forward and broke their truce. It was coming from Luna. They were so close. "Come on, you guys!" Selena began to run to the beautiful sound of the bells, not bothering to wait for anyone to follow. Lupe, with Pascal on her head, ran after her, barking gleefully.
When they were out of sight, Maximus quickly punched Flynn in the gut. The prince fell over in pain. Jerrod couldn't help but laugh. Flynn glared up at him. "Some friend you are." Jerrod gave him an apologetic look.
It wasn't long until they reached a bridge. On the other side was the Kingdom of Luna. Selena was just about to run off onto the bridge when Flynn grabbed her arm. "Whoa, there! We can't just run off into town all willy-nilly. There are plenty of guards in that town and no doubt many wanted posters of Flynn Rider."
"What do you suggest we do? Disguise ourselves?"
Flynn thought for a moment. He glanced at the bridge and noticed a few people coming out of the village. "I'll be right back." He ran into the forest for a brief second. A few minutes later, he had three cloaks. "Problem solved!"
Selena and Jerrod eyed the cloaks suspiciously. "Where'd you get those?" she asked.
"You don't want to know." Flynn tossed the two other cloaks to them. "Let's go!" He began to march off.
When Selena and Jerrod had their cloaks and hoods on, the group continued on until they were at the bridge. Selena marveled the bridge as if it was the first time she saw a bridge—which it was. As they walked, Flynn also began to analyze the bridge. Since he'd never visited Luna before, he didn't know what to expect. So far, Luna didn't seem much different than Corona, except maybe their traditions. The bridge was one of the things that weren't different.
Then he noticed the wanted poster. This time, his dad's nose was bumpy, as if he was punched in the face. He quickly snatched off the wall of the bridge and squashed it into a ball. Maximus gave him a disapproving glare. "What? You know that's not really me." Maximus rolled his eyes. Instead of throwing away the wrinkly paper, Flynn stuffed it in Maximus's mouth. He spit it out and he nickered when it landed on Flynn's face. Then the young man shoved the stallion, and he too returned the blow. It wasn't long until Maximus had Flynn's leg caught in his mouth and Flynn fists were ready to hit him.
"Hey!" Jerrod hissed. Pascal was now on his shoulder. They both glared at them and pointed ahead. Selena and Lupe were far ahead of them, and they were oblivious to their brawl. "Come on, you guys. I really don't want to get into this. I want to just relax. Flynn, you said the same thing. So let's all just cooperate for Selena, okay?"
Flynn and Maximus exchanged looks. Pascal glared at them. They gave in. When Jerrod turned away, they gave each other one last shove before following the rest of their group.
Once inside the village, Selena gasped at how many wonderful things she'd never seen in her life. Being inside the kingdom itself was a spectacle, and there was so many things that she'd never done. She didn't know what she should do first.
"Okay, guys, what should we do first?" Flynn asked.
"Maybe we should split up," Jerrod suggested.
"What?" Selena said. "No, we can't split up. I thought we were going to browse the kingdom together?" This wasn't her plan at all. Sure, she didn't plan on having Jerrod and Maximus with them in the first place, but now that they were with them, she liked the idea of having more friends. Now they were going to separate?
"It's okay, Selena. I don't mind. And wouldn't it be better if the birthday people stayed together? Or we can split into threes just to make it even. Max, your little chameleon friend, and I can go somewhere else. What do you think, Flynn?" Jerrod winked at his friend. Flynn looked away and rubbed his neck.
"Um, yeah, that sounds good. But are you sure you don't mind having Pascal with you, Jerrod?"
"Are you kidding me? I love chameleons! And I think the little guys warmed up to me." Jerrod scratched Pascal's head, and he purred with pleasure. "So do we agree?"
Flynn comfortably put an arm around Selena. "How about it, Snow White? You and me." The wolf glared at him. "And Lupe."
After a moment of thinking, Selena nodded. "Okay. But we should meet up later."
"How about when they send off the lupines?" Jerrod said.
"Then it's settled," Flynn said. "We'll see you two, later."
However, Maximus didn't agree with their plan too much. He wanted to keep his eyes on both boys so neither of them could run off. But once again, Selena was able to find her way into his heart and get him to warm up to the idea.
"It won't be long, Maximus. We'll meet up by the docks later tonight. Okay?" Once she scratched behind his ears, he fell into her spell and complied. "Thank you, Max!" She hugged his neck before running off with Flynn.
By the time he realized they left, Maximus glanced over at Jerrod and Pascal. The young man smiled nervously at him. "Well, I guess it's just you and me, again. At least we're not alone this time." He laughed nervously. The stallion sighed. This was going to be a long day.
Meanwhile, Flynn, Selena, and Lupe began to look around town. "So, what should we do first?" Flynn asked.
"Mmm… I don't know." Suddenly, Selena's stomach growled. She blushed profusely. "How about we get breakfast first?"
Flynn nodded. "We didn't have breakfast, did we?" He looked around until he spotted a market. "I'll be right back. Stay here, and keep your hood on." He ran off to join the line before it could get longer.
As she waited for Flynn, Selena began to look around. Even though she had only been in the kingdom for five minutes, she liked Luna so far. The place was beautiful, the people gave her friendly smiles—she couldn't wait for the festival to really get going. She also noticed that there were many small flags hung about houses. They were blue and white, the endemic colors of Luna. The crescent moon in the middle was blue while the rest of the flag was white. It was beautiful.
What really caught Selena's eye was the mural of the royal family. It was a picturesque painting that she couldn't keep her eyes off of. The king and queen stood side by side. The king was handsome. He had black hair and a bit of stubble on his chin, wearing imperial blue and lavender robes. His eyes were lavender. The queen was absolutely gorgeous. She also had black hair and her eyes were indigo. She wore a lavender and blue dress with white sleeves. In her arms was an adorable baby girl swaddled in a blue blanket. She had the same eyes as her father. Her hair was white. Crowns adorned all their heads. And as Selena continued to stare at the baby girl, a nostalgic feeling entered her chest, as if she knew this girl.
Under the mural, people put pots of flowers. Most of them were lupines. A mother and her daughter kneeled in front of the painting. The little girl put a lupine under the baby girl in the mural. "It's for the lost princess," she said. Selena smiled at her. She heard a few things about the lost princess from people who passed their shoddy little house, but never from her sister. She didn't like to talk about it for some reason. She thought was nice to see how these people cherished the royal family. She hoped the lost princess would be found some day.
Selena stopped gazing at the mural when she heard music. She began dancing around, not paying attention to the crowd she was attracting.
Flynn, who was still at the marketplace, heard the music and turned to see what was going on. Sure enough, Selena was able to gather a group of people into a little jamboree. He nearly laughed at how much fun Selena was having. She reminded him of himself when he was a child, when his mother used to take him into the village on his birthday. He remembered dancing with her and everybody else in town like the happy-go-lucky kid he was. Now, as he watched Selena dance with such energy and joy on her face, he a bit left out… Not that he wanted to join in.
Seeing the young man staring at her, Selena gestured for him to join in on the fun. Flynn quickly declined. However, as he was about to turn back to the food stand, Lupe pushed him into the dancing circle. Flynn glared at Lupe as he was partnered with a stranger. The wolf grinned at him coyly.
Later, when they were able to escape from the dance—just before a pair of passing guards could spot them in the dancing circle—Flynn took Selena into a bookstore. The young woman stared at the books in awe. "This place is amazing! I've never seen so many books in my life!"
"You must really like books," Flynn said.
She nodded giddily. "We only have seven books in the house. I've read all of them at least ten times. It's nice to see something different."
To get her started, Flynn began showing her books of different genres, including one that showed the whole world. Selena soon began looking around on her own for anything that looked interesting to her. She beamed in delight when she saw a book that finally caught her eye. Flynn peeked over her shoulder to see what she was reading. "What kind of flower is that?"
"A chrysanthemum," she said. "Isn't it beautiful?" She turned the page. "And this is a Bermuda buttercup. This is a scarlet pimpernel. And this…"
Flynn stared at the enticed look on Selena's face as she showed him to motley of flowers in that gardening book. It was amazing how much she knew despite the limited amount of knowledge she gained in that quaint little hovel she lived in. "You really like flowers, don't you?"
"They're my passion. I've always wanted a garden of my own." She sighed as she held the book to her chest. "I never thought I'd be able to read so much about carnations. There's nothing more amazing than this."
Flynn thought for a moment. "Let me show you something."
The prince took her outside. He led her on until they were in front of the castle. There posed a garden. It was the largest garden the young woman had ever seen.
"What is this place?"
"It's the village garden," Flynn explained. "The king and queen allow the villagers to decorate it in any way they want."
The look on Selena's face was golden. She looked like she was in heaven. Before Flynn's eyes could catch up, Selena ran up to the garden so fast her cloak nearly flew off.
Flynn watched as she began to arrange the flowers into a certain pattern. She took most of the white flowers. Soon, the other villagers working on the garden stopped their work to watch this girl in action. She planted and arranged the carnations like some kind of art. It was an incredible sight. When she was finished, Selena clapped the dirt off her hands and stepped back to see her work. In the center of the garden was the crescent moon of Luna.
The crowd ogled the symbol. Flynn gawked at it. He could barely utter a word to describe the display he just saw.
Selena smiled at him boastfully. "I take it that that look on your face means you're impressed."
He nodded.
A rumble broke the silent exchange of words Flynn handed over and both adults blushed. "We still haven't eaten anything today," Selena said.
Flynn had another idea. "How about a mid afternoon, late morning snack?"
"Like what?"
"Have you ever had a cupcake?"
Flynn led her to another stand where they were selling special treats. Seeing Selena munching on the cupcake was fascinating. When she first took a bite, she took delicate bites. "It's so sweet!" she said. "I want to savor each bite until it's gone."
Another pair of guards began to approach and the prince quickly led them into an alley. When they passed, the two laughed. Lupe barked comically.
Afternoon was approaching quickly, and the three were suddenly back at the center of the village. There were still a group of people dancing around, so Selena pulled him back into the circle.
As they danced, Flynn watched as Selena twirled around with other partners in an ethereal state. She was like an angel. He wasn't even paying attention to his own actions, but he was sure whatever he was doing, it was fine so far. Before he knew it, the ashen-haired girl ended up in his arms. She smiled at him and he smiled back, both panting heavily when the dance was over.
The crowd cheered at the wonderful display they just saw. When the applause was finished, someone shouted out, "To the docks!" Everyone immediately began to disperse, leaving the two in the center of town gazing into each other's eyes.
Realizing the position they were still in, Flynn pulled away quickly. "So, um, I guess we should meet up with the others and head for the docks."
"Yeah," Selena said. "Let's go."
Flynn led the way, hiding a blush away from the young woman. Selena was blushing as well and tried to hide it under her clock hood. Lupe saw this and nudged her leg with her head. Selena looked down at her, seeing her companion's sly grin. "What?" Lupe rolled her eyes before continuing forward.
These two were so obvious.
After much wandering, Ambrose was finally able to track her sister down in the kingdom of Luna. The thief made it far. Hopefully, he hadn't done anything to Selena.
But even after she reached her destination, she still had no idea where to start her search. They could've been anywhere, but how hard was it to point out an 18-year-old girl with snow white hair?
As she continued to ponder on this, Ambrose didn't realize she was slowly approaching a crowd. She accidentally bumped into an older gentleman, who didn't even notice the young woman had bumped into him. Wanting to see what was so enthralling, Ambrose pushed through the crowd and saw a circle of dancing denizens. The young woman rolled her eyes. What was so interesting about this? It was just a bunch of poor, aging souls dancing for a princess they would never find. Or so she hoped.
Her eyes widened at the sight of one particular girl that stood out among all of the dancers. The young woman was wearing a cloak, but Ambrose could still clearly see the white hair sticking out from under the hood.
Ambrose continued to watch the girl dancing around in the circle instead of reaching out to get her. It was obvious she was fine—she wouldn't be dancing around if she wasn't—and she hadn't been kidnapped. Something drove her to disobey her older sister and leave their little safe haven, but what?
At the climax of the dance, Selena ended up in the arms of a young man. He was wearing a matching cloak. In fact, they were the only two in the bunch that were wearing cloaks…
Bingo.
He was the reason she left. She recognized this young man from his bounty poster; he looked exactly the same, except for the nose. This was Flynn Rider, the legendary thief who stole the princess's crown in Corona. He was the one who took her sister, not the Thieving Brothers. She imagined him to be a bit older, but he looked about the same age as Selena. Why was he dancing with her instead of returning her to the king and queen? Didn't this Flynn Rider know who he was holding?—how valuable she was? This couldn't be the same Flynn Rider.
When the dance was over, someone shouted out, "To the docks!" The crowd began to disperse. Ambrose took this opportunity to go forward so she could retrieve her sister.
However, she stopped in her tracks when she saw the looks on their faces. Selena looked absolutely bewitched by this stranger. Ambrose couldn't believe this. Was her naïve little sister really falling in love with this thief?
Ambrose hid away in an alley as she watched her young sister, her dog companion, and the thief walk off. She took out her knife, which had been tucked away safely. Just as she was about to attack, she heard gruff voices mumbling behind her.
"How does he keep getting away from us?"
"That Rider's a sly one, Marty, but he's not going to escape us this time. We'll get our crown soon enough."
Ambrose went towards the conversation and found the Thieving Brothers wandering through the town. They were after the crown, and they thought Flynn Rider still had it with him. Very interesting.
A terribly ingenious idea lit up in Ambrose's mind.
"Once I get a hold of that Rider, I'm gonna—"
"Oh boys~!" The two older men turned around to see the young woman holding out a dirty satchel. "I believe this is what you're looking for." She threw the bag at them. The lost princess's crown fell out once it landed on the ground. The men went at it like dogs. "Well, if that's all you desire, then I'll be on my way. I mean, I was going to offer you something worth 1,000 crowns which would've made you rich beyond belief, and that wasn't even the best part. Oh well. C'est la vie. Enjoy your silly little crown."
Just as Ambrose began walking off, the Thieving Brothers called out to her. "What's the best part?"
Ambrose smirked spitefully. She got them where she wanted them. "It comes with revenge on Flynn Rider…"
Queen Rapunzel sighed as she looked up from the window in the library. Her son was still missing, and the soldiers found no trace of him. The best guard in the kingdom was also missing, so finding Flynn almost seemed impossible. The royal couple decided, as a last result, to send a letter to the neighboring kingdom of Luna. It seemed very improbable that Flynn would venture that far away from home, but they were desperate and they needed help. Maybe Luna could help them somehow.
But as she sat and waited, Rapunzel continued to mull over the negative feelings in her heart. Today was Flynn's birthday and he was gone. She wanted nothing more than to spend this time with him, and his disappearance continued to remind her that it was her fault. She chased her oldest son away because she was too motherly, and she might never see him again. Eugene continued to tell her she was exaggerating, but she was still unsure.
"Rapunzel, dear." The queen turned away from the window and her thoughts for a moment to see her mother, the retired queen Victoria, approaching her. "May I join you?"
Rapunzel smiled and nodded. Ever since she reunited with her parents, she began to find that she shared some very similar qualities with them. One of them was reading, which her mother loved very much. So she wasn't surprised when she saw her mother walking towards her in the library.
When Victoria took a seat next to her, she sighed. "Eugene told me about your little spat with Flynn."
Hearing this, Rapunzel suddenly began unraveling. "I know setting him up on those dates was wrong, but how else was I supposed to protect him? He won't listen, he's always getting into trouble, and now he's gone and it's all my fault—!"
"Calm down, dear. I understand. How do you think your father and I felt when you were taken away from us?"
Rapunzel smiled sadly when she remembered her departed father. King Theodore, the man she named her youngest son after, was a great father. When she started living with her parents again, he was very overprotective of her, especially when Eugene, the man who reunited the royal family, revealed himself to be Flynn Rider.
"When you were returned to us, your father thought it would've been better to keep you in the confines of the castle instead of letting you walk among the townsfolk, as a precautionary measure. I was finally able to convince him that if we kept you locked up, we would be just as bad as that Gothel woman who locked you up in that tower."
Rapunzel guffawed. She knew her father was just trying to protect her, but it did annoy her sometimes when he insisted she stayed in the castle. Now she knew how Flynn felt.
A sad smile played on her lips as she and her mother reminisced about the passed king. "I miss him."
Victoria put a hand over her daughter's. "I miss him, too." Her eyes glanced up at the clock above Rapunzel. "It's almost time to release the lanterns." She stood and held out her arm for Rapunzel to take. "We should join the rest of the family."
Rapunzel nodded and smiled. She took her mother's arm and they both went out to join the rest of the family. Flynn's disappearance wasn't going to stop the lanterns from being sent off into the sky. If anything else, it would bring them closer to the crowned prince, and hopefully he would see the lanterns, thinking of the family that was awaiting his return.
I don't know what to say now that I haven't said in my profile. New Year. New stories. Classic stories shortly coming to an end (if I can help it). I'm sorry for all of you who were waiting for so long.
R&R!