A New Dream

"There. It never happened." Ambrose took the lupine in Selena's hair and tossed it aside. "Maybe you can use that for one of your creations. I'm sure it will fit in somewhere."

Selena did nothing but sigh. After they had returned home, she tried everything in her power to try and forget Flynn for breaking her heart and betraying her trust. But no matter how hard she tried, everything just reminded her of him.

"Now, what do you want for dinner? I'm sure that cinnamon raisin bread is still good, and with a side of something in the pantry…" Ambrose stopped talking when she saw that Selena wasn't paying any attention to her. She sighed, exasperated. "I tried to warn you about the outside world, Selena. I really did. It's a dark, cruel, and selfish place; if it finds the tiniest ray of sunshine, it destroys it."

Once Ambrose was gone, Selena pulled out a tiny blue and white flag from the Luna festival. The blue crescent moon in the middle smiled at her, reminding her of the wonderful night she had with…

A tiny squeak from behind her ear interrupted her thoughts. Pascal croaked sadly as he also looked at the flag. She petted his head consolingly. "Don't worry, Pascal. You're more than welcome to stay with us. Ambrose doesn't like animals much, though, so you're going have to stay in my room."

Pascal stuck out his tongue.

"What? It's wishful thinking assuming that Flynn will come. He was just playing us all for saps. He was in it for the money, nothing else. I can't believe he sold me out to those thieves. Some prince," she muttered sourly.

Pascal chirruped in protest.

"Pascal, I know he's your friend, but—"

Pascal climbed down her arm and off her bed until he was in front of Selena's unfinished creation. He climbed to the top where the missing moon was. Lupe, whose leg was now healed thanks to her companion's magical tresses, eventually caught on to what he was doing and joined him. She barked encouragingly towards her master.

Selena lied down on the bed as she stared at the picture. "Oh, Lupe. That dream's over and done with. There's no point…" Selena quickly sat up when she noticed something in the picture. Her missing piece of the portrait—the white lupine that Ambrose had tossed away was its perfect fit. The young woman reached down for the flower and went over to the Festival portrait. She glanced at the picture one more time before carefully pressing the pure white lupine into the portrait. It magically transformed into the moon.

Suddenly, it was like Selena was seeing for the first time. All over her room where her myriad of flower collages covered every inch of her walls, she saw thousands upon millions of crescent moons hidden in them. And then suddenly, Selena saw herself in another room. A golden moon hung over her head. When she glanced over, she saw blurry faces hanging over her heads, smiling down at her. Then she remembered the mural. She saw the same people holding a baby girl with glistening white hair. The next thing she knew, Selena looking in a mirror. The lost princess's crown was placed on her head fit her perfectly. She had the lost princess's eyes, her hair, everything…

Selena gasped as she fell back against her dressing table. Millions of questions infested her mind, making her completely confused about her life. Everything she learned was a lie. Her life was a lie. She was the lost princess. And if she was the lost princess, then that meant Ambrose had been lying about who she was this whole time.

"Selena?"

Ambrose wasn't her sister.

"Selena, what's going on up there?"

And Flynn… she was so wrong about him.

"Selena!" Ambrose slowly made her way up the stairs to get to her sister's room. She had called her sister three times and still received no answer. Something had to be wrong. When the young woman finally came out of her room, Ambrose saw that she looked almost out of breath. "Are you alright?"

Selena suddenly felt something hot swell up in her chest when she looked at Ambrose. Surprise, sadness, betrayal all rolled up in one, but only one emotion ruled above them all.

Anger.

"I'm the lost princess," she murmured.

Ambrose sighed. "Selena speak up. You know I can never understand you when you mutter under your breath like that."

Selena glared at her before saying more firmly, "I am the lost princess, aren't I, Sis? Or should I even call you that?"

At first, Ambrose seemed stunned by her question. How did Selena suddenly found out she was the lost princess in the course of three minutes? But then again, she could've been bluffing. She could keep the act up and then they could continue to live as they always had.

"Don't be ridiculous, Selena," she immediately said as she made her way up to her sister. "Do you even hear yourself? Why would—"

Selena pushed her away. "It was you. It was all you."

Ambrose's smile was quickly replaced with a scowl. "Everything I did was to protect you."

"Protect me? You stole me away from my parents! My real parents!" Selena shoved passed Ambrose and made her way down the stairs. "I've spent my entire life hiding from people who would abuse my power when all this time, I should've been hiding from you! It turns out my real mother isn't dead. She and my father are the rulers of the kingdom of Luna! And you took me away from them! You took me away from everything!"

"Where do you suppose you'll go? He's not going to come rescue you."

Selena's eyes widened in realization. "What did you do to Flynn?"

Ambrose smirked. "That criminal is to be hanged for his crimes."

Selena gasped. "No!" This shouldn't have happened. Flynn wasn't a criminal, after all. He was a prince, but he was going to die for crimes he didn't commit. And it was all Ambrose's doing. "This can't be happening. He's not supposed to die! He's not Flynn Rider! He's the crowned prince of Corona!"

"Now, now, it's alright." Ambrose tried to console her. "I'm sure if he is the real prince, then his punishment will be less severe. He'll probably be beheaded."

Selena cried out in horror. "NO!"

"Now calm down and listen to me, Selena. All is as it should be."

Just as she was about to pat her head, the white haired girl grabbed her wrist. "No! You were wrong about the world, and you were wrong about me. And I will never let you use my hair again!" When she was released, Ambrose fell back against the mirror in the corner of the room, which fell and shattered. "Come on, Lupe, Pascal. Let's get out of here."

As the three began to leave, Ambrose growled under her breath. "You want me to play the bad guy? Fine. Then I'm the bad guy…"

Before her hand could reach the handle, Selena cried out when she felt her hair get pulled back. Seeing her master in trouble, Lupe quickly leapt into action and pulled at Ambrose's dress. She kicked the canine aside, sending her flying towards the kitchen table. Pascal slapped her maw with his tail. When the wolf's vertigo was gone, she quickly leapt back up to help Selena.

"Lupe, stop!" she commanded. "Find Fl—!"

Selena was knocked out when Ambrose's brush made contact with the back of her head. Lupe was hesitant to listen to her master, but she obeyed knowing that she was no use to Selena without another pair of hands. With Pascal securely on her head, Lupe ran out of the house into the depths of the forest.

Ambrose glared after the wolf as it ran. If she was able to find any help, then they'd be able to trace them back to their shoddy, little hovel. She had to move them to a different location before it was too late, but where?

A place suddenly came to mind, making the blonde grin nefariously.

She caressed Selena's cheek as she thought. "Soon, no one will find us, my little flower, and we'll be together. Forever."

Flynn led Maximus through the path that led to Selena's little hovel. They needed to reach her before it was too late. He remembered what the Thieving Brothers said about the old lady who took Selena away. Referring back to his parents' legendary tale, he had a feeling he knew who this "old lady" was. There would only be one other person who'd want to use Selena's magical, ashen locks for the betterment of themselves, the one person she thought she could trust the most…

As the white stallion ran through the forest, Flynn could suddenly hear a series of barks and squeaks. He recognized the yaps, and they came closer as they ran further ahead. Soon, the prince could see a gray blur running towards them. "Max, stop!"

Maximus halted in place when he saw the wolf himself. Lupe stopped her yapping when she was next to the prince. Pascal was on top of her head, squeaking rapidly. Flynn jumped off Maximus and was quickly attacked by Lupe, who licked him mercilessly. She was obviously happy to see that he was still alive.

"Okay, girl! I'm happy to see you, too." When she was done, Pascal happily jumped onto his shoulder. "I missed you too, buddy." Flynn suddenly realized someone was missing from this little party. "Where's Selena?"

Lupe started barking up again and ran ahead of them. Flynn quickly jumped back onto Maximus, who sped up to catch up with the wolf.

It wasn't long until they were back at the little hovel where Selena was trapped in. Flynn frowned when saw that the door was open. He quickly jumped off Maximus and ran inside. "Selena!" However, there was no response. No one was inside. That old lady was already ahead of them. She must've taken Selena and ran. But whereto?

Lupe already caught Selena's scent and began sniffing around. She barked again when she found a trail of the scents. "Good girl, Lupe! Find Selena!"

Once again, the prince and his friends ran after the path that led them to the lost princess. It felt like miles since they last stopped. Flynn knew at this point they weren't in Luna territory anymore. Maximus's eyes widened when he realized which path they were taking. It was too familiar. He began running ahead of Lupe when remembered the pathway. When they reached their destination, Flynn couldn't believe his eyes.

"You've got to be kidding me."

The prince was now staring at the godforsaken tower his mother was once trapped in. He was becoming his father, only this time, there was no trail of hair long enough for him to use as a rope. He'd have to climb up there himself.

"You guys stay here." He set Pascal down on Lupe's head. The little chameleon squeaked at him angrily. "Sorry, buddy. I have to do this on my own. I can't risk you getting hurt."

Maximus neighed at him. The look on his face told the prince that he'd better return. "Don't worry, Max. I'll be back soon."

Flynn started his way up the tower, struggling but persistent. When he finally made it up the window of the tower, he scrutinized the inside carefully. Everything looked as his parents had described to him. Nothing seemed to change. When he stepped inside, he felt something crunch under his feet. A long stream of brown hair, at least 70 feet long, ran under his boots. His mother's hair didn't look like it aged a day, but it was as frail as stray, crunching into dust as he stepped on it.

Suddenly, Flynn heard a soft mumble. He looked up to see Selena. He sighed in relief to see that she was fine, but then they widened when he realized she was tied up. Her mouth was covered up by a handkerchief. He quietly but quickly ran over to post to untie his true love. Unfortunately, he found that she was chained up. Cursing under his breath, Flynn tried to find another way to unfetter her.

As he did so, Selena started to wake up. When she saw the prince, her eyes widened. Flynn removed the handkerchief. "Hey, Snow White."

"Flynn, you're alive." Selena wanted nothing more than to hug him right now, but she found that her hands were chained up. So Flynn caressed her cheeks as tears began to form.

"Don't worry, Snow White. I'll get you out of this."

"No, Flynn, you have to get out before—"

"Well~ What have we here?" The couple stiffened and turned to find Ambrose. Something shiny and sharp-looking was in her hand. "I guess the prince was able to get out of his death sentence after all. How disappointing. Well, if you want anything done right, you have to do it yourself." Ambrose lunged at the prince.

"Flynn, watch out!" Selena cried. Flynn quickly got out of the way before he could get stabbed.

"Listen, lady. I don't know who you are, but you have no right to keep this young lady locked up! She belongs in the kingdom of Luna with her parents."

"Well, Prince Flynn, I don't believe you have the right to tell me what I should or should not do. You are, after all, at a huge disadvantage." This time, Flynn had no time to react before the older woman stabbed her dagger into his side.

Selena's eyes dilated in fear. "Flynn, no!" The prince fell, grasping his injury.

"Now look what you made me do, Selena. But don't worry. Our secret will die with him." Ambrose stepped over the groaning boy. "And as for us," she said as she untangled Selena's chains from the post, "we are going where no one will be able to find you ever again!" Selena struggled against Ambrose as she tried to reach Flynn. She called out his name desperately as the prince tried to reach out to her, too, while grasping his side. "Stop struggling, Selena!"

"No! I won't! Flynn!"

"Wait!" Flynn called out, his voice very strained with pain. "How about a deal?"

Ambrose stopped and looked at him skeptically. "What do you suggest, boy?"

"Take me… instead."

"Flynn, no—"

"Take me… in Selena's place."

Ambrose frowned. "How are you any use to me, boy?"

Flynn took another shallow breath. "I also have… healing abilities… Take me… in her… place."

Selena couldn't stand to see him so helpless. "Flynn, stop it."

"Yes, boy. Even if what you claim is true, you still aren't very useful to me now, are you? Now come on, Selena." However, Selena only continued to oppose her. Flynn reached out for her, but due to the loss of blood, he had very little strength. And unfortunately, his hair couldn't do much to help him. There was nothing else he could do. "Stop fighting me, Selena! Enough already!"

"NO!" Selena stopped struggling and fell back. "I won't stop! For every minute of the rest of my life, I will fight! I won't stop running away from you!" Then she glanced back at Flynn. "But if you let me heal him, I will go with you."

"No… Selena…!" Flynn coughed harshly, which made her wince.

"I won't fight. I won't struggle. I will never try to escape. Just let me heal him, and you and I…" Selena gulped nervously, knowing she was giving up her freedom. But she'd do anything to save the man she loved. "You and I will be together. Forever. Just like you want. Everything will be as it once was. I promise. Just let me heal him."

Ambrose thought about it for a moment. If she let her heal the young man, then he'd be healthy enough to stop them. But not if he was tied up. "Fine." The blonde witch released Selena from her chains and used them to shackle Flynn up. "Just so you won't get any ideas of following us."

Selena immediately ran to his side. "Flynn!" She removed his hands from his side and stifled a gasp once she saw the blood. It was already dripping onto the floor. "Oh dear. I'm so sorry. Don't worry. I'm going to fix you up."

"No, Selena."

"Everything's going to be okay."

"No, it's fine. I'll…" A series of coughs erupted from his lips. "… heal."

"Flynn, you're losing too much blood too fast. There's nothing your powers can do to help you right now. I have to heal you myself."

But Flynn only continued to push her away. "I can't… I can't let you do this."

"And I can't let you die."

"But if you do this… you will…"

Selena cupped his cheek and shushed him quietly. "Everything's going to be alright," she whispered. She tried to put on her best smile. Flynn did so, too. "Now, try to sit up for me, okay? I'll help you."

"Selena wait." Flynn leaned up, staring at her lips. Selena understood his intentions and began to lean in as well. However, before their lips could meet, Flynn brought his hands up and cut her hair with a fragment of broken glass he found on the floor.

"Flynn, what'd you…?" Selena ran her hands through her hair to find it only went past her shoulders. He knew what he tried to do, but it was no use. Her hair was still as white as snow.

Suddenly, Ambrose erupted with laughter. "Nice try, boy. But it's going to take a lot more than that to try and stop me."

"I'm sorry, Snow White," Flynn said hoarsely. "It was worth a shot." He coughed again, but it lacked energy. His eyes began to close.

"No, no, no, Flynn. Don't do this." When Selena tried to heal him, she realized that her hair was too short to reach him. "Oh, no." She grabbed his hand and put it on his hand. However, the words to the healing song couldn't come to mind. She was too late. "No, don't die on me, Flynn. Stay awake. Don't…"

"Selena."

She hiccupped a sob. "What?"

"You were… my new dream…"

A tear escaped. "And you were mine."

Flynn smiled at her as he took his last breath. His blonde hair faded to brown, indicating that his powers were also gone. Selena cradled in his arms as she cried. "He's gone," whispered almost inaudibly.

"Then there's no point wasting time on his dead corpse. Come on, Selena."

"No!" the young woman shouted as she held Flynn protectively. "You said—you promised I could heal him before I went with you!"

"There's nothing you can do for him, Selena! He's dead."

Selena looked back down at the prince's face. Her tears fell upon his pale cheeks. "There is one thing I can do." Selena tenderly took cupped his face, leaned in, and began to sing:

Flower, shining bright,

Revive what has been grayed,

Recover and be found,

Bring back what once was mine,

"What once was mine…" Selena kissed Flynn's cold lips. As her hair glowed, she felt the magic leave her body and enter his. His lips suddenly felt warmer. It was working. Flynn was coming back.

Ambrose didn't realize what was happening until she saw her hair. The ends of her white tresses were turning black. The blackness slowly spread further up. And before she knew it, her hands were growing winkle spots and revealing nasty veins. "No! Stop!" Ambrose reached for a piece of glass and saw that her face had also transformed. She was no longer a young, beautiful woman but an ugly, old hag. "What have you done!"

Selena watched in horror as the old woman advanced towards her. She hugged Flynn's body closer to hers in an attempt to protect him. Before she could reach the young couple, the old witch tripped over the long stream of brown hair and fell out the window. Her cry grew farther and farther away until they could no longer be heard. The woman was gone. Forever.

It only took Selena a moment to realize what had just happened. Then she heard a cough. "Flynn!" She held Flynn again, bringing his face up to hers. When he took another breath, Selena smiled and cried more. "Oh, Flynn."

When Flynn's eyes fluttered open, the first thing he saw was a beautiful young woman. Her hair was a luscious black color with the exception of her bangs, which were pure white. When he realized who it was, he smiled. "Did I ever tell you I have a thing for brunettes?"

"Flynn, you're alive!" Selena swung her arms around his neck. Flynn expected a stinging pain in his side, but there was none. He gladly hugged her back. He took in her scent, her hair, everything, as she was in his embrace. Tears were already falling from his eyes. A moment ago, he was gone, and now he was here, holding his true love.

Then, without warning, Selena pulled him into a kiss. The warmth he felt when he came back to the land of the living returned. He never wanted that to go away.

"Come on, Snow White," he said softly. "Let's go home."

"I don't know, Flynn. What if they don't know it's me without my white hair?"

Flynn laughed. "Of course they'll know it's you. Stop worrying."

"But I can't help it. What if we're wrong? What if what I saw in my bedroom was just a dream? What if there's another white-haired girl out there being tortured—"

"Selena, calm down." Flynn took her shoulders so she'd stop pacing. "The king and queen aren't going to love you any less without your white hair. Besides, you have some left." He brushed her white bangs out of her eyes. "You have nothing to worry about. Say it with me: you are the lost princess."

"I am the lost princess."

"Good." He kissed her forehead before he sat back down on the bench. "Now sit down and keep telling yourself that."

A few minutes passed as the two waited in the courtyard for the king and queen. Their animal companions waited by their side. Flynn was able to bring Selena to Luna in time, so the guards didn't have to come after him. Now all they had to do was wait. And as they waited, Selena continued to mumble the same incantation.

"What if my name's not Selena?"

Flynn sighed. "Snow—"

"Flynn, Ambrose could've changed my name. I may not be Selena. I could be anyone else, like Tiffany or Melissa."

"It doesn't matter what your name is. You're still my Snow White." Flynn kissed her again, but it was more gently this time. Somehow, this seemed to calm her down.

"Thank you." She took his hand as they waited for her parents.

It seemed like a thousand years until she saw her parents walk into the courtyard. When they saw them, Selena stood up. The queen looked even more beautiful in person. She had the same shade of hair and her eyes were the most beautiful shade of blue she'd ever seen. Besides her eyes, they looked exactly alike. The king looked as handsome as he did in the mural, except there was more hair on his chin. They had the same eyes. These were her parents.

The queen was the first one to approach. She took cautious steps as she stared at the young woman. She put her hand under her chin and had her look up at her. Other than the lavender eyes that resembled her husband's and her white bangs, the young lady was like a younger version of herself. She was her princess.

Queen Veronica smiled, tears of happiness streaming through her eyes. When Selena saw this, she began to smile and cry, too. "My baby." Queen Veronica immediately pulled the girl into her embrace.

"Mother."

Selena looked up to see King Thomas. He also held a smile and tears in his eyes. "My princess." He pulled his wife and daughter into his arms. Their family was finally together.

As they continued to hold each other, the queen turned to the prince, who had been watching the whole thing. She noticed his hair was no longer blonde. "Thank you, Flynn."

"You're welcome."

Queen Veronica held out her hand, offering it to Flynn. He took it and was swiftly pulled into their group hug. He didn't know how long they were hugging, but he didn't care. He wanted this feeling to last forever.

~oxo~

Two days after the crowned prince's birthday, Rapunzel and Eugene finally received a letter from their neighboring kingdom. Their son had finally been found. Right after she read the letter, Rapunzel wasted no time getting them a carriage to the kingdom of Luna. Eugene didn't see the rush since they knew their son was safe and sound, but Rapunzel wasn't going to wait any longer for him to come home.

As soon as they were in Luna, Flynn was waiting for them with open arms. And his hair wasn't blonde anymore. Rapunzel immediately flew into them with tears of joy.

"Oh Flynn! I missed you so much!"

"I missed you, too." For the nth that week, Flynn cried.

Eugene joined them shortly. "It's great to see you son." Flynn hugged him when he was finally free from his mother. "You look different, son. Did you get a haircut?" he asked playfully as he ruffled his son's hair.

"Something like that."

"I'm so sorry for making you do all those things," Rapunzel apologized. "You should be free to choose your own bride, someone you love."

"Thank you, Mom. You don't know how much that means to me. I'd like you two to meet someone." For the first time, the queen and king finally noticed that there was someone standing behind their son. She was a beautiful young lady in a lovely blue gown. She looked exactly like Queen Veronica, and she had King Thomas's eyes. Her bangs were pure white. She took the prince's hand and stood nervously beside him. "Mom, Dad, I'd like you to meet Selena, my new dream."

One epilogue to go!

R&R!