Chapter 11

Later that night, Rapunzel and Flynn take shelter in a shallow cave. It's a mere crevice on the side of a towering rock wall nestled deep within the woods. The inside is big enough for the two of them and a small campfire, not much else.

The sky is a deep blue for the sun had gone down hours ago. A light rainfall has begun to pour, and they listen to the pattering sound of it from inside the small cave. A sheer curtain of damp ivy vines hangs over the large circular opening leading back out into the forest.

The cave floor consists of grass patches and dirt, thankfully dry enough for them to get a fire going and cook themselves a decent meal.

Afterwards, they watch the dancing flames cast flickering shadows against the walls as the night creeps closer.

Flynn sits with his back leaning against the rockface, one leg up and the other extended in front of him. His elbow casually rests over his knee, wrist hanging limply.

Rapunzel is next to him – a safe distance away – hugging her knees to her chest as she stares into the fire. The warmth of it brings her comfort after another day of walking.

"So… you ever gonna tell me why you were in that tavern?" Flynn eventually asks.

She looks over at him.

"I mean, don't get me wrong. I know it's none of my business, it's just… a place like that seems a bit unfit for a princess, don't ya think?"

Finding Rapunzel there had been the last thing he'd expected. He's familiar enough with that town to know that the locals there aren't exactly friends of the law. She's just lucky she made it out of there unharmed.

Rapunzel debates how much she wants to say about that. "I needed to get out of the castle. Just for a little while. And Cassandra didn't give me much of a choice in letting her come with me."

"Ah. Now, that leads me to my next question," he begins. "If you had everything anyone could want back there… why did you run away?" His tone is suddenly more serious than Rapunzel has ever heard.

She blinks in confusion, "You think that's everything I could ever want?"

"Well, I can't see how it isn't. You've got an enormous roof over your head, parents who love you, and not to mention all the money you could ask for. I mean, if it were me, I'd take a castle over living in the woods any day."

Rapunzel glumly stares forward into the fire. She's never heard it described that way. She supposes it's true, but the reality of it is so far from what people think. "I'd rather be free than live in that prison."

"Whoa, prison?" Flynn outbursts, "I mean… sure, maybe the paint needs a little work, but I wouldn't exactly call it a prison. And trust me, I've seen my fair share of those."

"It is when you aren't allowed to do anything for yourself," explains Rapunzel. "You have people controlling you and telling you what to do and watching you all the time." She finds herself suddenly frustrated just talking about it. "I'd give anything to have what you have."

Flynn watches her from the opposite side of the cave.

As the firelight flickers in her distant eyes, he can't help but feel like there's something she isn't telling him. Something had to have happened at the castle for her to want to be as far away from it as possible. Every time he mentions it, he notices the way her entire demeanor suddenly falls. And why is she running now, when she supposedly never has before?

Then again, it isn't any of his business.

"Well… now that you mention it, I guess that does sound a little boring," he mumbles.

Rapunzel scoffs, "Maybe a lot boring."

"And… you still wanna go back?"

"I have to." She sighs hopelessly just listening to herself say that. "It's complicated."

They listen to the crackling firewood and the pattering rain beneath it.

"My dad doesn't even like when I leave the castle," Rapunzel laments. "He says it isn't safe. He thinks I'm being reckless and setting a bad example for the kingdom."

"I mean, hey, you can't be as bad as me," Flynn points out jokingly, "You're catching up though."

Rapunzel giggles softly.

"No, seriously! Running away from home, evading guards... Next thing you know, you'll be stealing crowns."

"I don't think I'd go that far." Rapunzel chuckles again. She crosses her legs and rests her hands in her lap. "I guess I just… wanted to prove myself to my parents. Show them that they can trust me being out here on my own. My entire life, they've carved me into this perfect princess that they want me to be, but the truth is… I have no clue who I'm supposed to be." She meets eyes with him next to her. "Have you ever felt that way?"

"Well, let's see…" Flynn inhales deeply. He stares up at the ceiling in thought. "When I was twelve, I ran away to join the travelling circus."

Rapunzel nearly bursts out laughing at how casual he says that. "Wait, seriously?"

"Seriously! It wasn't until later I found out it was run by a bunch of scam artists, but hey, it got me my name. And because of them, I like to think I'm the greatest scam artist who ever lived," Flynn puffs out his chest proudly.

Rapunzel laughs as he speaks, though his words are truthful.

"Not that that's anything to brag about but… after that, I never went back," Flynn shrugs. "You just have to meet the right people at the right time, I guess."

Rapunzel thinks about that. Opportunity is something she's never had. Her father never gave her a chance. And whenever she tries to create opportunity for herself, she only ends up getting punished for it and things somehow end up worse than they were before. She wishes it were as easy as Flynn makes it seem.

Even being outside the castle walls now, Rapunzel can't help but feel like there is something else she is meant to find.

"Sometimes… I dream about sailing far away from here and just… exploring the entire world." Rapunzel admits with wonder. "I mean, there's so much out there that I haven't seen."

Flynn pushes his back off the wall and leans forward. "Tell you what. When you're done setting a bad example for the kingdom, I'll take you across the seven seas and we can be as reckless as we want. No guards, no over-protective dads, no handmaidens telling you what to do…"

Rapunzel hums, though she doesn't believe him. She knows he's just saying it to make her feel better, and there's no way it could ever happen. But still, it's fun to dream. "That sounds amazing."

Flynn chuckles softly, "Yeah…" He too can't help the grin creeping onto his lips at the idea of it.

Then Rapunzel's smile dips into a frown as she's suddenly brought back to reality. She adjusts herself on the ground, awkwardly flicking away the invisible dirt on her pants. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to go on like that."

Flynn shrugs, brushing it off. "I mean, hey, we got the time." He nods toward the rain outside presumably trapping them in here for the rest of the night.

"What about you?" Rapunzel turns toward him, her voice becoming much more enthusiastic. "Tell me where you're from."

"Oh, no, no. Trust me, Blondie, it's nothing worth hearing about." He waves his hands in protest. "I'm, uh… I'm just a thief. Always have been, always will be." He stares down at the ground insecurely. It's a look Rapunzel doesn't think she's ever seen on him. "Yeah, I've been running circles around this kingdom since I was a kid."

He smiles weakly as he begins prodding at the fire with a stick, but Rapunzel knows there's a sadness beneath it. She sees it in his distant eyes and the way he suddenly can't look at her. Something about it seems so familiar.

Her entire life while she had been sheltered and protected within the castle, he'd probably been fighting for his life on the very streets beneath her own doorstep.

In a way, it's surprising they hadn't run into each other before, having grown up in the same kingdom. Then again, it's not like they would – coming from such opposite walks of life.

Yet the more she studies him now, the more it feels like this has all happened before.

"We've met before… haven't we?" Rapunzel slowly realizes.

She doesn't mean that first day in the village or at the waterfall. She means years ago – so many that she'd hardly recognized him until now. He looked different back then. No doubt she had, too – being only twelve years old at the time.

Flynn doesn't react to what she's saying, but Rapunzel knows it affects him. She sees the way his arm slows down as he pokes the fire, staring distantly into it as if he too is remembering the same day.

"You were the boy," she murmurs softly, piecing it all together. "The one they found stealing in the village. But they let you go."

She'd almost forgotten about it, but now it's all so clear in her memory.

He seemed so small and weak back then, standing before the king like a child being scolded by his parents. But certain features of his remained the same. The shape of his nose. His deep brown eyes. That one lock of hair that always seems to fall in front of his face.

"Guess I haven't changed much, have I?" Flynn says it lightheartedly, yet he can't help but feel disappointed in himself.

"Why didn't you say anything?" she breathes in bewilderment, her heart breaking for him.

Flynn shrugs, answering honestly, "I didn't think you'd remember me."

But he remembered her. He'd tried not to look at her that day – out of respect for the princess and the princess' father, knowing the king had been glowering directly at the boy the entire time.

Flynn had been so afraid they'd have his head just for laying eyes on her. But she was beautiful. He remembers that more than anything.

Despite facing near starvation and a potential arrest at the time, her golden hair and enchanting green eyes had still managed to take his breath away. She was sure to make any young boy swoon.

She hasn't changed since then.

That was the first time Flynn ever laid eyes on Rapunzel. After that, he remembers she would make occasional appearances alongside her parents at ceremonies and festivals throughout the kingdom. Though, Flynn had been so short back then, he remembers him and Lance jumping over tall crowds trying to get a good look at the royal family in the distance.

As the years went by, the princess began to show herself to the kingdom less and less, until she stopped appearing at all. She became something more like a hushed secret in the eyes of the citizens. Some had even begun to wonder whether she existed at all. Flynn supposes that now he knows why.

And all the while, she didn't even know he existed.

"People like you never bothered to take a second glance at people like me," Flynn says, remembering the way those guards had looked down at him like he was vermin. He'd grown used to it, but he'll never forget that feeling. "I'll always be less than them. That's just the way it is."

Rapunzel purses her lips, wishing he didn't feel that way. This entire time, she had no idea about any of this.

She'd felt for him that day. She remembers the relief she'd had when her father had let him go, allowing him to live another day if he'd even managed to survive.

Knowing Flynn now, and all that he went through, Rapunzel regrets ever being the cause of that, whether it had been indirect or not. Though, she supposes it's too late for that now.

"Well, if there's one thing I know… you're a lot more than just a thief," she tells him. Rapunzel knows it now, and she knew it that day they met as kids.