Chapter 3: Blackmail
Hey there my dear readers! I can see this story's had a lot of views, so I can only hope you're all liking this new idea of mine. Also a hugethank you to the ones who reviewed, seriously I love your feedback, it helps with my inspiration ;)
Now, let's see how our favorite couple interact with each other, shall we? Remember what I said about Dark!Flynn? Good, because he'll make an appearance in this chapter. You are warned.
Disclaimer: nope, still don't own Tangled.
Oh, I'm a mess right now, inside out
Searching for a sweet surrender
but this is not the end.
~ I'm a Mess
Flynn stared almost breathlessly, the sight before him too perfect to be real. What were the odds of stumbling upon an isolated tower hidden in the middle of the forest just when he needed to find a hideout?
"Why, aren't we lucky today?" An incredulous smirk settled on his face as he dragged the disgruntled princess behind him, his hand tightly clutched over her arm.
She lifted an eyebrow, clearly appalled by his choice of words. "You almost got us killed!"
"Details." He waved his hand dismissively, not bothering to look back at her. "Besides, that was totally not my fault. It was that crazy horse."
He could almost hear her rolling her eyes. She stayed silent nonetheless, as he walked briskly towards the imposing tower, the tip of the roof barely visible against the dark starlit sky above. The almost unnatural calmness surrounding the tower gave off an unsettling vibe.
The grass crunched beneath their feet as they approached, that being the only sound interrupting the serenity of the clearing beside the rushing sound of the waterfall. Beside him, the princess gasped in what he could only describe as delighted surprise.
"Pascal!"
He stopped on his tracks, looking over his shoulder towards the princess, who was holding a weirdly familiar tiny green animal on her hands.
The damned frog that had attacked him back in the palace!
"H-how did that get here?!"
The princess seemed to be wondering the same thing. "What are you doing here, Pascal?" She cooed softly, as if the squeaking animal could understand her. Flynn watched incredulously as the weird-looking frog squeaked back in response.
"Wait... That frog is yours?" He asked, a feeling akin to dread settling deep inside his stomach. He really hoped he wouldn't have to deal with another crazy animal just when he had managed to get rid of one a few minutes ago.
"It's a chameleon." The princess nodded, her bright green eyes turning to glare at him for his lack of tact. "And he has a name, you know?"
She held her cupped hands toward him, granting him better view of the tiny reptilian resting on her palms. "Pascal, this is... Flynn Rider, our kidnapper." She introduced rather awkwardly, and the frog growled in response, its wide eyes narrowed into what he could only call a menacing glare. "Flynn, this is Pascal."
Flynn's eyebrow lifted skeptically, unsure of how to react to that weird introduction. "Um... Hi...?"
The weird lizard growled, its green scales turning an alarming shade of red. Great, another animal who apparently hated him.
"How did he get here anyway?" He asked, trying to divert the attention. The frog's intense glare was unsettling him quite a bit, if he was honest.
The princess turned to address her little pet. "How did you manage to find us, Pascal?" The frog chirped back, as if he could actually hold a conversation with the blonde girl. Flynn watched in amazement as the princess hummed and nodded, apparently understanding every squeak coming from the lizard's mouth. He had never been so weirded out in his life.
After a few awkward moments of their strange conversation, the princess' eyes finally turned back to him. "He says he managed to tie himself to a lock of my hair before you dragged my unconscious body out of the palace." She explained, her wide eyes narrowing slightly. "How rude of you, by the way."
He was left speechless for a moment, completely flabbergasted by her apparent ability to speak with her pet frog. He blinked incredulously a few times, before finally finding his voice again. "Yeah, right. Whatever."
He turned around, ready to start his way towards the tower once more. He tried not to look back as he heard the princess chattering with her tiny frog, as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
Great, not only was he stuck with the princess, but she had to be crazy as well. As if his day hadn't been bizarre enough already.
"That was really clever of you, Pascal." She praised. He could hear the already familiar squeaks coming from the frog now perched over her shoulder. "I know! Wasn't that terrifying?" The princess exclaimed enthusiastically, gushing about God knows what with the lizard. Another faint chirp, and then; "Yeah, I thought so too. But he doesn't seem like such a menacing guy..."
He had to strain his ears to be able to hear that last part of the bizarre conversation, and he resisted the urge to snort at her words. Oh, he could be quite menacing alright, he just wasn't feeling like he had the need to be at the moment. Yep, that was it.
Besides, he had way more pressing matters at hand. Like finding out a way to get rid of the annoying princess before she and her crazy pet frog managed to drive him insane.
They finally reached the base of the tower, and Flynn looked up, his gaze contemplative as he silently wondered exactly how tall the imposing building was, and how long it would take them to reach the top.
"Do you reckon it's abandoned?"
The princess shrugged nonchalantly, her indifference was almost unnerving after the fight she had put up with him barely a few minutes ago. "It would appear so."
He eyed her suspiciously before his scrutinizing gaze returned to the base of the building. He started circling the area, carefully searching for a hidden entrance behind the wall of vine growing over the stone. He could hear the princess' light footsteps following behind him.
His eyes finally stumbled upon a patch of wood contrasting with the grey stone, the speck of reddish brown barely visible beneath the vine.
"Found it!" He muttered victoriously, a satisfied grin spreading over his face as he set to work on removing the vine growing at the base of the tower. He tried to ignore the princess' murmurs as she talked with the frog in hushed secretive tones.
After much struggling, swearing and a few scratches and cuts now covering the skin on his hands, -courtesy of the thorns sticking out from the vine - he finally managed to uncover a rickety old wooden door.
His hands rested carefully over the worn wood, dusty and moldy after probably years from being buried within the vine wall. He tried the rusty door knocker, the metal scraping beneath his fingers and groaning in protest as he gave a sharp pull. After a few tries the door finally opened, its hinges creaking loudly at the sudden movement.
A cloud of dust fluttered from within the new opening, the musty smell coming from the inside and the spiderwebs littering the doorframe and the stone wall clearly indicating that the tower had probably been abandoned for years, if not decades.
Flynn coughed slightly, waving his hand to dissipate the specks of dust swirling in the cool night breeze. Behind him, he could hear the princess sneeze, the sound she emitted would have seemed almost adorable in other circumstances. He dismissed the ridiculous thought before whirling around to face her.
"Ladies first." He bowed his head mockingly, gesturing towards the tower's dark entrance. The princess' eyes widened in shock.
"It's too dark!" She protested vehemently. "You can't expect me to get inside there first, we don't even know what might be inside that tower!"
Flynn rolled his eyes. "Nothing will be inside that tower, it's clearly been abandoned for ages."
"Well, then you go in first." The princess crossed her arms over her chest stubbornly. He snorted.
"Yeah, sure. And then you can try to escape again while you're behind me and I can't see a damn thing, right? I don't think so."
He waved his hand impatiently toward the opened door. "After you, your highness."
The princess eyed the dark entrance hesitantly, the apprehension evident in her face as she bit her lower lip nervously. He tried not to notice, of course.
Her wide green eyes turned back to him, regarding him with a pleading stare that almost broke his resolve. He frowned and nodded firmly toward the door, silently urging her forward.
"I'll be right behind you." He tried to reassure her, his poor attempt sounding lame to his own ears.
The princess took a deep shaky breath before stepping forward, letting the darkness ahead engulf her completely as she disappeared through the moldy threshold. He followed behind her, that same musty smell only getting sharper as he entered the dark tunnel, assaulting his nostrils and making his nose twitch. The princess sneezed again somewhere in front of him.
"I-I can't see a thing." She whispered faintly, he could hear the breath hitching in her throat as she tried to control her growing fear. And she was right, the darkness of what seemed like an endless tunnel was almost impenetrable. He held a hand in front of him, taking a hesitant step forward as his palm brushed accidentally against her body.
She jumped at the unexpected contact, a frightful squeak escaping her mouth. "Calm down, it's just me."
"Well, that isn't exactly comforting, is it?"
Flynn rolled his eyes exasperatedly. "Just, keep walking." He muttered as his palm slowly rested over what he assumed was the small of her back, pressing slightly to urge her forward. He could feel her tensing up under his touch, her body going rigid at the unwanted invasion of her personal space. She resumed her walk forward nonetheless, her steps slightly quicker as she tried to avoid his contact.
They didn't seem to have made it too far inside the tunnel when she stopped abruptly once more. He barely had time to stop, his body almost colliding against hers, and he let out an exasperated sigh.
"What now?" He growled, annoyed at the constant interruptions.
"There are stairs ahead, I think."
"Well, climb them."
"I can't even see where I'm going, how am I supposed to climb them?"
His hand came to rub his brow in annoyance. "Look, we have to make it upstairs one way or another, so you better hurry or we'll stay here the whole night."
He heard her huff in protest, but after a few seconds, she advanced once more along the cavernous dark tunnel.
The journey up the tower seem to take ages as they slowly climbed the stone stairs, their hands clinging to the cold, humid walls for support as they blindly made their way upstairs. More than once, he almost tripped down with the impossibly long trail of hair the princess seemed to be leaving behind her, despite the fact that she was carrying half the length of her golden tresses in the crook of her elbow. After what felt like hours, the princess finally came to a stop.
"Ouch!" Flynn heard a bumping sound, like something hitting against wood, followed by the princess' pained exclamation.
"What is it?"
"There's some kind of... trapdoor, I think. I accidentally bumped into it." She explained, the sound of fingers scraping against wood the only thing interrupting the oppressing silence.
"You think you can open it?"
There was a loud knock against the wood, and after a few pushes and grunts coming from somewhere ahead of him, a pale silvery light filtered through the new opening over their heads. The princess looked down at him, a self-satisfied smile spreading over her face. "I can manage."
She pushed herself over the ledge of the trapdoor, and she heard him following suit behind, emerging on a faintly illuminated spacious room. The cold floor was covered in a thick layer of dust, as was apparently everything else inside the dark tower. The pale silvery moonlight filtered through a window on the opposite side of the semicircular room, casting dark shadows in every corner and making the place look even more somber.
Her stomach churned at the thought of having to spend the night alone with her kidnapper in this gloomy tower. Rapunzel's eyes swept over the dark room, the place was relatively empty save for a few ancient pieces of furniture and what appeared to be a small kitchen on the far corner of the room. A set of stairs was barely visible in the filtering moonlight on the opposite corner, and she felt the strange urge to dart toward them and get as far away from her only companion as possible.
Flynn seemed pretty occupied with studying his surroundings to pay her no mind for the moment. Seizing the opportunity, she slowly distanced herself from him, silently slipping back toward the ancient kitchen in the dark corner of the room.
She could feel her heart hammering against her ribcage at the thought of being alone with him. She still didn't know what exactly were his intentions, or how she had managed to get involved in his scheme, but being aware of his reputation was enough to make her feel more than a little queasy.
Flynn Rider was a dangerous man, and not exactly because of the gravity of his crimes, - which as far as she knew, at least didn't involve any murders - but because of his uncanny ability for deceit and treachery. He could smooth-talk his way out of any situation, and it was rumored he had an unbelievably charming personality, one he used at its full advantage to get exactly what he wanted. He was not a man to be trusted.
And there was only one explanation as to why he would have kidnapped her. He didn't want the crown, the deceitful traitor, that had only been an excuse to distract her, and she was now only realizing the depth of her mistake. No, Rapunzel now knew exactly what he wanted, and she was sure not going to let him have it without putting up a fight.
She observed quietly as Flynn inspected the contents of his satchel, sighing softly in relief at whatever he saw inside. She took advantage of his momentary distraction to inspect the small kitchen, consisting only of an old stone furnace, a wooden counter and some rickety cabinets. Hanging on the wall, over the old furnace, was a small collection of pans and pots supported by small hooks. She chanced a glance over her shoulder, Flynn was still inspecting carefully whatever was inside that satchel.
Rapunzel extended a shaking hand, silently praying that the pots and pans wouldn't scrap against the stone and attract her captor's attention. Her hand curled around the handle of a particularly light frying pan, carefully lifting it off the hook and sighing in relief as it came off without so much as a sound.
Hugging the frying pan to her chest, she took a step back toward Flynn, his back was turned to her, and his lean figure in contrast of the moonlight made him appear like a dark looming shadow. This was it, the frying pan would have to do for now. That was her only weapon and this her only chance.
Rapunzel could feel Pascal's small body trembling against her neck. She gave him a reassuring look as she got closer and closer to her kidnapper, her footsteps silent and stealthy.
She was close enough now. She held the pan in front of her, ready to strike, when Flynn suddenly whirled around to face her.
"Well, this will have to do for now, but at least-" he was caught off abruptly by her shoving the frying pan against his neck. It had been almost an impulse, but she was now holding her only weapon threateningly against her captor. And she was quite sure he wouldn't be happy about it.
Sure enough, after the initial shock had subsided, his wide-eyed stare turned into a glare. "Seriously?!"
Flynn let out an exasperated exhale, but she tried to swallow her fear as her eyes narrowed into what she hoped was a threatening look.
"Now, let's get things straight, Flynn Rider." She pressed the pan closer against his throat and he took a step back in return, his brown eyes never leaving hers. "What exactly do you want to do with my hair?"
The question seemed to have taken him aback. His thick eyebrows raised questioningly as an utterly clueless look settled over his face. "What?"
"What do you want to do with my hair?" She repeated firmly, her eyes narrowing suspiciously. "Cut it? Sell it?!"
He was now looking at her like she had suddenly spurted a second head, and she was beginning to suspect she had perhaps made a terrible, terrible mistake.
"I-wha-no! Why on earth would I want something like that?" He sputtered, his eyes darting around the room awkwardly as he backed away from her.
Confusion settled over her as she realized he actually had no idea what she was talking about. "Wait, you... don't want my hair?"
The completely creeped out look on his face should probably be enough to answer her question. "In case you haven't noticed, princess, I'm a thief not a wigmaker." He rolled his eyes in annoyance, and a feeling of dread settled deep in her stomach. "Why would I possibly want you hair, of all things?"
No, no, this didn't make any sense. "Then why... why did you kidnap me?"
Flynn's eyes squeezed shut, his hand coming to rub the bridge of his nose. "Believe me, I definitely hadn't been planing on it." He looked as if he was completely done with this unfortunate situation. "And if you hadn't interfered with the plan, I would've never had the need to do it in the first place."
Interfered with what?! "What are you talking about?" Rapunzel's brow furrowed in confusion.
Flynn rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Look, I couldn't leave any witnesses behind, ok? I need to escape Corona, and I can't exactly do it when the entire island is after me, now can I?"
"But... I didn't..."
"You recognized me since the beginning, and I couldn't risk you talking." He stated simply. Her head swirled as she tried to understand the absurd situation.
"So that's it? That's why you kidnapped me, so I wouldn't tell on you?" Flynn merely shrugged nonchalantly in response.
Her grip over the pan's handle slacked as she stared at him disbelievingly. "Then take me back!"
Flynn snorted derisively. "Like hell I will."
"No, no, take me back home and I promise I won't tell a soul about what happened." She tried to convey her honesty in her earnest stare, but he didn't seem the slightest bit convinced.
"And I'm supposed to believe you?" He raised a skeptical eyebrow.
"I promise, Flynn." She insisted, staring intently at him. "And when I promise something, I never, ever break that promise."
His eyes narrowed, she could tell he wasn't convinced at all. There was a moment of silence, and then; "Yeah, right."
A sense of desperation clawed at her throat. What was she supposed to do now? "You have to take me back, now!" She tried to muster every ounce of courage left in her, channeling her mother's imposing look as she demanded what she wanted. But Rapunzel wasn't used to being all demanding and imposing and threatening at all, and she could tell from the look on his face, that wasn't going to work on him.
His previously exasperated stare hardened, and he took a step forward, making her retreat a step back. "Look, I hate this situation as much as you do. But don't you worry, I'll find a way to get rid of you as soon as I can manage." Her eyes widened at his implication, but he didn't seem fazed by her clearly apparent fear. "You'll get back to your precious palace soon enough, and then we can part ways as unlikely friends and pretend this never happened."
She couldn't help but notice he was actually cornering her, advancing toward her with a menacing glint in his eyes she had not seen before. She hadn't even realized she had been backing away until she felt her back hit the cold wall behind her. Rapunzel held the frying pan in front of her in a poor attempt to defend herself, but her hands were trembling and her legs seemed to be on the verge of collapsing.
Flynn closed the gap between them with one last large step. "In the meantime," he muttered, a threatening hint settled in his eyes as he forcefully snatched the pan from her shaking hands, discarding it behind him. She flinched at the loud clattering of steel colliding with the floor. "I wouldn't advice you getting on my bad side, Princess." He hissed against her ear, making her squirm uncomfortably against the wall behind her.
He towered over her, making her feel small and vulnerable under his heated glare. "And if I were you, I'd think twice before you try to threaten me again with that frying pan."
She squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself for what he would do next, but much to her surprise, he let her go, fixing her an annoyed glance as he retreated toward the staircase on the other side of the room.
Rapunzel let out a relived breath she didn't even know she had been holding. Pascal squeaked fearfully on her shoulder, but this time she didn't even have words to comfort her little friend. She watched silently as Flynn's lean shadow disappeared behind a curtain hiding what seemed like a room at the end of the stairs. She could feel her heart hammering in her chest. Oh dear, how was she going to get out of this situation now?
That night she submerged into an uneasy sleep. After Flynn had disappeared upstairs, she decided to stay in the same dark spacious room, inspecting her surroundings and finding nothing special to hold her interest. A few minutes passed before he came down the stairs again, telling her that he had found two separate rooms in which they could spend the night. She'd doubted she could even fall asleep knowing that he was just a room next to her. After his threatening outburst earlier, she found even more reasons not to trust him, but his tone had lost all his threatening edge and his eyes were light once again instead of clouded with pent-up annoyance. He'd told her he would stay in the smaller bedroom somewhere halfway upstairs, and she could take the bigger one at the end of the stairs, before leaving her alone once more to deal with her own conflicted thoughts without giving her so much as a glance back.
She'd waited a long time until she was sure he wouldn't be coming back before tentatively making her way upstairs and into what would now be her bedroom. It was small and simple compared to her bedchamber back in the palace, with bland white walls and a high ceiling she could barely make out in the dark. She'd buried herself under the covers of the four-poster bed, coughing softly as a cloud of dust fluttered in the air as she'd lifted the stiff blankets. Pascal had squeaked inquiringly beside her, and she had given him a sad smile before her eyes fluttered close, begging for the darkness of sleep to claim her so she could maybe forget the events of the day, or wake up back in her bedroom in the palace to discover it had all been a bizarre nightmare. After much tossing and turning, she'd finally been able to fall into a dreamless sleep, drifting into a semiconscious state in which she could only worry about escaping her newfound predicament.
She felt like she had just went to bed, when a now familiar voice invaded her consciousness.
"Princess?" Someone prodded her in the shoulder. Rapunzel groaned softly in reply, too tired to utter a coherent sentence.
"Hey, Princess?" The prodding turned to a more insistent shake, and she waved her hand blindly at the intruder in a dismissive gesture.
"Wake up!" He shoved, and suddenly the events of the previous day came tumbling through her memory. She sat up abruptly with a startled yelp, accidentally hitting him square in the face as she swatted blindly in her attempt to get as far away from him as possible.
"Ouch!" Flynn cried out, holding a hand to his abused nose with a pained grimace. "Watch it, would you?!"
Rapunzel tried to control her labored breaths as she regarded him with wide, slightly terrified eyes. "What do you want?"
Flynn shot her an exasperated look as he examined his fingers for any hint of blood that might had come from his bruised nose. "I was just going to tell you that I'm going out."
"Out? Where are you going?" Was he really going to leave her alone?
He shrugged nonchalantly. "Just going to find us some food and supplies, since there's absolutely nothing in this tower that's not decaying."
She tried to contain the glimmer of hope growing inside her at the prospect of being completely unwatched. As if he had read her mind, Flynn shot her a warning look.
"Don't even think about escaping, your highness. These woods are not exactly known for their safety, and you wouldn't even make it halfway back to the village before getting lost."
She pouted defeatedly, crossing her arms over her chest in what she knew would probably appear like a childlike gesture. And just like that, her hopes for escaping had been tossed out the window. Flynn smirked arrogantly.
"Anything special you'd like me to bring back, Princess?" He inquired in what would otherwise be a respectful tone if it weren't for the amused grin on his face. She frowned slightly.
"Rapunzel."
"What?" His eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"My name is Rapunzel, stop calling me Princess." She huffed. She'd never liked to be reminded of her title, and Flynn apparently was quite insistent on referring to her as anything but her given name.
He rolled his eyes, already turning to exit the bedroom. "Whatever, Blondie."
Her eyes widened at the new nickname, but before she could protest he had already disappeared behind the red velvet curtain.
Rapunzel stayed back in the bed, patiently waiting for Flynn to leave the tower so she could exit the bedroom and explore the place now that the shadows of the night had dissipated and the sunlight filtered through the windows. She heard the trapdoor closing heavily, and a small smile settled on her face.
"Let's have a look around, Pascal." The tiny chameleon squeaked back in reply, and she held her hand open for her friend to crawl over to her shoulder as she rose from the bed.
The thought of attempting to escape crossed her mind, however reckless it seemed. She still didn't know what were Flynn's intentions with her, and although he'd admitted he wanted nothing to do with her hair, she was still unsure of what he may try to do in order to 'get rid' of her. She needed to escape and get back to the palace before he discovered her secret and the actual value of what he now had in his power.
But much to her chagrin, Flynn was right. There was no way Rapunzel would make it back to the palace all on her own without getting lost in the woods. And as much as she didn't trust Flynn, at least he hadn't tried to harm her in the small amount of time they'd spent together. However if she escaped and managed to get herself lost, she could as well end up in the hands of far more villainous criminals that wouldn't hesitate to do much worse things if they had her in their possession.
She shivered at the idea, and her heart clenched in her chest at the thought of her parents. How incredibly worried they must be. This was exactly the situation they had so insistently tried to prevent. Their worst fear had always been that Rapunzel would be kidnapped again, and now in a matter of minutes, Flynn Rider had managed to do what the cloaked mysterious figure had attempted to do all those years ago. He had managed to take her right under their noses, and, unlike last time, no one had noticed until it had already been too late.
This time she had been taken, but her kidnapper didn't have the slightest clue about her hair, and she had to ensure it would stay that way.
Not that she had much clue about her hair either. The topic had always been like taboo, no one dared to speak about it in detail unless absolutely necessary. Since the attempted kidnapping of the newborn princess by that mysterious cloaked figure, Rapunzel and her hair had always been protected at all costs. The only problem was that, no one really knew the extent of the magic hiding within her mysterious golden locks.
The secret had stayed between her parents, the royal physician, a few trusted guards and servants, and of course, Rapunzel herself. There was a special magic, something that had to do with the magical healing flower that had saved her mother's life and her own. According to the royal physician, she had somehow absorbed that magic while her mother was pregnant, and had been born with it, the abilities of the magical flower hiding within her. And her hair was the source.
Funny how if the mysterious person hadn't attempted to kidnap her, no one would have found out about her particular ability. Apparently, someone else knew about her special power, someone that wanted it for themselves. They had tried to cut her hair, that's how they discovered that the magic hiding within her could only be conjured by her golden locks, which once cut, they turned brown and lost its power.
A gift like that had to be protected. But funnily enough, no one else knew how exactly the power of her hair was activated. No one but the cloaked figure that had tried to kidnap the newborn princess, and had managed to escape just in time before the guards caught them.
Her parents were actually relieved to know that no one else had a clue about how to activate Rapunzel's special gift. That way, they would ensure no one would ever take advantage of her secret magical abilities. But that didn't reduce their paranoia, and they'd always insisted on having Rapunzel safely guarded and accompanied at all times, making sure the mysterious would-be-kidnapper wouldn't attempt to take her again.
Unfortunately, all their efforts had been ultimately futile, seeing as the most famous thief in the kingdom had managed to take her away without much of a struggle, and all because he couldn't risk her telling on him.
The situation seemed oddly ridiculous. Rapunzel couldn't even imagine what Flynn would do if he found out her own hair was worth more than a thousand crowns like the one he had stolen. She dismissed the idea, deciding to think about it later as she explored her surroundings now that she had the chance.
However, much to her disappointment, there was nothing remotely interesting hiding in the confinements of the tower. Aside from the dusty old furniture and a few ancient belongings from whoever had occupied the place years ago, the tower was relatively empty.
Judging by the old dusty dresses and a few pieces of jewelry she'd found in cabinets and a rickety wardrobe, the place had apparently been previously inhabited by a woman. What had become of the previous owner of the tower was completely beyond Rapunzel, but she could only assume the place had been abandoned probably more than a decade ago, if the old fashioned gowns and jewelry left behind were any indication.
After much searching and investigating, she'd managed to stumble upon an old trunk hiding under the bed in the bedroom Flynn had claimed for himself the previous day. She opened the lid carefully, a cloud of dust fluttering in the air as she did so, and found a stack of ancient books and yellowing crumbled scrolls and letters resting inside. Empty ink bottles and dusty vials littered the inside of the trunk, mixed with lose pieces of parchment and broken quills. A rush of curiosity welled inside her as she took the stack of books in her hands, blowing over the dusty covers to reveal the titles. They seemed like old tomes written in an ancient language she couldn't understand.
"What do you think these are, Pascal?" The little chameleon shrugged cluelessly. Rapunzel looked through the yellowing pages, all covered with weird symbols and runes she couldn't quite make out. She'd studied other languages and ancient runes in her tutoring lessons and history classes, but none of them were even close to the strange symbolisms covering the pages of these books. If she didn't know any better, she'd say it had something to do with some kind of witchcraft, judging by the pentagrams and peculiar runes.
As she leafed through the pages, she stumbled upon a particular drawing that caught her attention immediately. The familiar-looking flower stared back at her from the page, as if calling her and inviting her to uncover the secrets involving its existence. There were strange runes surrounding the drawing, making it appear almost like a spell involving the peculiar plant.
Pascal squeaked beside her, snapping her out of her trance. She shook her head as if to clear her thoughts and closed the tome, discarding the books and deciding to explore the ancient scrolls instead.
Rapunzel carefully unfolded them one by one, inspecting their contents and finding nothing but scrawls in the same ancient language. She was just about to give up, when she discovered one she could actually understand.
The handwriting was the same she had seen in the other parchments, neat and stylish and perfectly legible now that she had an idea of what she was reading.
She studied the words curiously, marveling at the meaning of the verses written over the scroll.
"It seems like a spell or... an incantation." She muttered distractedly, the words blurring in her vision, as if hypnotizing her. It all mixed in her head; a faint glow, the drawing of the flower, the ancient runes, a drop of sunlight, a familiar melody. All of it coming from within her as a hazy memory, calling for her, begging her to remember, asking her to pronounce the words to awaken the ancient lullaby.
And so she did without even noticing.
Flower gleam and glow
Let your power shine
Make the clock reverse
Bring back what once was mine.
There was a rush of warmth spreading all over her body, and a bright glow that she confused with the sunlight streaming through the window. She continued unaffected, the frantic squeaks coming from Pascal sounding almost distant.
Heal what has been hurt
Change the fates design
Save what has been lost
Bring back what once was mine...
What once was mine.
She came out of her hazy state of mind as soon as she uttered the last words of the incantation, her eyes widening and her heartbeat quickening frantically at what she saw before her.
Pascal squeaked fearfully beside her, clearly as freaked out as her. Her hair was glowing.
Her hair was glowing!
The bright gleam faded slowly before she could even process what was happening, her long tresses returning to their original color almost as soon as the song had finished. That, of course, didn't erase her utter shock.
Rapunzel's hands flew to her mouth to prevent the panicked scream welling up in her throat. Of course she had known her hair was special, she had known it had some sort of magical properties, but this was completely unexpected!
How exactly had she managed to stumble upon the secrets of her magical hair in the depths of an abandoned tower hidden in the middle of nowhere?
How was that even possible?!
She could feel her heart beating frantically in her chest as she hastily returned the stacks of books and ancient scrolls back inside the old dusty trunk. This had to stay a secret. No one could find out about this, especially not Flynn.
With much difficulty, she managed to drag the heavy trunk back to what was now her room, and hid it carefully under the four-poster bed, throwing a worn out blanket over it for good measure.
There, she would make sure Flynn wouldn't find it while she stayed captive in this tower.
She sat over the bed, absentmindedly scratching Pascal's head as she mulled over the newfound secret of her magical hair. She had finally found out how to activate the magic within her, and, ironically, that would have never been possible if she hadn't been brought over to this isolated tower.
What other secrets laid there beyond the palace walls, just waiting for her to discover them? This had definitely been the most exciting - albeit terrifying - event in Rapunzel's entire life. And hadn't she been waiting just for that? Hadn't she been dreaming of freedom and having an adventure and exploring the world beyond the palace and Corona's boundaries?
Wasn't this exactly what she had wished for all these years? To finally be free.
Okay, she wasn't exactly free. She was being held captive by a dangerous criminal, hiding in an abandoned tower in the middle of the woods. But that was probably as free as she would ever get to be. Shouldn't she make the most of the situation? That was what she always did.
Unknowingly, Flynn had provided her with the perfect ticket to her dream; her freedom, and her thirst for adventure. She was only now realizing that this was the perfect excuse she needed. Wasn't Flynn planning to escape Corona and leave the kingdom behind? What if she somehow found a way to, say, tag along?
The only question was... How was she going to convince him to take her with him, and then bring her back home after a few days? He was never going to agree to that. Unless...
The corners of her lips lifted into a small smile, and for the first time in what felt like ages, a wave of excitement coursed through her veins as she lifted a suspicious-looking Pascal in her hands.
"Pascal, we're going on an adventure." Rapunzel declared firmly as she made her way out of the bedroom. "We just need to find Flynn's satchel first."
"What are you doing?" Flynn's voice startled her as she leaned over the furnace, ready to pick out the tray of cookies she had put in earlier.
Rapunzel shrugged dismissively. "I'm baking."
Flynn cocked a disbelieving eyebrow. "You know how to bake?"
She nodded as she carefully took the tray out from the furnace, using an old fluffy cloth she had found to protect her hands from burning. "I love baking, I do it whenever I have the time."
After Flynn had returned with the much needed food and supplies, Rapunzel had set to work on cleaning and dusting the kitchen. It wasn't something she was used to, considering she had never had the need to clean anything back in the palace, but she didn't mind much. While Flynn worked on cleaning and rearranging the rest of the tower, she had decided to bake some cookies for both of them. Aside from the fact that it would give her something to do, she decided that being polite and showing friendliness and kindness to Flynn would maybe put him in a much better mood for when she unfolded her plan.
Perhaps being on friendly terms would make the situation a lot less difficult.
She could feel his eyes boring on her back as she carefully transferred the cookies to a bowl Flynn had brought from his trip to... wherever he had gone to get the groceries.
"Why would a princess have the need to bake...?" He mused out loud. She was not sure if the question was meant for her, but she answered anyway.
"Well, life does get boring from time to time when you have nothing else to do than to attend those boring tutoring lessons." Rapunzel shrugged with a half smile as she held the bowl before him. "Want to try some?"
Flynn's eyes narrowed suspiciously, looking from the delicious-smelling cookies and back at her as if determining whether it was safe to try them or not.
"They are... not poisoned." She tried to reassure him with an easy smile that she was sure came out as an awkward grimace.
Flynn's eyebrows furrowed slightly. He shook his head and waved a dismissive hand. "No thanks, I actually have something to work on."
He turned around, making his way back to what was now his room. Rapunzel let out a disappointed sigh. She had hoped he would accept her peace offering and they would be able to be in somewhat friendly terms before she approached him with the idea of the deal she would like to propose.
Pascal chirped inquiringly beside her. "I guess we'll have to tell him right away then."
She followed upstairs and peeked her head from behind the curtain granting his room some privacy. He was sitting in front of an old worn out desk, bent over a piece of parchment as he wrote something.
She silently slipped inside, careful not to disturb him just yet. Flynn seemed to have noticed her presence, as his shoulders tensed up almost imperceptibly, but he made no comment to acknowledge her, so she crept up behind him, stopping only a few feet away.
"What are you doing?"
He shrugged dismissively. "Working on a way to get you back to the castle so I can escape this damn kingdom already." He murmured distractedly.
Rapunzel bit her lip nervously. "And how are you going to do that? If I get back, what makes you think I won't talk?"
He kept scribbling without even looking at her. "That won't matter. By the time you get back, I will already be on my way to freedom."
She raised a curious eyebrow. "What are you planning?"
"Well, I have the perfect way to get rid of you and get you back home, while ensuring my freedom and safety at the same time. Not to mention a certain amount of money that would do me no harm."
"And how would you do that?" She hoped his genius plan had some kind of loophole that could somehow lead to its failure, because going back to the palace wasn't something she was looking forward to anymore.
"Simple." He looked at her over his shoulder, a satisfied smirk pulling on the corners of his lips. "A ransom."
An indignant frown settled on Rapunzel's brow. "And what exactly would the ransom involve?"
Flynn shrugged, waving his hand in a vague gesture. "Oh, you know, the usual. If they want you back safe and sound, they'll have to guarantee my freedom and safety, ensure that I won't be prosecuted once I leave the kingdom and safe passage outside Corona." He crossed his arms over his chest, pondering his requests. "Also, a certain sum of money would be just fine. I'll have to pay quite a lot for passage to leave the kingdom unnoticed."
Rapunzel swallowed a discouraged sigh. His plan was quite good, and it would be nearly impossible to convince him to drop it. She had hoped she wouldn't have to restore to her backup plan. Asking nicely would have been her first option, but now she apparently had no choice.
She took a deep breath and tried to muster her demanding face. She hoped she looked firm enough. "Well, I'm sorry Flynn, but you can't send that ransom note to my parents."
This seemed to have finally granted her his full attention. Flynn rose to his feet, turning to face her with a somewhat smug look on his face. "Oh, and how do you suppose I get you back to the palace then? I thought you wanted to go back immediately."
She hesitated only for a second. "I-I did want to, but now I've changed my mind."
He raised an incredulous eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
She bit the inside of her cheek, clutching a thin strand of hair between her fingers as she always did when she was feeling particularly nervous.
"I want to leave Corona with you." She finally blurted out in a rush.
"I'm sorry, what?!" Flynn seemed way too stunned to be a good sign. His usually cool demeanor changed into what could be described as an almost panicked expression.
Rapunzel grimaced slightly. "I... I want to leave Corona too. I want you to take me with you so I can leave."
Flynn blinked, his gaping mouth opening and closing as he tried to find the words. "You're out of your mind."
She sighed, her wide eyes pleading as she took a step closer. "Please, Flynn. I've never traveled outside the kingdom before. I'll never get another chance to explore the world beyond Corona if I don't take this. I need you to be my guide."
"What, do I look like a babysitter to you?" He frowned slightly, the bewilderment still not completely gone from his face. "Of course not! I can't do that at all."
"You already kidnapped me and stole my crown, the least you can do is do me this favor and help me." Rapunzel insisted, her green eyes bright and hopeful.
He shook his head stubbornly. "Sorry Blondie, no can do. How do you suppose I sneak you out of Corona when the entire kingdom is looking for you?" He threw his hands up in frustration, clearly annoyed that she was even suggesting the idea and making him lose more of his time. "Do you grasp how insane that is?"
"Besides, why do you even want to leave Corona? You have everything a girl would want back in the palace."
He looked genuinely curious as to why she would do such thing, but she still felt unsure about him, and she felt no need to confess to him her dreams and deepest fears, or to explain her longing for freedom and adventure. That was something she was going to reserve for herself.
"I just need to, you wouldn't understand." Her shoulders dropped as she let out a deep breath. "Look Flynn, if you don't want to do this, that's complete fine. Go ahead and send the ransom note and then get me back to the palace." She turned around, ready to leave as she continued. "I guess you'll just have to leave Corona on your own and without the crown..."
"Wait, wait, wait. Stop right there." Flynn seemed to have come out from his stunned trance and was now looking at her with slight annoyance. "What do you mean by that?"
"I mean, you can either help me, or leave Corona without the crown because you are definitely not having both the money of the ransom and the crown." Rapunzel crossed her arms over her chest in an attempt to look a bit defiant. She was sure it wasn't exactly working in her favor.
"Oh yeah? And how are you gonna stop me from taking the crown?" Flynn's smug smirk disappeared as his eyes searched the room carefully, surely coming to realize just what exactly was missing. "Wait... Where is my satchel?!"
"I hid it, somewhere you'll never find it." It was Rapunzel's turn to smirk, although her self-satisfaction was tainted by the faint hint of fear settling deep inside her. What if Flynn lost his temper just like last night and this time he didn't deliver just threats?
His brown eyes narrowed dangerously. "I thought I warned you not to mess with me, Princess." He took a step closer and she immediately retreated.
"Look, I can be helpful to you Flynn. No one will dare harm you while you have me under your control, right?" She raised her eyebrows to emphasize her point. "The guards will fear the repercussions that might cause on my safety, and I know we can seek passage outside the kingdom if we pay enough."
He seemed skeptical, still irritated by her sudden change of plans, so she went on. "It's just going to be a few days, a week at most, then we get back here, you send your ransom note and get back your satchel with the crown. I would have gotten what I wanted, and you get the money and escape Corona without anyone stopping you."
"That's an unbelievably crazy plan, are you aware of that?" He scowled moodily, his eyes sweeping through the room as if expecting to find the crown hiding in the corners. "And I can just search the whole tower and find the crown myself, I don't suppose it can be that hard."
She supposed he could do that, but Rapunzel was quite sure she had been rather creative with the new location of the precious tiara. He wouldn't be able to find it.
She took a daring step forward with a determined frown on her brow. "Something brought us here, Flynn Rider. Call it what you will; fate... destiny..."
"A horse." He deadpanned.
She got even closer, not breaking eye contact. "So I have made the decision to trust you." That wasn't necessarily true, but he didn't need to know that, right?
"A horrible decision, really." Oh she knew, she definitely knew.
Another step closer and she was now standing a few inches away from him, and despite the fact that he towered a head above her, Rapunzel still glared defiantly. "But trust me when I tell you this."
She stood on her tiptoes, starring intently at him with as much intensity and authority as she could muster, which in her opinion wasn't much but anyway. "You can destroy this tower brick by brick, but without my help, Flynn, you won't get back your precious satchel."
Flynn's eyes widened slightly at her words, leaning slightly away from her as he cocked an unconvinced eyebrow. He regarded her carefully for a moment, and then; "You're an insane, stubborn girl, you know that?"
Her eyes narrowed. "Do we have a deal?"
"No." He muttered defiantly, his eyes darkening with anger.
"I won't give you back your satchel unless you accept, so are you going to help me?"
"No!"
"Fine then, send the ransom note and get rid of me, I don't care." She did care but she wasn't about to show any weakness just yet. Maybe she'd end up begging in the end, but not now.
Flynn groaned in a mixture of deep annoyance and resignation. He took a step back, his hand rubbing the bridge of his nose as he sighed heavily.
There was a moment of silence only interrupted by Pascal's cheerful chirps, and then he finally spoke. "Fine! I'll help you. I don't know what you're planning but you are making a terrible, terrible mistake, Blondie." He warned, shoving a finer into her shoulder.
Rapunzel couldn't suppress the delighted grin spreading over her face. "Really? Oh that's great! It's going to be awesome!" She bounced on her tiptoes excitedly, holding her hand out for him to shake as a soft, excited giggle escaped her lips. "Deal?"
Flynn threw his head back in exasperation, groaning as his hands rubbed his face in annoyance. "You should know, never to strike a deal with a thief, Blondie." He grumbled, but shook her hand anyway, sealing the pact and, unbeknownst to them, their destinies.
"I could betray you the first chance I get." He warned.
Rapunzel's lips pursed against an amused smile. "I guess I'll have to take the risk."
She tried not to think about the consequences now, because while a betrayal wouldn't be surprising coming from him, trusting him and then getting hurt, that was a risk she wasn't willing to take. Guess she'd have to be careful now. As everyone knew, Flynn was a dangerous man, especially for her and her vulnerable heart.
Oh how the tables have turned, right? Who else is excited to see how this comes out? I'd love to know your opinion about this one!
Hope you liked this chapter guys. Since I already started school this Monday, I don't know when I will be able to update next. I'll try to update asap anyway, but if it takes me longer please be patient with me, okay?
Reviews always help with my inspiration, and it's really important for me to know what the readers think, so don't forget to leave a comment on the way out!
See you soon ;)