A/N: Hey guys! Hey, I'm actually posting the first chapter ON my friend's birthday! Who knew? So, this is a birthday fic for my friend Jane, who wanted a PruCan Faerie Tale AU. And she wanted Tangled... So, here it is! This first chapter is pretty similar to the movie, but it WILL divulge. This originally had songs, but thanks to an anonymous review, I was reminded that the songs from Tangled don't quite count as public domain yet. Also, just a note on this: Many stories have similar bases, but you can't call copyright infringement on all of them. So, to this anonymous guest reviewer: Why don't you go check out half the Glee archive? Or a good chunk of the Hetalia archive? Because your rules for copyright infringement are broken ALL OVER, so please just stop. Thank you. The second chapter should be up soon... hopefully...

Anyway! Quick guide: words: thoughts; "Words": regular speech

Any questions? Feel free to PM me! And happy birthday, Jane!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Axis Powers: Hetalia in any way, shape, or form. Nor do I own Tangled in any way, shape, or form. Tangled is property of Disney (and the Brother's Grimm, by extension, because Rapunzel), and NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED! This is all for enjoyment for my friend. Enjoy!

This is a story about my death.

Oh, no, don't worry! This is actually a great story. It's funny, it's heartwarming, and it's full of adventure. Probably the craziest thing about it: this story isn't even mine. Nope, not mine, not at all. It's about a boy named Matthew. And it all starts with the sun.

So, once upon a time, a drop of sunlight fell to Earth and caused a magical flower to grow. It could heal any sickness or injury, anything except for death. Well… more on that later. It has to do with my death. Isn't that wonderful? *smack* Ow, Birdy! Stop it! *smack* Okay, okay, I'll get to the real story. Sheesh.

Now, where was I? Oh, right, the magical flower. So… this drop of sunlight grew into a magical flower. Oh, look, there's an old woman. She's important later, so pay attention. *smack* OW! Ahem, back to the story.

Centuries passed and a kingdom grew up a little ways away from this magical flower. This kingdom was ruled by an amazing King and Queen. And, like people typically do, they decided "Hey! Let's have a kid!" and went to go do just that. *smack* OW! BIRDY, QUIT IT!

Anyway, the Queen managed to get pregnant… even though he was a dude… but moving on! Unfortunately, the Queen got really, really sick. He was going to die, so the King started to look for a miracle. Or, you know, a magical flower made from sunlight. That works too!

Oh, oh, look, it's that old woman again! See, I told you she'd be important! *smack* Birdy, I'm just gonna ignore you now…

Anyway, this old woman is still around because she's been using the magic flower to stay young for… a really damn long time. And of course, she didn't share it! Because why would she? Anyway, how this flower worked went a little like this: you had to touch it while thinking about what you wanted it to do. Yeah, it's a bit creepy, I know...

Anyway, so now the palace guards found this flower and brought it back to the palace. The King gave the flower to the Queen to ingest, and this healed him. And after nine months, the King and Queen's baby was born. The baby was a beautiful blonde boy with shining blue-violet eyes. I'll give you a little hint: that's Matthew.

So, to celebrate the boy's birth, the King and Queen launched a flying lantern into the sky. And for one beautiful, shining moment, everything was perfect.

But of course, since this is a faerie tale, that perfect moment turned into a fiery wreck!

So, that old woman, otherwise known as Mother Natalia, snuck into the palace in an attempt to gain back her youth. She touched a lock of Matthew's hair, and it started glowing. Mother Natalia cut off a piece of Matthew's hair, and the strand turned light brown instead. Shocked, Mother Natalia dropped the hair. Matthew started crying, and Mother Natalia stole the child, leaving behind two traumatized parents.

The King and Queen searched and searched, but Mother Natalia was nowhere to be found, and neither was Matthew. However, deep in the forest, in a tall, stone tower, Mother Natalia raised the child alone in the forest.

"Mama? Why can't I go outside?"

"The outside world is a dangerous place, full of horrible people and tragedies. It's much safer to stay inside this tower, where it's safe."

"Okay, Mama."

Of course, the tower walls couldn't hide everything. Every day, on the young prince's birthday, the King and Queen released thousands of lanterns into the sky, in the hopes that someday their prince would return to them.

The young prince lived in the tower for eighteen years. Which is where our story really starts…

"Alfred! Oh, Alfred!" Matthew called, poking his head out the window. He glanced around, smirked a little, and shrugged. "Oh, well, I guess he's not out here…" Matthew said in a sing-song voice, turning around. A snigger came from the flowerpot, and Matthew grinned.

"Gotcha!" Matthew called, grabbing the end of Alfred's tail. Alfred shrieked as Matthew lifted him into the air.

"Aand… I believe that's twenty three for me. Wanna go twenty four out of forty seven?" Matthew asked, grinning. Alfred frowned and crossed his arms, glaring back at Matthew.

"Okay, that's a no… What do you wanna do?" Alfred pointed outside excitedly. Matthew laughed.

"No… I like it in here, and so do you," Matthew said, turning around and walking back inside. Alfred stuck out his tongue. "Oh, come on, Alfred, it's great in here!" Matthew said, smiling. Alfred rolled his eyes but gave up on trying to go outside.

"Thank you, Alfred. Now, we should actually do something productive, eh?" Matthew asked. Alfred sighed and rolled his eyes, but nodded. Matthew grinned, grabbed his hair, and grabbed a broom.

"Well, chores... Should probably sweep..." Matthew murmured, desperately hoping his hair wouldn't ruin his sweeping job. Alfred tried to help (key word: tried), but in the end, Matthew shooed the chameleon away so he could finish. After that was done, Alfred dragged over the polish, and Matthew scrubbed the floor. Really, the only person he had to impress was his mother, but still. Priorities.

"Phew! That's done!" Matthew said, standing up. "What do you wanna do now, Alfred?" Alfred darted towards the kitchen, and Matthew laughed. "Food, yeah?"

After lunch, Matthew grabbed his paint set and set off to find an unpainted section of wall. He finally found it on the kitchen ceiling, and so he climbed up the cabinets in order to get to it. Alfred handed him certain brushes when he asked for them, and Matthew wondered just how the chameleon knew what was going on. Oh well. Some things will just always be a mystery. After his painting was done, Matthew jumped down and grabbed a hairbrush.

"It's probably super tangled at this point," Matthew said, starting on the (very long) process of brushing his blonde locks. Finally, an hour later, all of his hair was brushed, and Matthew sighed in relief before dropping the hairbrush and walking over to the window, staring out with a wistful expression. Alfred crawled up on top of his head and stared with him.

"Well, it's my eighteenth birthday, tomorrow. Let's hope Mother lets me go out this year, eh Alfred?" Matthew asked his friend. Alfred squeaked some form of agreement before jumping off and running back towards the kitchen.

Matthew sighed and climbed down from the window, heading back into the kitchen to make some pancakes.

Meanwhile, back in the city, a young thief by the name of Gilbert was standing on the roof of the castle, looking out at the city. He breathed deeply, allowing the crisp air to fill his lungs.

"Wow! This is an awesome view! I could definitely get used to this!" Gilbert exclaimed, his heavy German accent evident in his words.

"Beilschmidt! Get your head back in the game and let's go, da?" Ivan, one of his partners called to him.

"Hold an a minute, Ivan. Geez," Gilbert grumbled before going back to stare at the view. "I'm getting ideas for the kind of view I want when I get my own castle."

"If we pull off this job, you can buy your own castle anywhere you want. Now come, let's do this," Katyusha, Gilbert's other partner, called, hefting the rope higher up her shoulders. Gilbert followed Ivan as they walked over to the window that was the entry point for their job.

As the lightest and most nimble, it was agreed that Gilbert would be the one that was lowered down. Katyusha wrapped the rope around his waist, tying it tightly. They quickly looped the rope around a hook, and then Ivan began the painstaking process of lowering Gilbert down into the throne room.

Gilbert silently laughed to himself when not one of the guards looked up and saw him descending to steal the crown. Seriously, if he'd known that palace security was this lax, he'd have robbed the castle ages ago! Gilbert wrapped his hands around glittering crown, grinning. Yes! The money's mine! Gilbert cheered internally.

A stern-looking blonde guard sneezed.

"Bless you. Hope you're not getting sick," Gilbert teased, smirking.

"Danke. I hope so too," the guard replied. Gilbert's smirk widened. And in three, two, one…

"Wait! Stop right there, thief!" the guard yelped, spinning around to see Gilbert escaping through the roof with the crown.

The alarm was raised through the castle, but at this point Gilbert and the Braginsky siblings were too far away for the guards to do anything.

"I can totally picture myself with an awesome castle of my own! Hey! And it's still really early in the morning! Look alive, you two! Today is an awesome day!" Gilbert whooped as they ran into the forest.

"This is it, Alfred! Today is a very big day! I'm finally going to ask her if I can go see the floating lights. I'm going to ask her. Yes, I am," Matthew cheered, taking deep breaths in order to calm himself. Alfred just shook his head, giving Matthew a look as if to say Sure you are.

"Matthew!" Mother Natalia's voice floated up the tower. Matthew gasped.

"This is it, Alfred. Come on, hide, you know she can't see you," Matthew frantically whispered. Alfred rolled his eyes, but leaped up on top of the wardrobe and changed colour in order to blend in.

"Matthew! Let down your hair! I'm not getting any younger down here!" Mother Natalia called.

"Coming, Mother!" Matthew yelled back, throwing his hair around a hook and letting it cascade to the ground. He leaned over the edge and saw Mother Natalia putting her foot through a loop on the end of his hair. She looked up at him and nodded, and Matthew started the process of pulling her up. As soon as Mother Natalia was in, Matthew started grinning and babbling.

"Hello Mother! Welcome home! How was your journey?"

"It was tiring, darling. Very tiring. And oh, how you do that every day without fail will never cease to amaze me! You must be exhausted," Mother Natalia said, giving Matthew a sympathetic look.

"Oh, it's nothing, Mother. It's not really that bad," Matthew replied, blushing slightly. Mother Natalia laughed.

"If you're sure, darling," Mother Natalia replied, taking off her cloak and strolling over to the mirror.

"Now, Mother," Matthew said, sensing his opening. "You know that tomorrow is a very big day-"

"Matthew, darling, come here and look in the mirror," Mother Natalia said, wrapping an arm around Matthew and yanking him over to her. "Do you know what I see? I see a strong, confident, beautiful young person. Oh, look, you're there too!" Mother Natalia laughed. Matthew's face fell. "Oh, darling, I'm just teasing," Mother Natalia said, going back to examining herself in the mirror.

"Right. So, Mother, as I was saying, tomorrow is a very big day-" Matthew said, trying again.

"Matthew, I'm sorry, but I'm feeling a little run down. Would you mind letting me do your hair? It will make me feel tremendously better," Mother Natalia said, facing Matthew.

"Oh! Of course!" Matthew smiled, grabbing the chair and the stool, then running to grab the hairbrush. Mother Natalia sat on the chair while Matthew sat on the stool. As Mother Natalia grabbed his hair, he tapped his foot impatiently, wanting her to be done so he could ask her!

"Mother, I have something important to ask you. Are you done yet?" Matthew asked, sounding a little bit whiny.

"In a moment, Matthew. I'm almost done with the braid," Natalia calmly replied, tying it off with a ribbon. "There. Now, what would you like to talk to me about?" Matthew jumped off the stool and spun around to face her, the new braid swishing behind him.

"Now, Mother, as I was saying, tomorrow's a pretty big day. And you didn't respond, so… Tomorrow's my birthday! Surprise!" Matthew cheered, grinning.

"Oh, yes, I suppose it is. Don't worry, I have something special planned," Natalia said, smiling a little.

"I'm sure I'll love it," Matthew replied, grinning. "Uh, anyway. I'm turning 18 this year, so I was wondering if… If I could… That is, for my birthday, I was wondering if I could…" Matthew trailed off, mumbling.

"Matthew, you know how I feel about the mumbling. I can't understand you. Please speak clearly," Natalia sighed, rolling her eyes.

Matthew glanced over to the wardrobe and saw Alfred gesturing for him to go on. Taking a deep breath, Matthew turned back to face his mother.

"Ugh. I want to see the floating lights," Matthew finally rushed out, squeezing his eyes shut as he waited for her judgement.

"Oh. You mean the stars. Well, I don't see why you can't just see them from the window," Natalia replied, waving off his request.

"That's the thing," Matthew said, jumping up and pulling a lever, revealing the star chart he'd painted on the ceiling. "I've charted stars and their patterns, but these lights only appear on my birthday. I just… really need to see them in person, so I was wondering if you'd take me."

Natalia heaved a dramatic sigh. "You want to go outside? Matthew, look at yourself. You can't defend yourself."

"But-" Matthew began.

"Matthew, you're very small for your age. On top of that, you're not very strong, and you have no experience with fighting. How will you defend yourself in this violent world?"

"I know, but-" Matthew tried again.

"You do know that we stay in this tower for your own protection, right? I only have your best interests in mind, darling," Natalia continued without even hearing Matthew's protest.

"But-!" Matthew protested.

"Hush, darling. I can tell you about the outside world again, if you need me to."

"No! I'm fine!" Matthew sighed, getting ready for the lecture.

"Now, I'm sure as you remember, it's a very scary world out there. Why, even for myself, an individual skilled in the ways of the world, I get into trouble at every turn! There's no avoiding it, Matthew," Natalia began, spinning around and stalking off to the kitchen to grab some food.

"How bad can it really be?" Matthew asked quietly, hoping she hadn't heard him. Her answering glare dashed all his hopes.

"Thugs roam the streets. Police have no control! Poisonous plants grow everywhere, making them impossible to avoid, and natural disasters happen on a weekly basis! Cannibals are always looking for young, defenseless things like you to devour. Sickness runs rampant! Do you still really want to leave?" Natalia rattled off, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Well..." Matthew began, awkwardly shuffling his feet.

"Fine! Go ahead and leave me alone. I've only raised you, clothed you, fed you, bathed you, and kept you safe for the last, what? Eighteen years? I deserve it!" Natalia yelled, spinning around and crossing her arms angrily.

"Mother, that's not what I meant-" Matthew started before Natalia spun around and stopped him with a shove. He fell to the ground and looked up at her, shocked. "Mother, what-"

"Do you really think you can survive out there on your own?" She hissed. Matthew gulped and shrunk back away from her fury. "You? Don't make me laugh. You have no idea how hard it is out there. You're naive, easily fooled, and woefully unprepared."

"I-I'm sorry," Matthew whimpered. Natalia's eyes softened a bit.

"Oh, come here. I'm sorry if I scared you," she soothed, sweeping Matthew up into a hug. "I just have one thing I need you to promise me."

"Anything, Mother," Matthew panted, meaning it. He would promise anything as long as it meant not having to face her wrath ever again.

"Matthew?" Natalia asked. Matthew shivered slightly at her tone of voice, but looked up at her anyway.

"Yes?" Matthew asked, apprehensive. Natalia took a deep breath and glared.

"Never ask to leave this tower again. Understood?"

"Yes, Mother," Matthew whispered, looking at his feet. Natalia smiled and patted his head.

"There we go. I love you very much, dear," she said.

"I love you more," Matthew smiled slightly.

"I love you most," Natalia giggled, bopping him on the nose. "Now, remember what I always say: Mother knows what's best for you."

"Now, I'll see you in a little bit, my flower!" Natalia called as Matthew lowered her down again.

"I'll be here," Matthew said, sighing.

Meanwhile, Gilbert and the Braginsky siblings were running through the woods, being chased by the royal guard. As they passed a tree stocked with wanted posters, Gilbert paused.

"Oh no, this is bad, very, very bad…" Gilbert said, panicking. The Braginsky siblings shot him curious looks, and Gilbert turned to face him, holding up his Wanted poster.

"They just can't get my smile right!" Gilbert yelled, throwing his hands up in exasperation. The Braginsky siblings just gave him looks.

"Who cares? Let's go. I'd prefer not to get caught," Ivan droned, turning around and running.

"Well, that's easy for you two, your poster looks amazing!" Gilbert yelled, quickly catching up to Ivan and Katyusha. They came across a tall rock, too tall for them to just jump over. They heard the palace guard closing in fast, and Gilbert turned to face the Braginsky siblings.

"Help me up! I'll pull you up after!" Gilbert said.

"Mhm. Give us the satchel first, pretty boy," Katyusha said, extending a hand.

"Oh come on! After all we've been through, you don't trust me?" Gilbert whined, giving the siblings a pouty face. The Braginskys sighed and heaved Gilbert up to the top of the rock.

"Great. Now pull us up, da?" Ivan said, glaring. Gilbert shrugged playfully.

"Sorry. My hands are full," he said, holding up the satchel before jumping off the rock and running away, leaving a giant rock in between the Braginsky siblings and freedom.

"WHAT?! BEILSCHMIDT!" Ivan roared. Gilbert laughed and kept running. The sounds of the palace guard chasing him continued though, and Gilbert looked behind him to see most of the guard still chasing him. He paled even further and ran faster.

"Get that satchel! I don't care how, just do it at all costs!" the Captain yelled, his blue eyes glaring at the rest of the guard. His German accent made him sound much angrier than he actually was, but it worked to motivate the other guards. His silver horse neighed to relay this order to the other horses before charging forward even faster after Gilbert.

After a little bit, it was obvious that Gilbert was slowing down. The Captain of the Guard grinned.

"We've got him, Lukas!" the Captain cheered. His horse, Lukas, pushed himself even faster. Just as the Captain was about to grab Gilbert, Gilbert grabbed the Captain and threw him off Lukas before jumping on Lukas' back himself. Lukas realized what had happened after a moment and quickly came to a halt.

"Oh, come on! Let's move, fleabag!" Gilbert complained, kicking Lukas' sides. Lukas caught a glimpse of the satchel and lunged for it, snapping at it with his teeth.

"Whoa!" Gilbert exclaimed, desperately trying to keep the bag away from the horse. Finally, Lukas snatched it, and Gilbert growled.

"Oh no you don't. Give it back!" Gilbert yelled, lunging for it and managing to grab it back.

"Haha!" Gilbert yelled in triumph, holding up the satchel. Lukas lunged forward, and the creaking sound made them both freeze. In their struggle, they had ended up on a branch over a chasm. The branch finally snapped, sending both of them plunging down, screaming.

"Phew! Finally lost him!" Gilbert panted, emerging into a clearing and hiding quickly behind a rock wall as Lukas walked past. Once Lukas had left, Gilbert let out a breath before giving the clearing a better look. A super tall tower took up the centre of the clearing near a waterfall. Gilbert shrugged before starting towards the tower, thinking he could hide out there for a while.

When he reached the base of the tower, Gilbert paused. Sure, he was a thief, but breaking and entering and staying was a completely different thing. When he heard Lukas neigh in the distance, Gilbert made up his mind and climbed the tower using an arrow.

After a lot of effort, Gilbert finally climbed into the tower, panting.

"Finally," Gilbert sighed. "Alone at last."

The last thing Gilbert registered was something blunt slamming into his skull, and Gilbert passed out.

"Agh!" Matthew yelped, hiding behind a chair. After a moment, he peaked out from behind the chair, holding the frying pan in front of him for defense. Matthew sneaked out from behind the chair and approached the pale stranger. The stranger didn't move. Matthew glanced at Alfred. Alfred mimed pointy fangs, and Matthew lifted the stranger's lips to find normal human teeth.

"Oh," Matthew whispered as the stranger's hair moved to the side, revealing a very handsome face.

"Ugh…" the guy groaned, his eyelids fluttering. Matthew panicked and whacked the guy over the head again. He fell unconscious again, and Matthew panted before looking over at Alfred. Alfred shrugged, and Matthew groaned. "What do I do now?"

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed that! This is split into multiple chapters. I'm not sure how many, yet. Anyway! If you wanna guess who the King, Queen, and the Captain of the Guard are, go for it! Otherwise, I think all the important characters are kinda obvious... See you next chapter! Concrit is LOVED, flames are used to make s'mores. Remember, Disney owns Tangled. I MEAN NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT. See you!