AN: It is with great pleasure that I present to you, the companion to Beyond Appearances, Chasing Daydreams featuring our favorite thief, Flynn Rider. I can't even tell you how much I'm enjoying writing this so far; i'm just getting a complete kick out of it (it's just so nice to write this...and once I started, he started sounding EXACTLY how i wanted him to. It is, in a word, stupendous). And I hope you like it too.

Leave me a review please and tell me how you like it. :)

Disclaimer: Since I am using much of Disney's dialogue I'm putting one of these in again because I don't own Tangled.

Much love to my loyal readers! I hope this lives up to your expectations.

FL 6

Chasing Daydreams

Prologue

"I learn by going where I have to go."

-Theodore Roethke, 'The Waking'

"Dreams are like stars...you may never touch them, but if you follow them they will lead you to your destiny."

-Unknown

I know what they say about me:they say that I'm a thief and a liar. And as such, I do not deserve to live, let alone be the fiancé of Princess Rapunzel of Corona. Well, in a way, that's true. Oh stop, stop saying that I never tell the truth, and besides that, I tend to exaggerate. Oh yes, I know what you've heard about me too: that I'm overly confident, almost arrogant. Well, that's true as well. But that doesn't mean that I can't admit the truth when I want in this case I do-I want people to know the truth of how Rapunzel and I met so they'll stop this unending gossiping and slandering. Then they'll know what really happened, and how I really was. And maybe, just maybe, they'll realize what I did for her, and realize how much I care for her and love her.

So I begin- this is the story of how I died…

Hold on. Now, normally when I tell this story I say something along the lines of this story isn't even mine, it's the story of a girl, a girl named Rapunzel, blah blah blah. But this time is different- this time I am actually telling my story, and not hers. But don't get the wrong impression. She's a major part of this story (of course!), but I'm the main character, the hero, the protagonist.

That said, I resume:

This is the story of how I died….

Chapter 1-Flynn vs the Chase

I know what you're thinking- what kind of story is this? Why would I want to hear a story about how you die? Well, personally, if you are like many in Corona, you'll be glad that I died, even if you won't be as glad that I didn't stay dead (of course not. Because if I had, how could I be talking to you?). But for those who don't actually hate my guts, you'll be glad to hear that this story also has a happy theme too. This is also the story of how I found a new dream to follow, instead of a silly daydream. And the story of how I met the most wonderful girl in the whole world.

But meeting the most wonderful girl in the world was the last thing on my mind on that eventful and fateful day over a year ago. And you know what the funny thing is? It started like any other normal day (Isn't it funny how some days you wake up thinking that it's just a normal day, but it ends up changing your life forever?). That is, for me, at least. Most people don't wake up intending to steal the lost princess's crown. But I was such a man, and that's what I fully intended to do that day. I was successful, too, but that's foreshadowing.

Anyway, that day my plan was to wake up early, meet the Stabbington brothers (Morris of the Eyepatch and Thor of the Sideburns), steal the crown, and high-tail it out of Corona.

You might be curious as to how I meet Morris and Thor in the first place. Or maybe you aren't. But even if you're not interested, I'm going to tell you anyway. On one spring evening- I guess it would be around three years ago- I was at my favorite pub, The Red Dragon, in my usual booth, drinking my usual glass of flip, when they approached me. They asked me in low tones if I was that incredibly intelligent, mind-blowingly handsome, unbelievably witty….Okay, fine. They didn't really ask me that. You're pretty sharp, aren't you? But they did ask if I was that expert thief Flynn Rider. To which I said it depended on who was asking and why they were asking. To which Thor (who was smarter than his brother, even then, but then it doesn't take much. Morris wasn't much of a talker…or a thinker. I was smarter than both of them put together, which I will prove you later) said that they had a job to do and needed my help. To which I said…..You're squirming again. Sorry (even though I don't understand why you find this boring. Personally, I find every single detail of my life perpetually fascinating).

Anyway, to make a long story short, I agreed to help them….for a commission, of course. You didn't really think I'd help them for free, did you? We easily accomplished that job, and continued to partner up on other random ones around Caermoor. Those jobs were usually valuable jewelry, or other things like it. And contrary to what some people think, I wasn't broke when I met Rapunzel- I did have some money stashed away. So I didn't necessarily need to steal the things I did, which in some ways, I'm sure, makes what I did worse. You see, I didn't steal to have the life I needed, I stole to have the life I wanted. Only one word is different, but I'm sure you can tell the big gap between the two. And I'm sure you can also guess that I stole because I wanted to live better than I did. Which is completely true: Once I stole the crown, I was going to sell it, and with the money, I was going to buy my own island, and live happily completely alone except for my piles and piles of money. Heavenly.

You might wonder how I could just chuck my life in Caermoor to live in seclusion. Need I remind you that as a thief I didn't really have any friends? I had acquaintances, but no friends. So it wasn't difficult to leave. Besides that, the one person that I had truly loved was dead, and nothing would bring her back.

So I didn't really mind leaving Caermoor one iota. In fact, I was actually looking forward to it-I was going to shake off the dust of this crummy capital and I was going to see the world. And all that was between it and the life I always dreamed of was one last job.

And that was what I was doing that fateful day- pulling that one final job. This one was the biggest of my career too, stealing the lost princess's crown, which meant that we had to break into the castle vault. Or, in reality, climbing down into it. Since you're pretty smart, I bet that you know that I was the one who came up with that idea, and the one who was actually going to steal the crown. But Thor and Morris came with me, and we climbed all over the top of the castle. It was actually pretty fun, jumping around, sliding down walls. It was awesome.

But the view from the top was even more awesome. In fact, it was completely stunning. "Wow," I said in awe. "I could get used to a view like this."

"Rider. Come on," said Thor gruffly. Apparently he was completely unfamiliar with the idea of stopping and smelling the roses. Or, in this case, stopping and taking in the spectacular view. It was always go, go, go with him. But I wasn't ready yet, and they couldn't do this job without me (par usual. Honestly, I have no idea how they managed to steal anything before I came along). Besides that, there wasn't a huge rush, just a small one. "Hold on," I said. I continued to look at the beautiful landscape. "Yep, I'm used to it," I decided. "Guys, I want a castle." Maybe I'd build a small castle of my own with my piles and piles of money...

"Wait until we pull this job," Thor said sarcastically. "You can buy your own castle." And with that, he grabbed me and lowered me down into the vault. The princess's crown was right there inches from my fingers, and I noticed all the guards- who seemed completely unaware of my presence. One sneezed, and I couldn't help but say something.

As before, I know what you're thinking (yes, in addition to my many other great qualities, I'm also psychic. Didn't you know? Oh, I'm not really, but everyone thinks the same thing here): that was stupid of you. You're completely right too. It was. But I was a bit of a smart-aleck then (okay…I'm still one), and so I made a smart remark: "Ah. Hay fever?"

"Yeah," he said.

I immediately bolted out of there (putting the crown carefully in my satchel), ignoring the guard's words of protest. The Stabbingtons both followed me and soon we were running out of town. As we did, I couldn't help but talk more about my castle. "Can't you see me in a castle of my own?" I said. "'Cause I certainly can. All the things we've seen and it's only 8 in the morning! Gentlemen, this is a very big day!"

And you know something? It ended up being a very big day, just not for the reason that I expected.

XXXXXXXXXXX

We continued to run, and run, and run- fast too- until we reached the forest. I leaned against a tree, for a short breather. And that's when I saw it: the most horrible, awful, deplorable, unacceptable, terrible, and dreadful thing I had ever seen. It was a wanted poster of me. I immediately pulled it away from the tree, and stared at it.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no," I said in horror. "This is bad, this very, very bad. This is really bad! They just can't get my nose right," I finished, holding the poster up to my face. If my face was going to be all around the kingdom, it better be right. Otherwise, how would people get the right impression of me? And what would happen to my reputation as the best looking thief in Corona if my nose looked like that? Honestly, it was almost enough to make me want to write my local representative in Parliament and demand that they hire a new poster-drawer.

"Who cares?" Thor growled.

"Well, it's easy for you to say," I retorted. Like they cared about their image. "You guys look amazing!" I said, gesturing toward their poster (which was also on the tree). Well, that wasn't entirely true: they looked amazing in the sense that their picture was accurate at least. Not amazing in the sense that they were attractive, because trust me, they weren't. Along with being the smartest, the most athletic, the wittiest….I was also the most handsome of the three of us (not that it took much. Between me and you, they were pretty ugly. But don't ever tell them I said that).

The sound of hoof-beats reached my ears, and I looked up at the hill behind us. A number of guards were there, and I knew they were after us. Too bad we hadn't lost them (of course, I was fully aware that if I hadn't opened my big mouth, they wouldn't have been after us in the first place), but I was confident that we could outwit them and escape. The Stabbingtons immediately started running again, and I followed, shoving the poster in my satchel. We continued to run until we found ourselves in a complete dead end. I glanced up and down, then turned to the Stabbingtons. "All right, okay. Give me a boost, and I'll pull you up," I said, even though I had absolutely no intention of doing it. It wasn't really possible for me to, anyway, considering one of them weighed like 200 pounds. I was strong, but not that strong. But hopefully they wouldn't figure it out.

They exchanged glances. "Give us the satchel first," Thor said.

Ha, they knew me too well. Nevertheless, I pretended to be offended. "What? I just can't believe that after all we've been through, you don't trust me?" They just stared at me, unflinchingly. Meaning they didn't believe me one bit. Which was actually one of the most intelligent things they had ever done. "Ouch," I said. I gave them a look, and then dropped the satchel into Thor's hands.

They helped me up, and I climbed up over them, not able to resist putting one of my feet in their faces. And, as I did, I swiped the satchel away from them. Did I mention that I was smarter than both of them put together? Seriously, I had just used the oldest trick in the book. You would think that they would have known better by now after working with me for around a year.

But they never did learn, evidenced by what Thor said next. "Now help us up, pretty boy," he demanded.

"Sorry," I told him with a grin. "My hands are full!" I dangled the satchel in front of their faces, before running off.

"What? Rider!" I heard Thor holler after me. I figured that they might get caught then, but honestly? I didn't care all that much. And I couldn't help but think sarcastically as I kept running that I hoped that they would enjoy prison and I would greatly miss the sound of their laughter (yes, that was a joke. Neither of them laughed at all, in addition to not being able to take any jokes. Granted, that could be because most of the jokes I made sometimes were at their expense).

You know what's funny? Looking back, I can't believe I was thinking stupid things like that, when the guards were practically breathing down my neck. I mean, I was fast, but they were faster-they did have horses after all. And arrows too, which they didn't hesitate to shoot at me. It was a good thing I was so clever, and managed to not become their new target practice. Otherwise, this would be a very short story, and a boring one too.

But, as it turned out, I had to keep running and running, and bounding over numerous obstacles on my way. I can admit now, albeit grudgingly, that those guard who were after me, were rather clever. At least they were able to follow me, no matter how many times I switched directions. :

Of course, as you've probably figured out, I did outwit them: I found a vine to swing on and I managed to knock the captain off his horse. And you know what's vastly amusing to me now? The horse managed to outwit me, in a sense. It's like it knew who I was or something, because we had only gone a few yards before it screeched to a halt and turned its head toward me. And I could swear that it glared at me. I glared back and kicked my heels into its side. "Come on, fleabag. Forward," I ordered.

Stupidly, I held the satchel in front of its face, which it immediately seemed to know contained the stolen crown, and started to try to grab it with its teeth. Yes, if you must know, I did think the horse was insane. Because what kind of horse is like that anyway? Most horses I knew were big and dumb. Too bad this one wasn't like that. It matched my determination to get away with its determination to get the satchel. It kept biting, and biting at the satchel. "No, no," I said over and over because most horses when you say no to something, they actually do what you say. "Stop it. Stop it. Give it to me," I told the horse. We kept fighting over the satchel until it flew out of my grip….and landed on the branch of a tree, that just happened to overlook a cliff. Stupendous. Isn't it funny how everything can be against you some days? Seriously, that's what this day was like-I just couldn't get a break from anything. And I must confess that it did make me sort of peeved. Couldn't a guy steal a crown and leave the country without too much hassle?

Apparently not, because I still had to battle that fool horse for the satchel. I had to endure being repeatedly tripped by that stupid, stupid horse and I almost fell off the tree when he tossed me off of his head (I guess he wasn't a big fan of having all my weight there). And, if that wasn't enough, I had to scramble on the bottom of the tree, trying to reach the satchel before the horse did, or it slipped off the branch into the ground below. I successfully retrieved the satchel, of course, but I had only done so (with a smug haha at the horse) before the tree broke under our weight (hey, it wasn't my fault…..it was the horse!). We started to fall headlong toward the ground beneath us, and I couldn't help but hold onto the tree for dear life. Naturally, being the courageous man that I was, I didn't scream one iota….Okay, fine. You win. Again. You're like that horse, you know that? Way too smart for your own good. I did scream, but not too much.

But you try what I had gone through and see if you don't scream any. And that was even before the tree broke on the rocks below, and I went flying in one direction and the horse in the other. However, since I was so smart, I figured that the horse would immediately start looking for me, and so I hid behind a rock, until I watched it walk past me. But the horse began to sniff the ground, and it would be only seconds before it found me again. Since I didn't want a repeat of all that marvelous horseplay on the cliff, I hid again in a cave before I was certain that the horse wouldn't find me.

When I was sure, I walked out of the other side of the cave, and that was when I saw it: A tall, majestic tower in the clearing, with vines climbing on all sides of it. Behind it was a glistening waterfall. (As you might have picked up, this was Rapunzel's tower. Of course it was. How many other towers do you know of in the woods of Corona?)

But yes, it was beautiful and I wondered briefly if the view from a tower was as spectacular as the view from a castle. Suddenly I heard the horse again, and I knew that my best chance of losing the horse for good was to climb up the tower, take refuge there, and hope nobody lived there. I didn't think it was likely though. Why would somebody live in a tower in the middle of the woods?

So I found two halves of an arrow and used them to climb up the tower as fast as I could. And, luckily, for me when I reached the top there was an open window. I quickly closed it so there would be no possibility of anyone seeing me. Then I realized that I was finally safe- no guards, no Stabbingtons, and no psycho horses. I opened my satchel and sighed contentedly when I saw that it was still there, unbroken and unharmed. "Ah. Alone at last," I said in complete relief. However, my relief didn't last long at all. Soon I felt a hard whack on the back of my head and I slumped to the floor.
And everything was black.

Another note: Flip is actually a drink that people used to drink in Britain and there really is a pub called the Red Dragon. Where it is, i don't know, but it is the name of a real one. Awesome right?

Oh, and for those who don't know, Caermoor is the name I gave to the capital of Corona.

Did you pick out the movie quote in here? Hope so!

-FL 6