Hi everyone! :D

I've been reading lots of 'Tangled with a twist' stories and decided to write my own, which will (hopefully) be my first multi-chapter Tangled fic. This twist isn't very original, but it's interesting enough. You all know how the Grimm version of Rapunzel's story goes, right?

With all the "Rapunzel, let down your hair"s and the part when the poor prince goes blind?

Here's Tangled if Rapunzel's dream had gone smoothly - no Mother Gothels finding out about her escape, no getting stuck in a flooding cave, no magic-hair demonstration.

But –

But our beloved Flynn just can't seem to stay away, can he? *winkles* ;)

Read, and review, please!

O*O*O

Prologue

The tower stands before them like a silent guardian, its smooth white stones glowing in the moonlight. It fills Rapunzel's view, and all at once she feels a rush of strange emotions; happiness, sadness, relief, longing, immense melancholy. She's torn between wanting to climb back up into the warm safety of the tower and the freedom of living her life, being part of the world, not just an outsider looking in.

Yet she knows what she must do.

She feels Pascal scrambling up her arm to perch on her shoulder, where he lays a reassuring little paw on her cheek. She smiles at him, but she can't shake this overwhelming feeling of sadness. She doesn't want to leave this world…

But she has to. For Mother.

"You okay?" asks Flynn. He comes up behind her and gently steers her toward the tower.

"I'm fine," she murmurs. She knows he doesn't believe her, but he doesn't ask any questions, and she feels a surge of gratitude toward him. He's been so sweet, taking her to see the lanterns, letting her release one, and making her dream come true… but once she gives back his satchel, he'll leave for good. She'll never see him again, her first human friend. Granted, he's still coarse and secretive, but something in him has… shifted. Opened up, ever so slightly. And that's where his smiles and reassuring words leak out.

They're friends. Even though it hasn't been said outright, they are. Unlikely ones, less-than-open-with-each-other ones, but still friends.

And now they'll be parting ways for good.

She can taste bitterness on her tongue. Swallowing it down, she pushes Flynn out of her mind and wishes the walk to the tower would last forever. She relishes the feeling of the lush cool grass tickling her toes, the smell of wildflowers, the sight of water droplets glistening on the dandelions. A nighttime breeze gently ruffles her golden hair for the last time.

All too soon, they reach the base of the tower. Rapunzel has to crane her neck to see all the way to the top, and she realizes just how enormous her home is – and how empty. She leans down, and strokes the petals of the wildflowers and the blades of grass one final time before unbraiding her hair, careful not to crush the flowers that have been woven in. She lets the little blossoms fall to the ground where they belong, takes her hair, swings her arm back, and lets the golden locks fly. They neatly wrap themselves around the hook by the windowsill, and behind her Flynn gives a whistle of admiration. She can't help but smile. She'll miss having someone to impress.

Bracing her feet against the smooth white stones of the tower, she climbs until she is high above the earth, where the blanket of the night wraps itself around her, where she feels warm and safe. Pausing to take a breath, she looks out over the forest. From her height, the trees are bathed in moonlight and are tinted silver, and a million stars shimmer alongside the moon. Against the clear night sky she can see the silhouette of the castle, where so many of her memories take place. She sighs softly, and looks down at Flynn, who's still on the ground, watching her.

"You coming up?"

"Oh. Right." He hesitates before taking her hair in his hands. "Won't it…you know… hurt?"

She laughs, a trilling, bubbly sound. "No. I'm used to it."

He looks skeptical, but he begins climbing up after her. He moves swiftly and within a few moments, he's right behind her. "You should know, Blondie, that this is the second-strangest thing I've ever done."

She looks down at him. "Really?" she says with a rueful grin. "Well, if this is only the second-strangest thing you've ever done, what's the first?"

He smirks. "Oh, something along the lines of being bonked on the head with a frying pan, getting a slimy frog tongue in my ear, and waking up tied to a chair in a secret tower by a girl with seventy-billion feet of hair."

Rapunzel laughs. "In that case, you should know that that was the strangest thing I've ever done, too."

They reach the top of the tower. After a brief hesitation, Rapunzel swings herself into the familiar main room. It's exactly the same as she left it, except for a thin layer of dust that covers the floor. Looks like she'll be doing extra mopping duty tonight.

She lets out a long sigh and drops her frying pan to the floor with a clatter as she reaches under the loose stone in the corner. There, lying in the dust, is Flynn's satchel, with the crown still inside. She holds the leather bag for a while on her lap, staring at it, the thoughts in her mind behaving like blades of grass thrashing in the wind.

She doesn't want Flynn to leave, oddly enough.

She also wants him to go away so Mother will never find out about her rebellion.

She wants to change her mind and run away from this place; already she's feeling cramped and confined, just as she has for eighteen years.

She also wants to stay here where she's safe, where she has Mother, where she's loved.

A coughing sound makes her look up. Flynn is casually sitting in the windowsill, one leg thrown over the other. He's watching her, but she can barely meet his gaze.

"Hey," he calls. "What's up, Goldie?"

She goes over to him, holding the satchel to her as though unsure of whether to give it to him or not. He looks surprised when she places it in his lap.

"I told you, when I make a promise, I never, ever break it." She smiles.

He coughs. "Well, I can't really argue with that. But…" He's playing with the leather shoulder strap by now, and when he looks back at her she sees emotions she can't name. "Are you sure about this?" he asks. "I mean, you've been in here for eighteen years, you've only left for one day, and you're still going to stay here?"

She doesn't really have an answer for that.

"What I mean is… I could show you a lot. Way more than what you saw today…" He trails off and is suddenly interested with some spot on the wall over Rapunzel's shoulder.

She laughs softly. "Thanks, Flynn. It's really sweet of you to worry about me, but I'll stay here so I can paint my new murals, if not for Mother's sake."

"Me? Worry? About you?" he says incredulously, sounding a lot like his old self. "No, that was just… um…well! I should be going…"

But as he prepares himself to slide down her hair, she stops him. "Wait," she says, and leans forward and pecks him on the cheek, giggling as he turns red. "If you weren't so rotten, I might never have seen those lanterns. Thanks for everything, Flynn."

He mumbles something that doesn't make sense, grasps her golden hair in both hands, and slides down. Before he disappears into the shadows, though, he turns and looks back up at her. The light from the moon makes it easy for her to see his face, and she sees him smile slightly up at her for the last time. Then he slips out of the hidden valley, the shadows slowly consuming him until he is no longer there.

Even after she knows he's completely gone, Rapunzel stands at the window, her hair still hanging out the window, blowing in the breeze down below like a palpable ray of sunshine in the night. She remembers all the people she's met and the friends she's made – the pub thugs, ugly on the outside but radiant and loving on the inside; Maximus, the horse, so bold and determined and yet so sweet; the wonderful people of the kingdom, who joined her in a lively dance she'll never forget; and Flynn, whom she's only just met and getting to know, the thief who can be labeled as a loveable jerk, the one who she has so much to discover about, like he's been closed up for so long and she has to find a way to coax him out of his shell, to open up, to see the light.

She looks down at the wide world, with all its thrills and joys and beauty, so unlike the world Mother has described to her, and pulls a single golden flower out of her hair. Its petals are pure sunshine, and they curve upward to meet each other at the tips. To Rapunzel, it looks very much like a lantern.

She lets it fall, watching as it spirals slowly through the air just like a lantern; only her flower is slowly falling, not ascending. One by one, the petals break off, and they swirl downward. One by one, they fall to the earth… the spirit of a dying dream.

O*O*O

This is just the beginning… dun dun dun! Did I mention that everyone in the world seems to own a copy of Tangled – EXCEPT ME? Gah. At least I got to watch it at my friend's house… her little sister and I twirled like crazy during the kingdom dance scene. Somehow, we ended up letting go of each other and ending up on opposite sides of the room at the same moment Flynn and Rapunzel met at the end of the dance… go figure. :)

Yeah, I know. A thirteen-year-old dancing with an eight-year-old… :P

Anyway, I love all my reviewers – so if you want to be loved by the amazing ME, review! (LOL)

Peace!

Silverbells