“Yes, Mother,” Rapunzel replied obediently, slumping in sadness.
“Oh…” Mother Gothel changed her tone and swept Rapunzel into a warm hug. “I love you very much, dear.”
“I love you more,” Rapunzel answered quietly, as she always did.
“I love you most!” Mother Gothel whispered as she kissed Rapunzel atop her head and got ready to leave again.
Rapunzel looked up at the sky. How could she doubt her mother’s love? She looked down and waved as Mother Gothel disappeared beyond the walls of the valley…into the mysterious world beyond.
At that very moment, a dashing thief named Flynn Rider was running through the forest as fast as he could. The two Stabbington brothers, his partners in crime, ran with him.
Hot on their heels rode the mounted palace guards. The guards’ highly trained and powerful white horses were as intent on catching the thieves as the guards themselves. Flynn Rider and the Stabbington brothers had stolen the crown that belonged to the long-lost princess. In the kingdom, this was no joking matter. The people still believed that their princess would return one day, and her crown must be ready for her! The royal guards would stop at nothing to get it back.
Flynn Rider halted at a tree and tried to catch his breath. Noticing a WANTED poster of himself, he scoffed, “Would you look at this?” The Stabbington brothers stared blankly at the poster. “Is it too much to ask to get my nose right?” Flynn felt insulted. “It’s just so…bulbous,” he added petulantly.
“There they are!” A group of the royal guards had spotted the thieves from a ridge above. Flynn stuffed the poster into his satchel as he and the Stabbingtons took off. Again they ran at top speed, but they soon found themselves trapped at the end of a ravine. The only way out was to climb the sheer fifteen-foot walls.
Though the burly Stabbington brothers were Flynn’s partners, they were probably the most dangerous cutthroats he had ever met. They were identical twins, big and strong, with matching scars. The only way Flynn could tell them apart was that one of them wore an eye patch and never spoke. But right now Flynn was worried that they might kill him for the crown. He needed a plan to escape them and the royal guards!
“Okay,” Flynn said, thinking fast, “give me a boost and then I’ll pull you up.”
“Give us the satchel first,” demanded the brother without the eye patch.
“What?” Flynn pretended to be stunned, hurt! “Why, I just can’t believe that after all we’ve been through together, you don’t trust me!”
But the Stabbington brothers wouldn’t budge. Flynn could see that it was hopeless. Grumbling, he handed the brothers the satchel containing the crown and began climbing over their shoulders. But Flynn was a clever fellow. As he climbed, he grabbed the satchel back, unnoticed.
When he reached the top of the ledge, he held up the satchel and gave the brothers a grin.
“Enjoy prison!” he called back as he ran away. “Find a hobby!”
The captain of the royal guard saw Flynn making a run for it. “He’s getting away!” he shouted. “Don’t let him get away!”
A shower of arrows rained down around Flynn, but he dodged them all, leaping over rocks and fallen trees, skirting bushes, and ducking under low-hanging branches.
With the royal guards still hot on his trail, Flynn spotted a Y-shaped tree up ahead and ran right for it. He hurled himself straight though the opening in the Y, landing safely on the other side. The horses of the royal guard stumbled to a stop behind him—all but one. The captain’s horse! Flynn was astounded.
“Ha! We’ve got him now, Maximus!” the captain said to his muscle-bound white horse. “He won’t get away this time!” Flynn took a quick glance back at the horse. How had he jumped through that gap?
Grabbing a vine, Flynn swung through the air and looped back, knocking the captain right off his horse and taking his place in the saddle.
“Hee-yah!” Flynn yelled triumphantly, feeling pretty smug. He knew he’d pulled off a classic move. But his grin quickly left his face when the horse suddenly came to a halt, nearly throwing Flynn out of the saddle.
“Come on, Fleabag!” Flynn yelled.
Maximus was the best horse in the kingdom, and he did not like being called Fleabag. The horse whipped his head around angrily and started nipping at Flynn’s precious satchel.
“No!” Flynn shouted. “Stop it! Stop it! Bad horse, bad horse!”
Maximus began spinning in circles, trying to throw Flynn, but the young thief held on tightly.
“Whoa, who-o-o-o-oah!” Flynn shouted. Flynn had a new enemy—a maniacal horse!
“Give me that!” Flynn yelled as Maximus finally sank his teeth into the satchel. Man and horse engaged in a tug-of-war until Flynn used all his might to pull the satchel free, flinging it well out of reach. It landed at the far end of a fallen tree that was rooted in the side of the cliff and stretched across the top of the deep ravine.
Panting, Flynn and Maximus immediately sized up the situation. Not used to having such a competent rival, Flynn leaped from the horse’s back and scrambled to get to the tree first. Maximus followed. Flynn grinned as he slipped along the underside of the tree and inched toward the satchel. No horse would dare step out on a tree overhanging a cliff.
No horse except Maximus.
The horse walked out onto the tree, trying to stomp on Flynn’s hands with his hooves. Flynn could not believe it. The massive horse was practically tiptoeing along the top of the horizontal tree.
“Ha-ha!” Flynn yelled at last. Triumphantly, he clung to the end of the tree, hanging on to a branch that simply could not hold the horse’s weight. Flynn held up the satchel to show Maximus that he had won.
Maximus glared at Flynn.
Crack! Now they both froze as they heard the deep sound of the tree roots pulling away from the ledge. Flynn and Maximus fell, screaming and neighing, as the tree broke from the cliff.
Maximus landed hard. Quickly, he got to his feet and shook off the dust. He was all right! But Flynn was nowhere to be found. The horse sniffed around, trying to pick up Flynn’s trail.
Carefully and quietly, Flynn moved along a steep rocky wall. He had the satchel. He had the crown. Now he just had to get rid of that crazy horse! Seeing some bushes, he plunged his hand into them and parted their branches. He peered into the darkness and saw a cave. Perfect! He slipped into the entrance just as Maximus trotted by, sniffing like a bloodhound.
That horse is relentless! Flynn thought as he held his breath. Turning, he saw that the cave had an opening on the opposite side. He was so desperate to get away from the horse that he plunged farther inside without a second’s thought, and found himself in a tunnel. When he emerged from the tunnel, he stopped short.
Before him lay a beautiful valley. The ground was covered in lush green foliage. A waterfall glimmered in the sunlight as it tumbled down the rusty-red, rocky walls surrounding the valley and splashed into a clean, fresh pond. A sparkling bright blue stream burbled along a winding path amid fields of flowers.
And in the middle of the valley, a tall tower reached toward the sky. Stunned by the valley’s beauty and awed by this hidden world, Flynn simply stared for a moment. He had discovered something truly marvelous.
Flynn could faintly hear Maximus at the far end of the tunnel. Groaning, Flynn realized that he had to do something fast to get away—something that Maximus would never be able to do. Flynn raced to the tower. He pulled out some arrows and used them to hoist himself up. It was a grueling effort, but he had to find refuge. Grimacing all the way, Flynn plunged arrow after arrow into the cracks in the tower’s exterior, pulling himself ever higher.
Moments later, Flynn climbed through the window at the top of the tower.
“Alone at last,” he said, heaving a sigh of relief. He had finally found a safe harbor where no royal guard or royal horse or Stabbington brother would ever find him.
BANG! Something hit Flynn in the back of the head. Then his world went black.<
br />
Rapunzel stood over Flynn’s unconscious body. She was still marveling at the power of a frying pan against the first real person she had ever seen besides Mother Gothel. He must be a ruffian, she thought. Mother Gothel had warned her about ruffians.
When Rapunzel realized she’d knocked the man out, she began looking at his hands. She poked at him with the pan and then used it to turn him over. She examined his eyes and peeled back his lips to check for fangs.
But there were no pointy teeth. This ruffian actually looked rather nice.
She turned to Pascal. Now what should she do with the ruffian? But Pascal just shrugged, not knowing what color to turn.
Rapunzel started to shiver all over. She had just overpowered an evil man—someone who must have come in search of her golden hair.
The man groaned, and Rapunzel leaped back. She had to do something with him before he awoke, maybe lock him up in a place from which he could never escape! She took his arms and dragged him across the room. He was heavier than Mother Gothel! Spotting the closet, she knew she had found the right place to put him. He would never be able to escape the closet! Bending and twisting his body, she pushed him inside, then slammed the doors. She wedged a chair in front of the doors to keep them closed.
“Okay, okay,” she said to herself, “I’ve got a person in my closet.” Wait. That meant—“I’ve got a person in my closet!” Rapunzel was beside herself. She had conquered an evil, terrible monster and locked him away! “I’ve got a person in my closet!” she repeated frantically.
Her worry suddenly turned to excitement. “I’ve got a person in my closet!” she exclaimed happily to Pascal. This was proof that she could handle anything. She was ready! Mother Gothel would see that she could handle a person and go outside! She could go to see the lanterns!
Rapunzel noticed a satchel on the floor. The jeweled crown was sticking out. Rapunzel had no idea what it was. To her, it looked like a giant ring. She pulled it out and inspected it. She put it on her wrist. Pascal took one look and shook his head. This thing was much too big to be a bracelet.
Rapunzel was puzzled. The thing was shiny, but it was not a ring or a bracelet. Maybe it was a necklace! But as she lifted it to put it around her neck, she felt it nestle neatly atop her hair. It was a hat!
Rapunzel went to the mirror to see what the thing looked like on her head.
But…there was something odd about the thing. It fit snugly and felt like something that belonged on her head. Her eyes sparkled. The reflection in the mirror triggered a funny feeling deep inside. Who was that person looking at her from the mirror? Who was she?
Suddenly a voice came from outside the tower. “Rapunzel! Let down your hair!”
It was Mother Gothel. “Uh, one moment, Mother!” Rapunzel called back. Quickly she tossed the crown and the satchel into a pot.
“I have a surprise!” Mother Gothel shouted cheerfully.
“I do, too!” Rapunzel answered as she let down her hair.
“Oh, I bet my surprise is bigger!”
As Rapunzel started pulling her mother up the side of the tower, she glanced at the closet and whispered to herself, “I seriously doubt it.”
“I brought back parsnips!” Mother Gothel announced as soon as she reached the windowsill. “And I’m going to make hazelnut soup for dinner. Your favorite! Surprise!”
But Rapunzel was not all that surprised or excited about the parsnips and the hazelnut soup. No, Rapunzel was bursting at the seams to talk to Mother Gothel about her quest to see the floating lanterns. She had found the perfect solution: a ruffian who could serve as a guide!
“Well, Mother, there’s something I want to tell you,” Rapunzel said cautiously. Mother Gothel started to ramble about their earlier argument, telling Rapunzel that she was wrong and Mother Gothel was right. But Rapunzel remained focused.
“Okay,” she said. “I’ve been thinking a lot about what you said earlier, and—”
“I hope you’re not still talking about the stars,” Mother Gothel said impatiently.
“Floating lights,” Rapunzel said quickly, “and yes…I’m leading up to that, but—”
“Because I really thought we dropped the issue, sweetheart.”
“No, Mother,” Rapunzel said. She needed to say that she had captured a ruffian—all by herself! “I’m just saying, you think I’m not strong enough to handle myself out there, but—”
Mother Gothel laughed. “Oh, darling, I know you’re not strong enough to handle yourself out there.”
“But if you’d just listen…,” Rapunzel said, not wanting to quarrel with her, but definitely wanting her to stop talking and pay attention.
“Rapunzel, we’re done talking about this,” Mother Gothel snapped.
“Trust me,” Rapunzel said, determined to go on with what she had to say.
“Rapunzel—” Mother Gothel was warning her.
“I know what I’m—”
“Rapunzel!” Mother Gothel shouted. “ENOUGH WITH THE LIGHTS, RAPUNZEL! YOU ARE NOT LEAVING THIS TOWER! EVER!”
Mother Gothel stood in the center of the room, her fists clenched at her sides. Rapunzel was dumbfounded. All at once she realized that it didn’t matter what she did or said. There was no hope that Mother Gothel would ever let her go outside. Rapunzel would be trapped at the top of the tower for the rest of her life.
Rapunzel turned and looked longingly at her mural of lights, then at her closet. Inside that closet was proof that she could handle herself in the outside world. Inside that closet was a ruffian whom she had captured. By herself!
Inside that closet was the guide who would take her to see the sparkling lights. Mother Gothel would never have to know about it.
Rapunzel made her decision.
“All I was going to say, Mother, is that I know what I want for my birthday now.”
“And what is that?” Mother Gothel asked.
“New paint,” Rapunzel answered. “The paint made from the white shells you once brought me.”
“Well, that’s a very long trip, Rapunzel. Almost three days’ time,” Mother Gothel said, shaking her head, trying to dissuade Rapunzel.
But this time, Rapunzel replied in kind. This time, everything was different. This time, Rapunzel knew what she wanted, and she knew exactly how to get it.
“I just thought it was a better idea than the stars.”
Mother Gothel’s face brightened a bit. This was what she wanted to hear. “You’ll be all right on your own?”
“I know I’m safe as long as I’m here,” Rapunzel answered.
Mother Gothel sighed. She got up, packed some food for her journey, and kissed Rapunzel on the top of the head. “All right, then. I’ll be back in three days’ time,” she said. “I love you very much, dear.”
“I love you more!” Rapunzel said brightly, and then began helping Mother Gothel down the tower.
“I love you most,” Mother Gothel called back.
Rapunzel watched from her window until Mother Gothel disappeared into the forest. Then, using her hair, she pulled the closet doors open.
The man in the closet was still unconscious. Quickly, Rapunzel sat him on a chair. Then she firmly tied him up with her hair.
Rapunzel leaped up to the rafters, held up her pan, and waited, ready for anything. Pascal jumped on the man and tried waking him by slapping his face with his little tail. No response. Pascal looked at Rapunzel. She urged him on. Pascal slapped his tail against the man’s cheek again. Still no response.
Pascal thought for a moment. Then he slipped his long tongue into the man’s ear.
“Blll-AHH!” Flynn awoke abruptly. Pascal’s tongue was gross and—and it tickled!
“Struggling is pointless,” Rapunzel said firmly. Then she jumped down from the rafters and faced him.
“I know what you’re here for,” Rapunzel continued, brandishing her pan, “and I’m not afraid of you.”
“What?” Flynn answered, confused by it all. Who was this young wo
man with the hair that seemed to fill the room?
“Who are you and how did you find me?” Rapunzel asked him.
Flynn hesitated, and Rapunzel raised her pan. “Okay, okay, all right,” he said quickly, not wanting to be hit on the head again.
Flynn was now getting a better view of this young woman. She had striking green eyes, and her hair, though excessive, was a beautiful shining gold. She was beautiful. But what did she want from him?
Flynn tried to be charming. “I know not who you are, nor how I came to find you, but may I just say…? Hi.” Flynn raised an eyebrow and gave Rapunzel a devilish grin. “The name’s Flynn Rider. How’s your day going?”
Rapunzel had no idea what the man was trying to do, but he looked really weird. Maybe he was insane! “Who else knows my location, Flynn Rider?” Rapunzel demanded. She needed to know everything before she proceeded with her plan.
Flynn sighed. “I was…in a situation, gallivanting through the forest. I came across your tower, and—” Flynn stopped short, filled with alarm. “Where is my satchel?”
“I’ve hidden it somewhere you’ll never find it,” Rapunzel said confidently.
But it only took about two seconds, during which he surveyed the room and glanced at Rapunzel, for Flynn to say: “It’s in that pot, isn’t it?”
How did he know? Rapunzel raised the pan. BANG! She hit him again. Rapunzel looked at the unconscious man and wondered if maybe she had overreacted just a bit. That pan seemed to be a very good weapon for knocking out ruffians. Quickly, she looked around to hide the satchel again, somewhere really good this time. She lifted a loose board in the stairs and stashed the satchel underneath.
A few minutes later, Pascal flicked his tongue into Flynn’s ear again and Flynn woke with a jump. “Would you stop that!” Flynn yelled, squirming.
Rapunzel just smiled and said, “Now it’s hidden where you’ll never find it.”
Tangled Junior Novel Page 2
