▪︎Till' I See the Sun▪︎Tangled AU▪︎

Chapter 5

Kai's fury was unquenchable.

Not only did this thief have the audacity to take what rightfully belonged to Kai's family, but also tried to bribe him with his own crown.

"You had no right to take them!"

The rage was so overwhelming it was surprising Kai could still think clearly. He yanked the satchel out of Fritz's surprised hands. Unfortunately, with too much force.

The satchel went flying over Kai's head and landed with a thud behind them. It landed on a tree that had grown at an irregular, flat angle out into the open air. Over a chasm covered in thick fog.

One second. The thief and prince exchanged a surprised look.

Two seconds. They stared at the satchel hanging precariously on the tree.

Three seconds. Fritz squirmed out from under Kai and dashed for it.

Kai let out a yelp and grabbed the thief's leg. Fritz fell to the ground and struggled to get up, but Kai's grip on the pant leg was ever-tightening. The thief shook his leg and pushed his hand into Kai's face, forcing the prince to let go. Free, Fritz made it to the tree and began to inch across its surface.

Kai's eye's widened as released what he'd just done. He sprinted for the tree and pulled out his sword. Fritz turned around just in time to dodge a swipe from Kai's sword, alerted by heavy footfalls.

Knocked off balance, Kai watched as Fritz yelped, slipped, and... fell off the tree.

Kai stared in horror at what he had just done.

Before panic could fully set in, a pair of hands appeared on the bottom of the wood. Grasping it from the other side.

A head peeked around the wood and Kai took a step back. He hadn't gotten a good look at the criminal's face before. But their eye contact didn't last long as Fritz began to crawl towards the satchel.

From his position on the tree, Kai stomped on the wood in an effort to shake the other off. Unfortunately for him, Fritz was craftier than he thought and wiggled his way over to the satchel.

"Aha!" the thief exclaimed, his hand now clutching the leather strap. "You might wanna head back. Don't want the kingdom to lose their only heir to the throne." Fritz dangled the satchel tauntingly and slipped it over his shoulder.

Kai growled in frustration and anger, just because the thief got to the satchel first didn't mean he was going to keep it.

"What? Is the little prince angry?" Fritz climbed back onto the top of the tree, "It might be just me, but this whole thing seems a little out of your league."

"You!" Kai made a lunge with his sword in Frit's general direction.

Unfortunately for the prince, Fritz easily avoided it.

Unfortunately for both of them, their sudden movements uprooted the tree.

Snap!

It echoed through the entire valley as Kai and Fritz's eyes widened with grim realization. Before either of them could move, the tree plummetted into the foggy abyss.

Taking the last heir, wanted thief, and royal crowns with it.

The wind ruffled Kai's clothes and pummeled his face. Had he been experiencing any other emotions right now, Kai would be screaming in terror- that's not to say he wasn't scared about what would happen upon landing- his entire being was focused on retrieving the crowns. You could say it was the adrenaline.