𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐞𝐢𝐫 - Flynn Rider X Reader

XI. Rapunzel

The days after your sister went missing were hell.

Suddenly it was as though your mother was sick again. On one hand, you and your family locked yourselves up in the castle and drew all of the curtains. You were in total darkness. Tears once again stained each of your cheeks. Your mother barely spoke. Your father was constantly furious and you hardly ever saw him calm, let alone saw him at all.

Guards, solemn in their duty with dull bronze breastplates, stalked your halls more than ever. There were at least two posted at every balcony, every entrance, every foyer, every room, all armed to the teeth. They never spared you a glance when you passed them by.

And you. You were hardly released from your family's wing of the palace. You could not see what few friends you had, nor Maximus for even a minute. Because Maximus wasn't in the kingdom. He was out with the search parties.

And oh, there were so many search parties.

What guards that were spared from palace watch were sent out on horses – some on foot – into the city, some even further out into the forests and islands surrounding the kingdom. The searches lasted days, which soon morphed into restless, hopeless weeks.

At the end of each day, late into the night, both of your parents would meet with the palace guard's captain, who, day after day, would once again tell them that they were no closer to finding their daughter. That they must have the same resolve for tomorrow, and they will find her soon. You soon realized that he was lying to them. She was gone. And you were the only one who knew about who might have taken her.

In the weeks – which turned into months, then years, then nearly decades – after that night, you could still hear the old crone's voice loud and clear, humming her song menacingly right beside your parents, sleeping in their bed. You still saw the moon through the curtains in your dreams, the crash and the gasp that sent you running into the next room. The dreams were so real, so visceral that sometimes you would wake screaming, tearing off your covers and scrambling out of bed in the middle of the nights that followed as if you could do something significant to save her. As if you could do anything at all.

It would send you to tears if you were not still in shock. If you weren't fearful.

You never told anyone what you heard that night.

Perhaps that was your first mistake.

—

Sunlight.

The cave wall crumbles around you to reveal warm, beautiful sunlight.

You plunge feet first back into the dark, cold water.

This time, it's rushing violently and tossing you about like you weigh nothing. When you throw your head above the cool surface, you quickly realize it's a river you're in, its surging water crashing against the rocks lining the grassy shore just a couple of meters away from you.

Flynn and the girl, both drenched and panting, are struggling to keep afloat as they kick towards the shore. You follow them, coughing up the water you'd swallowed on the way down.

"We made it." The girl calls out as she crawls her way up the grass on her forearms before jumping up to stand. "We're alive!" Though she's out of breath, the bright smile on her face suggests that she's more overcome with the euphoria of survival than in shock from nearly dying, or witnessing hair magic for the first time.

You grasp the rocks on the shore and pull yourself up with what little strength remains in you onto your knees before tossing yourself down onto your back. Lying down, you get a good view of the canopy above you, though your eyes can barely focus. You gasp for air.