The Protagonists

Chapter Seventeen - Annalise

Annalise had a large smile on her face as the wind started to cease and the realization begun to hit her. Joel was indeed right, she thought, releasing her tight grip on Flynn's arm. You can travel through fairytales, just like he had said. We're actually in... The voice in her head trailed off as she noticed her surroundings: a small cliff leading down to a sandy beach, cherry blossom trees enclosing around them, and a castle stood to their left. The castle was made of sandstone, with golden roofing and and ivory staircase leading down to the ocean water. "Where are we again?" Annalise asked, taking off her jacket to enjoy the hot, beach weather.

"The Little Mermaid," Flynn replied, doing the same with his own jacket. "That's Eric's castle," he motioned towards the large castle beside them, "and that," he pointed to an area of sand down below them, "is where Eric and Ariel met for the first time, when she saved him from the ship. Remember?"

"That was my favorite part," Annalise admitted, pleased with how realistic the place looked, considering how it was only a book and a cartoon. The scene looked beautiful in the movie and it was described wondrously in the book, but in reality, the beach scene was exquisite and magnificent. Flynn took her hand in his and led her down to the beach. "W-Wait," Annalise gently pulled away from his grip, "shouldn't we wait for Sam and Stacie?"

Flynn shrugged, looking back up at where they were standing before on the cliff. "I'm sure they'd be able to see us from up there," he responded, stopping at the brink of the sand, where the waves were gently lapping up at their ankles. "So, Annalise, do you believe Joel now?"

"I don't know," she replied, smirking, "I haven't seen any characters yet. Where's Ariel? Where's Sebastian? Where's Eric? Where are any of them?" Flynn pulled Annalise away from the water and back towards the cliff; they sat underneath the cliff, where the wind that blew in from the water didn't affect them. "My name is Flynn," Flynn told her, as if they were just introducing each other for the first time.

"I know..." Annalise nodded slowly, perplexed by his attitude. "We've already met. You're name is Flynn...Flynn O'Brien. And I'm...I'm Annalise Dakota. Why are we introducing each other again?"

"That is where you are wrong, Annalise Dakota," Flynn swung around to face her, "my name is not Flynn O'Brien, like you say. You know, Annalise, I thought you were smart. When I first met you in that elementary school's playground, I thought you were extremely intelligent and brilliant. I thought that you would figure out the truth right away. I'm not from your world, Annalise, but I have lived in Los Angeles for quite a while now."

Annalise frowned, not understanding. "So where are you truly from?" She questioned. "Manchester? Quebec? Tokyo?" Flynn stared at her, like she was incredibly stupid and rash; he laughed to himself at her foolishness and spoke, "I am from Rapunzel. I am not from Earth at all, Annalise. I am from Rapunzel, the fairytale."

"Wait." Annalise stared at Flynn intently, noticing the then-evident similarities; he had the eyes, the hair...Flynn even had the same, crooked smile the Rapunzel character did. "Flynn Rider," Annalise uttered in complete shock-she was also slightly embarrassed, due to how foolish she looked, only just then noticing the undeniable resemblance between the two men.

Flynn nodded merrily, happy Annalise had finally figured it all out. "Yes," he couldn't help but smile, "I am indeed Flynn Rider, the talented, loving, handsome horseman. I happily lived in Rapunzel, unknowing of the real world. I lived with Rapunzel and her royal family in the castle, completely content with how my life was going. Then, I met Maya Rhodes." Again, he smirked at how obviously-perplexed Annalise looked. "Maya was Iris's cousin; note how I said was. She used to visit me all the time. We would meet up at this one spot in the woods; it was really dangerous, but Maya liked danger. She, someone with a real life like you on Earth, would come and visit Rapunzel every day. We would chat over some tea-she really enjoyed green tea-and have a wonderful time. I really liked her, Annalise; I guess it was just something about knowing that someone, a real person, would take two hours of her day just to see me, a book character. I'm fictional. It just amazed me how kind-hearted she was."