Tangled *Obi x OC* (COMPLETE)

Captured and Freed

Obi

Watching Prince Izana talk to Amaryllis is leaving me with a strange feeling. It's not jealousy, obviously, but I think it might be just bittersweet. I've grown attached to Blondie for some reason and now I find out she's the lost princess. I was leery about bringing her back to the cottage but if she goes to the castle, I'll definitely never see her again. She's royalty... I'm just a criminal. At her insistence, I accept a lantern from the man passing them out. Her reaction is adorable. She's been staring at hers nonstop with a soft smile on her face. It fades slightly and her expression clouds, but Prince Izana releasing his lantern is enough to bring an awestruck look instead. Amaryllis gently lets go of her lantern and watches it join the others in the sky. My breath catches in my chest as I look at her. With the lantern light glowing around her, she looks like an angel. She tears her gaze from the sky and wipes her eyes. Her body tenses a second later as she whispers my name. Her master is here, watching her.

"Stay close to the prince. Don't let him near you, okay?" I tell her while stepping closer to her.

I meet Oren's gaze and he grins before another voice rings out.

"Stop, thief!" It's one of the men that came for me the other day.

My only complaint is that I'm not doing anything, so what am I supposed to be stopping?

The world around us bursts into sound and movement as more of the castle's men appear to take me down. I don't know how to get out of this but I need to protect Amaryllis from Oren. As I'm swallowed by the crowd, I hear her scream for Prince Izana and myself. I can't see her and the prince has been moved away from me so I can't have him watch over her. I struggle against the men but I quickly find myself kneeling against my will as my arms are forced behind me. My bag is ripped away and the crown is revealed to the world. I'd told Amaryllis that I hadn't stolen anything from the castle. I hate that I lied to her, but at the time she was so skittish I didn't want to give her another reason not to trust me, but now it's too late to tell the truth. I've been captured and I'm probably going to be sentenced to death. I'll never get to see her again.

The door opens down the hall, judging by the subtle draft that moves through the bars of my cell. They were rather lenient on securing me, not that I mind. My ankle is locked in a shackle bolted to the floor and that is all. My wrists were bound behind my back but I quickly remedied that. It's been a few days since I was brought here to the dungeons within Wistal Castle. I'm not sure exactly how long it's been but it's my best guess with about five days. I'm currently lying on the floor of my cell, staring up at the ceiling. Every so often, I get a visitor in the form of a guard bringing food or one of the second prince's attendants trying to pry answers from me. Prince Izana told the other prince about Amaryllis I think, since the man's questions revolve around her. Since they're asking, that means she isn't here so Oren likely has her. That's not good but I can't do anything about it while I'm trapped here.

"Hello again Mitsuhide." I sigh as I turn my head to look at the teal haired man. "What is it you want this time?"

"Where is she?"

"I don't have an answer to that since I am here and not with her. There's a decent chance the man she considered her master and father has her, but where he took her is beyond me."I shrug, feigning indifference. I need to find her... "He knows that I know the location of their cottage, so it's unlikely he brought her there for fear I'd give the location to the castle lackeys, no offense. There are endless numbers of safe houses that are scattered across Clarines alone. If they're still in the kingdom, they're hidden. If they've left the borders, good luck finding them again. Your forces aren't exactly the best at finding people anyway."

"Where is the cottage?" He asks instead, ignoring everything else that I said.

"Why don't we make a deal?" I grin as I sit up. "Go fetch the princes."

I lead the way through the forest with Prince Izana, Prince Zen, and Zen's attendants trailing along behind me. My deal worked out, with some stipulations of course. I have to help them find and rescue Amaryllis and if it works out, they'll pardon me and won't set a date for my execution. I'll still be in trouble but I'm not facing death anymore. There's also the condition that if I try to run or I leave their eyesight, I'll be killed instantly. Well, they think they'll kill me anyway. After we find her and she goes to Wistal Castle, it's the end of me knowing her but at least she'll have her family and will be safe. Maybe she'll be happy with Zen and Izana. We just have to track her down before it's too late. I didn't mention it to the princes, but if Oren panics about her even being around Izana, let alone finding out she knows the truth, he could kill her.

"How do we know we can trust him? He literally stole your father's crown." Mitsuhide asks Zen and I cut him a harsh look.

Before Zen can answer, Izana speaks up.

"We can trust him, he is protective over her."

"What if he's part of the group that took her and he's going to betray us?" He argues.

"For one, it was just one person in possession of her after he purchased her from someone else, and two, don't be so stupid." I cut in.

"I just want to know why you act like you care so much for her since you said you were just bringing her to see the lanterns then return."

"Because he's in love with her." Izana answers and my eyes widen.