Rapunzel, Flower Siren Ch. 01

The heavy beat of hooves echoed off the trees as Flynn Rider rode through the forest. The Stabbington Brothers were at his heels, and he could practically feel the heat of their horses' breath on his neck. His heart hammered in his ears.

Arrows whizzed by, narrowly missing him before slapping into trees as he passed.

One found its mark. It slammed into his side with a sick "thwack!" and he tumbled off his horse. He tucked himself into a roll to break the fall, remembering too late the arrow in his side. It dug deeper into him with a sharp bite as he crashed through the underbrush, his momentum carrying him down a sharp incline in the mossy ground. He struggled to stop, and only barely managed to get his feet underneath him, still unable to regain his balance as he staggered through a curtain of ivy and found himself standing in the shade of a cavern.

Fern and moss and mushrooms lined the cave's floors and walls as it ran deeper into the stone. A tunnel.

Flynn looked behind him to make certain no one had followed him into the cave. When he was sure he was alone, he whipped out his satchel.

Good. The crown was still there. He had gone through too much trouble stealing it to just have it fall out in the chase.

He put the crown back and set the satchel down, sitting beside it to tend to his arrow wound.

The bolt slid out easily enough. After he had cleaned and dressed his wound he held the arrow up to the light of one of the glowing cave mushrooms. It was sturdy with a well-weighted arrowhead and a thick ironwood shaft. He turned it over in his hands, admiring the craftsmanship. It'd be a shame to waste an arrow like that. So he decided to keep it.

The sound of running water and songbirds coming from deeper in the cave invited him to follow the tunnel to its end, where he found another thick curtain of ivy. He stepped through and into a lush valley hemmed in by high and steep cliffs.

Flynn looked around, confused. He knew the greenwood like it was his own backyard, but he'd never seen this place before. The trees looked unfamiliar and the undergrowth was greener than he was used to, with a stunning array of exotic flowers. The air was cool, heavy with the flowers' pleasant scent, and despite Flynn's confusion he felt oddly at ease.

A sapphire waterfall plunged down into an azure pool shrouded in the mist it kicked up. A rainbow arched over the valley. It was so storybook it could have been a painting.

A tower rose from the earth before Flynn, tall and majestic and covered in vines. It looked like a giant wizard had plunged his staff into the earth and forgotten it. It resembled a cottage set atop a pillar, like a treeless treehouse, as if its designer had just wanted a cottage but needed it to be as far away from the earth as possible. Its tall, dark spire stretched into the clouds. The wonky concave construction of the the tower's conical spire reminded him of a witch's hat.

It looked old, but not in disrepair. It had to be abandoned; there was no way anyone but woodland creatures still lived this deep in the forest, except maybe outlaws like him, and given the golden trim of the roof, Flynn was sure it would have been stripped long ago if any of them had ever found the picturesque valley.

In any case, this looked like the perfect place to hide out and recuperate from the heist. He just had to find a way in.

Unfortunately, there was a problem: the tower didn't have a door. He circled the base of the tower looking for one, but as far as he could tell, the tower's tall pedestal was only there to hold the more homely cottage part aloft.

There was a way in, of course. The tower had a couple windows. The only problem was they were at the very top. He'd have to climb.

Where the vines were sturdy enough he used them as footholds, and the rough stones of the tower stuck out enough that he could climb them with some effort and a little leverage from plunging the Stabbington Brothers' spent arrow into the mortar.

Vines poured through the open window and crawled along the walls and floorboards inside the tower. Their flowers opened as he tumbled over the sill. The soft magenta petals of the rapunzel flowers unfurled with the grace of a ballerina stretching after a restful slumber. Visible swirls of pink fog danced lazily in the soft shafts of light that filtered through the tower's windows, and a sweet, fruity-floral scent surrounded Flynn. He felt his muscles relax, and inhaled the pleasant aroma.

A woman lay in the center of the room, the sunlight falling over her soft porcelain skin. Yards and yards of beautiful golden waves washed over her breasts with a mesmerizing shimmer and swirled through the room before pooling in the verdant moss she lay in. Rapunzel flowers were tucked into the entire length of her blonde hair, only adding to her beauty. She wore nothing save the long golden ribbons of her hair that covered only the absolute bare minimum of her body. The firm but soft curves of her perky breasts and petite form was still visible under all the gold.

Flynn was transfixed. He had never seen so much gold, not even in the royal palace. Nor had he ever seen beauty as exquisite as hers.

The beautiful blonde creature before Flynn didn't look surprised to see him, though she did look sleepy, like she was still lost in between waking and dreaming. Her cheeks flushed with arousal. She smiled and gazed up at him with her emerald eyes, thick lashes fluttering like butterfly wings. And it was butterflies that swirled in his stomach as he gazed back, sinking into her sparkling eyes.

"Oh," Flynn said. He blushed, trying—and failing—to avert his eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't know there was..."

"... anyone in here?" she said, and she batted her long lashes innocently. She stretched, her back gracefully arched as she sighed.

He tried to nonchalantly lean on one of the wood beams to regain his cool and relaxed persona, but he was so distracted by her beauty he misjudged the beam's placement and nearly fell over in the process. He winced at the pain in his abdomen.

He wasn't normally this bad around beautiful women. His suave demeanor and roguish charm made him irresistible—at least, that's what he liked to tell his friends at the Snuggly Duckling. But something about her made it hard for him to focus, and it wasn't just that she was naked.

"I... I didn't mean to disturb you," he said as he slapped dust off his slacks. The woman giggled.

"Disturb me?" she said, and she rose to her feet.

"Y-yes," he stammered, "I didn't know there was anyone who lived in this tower. If you don't want me here I can..."

"Oh no," she said, "I don't mind."

"You don't seem surprised to see me," he said. "Do you get a lot of visitors out here?"

"It's rare to see anyone," she said, and she added with a knowing smirk as if telling a joke he couldn't get, "But when I do, it's a treat."

She moved closer, devouring him with her hungry eyes. He felt dizzy staring into those bright green pools, but he couldn't look away.

"It's a treat just to be here," he said. The girl blushed, but she continued to watch him with a mix of curiosity and desire.

"What have you got there?" she asked. He tried to hide the pouch behind him.

"It's ... it's nothing," he said. He backed away. If she knew what he had, she would quickly figure out who he had stolen it from and report him—or worse, take the crown for herself. He couldn't afford that. Not after he'd betrayed his only business partners to get it.

Something soft wrapped around his wrist. He dropped the satchel in surprise, jerking his hand back, but his wrist was caught in a tightening loop of blonde hair.

"What the—" Okay, this was getting thoroughly weird. "W-what are you?"

The satchel coursed along the waves of her hair to her and she plucked it up.

She barely looked through it before her eyes widened as she caught the glint of just what Flynn was worried she would. Her voice was distant as she absentmindedly answered Flynn's question.

"I'm Rapunzel," she said. She tossed her hair, and a wave of mesmerizing sparkles glimmered down its length. Flynn was hypnotized by the sight.

Having thoroughly inspected the crown, Rapunzel dropped it, forgetting it entirely. After all, what good were pretty little baubles to one as beautiful as her.

A sudden twinge of pain surged through Flynn. He grabbed his wound and he doubled over, gasping.

"Oh no!" Rapunzel cried. Her hair loosened its grip as she rushed to his side. "You're hurt!"

"Oh it's nothing," Flynn said. "It's just a scratch. Really." He flashed one of his charming smiles, but it ended with him grinding his teeth at the pain.

"That looks like more than a scratch!"

"I'm fine!" he said through gritted teeth.

"I can help. My hair has magic healing properties."

"Your hair has magi—" he shook his head to clear it. "Look, this is getting weird. I appreciate everything. You're lovely. Really. Beautiful. Really beautiful. I just... I have somewhere I need to be, I just realized."

"It only takes a second," she cooed. "Don't be afraid."

He tripped over the waves of her shimmering hair laying in swirls around the room, and found himself reeling into a chair. She pinned him to it.

"It's okay," she purred, her hot breath sweet in his mouth as her plush lips hovered mere centimeters from his. Her perfume floated around him. Heavy, flowery, fruity, invading his senses. "I just need you to hold still. Let me kiss it better."

His heart beat faster than it had in the forest. He wanted to believe her. To kiss her soft, delicious-looking lips.

And so he did. He hadn't been expecting quite that intense of an endorphin rush. Fireworks exploded in his mind. His head spun with desire as she kissed him back, her soft pillowy lips enveloping his.

She kissed him again, this time harder. The taste was sweet and tangy, and it made his lips tingle. Euphoria swept through Flynn's body.

Her hair wound around him like a boa constrictor around its prey, binding him to the chair. He tried to struggle against the golden locks, but he couldn't find the will. He was lost in Rapunzel's eyes, and her hair felt so soft against his skin.

He had always been a free spirited rogue, and yet here he was helplessly submitting to someone he had never met. This wasn't like him. What was going on? He shook his head, tried to convince himself he should get out of there. Grab the crown and go. But she was so beautiful.

All it took was another kiss from Rapunzel for him to melt into her soft caresses. Every kiss was sweeter than than the last. Some sweet, sticky substance coated his tongue as hers slipped over his. Some sort of nectar. The more he had the more he wanted. He couldn't stop kissing her.

She seemed just as desperate for him as he was for her. She made out with him hungrily, her lips becoming tangier and more addicting with every kiss. Flynn floated in ecstasy.

Without warning, her sweet kisses turned bitter on his tongue. Flynn gagged. His throat constricted. He could feel it swelling.

Rapunzel slipped back as he grabbed at his throat.

"What—" he barely managed to say as he fell into a coughing fit, "What did you do to me?" Cold heat, like a frozen fire, rushed through his veins. They bulged, turning purple, his skin growing pale as he gasped for air.

"I may have gotten a little carried away," she said with a sweet laugh that was at once disarmingly nervous and terrifying given the present circumstances. "You just tasted so good. I-I-I couldn't help myself!"

She pressed her body against him again and stroked his hair.

"W-what's happening?" Flynn asked. His limbs were going cold. Numb. They felt like they were stuck with a thousand pins and needles.

"You're dying," Rapunzel said. She stroked his cheek.

"W-what? H-h-how?" He was shaking now.

"My kiss," she said, and she kissed him again with the slowest most tender kiss he had ever felt, "...is poison."

Flynn sputtered, and pulled his mouth from hers.

"It's usually not that bad. You were just squirming so much. I only wanted to give you enough to tranquilize you." She sighed as she kissed him again, this time on his neck. His eyes fluttered with pleasure. "But you were just so delectable... I couldn't help myself."

Flynn groaned unintelligibly. Beads of cold sweat dripped from his forehead and he quivered, reaching feverishly for Rapunzel. She giggled.

"You've already had enough venom to kill a whole herd of horses. You really want more?"

He didn't have to say anything. She knew the answer before she even asked it. It was there in his eyes.

"Well," she said through more giggles, "I suppose I can give you a little more... if you really want to. But let me sing to you first."

He didn't really have a choice. He slumped in her arms as she lay him down in a bed of vines and sang as she stroked his hair. Her own golden waves fell in swirls over his body, no longer constricting him, just lightly falling over him.

"Flower, gleam and glow," she sang. Her voice was beautiful. Magical. Like the song of the sirens, with every note Flynn felt himself falling deeper under her spell. "Let your power shine."

A magical glow spread through her hair. Her flowers opened, the petals glowing a soft purple as a pink, pleasant-smelling pollen puffed into the air. Flynn's vision swam. He could have sworn he saw some of the vines that climbed along the wall stirring.

"Make the clock reverse... Bring back what once was mine." As she sang, Rapunzel slipped Flynn's shirt off.

"What are you d—?"

She shushed him with a finger to his lips and continued without missing a beat.

"Heal what has been hurt..."

One of the flowers in her hair pressed against his wounded side as if it were a kiss. Delirious with lust and pain, Flynn arched and cried out. Rapunzel seemed unfazed.

"...Change the fates design..." Nectar oozed into the wound. The cool healing salve glittered with light, and it burned as it seeped into his bloodstream.

"Save what has been lost..."

His veins glowed gold beneath the surface of his skin. It hurt like nothing he had ever felt, but color began to return to his skin. The purple inflammation dissipated; the poison was burning away. She was healing him.

Nevertheless his head spun from the powerful magic surging through him. He felt dizzy. His world swirled as he faded out of consciousness, away from the light of Rapunzel's hair. Perhaps when he awoke again, she would keep her promise to kiss him again.

"Bring back what once was mine... What once was mine..."