paixaorpg | Unexpected Freedom

Entry tags:

Unexpected Freedom

Character(s): Rapunzel and Open!
Content: Rapunzel's arrival in Paixao, what else? :D
Setting: Joutenheim
Time: Some time in late afternoon
Warnings: Spoilers for the movie. Careful now.

Well, this wasn't right. The last thing Rapunzel remembered was being tied up in her tower, a piece of cloth tied around her mouth to muffle her yells. She had felt herself passing out before, but she'd only expected to wake back up in the nightmare she'd been in before. There was no way she'd have thought she'd find herself laying in a patch of grass right next to a river, her long, long, long hair rolling out on the ground beside her. Rapunzel gasped as she sat up, green eyes wide with shock, wonder, and the remnants of fear.

"Where am I? What happened?" The girl slowly got to her feet, the bare soles brushing lightly over the blades of grass beneath her. She reached down and gathered up her hair, trying to piece together what had happened. She'd been so scared, wondering if Eugene would come for her and meet Mother Gothel's blade when he arrived. Had he come for her and managed to save her without getting hurt? Had he taken her away from the tower?

"Eugene?" she called out hopefully, wondering if he had just wandered off for some reason. No, that wasn't likely; if he had found her, the last thing he would do was leave her again. Right? She frowned, slowly winding her hair around her arm as she pondered her situation. It was time to figure out what was going on... Rapunzel was more than capable, despite the discouragement Gothel had given her all her life. The blonde's eyes had now fallen upon the huge castle that she was standing in front of, and the large gate with two giants just ahead. This certainly wasn't the Kingdom... she knew that much.

With a determined look, she padded over to the line of people waiting to get inside, hoping to find something familiar once she went in. She was welcomed to 'Paixao', given a small pink box-thing, and ushered inside. She would have gone further in, if she wasn't stopped by the sheer beauty of the place she had just entered. Despite her initial panic, Rapunzel's eyes were now lighting up.

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Link took a swig from the bottle of milk he had just gotten from Matinal's. It certainly wasn't Lon Lon Milk, but it was still milk, and he's just have to live with it anyway.

As he was passing the Joutenheim Gate, he stopped at a strange sight. If it wasn't for all the hair, he probably would have mistaken the young girl for the Princess Zelda, but...that hair! Link put the cork back in the bottle and put it away as he approached the young woman. From the way she was acting, she just had to be a new-comer to this stupid place.

Link approached her, and tapped her on the shoulder. "Hi. Are you new here?"

Rapunzel wasn't expecting anyone to address her as she stood there staring at the ceiling. So when Link tapped her on the shoulder she jumped about a foot in the air and whirled around to face him, holding out her hair defensively. But the guarded pose only lasted a moment, as it registered what he had asked her. Dropping her arms to her sides, hair still wound around one of them, she looked the person over, and then nodded.

"Uhm, yes. It looks that way," she answered. He seemed nice enough, and from her journey she had learned not to judge anyone based by appearance. And this guy didn't look threatening, if anything, he was trying to be helpful. "I don't really know how I got here."

Link recoiled as she jumped. He didn't mean to scare her! And...was it him, or did she plan on using her own hair as a weapon?

Link let himself relax as he saw the young woman put down her...hair. He rubbed the back of his neck. "No one I've come across seems to know either. I'm Link." He reached out his hand.

He then cocked his head, giving the girl an inquisitive look. "So, do you like your hair being that long?" He just had to ask about it. He had never seen anyone or anything with suck long hair. Surly, it had to be heavy and cumbersome.

For a moment she just looked at his hand before remembering she was supposed to do something. Tentatively, she reached out and took his hand, shaking it gently. "I'm Rapunzel... it's very nice to meet you, Link," she answered with a small smile.

At his question, the girl glanced down at the long locks of hair she was carrying. "I don't mind it." She was grateful for the healing gift it gave her, but not so much about being locked up all her life because of it. However, this nice young man didn't need to know that, now did he. But at the mention of her hair, she remembered what exactly had been going on before arriving here.

"Listen, I really need to get back home. Do you know how exactly I can get out of this place?" Even if no one knew how they got here, there had to be an exit.... right?

Link had seen many strange things, and although this girl wasn't the strangest, she still made it on the list. He just couldn't comprehend having that much hair. Oh well, if she didn't mind it, that was her problem.

He had been expecting that question. "No, I don't. No one I know knows anything about getting out of here. I've talked to some people that have their own ideas, but I haven't heard of anyone making it back to their homes." He sighed. Link knew that would only damper Rapunzel's spirits.

"I can at least show you around and teach you a few things about the place. Paixao is a lot different from any place I've been to, and there are some places you should stay away from." Link remembered his failed adventures in Spira. He still felt stupid about that, and he wasn't about to let someone like this have the same bad experience.

Link's answer to her question made Rapunzel's heart sink slightly. She was happy as anything to be away from her tower, but it wasn't much better to be stuck in another place. The bright side of things was that this land was much larger than her original home, and there was plenty of new things to get to know. While questions about how she arrived still danced in her head, it seemed like the answers weren't going to come easy.

"You would be my guide?" She smiles a bit now, clasping her hands, "Thank you, Link. I could use the help." Wandering around on her own might result in her getting lost. "But first... have you seen a man around named Flynn Rider? He's about this tall." She stands on tip toe now, raising her hand to Flynn's height, "He has brown hair, brown eyes, and is wearing a blue vest and white shirt."

She hoped he was here. She wanted to see him again.

"Sure. I don't see why not." Link gave Rapunzel a smile. He was still waiting to hear from Riku about going back to Spira, and besides, she was nice and Link didn't want her to get into trouble.

"Flynn Rider?" Link listened to the description, but couldn't remember seeing anyone of that description. "Sorry, I haven't. I'll keep a lookout for him though."

Link started to walk towards the shops northwest of the gate, but suddenly stopped himself. He looked back at Rapunzel, looking a little embarrassed. "Uhm, do you want help carrying that?" He pointed at her, indicating that he'd help her with her loads of hair.

"Then please, lead the way." Really, she was very grateful for his help. Rapunzel just seemed to happen upon the kindest people, which was lucky on her part considering how often she didn't know her way.

Her shoulders slumped a bit when Link told her he hadn't seen Flynn, but it didn't mean he wasn't here at all. She'd just have to keep asking around until she knew for sure where he was. "It's all right, I'm sure I'll find him eventually if he's here too."

Glancing down at her hair as she followed him, Rapunzel simply shook her head with a laugh, "Oh, no, that's all right. I can manage on my own, but thank you." She wouldn't want to burden him when she'd had plenty of practice toting her locks around herself.

Link gave her a questioning look in regards to her hair, but then, if she dealt with it by herself for so long, then she obviously figured out a way to get around without help.

Link started walking towards the inner part of the city, where pretty much everything was. "There's plenty of places to get food, and you can even get a hotel room or an apartment too, but I've been fine just sleeping in the park. One thing you need to know about this place is that they don't take money." Link walked over to a small 'garden' on the side of the road and motioned for Rapunzel to come closer. He picked off a jeweled flower and held it up to show her. "None of the plants in here are real. To pay for things, you just need to pick some of these flowers or leaves."

Rapunzel followed closely behind Link, her eyes wandering this way and that as she took in the city. Even with all her staring, she listened to what he was telling her, noting the parts about food and places to sleep. She could definitely cook for herself, but she still needed ingredients to do so. However, at the mention of this place not taking any money, her already large eyes widened even more. She had watched Flynn (mostly) pay for the things he had bought for them at the festival.

Padding closer to Link, her bare feet cold from the floor, she examined the jeweled flower he was holding. "They're beautiful! I've never seen anything like this in my entire life!" She tentatively reached out and took the flower in her fingers, holding it up to the light. She never would have believed that such things could exist.

"It's like jewelry." It was the closest thing she could compare it to.

Link would have compared the jewels to the currency in Hyrule or the Spiritual Stones, but to each their own. He couldn't help but smile at her reaction. It reminded him of himself when he first arrived in Hyrule Castle Town.

"The flowers and plants aren't scarce around here, so you shouldn't have too much trouble getting enough to get what you want."

Link and Rapunzel were still pretty close to the Joutenheim gate. "Right now, we're in the southeastern part of the city." Link pulled out his journal and brought up the map. He still couldn't do very much with it, but he had figured out the more important functions. "From here, just about everything is northwest of here." He indicated points with his finger. "There's restaurants, apartments, shops, and a park this way."

And then something occurred to him. "Did you get one of these things too?" Link held up the journal, still not knowing what to call it himself.

Rapunzel was busy for a moment as she twirled the flower over and over in her fingers. Finally, she tore her eyes away and nodded to him, "I will be sure to take a bit with me for now, and then pick up what I need as I go." She would be able to pay for a place to sleep easily now. It was such a relief. It was enough to counter the anxiety she'd been feeling before.

When Link pulled up the map on his journal, she leaned in close, fascinated by the little device. "I see.... is this some kind of book? An atlas maybe?" She held up her own journal at his question, the little machine a soft purple/pink color that matched her dress. "How exactly does it work?"

Link couldn't answer that one. "I'm not sure how it works really. I've never seen anything like this until I got stuck here, but I learned how to use it."

"See the buttons on the sides? There's one that looks like this," Link flipped his journal over to show Rapunzel the button, "and you just press it and it turns it on. There's other buttons too. See the ones with the letters? You can write messages to other people in the city who have these things. You can use it to talk to people." He glanced over at the young woman to see if she understood.

If he knew how to use it, that was good enough. She hadn't been looking for an in depth explanation anyways, there was a high chance she wouldn't have understood it right off the bat anyways. "That's fine."

Watching carefully, Rapunzel mirrored his movements, flipping open her own journal and turning it on. She recognized the letters on the buttons, and as soon as she could, she tapped a few of the buttons to see if hers worked. A string of letters popped up on the screen, and she grinned. "Oh wow!" Rapunzel tapped a few more buttons, "It's like writing a letter."

How exciting.

Link grinned at Rapunzel's excitement. She reminded him a lot of Malon back home. Back home...

Link tossed his thoughts of Hyrule out the window and snapped back to now. "Yeah, it is. There's also a map of the city, though you should be careful about where you go. Some places are more dangerous than others." Link would know. He almost got killed by going somewhere by himself.

"You should know, there are secret passages that lead to other places, like different worlds. Some of them are really dangerous, so you want to make sure you have someone to go with." Link wasn't about to tell Rapunzel not to go anywhere. He had no right to, and in his experiences, a woman could be just as capable or even more so than some of the strongest men.

Still tapping the keys excitedly, Rapunzel looked over. "I guess I'll be using the map a lot, won't I?" She'd looked at them before, she was perfectly capable of reading one without any trouble. It would be finding her location on the map that would be the tough part, but she'd make it through as she went along.

Her hand stopped moving then, as she tilted her head slightly to the side, "Other... worlds?" She was still dealing with the concept of being in a city that wasn't the Kingdom, much less the fact that she was in another world entirely.

Her reaction was exactly what Link expected. He just shrugged. "That's what everyone else is calling them." He looked away from Rapunzel for a moment, a look suggesting he was in deep thought on his face. "Now that I think about it, they really are like they're own worlds, I suppose."

He looked back at the curious face in front of him. "I've only been to one outside of the city. I think it's called Spira. I don't know about the others, but it's pretty dangerous there, so if you decide to go, make sure to have someone with you. There's this building outside the city called a church. There's a door in there that leads to this weird hallway, and the doors there lead to the other worlds."

Link hoped he wasn't giving this person bad ideas. He just wanted her to know about them so she could keep herself safe. Having just met her, Link had no idea what Rapunzel was capable of, and in any case, no one should have to go up against what he did while he went exploring there.

It was tough to wrap her mind around, but that didn't stop Rapunzel from being completely curious about the chance to see other worlds. She'd thought things like that only existed in fairy tales... though she was one to talk when she was the one with magical glowing hair that healed people. "I... probably won't go anywhere alone, as much as I'd like to." She'd never exactly traveled by herself.

"I'm not exactly a skilled traveler to begin with." She relied on Flynn a lot, even if she'd done her part on their journey. "But thank you for the warning."

That was reassuring. It was important to know your own limits, though, Link couldn't talk much, as his last adventure proved that he had misjudged his own.

Link gave her a warm smile. "The city itself isn't dangerous, at least, not to my knowledge. You can get some exploring experience here." Not that there was much to explore. The different restaurants were kind of neat, and some of the stores looked interesting too, but otherwise, there wasn't much around here other than the snobby natives.

Link put his hand to his chin, wondering if there was anything else Rapunzel should know about the city. He couldn't think of anything else though. "There's not much else I know about this place, but if you want, I could still show you around more."

"I intend to look at every inch of this city, it's beautiful." She could probably spend days exploring this place and not get tired of it. And if she could find a library with books, or a place that sold paints, she would be the happiest girl in the world.

"You wouldn't mind showing me around more?" Link was definitely more accommodating than Flynn had ever been. Though she had tied Flynn up in the first place... and beat him with a frying pan.

Link smiled. "Not at all." Link wasn't going to say it out loud, but he really didn't have anything better to do. Besides, Rapunzel was already starting to grow on him a little. She was...cute.

"Let's see, there's shops around here where you can find just about anything, and there's also a library somewhere here too." Link hadn't gone inside the place, but he knew it existed. It's not that Link didn't like to read. He just had other things to do.

"So there is a library? Oh, that's fantastic. I can't wait to see what kind of books they have." She spread her arms wide, grinning up at the ceiling. "Oh, do you know if there's anyplace that sells paints? I would love to get my hands on some. I love painting."

And cooking, and paper mache, and ballet, and sewing, and just about anything else you could think of. But she could get to those stores later. With all the currency she needed just hanging around, she could do anything she wanted here.

"I haven't been in a any stores like that, but I'm sure they're around." Link followed her gaze up to the dome's ceiling. He still hadn't grown quite used to that. He preferred the blue skies back home. Well, the parts of his home that had blue skies.

"So what's it like where you come from?"

"I'll just have to look around. I do have all the time in the world, I suppose." If he had voiced that opinion, she might have agreed with him. The sky was a bit more familiar than the large domed ceilings of this city. Even Corona wasn't completely enclosed. It was open, and airy. Such a beautiful place that she had longed to see again.

She thought for a moment, folding her arms and looking down at her bare feet. "It's quiet. I... don't know everything about the town I am originally from. I grew up in the forest, alone except for my mother. So my world was very small until just a few days ago."

Link gave Rapunzel a look of surprise. Really? She grew up in a forest too? But...she had her mother. Still...

"I grew up in a forest too." He looked off for a bit, letting some old memories come back to him. "I kind of miss it. I know I miss my friends there." He forced a smile while also trying to force the thought of Saria out of his head. Now that she had awakened as the Sage of the Forest Temple, he doubted that he'd ever get to see her again.

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Unexpected Freedom

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Sorry it took me so long! D:

No worries at all! :D

<3

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Don't worry, she's still Flynn's girl.

:'> O'course

I know it's been ages, so it's ok if you don't feel like finishing this.

no worries dear, back logging for the win

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