Tangled - l.s

Chapter 7

Something didn't sit right when Yolanda had left earlier that day. Harry was acting odd... too confident, too reckless... ready to do something idiotic.

So she'd decided to take a slightly longer route, part of the path forcing her to double back.

Soon enough, she'd found Maximus, still sniffing around and looking for Tommo.

"Palace horse...? Where is your Rider?"

Her eyes widened. Palace horse meant palace guards... search parties.

"Harry."

She started to run back to the tower, panicked. They couldn't have found him, he had to be there, if he wasn't, she-

She was doomed.

She got to the base of the tower, cupping her hands over her mouth. "Harry! Harry, let down your hair!"

Nothing.

"Harry?"

Not even a call that he was coming.

"Harry!" She fell against the tower wall, panicking. No... no he couldn't be gone... He needed to be back in the tower and stay there.

She circled the tower. The door... She ripped the growing vines off of the only other entrance to the tower and clawed at the loose stone, racing through as soon as she could and sprinting up the stairs, forcing her way through to the main room. She whipped around, hyperventilating.

Maybe he was just sleeping! That was it, just sleeping-

She ran into his room, to find nothing but a messy bed.

"No..."

She raced back down, overturning anything he could be under, tearing down anything he could be hiding behind.

Nothing.

Yolanda stood in the middle of the room, taking in what had happened.

Her flower was gone.

As her mind whirled, something glinted under the stairs.

"What...?"

She crept towards it, moving the loose stair and grabbing a satchel. She opened it and pulled out a crown.

"No!" He couldn't know...

There was something else in the satchel. A paper. She tore it out, unfolding it. A wanted poster, for a man named Tommo Rider.

She had to go find him. Get Harry and bring him back here.

She stood, a plan forming as she grabbed her dagger.

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"I know it's around here somewhere- ah! There it is. The Snuggly Duckling. Name fits it perfectly."

Harry squinted. "I thought it was called the Ugly Duckling. Which is it?"

Tommo shrugged. "I must have remembered it wrong. I heard about it from a friend. I guess it's Snuggly, since that's what's on the sign. Let's go! I can smell the food from here."

"Well... I do like ducklings... and food," Harry said to himself, smiling softly.

"Yay! Let's go." He led him down the road, grinning.

Harry giggled quietly and held his frying pan close to his chest, running his hand over its flat side to calm himself down.

Tommo patted his shoulder before opening the door. "Your finest table, please!" He smiled winningly at the less than friendly-looking people.

Harry squealed in fear at the sight of all the dangerous patrons staring back at him. He held out his frying pan to ward them off, leaning against Tommo. He was too exposed...

"So, what do you want to eat, huh? I bet they've got lots of good stuff here, I mean, look how many people there are!"

Harry looked at Tommo like he was crazy, which he suspected he was. "I- I- I don't want to anymore- Let's- let's leave, o-ok?" He stooped down to gather some of his hair and hold it close to himself with one hand, still wielding his frying pan.

Someone picked up some of his hair, looking over it. "That is a lot of hair..."

Tommo nodded. "Right? It's very soft when it's not being used to tie you down to a chair."

Harry shrieked and tried to pull his hair out of the stranger's hands. "I want to leave, Tommo!"

"Ok, how about I just take you home, huh? Your mom'll be back soon." He pushed him towards the door, picking up some of his hair to help him carry it.

"No, I- I don't want to go back to the tower, I just want to be out of here!" He surged closer to the door desperately.

BAM

One of the other patrons slammed his hand against the door, staring at Tommo. "Is this you?" He pointed at the wanted poster, the nose covered up by his finger. Tommo moved it.

His nose was elongated and basically half his face.

"Now they're just being mean."

Another man stood and laughed, "Oh, it's him, all right. Zayn, go find some guards! That reward is going to buy me a new hook..." He raised his arm to reveal a hook in the place of his hand.

Tommo gulped before being snatched, held above another's head. "I need the money!"

Another person grabbed him. "What about me? I'm broke!"

Soon enough, it was like they were playing tug of war, with him as the rope.

Harry swung his frying pan wildly, hitting random men in the back. He almost couldn't believe he was fighting back, he was so terrified. "Put him down, I like him! You- you ruffians! Thugs!"

"Blondie, yelling insults isn't the best way to win people over- ok, not the nose, not the nose!" Tommo struggled to get out of the mens' grip, failing miserably.

Harry looked around for another answer. He was very good at absorbing information in times of rapid action. There was a... something hanging above one of the men's heads, the one who was holding Tommo, and if he could just pull it back and let it go... it might...

He looped his hair and swung it like a lasso, latching onto something. He pulled down until something was taut and then he let it go. It hit the man on the head, making everyone go silent and still. "Put him down!"

Tommo's eyes widened. "Blondie, back away slowly..."

The man he'd hit turned around, his facial expression a mix of shock and anger.

Harry faltered for a moment, looking to Tommo for support. He looked back to the man and stammered, "Ok, look- I don't know much about... anything, 'cause I'm very new here, and I need him to take me to see the lanterns 'cause I've been dreaming about them my entire life, and even if he's been trying to get me back in the stuffy tower I don't want you to hurt him, and I hope he's going to help me, so let him go! Find your humanity, if you have any! Haven't any of you ever had a dream? Something you'd risk anything for? I've risked a lot and all my dreams are resting on him." He pointed to Tommo, "And... and I'm really talking too much, aren't I?" He stepped back.

One of the taller men picked Tommo up and hung him from a nail like a coat as the others collected their weapons and moved towards him.

Harry backed away in fear, his eyes wide. He forgot he had a weapon.

He brandished his hook at him, stalking closer until their noses were almost brushing. Then his expression changed and he looked off into the distance. "I had a dream once..."

Harry smiled. "What was it?"

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Sorry in advance....