003 — BIG AUGGIE'S BAYOU BAR

     "Garçon, your finest table, please!" Flynn called out among the crowd of men chattering causing them to silence themselves as they watched the two enter, or more like watch Flynn drag Rapunzel through the entrance.

"Are you sure about this?" She asked him nervous as she looked around at all the men who were cautiously eyeing the pair. They weren't the usual type to enter this bar.

Flynn lead her deeper into the bar. "You smell that? Take a deep breath through the nose." Said Flynn as he inhaled deeply. "Really let that stench deep in. What are you getting? Because to me, it's part man-smell and the other part is really bad man-smell." He joked as he continued to lead her through the crowd of men to a table. "I don't know why, but overall it smells like the colour brown. Your thoughts?"

Rapunzel gasped as one of the men grabbed at her hair. She quickly bundled it all up and clipped her bracelet off causing it to shrink to a regular length.

"That's a lot of hair." He stated as he looked up at the pair, Rapunzel hid behind Flynn.

"She's growing it out. Is that blood in your mustache? Goldie, look at this, look at all the blood in this mustache!" He teased the girl knowing she was already scared.

Rapunzel backed up not wanting to be in the proximity of blood and ended up bumping into a large man sat in the corner. He growled at the girl who jumped back holding her pan in the air.

"You don't look so good Blondie." Flynn commented as he stood besides her. "Maybe we should get you home, call it a day." He suggested as he tried to lead her back to the entrance. "Probably better off. This is a five-star joint after all and if you can't handle this place, well maybe you should be back in your tower." He carried on and they nearly got to the door when it slammed in their face as a man held up a wanted poster of Flynn.

"This you?" The man pointed at Flynn who looked uncomfortable.

"Oh it's him all right." A blonde man came up from behind them. "Kurt go send word to the vampires...that reward could buy us our freedom." The guy said but then all the men in the bar began fighting over who needed the reward more.

"We can work this out." Flynn yelled in all the chaos.
"He's mine."
"Hey! Leave him alone!" Rapunzel yelled trying to grab Flynn back.
"Gentlemen, please!"
"Give me back my guide! Werewolves!" Rapunzel exclaimed as she started to bash her pan against some of them.

It was all getting out of hand and the leader looked as if he was about to knock Flynn out. Rapunzel quickly cast a spell to freeze them all.

"Put him down!" She demanded. "Look, okay. I don't know where I am and I need him to take him to the City because I've been dreaming about going my entire life! Find your humanity!" She shouted at them pleadingly. "Haven't any of you ever had a dream?"

She looked up at them hopefully and they all looked back at the girl maliciously before one of them cracked.

"I had a dream once..." He started as he began to explain his dream of becoming a famous pianist and then other men started to join in telling them all their dreams. A few minutes later however the door to the bar entrance slammed open.

"I found a vampire!" Kurt, the guy that they forgot they had sent off to find vampires to help capture Flynn.

"Where's Rider? Where is he?" The vampire pushed the werewolf out of the way addressing the bar. Flynn suddenly yanked Rapunzel behind the bar as he recognised the vampire as Marcel the former King of New Orleans who now sort of works with the Mikaelson's from time to time.

"I know he's in here somewhere, find him. Turn the place upside down if you have to!" He slammed his fist on the bar as he ordered his vampires to search the bar.

Rapunzel and Flynn stayed hidden behind the bar as they listened to them searching the place. One of the werewolves from earlier who they assumed was either the owner of the bar or something nudged the pair with his foot as he subtly looked to the right gesturing to the back room where they could escape through.

They quickly followed the man who lead them into the back room as he moved one of the shelves revealing a hidden door to a passage which led to some tunnels underground which would eventually come out into the woods again.

"Go live your dreams." He told them.

"I will." Flynn answered as the man turned to the boy giving him a disapproving look.

"Your dream stinks. I was talking to her." He said gesturing to Rapunzel who smiled back at the man.

"Thanks for everything." Rapunzel thanked the man giving him a short hug before following Flynn down the passage.

☆☆☆

They walked through the tunnel as Rapunzel held up an orb of light she conjured up, she doesn't really understand why her Mother made her wear the bracelet in the first place as she's hardly had it on all day and her powers surprisingly haven't acted out once. She'll be sure to mention it to her when she gets back home.

"Well I have to say, I didn't know you had that in you back there. That was pretty impressive." Flynn complimented her as they continued to walk. He assumed as soon as they stepped foot into that bar she would run home but he was surprised at her resilience.

"I know!" She agreed equally as surprised at her own actions, she had never been that brave before, not that she ever had anything to be brave for being stuck in her tower her whole life, living out a year at a time before going under a spell that left her asleep for a century. But still. "I know." She repeated trying to sound more cool and relaxed.

She caught his eye before tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear. "So...Flynn? Where are you from?" She asked him curiously as she didn't know anything about the boy...man? She wasn't too sure on his age.

"Whoa! Sorry, blondie, I don't do back-story. However, I am becoming very interested in yours. I know I'm not suppose to mention the hair..." He trailed off.

"Nope" She agreed.

"Or the Mother..." He asked knowing that, that must be an interesting story.

"Uh-uh." Rapunzel shook her head.

"And frankly I'm too scared to ask about the glow stick." He pointed at the glowing light floating above them as he only just recently found out about the supernatural living in New Orleans and now he's met a girl that has freakishly long hair and powers?

"Magic orb?" She corrected him.

"Nuance. Here's my question, though. If you want to see the city sooo badly...why haven't you gone before?" He asked curiously wondering why she hadn't visited before.

Rapunzel chuckles nervously. "Uh...it's complicated? Well..." She was about to explain her history of being tethered to an immortality spell which let her sleep for 100 years only to be awake for 1. And so it didn't really give her much freedom to explore, plus the fact that her Mother or well smother is way too overprotective causing Rapunzel to of never left her tower. There was this one time when she was about three...but there was an accident and since then she's never been allowed out.

A rumbling sounded above them. They both looked to each other in worry as stones started to crumble around them.

"Uh, Flynn?" Rapunzel asked anxiously. "Flynn!" She yelled as she saw what she could only assume as a few vampires racing towards them.

"Ryder!" They heard one of them tell after them as Flynn grabbed her wrist.

"Run, Run!" He yelled as he dragged her along the tunnels trying to outrun the men.

Rapunzel looked back seeing that the men were catching up to them and with a few hand movements made the walls of the tunnel behind her cave in. She knew it would only slow them down but they had to do something. She suddenly heard the sound of splitting and gushing water, Flynn who still had a vice grip on her arm looked back causing his eyes to widen and his pace to quicken as water had started to enter the tunnel, which meant they must of been underneath a water source and Rapunzel had just unknowingly broken it.

"This way!" Flynn called as he saw a fork in the tunnels approaching hoping that the water could distract the vampires long enough that they'd lose their scent. They raced down the left side conscious of the incoming water that was following them, Rapunzel tried to hold it back by barricading the walls but what she didn't realise was that it had also trapped them as when they continued down the tunnel they suddenly stopped at what seemed to be a dead-end.

"Well that's just great." Flynn muttered as he slapped a hand against the wall. It was darker now as they didn't have Rapunzels light anymore and their former exit was now blocked. "What are we going to to now?" He asked himself.

He didn't have any time to think however as water started to seep through the cracks which in turn started to fill the small amount of room they occupied. The two looked at each other in alarm trying to figure out how they were going to survive now that they were trapped with seemingly no way out. The water kept building higher and higher causing Flynn to duck underneath as he tried to look for an exit on the other side but there wasn't one. He grunted as he kept hitting the hall to see if it would shift at all but he had no luck. He saw a smaller sized rock on the ceiling and tried to hit it out to see if they could get out but it just ended up slicing open his hand.

He grunted as he tried to go under and find an exit again but he only refaced a second later. "It's no use. I can't see anything." He panicked as he watched the water rise up their bodies.

Rapunzel suddenly had an idea as she took in a deep breath before plunging underwater but Flynn was quick to drag her back up.

"Hey, there's no point. It's pitch-black down there. Your magical orb or whatever won't work in the water." He explained as he removed some of the wet hair off of her face.

Rapunzel clasped against the wall dejectedly. "This is all my fault. She was right, I never should have done this." She sniffles as she looks over at Flynn who she dragged into this. "I'm so..I'm so sorry, Flynn." She cried.

The boy sighed heavily before replying. "Eugene." He corrects her.

"What?" Rapunzel asked confused.

"My real name is Eugene Fitzherbert. Someone might as well know." He admitted wanting at least one person to truly know who he was before he died.

Rapunzel chuckled at him finding it cute. "I have magical hair that glows when I sing. Something to do with some flower when I was born.." She in turn admitted a truth.

"What?" He replied shocked not knowing why she didn't say it sooner.

Rapunzel then had a revelation at what she had just said. "I have magic hair that glows when I sing!" She said happily realising that they might be able to get out of there.

She quickly began to sing. "Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine-" she quickly inhaled as the water rose higher causing them to go under. She held her breath as her hair started to glow, Flynn screamed out but then remembered that he was underwater and placed a hand over his mouth as he intensely watched her hair.

They watched as her hair started to extend glowing as it did. They saw that at the bottom where the wall had caved in there was some loose rocks which could lead them to an exit. Flynn swam down and started to heave them out of the way before Rapunzel's hair stopped glowing.

A few seconds later they both resurfaced on a bank just outside of the bayou, coughing and spluttering.

Rapunzel sighed. "We made it." She said releaved as Flynn's eyes widened.

"Her hair glows." He said astonished as even though he knew a little bit about the werewolves, vampires and witches in New Orleans he had never seen hair glow like that.

"We're alive. I'm alive!" She cheered as she stood up.

"I didn't see that coming.." He continued to mutter to himself still in shock.

"Eugene?" She asked concerned for the boy.

"Her hair actually glows" He ignored her calls as he was still trying to wrap his head around her magic.
"Why does her hair glow?!"

"Eugene!" She shouted a bit louder causing the boy to snap out of his crisis.

"What?!" He asked still in complete shock over the events that just occurred.

"It doesn't just glow." She told him as she tried to wring out the water, she then realised that something was missing. Her bracelet.

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