Rae posted a oneshot based on the same plot on Ao3 called 'prince rapunzel's escape' (her user is ohraei), so definitely go check it out. It's written so, so well I literally want to munch on it as a snack. This is semi-inspired by her oneshot, but it's mostly just based off of the idea I had, like, five months ago.

Anyway, enjoy!

°•♡•°

"Princess, these precautions are in place-"

"Do not call me that!" Scott shrieked to his maid, Merrilynn, tears pouring from his blue eye like the crystalline waterfalls surrounding the Enchanted Isles. The other one couldn't produce tears anymore, not since... back then. "I order you to leave me at once, you insolent-"

"Princess Colleen."

Scott sobbed hard, hard enough that his legs lost their integrity and he collapsed in on himself, falling onto the floor with his head hanging low like a wilting orchid. His long hair, curled from that morning's meeting with all of the princesses from around the globe, fell weightlessly over his shoulders to act as a shield, hiding his face from the world. He felt defeated. Just like always.

"Come on," Merrilynn said, kneeling to put a hand on Scott's shoulder. He didn't bother to swat her away, too exhausted from his tantrum. "Let's go back to your bedroom."

Scott followed mindlessly like a dog being led by leash as Merrilynn held his hand and walked him back to his bedroom. Once again, he'd been caught trying to leave the castle. Once again, his show of tears and frustration and obvious agony had no affect on the guards and maids. And once again, he was being locked up in his room to suffer all alone. He was always hidden away in the castle, only to be seen by special visitors. Though there were two boys he frequently talked to without anybody in the castle noticing.

Their names are fWhip and Jimmy. A goblin and a stable boy. An odd pair for someone of Scott's status to be associated with maybe, but nonetheless Scott took a great liking to the both of them.

Jimmy, who Scott had met on several occasions, was just the cutest boy he'd ever seen. He had big, beautiful honey-coloured eyes, pink lips, rosy cheeks when he laughed, blonde hair, a stubble of a beard that tried to grow but couldn't seem to quite do it yet, and gorgeous tan skin. And his personality was perfectly everything Scott would want in a partner.

fWhip, on the other hand, was merely a pen pal, the boy Scott often wrote letters to. Scott had only seen the goblin boy once when the two of them were forced to sit at a dinner where their parents signed a trade agreement. fWhip was a rather hyper goblin, a little reckless too, (Scott had learned they were all like that, but fWhip was especially off-the-wall), that he loved adventuring on "boarback," whatever that meant.

Merrilynn shut the door as she left, leaving Scott by his lonesome in his dark bedroom. He stared at the easel showcasing an unfinished portrait of what he wished he looked like, though he still quite liked his long hair and frilly dresses either way, a display of himself in his own eyes rather than how others saw him in his fancy portraits hung in the halls of the castle. A feeling of longing arose in his stomach the longer he stared, knowing he'll never be that boy as long as his parents kept him locked away like a precious doll that could never be played with. They acted like he might break into a million little pieces if he ever went outside again. After losing his eye, though, he couldn't blame them. He'd be worried about his child, too.

He picked up the skirt of his silk dress (this one wasn't as poofy as most of his others) so he wouldn't trip over it as he walked over to the window, the sun beginning to set over the village. His bedroom was one of the highest up rooms in the castle, so he got a wonderful view of the kingdom just from his window. He'd painted countless landscapes of the sunset over the village rooftops and evening stars shining brightly over the people and the sun giving warmth to the crops and the endless rainbow of fields of flowers, but he was tired of just seeing. He wanted to experience it all again, to be a part of his own kingdom again.

Sighing, he leaned over the windowsill and tilted his head a bit as he watched the kids play hopscotch or marbles or kick around a hacky sack as their parents finished their shopping in the market. His eyes wandered over to the flower fields where a girl was being chased by a boy, the two of them laughing and giggling and shrieking with joy. His heart longed to go out there and play, too. He wanted to so badly.

A knock at the door startled him and he turned to face the door, and a soft voice (gentler than Merrilynn's) said, "Miss, are you ready for dinner?"

Scott glanced back out the window as the girl and boy stopped playing to run back to their mother, and he looked away. "Yes," he said. "Just let me get changed into something more appropriate."

He changed into a yellow dress that was a little more frilly, but not too extravagant that it would be ruined if he spilled his food or drink on it. He tried to smile as he looked at himself in the mirror, though he gave up after inevitably hating how he looked.

Awkward silence and the scraping of silver forks on ceramic dishes filled the dinning hall still longer after Scott had arrived, the prince sitting at the centre of the table whilst his parents sat on either end. Scott hadn't touched his supper yet. He wasn't hungry enough, even after the fit he put on for the guards earlier. He simply stared sadly at the food as if it could magically make all of his problems disappear.

"The guards told me you tried to escape again, dear," his mother, Adora, said softly. "Why?"

Scott looked up at her with tears his eye. "Because, Mother," he said, "I suffer each day you keep me locked up in this damned castle like I'm a prisoner in a dungeon! I'm fifteen, I don't need to be-"

"It's for your safety, my love," Adora said, smiling softly as if to try and reassure him. "Last time you went outside, you got lost in the Mangrove and you..." She paused to take a deep breath like she was trying not to start crying. "You lost your eye, dear. We just don't want anything to happen to you anymore, understand?"

Scott's lower lip trembled, but he nodded. He felt like a little girl that needed protecting. "Yes, Mother."

"Good, now eat your dinner before it gets cold."

°•♡•°

"All I'm sayin' is you got too much on yo' plate," Olgen-Willis said, following as fWhip stormed out of the house. "Go to school, make yo'self some friends, ey?" He sighed as fWhip stomped over to the boar pen and started to unlock the gate. "Ah, come on, now, I jus' put all them hogs to sleep!"

"I'm not leaving," fWhip huffed. "I'm just going to see Snort, okay?" He paused. "And I'm not giving this place up to go to school, Willis. I'm staying here with you and Granny."

Willis sighed again. "Jus' don't be wakin' up the hogs, a'ight?" he said. "I don't need 'em to be makin' a ruckus."

fWhip nodded. "Yes, sir." He stepped inside the pen and let out a long sigh. He hated the idea of going to school. His family didn't make enough money for him to go to school, and he certainly didn't need any friends. He had Scott to talk to. Granted... they could only write letters to each other, but that was all fWhip needed.

"Aw, look at you, Snort," fWhip said, laughing as Snort snored, asleep atop a hay bale. He walked over and started to pet the giant boar, scratching behind his ear and under his chin. All the good places. He smiled seeing how peaceful the pig was, wishing he could feel peaceful like that. Being a boar at the Willis Family Farm must've been the life. Food constantly in the trough just waiting for them, as many belly rubs and pets as they could possibly want, and as much attention as they need from visitors. Not to mention they got to lay around all day and night. "Yeah, you're just livin' it up, aren't you?" He laughed when Snort snorted.

Yawning, fWhip sat down and leaned against the boar, still petting his bristly hair. He started to think about Scott and the letter he sent earlier that day. It read something along the lines of:

"Dearest fWhip,

"I'm going to attempt another escape today, though this time I'm going to underdress so (hopefully) I'll go relatively unnoticed. I have high hopes for this plan, though there's still a chance it may not work. I'll sneak through the kitchen, probably pretend I'm tasting food, and slip out through the back door. Once I'm out, I'll meet Jimmy at the stables and take a horse to the village. Then I'll be out.

"But in other news, I'm being crowned "Queen" soon. I'm not excited. Mother says it'll help me mature. I think it'll only make me more of a prisoner because I'll have to be courted and married to a man I don't love and he'll own me and dictate everything about my life. But if I can get away before then, then perhaps I can lead a happy life. Cut my hair and wear pants for the first time, even. Perhaps I could live with you and Jimmy until we all grow old.

"Anyway, I must finish this up and go to my violin lessons now. I'll write back soon, and I'll tell you how the escape went.

Love, Scott ♡"

"Hm." fWhip thought about it for a moment. "If his escape doesn't work, maybe..." He shook the thought away. "No, no, it wouldn't work. He'd get caught and I'd be put in prison." But then the thought came back and he entertained it a little more. "But maybe-"

"fWhip, ya' got another one of them letters!" Olgen-Willis called. "It's from Scott!"

fWhip didn't hesitate before rushing out of the pen back to the farmhouse. "Really, really?" he asked, bouncing up and down on his toes, bursting with excitement. "What does it say, Willis, what does it say?"

Willis chuckled. "Find out yo'self," he said, handing fWhip the letter.

The boy didn't hesitate before ripping it open, reading over it quickly.

Scott's escaped failed. Again.

I could help him, fWhip thought briefly, then gasped and looked up at Olgen-Willis. "Willis, can I take Snort out for a ride?"

Willis scoffed. "This late at night?"

"Pleeeaaassee?"

Rolling his eyes, Willis waved a hand. "Whateva. Do whachya want. Be back before dawn."

With that, fWhip was gone. As he rode out of the Goblands on boarback, he made up a plan in his goblin brain on how he would help Scott to get out of the castle. And it included a certain equestrian boy.

°•♡•°

Jimmy had fallen asleep in the stables again reading a story about an elf and the son of a god, startling awake when he heard his name being called. He sat up from leaning against a hay bale and looked around, searching for whoever could be calling his name so late in the night.

"Jimmy!" they called again, then suddenly the blonde boy caught sight of what looked like a tiny green boy riding a giant boar, the pair coming quickly toward the stables. "Jimmyyyyyy!"

Jimmy set his book down and stood up, exiting the stables as the goblin and boar slowed as they got nearer. "Hello?"

The goblin was smiling brightly. "You know Prince Scott, right?" he asked.

Jimmy hesitantly nodded. "Yes, we're good friends. Why?"

"I have a plan to help him escape, but he needs a horse."

°•♡•°

So, this is going to be my last update for a while. Maybe two weeks, maybe up to a month, maybe longer. I'm taking a break from the internet and everything to give myself a chance to mentally reset and heal from things going on recently. To spare you the gory details, I'll just leave you at that.

But anyway, I hope you enjoyed this and I hope you guys have a wonderful night or day.

I love you all <33