Chapter One

Rapunzel and Flynn sat on the balcony watching the lanterns fly up into the starry sky.

"I'm so glad that they continued this tradition, even after they found out who I was. Aren't you glad Eugene?" asked Rapunzel glancing his way.

"Eugene?" she said tapping his shoulder after a minute. "Are you listening to me?"

"Oh sorry, I was just thinking …," he said absentmindedly.

"Of what?" asked Rapunzel her forehead wrinkling in worry.

"That it's too bad we can't go and watch the lanterns with the rest of Corona." He leaned over the balcony watching the people celebrating below.

"I know Eugene," she sympathized, "but there are plenty of people who are still very angry with you and they are just waiting for the chance to get back at you. They would love to find an excuse to throw you in jail, even if they have to make one up. Why one woman even accused you of "corrupting a perfectly good child."

"I know," he agreed, but he still thought it wasn't fair for to Rapunzel.

The next morning as Rapunzel walked down the many flights of stairs and wound her way through the many corridors on her way to breakfast with the King and Queen, she wondered if Eugene would already be there. She hadn't seen him yet and she worried that he might have run off in the night, tired of a life where venturing too far beyond the castle walls meant a possible confrontation with an angry mob. She worried that he might feel that marrying her was a mistake. His distance last night only compounded her worry. "And the very day I planned to share my wonderful news" she sighed to herself as she approached the dining room.

Rapunzel wanted to trust Eugene, but she knew how he was. He loved adventure, he couldn't be contained, and he was brave. She fell in love with him for those very reasons and it was because of those reasons that she doubted if he was truly happy. The doubt had Rapunzel so worried that she couldn't rest last night until Eugene had fallen asleep. Even as she entered the dining room, she could not quite shake the nagging feeling that she might not find him in there.

All of her worrying was for nothing, because there sat Eugene. Waiting.

"Come on sleepy head!" he said patting the seat next to him. "We've been waiting for you."

Her parents made a face suggesting that patting your seat was not exactly proper. Usually Rapunzel worried about looking sophisticated in front of the King and Queen, but she was so happy to see Eugene that she did not even care. She plopped down next to him with relief written all over her face and started spreading jam on a roll.

"Please pass the eggs, bacon, sausage, fruit tray and the pancakes. Oh and the syrup" said Flynn as he surveyed the feast set before them.

"Flynn you have the appetite of a twelve year old boy," teased the Queen trying hard to suppress a small laugh.

He smiled "Why thank you Mom, at least SOMEONE doesn't think I eat too much" Flynn teased back making the Queen laugh and the King chuckle.

"This morning is turning out to be just as wonderful as every other morning since we moved in," thought Rapunzel to herself. "I think I'm ready to tell everyone my good news." She wasn't exactly prepared for the reaction her disclosure received.