Chapter 1

Rapunzel twirled giddily in front of a mirror, her handmaid having just finished dressing her in yet another new dress. In her old life, Rapunzel had only had the one, ill-fitting, pink and purple dress, and had screamed when she had come to the castle and seen her closet full of dresses in every style and color imaginable. Today's dress was a deep teal color with white embroidery at the cuffs of the sleeves and the neckline, and the skirt had a small amount of tulle underneath it that caused it to flare out slightly as it reached the floor.

"That color is just lovely on you, Miss," Penny said with a smile. Rapunzel turned to her handmaid with one of her characteristically bright smiles.

"You really think so?"

"Of course, Miss."

"Oh thank you, Penny!" Rapunzel squealed, leaping forward to throw her arms around the small, timid girl. Penny attempted to explain to her that such behavior towards someone lower in class than her was inappropriate, but Rapunzel argued, as she had before, that they were friends.

Rapunzel hummed quietly as Penny brushed her short, choppy hair, the sensation still calming to her even though the only other person to brush her hair had been Gothel. Rapunzel tried her best not to think about her false mother, but it was hard sometimes. After three months of living in the castle, however, it was getting easier. Her days were busy, with lessons in the morning and afternoon and her nights spent playing chess with her father and doing needle point with her mother. The weekends she spent with Eugene, exploring the castle, shopping in town, or sneaking back to the Snuggly Duckling to talk to their ruffian friends.

Once Penny was done brushing Rapunzel's hair – Rapunzel was amazed each time at how easy it was, when before she would spend hours brushing her long, blonde hair – she escorted the princess down to the main dining hall for breakfast. Her parents, the king and queen, were already seated on one side of the large table, and Eugene was seated opposite the king. He looked up when she entered, hiding his true expression with a calm nod of approval.

After being known as a notorious – and handsome – rogue who stole crowns and hearts, Eugene didn't like to admit to the mushy, goopy feeling he got whenever the princess looked at him. He had been able to seduce women with just a twitch of his eyebrows. He could make them swoon with a single glance. He had been Flynn Rider, damn it, and now look at him! Weak kneed and wide eyed for just one girl.

She had him wrapped around her finger, and subconsciously, she knew it. He tried to stay cool when she walked up and sat next to him, but she was wearing this dress that was like whoa and he was struggling just to stay an appropriate distance from her in front of the king and queen. Even the small smile just for him and the bright, "Good morning!" for everyone caused his stomach to flip. If the old Flynn Rider could have seen this, he'd be laughing hysterically.

Yeah, he was in love. That old part of him that abhorred attachment, that instinctively urged him to keep moving, hated the idea of it. But that part was slowly growing quieter, was being crushed by the new man he was becoming. The new him was content to wander around the palace grounds until Rapunzel got a break from her lessons for lunch, and was content to read only half interesting books in the library until her lessons were done for the day and they could steal a few kisses before dinner. Ugh.

"I had a wonderful dream last night!" Rapunzel announced after taking a sip of her goblet of water. Her parents looked up from their breakfast plates in amusement, continuously in awe of their excitable daughter. "I dreamed I was getting married! My dress was long and white and more beautiful than any of the ones in my closet and I had a bouquet of all of the best smelling flowers! And I was walking down an aisle, and there were so many people, and I looked up from my flowers to see someone waiting for me at the end…" She trailed off, her expression changing to something odd and unreadable before continuing, "except I woke up before I saw who it was."

Her parents exchanged a glance, their eyes hard with some knowledge only they were privy to. Rapunzel looked to the man sitting beside her, however, giving him a small, close lipped smile. Eugene only squirmed in his seat, the idea of marriage so foreign to him that it might as well be a different language.

The queen cleared her throat delicately, drawing attention to her. She looked at her daughter with a warm expression. "I had a lovely dream as well, that you and I went into town and tasted the most delicious apple pie! What do you say we go looking for it after your lessons today?" Eugene wanted to argue that the time after her lessons was for him, but the excited look on Rapunzel's face shut him up.

"Really? I've never tried apple pie before!" She seemed to bounce in place in her seat. "Can Eugene come? Can papa come? Can we all go together?"

The queen smiled, but Eugene recognized the usual expression her parents got when the topic of his involvement in her life came up. Sure, they were grateful to him for returning her safely to them, and thus allowed him to live in the castle and eat meals with them (only after her insistence), but that didn't mean they had to like him. In fact, the air in the dining hall had been thick with tension right up until Rapunzel had entered the room. It was just a matter of time before they kicked him back onto the streets.

"Well dear," the queen began, searching for some excuse. "Well, I was thinking it could be just the two of us. Wouldn't that be nice? We could go look at jewelry, too, and you know the boys wouldn't be interested in that."

Rapunzel nodded, seeming to accept it but still looked put out. "Don't worry, Blondie," Eugene piped up, reaching for her hand under the table. "I don't like apples anyway."

Rapunzel tried to ignore the way her parents and everyone else treated Eugene, but she wasn't stupid. She knew they only allowed him to stay in the castle because she had asked them to, and was prepared to throw a crying fit the moment they tried to get him to leave. She knew that if she wasn't the lost princess who they insisted on spoiling to make up for the eighteen years of her absence, Eugene would have been on the streets long ago.

The rest of breakfast passed quietly, silent except for the scraping of forks against porcelain. Rapunzel and Eugene respectfully took their leave, heading outside to enjoy the bright morning sun and some fresh fall air before Rapunzel's lessons began. They laid together in the palace garden, very aware that at least three pairs of eyes were on them at all times but trying not to care.

"I wish I wasn't a princess," Rapunzel mused, holding a small flower closer to her face to inspect it carefully.

Eugene couldn't help but agree, but still he asked, "Why's that?"

She thought for a few moments before speaking again. "Well, if I wasn't a princess then it would be okay for us to be together. And I wouldn't have to go to lessons and learn etiquette and all that boring stuff. I mean, I like all my clothes and I like exploring the castle and I love the garden but…"

She didn't finish, and Eugene was still stuck on her first sentence. He wanted to explain to her that things wouldn't be that different, that any parents would disapprove of their daughter cavorting with the likes of him, but he didn't have the heart to. And besides, they were right. He wasn't good enough for her, and everyone knew it but her. The only good thing about him was her. Without her, he was a thief. He had only changed because of her and for her.

She was still staring intently at the flower, but he could tell that her thoughts were far away. He never knew the right thing to say to help her feel better, and this time was no different than any other. The only thing he could think to do was slide his hand through the grass to meet hers and give her small fingers a squeeze. She rewarded him with a smile that crinkled the edges of her eyes.

For a few, blissful moments, they laid together, eyes closed, until they were interrupted by Rapunzel's handmaid. "Miss, it's time for your lessons!" Penny called apologetically. Rapunzel groaned, but obediently followed her back into the castle after quickly kissing Eugene on the cheek. In her absence, he rolled over and picked up the flower she had been holding. It was a pale purple something-or-other with rounded petals, but it was wilting from the cool nights that were increasing in frequency.

The rest of the morning seemed to drag by, with Eugene wandering down to the stables and Rapunzel sitting diligently through her lessons. There was a blissful hour between lessons where Rapunzel bounded down to the kitchen to gather up some bread and cheese for lunch and then hurried out to the garden where Eugene was waiting for her. They spread a blanket in the grass and ate together, giggling and chatting and enjoying the last bit of warmth that autumn would allow.

Unlike the morning hours, however, lunch ended too soon and Rapunzel was sent back into the castle for the rest of her lessons. Occasionally, she would glance out the window of the study and see a figure in a blue vest waving up at her. It was utter torture, Rapunzel thought, to be trapped indoors learning the difference between a salad fork and an entrée fork or a soup spoon and a tea spoon when there was so much to do and see outside. Yes, she was free of her confining tower, but now it almost seemed as if she were trapped in another, larger prison.

After her lessons ended, Rapunzel was promptly escorted out of the castle and to the waiting carriage, with absolutely no chance of sneaking a kiss from Eugene on the way out. Her mother was waiting in the carriage for her, and the queen tried to act light and carefree, but still seemed pensive to the princess. Their trip seemed to last for hours, the driver taking them to the bakery on the furthest edge of town upon the queen's insistence. Rapunzel was not disappointed; the apple pie was delicious, a mixture of tartness and sweetness coming together in perfect harmony on her tongue. However, despite the queen insisting on having some one-on-one bonding time with her daughter, she seemed withdrawn and distant the entire afternoon.

They returned to the palace around sunset, just in time for dinner. It seemed a little odd to Rapunzel that they should eat dinner after having a slice of decadent pie each, but she certainly didn't mind. Gothel would never have let her have desert first. Well, Gothel had never let her have desert, period, but still. Rapunzel couldn't deny that her real mother was a significant improvement from the woman who had kidnapped her, despite her shy timidity and, now, distance.

When the queen and princess arrived at the dining hall flanked by the two guards that had accompanied them on their trip, the king was already waiting. Rapunzel hesitantly sat in her usual seat beside Eugene's empty chair. She tried to calm herself – maybe he was just late. Maybe he had tripped and fallen in mud and had to wash up before dinner. Maybe he was out buying her a gift and got lost. Maybe he was sick and went to bed early. She came up with something, anything to ease the suspicion that he had left or been kicked out.

Meanwhile, Eugene was pouting in his room. He had showed up to dinner early, hoping to beat everyone there, but the king was already waiting. He gave Eugene a stern look that almost sent him running in the opposite direction – not because he was a coward, but because he was smart – and told him that he had "important" matters to "discuss" with his "daughter" over "dinner." Whatever. He had been escorted back to his room by a waiter with a covered tray of food like a damn child, where he was left to sulk like a damn child. Part of him was also nervous. What could be so important that they needed to speak with her alone? Was the bakery trip a distraction?

The latter question was highly likely. The queen may be a kind and gentle woman, despite her reservations regarding him, but she was not whimsical in any way. Usually, she was very busy doing whatever it was queens did, and so an impromptu bakery trip on a whim was highly suspicious. He guessed that one of the likely topics would be Eugene's presence in the castle. They hadn't said anything yet, but with the way they regarded him it was only a matter of time.

An uncomfortable silence between Rapunzel and her parents was broken when three waiters entered the dining hall, each carrying a silver tray with a lid on it. Despite her uneasiness, Rapunzel found it difficult not to get excited about dinner. After spending three months in the castle, the chefs still hadn't made the same dish twice, and each evening was a new culinary adventure for Rapunzel. Tonight's main course was a hearty soup with dark broth and chunks of meat and vegetables. It was savory and delicious, and Rapunzel was digging into it in earnest when her father cleared his throat.

She looked up from the spoonful she had been preparing to shove in her mouth and wondered if she had done something wrong. Was she using the tea spoon again? Was she slurping? Did she forget to place her napkin in her lap?

"I'm sure you've noticed," the king began in his deep, booming voice, "that we wanted to have dinner alone with you to discuss a few things."

Rapunzel nodded, slowly placing her spoon back in her soup, the spoonful she had eagerly been awaiting still on it. She had learned in the first month that it was impolite to eat when someone was directly addressing you, especially if it was her parents.

"Dear," the queen piped up, her eyebrows drawing together over her eyes, "there's no easy way to say this – any of this. We know that you're still adjusting to your new life, but you have to know that there are certain duties that a princess must fulfill when she comes of age."

An uneasy silence fell around them. Rapunzel was confused, as she often got when her parents or anyone else talked about her duties as a princess. She didn't even know how to be a princess yet, how was she supposed to carry out princess duties? And there were so many! "What…what sort of duties?" She asked timidly, her eyes flickering from her parents to her clenched hands in her lap.

She looked expectantly at her mother, but the queen seemed to be speechless. The king sat up straighter in his seat and again cleared his throat. "Primarily," he began, "marriage."

Was that it? Rapunzel relaxed visibly. Why were they acting so grim and serious? Marriage was supposed to be a happy thing, right? She began to talk excitedly, "Oh that would be lovely! Of course we haven't talked about it yet, but I would love to, and I'm sure he'll ask eventually right? And oh, it would be beautiful! Could I design my wedding gown? Could I make decorations? Could I pick which type of cake we had? Could we have apple pie instead of cake? Could we –"

Uncharacteristically, the king cut his daughter off mid-sentence by raising a hand. She tried not to look hurt, but her large, expressive eyes betrayed everything. Actually, she was thinking of the gesture, and how Gothel had used it many times when she thought Rapunzel was being annoying.

"We're not talking about Eugene," he said, his sentiments towards the ex-thief evident in the way he said his name. And now…Rapunzel was confused again. She didn't know any other men besides Eugene and her father, and she liked Eugene. Aren't you supposed to marry people you like? Isn't that how it works?

The queen placed her face in her hands before speaking, a gesture that Rapunzel often did, beginning long before her return to the kingdom. "A princess must marry someone of noble blood, dear."

The king continued for her. "Often, marriages are used to make peace and form alliances between two kingdoms. As you know from your studies, Corona has been trying for years to form an alliance with the kingdom of Sylvania, and they have a prince not much older than you."

The truth was beginning to come together for Rapunzel like the pieces of a puzzle, but it took her father saying it for her to fully realize it. "We've arranged for you to marry the Sylvanian prince."