This is a short scene that has been playing around in my mind since I first saw the film and tried to figure out exactly what Eugene would do with his life.
Flynn Rider was a man without fear. Nothing he faced could faze him; no matter how desperate the situation, all he needed was his sharp mind and equally sharp tongue and he would triumph. Neither beast nor man could startle him. From the most dangerous of criminals to the highest of royalty, he approached each encounter with the same calm demeanor.
Eugene Fitzherbert, however, was a different story.
His hands absentmindedly tugged at the clean shirt and vest that he had been given to wear. It was made from fabric far grander than he had ever worn before, and several others like it now sat at the end of his bed. He should have felt happy upon receiving such a gift. Instead, he was terrified.
His mind was still clouded in a strange haze. Just several days before, he had been stealing the crown jewels from the palace and running from his life. Now he was a welcome guest in that same palace, favored by the king and queen, and residing in the finest guest suite that the castle possessed with a view of the lake that was to die for. He wondered if even his esteemed hosts had a view as grand as his.
His mind echoed his proclamation just days before of wanting a castle. How ironic it seemed now.
He felt so out of place in the palace. Several times he had caught himself ducking around corners out of habit whenever the guards approached. A small portion of his mind had eyed the silver and gold platters at the previous night's dinner and wondered how much they could be sold for to the right people.
His only comfort was the knowledge that he was not the only one having trouble adapting.
While Rapunzel definitely had the natural grace born of a Princess, she certainly had never learned social formalities in her years under Mother Gothel. Her resistance to shoes might have been adorable had she not had a crying meltdown upon first attempting to put them on. Another meltdown was narrowly avoided at the first formal dinner she attended upon learning that there was a correct order and way one was supposed to eat, including how much wine one should sip at a time and which fork one used for different foods. Not to mention her small panic attacks when she combed her hair and forgot that she no longer possessed her 70-foot golden chain, or when she lamented being once more up in a tower.
Yet she was learning, which made him try his hardest to learn how to once more be a normal human being. Whatever that meant.
However, he noticed a growing unpleasant sensation as each day passed at the palace. At first he passed it off as discomfort at such a strange environment that he was not used to. Yet as it continued to grow, it took a more familiar shape that he was eventually able to name; guilt. Rapunzel deserved this new found life of comfort; he did not.
After a week of being pampered, waited on, and fussed over, Eugene knew something had to be done to ease his growing guilt. He had not spoken to Rapunzel about it; she was stressed enough trying to become accustomed to her new life and parents.
He could not deny the stab of jealousy he had felt at their reunion. His own parents had abandoned him; he doubted he would ever get to feel what it was like to be drawn into the arms of the two people who had created you, who still wanted you, who had not left you on purpose.
The queen had pulled him into their group embrace as well, causing emotions to stir within Eugene that he thought he had buried long before. They were not his parents, but for just a moment, he had felt what it might possibly be like to have parents who loved him.
His growing respect for the king and queen was what prompted his request to speak to His Majesty when he could. It was what caused Eugene to fidget nervously with his fine clothes as he waited in a corridor outside a fine white and gold door. It was what caused him to be afraid.
He had feared that his request for an audience would have been granted in the main throne room; he did not know if he nerves would have been able to handle speaking to the king in such a large imposing room. However, the king had instead chosen his study as the venue, which did nothing to settle Eugene's nerves. In the throne room, there would at least be guards or the queen present. Here, it was just him and the king.
Alone.
Eugene was finally ushered in by a servant who bowed low as he closed the door behind him. Eugene watched him go, trying to keep his rising nerves abated. He finally turned and surveyed the room. It was immensely rich but seemed very inviting. Warm sunlight poured in from the large windows, illuminating the beautiful portraits on the wall and accentuating the hundreds of books on the dark oak shelves.
The king sat at his desk, looking down at he signed a scroll with a large white quill. He looked up and met Eugene with a smile, who promptly gave a low bow.
"Ah, Eugene. Welcome." He rose from his desk and crossed the room to a pair of large armchairs near the fireplace. "Please, sit."
It took every bit of willpower he possessed to calmly walk across and the room and seat himself. The chair was plush and more comfortable than any chair he had ever sat in. Beneath his hands, he felt a fabric that was probably even more expensive than his clothes. It did little to settle his nerves. He gave a quick glance at the king, hoping he could not sense the immensity of his discomfort. If he did, however, the king did not show it.
"You wished to speak with me?" the king inquired, leaning forward slightly in his seat.
Eugene sucked in a breath. He had been rehearsing in his head all morning, yet his throat still ran dry. At the back of his mind, his brain wondered how Flynn Rider could have been born out of such a coward.
"Your Highness," he began, pausing as he averted his eyes to the ground. He let out a small sigh as he mustered his nerves. Putting his hands on his knees, he slid out of the chain and knelt on the ground, keeping his eyes locked on the ground. "I came to ask for your punishment."
Though he could not see, he supposed the king had cocked a large eyebrow at the statement.
"My punishment? What crime have you committed?"
A slight stab of annoyance slid through Eugene. Surely the king remembered that he was a criminal.
"I am a wanted thief, Highness. Had my friends not intervened, I would have been hung for my crimes. I have stolen many things, most notably the princess's crown." He met the king's eyes and was met with a practiced face of neutrality and interest. " I do not deserve Your Majesty's gifts or hospitality, nor can I continue to accept them until my crimes are accounted for."
The king sat back in his chair and steepled his fingers in thought. After a moment he chuckled.
"Well it appears that we were both wrong," he mused.
Eugene blinked. "Sir?"
The king smiled in slight amusement. "My wife and I were under the impression that you were going to ask me for my daughter's hand."
Eugene's eyes went wide. Marriage? Rapunzel was everything great and good in his heart, but marriage…
"I – we-" he fumbled, feeling even more foolish and awkward than before. "Rap-The Princess and I have known each other scarcely a week. As much as I care for her, I do not believe either of us are ready for that just yet."
The king's smile faded to his neutral face of business. He continued to stare at Eugene, sizing up the man before him. At length, he stood and put his hands on the younger man's shoulders.
"Walk with me."
Eugene complied and rose to his feet. The king led the way across the room to the open double doors that lead out onto the balcony. They slowly approached the ledge, a warm ocean breeze blowing their hair lightly.
"How is my daughter adapting to life in the palace?" he asked.
Eugene blinked at the question, pausing slightly before answering. "She struggles with some things, but she does her best not to show it." A small smile crossed his face. "She still doesn't like shoes."
The king was silent for a moment. He turned and eyed Eugene shrewdly. "My servants tell me that she often visits your chamber at night."
The smile wiped from Eugene's face. He met the king's hard gaze. He knew what the elder man thought of him in that moment, yet couldn't be further from the truth.
Their first night in the palace, he had awoken to the sound of his door quickly opening and shutting. Moments later, a small shivering form had attached itself to his chest. He had wrapped his arms around her and let her cry, blubbering away about a nightmare. The first night he had sent her back to her room once she had dried her tears. The next night, however, she had fallen asleep in his arms. Likewise on the following night.
A wave of self defense rose in Eugene. "She has nightmares," he replied. "She claims that my presence helps her sleep. Which is all she does," he bit back with an icy tone. "Sleep."
"Yet you do know how it must sound – what it must look like," the king pressed with a harder edge.
"I do." He paused as he chose his words wisely. "She, on the other hand, does not understand the implications."
"And you've never mentioned them to her?" The king's tone was accusatory.
Eugene's brows furrowed as he crossed his arms over his chest. "She is stressed as it is. If my failure to mention social rules helps her sleep better at night, then I certainly do not plan on mentioning them any time soon."
The king did not speak, and Eugene feared in the back of his mind that he had gone too far. However he stood his ground and continued to hold the king's gaze.
Finally, the king's eyes softened. "I didn't know she couldn't sleep," he muttered sadly.
Eugene relaxed slightly, glad at least that the king hadn't ordered his death right then and there. He echoed the king's silence for a few moments, turning and resting his arms on the balcony railing as he stared out over the sea.
"If it pleases Your Majesty, I will speak to her about it," Eugene offered in a soft voice. "Though I do promise you; I have not taken advantage of her."
The king nodded once, letting the unspoken understanding sink between them. It was several minutes more before the king finally returned to the topic at hand.
"What punishment would you have me give you?"
Eugene was slightly taken aback by the question, turning to give the King a quizzical look. "I don't know, really. Some sort of service or work, I imagine. I even would volunteer to serve a jail sentence."
The king chuckled lightly. "I don't think my daughter would take too kindly to me throwing you in jail."
"She would understand," Eugene said quietly, a sadness tinting his voice that caused the king to raise a brow knowingly.
"You have not told her of this."
Eugene sighed and let his shoulders drop. His eyes turned and gazed out over the city and sea beyond. "No. I think she does not understand the severity of my crimes."
"Or perhaps you over estimate them."
Eugene met the king's gaze, finding the older monarch smiling. He moved to the balcony as well, setting his hands on the cool stone and looking out over the land as Eugene had done.
"Tell me my son. What did you do before you became a thief?"
Eugene blinked and lowered his head in thought. He still was not accustomed to bringing up his past so often with strangers. The Flynn part of his mind had several sarcastic remarks ready, which he quickly swatted down.
"Nothing," Eugene admitted in a soft voice. "All I know how to do is be a thief. From the time I left the orphanage, it's been the only living I have known." Eugene's shoulders dropped a little further as the harsh truth he had been avoided left his lips. "I don't know how to do anything useful."
The king was silent for several moments, lost in his own thoughts as he stared out at the sea. "Tell me about the orphanage," he finally said.
Eugene shrugged out of habit. "It was crowded, and cold. We didn't have money for shoes or warm blankets. The food was awful, but it was warm. I appreciate that it was a roof over my head, but it felt more like a prison." His eyes grew slightly darker at the thought. "I ran away when I was ten."
"Did the headmaster ever beat you?" the king asked in earnest.
A small smirk slid onto Eugene's lips. "Only when I was particularly bad. Most of the time our punishment was going without supper or doing more chores. "
The king was silent once more. Eugene did not feel uneasy in the silence; it was as if an air of understanding had settled between them as they both looked out over the city.
He still did not know what he was going to do to earn an income. He was earnest in his wanting to leave the palace, yet where would he go? He had no job to afford a living, and no expertise to make any earnings.
"Do you ever wonder," the king began, "how different your life would have been had you not stolen that crown?"
Eugene chuckled. "Every moment of every day. I probably would be off in some seedy tavern looking for work or ducking the law." He smiled broadly and inhaled the sea air with a deep breath. "Stealing that crown was the best thing that ever happened to me."
The king cocked an eyebrow at the remark. "Because it got you here?"
Eugene's smile faded to one of contentment as he eyed the king. "No. Because it brought me to her." His gaze turned back to the sea as he continued. "I've never cared for anything – anyone but myself. The only thing that mattered was money and looking out for me. But she…" His voice trailed off as he stared at the sea. His eyes onto the spot where their small boat had rested in the water just a week before and the memory of her face as she saw the lanterns for the first time.
"She gave me something to live for," he finished softly.
The king did not speak for a moment but merely smiled knowingly at the younger man. At length, he changed the subject once more.
"Would you object to physical labor for your punishment?" he asked curiously.
Eugene eyed him, a small gleam of caution in his eyes. "Of course not. Though can I ask of what nature the work is?"
The king clasped his hand on the young man's shoulder, turning him to stand and walk with him back toward the study. "One I think you are perfectly suited for. Our orphanage had sadly been neglected as of late. I need someone... how shall I put it… biased in favor of the children to report what needs to be improved and to get it done."
Eugene froze on the spot. That was one chapter of his childhood that he had not come to terms with just yet. When he had left all those years ago, he had never looked back. And now the king expected him to return?
"Sire," Eugene started hesitantly, "I-"
"I am putting my faith in you, because I believe you will tell me the truth and not what I want to hear," the king interrupted, turning to meet Eugene with a stern look. "After all the improvements are finished, I expect you to continue giving your services to the headmaster for several hours a day for the next month." The king's stern look faded softly. "I know they could use the help, and I also believe it would do you good."
Eugene blinked and after a moment merely nodded. "As you wish."
The king grinned broadly. "Then it is settled. I also assume my daughter will want to join you when she is free to do so, which I think should please you."
Eugene let out a small breath as they continued walking. Knowing that Rapunzel would be there with him gave him slight hope that it would not be so bad. Just as he was acting as her support for her new life, he knew she would be there to act as his as he finally came to terms with his past.