So I was working on a school assignment with the song "Ramble On" by Led Zeppelin, and I couldn't help but think of Tangled (what do I ever think about, really, except Tangled...) and this happened.
Very different end scenario. Mind, I love the ending to Tangled and never want it to change, but this just caused a little bit of deviation. Obviously, I don't own Tangled or "Ramble On".
I'm going around the world, I've got to find my girl. On my way, I've been this way ten years to the day. Ramble on, I've got to find the queen of all my dreams.
Eugene stared up at the lanterns filling the night sky once more, wiping his grimy face.
Ten years ago, he'd found the love of his life; the cause to erase all of his selfish desires. Ten years ago to the day, the Stabbington brothers had ruined that dream when they'd caught him. Of course, that wretched woman Gothel was working with them, but who knows who she was, really.
He'd fought the guards as soon as he came to after they'd knocked him out and set him on the ship. He'd escaped. And as much as he'd hated to, he'd left the kingdom of Corona, hidden in a ship bound for the strange, fairly newly-discovered land of North America. Why had he left that beautiful girl, his dream? Because of his bitter and wretched past. Perhaps if things had been different, if he had been different, he'd be living in a nice little cottage with that beautiful girl, raising their kids.
The only reason he ran was because he couldn't get her involved in his past. He didn't want her arrested - or, oh geez, hanged - as an accomplice. But now it was time to go back. He couldn't possibly live without knowing where she was, how she was doing, if she'd found a new dream...he couldn't do it.
So he'd hopped ships from the strange colonies, headed to England. From there, he'd gone on a ship, sure it was headed to Corona. That's how he'd ended up in Japan.
He almost quit at that point. It had been seven years since he'd seen her, and he was half a world away from her. But in the darkest moments in which he almost gave up, she was the only light at the end of his tunnel. He couldn't give up until he found her.
He went on the next ship on the dock, which was headed who-knows-where, which turned out to be right back in America. A few ships later and he was in France, finally. (You see, when one is hiding on ships, you can't really tell where you're headed until you're actually there. You can't just ask the captain, "Where's this headed? I'm not a wanted thief, okay bye!")
He was one country away from her. He'd swim if he had to.
When Eugene Fitzherbert stepped onto Corona soil once more for the first time in eight years, he almost kissed the ground with happiness.
And then the real search began. He spent the next two years trying to find her, trying to find people like those creepy Snuggly Duckling thugs, and seeing to it that he'd been taken off the "Wanted" list, since he'd gone AWOL for so long.
Successful in all of these things, he still hadn't found that beautiful girl. Her tower was empty. The Snuggly Duckling thugs hadn't seen her in several months, but knew she had cut her hair and dyed it brown.
Of course she hadn't dyed it, she must have cut it. Why and had she escaped that woman that kept her in the tower? Eugene would only know when he found her. If he found her. Gah!
But after he wiped his grimy brow that evening, ten years to the day after he'd first found the beautiful girl, he focused on someone, oh so far away, on the balcony of the castle. Accompanied by the King and Queen of Corona, it was her.
Undeniably.
It was the girl he'd dreamed of for ten years.
"Rapunzel!" he yelled. Joy lit his dirty face. He didn't expect her to hear him, let alone remember him, but he could sure try! He pushed through the crowded town square until he was almost directly underneath the balcony. "Rapunzel!" he cried again.
On the balcony, Rapunzel thought she could almost hear a familiar voice. Her mind raced back through the cobwebbed recesses of her brain - ones she'd tried to block because of Mother Gothel. Ones she'd tried to block because of the pain of being abandoned by the one she thought had loved her.
"Eugene?" she asked quietly.
"What, dear?" the Queen turned to her, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"I-I thought I could hear Eugene. The man who...well...he helped me escape my tower, and kind of showed me who I really was, I suppose." Why did her eyes water and her heart squeeze so, even after all this time? He hadn't loved her.
When she heard the call again, she leaned over the stone balcony rail, peering through the darkness. A tall man with brown hair and almost brown skin - or perhaps it was just filth -was standing on the ground below, his face spread with pure joy. Her wide green eyes widened when they met his brown ones that were somehow so tired and yet so happy.
Eugene Fitzherbert.
She immediately ran into the castle, padding down hallways quickly and throwing open the doors, racing outside.
The princess marched up to him. "Eugene Fitzherbert."
The man was suddenly stricken with shyness and said nothing.
She did all the talking. "Why are you here? How dare you! You left me for ten year, Eugene, ten years! You practically said you loved me and-and-and then you left me! Why?"
His face was pained. "If I tell you, you probably wouldn't believe me-"
"I'd believe anything at this point," she threw back. "But you have fifteen minutes to explain to me why you left me and why you're back and why I missed you so much and why-"
He swallowed. "I didn't want you to get caught as an accomplice to me, so I was stupid, did the only thing I thought appropriate at the time...run. I ended up in the colonies in North America, and when I was trying to stowaway my way back to you, I ended up halfway across the world from you instead. I've been back here for two years, looking for you. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I was stupid and I'm sorry it took me so long to find you. I'm sorry I hurt you," his voice gave out at this point, and he hated how tears spilled out of his eyes and cut channels into his dirty face. "I'm so sorry."
She stared at him, wide-eyed. Her hands fell off of her hips and hung limp as she took this information in. "You were trying to get back to me all this time?"
He nodded. "As soon as I thought that I'd be taken off of the 'wanted' lists and it would be safe for me to come find you, I did. And I'm not saying 'safe for me'. I'm saying safe for you to be with me. But.." he trailed off and chuckled. "I guess you were safe all along. You're the lost princess?"
She nodded. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have figured it out. I cut my hair and escaped Gothel and made my way home."
He gave a sad smile of sorts. "I'm happy for you. Did you ever marry?"
"No," she shook her head. "My parents agreed to let me choose whether or not I married. I didn't want to because after Gothel, and...and then you...I just couldn't."
He sighed. "I'm sorry-"
She looked up at him and impulsively threw herself at him, wrapping her slim arms around him and sobbing. "It's been so long...so long, Eugene!"
"I know," he held her as close as he possibly could. "I know. I'm sorry, sweet girl. How can I ever make it up to you?"
She pulled away, sniffling, and regarded him with a pensive stare for a few moments. "Tell me you'll never leave. Ever. And that you really mean it when you say that you cared about me."
He pushed a strand of her hair away from her face, cupping her cheek. "If you let me, I'll stay with you forever. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, Rapunzel. I always loved you, and I still do. I love you. I love you so much. And-and you're my new dream. You've been my new dream for the past ten freakin' years-" he broke off abruptly when she grabbed his shirt collar and pulled him into a kiss. Her first kiss. It should've happened ten years ago - ten years ago today. All the same, Eugene put a hand on the back of her head, guiding it to the side and kissing her back. The kiss ended all too soon, when clicking of heels alerted them that they weren't alone.
The King and Queen of Corona regarded the scene with mild horror. "Rapunzel-"
The princess immediately pulled away from Eugene's arms. "Don't hurt him, please - he...he...well, he came back for me. He's-"
"Was on the wanted list for five years!" the King exclaimed.
"But for what, really? You got my crown back," Rapunzel reasoned. "Please, he'll explain everything and-and please don't take him away, father, I just got him back!"
The King nodded curtly. "Then come; get inside and clean yourself up before telling us whatever tales you have for us."
Eugene nodded, suddenly remembering his manners. "Yes, Your Honor. Thank you, Your Honor."
Three months later, Rapunzel and Eugene were still nearly inseparable. Eugene had been cleared by her parents, though was kept under a watchful eye for two out of the three recent months, and only allowed with her by himself for this current month. Fall leaves were turning the landscape scarlet, gold, and rust, and the pair walked hand-in-hand in the forest. It was the same one in which Rapunzel had revealed her former healing powers; in which Eugene had opened up about his past for the first time in forever; the same one in which they both realized they were in love.
He thought it somewhat poetic that he was planning to propose right there, ten years and three months after he met her.
"I'm so happy," Rapunzel murmured, staring up at the sky. "I thought I'd never see you again. I've longed to walk with you for-for years!"
He glanced down at her and grinned. "You sure appreciate the little things in life," he mentioned.
"Oh, but I do. I know it's kind of silly, but-I do. Everything's so fun, especially when you're with someone you love. And especially after you've been locked in a tower for eighteen years; away from the person you love for ten!"
"That's why I'd kind of like to ask you something." he cleared his throat nervously, fiddling with the ring in his pocket. It was simple; a simple thin band with a small gemstone in the middle.
"Shoot," Rapunzel told him, looking up at him with a smile.
"And...this is long overdue, by the way. I want to give you something that will promise I'll never go away, ever again."
"I have your word, Eugene. Strange as it is, that's enough for me."
"Just wait for it," he said. "And I'm glad you accepted me once more. I'm even more glad that you didn't marry. I'm especially thankful that you still loved me, despite how many times I screwed up. With that being said, I hope we have a lot of good things ahead of us."
"I'm sure we do," she laughed. "And, well...I tried to block you out but my heart said no. I tried to forget you and forget my feelings, but I couldn't, so I wasn't exactly-"
"But it's the fact that you truly loved me that counts. I feel the same way about you, Rapunzel. With that being said..." he cleared his throat again and knelt in front of her. "Princess Rapunzel of Corona, would you marry me?"
She laughed. She actually laughed. When she realized his face was full of terror, confusion, and disappointment, she grinned. "Did you even have to ask, Eugene? Of course I want to marry you!"
He laughed, relieved. "You scared me for a minute there." Taking a deep breath, he slipped on the ring and stood up so he could catch her into a tight hug and a sweet kiss.