In her dreams, the shackles around her wrists were tighter. Colder. In her restless sleep, she even could feel her muscles ache as she fought and pushed herself away from her captor, a woman with steel-colored eyes and wild dark curls.
Oftentimes, this thrashing would manifest itself in reality, as the lost princess of Corona twisted and tangled herself in the soft sheets of the bed in her rightful home.
And it was on nights like this that the prince consort would lean against the intricately-carved mahogany headboard, his dark eyes locked on her. The first few nightmares that plagued her, Eugene earned several angry purple bruises trying to comfort her, as she elbowed and shoved him away in her sleep. He quietly marveled at how much strength her punches packed, but then, when hadn't she surprised him?
"Rapunzel," he whispered, mustering all of his energy to not wrap his arms around her. "It's just a dream, Rapunzel."
The princess stilled, and Eugene could see the muscles in her back start to relax. He tried very hard to not notice how much of the creamy pale skin he could see through her delicate nightgown.
Eugene let out a sigh, and put his hands behind his head, settling himself against a plump pillow. In his short tenure as a resident of the palace, he'd become very good at sneaking into her bedroom once most of the other palace denizens had retired for the evening. Sometimes, he was concerned at how easy it was to sneak past guards, to quietly open her door and join her for the evening.
Not that they had done anything inappropriate, of course. Generally, their activities ranged from building blanket forts to telling ghost stories. In addition to mastering the floor plan of the palace, Eugene had also mastered the art of keeping his hormones in check, a feat unto itself given the paths his imagination had wandered down more than once…
But he wouldn't ever let her reputation be a point of contention in the kingdom.
He may have also harbored just a tiny bit of fear of just how tall and how broad the King of Corona happened to be.
"Eugene," she murmured. He wasn't sure if she was awake, dreaming, or somewhere in between. Though they were comfortable with one another and settling wonderfully into their new lives in the palace, the sound of her voice whispering his name still made his heart pound a little faster in his chest. Nobody had ever said his name with such adoration. He never though he would enjoy his given name until Rapunzel.
"Just keeping watch for monsters, Blondie."
"Did you check under the bed?"
She was awake.
"Ah, I knew I forgot something."
Rapunzel turned to face him, wrapping the duvet close around her shoulders.
"I'm glad you're still here." She said quietly, her voice still thick with sleep.
"Me too. Looked like there was a lot going on in that head of yours," he replied, trying for nonchalance, but landing somewhere in "concerned boyfriend" zone.
She shrugged, brushing a lock of short, dark hair from her eyes, "It's just a dream, right? I mean, so long as there are no monsters under the bed."
Rapunzel sat up, clutching the blanket closed in front of her. "Besides, it's nothing… well… it's nothing new," She admitted, her green eyes focused on the floral embroidery of her bed linens, as though the confession was some secret to him.
Eugene frowned and opened his arms to her. This pattern of events was not new to him, and he hated how she felt the need to be brave in front of him. Rapunzel took the invitation without hesitation and positioned herself in his lap. She buried her face in his neck as he wrapped his arms around her tightly.
"Do you want to talk about this one?" he offered, as he always did when her nightmares caught the better of her. Mere weeks ago, Eugene would have been long gone before a girl woke up, and here he sat, his princess in his arms, hoping to make her feel better. The former thief sometimes still found himself surprised by his actions, by how much the girl in his arms had changed him and in such a short period of time.
He was pleased to feel how much she relaxed as she settled against him.
"It's the same as it always is," she murmured, pressing a gentle kiss to his throat. "It's so… it's so real, when it happens. I can see… her… I can feel the chains, I can see you slipping away… I wish it would stop. I wish I could get past this…"
Her voice betrayed her exasperation, her exhaustion and the fear she still felt at the thought of what could have been her fate. Eugene was unsettled by how small her voice was. For a girl with boundless energy, creativity and enthusiasm for life, it was concerning to hear her sound so vulnerable and frightened. "Sometimes I feel like when I wake up, I'll be back in my tower. Or someplace far worse. And you will be gone."
"Well, I'm here now, aren't I?" He offered, rubbing her back comfortingly. "After everything you've been through, Rapunzel, I think it's to be expected that it'll take some time to heal. It's just a dream, but I'm sorry it's got you so bothered."
Rapunzel's green eyes locked on his dark gaze, and she could feel the last of the tension dissolving from her muscles. She could feel the breath filling her lungs normally again and her heart rate resuming its normal cadence. She reached a small hand out of her blanket to stroke his cheek. It was a gesture that was as loving as it was comforting to know that he was alive and real and right there with her.
"I'm not going anywhere." her consort promised, leaning down to kiss her gently and fully.
If Eugene was there to catch her after a restless night of fear, Rapunzel decided she could endure the nightmares.