A/N: Well, I absolutely fell in love with the movie "Tangled" (I've watched it six times, haha) and then this one-shot idea came to me. I hope you enjoy it!
"Eugene? Eugene! Wake up!"
Little Eugene Fitzherbert was jolted awake by a massive wave of heat and the smell of smoke.
His mother was shaking him. "Hurry! You have to hurry!" She pulled him out of bed and brought him down to the floor. "Crawl, okay? Stay on your hands and knees and don't inhale any smoke."
Eugene looked up, half awake. Being only four, he wasn't really sure what his mother meant by "inhale," but he copied her motions, and they made their way across the floor and out of the room. He looked around and realized the house was on fire. He knew fire was bad.
"Mommy?" he asked. "What happened?"
"Keep moving sweetheart," his mother coaxed. "Everything will be okay. It'll be all right. I promise." But even to a toddler, her voice sounded strange.
He could see the fire spreading, eating up the house. It would be hard to even stand up without at least touching the flames a little bit. They came across an opening among the flames; a large hole in the wall that someone must have made by breaking parts of it down with a hammer or something. Eugene's mother lifted him out through the hole, but before she got through, a flaming beam from the wall fell in front of her. Eugene heard his mother scream. His dad, who was outside already, pulled him outside and set him on the ground, well away from the flaming house.
"Wait here," his father said. "I'm going to go get your mother okay?"
"Okay Daddy," Eugene replied.
His father pulled him into a hug and said, "I love you, kiddo. Don't worry, I'll be back with mommy in no time. I promise."
Eugene nodded, and his father went back into the flaming house. To him, mommy and daddy could do anything, and they always kept their promises. But what Eugene didn't know was that his parents wouldn't be able to keep their promises this time.
The house collapsed, and the fire consumed the building completely. Someone picked Eugene up off the ground where his father had left him and rushed him away from the house.
"Wait!" he shouted. "Mommy! Daddy!"
~Eight Years Later~
"Oh, come on Eugene," one of the children pleaded. "Won't you read us another story?"
"Yeah!" another one agreed. "Let's read the one about the pirates again!"
"Now, now," said Mrs. Bertran, the woman in charge of the kingdom's orphanage. "That's enough for one night. I believe it's time for bed."
"Aww!" the kids complained.
Eugene chuckled. The kids at the orphanage were so full of energy. Although he was the eldest among the group and didn't play with them very much, it was nice seeing their faces light up as he read them The Tales of Flynnigan Rider each and every night. It was his favorite storybook. In fact, it was the only book he bothered reading, and if anyone knew Eugene, they would definitely tell you that he did not enjoy reading.
"You too, Mr. Fitzherbert." Mrs. Bertran patted his shoulder. "Even you need to get some rest. I'm sure Flynnigan Rider had a bedtime too when he was young."
Mrs. Bertran picked the book from Eugene's hands and placed it on the nearby shelf.
"All right, all right." Eugene put up his hands in surrender. "I'm going to bed." For the most part, Mrs. Bertran was a sweet-natured lady, but she wasn't a person you wanted to argue with. Eugene quietly climbed into his bed. As he lay there, he closed his eyes and slowly drifted to sleep, dreaming of the adventures of Flynnigan Rider.
The next morning, Eugene woke up to the sounds of people talking. As his eyes focused with the daylight streaming in from the windows, he saw that Mrs. Bertran was sitting on the foot of his bed, a hand on his arm as she stirred him awake. The look on her face told Eugene that something was wrong.
Uh-oh, he thought immediately. I'm dead. They got me again. He sat up and asked groggily, "Is everything okay?"
"Just come with me, dear," she said, and he and Mrs. Bertran walked into the sitting room in the orphanage, where Mrs. Bertran's husband was having some sort of argument with another man, who looked very angry.
When the man saw Eugene, his scowl deepened. He stomped right over to him, despite Mr. Bertran's protests.
"You," the man growled at Eugene. "Where is it? Where did you put it?"
The man's physique wasn't exactly menacing. He looked like a regular man; not particularly muscly, though not a scrawny weakling for sure. Eugene probably would have smart-mouthed him, but the glare on the guy's face made him wanted to run back to his bed and hide under the covers.
Mr. Bertran saved him from possibly getting pummeled right then and there. "Okay," he said in a diplomatic tone. "Let's calm down now, shall we? I'm sure there's a way that we can work this out."
Eugene was relieved when the man looked away from him. However, his glare was now focused on Mr. Bertran. "Why do you insist on defending this kleptomaniac brat?" He spat out the last word. "He's earned himself a reputation for thieving, and yet you've convinced yourselves that he is no threat? Really now, Arthur, you and Minerva should know very well that this boy has to be restrained!" His shout echoed through the room.
"Shh!" Mrs. Bertran gave the man a pointed look. "You'll wake the children. And anyhow, what do you suppose we do to 'restrain' him, hm? Lock him up? I don't think so."
But the man seemed to have remembered Eugene's presence. He grabbed the front of his white shirt. "Tell me where the necklace is! Answer me, boy!"
Eugene gulped. "I—" he started to say, but Mr. Bertran interrupted him. He separated Eugene and the man, and Mrs. Bertran pulled Eugene back, putting her hands on his shoulders protectively.
"Listen here now, Cornelius," Mr. Bertran said sternly. "I'm sure Eugene hasn't done anything with your daughter's necklace. But stolen or not, I don't see how you can shamelessly make such a fuss over it."
Eugene tried to remember what they were talking about. A girl's necklace? Then it hit him. The girl at the market yesterday—Annabelle. The necklace she wore was quite attractive (not to mention the lovely girl herself): the gold pendant was encrusted with a single blue gem that sparkled beautifully in the sunlight. He'd so effortlessly charmed Annabelle into letting him hold the necklace to have a look at it, and then distracted her by knocking a few things off of what she told him was her father's produce stand. She hadn't noticed that, when he left, he took the necklace with him. Later that night, he'd switch the necklace into the pocket of his night clothes before he went to bed to make sure he didn't lose it
He patted around for the necklace while the man and Mr. Bertran talked and found it still in his pocket, safe and sound.
"Arthur, you don't understand," Cornelius said in a more controlled voice. "That necklace was the one I gave to Elizabeth."
Mr. Bertran's eyebrows rose, but his expression softened. "Is it really? I'm sorry, I didn't know." He turned to Eugene. "Eugene, do you know where the necklace is?"
Silently, Eugene nodded and pulled the necklace out of his pocket. Cornelius snatched it from his hands and held it up to inspect it, as if he was looking for microscopic scratches on the pendant. He glared at Eugene, but before he could say anything, Mrs. Bertran said, "Well, Cornelius, if that's all you'll be needing then you can go ahead with your day now, yes?"
Cornelius looked at Mr. Bertran and said slowly, "You best not let it happen again, all right?"
"Ah, well, the only one with the power to discipline the children here is my wife," Mr. Bertan replied. "But I can assure you I'll do what I can as well."
Cornelius nodded stiffly, bade them all a polite farewell —even Eugene—and left.
When he was gone, Mrs. Bertran sat Eugene down on the nearest chair.
"Look, I'm really sorry," Eugene began quickly. "I didn't mean to cause you both so much trouble, I just—"
"It's all right dear, we know," Mrs. Bertran said, stroking his hair softly. Mr. Bertran took a seat next to his wife.
"Eugene," he said, "you're only a kid. You have your whole life ahead of you. I know it's hard being…without your parents, but that's what Minerva and I are here to help with." Eugene knew he was trying to avoid the word orphan.
"I know, I know," Eugene said miserably. "I'm not sure why I do it, it's just an impulse."
Mr. Bertran nodded sympathetically. "But if this keeps up, you know what will happen right?"
Eugene sighed. He knew all right. If he went too far, people might call the authorities. He'd be forced out of the orphanage, and given some sort of punishment, like maybe being sent away to live on a ship and work for the merchants and traders who go to other lands to get goods for the kingdom. They would penalize him with anything that they deemed appropriate for his behavior, besides prison. After all, jailing a twelve-year-old seemed a bit harsh to the monarchy.
A question came to Eugene at that moment, something he hadn't really understood while observing the conversation. "Why was that guy so mad? It's not like I punched his daughter in the face or anything."
Mrs. Bertran patted his cheek. "Oh, I certainly hope not, but you see, that necklace you so carelessly took belonged to Cornelius' wife, Elizabeth. It was quite expensive—"
Wow, I never would've figured that out, Eugene thought sarcastically.
"—though it held a different type of value for her. It was a gift given to her from him on their wedding day, you see, and Elizabeth never neglected to wear it every day after that." Mrs. Bertran stopped, almost like she was debating whether or not to continue.
Eugene waited. He could tell that the bad part was coming.
"She died giving birth to young Annie," Mrs. Bertran continued. "Her death took quite a toll on Cornelius." She looked at him with a sad expression.
"All right, I get it," Eugene said hastily. He'd do just about anything now to get away from the sob story.
Mr. Bertran cleared his throat. "And you know, it's apparent to us that you're quite the ladies' man, and I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that you acquired Annabelle's necklace by—uh, flirting with her."
Eugene almost blushed. This was a topic he really didn't want to be discussing with adults.
"But it's really not fair to the girl when you use her like that, now is it?" Mr. Bertran asked.
Eugene shook his head. "I'm sorry," he repeated, and he felt the guilt creeping up, but he tried to smother it.
Mrs. Bertran smiled. "Eugene, sweetheart, you're a very handsome young lad, and quite charming. You should save that for when you find a girl you really like." She tapped his nose with her finger affectionately and gave him a hug. "Now, get ready for breakfast, okay?"
Once Mr. and Mrs. Bertran were gone, Eugene went back to his room to collect his things. If there was one thing he knew now, it was that he could not let himself get caught again, or it was over. He just couldn't risk it. Of course, he could've just tried being a good little boy and stop himself from taking stuff, but he knew that once he found something of interest, he wouldn't be able to resist snagging it for himself.
After reading about Flynnigan Rider, he'd always wanted to be rich, to have money and lead an adventurous yet luxurious life. Sure, he was comfortable how he was now, but he wasn't quite satisfied. And working to get money seemed too boring for his taste. Maybe, he thought, I can start my adventure now, and get to the luxury later. He grabbed Mr. Bertran's satchel, emptied it carefully, stuffed his things inside and slipped out the door.
As soon as he was out, he bolted down the streets of the kingdom to the bridge that connected the island to the rest of the world. Eugene looked back at the kingdom. He'd be leaving everything behind, but at least he could start over again, where no one knew about the sad, miserable life of Eugene Fitzherbert. People would only remember him for what he would become. Mr. Bertran would forgive him for the satchel, he decided, and if all went as he wanted it, he would give the Bertrans something way better than a satchel.
The words Mr. Bertran told him rang in Eugene's ears. You have your whole life ahead of you. Eugene was determined to live his life. He'd turn the nothing that he had into something great. He'll make a new name for himself, be a whole new person, and escape poverty using his wits—and his looks.
From now on, he told himself as he ran down the bridge, away from the island, I'll no longer be Eugene Fitzherbert. If I leave behind the kingdom, I leave behind my past. I'll go by a new name, a better name that will make everyone forget that Eugene ever existed.
And with that, Flynn Rider was born.
A/N: So, what did you think? Good? Bad? Stupendous? Horrendous? Leave me some constructive criticism if you wish, I'd greatly appreciate it. I haven't written Fan Fiction in quite a while, but I have a good feeling about this one. I'm also thinking of publishing a collection of little snippets of Eugene's life called "The Adventures of Eugene Fitzherbert" (or a similar title, still working on it to be honest) where I take accounts of Eugene's past robberies, leading up to his skirmish with the Stabbington Brothers.
Well, that's all for now. Thank you for reading!