Disclaimer: I do not own Tangled or any of its characters.
Author's note in next chapter ;)
Prologue
Call it what you will: Fate, Destiny… It had a plan for poor orphan Eugene Fitzherbert from the moment he was born. Something had brought him to that tower, though at the time he didn't know it. You might call it a foreshadowing; it had all started with taking the crown. Had he ever dreamed of stumbling across a hidden tower in the forest while being chased by palace guards? No. Was he prepared for being knocked unconscious with a frying pan by the spirited girl who lived there, then forced into escorting said girl all the way back to the kingdom to see the lanterns of the Lost Princess? Of course not. Did he plan on finding a friend in the girl, coming to care for her, feeling her change him into a new man, falling in love with her underneath those glowing lanterns? Absolutely not. And he most certainly wasn't prepared to find out that she herself was the Lost Princess. Flynn Rider had one dream: to be Flynn Rider. To live a life of swashbuckling adventure and excitement, then when it was over, rest on a small, remote island, alone.
But Destiny had other things in mind.
Eugene's world was flipped upside down the day he met Rapunzel. The night that he realized he loved her, it was turned right-side upside again. But this time things looked different. The crown didn't glimmer like it used to, compared to the way her smile shined in the starlight. For the first time in his life, he knew he was in the right place, at the right time, for the right reason, with the right person. It was crystal clear; he was where he was meant to be. The battles that followed were only Destiny at work, writing the story so that it's happily ever after would be the perfect ending to a heartfelt adventure. And that ending was just the beginning of the story.
All of the sudden, so much was happening to Eugene that he could hardly keep up with it all. First and foremost, he helped Rapunzel return home, and the kingdom rejoiced. Then, to his overwhelming gratitude, he watched as The King redeem him of every crime, every bounty, every death sentence, assuring the bandit that he would begin a new life from that day forward. Only months later he'd been knighted: Sir Fitzherbert the Saviour, Seeker of the Lost Princess, Knight of Corona… he knew he could never deserve the tittles, but he would be always proud to wear the coat of arms. Then, (though he'd expected to have to beg The King and Queen for their permission, they granted it willingly) it was announced that The King and Queen had given their approval to the courtship of their daughter and Sir Fitzherbert. No doubt, that had to be Eugene's favorite part.
He was so happy, happier than he'd ever been in his life. He had everything he'd ever dreamed of, complete with a castle for a home, and it all added up to nothing compared to Rapunzel. Everything was happening so fast that he couldn't see where it all was headed, and what Destiny was doing with his life. Destiny had arranged a string of events, one leading to another, always constant never ceasing, so rapid that Eugene could only ride along and watch them unfold.
But this time, it hadn't taken him long to put the pieces together.
Boy meets girl; boy falls for girl; girl turns out to be legendary Lost Princess; boy returns princess home to her kingdom; boy is knighted for his heroic deed; boy courts princess; boy asks for princess's hand in marriage…
When he'd realized what came next, it hit him over the back of the head with all the force of a cast iron frying pan.
Boy becomes prince.
Prince becomes King.