~ 18 years later ~
Rapunzel awoke in the middle of the night a bit disoriented. She was in her bed, in her castle, but the dream she'd just had had her thinking she was in Paris. She ran a hand through her hair and glanced at a slumbering Pascal. That didn't feel like a dream, she thought to herself, It was more like a memory. Rapunzel was confused, so she decided to ask the person she trusted most.
When she arrived at Eugene's room, she knocked softly. She heard no reply, so she knocked just a little bit louder. Still nothing. Rapunzel pouted a bit, and then wiggled the door knob to discover it was unlocked. She quietly slipped into Eugene's room and softly shut the door behind her before tip-toeing over to his bed. Eugene slept in the middle of the large bed, sprawled out, with an arm draped over his face. She couldn't help but smile at him and gently got on the bed with her knees. Eugene still slept. Rapunzel didn't think Eugene was such a heavy sleeper, but then remembered what a long, hard day he'd had earlier. Slowly, she laid her head down on Eugene's chest, listening to his steady, deep breaths. She liked knowing he was alive. She wanted to fall asleep right there, but then remembered why she'd came. She brought her hand up to pat Eugene's chest.
"Eugene?" she whispered. "Eugene, can you wake up now, please?" The man began to stir. Still half-asleep, Eugene lifted his arm off his face to rest his hand on Rapunzel's shoulder before sliding it down her arm, and taking her hand in his. He lifted her hand to his mouth for a soft kiss and whispered, "Hey, Goldie," with a sleepy smile, eyes still closed. Rapunzel giggled and her giggle brought Eugene to consciousness. The realization of their position and its potential dangers dawned on him. His eyes shot open and he sat up with a start.
"Ah! Goldie, wha-?" he tried to keep quiet, "What are you doing here? You can't be here!" he whispered loudly. Rapunzel's expression was shocked and a little hurt.
"Why can't I be here?" she asked softly. Eugene tried to keep his cool, but looked around anxiously.
"Because, Blondie," he explained, "If they see us together like this, they'll think we're doing bad things and your father would probably have me beheaded." Rapunzel was genuinely confused.
"Why would anyone care that we're together? What kind of bad things do they think we'd do? I don't understand," she said truthfully. Eugene relaxed, looking at her swimming green eyes. He sighed, and kissed her forehead.
"I know you don't, Blondie, but I promise that one day I'll explain it to you," he said looking her in the eyes. Then, wanting to change the subject, he asked, "Now do you want to tell me why you're here?" Rapunzel's face lit up, excited to tell Eugene all about her dream.
"Well, I had this dream, only it wasn't a dream, I know it!" she explained. "There was this funny looking boy with red hair and these statues that talked!" she giggled. "And I was in Paris!" Eugene's brow furrowed with doubt.
"Blondie," he said slowly, "I don't want to seem mean, but that sounds an awful lot like a dream."
"No, but it wasn't!" she exclaimed. "I know it wasn't. Remember when I told you about remembering my mother and father? They were all blurry, but distinguishable and I instantly knew who they were? It was just like that. It was a memory, Eugene. I know it."
"Okay, okay," he gave in, "But why were you in Paris?"
"I don't exactly know that part, but I remember this funny-dressed man sprinkling water on my head." Eugene lifted one eyebrow.
"Now that sounds like a baptism," he said. Rapunzel shrugged.
"Maybe," she shrugged.
"Can you remember if this was a memory with Gothel or your parents?"
"It was Gothel. I remember seeing her," Rapunzel stated, surely. Eugene was surprised; he definitely didn't take Gothel for a religious woman. "Eugene," she said, slowly.
"Hm?" he came back from his train of thought to look at her.
"I want to go to Paris. I want to see that red-haired boy again," she said, confidently.
"Well, that's not really up to me," he said, "I'd be glad to take you, but we'll have to ask your parents first. They might want to come too." Rapunzel's face lit up.
"I hope they let us go, Eugene! I really want to go. I'll tell them about my dream! I'll bet Father will say 'yes'! He never says 'no' to me," Rapunzel giggled excitedly.
"Alright, alright," Eugene tried to calm her, "We'll ask them tomorrow." He got off the bed and stood up, grabbing Rapunzel's hand. "But, you've got to get back to your room," he said, walking her to the door.
At the door, Rapunzel turned around to embrace him in a big hug.
"Thank you, Eugene," she said, voice muffled by his night shirt.
"No problem, Blondie," he chuckled and kissed the top of her head. She released him and he opened the door carefully, peering out to make sure there weren't any guards around. The coast was clear so he gently pushed her out the door. "No get back to bed," he urged.
Rapunzel suddenly turned around and leaped at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and crushing her lips to his. Eugene was startled at first but relaxed and kissed her back. When she broke apart, she giggled and said, "Goodnight, Eugene," with a devilish grin, then took off down the hallway.
Eugene shook his head with a smile, shut the door, and headed back to bed.
~.~.~.~.~
The next day, Rapunzel went to her parents, Eugene by her side for support, to explain her memory and that she wanted to go to Paris to try to find the red-haired boy.
After hearing, the whole story (minus the late-night visit to Eugene's room) the queen looked up at her husband.
"Well," she said, "What do you think?"
"I think it's a great idea," he smiled. "Plus, we've been needing a vacation." The queen smiled too.
"And perhaps we could stay with the King and Queen of France. We haven't seen Adam and Belle in quite some time," she said.
"I'll have a message sent to them and we should be in Paris by next week," the king replied.
A/N: Yay, Chapter 2! And there was even a little fluff in there! And yes, I'm putting in Adam and Belle. I thought it'd be cool since they're French. Anyway! Pretty please R&R! I'd love to know how I'm doing! Thanks!
