Just to be clear, this chapter picks up right after the previous one ended. Please review, all feedback (about characters, plot, style, anything) is welcome!

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to either Treasure Planet or Tangled or any of the characters. I write purely for my own entertainment and that of my readers.

The chattering had dimmed away and all of the children were focused on him. By now they had learned not to pounce on him as soon as he pulled out the food. They knew that he would be as fair as possible in the distribution. Eugene had become a bit of a leader to them, which was hardly surprising. He was older than any of them, most of them were not even eight yet. He brought food in. He was their hero. Problem was, he didn't see himself as a hero. He knew he was a thief, and a common one at that. He was an orphan, poorly clothed, people even avoided him in the streets believing he might by a gypsy beggar. Those people didn't know him obviously. As soon as Eugene had been old enough to leave the orphanage during the day, he had sworn to himself that he would never beg. He didn't want to be dependent on anyone. He had been dependent on his parents and they had just left him behind. He promised that would never happen again. This conviction helped him perfect the art of stealing. He wasn't sure whether that was something to be proud of, but at least it brought food in. So it was definitely worth it.

He sat down on the wooden floor of the dormitory and crossed his legs, with all the kids eyeing him from the lower bunks of the surrounding beds. The mixed look of hope and despair had left their eyes, now they just looked hungry. Some of them looked almost predatory. Eugene wasn't one to keep them in suspense, so he started breaking up the first bread. He had learnt that it was paramount to keep their minds occupied at this point, because else someone would always believe he was being slighted. Sometimes that was true, more often it wasn't. Either way, he didn't want a row. When no one started talking, he turned to Susie, because he knew that she understood. She might only be six years old, and small for her age at that, but she was also very much aware of the atmosphere in a room or among a group of people. He almost thought of her as an accomplice in this regard, helping him carry out his job. "Hey Susie…"

"Yeah?" She might know what was expected of her, but she also knew she shouldn't be too keen. The two of them would never form a true partnership. If the others believed they were close in any way, they would harass her to get them more food or otherwise call her a traitor. Kids can exaggerate and kids can be cruel, and those qualities should never be underestimated. He was afraid what might happen to her when he was not present, so he understood why she had to keep up an antagonistic front.

"Anything interesting happen today?" While talking he kept on breaking the bread and handing out the chunks.

"What, with you gone? That's always when the interesting things happen." She was clever, this one. He wasn't sure whether she had done it on purpose or not, but this sentence already indicated that at least she didn't think of Eugene as anything special. She was subtly telling the entire group that Eugene was not anything interesting and so tried to lower his pedestal a tiny bit. It was only healthy for all of them. Eugene didn't necessarily enjoy having all those kids look up to him. They almost revered him, especially the youngest ones. And anyone older than him hated him for the loyalty those children awarded him. It was impossible to make friends.

"Yeah? Like what?" All the youngest kids had received their share now, so Eugene started throwing apples very precisely to some of the kids on other bunks. They knew better than to intercept, because he would immediately leave and go to the next dormitory. That was the only way they would learn. Hunger had its claws in these kids, and he hated using hunger as leverage, but he had to make sure there wouldn't be any fights.

"Well, a grown up visited today." He lowered his arm a bit. An adult visiting? That did not happen often. He threw the apple. "Yeah, we hadn't expected that either. None of the Patrollers had mentioned there would be a visitor today." This was strange. A visiting adult meant that someone was interested in adopting an orphan. So the Patrollers – that is, the staff, but all they really did was patrol the hallways – would usually want everyone to look presentable. But that had not been the case. Very strange. Now he wished that he had not gone out today. A prospective parent was rare, but this had never happened before. He threw another apple.

"What did they want then?"

"We don't know. First he went to speak to the Boss, and then he questioned some of the Patrollers. After that he just left." Eugene was ready to ask her if anyone had heard anything, but she was already a step ahead. Shaking her head, she continued: "He was mainly on the third and fourth floors." He threw a third apple. Huh. The floors were occupied based on age. Youngest ones at the bottom, oldest at the top. Eugene had a bunk on the third floor. Maybe one of the guys from his dormitory knew something. Eugene threw one more apple. "A weird fellow though." He shot her an inquisitive glance. "Yeah, like, he wasn't from around here. Colorful clothes, bit of a tan. And scary too." This was followed by a few kinds making confirming sounds. Weird indeed. Throwing his last apple, Eugene rose a bit stiffly.

"That's it for today everyone. I have three more dormitories to visit and you already kept me long enough." He went out the door, followed by a chorus of mildly disappointed "Aaaaawwws." He would not visit three more dormitories. He went straight for his own.

"What do you mean, 'you're wrong'? Don't tell me I'm wrong! The other boys said they heard it clear as day: Fitzherbert!"

"Well, then maybe you're not wrong and they just misheard. I promise you that man did not come here for you. Calm down Eugene."

"Don't… tell me… to calm down. Fitzherbert is not a name you hear anywhere! How could they have misheard? Huh? Tell me that!"

"Jeez Eugene! Don't you think that if someone came here for you, we wouldn't tell him to wait or come back later or anything?"

"Well, did you? Tell him to come back later?"

"Of course not! Because he wasn't looking for you. I'm not supposed to share this information with you, but I don't see how you're going to let this go otherwise. Just, let me explain, okay?"

"Humph."

"Okay. Right. Here goes. That man's name was Fitzwilliam. Okay? William, not Herbert! His girlfriend or wife or whatever ran off with another man, but she bore a child soon after. Too soon to have the other one be the father. He wouldn't raise the child, so he made her give it up. The real father, Mr. Fitzwilliam, only learnt about this when the woman died and the other man told him he had a kid. The man said he didn't remember the name of the planet where they left the kid, only that it had something to do with treasure. So this man, Mr. Fitzwilliam, is trying to find his kid. Who, incidentally, is a girl. We told him he was at the wrong place. So he left. That is it. No conspiracy, nothing. Simply a man with a similar name in the wrong place."

Could that really just be it? The story was too strange for words, it couldn't've been made up on the spot right? Right? Still, something nagged at Eugene. The boys had been so certain, and the kids on the fourth floor were telling a similar tale. Then again, Eugene's first name had not been mentioned by anyone involved. Could it be true? Maybe. Maybe not. But there was no way of finding out anymore. Everyone agreed that the man had left the city immediately after. Whatever was going on, Eugene wouldn't be able find out anymore. All he could do was agree. So he did.

"Fine." He almost spit out the word. If only he had been in today. Just for a second, he had believed that someone was looking for him. For him. Not just anybody who wanted to adopt a random kid, but someone who knew his name. Someone who knew specifically of a kid with Fitzherbert for his last name. And now that someone was gone and Eugene was left with nothing again. Nothing was usual for him of course, but he had glimpsed something. He had believed in a future. And when that was snatched away, returning to nothing could not have been more difficult.

I had trouble with the point of view during this one, especially during the dialogue. I kept switching between first- and third-person perspective. Should I be consistent in the POV? Or should I go with what flows best while writing? Would that be confusing? Please review!