Once again Rapunzel and Eugene have this odd way of enslaving me to write more…I just can't get them out of my head! One thing that irked me was Gothel's outrageous comments about Rapunzel's weight/maturity/beauty etc so I touched on that a tiny bit here. Really I could have done a whole hurt/comfort story revolving around it, but I didn't feel it was necessary. I think Rapunzel would have covered rather quickly with Eugene by her side. Still, I do think she would (understandably) have some of those insecurities.

Thank you for all your kind words! Nothing motivates me to write more than reviews…Reviews are love!


The first week of her new life as Princess of the Kingdom of Corona was such a giant, dizzying blur that Rapunzel wasn't quite sure what had happened. Physically she had been present, of course, but aside from the dull ache in her lower back and the ringing in her ears there was little evidence that could convince her that she had actually taken part in the celebration.

Sitting as she was now, on the floor at the foot of her canopied bed, Rapunzel breathed a heavy sigh of relief and hastily kicked off her slippers, wiggling her toes. The cool marble felt wonderful on her throbbing feet and helped ease the discomfort from being pinched all day. She didn't understand why anybody would put their feet through such agony, it just didn't seem necessary.

Looking down at the sea of lavender and lace pooled around her, Rapunzel couldn't quite fight off the nagging feeling that she just didn't belong. Had the dress been on anyone else she was sure she would have adored it. Instead the fabric made her itch and the train was so long that she was pretty sure the tears at the bottom were from clumsily tripping on the hem. The constricting bodice had Rapunzel fearing that she would never, ever get out of the thing – after all it had taken two women to lace her up in the back and she had no idea where to find them again. The voluminous gown replaced the weight of her hair, tying her more intimately to the kingdom and this life than she felt comfortable with. With a sniffle she buried her head in her hands in hopeless frustration and wept.

That was how Eugene found the princess – in a heap of bright silk and ornate lace with her head bowed and resting on her drawn up knees. He was at her side in an instant, the bundle he was carrying discarded on the bed as he kneeled at her side, mindful of the dress.

"Eu-Eugene?" She sniffled and hurriedly wiped at her eyes with the back of her hands. Their time together had been brief and fleeting and far too scarce for the princess' liking. It was often just in passing that they had time for a greeting and little more before she was being whisked away in the opposite direction.

"Are you alright? Did something happen?"

"I'm fine, really."

"Oh? This is what you call fine?" Eyebrows raised in disbelief he motioned to her sprawled out on the floor. Rapunzel grinned sheepishly in response and shrugged.

"I'm just…"

"Tired? Frustrated? Scared? Overwhelmed?" Her eyes grew bigger with each guess as he repeatedly hit the nail on the head.

"Yes! How did you know?" She reached out and snatched his hands in hers as if she expected him to tell her he was a mind reader. With a relieved laugh Eugene got to his feet and tugged her with him.

"Lucky guess. Now why don't you tell me what's buggin' you." He watched the various emotions flash through her eyes before she sighed morosely and worried her bottom lip with her teeth. It was an endearing habit she had picked up when she realized she no longer had 70 feet of blonde hair to twirl around her fingers when she was nervous.

"It's nothing." She peeked up at him through her eyelashes and met his disbelieving stare. "Alright, it's everything."

"Everything? That's kinda vague, Blondie."

"I haven't had a spare moment just to breathe! I've been taken from meetings to ballrooms and into town to meet with the people. It's all happening so fast! And to top it off my feet hurt because my shoes are too tight and I don't even know if I'll ever get out of this dress!" Rapunzel blurted as fresh tears of frustration made her eyes sparkle and lower lip tremble. She roughly grabbed the skirt of the offending dress and lifted it up for him to see. With an embarrassed cough, Eugene gently pried the fabric from her fingers until it fell back in place, effectively obscuring the tantalizing view of her legs. Clearly her etiquette lessons hadn't started yet, or she would have been aware of just how improper it was for a woman of any upbringing to lift her skirts for the world to see. Eugene of course couldn't say he minded so long as she was the one doing the flashing and he was the only one on the receiving end.

"You don't know if you can…get out of your dress?" The thought was so absurd he wasn't sure if he had heard her correctly.

"It took two people to get me into this thing, Eugene. Two! Into a dress!" She whirled around and pointed to the tightly laced bodice in the back. Now he understood.

"C'mere. You're not stuck forever." The thought brought a smile to his face that he quickly wiped away when she looked over her shoulder at him with her large doe eyes.

"I'm not?" She sagged with relief and moved as close to Eugene as she could without getting tangled in the excess fabric pooled around her feet.

"Nope. In fact, I'll have you out of here in no time."

"But Eugene, how-?" He silenced her with the gentle tap of a finger on her nose before eyeing the laces that held the dress firmly in place. He winced in sympathy as he tugged at the stubborn knot. It didn't budge. Without a second thought he unsheathed the knife at his hip, a present of thanks from the King and Queen, and promptly sliced his way down the laces in the bodice.

"Oh!" Rapunzel gasped in surprise and wrapped her arms tightly around her torso before the dress could fall completely to the floor. It hadn't occurred to Eugene that the reason it had been laced so tightly was also the reason that the dress had stayed on in the first place. Crap.

"I am so sorry." He meant it, really he did. Though he was sure he didn't sound too sorry at the moment as he was currently fixated by the smooth expanse of pale skin the dress had revealed. I guess Flynn Rider lives on.

"Eugene! Why did you do that?" Rapunzel was far too busy eyeing the torn laces and holding her dress up to notice the strange expression on Eugene's face. Which was a good thing because he was pretty sure they were so not ready for that kind of talk yet.

"You were right, you needed two people to get out of that thing. I was just rectifying that problem. No need to thank me." He flashed her a smile as he made his way over to the wardrobe in the far corner of her room. It would certainly not bode well for him if someone came in right now and found the princess in her current state of near undress while he was still present.

"I don't think that was necessary though. It really was a lovely dress." She pursed her lips in thought – a moment ago she would have done anything to get out of the thing and now she almost mourned the loss.

"It was such a fantastic, wonderful dress that also doubled as a death trap. I get it." He grabbed a simple purple dress that had been tucked away behind all the lace, ribbons, and poof and tossed it in her direction. Like the gentleman he pretended to be, Eugene waited impatiently with his back turned as the rustling sound of fabric filled the room.

"You can turn around now."

"Alright, what gives. I've done my part and saved the damsel in-this-dress…That was a joke, Blondie. You're supposed to laugh."

"What? Oh, right! Sorry." Her nervous laughter was unsettling. This was not how he had imagined their life in the palace.

"Why don't you tell me what's really wrong?" He was unprepared for the deflated look on her face when she finally met his eyes. It made him uneasy.

"I don't think I belong here, Eugene. I mean look at me. I can't wear shoes or fancy dresses. I don't remember a single thing from any of those boring meetings and don't even get me started on how they made Pascal wait outside. Everything I do, every move I make is under constant scrutiny. It's all so unnerving!" She threw her hands up in exasperation as she begged Eugene with her eyes to understand. And he did. He knew exactly what it felt like to live in a world where you felt you didn't belong. Hell, he was doing it right now, every day that he woke up and went to bed in the palace.

"Where do you think you belong then?"

"I'm not sure. But I know it's not here. Moth-Gothel always said I wasn't pretty or mature or thin enough, all of which I'm positive a princess should be."

"She said what?" Eugene seethed and in that moment wished the bitch was alive so he could kill her again himself. Rapunzel shrugged as if it was no big deal, but the deflated look in her eyes betrayed her.

"You should never take what that woman said to heart. Not pretty enough? Have you looked in the mirror? Seen the way men look at you?" Unfortunately he had seen the way men looked at her which was why he often opted out of her public outings. Call it a hunch but he thought it might look bad if he resorted to threatening the princess' admirers.

"No, but-"

"Not mature enough? Who was it that suggested Max become captain of the guard? Or saved my sorry ass from being locked up? That was handled with more maturity and grace than anything Gothel could have done."

"Yes but that had been your-"

"And this one I just don't understand…Not skinny enough? I'm pretty sure you don't even weigh more than Pascal when you're soaking wet." That earned a snort of amusement from the princess.

"And I'm pretty sure that's impossible. He's a chameleon." And just like that Rapunzel found herself almost entirely at ease again. She never understood exactly how he was able to do it, but Eugene had a remarkable way of instantly making her feel better.

"I know it's not going to be easy, Blondie. For either of us. But as long as you'll have me…"

"Forever then?" She got on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek before pulling back with an impish smile. Eugene fought to stop the ridiculous grin from spreading across his face, really he did. Rapunzel caught sight of it before he could mask the expression however and her eyes twinkled with delight. Aww, what the hell. As long as it made her happy. And as long as there was no one else around to witness Flynn Rider getting soft. After all, a reputation was all a man had.

"Forever it is, then. Now tell me," he said as he moved towards the forgotten bundle he had dumped on her bed, "have you ever read the tales of Flynnigan Rider?"

Rapunzel's eyes widened eagerly as she emphatically shook her head and crawled onto the bed. Eugene followed shortly after and only once they were situated against the headboard, or rather he was against the headboard and she was on his lap, did he crack open the book.

"Flynnigan Rider was a swashbuckling rogue…"