Disclaimer: I do not own Tangled. Man, I can see why people get so tired of this disclaimer stuff.

Chapter 2: Me, King?

Eugene wanted to slap himself as he retreated. Hard.

He stole away down the corridor, as far away from the throne room as he possibly could get, running in the same manner that he would if he had just stolen the lost princess's tiara. He might as well have been carrying a satchel with the crown jewels glittering inside. In nine years of and heinous crimes and rotten deeds, he'd never felt more like a thieving bandit until that moment.

This was no ordinary proposal. This wasn't just, Sire, may I have your daughter's hand in marriage? This was, Sire, may I have you kingdom? This wasn't just, Rapunzel, will you marry me? This was, Rapunzel, will you rule with me? And Eugene had a million and one reasons to be scared out of his mind. Aside from the normal stuff, awkward shyness and nervousness, the uncertainty of what to say or how to go about the actions, as if that alone wasn't enough to drive him insane, he had a thousand other worries.

What if The King rejected him? What would he do then? Elopement was out of the question. No matter how much they loved one another, Eugene was convinced that Rapunzel would never choose him over her family and her kingdom. Worse: what if The King accepted him? Then what was he in for? He almost swooned to the floor every time he pictured it.

His Royal Highness, King Eugene Fitzherbert, wearing on his head the very crown he once attempted to steal from the palace, and on his finger the seal that once stamped his wanted posters. The responsibilities, the expectations… it was enough to make a man sick at the thought.

Maximus was right where Eugene left him, grazing on green grass in the courtyard, (the horse's favorite thing to do besides eating the apples from the trees in the palace orchard). This wasn't the first attempt Eugene had made to inquire of The King, and every time Maximus had waited faithfully in the courtyard. As he approached, the steed lifted his head, eyes wide and ears perked, as if to say Did you ask him? Did you ask him?

"No ring shopping yet, Max."

Maximus dropped his head and snorted, glaring reproachfully.

"Don't give me that look! I panicked, ok? I need more time. This isn't as easy as I thought it would be—"

The horse's eyes rolled into the back of his head when he snorted again, this time letting out a sort of infuriated sigh. Though he couldn't speak, Maximus never hesitated in expressing his thoughts on the matter, and he seemed to get more and more frustrated every time. Just another thing to drive the ex-bandit crazy.

"Max, look at me…" Eugene grabbed Max by the ears firmly, pulling his head up to eye level, "Do you know what The King told me today? I mean, not that I didn't already know, but now it's set in stone. Whoever Rapunzel marries is officially the royal heir to the throne. That means King, Maximus. Me… King."

The horse nodded, as if to say, Duh.

"Oh come on Max!" Eugene exploded, shaking his friend's head vigorously by the ears, "You know what a lousy king I would make!"

After a moment, Maximus neighed in agreement: Well, now that you mention it…

Eugene sighed. "Thanks for the encouragement."

Pushing Maximus away by the ears, he dropped his face in his hands pathetically. Who I am kidding? Me, King? He didn't know anything about running a kingdom! A year ago, he was a criminal! And not just any criminal, but the kingdom's most wanted, his face and false name pasted all over the kingdom. He was blessed to have the smidgen of respect from the people that he did; several had been skeptical when he was first presented to the kingdom, and he didn't blame them one bit. It was all he'd ever been known as: Flynn Rider, thief, wanted dead or alive, by royal decree of the king of Corona. Lousy, lying, greedy, selfish filth… the last thing the people would ever want for their ruler.

For just a moment, he wondered what Rapunzel might do if she were standing next to him, reading his thoughts. She'd probably punch me and tell me to suck it up, he thought, smiling to himself at the thought of the tiny brunette he loved giving him a sock in the arm. It wouldn't hurt, that was for sure, but it would make him feel a little less wimpy. That was Rapunzel, always knocking the sense into him, always making him stronger. From the very first day, when she'd clubbed him over the head with her frying pan, to the day he found himself staring up into her tear-filled eyes as all of his strength left his body . If only she knew about all his concerns; if only he didn't have to keep the situation a surprise for her. She'd give him courage.

Thieves, thugs, witches, death itself; we've been through so much together. This should be a cinch…

He found himself sighing again. "Who am I kidding, Max?" he said dejectedly, petting the steed's main absentminded, "Me, King? They'd never give their kingdom over to someone like me, let alone their only daughter. I'm lucky to ever even get invited to dinner at the palace."

"Is everything all right Eugene?"

The sudden voice behind him nearly scared the boots off of him. He whipped around. "Your Majesty!"

The Queen was a wonderful woman. In many ways, she reminded Eugene of Rapunzel. She was kind, gentle, showing nothing but the utmost love to her family and her kingdom. Eugene could hardly understand how anyone in the kingdom could take one look at The Queen and The Princess side by side and not believe them to be mother and daughter. The Queen was an incredible woman. But she was so bad about sneaking up him.

"Your Majesty, he he…" he laughed awkwardly, staring into the bright green eyes that he'd come face to face with. She wore a cheerful countenance, completely innocent of any suspicion. Nonetheless, he suddenly felt very unsafe, "If I may ask, milady, um… how long have you been standing there?"

The Queen smiled, her eyes laughing. "Only a moment's time." she answered, then averted attention to the steed, "Why hello Maximus."

Maximus nickered delightedly, reaching out his neck so that The Queen could stroke his mane. Whenever he met The Queen, or Rapunzel, sometimes even The King himself, Maximus became an absolute puppy dog. It always made Eugene smile. There was just something about this family; if they ever needed to, anyone of them could tame dragons and giants with their gentle hands.

"What a good boy you are," The Queen laughed as Maximus relished his pettings, his eyes brightening even more when The Queen produced a handful of sugar cubes and held them to his snout. At last, she looked back to Eugene. "And how are you today, Sir Fitzherbert?"

"Me?" Eugene coughed, "Oh, I'm just fine. Thank you milady. And yourself?"

"Splendid! I'm quite well, thank you; it's such a beautiful day. I was just on my way to see my husband about some dinner plans. In fact, I'm glad to have met you along the way. Sir Fitzherbert, would you be willing to dine with us tonight? That is if you're not otherwise engaged of course."

What irony.

"…Dine? With you? At the… the King's table, milady…"

"But of course!" said The Queen, "We'll be having another guest tonight, you see. And poor Rapunzel, well you know she's still rather uncomfortable about meeting new people…"

He found that hard to believe.

"Anyway, I'm sure she'd be much more comfortable with you by her side this evening. And my husband and I owe you a good dinner anyway, so, won't you join us?"

Maximus nudged hard in side, ordering him to accept.

"Anything the princess, your highness."

As if The Queen's eyes couldn't get any brighter, they lit up like they Festival of Lights. "Fantastic! She'll be overjoyed to know." she touched his cheek briefly, "You such a blessing to us Eugene. Good day to the both of you!" And with that, The Queen swept away.

Blessing, yeah right.

Ok, so that excuse was gone. He'd now officially been invited to dinner at the palace, and had been told he was a "blessing" of sorts. Behind him, Max nickered mockingly.

"Oh shut up," Eugene grumbled, "That was a complete coincidence, Max."

The horse snorted.

"Yes I'm going to ask him!" The knight snapped, not knowing how much truth there was in that promise, "Eventually."

Hey everyone! Thank you all so much for your comments! I was very encouraged to know that so many of you were actually looking for a story like this, about Eugene taking on the throne. My apologies for the wait :( I know I said that the chapters would come faster than this. Unfortunately, I'm a very perfectionist writer and it usually takes me a while. My hope is that I'll be able to whip these out faster as I go.

This was a more confusing chapter to write, especially trying to get inside Eugene's head, and the attempted communication with Maximus. Please tell me what you thought! On my word, Rapunzel will be in the next chapter :)

God bless you all and have a great Labor Day weekend! —Story