Here's where it begins to change. This will not be the chapter three you remember it to be in HN1! Some of it is practically identical, but I don't think you'll have to read very far to figure out what is different about this one. :) I completely rewrote it, and I am incredibly pleased with this!
Enjoy, and don't forget to review! (Please?)
CHAPTER SONG: "Walk" by the Foo Fighters
Disclaimer: Do not own. Blah blah blah. Thanks for reminding me.
Hangman's Noose: Redux
A "Tangled" fanfiction
By doodlegirll
...oOo...
Chapter Three: Preparation
The next morning, Flynn groggily made his way towards the dining room for breakfast with Rapunzel and her parents, still clad in the blue pants and white shirt he used as bedclothes. He had at least managed to get some sleep, and had remembered to was his face and brush his hair before stumbling out of his bedroom.
As he made his way into the dining room, he was met immediately by a smiling Rapunzel, who was dressed and ready for the day in a pale green dress, and Flynn noted that her feet were, once again, as bare as the day he had met her. Rapunzel hated the very idea of shoes. She stood to her tiptoes and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before she smiled up at him.
"Good morning, sleepyhead!" She joked. "Sleep well?"
Flynn gave her a knowing look, and she giggled.
"I'll take that as a yes."
She took his hand and led him to the table, where her parents were seated, and Flynn suddenly felt very underdressed and out of place, but Rapunzel's parents didn't seem to mind as they smiled at him.
"Good morning, Mr. Fitzherbert." The King said, his eyes twinkling kindly as he looked at the younger man. Flynn bowed slightly in respect to him and his wife.
"Good morning, Your Majesty." He replied. He was shocked at how drained his voice sounded.
"Please, sit." The Queen said, and Flynn did as he was told, taking his usual seat next to Rapunzel.
He was grateful when Rapunzel began to chat merrily with her parents about the mural she had just finished that morning, keeping the subject of the day's events at bay. Even after their food – warm toast with butter and honey with oatmeal and fresh fruit – had been set before them, Flynn was perfectly content with sitting there quietly, not saying a word. He wasn't sure what he would say, anyway.
Eventually, however, the focus was turned towards him, and he knew there was no avoiding the elephant in the room. He sighed as the King asked him if he was ready for the day ahead, and tried to remain nonchalant as the memories from his nightmare the night before came flooding back all at once.
"As ready as I can be, I suppose." He answered, simply.
The Queen eyed him carefully.
"Are you alright, Eugene, dear?" She asked, concern laced through her voice. "You look pale."
Flynn nodded. "Yes, Your Highness." He said. "I'm fine."
The Queen did not seem convinced, but she did not press the issue further. Instead she smiled at him encouragingly.
"I'm sure you'll do just fine, Eugene." She said. "You're a good man, and I've no doubt you'll appeal your case well."
"That's what I said!" Rapunzel said. "I told him that the council doesn't hang heroes."
"Rapunzel, while you are correct in your judgment that Eugene is a hero, do not go into this situation blindly." The King said sternly. "You must understand that while I am the King, and I rule this kingdom, the council is here for a reason. They are here to address civilian cases such as law, taxes, and well being. They are here to help me and your mother make the right decisions when it comes to governing the people of Corona, as they will one day help you. Eugene has been a civilian's case for over a decade now, so his pardoning is in their hands."
Rapunzel nodded slowly, and she reached for Flynn's hand under the table. She squeezed it, tightly, in her own, suddenly incredibly worried for him.
"I am not trying to scare you, dear." The King said, reaching across the table to put his hand on his daughter's arm. "But I want you to be prepared for anything today, honey."
"But I just know it will be alright. I just know it!" Rapunzel said.
She felt Flynn squeeze her hand back before he spoke.
"I'm prepared to appeal my case and trust their judgment." Flynn said. "And I'll stand by whatever their decision is."
The King nodded at him. "You are a man of honor, Eugene." He said.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Flynn said.
The Queen gently dabbed her mouth with the corner of her napkin, setting it down on the table. She smiled at her daughter and Flynn.
"Well, now," she said. "I believe I speak for everyone when I say that today is going to be challenging, and we should all be prepared."
The King nodded in agreement before he stood to his feet.
"The trial begins at two in the throne room." He reminded Flynn and Rapunzel. "Make sure you're early, alright?"
The two of them nodded, and he gave them a nod back. He extended his hand towards Flynn, who stood to take it.
"Eugene, good luck." He said.
Flynn bowed. "Thank you, Your Majesty."
Without saying anything further, the King put his arm around his wife's shoulders, and they left Rapunzel and Flynn alone in the dining room.
Flynn watched them go, letting out a sigh as he did so before he looked down at Rapunzel.
"I should probably go get ready." He said, giving her a crooked grin. "I don't think it would be a good first impression for me to show up in my pajamas."
Rapunzel smiled at him.
"Okay." She said. "I'll come find you in a little while."
Flynn nodded before he kissed her on her forehead before he turned and made his way back towards the door.
Today is going to go great. Rapunzel thought as she watched his retreating form. She smiled to herself, allowing the optimism to spread through the rest of her body in waves. It has to.
...oOo...
He had yet to get out of his night clothes and it had been hours since breakfast, and here it was, nearly noon.
Flynn found himself pacing across the smooth floor of his bedroom, running his shaking hands through his hair, trying desperately to find some sort of footfall in which to calm himself with. He had tried nearly everything already: hot tea, opening a window, rubbing a rabbit's foot, read a book, doodled idly on a piece of spare paper, read a book, tried to take a nap, he had even prayed, and yet he found that nothing did the trick.
He stopped pacing long enough to sit down on the edge of his bed, a defeated sigh escaping his lips as he dropped his head into his hands. He took in a few slow, steady breaths as he tried once again to regain his composure, yet he found that the storm within him would not cease. He was trapped at the center with nowhere to run, and no shelter to seek. He would simply have to wait it out.
Flynn dropped himself back into a comfortable position on the bed, and he grabbed a pillow, pressing the cool fabric against his hot face. He closed his eyes and concentrated all of his energy on calming down, and he found himself turning the points of evidence in his favor over in his mind.
Yes, he knew the King liked him. This had been made very clear that morning at breakfast, and several times before that. He and Flynn had quite a pleasant relationship: they were always cordial in their interactions, and the King had not once questioned the young man's motives for bringing back his long lost daughter, no matter how well he knew that Eugene Fitzherbert and Flynn Rider were one and the same person. The gleam in Flynn's eyes whenever he looked at Rapunzel, the way he smiled at her, were enough for the King, and Flynn knew it.
The Queen held similar feelings for the ex-thief. She had been the first to welcome him into the castle upon Rapunzel's return, insisting that he stay with them. She would be forever grateful to him for bringing back her daughter, her only child. The Queen had never treated him as anything but someone akin to her own son, and she was as close to a mother as he had ever come. Had she not shown concern for him that morning when she had asked him if he was well?
He knew Rapunzel's parents liked him. But they were only part of the equation that he had to solve: it was also the royal council he had to please.
Just as the King had told Rapunzel, while he was indeed the ruler of Corona, his council represented the people of the kingdom through elected officials. They had been in charge of his case since he had first started thieving, and thus, his fate was in their hands, and somehow, that did not sit well with Flynn. He had hurt many of these people, if not directly than indirectly, and he was sure more than one was likely to hold a grudge.
The King had his opinions, and the council had theirs.
A soft knock on the door brought Flynn out of his reverie, and he sat up on the bed, removing the pillow from his face.
"Come in." He said.
Rapunzel's brunette head poked inside. She was smiling brightly, but as soon as her eyes fell on Flynn, the smile faded and she quickly made her way towards him.
"Eugene? Are you alright?" She asked.
"Peachy." He said, trying to sound chipper, if only for her sake. He got to his feet and gave her a convincing smile.
He tried horribly to make his hands stop shaking as Rapunzel reached out and took them in her own, but he knew that knew that no matter his body language, Rapunzel knew.
"You're still worried, aren't you?" She asked him softly.
He nodded. "A little."
Rapunzel gave him a quick hug.
"Oh, Eugene," she said. "I told you, you have nothing to worry about. Everything is going to be okay. I just know it. I promise."
Flynn shook his head.
"I don't think that's a promise you can keep, Blondie." He said. "You heard your father this morning. You need to be prepared for anything."
Rapunzel stepped back and gave him an incredulous look, hands on her hips.
"Eugene Fitzherbert, I never break a promise." She said sternly. "Never."
"I know." Flynn mumbled.
She reached out and gently fixed a lock of hair that had fallen into his eyes. "It's going to be okay. The council is going to see how much you've changed, and you're going to walk out of that room a free man! You just have to be positive." She said. "Now, I came to ask you if you wanted to come on a walk in the gardens with me before we have to be at the, er, meeting?"
He felt a surge of gratitude at her avoidance of the word 'trial.' He smiled at her, lightly brushing his lips against hers.
"I'd love to." He said. "I'll meet you down there in a few minutes, okay? I still have yet to actually get dressed…" He gestured to his night clothes, and Rapunzel giggled.
"You might." She agreed. "Okay, I'll meet you down there." She rose to her tiptoes to plant another kiss on his lips before turning and walking back towards the door. She turned back to him suddenly.
"Oh, and don't forget to have your sheets changed. You looked pretty disgusted about getting back into them last night when I tucked you in…"
Bless him, what would he do without her?
...oOo...
The King stood out on the balcony of his and the Queen's study, the one that overlooked the garden. He too, had been preparing himself for the day's coming events, and he could not shake the overwhelming sense of dread that rested in the pit of his stomach. He knew that whatever the council decided was to be done, no matter his say on the matter. It worried him to think of his daughter with a broken heart, if her Eugene was not pardoned.
The Queen sat behind him in a large, comfortable chair, her personal diary positioned on her lap as a quill spread across the paper. She had a calm demeanor about her, but his wife had always been the voice of reason and had never failed to put on a brave face, no matter the situation, but he knew that she was just as worried, if not more than he, for their daughter and for Eugene.
As he watched over the serene garden, he noticed a young woman dressed in green come out into the open, admiring the rose bushes and the little blue birds that flew near the fountain at the end of the pathway. Smiling lovingly as he realized it was Rapunzel, he quietly watched her as she moved.
He noticed a second figure enter the heavenly garden, clad in brown pants and a white shirt with a faded, weatherworn blue vest: the very man today revolved around. He watched as Flynn Rider tiptoed up behind his daughter, a mischievous grin on his face. Then, when he was sure Rapunzel hadn't noticed him, he closed the space between him and the princess, grabbing her around the waist from behind, spinning her around before setting her back on the ground. Rapunzel let out a shriek of delight, and grinned when she realized who it was. Flynn Rider playfully snatched the tiara atop her brunette hair and held it out of her reach above his head, and Rapunzel, still grinning, leapt for it as Rider began to skip about the garden, evading her. Rapunzel had finally had enough, and in a very un-princess like way, she tackled him to the grass. Rider, completely caught off guard, could only stare at her dumbly as she sat square on his chest and grabbed the tiara from his hand before leaping off and standing over him, hand on her hips, smiling as though the small game had been the fun of her life. Rider began to laugh as he sat up, and Rapunzel plopped down on the grass beside him. The King smiled at the subtle display of obvious affection as Rider snaked a hand around his daughter and nuzzled her wild hair.
The King didn't care if he were a commoner or prince, or even an ex-thief. Flynn Rider made his daughter happy, and that was all that mattered to him. As far as he was concerned, the only thing Rider was absolutely guilty of stealing was Rapunzel's heart.
He could hear them talking to one another, but from his position on the balcony, he could not discern what it was, nor did he want to. This moment was their own.
He felt a warm hand enter his own, and he turned his head to find his wife standing beside him, smiling gently down on the young lovers in the garden below.
"They certainly are happy, aren't they?" She asked.
He smiled at her.
"That they are." He agreed.
His queen's green eyes turned to look at him.
"I'm worried about today." She said quietly, squeezing his hand. "Extremely worried."
He sighed.
"As am I." He said.
"What if…what if the council decides that he's guilty?" The Queen asked. "I can't bear to imagine what Rapunzel would do if she lost him."
"There are a decade's worth of incriminating evidence against him, I'm afraid." The King said reproachfully. "It could very well come to be that he is guilty."
The Queen shook her head. "But just look at them!" She gestured to Flynn and Rapunzel below. "It's so unfair! To think that all of this could be ripped out from under them so suddenly, after all they've been through together."
The King patted his wife's hand lovingly, and tried to give her an encouraging smile.
"We will have to wait and see, dear." He said. He looked back at Rapunzel and Flynn, whose retreating forms were walking down the path towards the fountain, hand in hand, Rapunzel's head resting on Flynn's shoulder. "I only hope that the council judges him fairly."
You'll have to wait til chapter four for the trial this time. :)