Hello again! Here's the next chapter!
Trekrider: It makes sense her using the frying pan as a weapon, as at this point she probably wouldn't have known what it really was.
MyNameIsAlexandraRider: I'm glad you liked it! But just for the record, who wouldn't have put a frying pan in there? ;)
TPATFan16: Thank you, and you're most welcome!
Guest: Thanks so much. The frying pan bit has turned out to be really popular.
DreamGirll: Here you go! One 'Rapunzel and Eugene meet' scene coming up...
shadowsaver: It only makes sense to have Pascal as Flounder and Maximus as Sebastian... ;) Glad you like it!
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Chapter 4 ~ Birthday Surprises
Rapunzel broke through the surface and swept some hair out of her eyes, while the rumbling and crackling of colourful fireworks exploding continued. Rapunzel gasped in awe at the sight of a majestic ship not too far away, and giggled happily as Pascal and Maximus surfaced beside her.
"Rapunzel, what are you..." Maximus began, before noticing the ship. "Jumping jellyfish!"
Rapunzel dove back into the water and began leaping towards the ship.
"Rapunzel? Rapunzel!" Maximus called. "Please! Come back!"
As Rapunzel swam up beside the ship, she could clearly hear the sound of men laughing and chatting, along with the lively music of an accordion being played. Rapunzel climbed up the side of the boat and sat on a wooden ledge on the outside of the ship and looked through a small scupper. Most of the sailors on deck were clapping to the music, but a few men were dancing happily. A shaggy grey and white sheepdog bounded around the deck, barking cheerfully. The dog stopped and sniffed the air, before making his way to the scupper Rapunzel was looking through. Rapunzel gasped, and moved to the side. After a few seconds, she slowly turned her head to see the sheepdog poking his head through the scupper, panting joyfully, before licking her cheek.
A young man whistled, before calling his dog, "Flynn! Here, boy!"
Flynn turned and barked happily, running toward his owner. Rapunzel looked through the hole to see who had called the furry land-creature.
"Hey, come on, mutt. What ya doin', huh, Flynn?" the man asked the animal, who was leaping up to lick the man's face.
Rapunzel gasped softly. The young man had stunning chocolate brown eyes and collar length brown hair, plus a goatee the same colour as his hair. He was wearing brown boots, a pair of light brown pants and a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and a blue vest over the top.
"Come on, Flynn," the man laughed, and began stroking the dog's head. "Good boy, good boy."
Rapunzel smiled to herself, before hearing a voice behind her.
"Hey there, sweetie!" Scuttle shouted loudly. "Quite a show, eh?"
"Scuttle, be quiet," Rapunzel hissed. "They'll hear you."
"Ooh, I got ya, I got ya," Scuttle replied, and flew down to sit next to her on the ledge. "We're bein' intrepidaceous. We're out to discover!"
Rapunzel grabbed his beak to stop him from shouting. "I've never seen a human this close before."
Rapunzel watched as the man played music through a thin silver pipe. She let go of Scutlle's beak and sighed, "He's very handsome, isn't he?"
"Well, I don't know," Scuttle replied, rubbing the back of his neck with his wing as he watched Flynn. "He looks kinda hairy and slobbery to me."
Rapunzel shook her head and smiled, "Not that one! The one playing the snarfblatt."
Just then, a well-dressed man with a small grey ponytail walked through the crowd, and said, "Silence, silence."
The crowd grew silent and the young brown-eyed man sat down on a wooden barrel.
The grey-haired man continued, "It is now my honour and privilege to present our esteemed Prince Eugene with a very special, very expensive, very large birthday present."
The man motioned toward an indeed very large object, covered in some sort of brown material, with a red ribbon tied around it and the crowd cheered. Eugene smiled at his friend, "Ah, Grimsby, ya old beanpole, you shouldn't have!"
"I know," Grimsby replied as one of the sailors approached the gift and undid the ribbon. "Happy 19th birthday, Eugene."
The sailor grabbed the brown cloth covering the present and pulled it off, revealing what was supposed to be a statue of Prince Eugene, however the nose had been shaped terribly wrong. A few other sailors gasped and Flynn growled at the statue as Eugene walked up to it.
"Uh, gee, Grim..." Eugene cleared his throat, trying to sound grateful. "It's, uh... really somethin'."
"Yes, I commissioned it myself," Grimsby said proudly, before giving him a stern look. "Of course, I had hoped it would be a wedding present."
Eugene laughed, thinking to himself 'here we go again', and replied, "Come on, Grim. Don't start!"
Eugene watched up to the side of the ship; the side that the ledge Rapunzel and Scuttle were sitting on was. "You're not still sore that I didn't fall in love with the Princess of Glowerhaven, are you?"
Grimsby shook his head, "Oh, Eugene, it isn't just me. Everyone in the kingdom wants to see you happily settled down with the right girl."
"She's out there somewhere, Grimsby," Eugene sighed, not knowing that 'she' was literally under his nose. "I just haven't found her yet."
"Perhaps you haven't been looking hard enough," Grimsby grumbled.
"Believe me, Grim. When I find her, I'll know! Without a single doubt, it'll just... BAM... hit me, like lightning."
As if on queue, there was a flash of lightning and a loud rumble filled the sky, making Eugene, Grimsby, and everyone else on the ship aware of the storm that was brewing.
"Hurricane a-comin'!" the man in the crow's nest shouted. "Stand fast! Secure the riggin'!"
Eugene and the rest of the sailors ran in different directions to prepare the ship. Lightning flashed and thunder crashed, as howling winds ripped through the skies and rain pelted down on the ship. The sailors shouted to each other while Flynn barked fearfully.
Rapunzel clung to one of the ship's ropes for dear life. She looked down briefly, and saw Pascal and Maximus attempting to get to the ship through the roaring waves. Scuttle grabbed one of the ropes and tried not to get blown away, "Whoa! The wind's all of a sudden on a move here!"
Scuttle lost his grip and was swept away by the strong winds, "Rapunzel!"
The sailor holding the ship's wheel lost grip and was forced away from the wheel as a ginormous wave crashed against the ship. The ship's bell clanged loudly as Eugene raced to grab the ship's wheel. A monstrous wave toyed with the ship as lightning lit up the sky. Rapunzel, unable to grip the rope any longer, let go and was sent tumbling back into the ocean. She resurfaced, just in time to see a fork of lightning hit one of the sails, setting it on fire.
Eugene, noticing the ship was heading for a huge rock, screamed, "Look out!"
The sailors ran for their lives as the ship made contact. The ship's bell continued clanging, and Eugene, Grimsby and the sailors screamed as they were tossed into the waves. Somehow, somebody had managed to get the small row boat out off the ship and into the ocean, and the crew climbed in. Eugene reached out to grab Grimsby.
"Grim! Hang on!" he shouted, pulling the man into the row boat as rain continued to fall. The sound of a distant terrified bark reached Eugene's ear, and he turned to see his beloved companion on the burning ship.
"Flynn!" Eugene gasped, and dove into the waves. Eugene swam up to the ship and climbed up the side. He flung himself aboard and ran to get Flynn as the mast fell down and crashed through the top deck.
Eugene held up his arms, ready to catch the dog, "Jump, Flynn! Come on, boy! Jump! You can do it, Flynn!"
Flynn obeyed, and leapt into his master's arms. Eugene ran across the deck, trying to find somewhere safe to jump from the ship. Just as he reached the edge of the ship, his foot fell through the deck, and Flynn yelped as he flew from his arms and into the ocean.
Eugene desperately tried to free himself, completely unaware that the flames were quickly nearing the explosives below deck.
"Eugene!" Grimsby yelled, pulling Flynn into the row boat.
Grimsby, Flynn and the sailors watched in horror as the ship exploded. Rapunzel, who had witnessed the whole thing, sprang into action and carefully made her way to the ship. She searched through the bits of debris floating on the surface, until she saw Eugene. She swam towards the unconscious human prince as he slipped under the waves. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him to the surface. Holding Eugene tightly in her arms, she began making her way back to shore, as left-over fireworks burst and Flynn barked from somewhere out in the distance.
By the time she reached the shore, it was morning. Rapunzel carefully laid the still unconscious prince on the beach, and was soon joined by Scuttle.
"Is he... dead?" Rapunzel asked nervously.
"It's hard to say," the gull replied, and waddled down towards Eugene's feet. Scuttle grabbed the prince's right foot and pressed it to his ear. He sighed and shook his head, "I'm sorry, kid. I can't make out a heartbeat."
Rapunzel turned to look at the human's face and smiled, "No, look! He's breathing!"
She sighed as she swept one of his brown locks of his face. "He's so beautiful."
"What would I give... to live where you are?" Rapunzel sang softly. "What would I pay... to stay here beside you? What would I do... to see you, smiling at me?"
Maximus, who was resting in the shallow water nearby with Pascal, looked at the mermaid and his jaw dropped, realizing that the merprincess that he was supposed to keep out of trouble had fallen in love with a human!
Rapunzel continued to sing softly, "Where would we walk, where would we run, if we could stay all day in the sun?"
Eugene, regaining consciousness, looked up and smiled at the girl who saved him. At first glance, he thought he was looking at an angel. She had the most beautiful emerald-green eyes he'd ever seen, and her long brown hair seemed to shimmer in the sunlight. He reached up and placed a hand on her cheek, instantly in love with this mysterious angel.
"Just you and me, and I could be..." she sang sweetly, in a voice that Eugene knew he would remember forever. "Part of your world."
As she finished her beautiful melody, the sound of Flynn's barking filled their ears, and Rapunzel slipped away from Eugene and hurried back into the ocean.
Just as she left, Eugene received a lick on the face from Flynn, before he heard Grimsby calling him, "Eugene? Eugene!"
Eugene sat up as Grimsby came up beside him and helped him to his feet, "Oh, you really delight in these sadistic strains on my blood pressure, don't you?"
Eugene shook his head, "A girl... rescued me. She... she was... singing. She sounded like... like an angel."
Eugene grew faint and stumbled backwards, and was caught by Grimsby, "Ah, Eugene. I think you've swallowed a bit too much seawater."
Grimsby began leading Eugene back to the palace. "Off we go. Come along, Flynn."
Flynn, who was leaping around in the waves, began making his way over to Grimsby and his human friend.
Rapunzel, who was hiding behind a rock, watched them, not really listening to Maximus, who was explaining to her and Pascal how they were going to pull this off, "We just gotta forget this whole thing ever happened. The sea king will never know. You won't tell him. I won't tell him. I will stay in one piece."
Rapunzel kept watching Eugene, and began to sing again, "I don't know when, I don't know how, but I know something's starting right now! Watch and you'll see... Someday I'll be... Part of your world!"
Neither Eugene nor Grimsby heard Rapunzel singing, but Flynn did, and he answered her with a happy bark.
As Rapunzel watched the three vanish from sight, two eels watched her from not to far away...
"Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no," Gothel smiled wickedly as she watched Rapunzel through her seeing bubble. "I can't stand it! It's too easy! The child is in love with a human. And not just any human, a prince!"
Gothel chuckled, "Oh, Daddy'll love that. King Triton's headstrong, lovesick girl would make a charming addition to my little garden."
Gothel cackled as she looked at her garden of creatures.
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Wow, that was long! Hope you enjoyed it! Please review!