AN - Yes, I updated the summary with this chapter. This story is going places and I believe it now more accurately reflects the contents. This chapter of Thinking of You is also the longest so far. Clocking in at just over three thousand words it felt like a monster. Leave a review and tell me what you think! Hope you all enjoy chapter 4!

Disclaimer - Still own nothing.


Eugene couldn't stand it. It had been a week since that morning that Rapunzel brought him breakfast. He knew it was going to come back to him but he didn't know when. The waiting was killing him. He shared breakfast with the royal family the next day and he was waiting for the King to call in guards to take him away but it never happened. It was an incredibly awkward morning to say the least.

He hated not knowing what was going on. Rapunzel had become as scarce as ever during the day, cementing his paranoia that they were avoiding him. Eugene spent much of the past couple days pacing in his room, awaiting judgment. He couldn't stand it. He had to get out of there.

Leaving his room for the first time that day he walked nowhere in particular. Going for a walk was at least healthier than pacing. Eugene found his way to the library and absently browsed the books. Anything to take his mind off of the inevitable.

A book caught his eye. A series of books to be precise. The library contained what appeared to be an extensive Tales of Flynnigan Rider collection. Funny. He wondered if they were recent additions to the palace. He noticed that some of them were out of order and a couple were missing.

He reached for one at random, having much better memory of most of them than he would ever admit. He grabbed one simply titled Flynnigan Rider. Huh. That wasn't a title that he remembered very well. Eugene opened the book to a random page and read only a single line.

"Oh, Flynn!" The Princess gasped as he pushed her up against the wall, her leg finding it's way around his waist.

Eugene slammed the book shut, making a noise that echoed in the library. He definitely remembered this one. Having a hunch who was reading these books, he placed this one in the waistband of his pants. This was one Rapunzel didn't need to read yet.

"Rider." A voice spoke behind him. Eugene nearly had a heart attack. He spun to find himself face to face with a guard. They hadn't let go of calling him by his old name very easily.

"Need something?" Eugene never really beat around the bush with these guys anymore. Anything to get them to go away.

"His Majesty requests an audience." Eugene's heart sank. So this is it. "Follow me."

Eugene hung his head and followed dutifully.


"Rapunzel! Pay attention!" Rapunzel's instructor tapped his ruler on the corner of her desk, breaking her train of thought.

"Yes, of course. Sorry, Walter. It won't happen again." He made a noise that said 'Yeah, right. I haven't heard that one before.' Rapunzel didn't blame him. This wasn't the first time she had been deep in thought and not focusing on the lesson. Ever since that morning she made breakfast for Eugene she hadn't been able to focus properly. Every time he entered her thoughts she felt a strange tightening in her stomach. She had never felt this way about anyone before. Especially when just thinking about them.

Her mind wandered again to Eugene. Ever since that morning he had been behaving oddly. He barely came out of his room. Everything about that morning had been burned into her mind and was at the forefront of her thoughts. The way his weight felt on top of her, his calloused hands on her shoulders, his lips on hers. She could feel herself blushing and her heart pounding in her chest.

"Rapunzel, really. How I can I teach you if you don't pay attention?" Walter said, rubbing his temples.

She quickly apologized again and halfheartedly focused on the lesson. Normally she excelled in her lessons, easily grasping the material and had a great deal of fun doing so but these new feelings and sensations were overwhelming. Rapunzel had told her mother about that morning and the way it made her feel. She had no idea how to act or even respond to these feelings. They were unlike anything she had ever experienced. Her mother had been tight lipped on the subject though. She-

"Pardon the interruption." A guard's voice halted her roaming thoughts. "I need to borrow the Princess. His Majesty is asking for her."

"Of course." Walter bowed as Rapunzel rose from her seat. "Your Highness."

Rapunzel smiled. "See you later, Walter!" She said happily as she fell in line behind the guard.

"So..." Rapunzel spoke to the guard. "What does my father want?"

"I do not know, Princess. Just that he is requesting your presence." The guard said.

Rapunzel frowned. Her father never called her out of her lessons before. She spent the rest of the walk in silence with her thoughts as she tried to determine what he could want.


Eugene's heart threatened to burst from his chest as he was brought before the King in his throne room. He knew the King was a kind man but he was still an imposing figure. Especially given the past week.

"I have brought Rider, Your Majesty." The guard bowed.

"That will be all." The King's deep voice sounded throughout the room.

The guard rose and quickly removed himself from the room, leaving Eugene alone with the King.

"Eugene Fitzherbert." Eugene breathed a small sigh of relief. The King was still using his real name. "You may not be aware but Rapunzel's studies have been slowing over the past week. She is unfocused and says that she is 'lost in thought.'"

Eugene nodded. He had no idea that Rapunzel's attention had been slipping.

"I know that my daughter is quite taken with you and the recent drop in her attentiveness comes in the wake of certain..." The King paused and cleared his throat before continuing. "activities you have done with her."

Oh God. Eugene couldn't believe it. The King knew! Of course he would. Why wouldn't he? Why wouldn't the Queen have told him? Who was he trying to fool? On top of that he believed that it was the cause of her slowing in her lessons. Great.

He grinned nervously at the King. "Is that so?"

"That is why I am ordering you to-"

Here it comes. Eugene braced for his punishment.

"take her out into town for the day."

Eugene chuckled nervously. "You're ordering me to take her out?"

That was certainly unexpected. To be ordered to take the Princess on a date. He nearly laughed at the absurdity.

"Yes." The King said with a straight face. "Some say that your presence will always be a distraction for her but I believe that she simply needs time to get away from it all for a while. Everyone needs a break once in a while."

He was happy to comply. This was a much better alternative to the nightmarish things he imagined would be his punishment.

"I have sent for Rapunzel. When she arrives you will leave immediately."

The King handed Eugene a small coin pouch.

"If she finds anything she likes, you are to buy it for her." The King said, putting emphasis on buy.

"Of course, sir."

Eugene bowed his head and left the throne room. He leaned on the heavy doors and released a breath he didn't realize he had been holding, relieved to not be going to the dungeons or worse.

"Eugene!" Rapunzel called out to him as she rapidly closed the distance between them.

He barely got out a "Hey, Blondie." before she had thrown her arms around him.

"Come on. We're going into town." Eugene said as they separated.

"That's sweet, Eugene but my father needs me for something and I have lessons to get back to when I'm done here."

"See, that's the thing." Eugene said, taking her hand in his and pulling her along. "We're playing hooky courtesy of your old man."

"Hooky?" Rapunzel was always learning new things with Eugene. Especially words.

"Think of it as getting a day off to do whatever we want to do. No worries."

"Sounds great!" Rapunzel said excitedly as Eugene led her from the palace into town.


Eugene couldn't help but smile as he watched Rapunzel bounce around from stall to stall, admiring everything that was on sale. It seemed that every stall had something that caught her eye. One merchant had an extensive collection of jewelry for sale and cocked an eyebrow at Eugene as Rapunzel browsed the sparkling merchandise.

"Eugene look!" Rapunzel called out to him. He had only taken his eyes off of her for a moment and she was already farther down the street, her face plastered against a window. Eugene hurried down the street to see what the fuss was about.

"What did you find?" Eugene asked as he approached her from behind.

"Look at the colors!"

Eugene peered through the window and spotted a number of paint jars of all kinds of colors alongside various other art supplies.

"Come on. Let's check it out." Eugene said as he led Rapunzel around to the front of the store.

Rapunzel was beside herself in this place. It had everything she could possibly think of. A vast array of colors, new brushes, palettes, blank sketchbooks, easels and dozens of other things were just waiting to be hers.

"Good afternoon." The shop owner spoke from behind the counter as he set something on a high shelf. "And welcome to-"

The long haired young man cut himself short with a slight gasp as he turned and realized who was standing in his store.

"Princess Rapunzel! Welcome! I am honored to have you in my humble shop! I do hope that you find what you are looking for. Don't hesitate to ask if you need something." He gushed.

"Don't worry, I won't Mister, uh..." Rapunzel said, coaxing his name out.

"Leonardo, at your service." Leonardo bowed deeply.

"Well Leonardo, I'll let you know if I need anything." Rapunzel said. She quickly turned her attention to the numerous jars of paint.

Leonardo made his way over to Eugene who was leaning against the wall, watching Rapunzel browse the store. She was idly thumbing the bristles of a new brush.

"I didn't know the Princess was an artist." Leonardo said.

"You'd be surprised. There's a lot about the Princess that people don't know."

"To be certain." Leonardo said. "I have heard many rumors surrounding her return. I will not pry but I am glad to see that her creativity was not stunted wherever she was."

"Stunted? If anything it was because of her situation." Eugene said. "It was one of her only outlets."

Leonardo simply nodded his head.

"Leonardo? Could you come here for a second?" Rapunzel called out from the other side of the store.

Within moments Rapunzel was talking animatedly to Leonardo about painting and sketching. Turns out that he was quite the artist too. They talked at length about things that Eugene had no idea about. The counter was quickly piled with jars of paint and new brushes as Rapunzel and Leonardo flittered about the store.

"Will that be all Princess?" Leonardo said as he looked over her items.

"Yes, Leonardo. Thank you." Rapunzel said.

Eugene approached the counter and pulled out his coin pouch. "I got it covered, Blondie."

"Princess you must bring your sketchbook by at some point. I'd love to see your work." Leonardo said as he packed up her purchase.

"Don't worry, Leonardo. I will when I get the chance."

Eugene grunted as he lifted the heavy paint filled crate.

"Have a nice day you two." Leonardo said to them as they walked out of the store.

"See you later!" Rapunzel turned and waved to him. Leonardo smiled and returned the gesture.

The pair made their way to the town center amid the hustle and bustle of the evening and sat on the edge of a fountain to rest. Eugene set down the crate with a thud and stretched his arms. Rapunzel gazed up at the sky that was starting to turn orange from the setting sun.

"They were so beautiful."

"What was?" Eugene raised an eyebrow at her. He didn't see anything.

"The lanterns." Rapunzel clarified. "It's been since the lantern festival that we were here like this."

Eugene decided to take her word for it. He was almost certain that they were here during the celebration of her return but the mood was entirely different and his memory of that time was more than a little foggy.

"Yeah. That night was certainly something." Eugene hesitated before the last word.

"It feels like it was so long ago."

"Well, a lot happened in just a couple days." Eugene said. "Your entire life was turned around."

"Me? What about you?" Rapunzel asked. "Doesn't it feel a little strange to you? You were literally a different person then. You even died." Her voice started to break at the memory.

"Hey now." Eugene said, putting a finger to her lips to silence her. "I'm still here and I don't plan on going anywhere. Don't you worry about that."

He hated that what was supposed to be such a special memory was tainted by that witch. Even in death she still had the last laugh.

"I'm glad you're still with me, Eugene."

"Believe me, so am I."

Rapunzel surprised him when she leaned in and kissed him. Eugene closed his eyes and savored it before pulling away abruptly.

"What's the matter? Did I do something wrong?" Rapunzel looked hurt at the rejection.

"No, no, not at all." Eugene tried to reassure her. "But we don't want to make a scene do we?" He gestured to the crowd of people, several of whom were looking in their direction.

"Come on, let's go back to the palace." Eugene stood and offered his hand to Rapunzel. She took it and he helped her to her feet. Over her shoulder he saw something that sent a chill down his spine. In an alley across the square he could have sworn he saw one of the infamous Stabbington brothers watching him. They were supposed to be in jail.

Rapunzel could see the strange look on his face and turned to see what he was looking at and saw nothing.

"What is it Eugene?" She asked him.

"Nothing." He said, shaking his head for emphasis. "You go on ahead back to the palace. I'll meet you there."

Rapunzel eyed him warily. He was giving her a look that said 'please don't press this'.

"Okay. I'll meet you back home I guess." Rapunzel wasn't entirely convinced. She could tell that Eugene was behaving strangely. It wasn't the first time he'd shaken her off to go deal with something. She got chills at the memory. Rapunzel gave him one long last look before turning and heading back to the palace. Stopping briefly in the street she debated going back for him and dragging him along. She looked back at him to find him watching her. The sun was still out, he was in the center of town and there were guards nearby. Nothing would happen to him. Not like last time.

Eugene waited until she was out of sight before returning his attention to the dark alley to find that he had indeed seen someone. The large, imposing figure of one of the brothers faded into the dark. He picked up the crate of paint and steeled himself before heading towards the alley.

What could they want? How long had they been watching him? Questions raced through his mind as he got ever closer to the darkened path.

Eugene hesitated before entering the alley. He scolded himself mentally for it. Earlier he had been willing to face judgment at the hands of the King but now he was holding back.

Bracing himself, he entered the alley. One of the brothers was leaning against the wall. The other was nowhere to be seen. Not a good sign.

"Hey fellas. It's been a while." Eugene said casually. The light from behind Eugene faded as the other brother moved in behind him.

He turned to face the other brother and looked into his one good eye.

"Yeah. It has."

Eugene couldn't help but feel the foreboding sense of dread as it filled the darkened alley.