I'M BAAAAACK!

*achem* Anyways, it's nice to be back here-as much as I love how beautiful Florida is, I'm glad to be in a place where there's not 334358450% humidity floating about in the air (I'm not gonna lie, I was ticked when my hair turned into a puffball, right before I got in line to meet Rapunzel-just my luck, right? xD) But she was so sweet and adorable; I wish she had a Flynn to keep her company though-she looked sort of lonely to me. -_- Did the whole picture thing with her and my friend and whatnot; I'm smiling like a mega-dork from happiness. :D Thanks for all of the happy wishes on my trip, by the way! I'm already planning next year's trip to Disney and maybe I'll go to Disneyland California; they kept their Flynn, after all. :p I'll throw in a good word for all of you...maybe he'll give us all a little smolder. 3
ENOUGH ABOUT MY TRIP.

This was a prompt given by allison-nannyluverchannel; I hope I lived up to your expectation! xD I think it turned out pretty well-all of you, tell me what you think. c: I'm still trying to get into the groove of things after getting back (I got home at 3:30 last night...) But hey, c'est la vie. I'm still working on a few of you guys' other prompts right now; give me some more time and they'll all eventually get up here. C: I love to get more-don't hesitate to offer an idea!

Enjoy!


"…You've never seen snow?"

The tip of a glittering crown barely poked above the bedspread. "It's not like I've never seen it; I know what it looks like," The crown dipped back beneath the bed and a moment later, Rapunzel rose to her feet with a heavy purple cloak in hand. "I've never felt it, though—Gothel always made me keep the window shut in my tower so the heat wouldn't get out."

"So…you've never felt snow," The question was more of a statement; Eugene lifted an eyebrow and he placed the cloak over her shoulders. Looking out of her windows; it was a wonder that she hadn't—Corona was always early with the first snowfall and the latest for it all to melt. The entire landscape was covered in white; not a single thing had escaped winter's grip.

She gave him a sheepish nod.

Eugene spun her to face her bedroom windows; he kept his hands firm on her shoulders and his face next to hers. "Looks like you've been missing out."

Rapunzel giggled softly and she turned her head to his, laughing as their faces were a mere two inches from one another. "When I woke up and saw all of the snow, I wanted to tell you—but I know that you have to get your beauty sleep, so…" She grinned.

"You're funny, Princess," Eugene murmured sarcastically and he adjusted the excessive, furry cloak upon her shoulders.

She smirked. "You would have thought I was acting stupid, anyways; it's just snow."

"Well," He twisted his belt and led her out of the door. "I think that I could have made the exception for you—it is your first winter."

Rapunzel sighed softly. "…And I have to spend the first day of it addressing the council. How fun."

Eugene chuckled and he followed her at her side through the corridor. "I'm sure we could arrange something later. That is, if you're not too busy."

The princess looked to him, curiosity peaked. "I wouldn't think that I'd have much going on this afternoon," She eyed him suspiciously. "…What might you have in mind, Eugene Fitzherbert?"

"A trip," He paused as her stare continued to boar into him. He flashed a smile. "Not a long trip; just something to get your mind off of things."

Rapunzel smiled and she took his hand as he opened the Council Chamber door. "…I'd like that."


"…Rapunzel," Eugene extended an arm to the hurrying figure before him and his fingers gripped towards something that was far out of reach. He quickened his pace and in doing so, was able to grip the white fur trimming the edge of her hood. "Rapunzel."

The princess reached for his fingers and tugged against them, trying to pry them off as her gaze refused to meet his. "Let me go, Eugene."

He pulled her back and strode at her side. "You don't need to be angry about it; it's your first time speaking in front of the Council."

"I couldn't even get two words without stuttering like I'm stupid," Rapunzel gave a frustrated sigh and forcibly pulled the thick cloak further onto her shoulders. "I'm never going to be able to get in front of them without sounding like an idiot—let alone my own kingdom."

Eugene shook his head and took her smaller hand. "It's your first time standing in front of all of them—how did you think it was going to turn out?"

Rapunzel held up her hands before her. "Mother told me it would be easy to talk with them; I wasn't too worried about it until I couldn't even say 'hello' right."

"Well," He took the lead and they continued on through the passageway. "Your mom's been doing all of that a lot longer than you have. Just give it some time; you won't do so badly at the next meeting…"

She huffed and tried to yank her hand from his. "You thought I did that badly?"

"No, that's not—" Eugene laughed uncomfortably and attempted to regain a hold of her.

"Not funny," Rapunzel rolled her sage green eyes and urged forward. "I don't need to hear that I did a crappy job from someone else—I'm already upset as it is…"

"Rapunzel, I didn't mean that."

She shook her head slowly; her voice rose. "I'll be in my room, if you need me. I don't want to embarrass myself any more than I already am."

Eugene frowned. "…You can't do that."

The princess turned back to face him with her hands planted firmly on her hips. "And why not?"

"Because I told you that I would take you somewhere after your thing with the Council," He stumbled on his words slightly as he shoved a thumb back to the thin crowd exiting the meeting chamber.

Rapunzel shrugged the cloak from her shoulders and let it fall to the ground. "I don't think that right now is a good time to go out. I'm not feeling too well."

"Excuses, excuses," He crossed his arms and gave her a crooked smirk.

"I am not giving you excuses!" Her voice cracked slightly and Eugene could see the tears welling at the base of her eyes. His smile faded and he took her by the shoulder.

No need to get bent out of shape over it…half of the people in that room still don't like me, anyways.

Whoops—there went his huge ego.

"…Rapunzel?"

"What…?" She gave in to his hold slightly and wiped her eyes with her opposite arm. "What do you want?"

Eugene's face brightened just a little and he picked her cloak up from the marble tile. "…To make you happy," He handed it to her. "We better get going soon if we want to get out of here without your parents knowing."

Rapunzel eyed him suspiciously before she tied a bow around her neck. "Where are you taking me?"

"Relax, I'm not going to make you get up in front of anybody and recite poetry," He paused as her eyes drilled into him with apparent annoyance. His smirk rose and he extended a hand for her to take, "but I can't have you sitting around and whining about it all day. Looks like you need that time off, after all."

She resisted on his urges forward and she frowned. "My maidservants aren't going to be happy if they find out I left with you again." It appeared that the gratefulness to escape from the palace earlier had all but faded.

"Right," Eugene nodded his head affirmatively; he grinned and pulled her towards him down the hall. "So let's go."

The princess rolled her eyes slightly, not amused at first sight as she was forced before him to mask herself to the double-doored entrance. "You lovegetting me in trouble, don't you?"

He gave her a small, nonchalant shrug and flashed his teeth. "…Just trying to make a good impression on your parents, Princess."


"…You still haven't told me where we're going."

Eugene shifted his satchel onto his shoulder and gripped her hand tighter to him as he directed her in his footsteps through the thick white snow. "I told you earlier; it's a surprise."

Rapunzel shoved a snowy branch away from her face and she ducked beneath several low-lying branches. Whatever he was doing leading her into the freezing-cold woods was anybody's guess. "…And you thought that taking me in weather like this was a good idea for a date?" Clearly, she was not too amused; her moods severely dampened by her inability to publicly speak.

"You don't even know where I'm taking you; cheer up a little."

She studied her surroundings and placed a finger to her mouth inquisitively. "Looks like we're in the woods to me. When it's snowing. I can't even walk right, Eugene."

"Knew I probably should have let you borrow one of my pairs of boots before we left—the snow's only going to get deeper…"

"Eugene," She growled, her voice taking an annoyed undertone. It didn't appear like winter was going to be her favorite season.

Eugene chuckled. "I wouldn't take you any place that I even thought was going to ruin those nice little shoes of yours," He pointed a finger to her feet, covered in silk shoes embroidered with what was sure to be some of the most expensive beads in Corona.

"What should we do if we see a bear?"

"Bears aren't even out during the winter, Rapunzel," His head turned back to her and he lifted an eyebrow. "The girl who's tackled ruffians and thugs, taken a frying pan to a thief at least three times, and broken herself out of a jail made just for her is scared of a bear?"

She smiled slightly. "…It's not me I'm worried about, you see. You've been slacking behind on your defense lessons lately, Eugene."

He put a hand on his hip and maneuvered around a thick tree and disappeared momentarily into a thicket of twigs and branches. "That's because I don't need those stupid lessons, Princess. I swear; that instructor's out to get me."

Rapunzel stepped over a fallen log and hurried back to his side with a smirk dancing upon her lips. "You did dump wood shavings into his lunch sack."

"On accident," Eugene urged. "I tripped and—"

"A likely story," She replied, sarcasm laden in her voice.

He rolled his eyes before stopping at a thicket of cattail plants. "Believe what you want, but either way, we're here."

She raised an eyebrow. "…Here?"

Eugene nodded and pushed the cattails aside, revealing a frozen-over pond with a thin layer of snow blanketing the landscape surrounding it. Rapunzel could do nothing but gasp softly; it looked like a picture from a story that she would have read when she was just a little girl.

"…It's so pretty here."

He smiled with satisfaction and carefully lowered his satchel onto a damp log buried beside the lake. "I thought you'd like it."

Rapunzel shifted the cloak upon her shoulders and shivered slightly. "How did you find this place?"

Eugene ran a hand through his hair and lifted his shoulders. "I used to come here a lot when I was younger—before I was a wanted man," He chuckled softly, more to himself than to her.

She gently prodded him at his ribs with a finger and laughed. "…You make it sound like you're so old, now."

He snorted softly. "Older than you, Princess." That one, rare difference was one that he enjoyed flaunting in front of her when debating one another's maturity levels.

She sighed. "I thought we were already done with this—I'm smarter than you, and that's that."

"You've got book smarts; I've got the street smarts."

She laughed. "Not too many, then. A horse outsmarted you."

He rolled his hazel eyes. "Thanks."

"And how many times did I save you?" Rapunzel smirked and held up her fingers. "Let's see…there was that first time at the 'Snuggly Duckling', where the ruffians almost did you through," She pulled one finger back.

"Fine-that's one time."

"Oh, and there's that time when we almost drowned in the little cave and my hair saved us both."

"Twice. Your luck," He smiled and shook his head.

She grinned. "Just because I didn't know what shoes felt like on my feet for a while doesn't mean that I didn't know how to get around. You learn a lot from books, you know."

Eugene waved a hand. "That shouldn't count; it's not fair. I didn't have many of those when I was younger."

The princess leaned towards him and pressed the crown of her head against his upper arm. "The Tales of Flynnagyn Rider."

His eyes rolled.

Rapunzel shed her thick cloak and carefully threw it over the same log. She rose onto her toes and peered past his shoulder from behind his back, her finger pointing to the heavy bag he had previously been carrying. "…What's in that?"

Eugene opened it and dug in it for several minutes before he faced her again with two pairs of shoes—or at least, that's what they appeared to be. Rapunzel had never before seen such strange contraptions, with what looked like thin blades attached to the soles of the shoes and sharp edges at the toes. They looked…dangerous. She stepped back a few feet and her head fell to one side.

"I see you got…new shoes."

He quickly shook his head. "They're not shoes; they're ice skates. Ever heard of them?"

Her head shook slowly.

He unlaced the leather laces and handed her the smaller white pair. "You use them to glide on the ice, sort of like walking on it—without the slipping. That is, unless you're not any good at it."

Rapunzel was almost cringing as she was already beginning to imagine herself falling flat on her face against the ice. Or at least crashing straight through. She looked to him with wide, sage eyes. "…Are you any good at it?"

Eugene bit his lip and was silent for several minutes, until he eventually spoke once his own ice skates were securely on his feet. "…I guess we'll find out."

Her mouth fell slightly agape. "You're telling me that you've never done this, either?"

He held up his palms to the sky and he laughed. "Who was I supposed to go with?" He motioned for her to begin lacing her shoes. She hesitantly did so.

"If I fall through and break my leg, I'm blaming you," She smiled, although her voice was stern and uncertain.

Eugene tossed his boots to the side and did the same with her nicer, heeled shoes. "You'll be alright; I'm sure that the water will manage to retain some of your body heat while I go to get some help for you."

"You wouldn't jump in after me?" She gasped softly, a playful smile dancing on her cold lips.

He laughed. "Of course not; are you crazy? Have you felt how cold that water is?"

"Eugene!"

Eugene beamed. "See? You're smiling now, right?"

"Yeah," She laughed uncomfortably. "With the idea of falling straight through the ice and freezing to death."

"Oh, come on," He urged, gently nudging her closer to the pond. "You know that I'd at least let you try to grab ahold of my hand."

"Yeah—if my dress doesn't drag me to the bottom, first—"

"—Those ice skates add some weight too, don't forget."

The princess sighed and she locked her arm with his. "You're a real help, Eugene Fitzherbert."

"I try," He grinned as he carefully stepped out onto the ice. After taking several steps further out, he motioned for her to come towards him. "You'll be fine—I've seen bigger people than us get out onto this. Now get closer; take small steps."

Rapunzel did as she was told and found herself frozen stiff with just fear as she began to unsteadily stumble and wobble on the thin, metal blades. "Eugene…"

He laughed—this was almost too funny to watch. "…You're fine; just keep going this way."

She held her eyes tightly shut as she blindly wandered towards Eugene; her fingers wiggled and she finally caught ahold of his forearm.

"See? You made it this far without falling through…" He shifted more weight onto his left foot and the ice cleaved slightly beneath it. He laughed when she gave a frightful squeal; he was beginning to have to remind himself that he took her here to have a nice time, not to torture her with a horrifyingly-hilarious experience on ice.

Rapunzel let her feet slip testily across the slick ice before she was comfortable enough to release him momentarily. She took a step forward, and then another with a bit more of a glide. She looked back to Eugene and smiled. "…This isn't so bad."

He cracked a grin. He watched as she began to walk across the ice with less and less of an effort; he knew that in time she was going to put his ice skating to shame—if she wasn't already doing it. Eugene tried to follow with just a hint more of grace than she, only to be brutally met by the slick ice below. His own laugh was met by that of Rapunzel's, who had seen him fall to his demise from the other side of the pond. She skated to his side and stumbled slightly as she stopped; the princess knelt at his side and beamed. "I don't know about you, but I'm having fun already."

Eugene pulled himself up and shakily rose to his feet. "Did you read a book on ice skating while you were stuck in that tower, Princess?"

She giggled and shook her head. "Nope. I guess I'm just naturally gifted," She snickered.

"That must be it," He took her by the waist as she began to glide away. "I think you might just have to show me how to do this right."

Rapunzel sighed softly and smiled back to him. "If I have to," She pulled his hand from her hips and spun to face him. "…Now stand up straight."

Eugene fumbled with his feet and fought against the ice before he eventually looked back to her with a straightened posture. "…Alright."

"Now try to move forward, but put your hands out in front of you—like right here," She took his wrists and pulled his arms out in front of him. "That'll help you to balance, like this." She demonstrated her own balancing technique before continuing. "…Now bend your knees just a little."

He stared at her for a moment before he lowered his arms and slowly lowered himself to bend his knees.

"No, no," Rapunzel quickly grabbed ahold of his arms and positioned them out before him again. "Keep those up."

Eugene sighed. "I look stupid," His eyes wandered, as if expecting people to be watching them. "I don't see how this is going to help me at all."

"I told you—it'll help you keep your balance," Rapunzel took his right hand and slowly moved him forward. "Now move your feet like you're walking."

He did as he was told, carefully putting his left foot to the side and doing the same with his right slightly more in front before he felt himself beginning to lose his grip on the ice. He stumbled behind her before he finally came crashing back down to the ground face first; Rapunzel only laughed and turned back to him.

"…It takes a little while."

Eugene closed his eyes and shook his head as he propped himself up on his elbows. "Not for you, it doesn't."

She shrugged slightly and gave him a smug grin. "Just remember, I'm gifted," She outstretched a hand and his slipped in. "Oh. And smarter, too."

"That's it—" He took on a satisfied smile of his own as he jerked on her wrist, sending her to the ice beside him. "No need to throw insults," As the younger woman turned to face him, he crookedly smiled.

Rapunzel scrambled upright and looked down upon him with wide eyes before she laughed sincerely. "So that's what it's like to be on the ground—like you?"

Eugene reached for her ankle. "I'll do it again, if you keep it up."

She breezed past him back to the opposite end of the pond and grinned. "No, thanks. I like it up here, where I'm able to skate."

He rose back to his feet and clumsily chased after her. "Drop it, Princess."

Rapunzel shook her head gleefully and skated past him. "I don't know about you, but I'm enjoying myself quite a bit—watching you and all."

Eugene chased after her with what seemed to resemble ice skating, although he came close to dragging himself back down on numerous occasions in the ever-closing space between him and her. He came within inches of her; she only breezed by and glided to his backside. He laughed as he spun suddenly and she squealed, her legs moved but the rest of her remained in place as she moved so fast. Eugene's arm enveloped her from behind and she gave in as he drew her closer, grinning from ear to ear. "…You can skate, but I knew I could catch you just as easily."

She looked to him with large emerald eyes and smirked. "…You're just lucky I don't have my frying pan with me right now."

He spun her with one arm to face him directly. "You're right; I guess I am lucky," He gave her a crooked smile and leaned in closer towards her face. "Really, really lucky."

Rapunzel could feel the heat rushing to her cheeks and she returned his smile with a warmer one of her own. Her arms encircled his neck and she fully supported herself against him, much to the dismay of what was sure to be her better judgment. She stared at him for what felt like an eternity before she finally spoke, her voice quiet and much lighter than its earlier, distressed tone. "...I'm glad you dragged me here."

Eugene laughed softly. "See? I'm not as stupid as you think I am."

She giggled and buried her face into his chest.

His arms tightened and he closed his eyes; his chin rested atop the crown of her head. "…There was another time."

Rapunzel didn't lift her head. "…Hmm?"

"There was another time; you saved me more than twice."

"What would that be?"

His head moved and his eyes directly met with hers. "The tower."

She remained silent and unusually still in his arms; he waited for her eyes to at least move a bit before she opened her mouth to speak, her voice quiet. "…I didn't save you," She paused; her eyes were large and looked almost the exact way they had when she watched him hit the tower floor. "If I had saved you, you wouldn't have died. That's that," Her voice fell stagnant.

"I wouldn't let you help me—you would have been taken away. I couldn't let Gothel do that," He frowned slightly as she drew back from him slightly and her arms crossed tightly around her chest. "I wasn't going to let you give up your freedom so I could live the life I had before."

Rapunzel's eyes contained anguish and refused to meet his gaze. "…I couldn't let you die."

But if you do this, then you will die.

He extended a hand, offering her to take it if she was willing. "But I'd do it more than once, if I could and if it meant that you were able to know what was past that tower."

It earned a faint, bittersweet smile from her; but not a touch from her just yet. She drifted slowly across the ice without movement and her head turned back to view him. "…You're so stupid—you could have had such an easy life if you had just let me heal you," The corners of her lips rose a considerable deal; he picked up on her slight teasing and he shrugged it off.

"Maybe you are the smarter one-but life's no fun living if it was always easy now, is it?"

She finally took his offer and her fingers locked between his. "I guess it's a good thing that everybody in the castle hates you, then. I never have a dull moment."

"Not everyone," He corrected with that same, lopsided grin. "Not…not everybody."

Rapunzel slid back to his side and she beamed. "If you can't come up with three people who don't dislike you by the time we get back home, you'll have to wear my crown for an entire day."

He lifted an eyebrow. "…And if I do?"

"I might have to take you up on your offer about those boots—with a nice dress and all. A whole day. Fair?" She held out her opposite hand.

Eugene smiled and took it. "…Deal."

He better start getting used to the idea of a crown being on his head.