Chapter 6

"Something I can help you with?" Eugene asked Rowena, pushing her away.

Rowena smiled. "Is this how you greet an old friend?"

Eugene shook his head. "Ro, we haven't seen each other in years. What are you doing here? And if you're here, Nichol and his little rat have to be here too."

Rowena frowned. "You know Merlin is a peregrine falcon. You do remember he's a bird of prey."

"Ahh, prey shmay," Eugene answered. "I'm engaged, Ro. I'm sure you know that too. Besides you didn't answer my question."

"Well, if you must know, we've been invited to your wedding, so that answers question number 1. And before I answer question 2, what happened to the two of us? You betrayed me. I was there first before this Proppunzel, Arunzel…"

"Rapunzel," Eugene said, getting a little angry. "And I betrayed you how? Why do you go on with this fantasy of yours? There was never the two of us, Ro. Maybe in your mind there was. You always had that little love thing going on, haven't you? How old were we? I think you were 14 and I just turned 16."

"What made you walk out then?"

"That's easy," Eugene said. "The three of you had your own agenda. You'd take your cuts and give me exactly what was left. I was the one who was doing all your dirty work. To be truthful, I got fed up, with tired of the whole thing. I wanted more money and I wanted fame and fortune. Sticking around with you wasn't getting me anywhere. There was better money to be made elsewhere. It didn't take me too much longer to hook up with the Stabbington boys, but the twins never went anywhere. We cleaned up plenty, but we did split everything right down the middle. Too bad we spent it on everything else. So this time I split, taking the loot with me. The guards chased me and before I knew it, there I was looking at this tower. How was I to know that inside was the woman who would change my life. "

"You always wanted money and a better position in life, Flynn. I guess that's how you got to where you're at now. Marrying a Princess and living in a castle."

Eugene was angry. That's why he had run out on them in the first place. Yes, he had only told her part of the truth. The first part of it was that it was a better place to be then in the orphanage. It wasn't all that bad, it wasn't like the some of the famous stories you read about workhouses, whippings and beatings. He never experienced that. They taught him and the children to read, write and do sums. He soon found work inside the orphanage, helping out with the chores. At night, he'd read to the younger kids about his hero Flynn Rider, and decided to try that kind of life out for himself.

He had hooked up with Nichol first who had introduced him to Rowena. It was fun at first, being part of a team. They had been hired out by an older man, who called himself Rowena's father. Angus had been generous, splitting the loot four ways. But with each con, the pickings got more dangerous and it wasn't fun anymore. He was the one doing all the dirty work and he wasn't making all that much, not as much as he wanted anyway. That and the fact Rowena became infatuated with him, ran after him, calling him her boyfriend, asking if he would marry her. It didn't go any farther than a kiss though, Flynn made sure of that. He wanted no attachments, no relationships, nothing to tie him down. So at age 16, he split again, this time to join the Stabbington Twins.

What he didn't know was that Angus, Rowena and Nichol considered his leaving a betrayal against the family. Flynn had been accepted as a family member and could use their secrets. That was more important to them then any piece of gold or silver.

Not to mention that Rowena had held a torch for him all those years. She hoped that the love she held for him would blossom if he saw her again after all these years. She was sort of disappointed when they never happened. Besides she had been ordered to distract him while Nichol went after Rapunzel.

"Look, Ro. I don't have to explain my actions to you or anyone else. I haven't seen you in what, seven years?"

Rowena smiled and came closer. "You haven't answered my question?"

"You want an answer? Here's an answer. There was something different about Rapunzel. She wasn't afraid of me and she didn't fall for any of my tricks. She didn't fall in love with me instantly either, like all the other women. All she wanted was to fulfill her dream and she did. She believed in me and made me feel wanted. I felt excited and alive, just being with her was better than any con or any heist that I ever pulled off. For the first time in my life, I fell for someone and I wanted to be there for her."

Rowena stared at him, his whole face lit up when spoke of her. She was getting nowhere, this time the con wasn't going to work.

"So when did you find out she was the lost princess?"

Eugene stared at her. He had to be careful with what he said and how he said it.

"She told me later that she believed that she was the princess. She said she remembered their faces hovering over her crib when she was an infant. She'd seen the mosaic in the courtyard, Ro, and she remembered. I told her I'd take her there because her happiness meant more to me than my life. I didn't expect to become part of this life, it all just sort of evolved."

He looked away from Rowena for a moment. He had heard some sort of commotion outside."

"But I'm not sorry, because I love her and my life here has been great. I've been accepted into a loving family and I'm getting married next week. And for the first time in my life, I'm looking forward to. Now I'd better start getting back before Zel comes searching for me. Besides I heard something out there and I'd better investigate."

He gave Ro a parting peck on the cheek. "Oh and by the way, the name is Captain Eugene Fitzherbert. Flynn Rider is dead and he's going to stay that way."

Rowena watched him walk away. He wasn't the same. This was going to be harder to pull off.

XXXX

Angus Martin found his way to the castle. It would be easy for him to get in, he was related to the King after all, although he had kept that secret. That's how they got the invite to the wedding. But he had been surprised that his brother had remembered him after all these years. It wasn't like he had been accepted into the family.

He had been adopted by the King's father when he was a baby. The Queen couldn't have anymore children and they wanted their son to have a playmate. So they went down to the orphanage, found little red headed Angus and raised him as their own. But he was a disappointment to them. He had made love to one of the courtiers and had gotten her pregnant. He had disgraced the Royal family and was thrown out. The two married, but Colleen died in childbirth leaving him with Rowena to raise. He found odd jobs but never held them for too long. So he began to steal. At first it was small and when he had gotten away with it, the cons became bigger and better.

Rowena found Nichol and Flynn in the streets and they became a foursome, a family if you will and they did well. He had high hopes for Flynn Rider, and expected him to join the family. He held those hopes until Rowena came home crying one day that Flynn had left them in the lurch. He was too old to start stealing again and that's when he came up with the flower idea.

He had heard about a job opening and asked the King for a favor, to give his daughter the job. And he granted that request, when the King saw that she had a green thumb. But Rowena began stealing things until she managed to slip past the guards with a flower. The Captain had seen her, reported it to the King and she was immediately let go, but Angus had gotten what he wanted.

Getting past the guards at the gate had been simple. They had let it down when they recognized him. He had been there before, numerous times. He had told his brother that he had changed, but he hadn't. All he wanted was the flowers and his brother had never divulged that important information. Well, now that he knew where they were, he was going to get it for himself. The only way to do anything was to do it yourself.

He slipped past two more sleeping guards and let himself into the castle. He climbed the stairs to the King's bed chamber. The King and Queen weren't there though. The Queen was across the hall with Rapunzel who had a bad night. The King however, was standing inside the little portico looking out over the sleeping kingdom of Corona.

"Hello brother," Angus said to the figure standing at the portico.

The King turned to find his brother standing there with a knife in his hand. "Long time, no see. What do you need now? The experiment didn't work you know. There's nothing I can give you. I guess that Rowena ran out of cuttings herself?"

Angus shook his head. "There is something I require, my brother, but it's not the flower. I don't need healing, I need to stay young. I need your daughter. She's the only one who knows the incantation."

The King's eyes widened. "We just got her back ourselves, Angus. I will not give up my daughter to you or anyone. Besides, she's got no healing powers, anymore."

Angus shook his head. "That's not what I hear. The whole kingdom is buzzing about how your daughter healed the Captain of the Guard with her tears. She knows magic and I want her for myself. And if you won't give me her, I'll take you. Then we can work out an exchange, but Flynn will have to bring her to me. Do you understand?"

The King looked at the knife in his brother's hands. "Yes, I do. Let's go before we wake up the castle."