Scene Eleven: Let Me Tell You a Story…

Queen Isabelle closed the door and looked at her daughter. She was standing against the wall, her hands behind her back, eyes on the floor.

"Are you sure you don't want to see him right now?" Rapunzel shook her head. The queen sighed. What was she going to do with these two? "Well," Rapunzel's mother continued, "I have the morning and afternoon off, would you like to spend your day with me?" Rapunzel nodded her head. She pushed herself away from the wall and slipped her hand into her mother's. Isabelle put her head on her daughter's and led her to her own private rooms.

There, Rapunzel sat down in the plushest chair and pulled a pillow into her lap. The queen put her hands on her hips.

"Rapunzel, you are not going to mope all day, are you? Eugene got drunk; every normal husband does from time to time."

"That's not it," Rapunzel mumbled.

"Well, what is it?" Rapunzel looked like she didn't want to answer.

"Eugene and I had a fight yesterday. I think he's mad at me because…because I don't spend enough time with him or pay enough attention to him, or something like that. I don't really know; I didn't understand him. But I can't help it if I get busy, I'm the princess."

"He actually has a point, dear, about you being able to order more free time." Rapunzel's jaw dropped; she looked absolutely mortified.

"You said you didn't hear anything."

"I heard enough." The queen smiled and sat down next to her daughter. "You two shouldn't let your first fight get in the way of your feelings for each other. It's natural for a couple to fight every now and then."

"But Eugene and I never fight."

"Well, that's a lot of bottled up frustration, isn't it?" Queen Isabelle let her words sink in. "You and Eugene really don't talk about each other's feelings when it comes to royal duties and protocols, do you?" Rapunzel said nothing. The queen sighed and looked at Rapunzel. "Let me tell you a story, Rapunzel. When your father and I were first married, I felt like Eugene. Everyone wanted to talk to my husband, never me. I was just the object that hung off his arm, the woman who was supposed to give him an heir. No one saw me as the queen yet or even the woman the king loved, and I didn't have a single friend in the palace. I absolutely hated all my ladies in waiting. I still knew a great deal more about palace behavior than Eugene, or even you knew when you two first came to live here, but I could not understand why my new husband, who had promised me his life, wasn't paying attention to me. I loved him and I knew he loved me, but he barely talked to me or even touched me. I tried to ignore it, thinking it was just how things were going to be for awhile. He was very busy; he still is…" Isabelle trailed off. "But after a few weeks of this, I could hardly take it. So, one day, I stormed into his office, which was full of ambassadors and basically told him to make love to me right then and there." Rapunzel's face grew hot. She tried to hide it with the pillow.

"Did he," she mumbled to her mother.

"Actually, yes." Queen Isabelle grinned triumphantly. "He canceled all of his meetings for that day and spent the rest of the day with me. It was actually the first time he'd been with me since our wedding night. But you see, at that time, your father was the King. Unlike you, he had a whole kingdom to run and he did have to sit me down and explain that to me. I suppose I already knew it, but it was frustrating to not be with the man I loved. And that's how Eugene feels. Now, with you and Eugene, you're only a princess and don't have as many duties, and some days, you could just say no. All this is partially my fault, I will admit, I do make your schedule's, but, as Eugene put it, you're a princess from crying out loud. Use the power you were born with and order some free time. I won't be offended." Rapunzel stared at her pillow. The fabric had been woven so that the image of flowers checkered it. Rapunzel sighed.

She could understand why Eugene would be mad at her about their limited time together; she was mad about it too. She missed him, missed him being with her, next to her, touching her… but she had seen him touching another woman.

"Actually," Rapunzel mumbled. "There's something else about Eugene."