Eugene paced around a good while in front of the mansion gate, nauseous from regret and maybe a bit of fear. He hadn't seen Staylan in a while and yet he felt like his memories of her were as vivid as the moonlight that beamed down on him as he continued to mope around. Lately his mind had been overwhelmed with all the possibilities and potential outcomes of his meeting with her, who no doubt still held a bitter grudge after their last… incident together. Her family was always on the shady side of law, making money off of laundering and tax evasion. Sometimes they'd pay the police to keep quiet about their greater misdeeds. One thing that he learned about Mr. Barron and his daughter was that they were not a family to be swindled nor cheated. So it was no surprise that her father didn't take it well when Eugene jilted Stalyan to start a new life for himself. Now that he's coming back, Eugene began to question his sanity or perhaps his desperation.
Then it occurred to him that his fear made him irrational, no longer the bold Flynn Ryder he used to be. If he wanted Stalyan to help, he had to act natural. So, after calming his nerves he decided to press the bell. An automatic gate opened. Clearly the it was meant for vehicles, not broke wandering men, because the uphill road curved into a driveway about 300 yards away.
As he made his way closer to the large marble mansion, Eugene couldn't help but realize how beautiful everything was, a decadent masterpiece flanked with vivid flowers, vines, and ornate garden decorations. God, Rapunzel would love to draw this.
Seeing all this made him feel so plebeian and worthless. No doubt it did not bolster his confidence.
As he approached the door, it opened and he was greeted by a tall and rather old butler, whose balding head and twirly moustache screamed cliche.
"Ah, Mr Rider. It's been a long time." he announced with a stoic face.
"Sorry but do I know you sir?" Eugene was taken aback.
"No, but Master Barron and Mistress Stalyan do. In fact, you are quite a popular topic of conversation around here."
The thief swallowed a lump in his throat. "Um, well, yes. I'm here to speak with Stalyan"
"Of course, since Master Barron isn't home yet, I'll take you to her."
Eugene sighed relief, glad he didn't have to deal with the wrath of Mr Barron.
"Would you like me to take your err..coat?"
It was then Eugene realized how dirty he was, his leather jacket scuffed and torn from the years of travel.
"Yes, thank you."
The butler took the coat by his fingertips as if it was contaminated and placed it on the coat rack.
As the two made their way down the hall, Eugene's vivid memories of the place flooded in. There on the left was the dining room where he got drunk after a successful bank heist with Stalyan, and the ballroom on the right when he first… proposed to her. Thinking back on it made him angry that he was ever that kind of man, living off of lies and blood money. Yet he never seemed to regret Stalyan. Sure, he knew that leaving her before the marriage was what he wanted, but that didn't mean his feelings for her all of a sudden disappeared. She saved him many times before whether it was an accidental run in with the law or with a rival gang. He trusted her and she trusted him during a time when trust was a very valuable commodity. But eventually, he wasn't sure he wanted to involve himself with her ignoble family and all the evil things they did that were vile even by his own standards.
"You seem very unsure of yourself Mr Rider—"
"Fitzherbert."
"Excuse me?" His bushy gray eyebrows perked up.
"I go by Fitzherbert now," Eugene cleared his voice as Stalyan's room neared.
"Well then, Mr Fitzherbert." He stopped in front of a large wooden door. "I'll leave you to it."
Thanks to Rapunzel's mini lessons, he noticed the details of the large ornate Baroque door that stood in front of him. He found himself taken aback by the gravity of the situation. If he went in there and Stalyan didn't forgive him… he reached for his neck and felt his stomach clench.
Yet before he could steel himself, the door opened in front of him and there she was. Her slim figure filtered the moonlight that bled through the undraped windows enough for him to get a long glimpse of her. Her delicate but fierce face was bent into a scowl, scarier than any ruffian on the street, but oh so damn attractive.
"What are you doing here?" Her words bit into him.
Eugene mustered up a devilish smile. "I'm here for you my beautiful, and because I need your help Stalyan. I want to apologize for all that I have wronged you."
"Cut the bullshit Flynn, you know what you did. You left me on the day of the wedding!" She turned away.
"Everyone makes mistakes Stalyan. I've come back a changed man. I— I have come clean now and I just need a bit of support." He approached her as a wolf approaches its prey, careful not to make a wrong move. He needed this to work, he needed that money.
"How dare you? Am I just a mistake to you? I loved you Flynn!" Tears flowed out her eyes and she ran her frustrated fingers through her fiery red-brown hair.
"You know I loved you, and I still do." Memories of Rapunzel flashed through his mind and he felt a pang of guilt stab his diaphragm. "But the things your father did. It didn't sit well with me."
"My family? You're a criminal! We took you in when you were petty thief on the streets! I was willing to marry a poor scoundrel like you because I loved you!" She was leaning against a dressing table, the tears dropping from her face onto the wooden tabletop with an audible plop.
"But the deaths and murders that your family hid! You were just fine with that? How can I marry into a family that hides assassinations and murders for money? I am a criminal but maybe there are some lines I just can't cross!"
"SHUT UP RIDER! You always play with my emotions. Not anymore!" Her hand opened a drawer and pulled out a knife.
"Stalyan, please," he reasoned. "I'm no longer Flynn Rider. I've come clean now. I'm Eugene Fitzherbert. Maybe I wasn't the right man for you but that didn't mean it was easy for me to leave."
"No! FUCK YOU RIDER. YOU LIAR, CHEATING BASTARD!" She lunged at him with the blade, and he dodged it, falling backwards onto a futon. He couldn't get up in time before she attacked him again, this time plunging the knife straight down over his head, but before it landed, he blocked her attack with the base of his forearm.
"Please Stalyan, let's talk this through."
The knife fell and hit the floor with a loud metallic clink. Stalyan was hysterical, falling on top of Eugene, limp and sobbing as she clung onto him.
He gently lifted her teary face to eye level with him. "I'm so sorry for all the pain I've caused you. You deserve a better man. You must understand that I am no longer the same person you once knew."
Her eyelashes fluttered and he felt a renewed lust emerge from his loins as she laid on top of him, their faces practically touching. He felt the same love he had for her years ago, but he knew it was wrong. No he couldn't. Rapunzel.
As he began to pull his head away, her lips thrust onto his and the fire that began to smolder suddenly burst into flames as his primal instincts swamped his judgement. Her hands were on his body, not innocent like Rapunzel's. No, she knew his weaknesses, his soft spots and his pleasures. He felt powerless under this spell of lust as his hands gravitated towards her curves. As he reached for her brassiere, Rapunzel flashed through his mind and he felt his fingers seize. This wasn't right but he couldn't control himself for long. His clothing came off soon and so too did hers. Their bodies were intertwined in a guilty symphony of erotic intimacy. The nighttime euphoria lingered until she fell asleep besides him, with Eugene as broken-hearted as he was before. Before the crickets began to chirp, he put on his clothes and grabbed a bundle of cash from her dresser. He left through the window of the mansion and ran until the guilt dragged him down. He cried and cried until he couldn't cry anymore. And as he fell besides an alleyway dumpster, he couldn't help but feel like that was where he belonged.