Birthright
By- An Unknown Foreign Beauty
(A Tangled Fanfic)
Chapter 1- The News
"You will make a fine king one day, your highness."
Eugene almost choked on the cupcake he was in the process of swallowing and looked at the person who had just spoken. Quirin, the royal engineer's father, also had been acting as an ambassador of Dark Kingdom at Corona since the kingdom was in the process of rebuilding. Though the kingdom was practically defunct for nearly thirty years, Rapunzel insisted on keeping a political presence at the court as the kingdom was being rebuilt. King Fredric and King Edmund had also agreed upon the idea and praised Rapunzel's wisdom.
Eugene swallowed the cake carefully and gave Quirin a confused stare, "I am sorry, but of which kingdom?"
"Your own kingdom, of course." Quirin gave him an equally confused look, "You are the heir."
"It looks like you are taking your ambassador job very seriously, Mr. Quirin." Eugene laughed, poking Quirin's arm, earning an unamused glare from the man. "Dad is doing a very fine job out there."
"And he is not getting any younger, your highness." Quirin replied grimly, "Also being an ambassador it's my duty to remind you the fact."
"Calm down, Quirin." Eugene smiled, pushing back the chair and standing up, "I am here just to invite you to the meeting tomorrow. Adira will be visiting. You can have all the serious talks with her."
Quirin frowned but did not look happy. Eugene decided to ignore the man. Maximus was waiting for him outside. Yes, he was technically the Prince of the Dark Kingdom as his father was the king, and that was it. Being Queen Rapunzel's husband also came with the title of the Prince Consort, but the title had a little value when it came to the question of the actual power, except looking dashing beside the queen on occasions. And he was sure he was very good at it. He didn't have any official coronation or crown unlike his wife but he did not have any complaint either. He himself never used any of the titles, never liked to think like one. He was happy with being the Captain of the guards of Corona, catching bad guys, learning laws and military strategies, protecting the kingdom and the queen and he had no need to worry about the convoluted things like the politics and court culture. He never considered as being an important person like an heir of a kingdom. If he wanted to be honest, that title suited Rapunzel better.
Besides, he had other things to worry about- like the surprise candlelight dinner date he had planned for his wife.
The date went just as he planned. He sent a message via Lance that he would be busy with an important meeting, so he could not attend the regular dinner with the royal family tonight. Later, he sent a guard with the news of a possible attack on the queen and asked Rapunzel to accompany him to some safe place for hiding. And there he greeted her with the dinner arrangement, tearing a surprised gasp from Rapunzel. The rest of the date was uneventful. They had dinners under the moon with a candle for light, while Pascal played guitar in the background. Later they settled on the grass with two cupcakes in their hands. Rapunzel scooted closer and rested her head on his shoulder.
"Thank you." She whispered inhaling in pure bliss.
"You really needed a break, sunshine." Eugene kissed her head, "You have been stressed lately."
"Ah, don't remind me." Rapunzel stretched her arms and settled on his lap. "All the planning for the meeting tomorrow is killing me. You know the annual meeting of the Seven Kingdoms…. It will be my first one as a queen."
The softness of her body against his filled Eugene with the familiar warmth. His wife had been very busy lately since she was officially coroneted as the queen. He pulled her closer and wrapped one of his arms around her waist, cupping her face with another, he gazed into her eyes. "Don't worry. You will do great. Also thanks for inviting the Dark Kingdom to the meeting."
"They will need a political presence once the kingdom will be up and running properly. Besides the world needs to know what happened there all these years ago." Rapunzel rested her head on his chest, enjoying the steady beat of his heart. It was like a lullaby she loved to hear. "Besides, it is your home too. Wouldn't you like to see some familiar faces again?"
Eugene hardly considered that strange place as home. Yes, he might be born there, but he had no memory of that place or how it was. Rapunzel made sure of his presence in the rebuilding of his kingdom. She insisted on at least three monthly visits to his father. At first, he considered the visits as obligatory, but soon he realized a bit reluctantly that he actually enjoyed the reunions with his father, King Edmund, and the rest of the brotherhood. He found himself more and more interested in the cultures and the history of the land he was born into. Edmund made sure to tell everything he knew. Occasionally he met the people who began to return after leaving their homes during the disaster and found a strange connection with them. Some of their stories like him, some were even worse. Even he began to learn the native language of the land called Sokoyika.
"Hmm…" Eugene buried his face in the mess of her brown hair, inhaling the scent of lavender shampoo she used this morning, "But I was really looking forward Dad to join this meeting. His presence would be more impactful than Adira."
Rapunzel startled, and pulled away, earning a disgruntled moan from Eugene. "What happened?" he asked feeling cold at the loss of her body warmth.
"I forgot to give you something." Rapunzel rummaged through her purse, pulling out a piece of folded parchment. "Adira told me to give you this morning."
Eugene frowned and took the paper from Rapunzel's hand, wondering why Adira wanted to deliver some news in a letter, instead of telling him directly. He opened the letter and ran his eyes through the words written in it.
Rapunzel watched Eugene as his eyes darted quickly over the words written in the letter. His expression changed from worry to shock, and then his hands began shaking. Rapunzel felt concerned as the letter dropped from his hand.
"What was it?" She placed one hand along his cheek and asked. At first, Eugene tried to look away, but she forced him to tilt his face and made him look at her. There was a single drop of tear at the corner of his eyes.
"Eugene…" She whispered, moving closer so that her nose almost touched his.
Eugene tried not to cry, but a drop of tear rolled from his eyes. He tried to blink the tear away, but he could not. He gazed into her wide green eyes, trying to draw some strength from there. Her hand against his cheek felt so reassuring. Still, he could not stop his tears from flowing.
"Sunshine, my dad is ill." His voice shook unknowingly, "The healers think that he will only a month to live. He wants me to come there and claim my birthright."
"Oh, Eugene." Rapunzel gasped and wound her arms around his neck, pulling him closer so that his head resting on the crook of her neck. She ran her fingers through his hair as she felt him shaking against her.
Review? Kuddos?
After one year of the Tangled the series finale, I rewatched the whole series and can't get it out of my head. I love the idea of Dark Kingdom and Eugene being the prince, though the plot wasn't handled well in the series. But I want to expand my own ideas.
I have not written for a while, so the characters may seem OOC, and my writing a bit rusty. Besides English is not my first language, so please consider the errors. This will be a three or four chaptered story, I will try to finish it. Updates may be late, so be patient with me.
Your valuable responses, reviews and ideas will bring joy to me as always.