Okay it would seem I am the only one who loved Rapunzel's ending haircut. Then again her haircut at the end was, essentially, my haircut. Except, of course, I don't do it with a shard of mirror. But yay for having brunette princesses with short haircuts!
Come on the brunette Princesses are awesome. They save their Princes! They're literate! Look at Belle and Rapunzel!
Oh and Zachary Levi is awesome. I'm a huge fan of Chuck and I love how he's all nerdy and cute.
The most incredible thing about the palace, Rapunzel decided was the number of people who seemed to live in it.
Well maybe not live, but certainly spend a lot of time.
There were so many of them that it made her head spin to think how big the palace had to be to accommodate all of them. There were women in perfectly pressed, neat uniforms who swept and dusted and polished. There were men who stood in brightly shining uniforms, their backs so straight it made her own shoulders ache just thinking about holding them in such a position for so long. Strangely everyone seemed to bow or curtsey to her as well but for the life of her Rapunzel had no idea how to respond to such a gesture.
"This place is huge!" Rapunzel whispered to Eugene, afraid to raise her voice higher than a whisper since everything seemed so much louder here, "no wonder you wanted one."
"Hi there," Eugene said to a guard who gave him a dirty look, "maybe we should keep the whole 'thief' thing quiet,"
"How come?" Rapunzel asked looking over at him before seeing the dirty look from the guard, "oh, oh right. You robbed this palace."
"Something like that," Eugene said
"But if you think about it you really were just giving me back my crown, so its not that bad," the Princess said matter-of-factly.
"I don't think they see it that way," Eugene said looking back at the guard who followed him with hawk eyes, as if he expected him to steal something right then and there.
"But if they know then why do I have to keep it quiet?" Rapunzel asked, confused at his logic, "I mean if everyone knows-"
"Yes but lets have them focus on the fact that I gave you a ride back to the palace," he said, "you know, the whole return-the-lost-princess-thing, not the steal-the-crown-jewels-of-said-lost-princess."
"Oh okay," Rapunzel said, taking his word for it, "he brought me back!" she called over to the guard who was glaring at Eugene. The guard's eyes widened before he straightened up and looked at the wall, "there," Rapunzel said as if it took care of the problem.
Eugene looked at her, torn between slamming his face into palm and laughing outright at her innocence. But Rapunzel looked back at him with her bright green eyes and even brighter smile and the desire to do either evaporated as he returned the gesture, helpless to refuse her. The women leading them down the hallway stopped at a pair of doors and turned, curtseying to Rapunzel who looked helpless at what to do in response.
"Thank you," she said finally as two people on the other side pushed open the doors.
The room was sun drenched and beautiful, with a small table set for four. By the windows the King and Queen were speaking quietly but the moment the doors opened they turned to look at the two of them. At the sight of her parents, Rapunzel's fingers tightened around Eugene's.
Though Eugene may not have understood parents, the look in the King and Queen's eyes at the sight of their daughter was one he understood all too well. However they must have seen that Rapunzel was all but terrified of them and with surprising speed the two of them tucked their emotion away and looked at Rapunzel with far more gentle smiles.
"Hello," Rapunzel said softly, her fingers tightening on Eugene's hand.
"Good morning," the Queen said, her voice soft, "how did you sleep?"
"I didn't," Rapunzel replied honestly, "I don't think I sleep well in new places. Well except for when I slept with Eugene."
Eugene looked at the King and Queen who immediately looked at him. Rapunzel looked between the three of them, unsure of why it seemed strange that she had slept with Eugene. They had been outside, but they had been together. Should they have slept somewhere else? However nice the Snuggly Duckling had seemed there hadn't been beds in there. Though Rapunzel thought that maybe they could have slept on the the tables. She made a mental note for the next time she and Eugene went off on an adventure that they would have to sleep in doors and separate places.
"We were traveling to the festival," he explained quickly before Rapunzel could dig them a bigger hole for them, "we were outside," he added quickly.
"I see," the Queen said, though from the confusion in her eyes Eugene would bet every penny he'd ever stolen that the woman hadn't slept a night outside in her entire life.
"Shall we eat?" the King suggested, artfully changing the subject.
"I'm starving," Rapunzel said as they walked over to the table, "where's the kitchen?"
"The kitchen?" the King looked at his daughter.
"Well if we want breakfast we have to cook it, don't we?" Rapunzel asked looking between her parents.
They looked at her, confusion in their eyes and suddenly she wished desperately that she had Eugene's hand to hold. Didn't they cook breakfast here? Gothel had only ever cooked dinner and even then it was only occasionally. She had always always made breakfast, even back when breakfast was little more that a chunk of bread torn off by her chubby hands. What if she never got to cook again? Or worse, what if they thought she was strange for cooking?
A gentle hand touched her shoulder and Rapunzel looked over to see the woman with warm brown eyes who she should have known instinctively as mother look at her. For a moment she was certain that she was going to tell her no. Or that they didn't do that in the Kingdom and Rapunzel felt tears threaten her. She loved to cook. What if she never got to go near a stove again?
"It's this way," the Queen said with a gentle smile, "but I must warn you, it's been years since I cooked anything."
"Oh don't worry," Rapunzel said with a bright smile at the Queen, "I cook all the time. I'll show you how."
The Queen walked with her daughter but Rapunzel was quickly in the lead. Over her daughter's shoulder she flashed a helpless look at the King who grinned broadly at the sight of his wife and daughter heading towards the kitchen. Inside Eugene felt the knot in his chest tighten. He doubted Princess's were regulars in the kitchen. At least Rapunzel's parents were understanding. Eugene moved forward but the King held out a hand and stopped him.
Eugene looked at the pair of them but as they walked out Rapunzel seemed too engrossed in her mother to look afraid or glance back at him. In some way Eugene felt relief at that. He knew he could not stay by her side holding her hand forever, however tempting the idea might be. Unfortunately it was only after the women left that Eugene realized he was standing alone in a room with a man who had, a few days ago, authorized 'wanted' posters of him to be spread all over the Kingdom.
The two men stood there awkwardly. Eugene had never been in the presence of a King before and in spite of his confidence he wasn't entirely sure how to act around the man. The only consolation he had was the King did not seem to know how to act around a wanted thief turned Princess rescuer either. They had gone over the story of how he found her, how she blackmailed him-or 'convinced as they liked to call it-into taking her to see the lights and how they had been separated and then reunited and finally how she had figured out she was a Princess and had been painting the royal seal since she was a child on the walls of her tower.
Which only really left the fact that he was an orphan/theif/person-who-had-no-business-being-with-a-Princess. Which, if one thought about it, was an incredibly awkward topic of conversation between two people who didn't really know each other yet.
"Shall we sit?" the King offered finally, "I believe we are allowed to have tea before my wife and daughter return with food."
They sat and silence came over them again until the King spoke.
"My daughter calls you Eugene," he said, "is that your real name?"
"Yes," Eugene said finally, still hating the sound of it, "Eugene Fitzherbert, actually."
"I see," the King said, "when Rapunzel was a child," he continued, "before that witch got her hands on her, I read her the tales of Flynnigan Ryder every night before she went to bed."
Eugene very nearly dropped the tea cup he was holding.
"You did?" Eugene asked, unable to keep the shock out of his voice.
The King nodded, looking down at his tea cup before looking back at Eugene.
"I wanted my daughter to grow up strong, to see the world, to have the kind of adventures that I did as a child," Eugene looked at him, still too shocked to speak, "and now it seems thanks to you that she will be able to do all that her mother and I hoped for her," he looked at him, "you have yet to speak of a reward for her return."
It was a fair assumption to make, that he would want a reward. And yet the idea that he'd get something in return for Rapunzel dragging him back to the Kingdom was completely ludicrous. Still it was a reminder that compared to these people he was a thief and a commoner with no family lineage to speak of. After all, it wasn't like he was the long lost prince of some far away Kingdom. But a few days ago, Rapunzel had been nothing more than a girl in a tower and yet she had faced the changed with the same bright determination she had shown to him that first day they met. Trying to muster some of that, Eugene looked at the King.
"That's really not necessary," Eugene said, "unless you consider not hanging me to be a reward," he added quickly, "because in that case-"
"I do not hang people who perform great deeds in the service of this Kingdom," the King said, as if the idea of punishing him was somehow offensive, "and your aide in the safe return of my daughter is reason enough for me not to hang you."
"Well that is a weight off my shoulders," Eugene said, "or from around my neck."
"We made breakfast!" Rapunzel cried coming into the room with plates balanced on her arms and head.
"Rapunzel made breakfast," the Queen said with a smile, carefully setting down the plates she carried, "I cannot say I was much help at all."
"Of course you were," Rapunzel said setting down a plate in front of Eugene and her mother before sitting down, "and you can help me with lunch," she said to the King, "and you can make dinner with me!"
"Rapunzel," the Queen said gently, "the palace chef has been hard at work preparing the dinner menu for you. Perhaps we should let him show you how he cooks?"
Rapunzel looked at the Queen before nodding.
"Alright. But I've never had anyone else cook lunch or breakfast for me," Rapunzel added picking up her fork, "does everyone else cook your meals?" she asked, her eyes going back and forth between her parents.
"Mostly," the Queen said, "but I'm certain they would love to have you work with them in the kitchen."
Rapunzel's eyes lit up with delight at the suggestion, her joy so great that she dropped her fork and leaned forward.
"Cooking with other people?" she gasped, "really? Would they let me?"
"Of course," the Queen said, "and you seem to have done an excellent job," she continued, "if your father's sudden lack of table manner's is any indication," she added.
Sure enough the King and Eugene were both plowing through the food, obviously too intent on eating to notice the moment between mother and daughter. Both men paused,each looking at the woman closest to them. The Queen arched an eyebrow at her husband, obviously disliking his lack of manners but Rapunzel beamed at Eugene.
"Do you like it?" she asked before turning to the King, "do you? I've never cooked for other people before," she bit her lip, "if you don't its okay-"
"No no no, it's the best breakfast ever," he said flashing her a grin.
Rapunzel grinned at the joke before looking at her father.
"I think you should go and teach the palace chef's how to cook," he said with a smile.
Rapunzel's eyes went to her mother who tasted the food with far more delicacy than either her husband or Eugene had shown before smiling at Rapunzel.
"It's wonderful," she said.
"Oh good!" Rapunzel picked up her fork and dug in as well, her manners far closer to that of Eugene and her father than the delicate flex of her mother's wrist. They ate in silence for a bit before Rapunzel set down her fork and looked at the three of them, "so what are we doing today?" she asked brightly.
"Is there anything particular you would like to do?" the Queen asked.
"To be outside," Rapunzel said, "unless you need me inside of course and then I'll stay-" she added with a rush.
"No," the King said trading a look with his wife, "if you would like to go outside, I'm certain Eugene here will be a fine escort."
"Great!" Rapunzel looked at Eugene, "we'll be back for lunch. Come on!" she tugged him upwards, "lets go!"
"Okay okay," Eugene said staggering up to his feet.
"We'll be back in time for lunch!" Rapunzel called over her shoulder as she yanked Eugene out of the room and down the hallway.
Rapunzel tugged him down the marble corridors with surprising strength and speed. Eugene looked back at the closed doors where the King and Queen were probably sitting wondering what on earth had just happened. Rapunzel, however, did not seem to think that she should spend the day with her parents. Though, Eugene acknowledged, if he'd spent every day in a tower for eighteen years he'd probably want to spend as much time outside as he possibly could. In spite of him getting lost, Rapunzel seemed to have absolutely no problem finding her way around the palace, or at least finding her way out of it. She pulled him clear out onto the courtyard before she released his wrist and looked around at the sun drenched palace.
"So do we walk or should we get a horse," she asked turning to Eugene.
"I don't know Blondie," he said looking down at the nearby village, "that looks like a pretty far walk to me."
"Really?" Rapunzel looked over the edge and down at the road, "it seems close to me. Oh and you can't call me that anymore."
"Call you what?" Eugene asked.
"Blondie," Rapunzel said, "you can't call me Blondie anymore," she lifted up a lock of her hair, "I'm not blonde," she said.
"Right, sorry," Eugene said.
"Its okay," Rapunzel said, "you'll just have to think up a new nickname for me now. Oh look!" she cried pointing at something, "lets go down there first!"
She seized his wrist with one hand, picked up the edge of her rose colored skirt with her other and ran off towards the village, dragging her so-called escort behind her. Rapunzel looked around as the road sloped downwards and the buildings rose upwards until they were certainly in the village once again. Dropping Eugene's wrist, Rapunzel turned around. It was morning but so much was going on she didn't know where to look first. She had thought there were a lot of people in the palace but that was nothing compared to the number of people down in the village below. She had seen them before at the celebration but even when there wasn't reason to celebrate they all seemed to be out going about their daily lives.
"So where do you want to go first?" Eugene asked.
"Anywhere," Rapunzel said, "everywhere," she added with a laugh, "I don't know, I don't care!" she threw her arms out, motioning to the world around them before turning to Eugene, "where should we go?"
"Well we've got a book store and a bakery and a-" he trailed off at her silence.
"Eugene?" Eugene looked at her, "'outside' remember?" she said helpfully.
"Oh right," he said, "okay, outside it is. Lets explore the city then."
"Just walk around?" she asked looking at him, "we can do that?"
"Yes, Bl-Rapunzel, we can do that," Eugene said, "come on, I'll show you the rest of the capital."
Rapunzel nodded enthusiastically and followed him down the winding path road. Maybe it was the lack of hair of the change in color or perhaps the absence of a crown, but no-one seemed to notice that Rapunzel was their fabled lost Princess, something for which Eugene was profoundly grateful. They wandered around the village, Rapunzel stopping every few feet to marvel at the flowers that grew outside of someone's window or the mosaic's of her and her parents set into the wall. Eugene followed her, content to watch as she spun around in delight, looking at everything that had never seemed quite so marvelous to him.
Then again, when he had come through this place he'd usually been running from the law.
Eugene frowned when he realized that Rapunzel had stopped in one place and was no longer moving from it. Instead she was standing there, her hands by her side, but her eyes were no longer wide and delight no longer shown on her features. Eugene came to stand beside her, following her gaze with his eyes. She was standing in front of a small shop, with a display of paints in the window. He raised an eyebrow before looking at her again. Her green eyes were not on all the paints, they were solely on a pot of one of them and for the first time since they left her tower it looked as if she was moments from tears.
"Did you wear yourself out already?" he asked, trying to bring some light to the situation.
"I asked for that for my birthday," Rapunzel said, her voice slow before coming out faster, "I told her that I wanted the white paint that you can only make from this certain type of shell that's a three day walk from the tower on a beach. I only told her that because I locked you in my closet and she said that I couldn't go see the lights but-" she stopped and looked at him desperately, confusion in her eyes before she looked away.
"Hey, come on," Eugene pulled her from the paint shop over to a bench nearby where Rapunzel sat heavily down, suddenly not sure her legs would be able to support her.
Moments ago she had been so thrilled at what was going on that she had barely given any thought to Gothel. She had reached for her when she was falling out of the tower, but Eugene had been laying there turning paler with each frantic pound of her heart and she could not move from his side. Even after he had betrayed her. Fingering a lock of her hair, Rapunzel looked hard at the ground by her feet, her eyes focusing on the tips of Eugene's well worn boots as they got more and more out of focus as she felt tears fill her eyes.
"I really thought that she loved me," Rapunzel confessed finally, her voice broken, "how could I have been so stupid?" she whispered brokenly, burying her face in her hands as her tears broke free.
She felt Eugene come up and wrap his arms around her, pulling her against his chest as easily as if he had been comforting her for years. Rapunzel tried to reign in her tears but they were coming too fast. She hated crying, she always had. and now she was beginning to think that she hated crying in front of other people more. But Eugene didn't tease her or laugh or anything that she thought he would. He just hugged her, letting her sob all over his new shirt. The thought that moments ago she had been so happy and now she was utterly miserable only made her weep with renewed force, her body turning towards his as she sought comfort for her tears.
As she sobbed she realized that one of his hands was moving in slow circles along her back. It felt oddly comforting, not only to have a shoulder to cry on but to have him doing that as well. The thought that he even knew how to comfort a sobbing person because he had been the oldest kid at an orphanage was so tragic that it made her sob harder into his shirt.
"Everything's s-so wonderful but I-" she took a huge gulp of air, "I can't stop crying!" she sobbed harder, "b-but I n-never had anything to cry about before o-or someone to hug me a-and even that's-" her breath hitched, "that's wonderful t-t-too!"
This time she felt Eugene's chest rumble as he laughed, but his hand continued to rub her back and his other arm continued to hold her close against him and she knew he wasn't making fun of her. Adorable, sweet Eugene who knew how to comfort a hysterical girl who up until a day ago hadn't cried in years. Even when she had stopped sobbing she remained against his chest, reluctant to pull away from him as her tears continued to fall, albiet at a much slower rate.
"I don't know why I keep crying," she admitted softly.
"Remember when you first left the tower?" he asked, his chest rumbling against her cheek, "you cried then too," he pointed out.
"But that was the first time I'd ever been out," she said looking up at him.
"Well yesterday you thought you were going to be in there forever again remember?"
Rapunzel looked up at him, remembering all too clearly what had happened yesterday when she had been in the tower. How he had been laying there, bleeding out and still desperately trying to save her from having to be with Gothel for the rest of her life. He remembered that she always kept her promises and she had promised Gothel she would stay with her when she ran. And he'd remembered that she always kept her promises.
"Sorry," she apologized messily, reaching up and rubbing the last of the tears from her cheeks, "I don't mean to keep breaking down like this."
"Hey, its fine," Eugene said, "I've got a whole shirt here for you to cry on."
Rapunzel felt a smile tug at her lips at the honesty in his face. Getting to her feet, she shook out the folds of her skirt before looking back at the paint shop. There was a man moving about the shop now, getting things ready for the day. He reached over to the sign in the window to turn it from Closed to Open and his eyes landed on Rapunzel. Much to her surprise he smiled brightly at her and waved, turning the sign to show that the shop was open. Raising a hand, Rapunzel waved back to him.
"You want to go and get paint?" Eugene offered.
"I-" Rapunzel turned and looked at him, "I don't know," she looked down at her feet, "all my paints were back at the tower."
"Come on then," he said taking her hand walking her into the shop, "after all," he reasoned, "you've got all that wall space now. Maybe we should see about getting you a ladder too and-" he trailed off as he felt Rapunzel come to a dead stop, "Rapunzel?" he turned his head, half sure she was going to be in tears again.
Rapunzel's face, however, was one of pure, shocked delight. He realized that she had never been in a paint shop before and in their whirlwind day in the capital they had visited a book store and a bakery but she had wanted to stay outside. They hadn't come to a place like this. Eugene looked back at the shop and then back at the Princess, just in time to see her shake off her stupor and run forward, her eyes moving over the dizzying array of colors before she turned back to him.
"Look at all of these colors Eugene!"
The sun was high in the sky by the time Eugene and Rapunzel returned to the palace.
The shopkeeper had been kind enough to allow them to leave the paint there while they went exploring the city but by the time they made it back to the palace, Eugene's arms were aching with the weight of the colors Rapunzel had picked out. Rapunzel held onto the paint brushes and the smock but Eugene had gathered up the heavy stuff before she could carry it, knowing that it would never do for her to show up at the palace holding all the heavy stuff. Even the small things she held in her arms were met with barely veiled surprise by the servants and guards.
"Your highness!" a servant came forward, "may I take those to your room for you?"
"I can do it-" Rapunzel began.
"I think your parents probably want to see you," Eugene pointed out.
"Oh, you're right," Rapunzel said, "alright," she agreed handing over the packages as Eugene gave the others to another servant, "thank you!" Rapunzel called after them.
"Your Highness, Master Eugene," a second servant appeared before them, "their Majesties request your presence in the gardens. If you will follow me."
Eugene walked with Rapunzel, trying not to wince at the sound of his real name on the man's lips. He still wasn't used to it and he certainly wasn't used to being called it by people who were not the lady who ran the orphanage or the younger kids who butchered the pronunciation as their baby teeth fell out. At least something like Master Flynn would sound, well, cool. Eugene, Master or no, just sounded silly. In fact the only time he didn't mind someone calling him Eugene was when she said it.
Eugene glanced to the side as Rapunzel looked around the hallway with interest as the man in front of them led them towards the gardens. Her green eyes were bright and the excitement in them completely overshadowed the faint red from her earlier tears. The hallway they walked through was open, allowing the warm breeze to blow through. As they got closer to the gardens the bricks gave way to intricate iron work, thick vines of roses giving shade.
"Isn't it beautiful, Eugene?" Rapunzel said looking intently at the bright pink flowers.
"Yeah," Eugene agreed, his eyes on her, "it is."
"Oh look there they are!" Rapunzel perked up waving to the two figures sitting underneath an open tent overlaid with white fabric to offer shade. The King and Queen returned the wave as they approached and stepped underneath the tent. The Queen and King stood to greet them, relief on both of their faces though Eugene was certain they had not been gone more than a few hours, "hi," Rapunzel said with a smile.
"Hello," the Queen said, "did you enjoy the capital?"
"Oh yes!" Rapunzel said enthusiastically, "its so big though we didn't get to go everywhere this time either."
"And this is just one city in the empire," the Queen said.
"i know! There are so many places to go and see," she smiled with unabashed delight, "when I was here for the festival we went to a book store and looked at the atlas in there. This Kingdom is huge!"
"Did you see the river system?" the King inquired. Rapunzel nodded, "the best way to see the Kingdom is by one of the shallow boats. How long did it take us to go through the Kingdom?"
"A month," the Queen replied before looking at Rapunzel, "have you been on a boat before?" she asked.
"Once," Rapunzel said, her eyes softening, "when Eugene took me to see the Lanterns."
"The view must have been wonderful," the Queen said, "it's breathtaking from up here."
"Yes," Rapunzel said, "it was really beautiful," she added glancing back at Eugene.
Their eyes held for a moment at the memory of all the lights that had floated above them as they sat in the boat, both finding that realizing one dream wasn't nearly as wonderful as finding a new one, and someone to share it with. Even what happened later couldn't seem to dampen the memory of the boat ride and the million lanterns floating above their heads. Rapunzel's smile widened even further and a giggle escaped her lips.
"I just realized, I sent up a lantern too," she said, "even though I wasn't really lost anymore."
"Well when we first sent up the lanterns they were in celebration of your birthday," the Queen said gently, "and you were with us the first time we sent up the lanterns."
Rapunzel smiled warmly at her mother and Eugene leaned against the support of the tent, more than content to watch the family have their little reunion. With her hair the color of chocolate, Rapunzel looked unmistakably like the two people standing next to her. It was oddly sweet to watch, even though somewhere deep deep inside Eugene wondered what it was like to feel that way. But he firmly pushed the glimmer of a feeling aside. This was Rapunzel's reunio-
"Gah!" Eugene jumped as something wet invaded his ear before he turned to glare at the chameleon on his shoulder, "is that really necessary?" he demanded as the chameleon gave a satisfied smirk.
"Hi Pascal," Rapunzel said coming over and sticking out her hand for the chameleon to scamper onto and up her arm to his spot on her shoulder, "did you have fun exploring the palace?" she asked as Eugene rubbed his ear, "it took you a while! Did you go everywhere?" the chameleon nodded enthusiastically, "oh good, now we don't have to get lost," Rapunzel said. Pascal looked at her and made a sound before glaring at Eugene and making another, "oh no," Rapunzel said, "Eugene took great care of me."
Pascal made another sound before looking down at her dress and then back at her, his green hugh taking on the rosy shade of her dress and settling there happily. Rapunzel turned to look at her parents. While they had seen Pascal, neither of them seemed to know what to make of the chameleon perched on her shoulder.
"Oh Pascal you should have seen the paint shop we went to," she said, "there were so many colors! I could paint a proper sunset or the clouds like they should be or even you changing into all those different colors!" she told her friend excitedly.
"A paint shop?" the King asked.
"Yeah," Eugene said, "she likes to paint. A lot," he added.
"Painting, cooking, blackmailing" the King stroked his beard thoughtfully, "is there anything my daughter cannot do?"
Eugene looked over at Rapunzel who was talking excitedly to Pascal while the Queen stood nearby, looking confused but not outright horrified at the fact that her daughter's best friend was a chameleon. A few hours ago she had been intent on climbing down the side of a tower and not wearing shoes ad now she was standing next to the Queen looking every inch Rapunzel and every inch a royal Princess. Eugene felt his smile soften as he looked at her.
"No sir, I don't think there is," he said.
Both men watched as Rapunzel took her mother's hand and Pascal scampered up it, running clear up the Queen's arm to settle on her head behind the crown she wore. The Queen's gentle laugh echoed around the gardens as she looked helplessly up at the chameleon who turned the warm brown of her hair with ease and seemed to settle right at home on her head.
"He likes you," Rapunzel said happily.
"Just don't let him near your ear," Eugene advised.
"Oh don't be silly," Rapunzel said, "he only does that to you."
"Lucky me," Eugene deadpanned.
"At least Max lets you ride him now," Rapunzel pointed out before her face turned thoughtful, "Eugene we haven't seen Maximus since yesterday," she said suddenly looking at him.
"Maximus?" the King said, "he's been out all morning with the rest of the royal guard."
"Doing what?" Rapunzel asked.
"Removing the wanted posters of Flynn Ryder," the King said, "its not as if I'm going to have Eugene here thrown in jail," he added clapping Eugene on the back.
Rapunzel grinned widely though she already knew her parents would pardon him. After all, he did help bring her home where she belonged. But even if she did have to go and rescue him, Rapunzel knew it would be far easier to do now that she had been out in the world once.
"Well that's good," she said, "I think Eugene and I have done enough rescuing for a while."
"I whole heartedly agree with that," Eugene said, "rescuing, healing-knocking out with frying pans. All of that. Done. Over with."
"Which is really too bad," Rapunzel said, "because now that my hair's like this the rescuing and healing and frying pan knocking out would be much much easier."
"But what's life without a challenge huh?"
"Rapunzel," the Queen broke in gently, "how long was your hair?"
Rapunzel looked at her mother before looking back at Eugene who looked back at her blankly. She opened her mouth and then closed it, thinking back to the hair that had kept her in the tower for all of her life. She could still practically feel the weight and inconvenience of the hair that she thought the entire world would be after. Even if it had been inconvenient and the magic hadn't actually been just in her hair after all, the memory of what she had carried around for her whole life made her throat tighten.
Rapunzel forced the desire to cry back.
She was not going to break down again, especially not when her parents were there. They looked so worried and anxious and maybe even like they were going to cry too. Though Rapunzel wasn't entirely certain. She had never seen another person cry before. But she forced the desire back, even as Pascal jumped from her mother to land on her shoulder and nestle against her neck in his own show of comfort.
"I'm not sure," she said finally, "but it was really long. I could reach the ground from my tower. Right Eugene?"
"Yeah," he agreed, though his hazel eyes looked troubled.
Rapunzel looked away as Pascal jumped off her shoulder and darted back across the garden before stopping at ways off and stretching out his arms, one pointing at her and one on the other side.
"That long," Rapunzel said motioning to where her friend stood.
Both her parents looked truly shocked at the distance and even she was surprised at how far Pascal was. She had known how long her hair had been, it had, of course, been attached to her head. But it wasn't until she had gone outside for the first time that she realized that having hair that long was anything but convenient. In fact in places like the capital it was horribly inconvenient, even when it was in the big thick braid she'd gotten.
"Oh and it was blonde," Rapunzel added, fingering a lock of her brown hair nervously, "but you already knew that."
The King and Queen looked at each other before looking back at their daughter. Rapunzel felt oddly bashful underneath their gaze. Gothel, after all, had gone through all the trouble to keep her in the tower, to keep her protected and hidden, all because of something that no longer really existed.
"But I can still heal I just-I have to cry," Rapunzel added quickly, "and sing the incantation. I can show you if you want-"
"Rapunzel," the Queen quickly laid a hand on her daughter's shoulder, silencing the young woman, "we're all fine," she said, "and I believe Eugene was right when he said that it should be a while before you need to heal anyone."
"But I did it almost every day with Mo-Gothel," Rapunzel said, quickly correcting the slip up, "since she wanted to be young-"
"Getting old isn't a bad thing," the Queen said gently, "now that your back, your father and I don't mind getting old."
Rapunzel looked between the two of them. They both looked older than Gothel had when she was healed but neither seemed to mind. Neither had brought up her healing powers after she had explained what happened the first night but a part of Rapunzel still found it impossible to believe that they wouldn't at least ask. The worst part was that she would have done it for them gladly. She would have cried and cried and cried until they were young again if they had asked her. But they didn't and as she looked at them both Rapunzel realized that they wouldn't.
"You don't?" Rapunzel asked, not daring to believe it.
With a gentle smile the Queen shook her head.
"Your father and I want what we always have," the Queen said, "we want you to be happy."
Whether it was the mention of the Queen and King being her parents or the fact that because they wanted her to be happy they had let her cook and run around the village and would probably let her paint the walls of her room, Rapunzel would never know. She just knew one moment she was looking at the woman who in the span of a heartbeat had told her everything she ever wanted to hear from her mother and the next she was hugging her as tightly as she could.
It wasn't until her mother's hand settled gently at the back of her neck, exposed by her shorn hair, that Rapunzel realized everyone hugged differently. Burying her face in the Queen's shoulder she reveled in the feeling of being hugged for so long by someone who didn't want anything in return. Or being hugged when she wasn't sobbing helplessly like she seemed to do with Eugene.
Drawing back she looked at her mother and smiled.
"I am."
Okay so this is going to be a fourshot now because I had a very cute idea that I wanted to do. Oh and Max will be there.
Reviews are love!