Disclaimer: I only own this plot, though I would love to own Tangled.

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Chapter Five

Rapunzel was silent for a long time after Eugene finished telling her about how he had run away from the orphanage, making him wonder if she wanted to hear more of the story. It was getting a little late in the day, almost time for them to join the king and queen for dinner. Maybe now would be a good time to take a break…

"Did you ever go back?"

The simple question caught Eugene off-guard for a moment. Looking down at Rapunzel in mild surprise, he thought carefully before he answered her. "A couple of times. Just to see how Edith was doing. She never saw me, though."

She nodded against Eugene's shoulder, as if this was a perfectly acceptable answer to her. Once more there was a long pause and Eugene was tempted to suggest they pause in the story for a bit when Rapunzel spoke again.

"What happened after you left? Did you become Flynn Rider right away?"

Eugene smiled dryly at that and shook his head. "No…not right away. I was still just a kid then, after all…"

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The world was a lot bigger than Eugene had realized. Once he left the village where he had spent his entire life, he was struck by how very big everything was. All he had was one little rucksack and no knowledge of anywhere but the orphanage that had been his home for eight years. Where was he supposed to go now?

Well, the only obvious answer to him was the capitol city. That was where everyone went to start a new life. Eugene had been there once or twice, for the bigger celebrations that involved the king and queen, such as one of their anniversaries—he thought it was the fifth or something like that—and the celebration of their tenth year as rulers of the kingdom. The city was much better than the little village Eugene was leaving behind. At least in the city, no one knew him. No one would judge him for being the bastard son of a Lord who couldn't keep his hands to himself.

So, with his rucksack on his back, Eugene turned in the general direction of the city and started walking. He had thought that it would be an easy walk, but it turned out to be quite the opposite. What had taken only one day when riding on an old cart with Mrs. Miller and the other orphans now took three days. And they were three very exhausting days, to say the least. By the time he made it to the long bridge road that led into the city, Eugene was stumbling with exhaustion and barely able to keep his eyes open.

Sitting down against the wall of one of the many small shops, Eugene closed his eyes for a minute, just to help himself get at least some rest. He hadn't slept well for the last two nights, perched either in a tree or curling up underneath some bushes, so he might as well get something resembling rest now.

Unfortunately, even this plan wasn't as easy as he had first thought it was. Someone shook his shoulders roughly to wake him, and when Eugene opened his eyes he found himself staring up at one of the many city guards. Frowning a little at this, Eugene met the guard's gaze evenly.

"What?" he asked, a tad snappishly.

"Sorry, son," the guard said. "I'm afraid you can't sleep here. There are plenty of places for a young man such as yourself to stay, though. One such place is just down that road," he continued, pointing to his right.

Eugene didn't want to admit it, but that did sound rather appealing. Especially if he didn't have to pay to stay at these places. He had no money at all, after all, and wasn't exactly the sort of kid who would be getting any money anytime soon unless he stole it. And he wasn't about to do that just now. Not yet. Standing up and picking up his rucksack, Eugene walked in the direction that the guard was pointing and frowned a little to himself when he saw the place in question. It was not the best of places, but it did say free rooms on the sign. Adjusting his bag on his shoulder, Eugene reached up and knocked on the door.

The door opened to reveal a woman who had to be about Mrs. Miller's age, if not older, who gave Eugene a piercing look before speaking.

"Let me guess…you were sent here for a room, weren't you?" she asked, though not unkindly. When Eugene nodded silently, she stepped aside to let him into the building. "All right. We aren't the finest establishment in the kingdom, but we do manage to keep our guests comfortable enough. That and I have a soft spot for handsome young men such as yourself," she said, motioning for Eugene to follow her. "I'm Mrs. Elliot, by the way. And who might you be?"

Eugene opened his mouth to answer, pausing for a moment before he murmured, "F-Flynn Rider…" flushing to the roots of his hair.

If Mrs. Elliot was familiar with The Tales of Flynnigan Rider, she didn't show any sign of it as she led him up the stairs. "Flynn Rider…nice handsome name. Right, Mr. Rider," she murmured, opening the door to a room on the second floor. "This will be yours. Now, I do have some ground rules. You keep the room clean and don't make too much trouble for me, you get to keep the room. Meal times are strict. Come late, you don't get to eat. And I do recommend you looking into getting some sort of employment. Apprenticeship is always good for a boy your age."

Eugene didn't answer, simply nodding as he entered the room. He had to admit, this was rather…overwhelming. He'd never had a room all to himself before, and he enjoyed the idea of having this seemingly spacious room all to himself perhaps a little too much. Once Mrs. Elliot had closed the door behind her, Eugene rushed over and flopped onto the bed, not even bothering to undress before falling fast asleep.

The next day, he began exploring the city. Not to find employment the way Mrs. Elliot had suggested, but just for the sake of getting to know the city. Besides, none of the places where a boy could become an apprentice really appealed to him. Butcher? No way. Baker? Hell no. Blacksmith was too noisy, and dealing with horses was out of the question anyway. Eugene hated horses, so stable boy was out. In the end, it seemed that thieving was his only option. Maybe that way he could become as rich as Flynnigan Rider had been. That was a great idea…being rich enough to go wherever he wanted to and doing anything he wanted to.

So, he simply wandered the streets, taking in the sights. When he came to the town square, he paused in front of an elaborate mosaic that was set into one of the walls. Frowning a little as he looked closer at the mosaic, Eugene noticed that it had to be of the king and queen. The queen was a pretty woman with dark hair and large green eyes who seemed to smile kindly at all her subjects as they passed by her picture, while the king was a large man with dark hair and beard and calm blue eyes that looked like they might twinkle if Eugene ever met the man face-to-face. Eugene stood in front of the mosaic for a long time before he turned away and returned to wandering the streets, the images of the king and queen still set in his mind.

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"So I hadn't been born yet?"

"You know, if you keep interrupting the story, Blondie, I'm never going to be able to finish," Eugene teased with a grin. "But…no. You weren't born yet. But you were born while I was living in the city."

That seemed to interest Rapunzel a great deal, as she looked up with her eyes sparkling with curiosity. "Really?" she asked. "Tell me about when I was born. How long after you first going to the city was it? Did you help look for the magic flower?"

Eugene laughed softly and bent down to kiss Rapunzel's forehead tenderly. "Come on, Blondie, you gotta stop interrupting me if you wanna hear the story."

Rapunzel looked a little sheepish about this and then smiled slightly as she settled more comfortably against Eugene, looking very curious. "Okay…I'm ready to hear the rest now."

Chuckling a little to himself, Eugene wrapped his arms around her before continuing. "Let me think…it was about two months after I got to the city that your mom got sick…"

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Everyone in the kingdom heard about the queen's illness. It was the sort of news that you didn't keep to yourself, after all. Especially with the rumors and legends of the magical golden flower that was said to grow in the mountains surrounding the kingdom. Eugene was one of the first to hear about it, as he had learned his way around the city quite well, and made his way to the garrison that housed all the guards and soldiers in the city. There he heard all the news about the queen's rapidly deteriorating health.

"They say that she won't last much longer," one of the younger guards said quietly, looking very much like he wanted to cry.

"And her carrying a baby too," an older man murmured with a shake of his head. "That's just too cruel. Not just to the queen, but to the king as well. He'll be losing a wife and a child if she dies…"

"I hear that he's going to start sending people out to search for the magical flower," a third man said. "Don't you think…that's a little desperate?"

"The king is about to lose his wife and unborn child," the second man said firmly. "If he does start sending people out, I am certainly going to be one of those to join the search."

That was when Eugene left the barracks, feeling like he'd just learned about a long-lost friend dying. He had gone to look at the mosaic of the king and queen each day, admiring the lovely queen and fatherly king, and creating little scenarios in his mind where he met them and found out just how good they were. Always, the queen was like the mother he had never known and the king was a greater father figure then his true father ever could be. Now…hearing that the beautiful queen was dying was like a physical blow to Eugene. If the king really was going to send people to find the legendary magical flower, then Eugene was with the older soldier; he would join the search, just so the queen could live.

The proclamation announcing the search for the magical golden flower was sent out nearly a week later, along with the news that the queen's condition was only worsening. Eugene was in the town square, staring up at the mosaic as he always did. When he heard the man shouting for all those in the town square to gather around, he rushed over and started pushing through the crowd insistently, trying to get to the front of the crowd so he could hear better. There were no other children in the crowd, he noticed, but that was just fine with him. That meant no other kids would be making too much noise for Eugene to hear clearly.

"Let it be known," the man in royal livery read off of a scroll, "that on this day, his Royal Majesty, King William of Corona, has declared that any and all those who are able-bodied and willing, are to join in a search for the legendary magical flower…"

And there the crowd began to go wild with people shouting out that they would join in the search, with Eugene's cries joining those of the adults. The man holding the scroll looked at the crowd in mild surprise. Apparently, he had not been expecting such an enthusiastic response. Rolling up his scroll with a nod, the man motioned for one of the guards who had accompanied him to step forward.

Eugene watched closely as the guard stepped up, clearing his throat. "We have arranged to have several groups going into different parts of the mountains," the guard explained. Those who join this search may join whichever of the groups they wish. All members of the search party are expected to be diligent and to report anything that could possibly lead us to the flower in question. Now…those who wish to join…report to the docks!"

It was like a tidal wave of people had been released, with Eugene caught up in the middle of it. Not that he minded, of course.

The boats were already prepared for the members of the search party, allowing them to easily climb onboard and be taken to different parts of the mountains. No one seemed to notice that Eugene was among the group that went towards the cliffs that bordered the ocean. Of course, that was partly because Eugene had spent the last two months perfecting becoming invisible to anyone that he didn't want to see him. And it had gotten him quite a bit of money already. Oh, he wasn't perfect at pick-pocketing yet, but he was getting there really fast. Speaking of which…

Eugene glanced around, sorely tempted to lighten a few pockets, but then he remembered that he had come here to help save the queen, not to steal. That could wait until later. So, instead, he simply sat down next to one of the many long benches that were set up to seat the dozens of searchers, and curled up so that no one would notice him right away.

And no one did, which he was grateful for. He didn't want to get into trouble now of all times. Sure, some other time he wouldn't mind getting into trouble, but right now he wasn't trying to steal or anything. The one thing he wanted was to help the queen get better. He didn't really understand why…he just did.

It was after dark when they reached the cliffs, and Eugene was one of the first people off the boat, scrambling up the cliffs as fast as he could. He didn't know where he should look for this golden flower, but he didn't really care at this point. For one thing, he'd never gotten to go hiking in the mountains, and for another, this was the most important thing he'd ever done up until now.

He wasn't with the main group when they finally found the flower, but Eugene felt just as proud as anyone in the group that found it. And when the announcement was made only two weeks later that the queen had given birth to a healthy baby girl, Eugene felt more than a little responsible for that.

He never saw the little Princess, but he was there in the crowd when the king and queen released the floating lantern to celebrate the birth of their daughter, and he watched as the various artists surrounded his favorite mosaic to alter it to include the baby Princess. Sadly, he was also there when the news of the Princess' disappearance spread through the city and the rest of the kingdom. When that happened, Eugene wanted to join the groups searching for the baby Princess, but it proved too hard to sneak along with the search parties in this case, unlike the search for the golden flower. So, Eugene went back to his life on the streets, returning each night to Mrs. Elliot's little boarding house.

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"And now, I think that's a good place to pause so we can go join your parents for dinner," Eugene said before Rapunzel could argue or ask any questions about the story. Standing up with a smile at the Princess, Eugene bowed with a flourish and offered her his arm. "Allow me to escort you to dinner."

Rapunzel accepted with a giggle, but the whole time that she was at dinner, she was pondering what Eugene had told her about his childhood so far. Even before they had met face to face…her Eugene had helped save her by going out to search for the golden flower that had healed her mother and allowed her birth to take place. With this in mind, Rapunzel beamed at Eugene and reached under the dinner table to squeeze his hand.