Chapter 1-Reunion

Eighteen Years Later

Princess Charlotte always thought she must be the biggest liar in the entire realm of Corona. It's not like she set out to become that way, but the truth was just…so hard to tell people. She couldn't tell the nobles that she secretly couldn't stand them, she couldn't say no when she wanted to, and she couldn't tell her parents that she often thought that her sister Rapunzel wouldn't ever come back. Sometimes, she thought she was gone forever.

But she could never ever say that to Mama and Papa or explain that she grew sick of hoping that Rapunzel would return. And she never did. Every year, Lottie had to pretend to be hopeful, and act like she enjoyed the party.

But it was the day after the famed Lost Princess Festival now and she knew exactly what would happen today. In about two minutes, Mama would come to her room, like she did every year when Rapunzel didn't return. Papa usually would not. He never did. Unlike Mama, he suffered his grief in silence and instead of crying with Lottie like Mama, he shut himself up in his study and brooded in peace. Lottie knew better than to bother him. It was one of her many princess rules: Do not disturb Papa when he's in his study. One year she had tried to comfort him like he did with Mama, and it hadn't worked out so well. He hadn't yelled at her of course (her father never yelled, not even at pompous council member Lord Howard who always deserved it), but his quiet request for her to go felt just as bad. After that day, she and Mama always let Papa be by himself.

Lottie stared at her needlework, trying to pay attention to the flower she was stitching. It didn't work and she fiddled with a lock of her dark brown hair. How could she focus on embroidery when it was the anniversary of her sister's disappearance?

She couldn't. Instead her thoughts traveled backward, through the years since Rapunzel had vanished.

It hadn't been easy to grow up with a sister who'd been kidnapped. Everyone always said that her sister was the princess who'd been lost-and that was true.

But her sister hadn't been the only thing that had been lost that day. The three of them had lost some of their security too, and her parents had been much more cautious with her than they would have if Rapunzel hadn't disappeared. They always made sure someone was with Lottie nearly all the time, even when she was in her room just reading. And she never ewas able to go out in the city without a guard. It had irritated her to no end as a teenager, and there were a couple years there when she'd even had a personal bodyguard.

Fortunately, she managed to convince them last year that it wasn't necessary. Yet they still had to know where she was, and what she was doing nearly every minute of the day. They always wanted her to stay close to home, and she'd never even been out of Corona. If she was honest, it was rather smothering. But she still had a close relationship with her parents- a good relationship. The loss of her sister had only brought them closer together. But part of her yearned to experience life outside of her palace.

At the sound of footsteps, Lottie jerked out of her reverie and sighed. She knew it'd be Mama, and she knew she'd be in tears, just like she was every single day after the Lantern Festival and Rapunzel still hadn't come back. Of course, Lottie would do her best to comfort her.

Suddenly Mama burst in with tears streaming down her cheeks. "Lottie-…."

She immediately stood up and hugged Mama, patting her back soothingly. "It's all right, Mama," she said in her calmest voice. "There's always next year. I'm sure-…" She said the same things every year, and every year she hoped they'd be true. Yet they never were. It was enough to throw her headfirst into hidden depression for a few days afterward, and she wondered how her parents kept their hopes up after year after disappointing year.

Mama pulled away and looked at her, "No, Lottie," she said with a smile. "I'm so happy!"

She blinked slowly in confusion. Mama was….happy? "What?"

"It's Rapunzel!" Mama told her. "She's back!"

She stared at her mother in disbelief. "She's…back?" After all these years, those days of waiting and hoping? Her sister was…back?

"Yes!" Mama exclaimed. "She is! Come on, Lottie! She's out on the balcony with your Papa." Mama immediately started for the door, and all Lottie could do was follow her in stunned surprise.

Could it really be true?

XxXxXxXx

When Lottie reached the balcony, her gaze immediately rested on the young lady with short (very short!) and slightly messy brown hair. Her heart sank. Didn't her sister have blonde hair? Maybe her mother was mistaken, and this wasn't really Rapunzel. There was a man standing next to the young woman but she didn't focus much on him. He could be anybody, really, and it wouldn't have made much difference to her. Her eyes were only for the girl. She was about to say Rapunzel's name, but suddenly the girl turned around and she could see her eyes- her huge emerald green eyes.

Rapunzel. Those were Rapunzel's eyes, their mother's eyes.

It really was her! Before she could even think of something to say, Rapunzel's arms were around her in an embrace. She returned the hug enthusiastically. Her sister was back!

All too soon, Rapunzel pulled away and looked at her. "Lottie!"

She felt tears pricking her eyes. "Rapunzel! I've missed you so much!"

She and her sister stood staring at each other, with happy smiles on their faces. Suddenly she heard a throat clear behind her. She looked over to see the young man grinning at her. She glanced back at her sister and her cheeks were turning red. And she would have had to be dumb not to realize there was something between the two of them. Lucky. The familiar ache in her chest to have the love of a man surfaced once again, but she shoved it down. This moment wasn't about her.

"Lottie, this is…um…," Rapunzel said with red cheeks. "This is Eugene. He brought me home"

Eugene indeed. As she studied him closer, his brown eyes and hair, he resembled Corona's most wanted thief, Flynn Rider, more than a little. But she wasn't stupid and she knew when to keep a still tongue in her head. There would be plenty of time to talk with her parents later about it. She gave a little curtsy. "Eu-gene," she said with a warmth she did not feel. "It's a pleasure to meet you." Ha. Now that was a lie if she'd ever told one. Usually she told half-truths to please people sometimes or to make them feel better (and she tried not to think about how a half-truth was really a half-lie) But this one? Complete lie. Not even a trace of truth to be found anywhere in it Why she would want to meet the man who stole her sister's crown and broke her parents' hearts she couldn't even begin to imagine. Yet being a princess meant being an actress and, after twenty years, she was pretty good at it. If there was an award for being the most dependable princess, she'd have won it.

"Eugene" took her hand and kissed it. "Pleasure is mine, Princess Charlotte," he said with a suave smirk.

Her toes curled up within her slippers in repulsion. Honestly. But at least he'd called her by her title. If he'd just called her Lottie, she didn't know if she could have refrained herself from taking her shoe to his head. She knew that now she could say something like you may call me Charlotte or Lottie, but she wasn't going to. Anger rose up at her at his nerve at showing up here, and a million retorts popped into her mind. But she knew full well she wouldn't say any of them.

Just then Mama and Papa said something about a maid showing them to their rooms (their rooms?) and they'd see them at dinner. As soon as a beaming Rapunzel and Rider left, she looked at her parents, readying herself for battle. "Are you really going to allow that horrible thief to stay here?" she said in a rare expression of defiance.

Her parents exchanged looks and after a moment, Papa cleared his throat and spoke. "Lottie, he brought Rapunzel home…."

"And that somehow cancels out his years of crime?" she retorted.

"Of course not," Mama soothed. "But we still want to give him a chance." She glanced at Papa with a smile, then looked back at Lottie. "I think he's in love with her."

She snorted. "Flynn in love with someone? Really?" Do I look like an idiot? The idea of Flynn actually loving someone made her want to laugh. She'd always thought of him as incredibly selfish. Only a selfish person would have stolen Rapunzel's crown, one of the only thing for years that her parents had left of her.

"Please, Lottie," she said. "Act friendly toward him at dinner tonight. For your sister's sake."

Dinner with Rider? Ugh. She'd rather walk across a bed of hot coals than eat with him. But Mama always did know what to say to get her to cave and she was certain she'd do as Mama asked. She always did. A heavy sigh escaped her. "Oh fine," she with a huff. "I'll be nice."

Of course, she had a feeling that would be difficult.

XxXxXxXx

Yet she had underestimated how difficult it would be when Rider was placed across from her at dinner, seated next Rapunzel, and all she wanted to do was jab her fork in his eye. It wasn't as if he'd done something particularly wrong, but she still couldn't help but be furious at his presence after everything he'd done.

But Rapunzel looked perfectly happy and she couldn't bring herself to burst her bubble just because she had apparently atrocious taste in men. All her etiquette lessons came to her mind, and she finally thought of something agreeable to say. "So," she said, using her best kind princess voice. "How did you meet, um…." Did she have to call him Eugene?

Luckily for her, Rapunzel giggled, and answered for her. "Eugene?"

Eugene, her foot. "Yes," she said. "How did you two meet?"

They both exchanged glances. Probably deciding what story to use, she thought. "We met in her tower," he answered and Rapunzel nodded.

"A tower, you say? And was that before or after you stole the crown?" she asked. Hopefully her slight jab would go over Rapunzel's head.

It did, because the smile remained on her face. Rider, on the other hand, cleared his throat and shifted in his seat, which meant that he hadn't missed it. Good.

"It was after," he said in a low voice.

She looked at him levelly. "I see," she said meaningfully. He coughed again discretely, and looked her straight in the eyes. She supposed that he wanted her to change the subject. In fact, his eyes almost begged her to. She would, but this wasn't over.

Not by a long shot.

XxXxXxXx

After dinner, Lottie returned to her room after saying good-night to both Rapunzel and Rider. Almost immediately, Rapunzel had jumped up and hugged her. "Lottie," she'd said. "I hope you have a wonderful night's sleep with many pleasant dreams. I can't wait to see you again in the morning."

She smiled at the memory as she pulled on her nightgown. She already knew that she loved having Rapunzel here. She was probably the sweetest girl she'd ever met, and she was her sister! She moved over to her vanity and started combing her hair. She frowned thoughtfully. Yes, it was wonderful having Rapunzel back. But she wasn't entirely sure how happy she was to see Rider with her. She didn't think she liked him very much. In all honesty, she didn't think she quite trusted him either.

She decided that wasn't completely accurate. She didn't trust him at all, and she was surprised that her parents did. At least they appeared to, but maybe they were just so grateful that he'd brought her home that they weren't even thinking about his past thefts. She winced as she hit a snarl in her hair. Well, her parents and Rapunzel might be glad Rider was here, but she sure wasn't. The likelihood was that he was up to something or he'd bolt and leave her sister with a broken heart.

And how could she let that happen?

XxXxXxXx

Eugene and Rapunzel left the King and Queen not too long after Princess Charlotte did. He noticed that Rapunzel looked like she was growing tired, so he'd politely excused them and was now walking her to her room. He looked over at her, only to see a smile on her face. He loved her smile. It was like a golden ray of sunshine. Just like everything else about her.

"Wasn't that a lovely dinner, Eugene?" she said happily. "Lottie and Mama and Papa are all so wonderful, don't you think?"

He looked at her for a second, then coughed. "Quite," he said, which really didn't say much at all. But that, of course, was his intent. He didn't know if he could tell her exactly what he thought of her family. The King and Queen were very nice, he had to agree with her there. Their kindness to him meant a lot to him and he had enjoyed his conversations with them.

Lottie….Lottie, on the other hand, made him nervous. He was fully aware that she wasn't too fond of him. That much was obvious from her little jab at dinner about the crown. Clearly, she didn't trust him as far as she could throw him and the looks she gave him? Well, they were enough to freeze the Coronian Sea in the middle of the summer. He wondered if there was any way he could…

"Eu-gene!"

He blinked. Rapunzel was staring at him with her big and beautiful green eyes. "Um yes?"

She gestured at her door. "We're here."

He blinked again. "Right." He leaned in and gently gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "Good night, Blondie."

Her eyes shone, and she smiled happily. "Night, Eugene. Sleep well."

"Sweet dreams," he said.

"You too." She gave him another smile before quietly letting herself into her room.

He looked after her thoughtfully. Sweet dreams indeed. Ha. He highly doubted that, yet he still hoped that she had good ones. One of them should have a decent night sleep.

Because if he knew one thing for sure, it wasn't going to be him.