Hi. Sorry it's been a little bit since I last updated! But, well, here it is. It's a little shorter than the other ones but hope you like it (: Oh, and thank you to everyone who has reviewed, alerted or just read this story! Please, don't stop now, though. I've never gotten more than 20 reviews on a story I've written so, yeah, that'd be nice. K

When Eugene had awoken to the sight of the chief palace guard horse early on Blondie's birthday, he had to admit, his heart sank. But thankfully, Rapunzel was clever enough to work out a deal with him. She was too adorable to disappoint, even for animals. Who knew?

It turned out that good 'ole Maximus' appearance had been rather beneficial for the three of them. On foot, they never would have made it to the castle in time to see the floating lights, and at this point, that was not an option. Eugene just couldn't imagine letting Rapunzel down like that. With a little sweet talk and innocent coaxing by Blondie, Maximus agreed to chauffer our party into Corona. With one exception, of course: our alliance only lasts for the 24 hour span of Rapunzel's birthday.

"Great! We should probably get going. Oh, I can't wait!" Rapunzel squealed excitedly.

Eugene grinned and said, "You're probably right. Would you like some help up?" Eugene offered her his hand, but she just looked back and forth between the horse and his hand, her expression doubtful.

She muttered in a soft voice, almost to herself, "I've never ridden a horse before."

"Oh, don't worry about it. It's not as bad as it looks. Trust me," Eugene promised her, offering his hand again.

"I don't trust Flynn Rider," she said slyly.

She was difficult, to say the least. "Who's Flynn Rider? My name's Eugene Fitzherbert." It was true; he barely even knew who Flynn Rider was anymore. She had changed him in a way he hadn't been expecting at all. He was completely blindsided.

A slow smile spread across her lips. Without any further hesitation, she took his hand and he boosted her up onto Maximus' saddle. "I was hoping you would say that," she said, positioning herself atop the horse.

For a split second, the sun shone down through the trees and illuminated Rapunzel's enormous curtain of hair. She batted her long eyelashes and smiled. Eugene couldn't control himself. She was stunning. His stomach churned slightly and he had a strange impulse to touch her face. He had to blink a few times before he collected his emotions and cleared his throat. Why did he always do that!

Eugene tried to mount the horse as well but Maximus objected violently. The second he placed his foot in the stirrup, Maximus jumped in the air and turned to face him, his large eyes narrowed. "What?" Eugene said, taken aback.

The horse just turned away and snorted loudly, ignoring him completely. Naturally, Eugene tried again, but Maximus wasn't going to have it. He pressed his nose to Eugene's nose and blew out of his nostrils angrily. His animalistic fury was rather amusing, but he knew from experience he didn't want to mess with Maximus.

"C'mon, please?" Eugene pleaded.

Maximus stepped back and shook his head, his eyes closed. He even saw Pascal snigger maliciously from Rapunzel's shoulder.

Eugene scowled at the horse and Rapunzel giggled from her seat on the saddle. "Fine. If that's how it's going to be, I'll just walk then."

The arrogant horse smiled, showing his large, white teeth. Weird, he didn't know horses could smile. Maximus turned again and followed the path at a slow trot toward the village.

Already, the pace was faster than Eugene would have liked. "Hey, slow down a little!"

Maximus glanced over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow. He smirked slightly and sped up to a gallop.

"Hey! Stop! Wait up!"

Rapunzel was laughing the whole time, clutching the reigns for dear life. "Eugene, this is so much fun! I can't believe Mother never let me ride a horse before!"

"That's great, Blondie, but do you think you could tell your buddy to slow it down!" Eugene called, struggling somewhat to catch his breath.

She didn't hear him. He gave up trying to chase them through the trees and decided to rest for a second. Besides, they'd come back for him, right?

Eugene could hear her jubilant laughter echo about the forest. He was glad, at least, that she was having fun. He couldn't really stay angry at anything when she had such a positive outlook at everything. What had happened to him in these past few days? He was practically a different person, but, shockingly, he didn't care one bit.

Rapunzel's thrills of laughter came closer and closer as she steered Maximus back in his direction. How quickly she learned! "Thanks for coming back for me," he said, chuckling a little.

"You're welcome!" she replied, her face flushed with excitement. "Hop on! I convinced Max to let you join us. It wasn't easy, so be nice!" She giggled.

Maximus snorted and looked away but didn't protest when he climbed on. His slid his legs on either side of the horse and settled himself deftly behind Rapunzel, noticing their extreme proximity. He could even feel the heat radiating from the small of her back. Without really knowing what he was doing, he wove his arms around her waist. Butterflies filled him up again, and a smile penetrated his lips. He could definitely get used to this. Rapunzel just laughed again. She didn't seem to mind either.

"Come on, Max! Show me how fast you can go!" she shouted, playing with the reigns to get him to go.

Without any warning, he bolted through the trees at blinding speed, headed for the village.