Hey, guys! I would like to say thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favorite, and added to their story alerts. It means a lot to me. This is the first technical chapter of Life Ever After, and begins one year after the prologue (hence the chapter name…). Any who, here you go. :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Tangled, or Eugene wouldn't have died in the first place…

Chapter One

One Year Later

She was up and ready to get going as soon as the first ray of morning light caressed her face. She jumped around her room, putting on articles of clothing as she got ready for the day.

She stopped in front of the mirror and absentmindedly twiddled her short hair in her fingers. She quickly jerked her hands away as she became aware of her habit. She sighed and looked at the girl staring back at her in the mirror. She wore a soft rose gown with short sleeves that hugged her slender arms tightly. Her large green eyes blinked back at her. She broke her gaze to reach to the side and pick up her small crown.

She turned back to the mirror and gently placed the crown on her head. She smiled and glanced at the clock on her wall. Seven oh five. There was no way on Earth that Eugene was up this early. He tended to be a late sleeper. A devious look crossed her features as she bounced out of her room, not even bothering to put on shoes.

She stopped at the door a little ways down from hers, quietly opened it, and poked her head in. "Eugene," she whispered. "Euuugeeene?" she sang quietly. She walked in and closed the door silently behind her. She then tiptoed to the side of the bed and stared down at the man sleeping there.

His hair was slightly ruffled and messy. He lay with one arm under his cheek, the other flung out from his side. He lay on his stomach, with his head turned to the side, and she could just see his body rising and falling with every breath he took.

She crossed her arms and began to think. He looked exactly the same as he had a year ago. Same dark brown hair, same goatee. The same intensity of love in his eyes with every look he gave her. She still remembered the day he had brought her home. With a simple grasp of the hand between her mother and Eugene, all had been forgiven. He had a clean slate, and her father, the King of Corona, had declared him a royal hero. Rapunzel had been ecstatic to learn that Eugene would be allowed to stay in the castle, just one door down from her.

She supposed it was good that he was there, especially those first few hard months. That was when her nightmares ran rampant. She would cry out and scream constantly in her sleep. Always, within moments, Eugene would be there, gently cradling her against him and whispering consolations in her ear as she fought against him. Eventually, she would calm down in her sleep, or wake up and soon collapse back into a deep, peaceful sleep.

Then there had been the nights she couldn't sleep at all. She would sit up and paint her walls, or read one of the many books from the castle's extensive library. Those were also the times That Eugene would come looking to say good night, only to find her curled up with her knees to her chest, staring blankly at the space in front of her. That was when he would sit down next to her and hold her hand in both of his as she continued to look off at space, or sometimes, she would come out of her quiet spell and they would talk. She even tried to teach him to paint, once, which had ended in a very disproportionate picture of Rapunzel, which still made her smile inwardly to this day.

Rapunzel was pulled out of her memories as she heard Eugene mumble in his sleep.

"Mmm… Rapunzel…" he said groggily.

She reached over and gently smoothed down a strand of his hair, her fingers lingering for a second.

That second was all that Eugene needed to catch her off guard. Before she could pull away, he had a hold of her wrist and pulled her down on the bed beside him. She blinked once in surprise before she broke into a smile.

"Admit it. I got you," he said, gently brushing his finger down the side of her face.

"Mmm… fine. You, Eugene Fitzherbert, have managed to trick me."

He laughed as he brought his face closer to hers. He rested his forehead against hers and breathed in her sweet scent.

Rapunzel froze as she waited for something to happen. "Mother told me that… I wasn't supposed to be in bed with you… before we're… married," she said carefully. "She said it was, um…" she searched for the word the Queen had used, "unladylike, that's the word." She smiled in triumph.

"Technically, you aren't in bed with me. I'm under the covers, and you're not." He raised his eyebrows and smiled at her.

"Eugene…" she started, shaking her head, but she was cut off by said person pressing a finger to her lips.

"So, Princess," he began, rising to stand from his bed. "Tomorrow is a very big day."

Rapunzel looked at him with intentional blankness. She knew all too well what tomorrow was, but decided to play dumb. "Nope." She swung her legs over the edge of the bed, sitting up.

"No?" He turned to face her. Rapunzel's gaze fell down to his bare, well-defined chest and she smiled to herself, thinking how lucky she was to have someone like Eugene. She stared for a few seconds before her eyes fell to that fateful spot on the side of his stomach and her smile faded. "Hey…" He lifted her chin with his finger. "Look at me." Pulling her up, he took one of her hands and pressed it gently to the spot she had been looking at. "Do you feel anything out of the ordinary?" He smiled as she slowly looked up at him, confusion written on all over her, and shook her head no. "Okay." He moved her hand to his heart, her eyes following his every move. "Now, what do you feel?"

"Your heartbeat." She looked up at him again as he smiled down at her.

"That's right." He reached up to twist a strand of her hair in his fingers. "I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. I promise." He smiled at her yet again, his brown eyes full of love. "Chin up. Tomorrow is your birthday."

"And, one year ago today… I met you." She smiled up at him and put a hand up, cradling his face.

"And I'm glad you did." He grinned as he gently tucked the strand of hair behind her ear, letting his hand drag down to cup her cheek as he leaned in and softly kissed her. She reached her arms around his neck, allowing her fingers to entwine in his hair as he pulled her flush against him. After a short while, they broke apart, breathless. "We should go to breakfast." He placed a light kiss on her forehead.

'Yeah. You're right." She waited for him to get dressed, then took the elbow he offered her as they walked to the dining room.

Please click the little button below that says review. I really need some inspiration for these next few chapters, seeing as I don't really know what is going to happen yet. And, also, let me know if I'm a little too heavy on the fluff. I DO like fluffy… (YAY!) … Huzzah for Tangled puns. Anyways, you know what to do, and hopefully, I'll have another chapter up for you by the end of this school week, my last high school week, I might add… Sadness. But enough about me. REVIEW!

EugeneLoverRapunzel