Disclaimer: The first thing I would have done if I owned Tangled would be to tell us a little bit more about kid!Eugene. Then I'd tell the story of the king and queen.
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Chapter Three
William sighed a little as Princess Eleanor walked out of the gardens. He had hoped that he could at least speak to her…perhaps another time. The old head gardener came up beside him and cleared his throat pointedly. Jumping a little in surprise, William gave the old man a sheepish look.
"She'll talk ta ye soon 'nough, lad," he said confidently. "She talks ta ev'ryone works here. At least she noticed ye. Most days she's out here…she doesn't notice anyone 'less they tread on her hand."
Somehow, that did not really make William feel that much better about his predicament. By the time he stumbled into the more humble rooms that the king had given to William upon hearing the Prince's scheme, William felt far more exhausted than he had in his life. Even though this was merely an act, the old head gardener—named Edgar, William had learned—was a hard taskmaster, and would not let William off easy, Prince or no. Thankfully Cedric didn't chuckle too much when he saw the state that the young Prince was in. At least…not in William's presence.
"Having trouble adapting, are you, Your Highness?" the blonde man asked with a badly-suppressed smile.
"You can save your amusement for later, Cedric," William replied in a tired voice, collapsing on the bed. "I hope the king has not been…er…kind enough to invite us to dinner?"
"No, sire," Cedric responded, helping William pull off his boots. "He sent his compliments, however, and said that he wishes you luck in your endeavor. From the tone that the man delivering the message used, I'd wager His Majesty thinks that you are doomed to fail."
"How encouraging," William grumbled. "Well, at the moment I'm far too tired to care. If you could see to some dinner…then I will be more than grateful to you."
Smiling a little to himself, Cedric nodded and went off to do just that, leaving the exhausted Prince alone to fall asleep or wait for his dinner as he chose.
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Eleanor enjoyed her dinners with her father, when it was just the two of them. Dinners with other lords and ladies were too strained for her. All of those strangers trying to gain her attention, hoping that they would be the one to make her smile and thereby gain her hand in marriage. They wouldn't become the ruler of the kingdom alongside Eleanor after her father's death, however, which did not seem to discourage any of these would-be suitors. Even though Eleanor would not rule after her father, as the kingdom would go to the nearest male relative, she was considered quite a prize. The wealth that would be gained through marriage to her would be substantial, and that was incentive enough to anyone who sought her hand.
That did not make things any easier for Eleanor herself, though. She was growing tired of all the men chasing after her and trying to gain her hand in marriage. Thankfully, tonight she would not have to deal with any of those lords and ladies. Nor would she have to dress up for them. After cleaning off her hands, she pulled on one of her favorite simple dresses before she went to join her father for dinner. Her father was waiting for her as he always did, and she moved over to kiss him on the forehead.
"Hello, my dear," he said with a sigh. "And where have you been today?"
"In the gardens," Eleanor replied with a slight shrug. "Did…did you know that there is a new young man working in the gardens? How long has he been working for us?"
Eleanor wasn't certain, but she could have sworn that her father flinched slightly. But it passed before she could be absolutely sure that she had seen that. Frowning a little to herself, she turned her attention to her food.
"I was not aware that there was a new young man in the gardens," he said in a soft voice. "Have you spoken to him yet?"
"No…I haven't," Eleanor admitted. "Though I was rather interested in where he could have come from."
Her father did not seem eager to discuss this, however, so Eleanor allowed the conversation to take a different turn, though she was infinitely curious about why her father did not wish to talk about a new gardener. Normally he was very open to hearing Eleanor talk about the time she spend in the gardens, as it was one of the few things that made her feel remotely happy anymore. If he didn't want to talk about this particular gardener…that only made Eleanor even more curious about this strange new young man.
"Perhaps…perhaps I will spend tomorrow in the gardens as well," Eleanor said towards the end of the meal. "I…I really do not feel up to facing the dignitaries who are currently visiting. All I want is to be left to my own devices for a few days, until I am ready to face our visitors."
A slightly pained look crossed her father's face, but Eleanor looked away before he could try to meet her gaze. Her father knew how much she hated to see him in pain of any kind, especially now when they were all that one another had, and he would not hesitate to use that knowledge in his favor. Seeing that Eleanor would not meet his gaze, her father sighed heavily and nodded.
"If you feel that is best, my dear, then I cannot say no."
Well, he certainly could, but both he and Eleanor knew that he never would. The king was far too fond of his daughter to ever deny her anything, though several people would say that he spoiled her. Eleanor felt this was not the case, and she was grateful for all that her father would do for her, including bending to her will in cases such as these. Reaching over to place her hand over her father's, Eleanor gave him a grateful look, though she didn't smile. Neither of them could hope for that much, even when alone together.
"Thank you, papa," she said earnestly, giving his hand a squeeze. "I promise that I will be in the library tomorrow for our usual reading together."
This seemed to soothe her father somewhat, and the meal continued in silence as they both pondered over all that had been said by the other. When it finally came time for Eleanor to bid her father good night, she did so with a reluctant sigh. Saying good night meant that she would be asleep soon, and sleep meant that the dreams would begin their plaguing of her all over again.
Ever since the death of her mother, Eleanor had been beset with nightmares. Oh, she used to have the typical nightmares of childhood, but in the last two years, these had become something far worse. It wasn't that she saw anything particularly gruesome or horrifying…simply that there was this presence of evil that she knew she couldn't escape. The fear that these dreams inspired in her was crippling, and it made her wish that she never had to sleep. But sleep she must, otherwise she would be unable to perform any of her duties. And so, Eleanor managed to live with the nightmares.
Making her way slowly to her rooms, Eleanor didn't really watch where she was going. She knew these halls better than anyone except the servants, and so she was confident that she wouldn't get lost. Still, what she had not anticipated was to run into the very young man that she had been thinking of. Looking up in surprise when she heard someone approaching, she was very surprised to see the young man from the gardens.
"Oh!" she said in surprise. "Forgive me, I didn't think that…that I would find anyone else in the halls at this time."
The young man in question flushed a little and ducked his head, as was only polite when dealing with royalty. Still, it was not something that Eleanor relished. Sighing a little in exasperation, she motioned for him to at least look at her. He did, and Eleanor noticed that he had very blue eyes; piercingly blue eyes that seemed to reach into Eleanor's very soul and seek out all of her secrets. Clearing her throat slightly, Eleanor did her best to regain the imperious look that she was so well-known for.
"Might I ask why a gardener is wandering through the halls of the palace?" she asked with a slight arch of her eyebrows.
The poor young man's face flushed even more at this and stared fixedly at his feet. "I was…visiting a friend who works among the servants," he muttered. "Forgive me, Your Highness."
A curious look crossed Eleanor's face as she looked at him and she once more motioned for him to meet her gaze. He truly was very handsome, she decided. And looking at his hands, she arched her eyebrow a little higher. He wasn't a gardener. At least, he had not been for long. Those were the hands of a scholar, not a hard laborer. In time he would gain the callused hands of someone who spent their days working in the dirt.
Glancing down at her own hands at this thought, a rueful look crossed Eleanor's face. Most princesses had delicate and soft hands, but not Eleanor. She had the hands of a farmer's daughter from all those months and years spent in the gardens. Her thoughts were interrupted as she glanced up to see the new gardener staring curiously at her. Once more arranging her features into an unconcerned mask, she arched an eyebrow at him.
"And what would your name be?" she asked in what she hoped was a controlled tone.
For a moment, the young man simply continued staring at her, and then he seemed to realize that she had spoken to him and cleared his throat hastily. "William. M-my name is William, Your Highness."
Eleanor nodded slightly at this and then began to walk away. After all, a Princess speaking with a servant was not something that was to be encouraged. But when she felt a large hand on her arm, she had to stop to see what this William thought he was doing. Thankfully he seemed to realize his mistake and hastily released her.
"My apologies," he said humbly. "I…I was simply wondering…" he stammered for a moment, seemingly intimidated by the imperious glare that Eleanor was giving him. "If…If there was anyway that you would…know the name of which gardener would be best for me to speak to in order…to become more familiar with the gardens?"
Eleanor would have laughed if she were so inclined these days, but as she had not done so for so long, she did not bother to try now. "Perhaps the head gardener, Antony, is the best person to ask that, not the Princess of Lumen."
With that, she spun on her heel and walked calmly away, leaving William behind her in the hallway.
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William had not expected to run into the Princess Eleanor in the hallways of the castle. In fact, he had hoped to remain away from her until the next day in the gardens. But…he had to say, that meeting her here now was rather…serendipitous. It gave him a further chance to learn about her.
And what had he learned in this little meeting? That she was far colder than he had anticipated. At least, in the face of what she suspected was a servant. He had observed her with the king from a distance, though, and seen that the Princess was capable of being kind and affectionate. Even though she was not the sort who seemed capable of feeling joy after the death of her mother, there was a kind woman within her who simply was afraid to show it.
That, and she had the most beautiful eyes that William had ever seen in his life. Large and green, they were full of so much of her soul, from her sorrow at losing her mother to her intelligence and love of all things growing. So much could be seen within those lovely eyes, and William felt very drawn to the Princess because of those eyes. Perhaps for some other reasons as well, but at the moment, all he could think of were her eyes staring at him.
Shaking his head slightly, he cleared his throat and made his way slowly back to the rooms that he and Cedric were currently sharing. Pushing open the door, he arched an eyebrow at Cedric as the other young man looked up from setting out the meal that had been sent for.
"Ah, sire," Cedric greeted with a nod. "I was beginning to wonder if I should alert the king of the fact that you were missing,"
"Your concern is touching, Cedric," William muttered. "Though I always wondered why you thought it was appropriate for you to be so sarcastic around me."
"Because you have never corrected me, and I have never felt the need to stop," Cedric said with a slight smirk, arching an eyebrow at the Prince. "Now, I suggest that we have our meal before the food becomes inedible."
Sitting down across from Cedric, William shook his head in amusement and began eating the food brought into the room for them. "One of these days, that attitude you take is going to get you into trouble, Cedric," he murmured softly. "But for now, you're the only link to home that I have and I will have to live with you."
"A terrible burden, I can well imagine," Cedric said, completely deadpan. "However will you manage it?"
"I'll figure something out," William replied vaguely. "Now…let's just forget about how we'll survive living with each other and discuss the plan."
"Ah, yes, the plan," Cedric muttered, sitting down across from the Prince. "I take it that the Princess has yet to acknowledge your existence?"
"Actually…" William said slowly, smiling sheepishly.
Cedric rolled his eyes a little and shook his head, not bothering to say anything on that subject. "As I understand it, sire, your plan is to somehow make the Princess Eleanor fall in love with you by working within the gardens; her inner sanctum." When William nodded at this, Cedric continued. "What I don't understand, sire, is how you plan to do this. As a Princess, she will not be willing to socialize with a lowly gardener. It won't go well, especially if she learns about who you truly are. From what I have heard from the other servants, she greatly dislikes the various nobles seeking to meet her father's requirement of making her smile in order to marry her."
"And I cannot say that I blame her," William admitted. "But I am not merely doing this to gain her father's favor. I wish to know something about her first, and then seek her hand in marriage. Smile or no."
Cedric arched a pale eyebrow before smiling slowly and nodding his understanding. "Then I see no reason for this to fail, sire," he said with a shrug. "Why do you even need me here to discuss this? I shall go back to my lowly duties as a valet and allow you to seek your own answers."
Rolling his eyes slightly at Cedric's behavior, William turned his full attention to the meal in front of him. Right now, all he wanted was to eat and then go to bed.
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Author's Note: A bit of a filler chapter, I will admit, but it was a good filler chapter, yes? Anyway. So, yes indeed, William has a plan. And it is a good plan. Not only is it a good plan, but it is fool proof. What could possibly go wrong?
Yeah, right. Anyway, a note on the characters!
Eleanor: she is a troubled girl, this one. She lost her mother and it majorly screwed with her. So she has become quite the little ice queen, but she desperately wants that façade to be melted away. Just not by the jerks who keep coming because she's the most beautiful Princess whose daddy is willing to marry her off to the first sucker lucky enough to get her to smile. She's waiting for Prince Charming. She just doesn't know he's right in front of her. We'll see how this plays out for her. Her age, you might ask? At this point, I'm putting her at seventeen or eighteen.
William: Good Lord, I love this boy. He's so awkward in an adorable way. I mean, he is too darn cute. We don't know much about who he is in the film, but the man who is so torn up about not having his daughter around for eighteen years had to have started out as a sweet young man. So I'm going with that. His age? Meh, I'd say somewhere between five and ten years older than Eleanor. Just a rough estimate.
Cedric: Good. God. Cedric. I have always wanted to write a snarky servant, and now I have an excuse to do it. You can bet that I will be doing it with flair, to say the least. This boy is going to become my own brand of Alfred Pennyworth combined with Lane from Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest. I already adore this boy, and I am going to continue enjoying writing him. Age? A couple years younger than William, I'd think. We'll just see what happens with him and William as the plan continues to develop.
The plot? What plot? I'm making this up as I go! Mostly. Oh, don't worry though. I have some idea of what I want to happen. Reviews are love! Enjoy, my freaky darlings.