AN: So this isn't what I intended for this chapter, but when I started writing this I kind of had this idea and I just went with it. From what I can guess, there's about 8 hours between when Eugene's arrest and his (almost) hanging, and I tried to fill in the gaps.

Kay-Dee: Here's what he saw :)

Delilahgirl: I know, I wish they kissed too, but while I embellish, I don't change the main plot of the movie. So no kiss :( I'm very glad you like it though.

Over the Weather: It IS hard to write it without just copying the song, but I tried to capture each line's main idea in his thoughts. Thank you for the compliment :)

MFMF: Haha, well here's another cliffie :) But thank you. I'm very glad that you like my stories.

DJChef7: Thanks! I'm glad you like it :)

CrystalIceFire: Thank you!

You readers/reviewers are amazing! Much much love to you.

FL 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Tangled.

Chapter 12- Eugene vs. Jail

"The greatest griefs are those we cause ourselves."

-Sophocles

Okay, so here's how that whole scene should have gone: I gradually bring Rapunzel's face closer to mine, count every single cute freckle on her nose, and her eyes drift shut. Then...I kiss her-one sweet gentle kiss. When we break apart, she smiles at me, loving our kiss as much as I did. "Eugene," she'd say, and I'd be happy-because when she says Eugene, it sounds better than anything. Then I'd tell her how much I care about her and she'd say she felt the same. And we'd live happily ever after.

That's what should have happened.

Here's what did happen: Instead of bringing my face to Rapunzel's and kissing her, I pulled away because I noticed a greenish glow on shore. My first mistake-I should have kissed her. And from what I could tell, it was a lantern- and it was held by one of the Stabbingtons. By the expression on their faces, they had seen me and they didn't look happy. Okay, now this was very bad. For a second I kept staring at the shore at them, completely forgetting about Rapunzel until she said something.

"Is everything…okay?" she asked tentatively.

I blinked, completely distracted. "Huh?" Then what she said registered in my consciousness. Was everything okay? No, it wasn't, but I didn't want to scare her. "Oh yes," I said, hoping I sounded convincing, and squeezed her hand. "Yes, of course." My mind scrambled frantically for some kind of plan and my gaze settle on the satchel next to her. "I just...uh…need to…row back to shore." My second mistake-I should have rowed the complete opposite direction.

As I brought us back to shore, I could feel Rapunzel's eyes on me, questioningly. Of course, she was too smart to believe that everything was just dandy, but I didn't know what I could tell her. Once we reached the other side, I jumped out and pulled the boat unto the shore. "I'm sorry," I said, trying to reassure her as best as I could that everything was okay-even if it wasn't in reality. "Everything is fine." I picked up the satchel, but I couldn't help but notice how her face changed from slightly nervous (despite my best efforts) to completely crestfallen. Why? Did she think I was going to run off and leave her? "There's just something I need to take care of."

"Okay," she said. She was being awfully brave about this, but I was starting to be able to imagine how this looked to her. Please trust me, Rapunzel. "I'll be right back."

As I walked over to the Stabbingtons, I tried to figure out what to do. Obviously, I would give the crown to them. I didn't want it, not anymore, and they did. Besides, the crown was what they were after anyway, don't you think? I mean, if I gave it to them, they'd leave both me-and Rapunzel-alone, right?

Right. So, after I gave them the crown, I would walk back to Rapunzel and…..give her that kiss that we had missed on the boat. And after that I would….tell her how I felt about her, and…

….And ask her to come away with me: to leave Corona and make a new life-with me- in the nearest country over (which was probably Screlandria).

Yes, the more I thought about the idea, the more I liked it- me and Rapunzel, together, forever, with no one chasing us or trying to break us apart. I would make sure to assure her that I would never, ever, tell anyone about her hair, and she could trust me to keep her safe. I would even…..even marry her proper-like if she wanted me to. I just wanted to be with her, and have her happy.

That was the new plan. I walked over to the Stabbingtons with quick strides, wanting to finish this, so I could return to her. As stupid as it sounds, I think I thought that if I gave them the satchel they would leave me alone. My third mistake. I should have known better than that.

Once I reached Thor, who was sitting on a boulder, sharpening something with his knife. I assumed my traditional blithe tone. "Ah, there you are," I said. "I've been searching everywhere for you guys since we got separated." Ha, now that was a complete lie. I decided compliments might make this easier. Everyone likes a compliment right? "The side-burns are coming in nice, huh? Gotta be excited about that. "

Thor didn't respond to that, which should have been my first clue that all was not right. "Anyhow, just wanted to say I shouldn't have split, the crown is all yours," I said, and then tossed the satchel in his direction. I started to walk away. My gut feeling was that I needed to get out of there. Fast. Finally, something that wasn't actually a mistake of mine. See, that was actually smart of me. "I'll miss you, but I think it's for the…." I walked into a very intense looking Morris. "….best."

"Holding out on us again, eh, Rider?" Thor said.

For once I had no idea what he was talking about. I looked back at him. "What?"

"We heard you found something," he said, as he stood up and walked toward me, and thrust down his knife. "Something much more valuable than a crown."

I found something? The only thing I had found was…the most wonderful girl in the world. Who just so happened to have magical glowing and healing hair. Suddenly a cold feeling of dread came over me.

And it was confirmed by the next words out of his mouth. "We want her….instead."

Okay, it was official. The Stabbingtons had hit a new low. Now, don't look at me like that. I would never, ever do what they were thinking of. I wouldn't hurt someone and imprison them…or use them for money. I mean, I was bad….but I wasn't bad. Meaning I wasn't pure evil. And I would never, ever willingly let the Stabbingtons do that to Rapunzel. "No, I won't let you," I told him firmly. "If you want her, you know you have to go through me first."

He smiled. "That can be arranged."

Suddenly something hit me hard and, for the fourth time in two days, I blacked out. I guess that was my fourth mistake, but I don't know how I could have prevented that.

XXXXXXXXX

When I groggily woke up, I'm sure you can imagine what the first thing that I thought was. No, it wasn't that I was bummed that I had been knocked out for the fourth time. Honestly. No, it was Rapunzel. "Rapunzel?" I said, thinking that I was still on the boat with her.

Which was actually smart of me, considering I was actually on a boat-just not with her. Instead, I was completely tied to a post, my hands tied to the steering wheel, and tied to my hands was the crown. But there was no sign of Rapunzel. Suddenly everything with the Stabbingtons came back to me, and I realized that if they had knocked me out, she must be with them. "Rapunzel!"

So, things are pretty bad here, right? Well, they're about to get even worse. See, guards had seen with the crown and immediately started to arrest me and drag me away. "No, no, wait, guys, guys," I pleaded. But they didn't listen to me, and instead forced my hands behind my back and cuffed them. As they did, I fought them, desperate to find Rapunzel. "Rapunzel!" I yelled over and over, until one of the brusquely slapped me and told me to shut up. Aren't guards the nicest fellows?

Not. They didn't seem to care at all that she was in danger and I was the only one who could help her. They pulled me into the prison, and locked me up in jail.

XXXXXXXXXX

I hate jail. Just thought I'd throw that out there. I guess that's not surprising to you considering all the stories you've heard about me successfully trying to avoid jail. I hate every single minute I've ever spent in jail, but when I look back at that night in jail, I hate jail even more.

You might wonder why that night in jail was especially bad. Or maybe you don't, but I have to explain it to you to continue this story. See, that night in jail was really…..well, there's really no other word for it….absolute hell. This was for several reasons: First, I was troubled, worried, no vexed about Rapunzel. What? You're surprised that I thought of her first? Really? Haven't I told you enough by now how completely crazy I was about her? Part of me knew that she would have wondered why I hadn't come back and maybe...maybe she thought I had run off and left her- and just toyed with her emotions. After all, I had told her I would be right back. And I hadn't ever returned. I was no one's fool and the Stabbingtons might have lied to her when she asked what had happened to me. They might have told her anything, like I had told them about her hair- and then she would hate me. I couldn't stand that thought.

Besides that, for all I knew Rapunzel was tied up somewhere being dragged away to be sold as some kind of healing slave by the Stabbingtons. The thought of Rapunzel- sweet, sweet, innocent Rapunzel, Rapunzel who was so kind to everyone, Rapunzel who had been already imprisoned for her whole life- doomed to that fate made me sick. Not like sick in the sense that I have a small stomach ache but if I take some herb it will be better. No, I mean sick as in I can't stop pacing because I have so much stabbing pains that if I stand still it will hurt more.

And the thing was I couldn't do a bloody thing about it (another reason why I hate jail- it was the thing that kept me from helping her.) I was locked in jail and I didn't know when- or if- I would ever get out. There was enough evidence against me for at least lifetime imprisonment, and as much as I hated the idea, they could execute me too. As I'm sure I don't need to tell you I didn't want to die. I wanted to live to marry Rapunzel, be with her, and be her Eugene, and I couldn't do it if I was dead. And I couldn't save her from the Stabbingtons if I was dead.

I couldn't help but blame myself for her predicament too, and this isn't your normal blaming yourself for forgetting something important or losing something. This goes to a level far beyond that. Rapunzel's very life seemed to be on the line, and I was the one who had made it happen because the Stabbingtons were my partners. But I didn't know how the Stabbingtons had found out about her. I sure hadn't told anybody, and I was serious when I said earlier that I wouldn't ever tell anyone about her hair. It was a piece of the puzzle that didn't seem to fit, and I would think over and over how did they know, how did they know.

At one point, I felt myself drift into-what my mother always called- the Land of If Only….If only I had not seen the Stabbingtons and just kissed Rapunzel, if only I hadn't let them knock me out, if only I hadn't been captured by the guards, if only I wasn't in prison…Rapunzel would be okay.

So generally this is how my mind worked that night, with only minor variations here and there. But I kept berating myself over and over for the mess I was in, and had unwillingly brought Rapunzel into along with me.

At one point during the night, I overheard two guards talking about me:

"So, Irwin, I hear you caught Flynn Rider tonight. You must be pleased."

"Thanks, Luke. I am."

"How'd it happen?"

"It was actually kind of strange. We were just standing there, patrolling, when we saw him on this boat. Of course, we immediately nabbed him."

"Did he fight you?"

"Of course! It was four against one, though, so he didn't have much of a shot. But you know what was odd?"

"What?"

"As we got him, he kept yelling this one girl's name. At least, I thought it was a girl's name. It also sounded like some kind of flower, but I can't remember what it was."

"Lily?"

"No…."

"Orchid? Lilac? Rose?"

"No, it was not that common of a flower."

"Uh…Rapunzel?"

"Yeah, that's it. He kept yelling for some girl named Rapunzel. And he sounded almost panicked about her."

"Weird."

"I know, right?"

Another silence.

"So, is it true what I'd heard about him?"

"Which is…."

"That he's an arrogant smart-aleck?"

"I don't know; he didn't act like that. In fact, since he's been here he's been really quiet. Except for his non-stop pacing, that is."

"His…non-stop pacing?"

"Yeah. Go take a look."

Shuffle of feet. More shuffling of feet. "You're right."

"I know!"

"What do you think is up with him?"

"Who knows. Maybe he's worried that the Captain will get an execution warrant tonight."

"Or maybe he's worried about Mystery Girl Rapunzel."

Silence.

"I bet she's pretty, whoever she is." Luke sounded wistful.

"Of course she is, you idiot. You think he'd settle for anything less?"

"No, I guess not. After all, he does have the looks that turn girls' heads. Though his nose isn't at all like the wanted posters."

I almost grinned at that. Thanks, Luke.

"You know, my sister actually met him once." Luke's voice again.

"Really?"

"Yeah, my aunt and uncle own the Red Dragon, and my sister helps out sometimes. She said that one day he came in for a glass of flip."

"Was he arrogant?"

"Actually, she said he wasn't. In fact, she told me that he seemed sad about something and besides a polite thank you, he barely said anything."

"But she didn't report him?"

"No, she said….she said she felt sorry for him. So she didn't."

"Huh…Well, if it were me…."

Their voices faded out after that. But later they came back again. "Luke!" Irwin bellowed.

Shuffling of feet. "Yes?"

"We need-…." A brief pause. "Why are you looking like that?"

A sigh. "I don't know, I'm kind of curious about Mystery Girl."

Huffing of breath. "Well, if you're that curious, why don't you just ask him?"

"Ask him? Ask Flynn Rider?"

"Yes. What's he gonna do? Bite you through the bars?" He snorted. "You scared of him or something?"

"No. It's just that…why would he answer me?"

"Ah, no, I'm thinking he'd be thinking more along the lines of why do you care. In fact, I'm wondering the same thing myself."

For the first time, Luke actually sounded annoyed. "Look," he said. "I've got sisters, okay? And so I'm just thinking that if Mystery Girl was my sister, I'd do everything I can to make sure she's all right. Maybe I can….check up on her somehow, just to ease his mind."

Another snort. "You care way too much. Fine. But when you're done, we have two more prisoners that we could use your help with."

"I'll be right there." Then I heard shuffling of feet, and a quiet "Mr. Rider?" That was actually the first time somebody had addressed me that politely. Usually they called me "Rider", or "Hey You", or my personal favorite "Convict"-as if just because I was jail I suddenly stopped being a person. I was starting to like this Luke. I walked over. "Yes?"

"I-I couldn't help but notice that you're anxious about some girl…Rapunzel, is it?" he said. "And I thought I'd tell you that if I can, I'll do some checking up on her, just to…I don't know, ease your mind." His voice lowered. "And to let you know that some of us here still have a heart."

"Thanks," I said. "But I don't think there's really anything you can do. She's…she's probably long gone from Caermoor by now."

His face fell. "Oh, I'm sorry. What do you think happened to her?"

"Uh….she's most likely in the hands of two criminals." I decided not to comment on the profound irony of that-considering that I was a criminal myself.

He whistled. "Wow, no wonder you're worried. I'm sorry about that."

"Thanks."

"So you care about this Rapunzel?"

Although Luke was nice and everything, I didn't really want to spill my heart to him. "Yes," I said simply.

"Is she…," he asked hesitantly. "Is she pretty?"

I couldn't help but smile slightly at that. "She's probably the prettiest girl I've ever seen."

His eyes were dreamy. "Wow, that's nice. Too bad you're in jail, huh, otherwise you could go off and be with her." Now from anybody else in any other tone it would have been a taunt, but I had a feeling that he was trying to sympathize with me. Besides, Luke wasn't the taunting type. He just wasn't. Irwin was. He blinked. "Well, I'd best go help Irwin before…"

…before Irwin blows up at him for being late. "Go ahead."

He blinked again. "Right," he said, then started to walk away but not before I head a soft "Hang in there, Mr. Rider, and hope for the best."

Okay, where did this Luke come from and why was he working in a jail? He was way, way too nice for this job.

XXXXXXXXXX

Around two hours later- and about a hundred paces of my cell's perimeter- I heard Luke and Irwin come back. "Now you know what to do," coached Irwin.

"Yes," said Luke, then he walked over to my cell again. "Hello again, Mr. Rider." Irwin nudged him, though I did notice how he looked despisingly at Luke when he said Mr. Rider. "I need you to come with me for questioning."

"Uh…sure," I said. Oh, stupendous. Now I had to go through questioning. Isn't jail fun? At least it was Luke who was taking me- he was the only one here who didn't make me want to bash my head against the wall.

"Right," he said, and opened the door.

Irwin nudged him again. "Aren't you going to put the cuffs on him?" he asked in a low voice.

Luke glanced at me. "No, I don't think that's necessary. He won't be any trouble."

Maybe now I wouldn't, but two days ago I would have been. Irwin looked incredulously at Luke. "You're kidding, right? You do know who you're dealing with, don't you?"

Luke looked evenly at Irwin. "Yes," he said. "I'm dealing with a human being."

"But he's Flynn Rider!" Irwin protested. "He's probably planning something right-…"

Enough of this. "Look," I interrupted him. "If I was going to do something, I would have done it already-like bashing your heads together while you've been yakking. So can we go now?"

If my eyes weren't deceiving me, Luke was smirking at Irwin, rather smugly in fact. "Sure," he said. "Let's go."

Irwin grumbled the entire time, but he grumbled even more when Luke told him that he was going to question me by himself. "But you can't!" he complained. "You know what the Captain said!"

"I am quite aware of what the Captain said," Luke told him firmly. "But I'm the only one here who will treat him fairly. So I'm going to talk to him, and you are going to stay here. Got it?"

I almost grinned in spite of myself. Luke was the man! Irwin mumbled something again, but he agreed- as long as he could guard the door. Then Luke ushered me into a small room, and told me to sit across from him.

As soon as I did, he cleared his throat. "Right," he said. "So, Mr. Rider, I'm going to ask you a series of questions and I'd strongly encourage you to answer honestly. All right?"

"O…kay," I said. He asked me about a bunch of my other thefts, writing things down on a piece of paper periodically, but finally he got to the big one.

"So, Mr. Rider," Luke said. "I have to ask you about the lost princess's crown."

"Yes?" I decided there was no real point in lying, considering that a guard had seen me do it. Once again, I berated myself for my utter stupidity. Why did I have to open my big mouth anyway? "And?"

"You stole it, didn't you?" Luke wasn't one to dance around matters.

I leaned back in my chair. "You caught me with it, a guard saw me do it. So yes."

"Did you act alone?"

Generally, I wouldn't rat out my partners, but maybe if I did they'd catch the Stabs…and Rapunzel would be rescued. "No. Morris and Thor Stabbington helped me."

He looked up at me sharply, but then he looked down and scribbled something. "I see." He wrote something else. "And why did you want to steal the crown? I'm guessing it was your idea."

He was right about that. I had pretty much engineered the entire thing, given that I was smarter than the Stabbingtons. But I didn't answer that part of his statement. "I wanted to steal the crown, sell it, and….and buy an island."

"I see," Luke repeated. Then he cleared his throat again. "Tell me something, Mr. Rider. Do you still want that island?"

Now that was the easiest question he had asked me. "No." The only thing I wanted right now was to make sure Rapunzel was safe.

"Why not?"

"I….I just don't."

He wrote something down again. "Are you sorry?"

Was I sorry? Really? "Am I sorry I stole it or am I sorry I was caught?"

"Both. Either," he said. "It might help you if you are genuinely sorry."

"Well," I said. "I'm sorry that I stole it, but if I hadn't, I wouldn't have met…uh…"

"Rapunzel?"

"Yes."

"And because of her you don't want that island."

This Luke was something else. Actually, he was ridiculously clever. A lot like Rapunzel really. Would everything always remind me of her? "Yes."

"Must be one special girl," he commented.

"She…she is."

"Off the record," Luke said. "I wish there was some way you could see her before-…" He broke off, almost like he thought he was saying too much. "I think we're about finished here. Thank you for your cooperation."

"Sure," I said. "Now can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"Why are you being so kind to me?"

He was silent for a minute. "Honestly," he said. "I know that professionally I shouldn't be, and I should hate you-like everyone else here- for all the crimes you've done. But personally…well, my sister said that when she saw you once, she saw…saw some kind of sadness in you, and I can see it too. Besides that, I don't know. My mother always told me that everyone deserves respect, no matter what."

So that was nice and everything, but from my experience in jails, nobody thought that way. They seemed to think that just because you had done something bad, it was okay to treat you like dirt. I'd even heard of guards beating up prisoners, but luckily they hadn't done anything like that to me. So far, that is. "With all due respect, Mr.-…."

"Miller," he supplied.

"….Miller, why are you working here?" I said. "This job doesn't seem…to suit you that well."

He sighed, as if he had heard this question many times before. "Well," he said. "Off the record, I only work this job because I need the money. My father's gone, and my mother relies on me to pay most of the bills- and my two sisters' dowries."

Well, that made more sense. "I see."

Luke stood up. "Right," he said. "So I need to take you back to your cell now."

I stood up too. "And what's your prediction for me?"

He shook his head gravely, and looked at his notes. "I'll be frank with you, Mr. Rider. Things don't bode well for you at all. I'll do what I can with the….encouraging things you've told me, but most people here would love to see you strung up by a noose as soon as possible."

I sighed. "I figured."

XXXXXXXXXXX

After that, I went back to my cell and resumed my pacing, worrying, and blaming. By daybreak, my head ached because of my many hours of circular thinking and berating of myself. Soon I heard my cell door open. I glanced back, only to see a smug-looking Irwin, the Captain, and one other guard. Seeing Irwin smug didn't improve my mood any. In fact, if he was that happy, chances were things were…very bad for me.

"Let's get this over with, Rider," the Captain said.

"Where are we going?" I asked. He just looked at me, and I began to feel slightly sick. Unconsciously, my hand strayed to my neck. "Oh."

See, in that moment I knew what my fate was:

And it was the end of a noose.