A bit of a short one here, but still here! Hope you enjoy!
As Eugene entered the castle with the guard, he saw a young man, no more than twenty descend the stairs with black hair and sky blue eyes.
"You must be Prince Eric." Eugene guessed as the young man approached him, extending a hand.
"That I am." Eric said, shaking Eugene's hand, "And you are...?"
"Oh, sorry. Prince Eugene Fitzherbert from Corona."
"Oh yeah, that's right. The thief turned prince, right?" Eric asked. Eugene smirked and gave him a nod.
"Yes, that is true."
"What can I help you with, Mr. Fitzherbert?"
Eugene turned and looked back towards the door. "Well, I was wondering, I know it's sort of short notice but... could my men and I stay here in your kingdom for a night or so? I need to get a message to Arendelle and Corona and also my men need a night to rest. See, we've been chasing someone all night."
Eric raised an eyebrow. "Who were you chasing?"
Eugene shrugged. "Well, long story short, we chased down this... fugitive prince from the Southern Isles who snatched a couple of the Queen and Princess of Arendelle's friends and we have nowhere to put them while we sleep and we can't leave them in the ship on the account of they'll break out and start causing problems."
Eric nodded, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "I see... well, I suppose it can't hurt letting your men and yourself stay the night. And I can have some of my castle's guards go down and supervise your ship and your prisoners so your men can get some sleep and something to eat."
Eugene's face brightened as he clasped Eric's hand again, shaking it vigorously.
"Oh, thanks so, so much. I can't tell you how much I appreciate this. I promise, I will pay you back in any way I can."
"Don't worry about it." Eric sad, chuckling, "It's my treat to you. As a matter of face, we were just sitting down to dinner. Would you care to stay?"
Eugene's face brightened. "I've never been one to turn down free food." he laughed, "I'd love to."
"So, your wife used to have magical hair, you said?"
Eugene took a sip of wine. "Believe it or not, it was true. I didn't believe it when I first saw it. Apparently there was this magic flower that could heal sickness and they used it on the Queen when she was pregnant with Rapunzel, which gave her magical, golden hair. Trick was you could never cut it or else it would lose it's magic and turn brown."
"So... how did you become acquainted with her?" Eric asked as he cut the fish on his plate.
"Well... actually that's a little awkward... I actually was in the process of stealing her crown... but we didn't know it was her's then, and saw her tower that she lived in and hid in there. Then I blacked out and woke up tied to a chair with... her hair. All like... seventy feet of it. And she still had room to wrap it all the way around her tower too."
"Wow."
"Really. Then in exchange for the crown I stole, I took her out of her tower to see the floating lanterns the King and Queen released for the princess. Then, she almost got taken away by that old hag that I said kidnapped her and held her in the tower for 18 years, pretending to be her mother, I got stabbed and then cut her hair so the witch wouldn't use it anymore and then the witch died from it... I guess she just used her hair for too long," Eugene explained, "And then Rapunzel cried because I almost died and her tear still had a little magic still left in it that brought me back. Then, she returned to the kingdom, her parents pardoned me for helping her out and a few months later, we were married."
"Oh that's a very nice story, dear boy." Grimsby said, "I do wish Eric would find himself a nice, young lady."
Eric rolled his eyes. "Look, Grim, I told you already, when I find the right girl, I'll know."
"That girl you met a few weeks ago was certainly very nice." Grimsby argued.
"She just... wasn't right for me, Grim. Trust me, I could tell."
Grimsby tsked, pushing his food around with his fork. "Whatever you say, Eric." he grumbled before taking a bite.
"Grim, why are you so desperate for me to find a girl anyway?" Eric asked. Grimsby gave him a shrug.
"I just think it was time you settled down and started a family is all." he answered. Eric scoffed.
"Grim, I'm not even 21 yet!" he exclaimed.
"Ah, but you shall be tomorrow, Eric. And, based on what I have heard so far, I think it shall be a splendid party indeed." Grimsby said, wagging his fork in Eric's direction. Eric laughed and shook his head.
"I can't wait to see what you have in store for me, Grim." he said dryly. Eugene finished off the rest of his fish and put down his fork.
"Mmm. Good cooking you had here." he said, chewing the last of his fish and earning a questionable look from Grimsby for talking with his mouth full.
"Yeah, Louis is our chef. Came all the way from France. Fish is his speciality. Especially his stuffed crab." Eric said.
"Hmm. Sounds tasty." Eugene replied, wiping his mouth with the napkin before sitting it down and pushing his way back from the table. "I hate to eat and run, but we've got an early start tomorrow and I figured I'd better go on and get some sleep. Thank you again, Eric. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it."
"It's no problem at all. I would invite you all the the party tomorrow out on one of my ships. There's going to be music and entertainment and, according to Grimsby, it's going to be 'quite splendid'." Eric said, flashing a wry smile at Grimsby who just shook his head.
"I'd love to. I love a good party, but we've got work to do otherwise I would consider it." Eugene said sadly, "But nonetheless, have a happy birthday, don't drink too much and don't do anything you'd regret. Now, I'd better get going. Good night to you both."
"Good night." Eric and Grimsby said together. As Eugene left, Carlotta came down the stairs.
"Ah, Carlotta!" exclaimed Grimsby, "And how is our guest upstairs getting along?"
"He's fast asleep now, the poor dear." Carlotta said, her eyes sad, "The poor boy had sores all over his wrists and neck as if something rubbed his skin raw. He also had some cuts and a welt on his face and some terrible bruising on his chest and body. Honestly, I don't know how the poor dear is still with us. But I took care of it. When he wakes up, I'll help him get cleaned up properly but for now, I think we need to just let him rest."
"That sounds like the best idea." Grimsby agreed, "Don't you think so, Eric?"
Eric nodded. "I'll ask who he is and what happened when he gets to feeling better."
As Eugene exited the castle, he made his way back to the ship to find Eric's guards already stationed and his guards packing up for a night off. Eugene thanked the guards before going and gathering his own things, looking over at Sven, who had been sulking on the ship since they'd gotten there. Eugene remembered seeing some stables over by the inn they were staying at for the travelers' horses and thought Sven might be a little more comfortable there.
"Hey there, Sven. You wanna lay somewhere where it's more comfortable?" he asked the reindeer, who snuffled at him before turning his head away. Eugene frowned.
"Oh come on, Sven. I know it can't be comfortable for you on this old boat. Here you can lay in the hay and eat and drink as much as you want to. What do you say?" he asked. Sven snorted without looking at him. Eugene gently turned Sven's face to his as he put on the most pitiful, puppy dog faced expression he could do. Sven rolled his eyes.
"Look, it's either this face or the smolder." Eugene said sadly to go with his pitiful expression, "Please?"
Sven seemed to sigh as he got up from the deck of the ship. Eugene smirked and got up, petting the reindeer's head.
"Good boy. Tell you what, when we get there, I'll get you as many carrots as you can eat, okay?" he said. Sven's face didn't brighten much. That was something he and Kristoff always used to do... they would sit in the stables all night sharing carrots as Kristoff sang ridiculous songs to him. The thought made Sven sad, but also made him a little happy, remembering the time Kristoff had been drinking water and Sven had done something to make him laugh so hard he'd snorted the water from his nose.
Sven snorted and began to walk with Eugene to the stables for the night. He was glad he'd managed to find a new friend, but one thing still bothered the reindeer more than anything else in the world.
He missed Kristoff.