Another chapter update! This ended up being long, but I just couldn't cut Rapunzel and Eugene's day in Corona into more than one chapter. There is a lot of new material in this that I didn't write in the original television episode version of this, but I'm so happy with how it turned out! I really wanted to give life to all of those little moments we see during the Kingdom Dance scene in Tangled, and I hope that I did them justice. Enjoy, readers!
Rapunzel slept soundly on the ground, her hair wrapped tightly around her like a blanket, as Eugene laid nearby, eyes wide open, unable to sleep for even a moment with the fear of Rumplestiltskin's master plan looming over him. Suddenly, Rapunzel's eyes shot open, a wide smile already forming on her face, and she sat up straight. She quickly hopped up and ran over to shake Eugene, who pretended to wake from a deep sleep, returning her smile as best he could. The two walked through a patch of trees nearby and out into the open where the kingdom of Corona was laid out before them.
Before Eugene could turn to see the excitement that he knew he'd find on Rapunzel's face, she was gone, all but sprinting over the bridge that led into the village. He had almost caught up with her, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he struggled to breathe normally, when Rapunzel was stopped in her tracks by various villagers stepping on her hair. Eugene immediately picked up his pace, gathering up as much of Rapunzel's hair as he could hold in his arms before he was struck with an idea. He quickly led her away from the hustle and bustle to the crowd and over to a nearby fountain.
"Sit down," he instructed. Rapunzel, though obviously confused, did as he said. Eugene then worked quickly to lay her hair out behind her, dividing it into strands, and creating a thick braid layered with smaller, more intricate braids. When he was finished, Rapunzel stood and spun around, her eyes full of shock and joy.
"How did you…?" she asked, shocked when she finally turned to meet Eugene's gaze.
"We didn't get a lot of hair cuts at the orphanage. The little girls…I had to learn…" he trailed off, lowering his head as he felt his cheeks burn red with embarrassment. Rapunzel tipped his chin back up so that he had to meet her eyes.
"I love it. Thank you," she said softly as Eugene nodded.
"Come on!" Rapunzel exclaimed, pulling him from his thoughts as she literally pulled him through the crowd.
When they reached the main square lined with booths selling everything from flags bearing the seal of the kingdom to various foods, Rapunzel caught sight of a mural on a large wall just outside the castle depicting the King and Queen holding her just after she was born…the day of the first lantern celebration, just before she was taken. She stared in amazement at the baby's bright green eyes, her long blonde hair, recognizing something familiar.
"It's for the lost princess," Eugene said, noticing her focus on the mural.
"Lost?" Rapunzel asked curiously, without tearing her eyes from the wall.
"She was kidnapped…taken in the night right after she was born. She's been missing for years. The lanterns are for her…a beacon to her that the kingdom is still hoping that one day she'll return. That we haven't forgotten or abandoned her," he explained, glancing up at the mural and back at Rapunzel curiously before he saw her shake her head, as if clearing her thoughts, and finally shift her gaze over to a little boy who was selling kingdom flags. Eugene tossed the boy a coin and retrieved a flag from him, handing it to Rapunzel, who held it up and examined it with a sly grin before tugging Eugene to an area of the square where children were drawing on the brick ground with chalk. Rapunzel grabbed several pieces of varying colors and went to work, creating a mural of her very own that depicted people of the village, who stood nearby, all surrounding the sun symbol of the kingdom flag.
"Wow," Eugene said when Rapunzel stood back to admire her masterpiece. "You never mentioned that you're an artist."
"I needed something to occupy my time. And now I love it. I usually paint, though," she said as Eugene looked down at the small purple and yellow flag in his hand and back to Rapunzel's mural, an exact replica…with embellishments.
"It's incredible. Really," he said softly, glancing over at her as she blushed at his compliment.
"What should we do now?" Rapunzel asked, spinning around to take in the view of the entire square. Eugene followed suit, quickly taking notice of the guards that had just entered the square to join in on the celebrations.
"Hide!" Eugene whispered, taking Rapunzel's chalk-covered hand and pulling her along behind him as he searched for anywhere that he could avoid being seen. He quickly stepped up to the first booth without a line, leaning over to pretend to examine what the lady behind the table happened to be selling, and upon seeing what it was, couldn't help but smile and purchase one for himself and for Rapunzel. "Let's go," he said softly, grasping Rapunzel's hand without turning around and leading her into an abandoned alley nearby. Once they were tucked into an empty doorway and safely out of view, he handed her the pink cupcake, watching as her surprised and somewhat fearful expression shifted back into a bright smile.
"Thank you!" she whispered as they both bit into their cupcakes, finishing them in a matter of seconds and savoring every single delicious bite. When their eyes met again, Rapunzel burst into a loud fit of laughter at the sight of the icing just above Eugene's lip, giving him a mustache.
"What?" he asked as she reached up and wiped the icing away, watching as Eugene's cheeks burned bright red for the second time that day. When another pair of guards walked past, however, they both immediately sobered, ducking back out of view and pressing themselves against the wooden door as tightly as they could.
"I'm sorry. I didn't realize…" Rapunzel trailed off, unsure of what else to say.
"Don't be," Eugene answered, turning and glancing around the corner as the guards walked off in the opposite direction. When he was sure they were gone, he turned back to Rapunzel, giving her a reassuring smile. "Let's go," he said, holding out his hand for her.
"Where are we going?" she asked curiously.
"Trust me," he said, hoping that his hunch was right as Rapunzel took his hand and he led her down the alley, away from the square, and into a building around the corner.
"Wow," Rapunzel whispered the second that they were inside. "It's incredible."
She'd never seen so many books. She knew that her father's castle had a library, but like her tower, it remained locked, closed off from the rest of the world. She could see it through her window, the wall of books, but the one time she'd asked about it, her father had forbidden from inquiring about it again, saying that the books that she had were all that she needed. But after reading the same books constantly for 18 years, she longed to know what other stories might be waiting out there for her to discover.
"I hoped that you would like it," Eugene said, sensing her excitement and sighing with relief.
"Can I?" she asked, glancing at shelf after shelf of books scaling all four walls that surrounded her.
"Be my guest," he said with a small grin and a bow as Rapunzel flew to every shelf, tearing books off of the walls and assembling a towering pile in the floor.
She skimmed through countless books until a book of maps showing several of the surrounding kingdoms and the territories caught her attention.
"There's an entire world out there that I haven't seen," she said in a combination of sadness and exhilaration.
"Other realms, too. Whole other lands that we don't even know exist. And you can see them all," Eugene promised, knowing that he would do whatever it took to ensure that she never had to return to that tower again. Rapunzel did not reply, sighing deeply as she closed the book and pulled Eugene outside, where a band of musicians had just started playing.
Her expression brightening again, Rapunzel began to dance in the center of the square, pulling several surrounding townspeople in to join her. Before Eugene realized it, nearly everyone in the square was participating in the dance, but he only had eyes for Rapunzel as she spun and hopped and shifted from partner to partner flawlessly as the crowd grew. She reached out for him as he shook his head, but it seemed he had no choice as a local townsperson bumped him into the group and he was caught in the whirlwind of dancers. No matter what partner he had, he couldn't help but search out the crowd for Rapunzel, offering his hand to her as she made for him only for both to be pulled in the opposite direction just before they reached each other. Suddenly, they both were spinning, and at the very last beat of the song, they ended in each other's arms, eyes meeting for a long silent moment before they realized that the music had stopped, and they had to separate.
"To the boats!" one villager yelled over the crowd as everyone dispersed to their desired location for viewing the lanterns.
"You trust me, right?" Eugene asked, holding out his hand once again. Rapunzel's eyes met his, and for the first time in either of their lives, they both understood what it meant to have complete faith in another person.
"I trust you," she answered, taking Eugene's hand and following him down to the docks.