A/N: Okay, so I found this chapter very hard to write. That is mostly because everything in this chapter occurs during around 2 minutes of the actual movie, with the most amazing background song (Kingdom Dance). It conveys perfect emotions and it was very difficult for me to capture those emotions in words. I realize I could have written this differently-with more dialogue- but it just didn't come to me in that way. Mostly I wanted to share Rapunzel's memories and feelings of that special day and talking didn't really work that well. So I hope you still like this chapter, and I will try to do a little better with the lantern scene, (which I anticipate will be equally hard to write-because how can you capture "I See the Light" in words? I refuse to write out the lyrics and make Rapunzel think them because to me it is very tacky. Not to mention lazy. And I won't do it. So we'll see what happens) and I have a few ideas of how i might write it.
as always thanks for reading!
Disclaimer: I do not own Tangled.
Chapter 14-The Best Birthday Ever
"To the untraveled, territory other than their own familiar heath is invariably fascinating. Next to love, it is the one thing which solaces and delights."
-Theodore Dreiser, Sister Carrie
As I walked back to Eugene, I eventually decided that I would not tell him what I had learned. Why, you ask? Well, to be honest, I figured that it would make me look….kind of like a snoop. And I didn't want him to think of me that way. So once I saw him and gave him his money, I said absolutely nothing about my new-found knowledge about his mother. Instead I asked him where we should go next.
"Where do you want to go?" he asked me kindly.
I thought about that for a minute. I definitely wanted to go back to the square at the city gates. There was so much excitement contained in that tiny strip of city. "Well," I said at last. "How about we go back to the city square? There is so much to explore there!" He agreed and we set off for the square. The square where I had the best birthday of my entire life (up until that point).
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Dear listener, I still have pleasant memories of that day, even now, and for several reasons. First of all, I turned eighteen that day and I finally was free from my mother. And secondly (and even more importantly), I continued to fall in love with Eugene. And the day itself was pure perfection-the sun shone brightly, a cool breeze blew off the lake, and no clouds hung in the sky.
I don't recall the exact order of events once we re-entered the square, but I do remember that I couldn't contain my excitement and dragged Eugene from stall to stall to stall. More importantly, I remember waiting in line with Eugene for bread and suddenly spotting a mosaic of Queen Guinevere and King Ostwalt and a baby girl on one of the city walls. Captivated, I walked closer to it and saw a little girl place a flower at the base, and heard her say "it's for the lost princess." Suddenly, I realized that the baby girl must be the lost princess. I was immediately intrigued and stared at the girl even more closely. Funny, I thought. Her hair is blond like mine…..and her eyes are green like mine too. I felt a very strange sense of déjà vu, like I was on the edge of remembering something but I just couldn't quite reach it. I decided then and there that I would ask Eugene more about this…lost princess. I was completely fascinated by her and wanted to learn as much about her as I could.
Just then, I heard the sounds of flutes, lyres, and violins playing a festive and happy tune. Overwhelmed by happiness and the beauty of the music, I immediately began dancing the song of my heart in the center of the square. I twirled around and around and I even did a little of the ballet that I had practiced in my tower. And since I was so full of joy and wanted others to be too, I dragged many of the townsfolk into the square out to dance with me. Most of them, dear listener, were quite surprised by my actions, but eventually there was enough of us to dance in a circle. But Eugene was not one of them. I looked around quickly for him, and spotted him with Maximus, contentedly watching the dancing. I gestured for him to join us, but he put up a hand, his clear way of saying I don't dance. However, Maximus pushed him into the circle and he began to dance with us. But not with me. Not for lack of trying, though, because both of us were drawn by the other, yearning to be in each other's arms. At least I know I did. But every time we danced close to each other, some other townsfolk would take us away once more. And even though I didn't have the chance to dance with Eugene, I thoroughly enjoyed myself and was sad when the music ended.
I met up with Eugene once more and I asked him what we should do now. He told me that it was time to eat. And that is just what we did.
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After we finished eating our meal of bread and cheese, we walked the square once more. I enjoyed every single moment of that afternoon, but there were certain parts of it that stuck out in my mind, even years afterward:
Like Eugene kindly buying a small piece of purple fabric with a golden sun sewn on it, and the way his warm breath tickled my cheek once he gave it to me.
And the way he surprised me with cupcakes to celebrate my birthday, how close he was to me when we had to hide suddenly from the guards, and the smile we exchanged when we realized that we had outwitted them.
And the admiring look he gave to me when I finished drawing a large golden sun surrounded by a purple background in the middle of the square.
But one of my most favorite memories of the day was our trip to the capital's library and archives…..when Flynn Rider and his ambitions almost completely left my dear Eugene.
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Of course, that was my idea and I almost had to drag Eugene in there. But he told me later how much he had enjoyed it. Once we entered the Library, a very official looking man greeted us and asked us what we were seeking. And until he asked that, I had no idea what I wanted to see. But suddenly I knew that I wanted to look at some kind of records of the lords of the land. I wanted to see if I find out any more information about Eugene's mysterious noble father.
"I would like to see the records…of the nobles," I told the man. "And Eugene here would like to see books about islands." The library-keeper seemed pleased, but Eugene gave me a look that said why would you want to look at something so completely boring. Oh Eugene, I thought. If only I could tell you why.
The library-keeper showed Eugene to the books about islands, but he didn't look too pleased. I remember wondering about that, because he had just told me yesterday that his dream was to own an island, surrounded by enormous piles of money. So you would think he would like to read a book to learn more about them. But he informed me (later) that by then his dream wasn't to own an island, it was to be with me. And he was just becoming conscious of how silly his island dream had been compared to the warm companionship he found with me. Isn't he so sweet? I never would have guessed when I first meet Eugene that he could be so...completely romantic.
Then the library-keeper showed me to a room full of old, big, and dusty books. There must have been thousands of them. He asked me if I was looking for a particular family and I told him the Seymour family. And so the pile of books that I had to go through diminished to around fifty. Fun, right? Anyway, it took me quite some time, but I finally found a page with Lord Herbert Seymour on it. I discovered several things about him: One, he was still alive and in his fifties. Two, he didn't have any living sons (I don't need to tell you, dear listener, that I snorted when I read that). Three, he had two married daughters. Four, his wife had died several years before. And finally, I found a record of his servants and, of course, Vivian Lewis was one of them. She had been one of his maids, and had died when she was only 29. Which meant that she had had Eugene when she was 18. I cringed when I read that. What a horrid thing for Lord Herbert to do!
After that, I didn't want to read anymore and I eventually wandered around until I found the library-keeper, who kindly showed me back to where Eugene was. I expected him to be engrossed in a book about islands, but instead he looked…quite bored, leaning against the bookshelves with his arms crossed.
"What do you want to look at now, Blondie?" he asked me.
I thought for a moment. "Well," I began hesitantly. "I would like to look at more of the books here. That is, if you don't mind. I've never seen so many books in my entire life!"
Surprisingly, he agreed and I spent at least two hours in the library, dashing from aisle to aisle, excitedly bring book after book to him. I would sit on the floor, read a bit of one, leave it open on the floor, and then look at another. Eventually, the ground was covered with half-open books. And he was quite patient with me too, and would make kind remarks in response to my complete giddiness. However, he didn't seem like he was completely enjoying himself until I found a world atlas and showed it to him. He immediately was intrigued and sat (quite close-our shoulders almost touched) to me and we looked through it together. While we turned through the pages, we talked about what it would be like to see all those wonderful places. He told me that he would be happy if he could see the Continent. I told him that I would love to travel anywhere and everywhere, and he seemed a bit surprised that I did. But what did he expect from a girl who had spent 18 years cramped up in a tower? When we reached the page with our country on it, I showed him a little island off the coast of Corona.
"There's your island, Eugene" I said, glancing over at him.
Incredibly, he looked…almost sad. Not at all like somebody who dreamed of living on an island. "Oh yes," he said. We continued to glance through the pages, but now there was complete silence between us. Confused, I darted looks in his direction, wondering why my mention of his island made him so…upset. Finally, we reached the end and I told him I was ready to go.
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Once we exited the library, the sun had drifted closer to the horizon and musicians played once more in the city square. Totally excited at the prospect of dancing again, I dragged Eugene along with me until we were both in the circle, frolicking along with the other townsfolk. Now, my dear listener, the first time dancing was delightful, but the second time was pure bliss. The music seemed to reflect my very soul and I spun and twirled in time to it. I remember thinking to myself that I had never been happier nor had a better birthday in my entire life. And the day wasn't even over yet! Completely overwhelmed with joy, I shut my eyes as I continued to dance, yearning to shut out the world and become one with the music. Finally the music ended, and I suddenly found myself in somebody's arms. I quickly opened them, to see who had caught me:
It was Eugene, his eyes sparkling with pleasure. I smiled back at him, delighted to be in his arms. We gazed at each other for what seemed like a long time (probably more like a minute) until I heard someone call "to the boats!" Eugene smiled at me, and I could tell what was going to happen next. A shiver of excitement trickled down my spine. It was time for me to see the floating lights!