A/N: The floating lights scene! Writing this actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, and I managed to write it without using any of the lyrics from "I See the Light". Which makes me very happy! I hope that this chapter somewhat meets up to the movie scene, though I doubt it could ever exceed it. "I See the Light" is perfect just the way it is-a beautiful song with an amazing backdrop.
I'm going to...embarrass myself here and admit that I've...kind of pulled a Pygmalion. Because I find myself to be forming... a slight crush on my version of Flynn Rider. Isn't that the funniest thing ever?
And I love the quote for this chapter. I mean, I obviously love all of them, or I wouldn't use them. but this quote is so perfect it is like it was written for Eugene.
Thanks to my readers/reviewers!
Disclaimer: I do not own Tangled.
Chapter 15-The Floating Lights
"Gold, for the instant, lost its luster in his eyes, for there were countless treasures of the heart which it could never purchase."
-Charles Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby
After Eugene and I finished dancing, he told me that he had a surprise for me and I needed to follow him. So I did, wondering all the while what the surprise could be. He had already given me so much and made my birthday so special. What more could he possibly do? Eventually, we reached the docks and he informed me that he was going to rent a boat for the two of us (Maximus would stay behind). While I waited for him to pay, I glanced over at Maximus, and I remembered that Eugene's satchel was still hidden in the saddlebags. Part of me knew that it was time for me to give it back to him; after all, he had more than kept his side of the bargain. Now it was my turn to keep my promise. But how could I continue to hide it from him until the right moment? Instinctively, I knew that there would be one. Hmmm. Finally, an idea came to me.
And it came just in time because Eugene came back. "All right, Blondie. You ready to see the lanterns?" he said.
More than ready! "Yes, but before we go in the boat, can you…uh…do something else for me?" I asked.
He looked a little surprised, but he said yes. Thank goodness! "Can you buy some apples for Maximus? I feel a little bad that he has to stay here and wait for us," I said.
He smirked. "Only you, Blondie, would feel bad for a horse," he chuckled. "But sure I'll get some for him. And while I do, you can wait in our boat, okay? It's that one right there." He pointed to the boat closest to us.
Incredibly relieved, I told him that I would. And as soon as his back was turned, I hastily removed his satchel from the saddlebag, hid it underneath my seat, and settled in the boat. I had barely done that before Eugene came back, a large bag of apples in his hand.
"You all ready now, Blondie?" he asked me. "I mean, there isn't some other animal I need to buy food for, is there?"
I knew he was teasing me and I forced a laugh. "Oh, no, not now," I tossed back. "But if there is, I'll let you know."
He smiled and sat down in the boat with me, taking the paddle in his hand, and pushed us off. I noticed Pascal on his shoulder, and I nearly laughed again. You never get tired of torturing him, do you, Pascal, I thought fondly.
I glanced at Eugene, who was looking at Maximus, who was forlornly watching us. "Hey Max," he called and threw the bag of apples unto the dock. Maximus gave him a skeptical and suspicious look that said I will not eat any of your stolen apples.
Eugene chuckled. "What? I bought them!"
Now assured, Maximus eagerly began to eat the apples. "Most of them," Eugene amended, never resisting a chance to torment Maximus.
Glad that Maximus had his treat, I turned my thoughts toward the lanterns. I wondered where Eugene was taking me-many of the townspeople who planned to watch the lanterns stayed on-shore.
"Where are we going?" I asked cautiously, glancing back at him.
He carefully removed Pascal from his shoulder and placed him on the rear of the boat. "Well," he said. "Best day of your life? I figure you should have a decent seat."
I felt my heart skip a beat. That was very kind of him! As he rowed us out to the middle of the lake and the sun sank lower in the sky, I couldn't help thinking about the lost princess. She had been in my thoughts all day, but the moment never seemed right until now to ask him about it.
"Can I ask you something?" I asked him hesitantly.
He looked at me kindly. "It's your birthday" he said.
I guess that meant I could. "What do you know about the….lost princess?"
He seemed surprised and I guess he thought I was going to ask him something else. Well, there were a great number of questions that I could have asked him, most of them starting with his mother, but I really needed to know about the princess.
"I don't know too much about her," he said. "But I do know that she was taken away by somebody when she was a very young baby. King Ostwalt and Queen Guinevere had their guards search all over the kingdom, but they never found her."
I felt a wave of sadness creep over me. Our poor King and Queen! "How awful," I murmured.
"Yeah," he said. "It is a pretty sad story. But they never lost hope in someday finding their daughter, and they send up your floating lights every year on the princess' birthday, hoping that she'll see them and come back."
That was the story behind the floating lights? Somehow I expected something…much happier. "Hmmm," I said.
Silence descended between us as surely as the darkness did. Eventually, we reached the center of the lake, facing the castle and capital. We both turned in our seats so that we could see the lights rise up.
Suddenly, I realized that after years and years and years of dreaming about seeing the lanterns in person, I was finally about to do it. And it seemed odd that after ten plus years of cherishing that dream close to my heart, it was about to come true right now in this moment. Will it be everything I hoped it would be? I had always imagined that the seeing the lanterns would bring me great joy, but right now all I felt was…scared. Scared that my precious dream wouldn't measure up to my expectations, and scared that I was about to lose a little piece of my heart, the piece that had always yearned to see the lanterns. What should I put in my heart instead of that dream? What will I do now? Now that I've seen them, should I just go home? I sighed heavily.
Eugene glanced at me. "You okay?" he asked kindly.
It was on the tip of my tongue to say yes, just like I had in the woods the previous night. But I found that I couldn't do it-I couldn't lie to him about my feelings anymore. Somehow, it didn't seem right, not when I considered all he had done for me. "I'm terrified," I whispered.
"Why?" He sounded confused and I honestly couldn't blame him. I had been raving about how much I wanted to see the lanterns the entire time he had known me, and now that I was about to see them, I was….scared? It seemed ridiculous.
But I couldn't help my feelings, and I found that I wanted to talk about them instead of burying them deep down inside. So I spoke honestly, straight from my heart. "I've been looking out of a window for 18 years, dreaming about what I might feel like when those lights rise in the sky. And now all I can think is what if it isn't all that I dreamed it would be?"
He smiled faintly. "It will be," he said with quiet assurance.
Even if the lanterns were everything that I hoped they would be, I still had no idea what I was going to do afterward. I glanced over at him. "And what if it is?" I asked. "What do I do then?"
He seemed to ponder that for a minute. "Well, that's the good part, I guess," he said with a small smile. "You get to find a new dream."
Somehow I had never thought of it that way. A new dream? I smiled back at him. "Hmmm," I said.
We both sat quietly after that, lost in our own thoughts. I mostly stared down at the water, thinking about the lanterns. Suddenly I realized that Eugene was holding something out to me-tiny flowers that most have fallen out of my hair. Touched, I gently took them from his hands and placed them on the water. And while I looked down at the water, I saw a tiny beam of light. I glanced up and saw one solitary light float from the castle. It must be the lanterns!
Overwhelmed with excitement, I scrambled to the rear of the boat, determined to not miss a single moment. I watched in awe as hundreds of other shining lights from the castle joined the first. Millions of other lights began to rise in the sky, from the town, from the houses, even from the ships in the harbor. They twinkled and glowed in the moonlight sky like tiny stars. It was the most beautiful, wonderful sight I had ever seen in my entire life. I breathed in deeply, and rested my head contentedly on the end of the boat. How could I have ever doubted my dream? The floating lights were everything that I had ever dreamed they would be, yes, and even more.
Yet as stunning and breathtaking as all of it was, I couldn't help but feel that it wouldn't have been quite as amazing if Eugene hadn't been there to share it with me. I realized that this moment would always remind me of a rose with a thorn-the rose was, of course, the lanterns and the thorn was the bitter reminder that we would part ways after the lights were finished. And I knew, deep down in my heart, that I didn't want that to happen. Even though I had started this journey close to despising him, somewhere along the way my feelings had completely changed. Instead of being the annoying thief Flynn Rider, in my mind he had become the sweet and kind Eugene Fitzherbert with a sad past of his own. Eugene Fitzherbert had captivated my heart, and in that instant, I knew that I had found my new dream- a dream of a future with him, unlikely as it seemed to be. I glanced back at Eugene, and he had two glowing lanterns in his hands-a final gift to me. I knew it was the right moment for me to give him mine. My mother's warnings about him echoed faintly in my head, but they didn't frighten me like they did before. Even if he did leave me, it was his right because he had fulfilled his end of the deal. And now it was time for me to do the same.
I cautiously walked back to my seat. "I have something for you too," I said, as I removed the satchel from my hiding place and held it out to him. Curiously, he looked completely surprised…almost as if he had forgotten about it. How is that possible? "I should have given it to you sooner," I continued. "But I was scared. And the thing is, I'm not scared anymore. You know what I mean?"
He gently pushed the satchel back towards me. "I'm starting to," he said with a smile. He handed me one of the lanterns, and we set them at the same time into the sky to join the other lights. I watched them eagerly; stunned to see them stick together in the sky, almost as if they couldn't drift apart. Maybe it's a sign that Eugene and I will somehow be together.
I continued to gaze at all the other lanterns, which were by now falling softly onto the water. Suddenly, I saw one drift close toward us and I gleefully pointed it out to Eugene. But for some reason he seemed almost distracted by something and I didn't quite capture his attention. I leaned out of the boat as far as I could and sent the lantern back up into the sky. Then, quite unexpectedly, I felt a warm pressure on my hand. Eugene.
Surprised, I turned toward him and he took my other hand. I looked cautiously into his eyes, wondering all the while what he was doing. But I shouldn't have. Because the only emotion that I could find was complete and utter affection…for me. I felt my heart skip two beats. Could it be possible that he felt the same way I did? What is he doing? Will he say something?
He took a deep breath. "Rapunzel, I…" he began, in the gentlest tone I had ever heard him use.
My heart missed three beats. He said my name! Every single other time he had addressed me before, I was Goldie or Blondie or some other nickname. I loved hearing him say my name- it sounded almost like poetry or a melody from the song of my very soul. "Say it again," I whispered.
He seemed confused. "What?"
"My name," I said quietly. "Say it again."
His expression relaxed into a soft and knowing smile. "Rapunzel."
Would hearing him say that ever get old? "Again."
He smiled wider. "Rapunzel."
No, I decided, it wouldn't. He drew my hands closer to him and, instead of missing a beat, my heart rate sped up. What will happen now?
He softly caressed my cheek. "Rapunzel", he said again, tenderly. I felt my heart completely melt and I gazed into his eyes, hoping he could see my own feelings of love reflected there. He must have, because he began to gently draw me even closer to him, and my heart pounded. He's going to kiss me! My eyes drifted shut, in eager anticipation for his kiss…
A kiss that, as it turned out, never came.