A/N: Hello! Here we are, chapter 7! I can't believe it's chapter 7 already! But anyway. Not sure I'm happy with the chapter title (yes, again.), I may rename it in the future. And I'm not extremely overjoyed with how this turned out, but it'll work :)
Oh, and last night at the park, they showed Tangled, and me and my sister went to see it, and there was this adorable little girl, who was probably two or three, next to us, wearing a Rapunzel costume, and she brought a Rapunzel barbie. And during all the songs and the Kingdom Dance, she'd get up and bounce up and down and dance :) She was adorable :) Anyway, on with the story!
So, uh, I don't own Tangled, buuuut, ya see... *casually hits random person who works for Disney who is holding the rights to Tangled in their hands over the head with a frying pan* Muaha! Too weak to own Tangled myself, huh, Disney? Well, tell that to my frying pan. *accidentally hits self with frying pan*.
Eugene and Rapunzel walked hand in hand along the swirling pathways, making their way up to the castle grounds.
"Oh, and Eugene, look at this picture!" Rapunzel exclaimed, thumbing through the wanted posters in her hand.
"See?" she said, holding one up so that Eugene could see the picture on the back.
"Mhmm." He said, smiling. "But why is there a crystal ball and a monkey wearing a turban and a diaper?"
Rapunzel shrugged her shoulders. "Eh. I don't know."
Eugene laughed and she found another drawing to show him.
"And look at this one!" she said, holding up a picture of her singing with the Snuggly Duckling thugs.
"I like it." He said.
"I do too." Rapunzel said, flipping through the pages. "Can I put them in your satchel till I figure out what to do with them?"
"Sure." He said, opening the satchel at his side.
"So they took the crown but gave you back the satchel, huh?" Rapunzel asked as she put the posters inside the bag.
"Yep. I don't know why, because it could really be worth something! I mean, everyone would want to have the satchel of Flynn Rider."
Rapunzel laughed.
"Aw, Eugene, look at that cute couple!" she said, pointing at a couple walking down the cobblestone paths, toward the beach. "They're definitely going to get married."
The girl's big, sapphire blue eyes shined as she threw back her head and laughed, making her wavy chocolate brown locks tumble down her back.
The man next to her looked lovingly at her with his grey-blue eyes and smiled as he grasped her hand.
Eugene laughed. "How do you even know that they're together? They might be brother and sister or something."
Rapunzel gave him a shocked face. "Eugene! How could you think they're brother and sister?"
"Well, how am I supposed to tell?" he asked.
"You just can! You'd think you were the one locked up in a tower for eighteen years, goodness!" Rapunzel said. "They're gonna get married." She assured him.
"Whatever you say, Blondie." He said.
"You don't think they're going to, do you?" Rapunzel countered.
"Well, I mean, just because they're walking together doesn't mean they're going to get married…" Eugene said.
"It's not the fact that they're walking together, it's how they're doing it! You'll see, someday, that I'm right." She said, skipping ahead of him.
"So what do you think my family is going to be like?" she asked a while later.
Eugene racked his brain for everything he'd ever heard about the Kind and Queen. Well, most everyone loved them, and he'd heard that they were very kind and generous. They had another daughter, one older than Rapunzel, and it had been rumored that she was soon to be engaged.
"Well," Eugene started, "I've heard that your parents are very kind and good rulers. Everyone seems to like them. And you look exactly like the Queen. They've got a daughter a little bit older than you, so you'll have a sister."
"Ooh!" Rapunzel squealed, "I've never had a sister. Oh, I'll bet it's wonderful! Have you ever had one?"
Eugene grimaced, and almost as soon as Rapunzel said it, she regretted it and her hand flew to her mouth.
"Oh, Eugene, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to, I was so excited and I wasn't thinking and it just came – "
"It's okay." He interrupted, "I did have a sister. More than one, actually. But how about I tell you about that later, so I don't get so caught up in the story that I run smack dab into a guard?"
Rapunzel laughed and nodded her head. "Deal."
Rapunzel looked around at the villagers walking around in the streets.
"What do you think the kingdom is going to think? What if they don't like me?" she asked worriedly.
"Rapunzel, you know what they're going to do?" Eugene said, pulling her aside, under a tree with pink blooms.
Rapunzel shook her head with a smile in response.
Eugene shook the tree they were under, making the pink blooms fall to the ground around them.
"Confetti." He explained, motioning to the falling flowers.
Then he took her into his arms and kissed her.
"That," he said, "is what they're going to do."
Rapunzel reached up and plucked a pink flower out of Eugene's hair.
"Oh, so they're going to kiss me?" Rapunzel asked teasingly.
"Nah," Eugene said, playing with the petals on the flower in Rapunzel's hand, "Only I get to do that. But they'll probably want to. Actually, the villager little boys already want to, so…"
"What?" Rapunzel asked, tilting her head.
"Yep. They were fighting over you this afternoon. But anyway, point being that they'll love you, and be so excited when they find out that you're back that they'll throw confetti all over."
"I don't think that's exactly how they'll react, but thank you." Rapunzel smiled.
She giggled and pulled him back on the path, eager to get to the castle.
As they neared the castle grounds, Eugene noticed that she hadn't asked how he planned to get past the guards. But he supposed it was just as well, as he was still working on a plan. He guessed he'd just play it by ear.
Suddenly, Rapunzel ran up to a guard and grabbed his armor, jerking him forward.
"Guess what!" she squealed excitedly. "I'm the Lost Princess!"
The confused guard looked at her for a moment, as if trying to decide if he believed her or not. Other guards approached them, apparently wondering what was going on.
Then, as if suddenly the guard was given a revelation, his face changed into a look of astonishment, nodding in confirmation as he stepped backward. The other guards soon took his place and stepped closer to Rapunzel too see her better, and a stunned look crossed their faces.
"He's not bringing you back, is he?" one guard asked, pointing to Eugene.
"Yes, in fact he is. He was the one who saved me." Rapunzel told them proudly.
The guards didn't seem to know if they believed her, Eugene was sure he heard one mutter "Impossible!" to another, but the guards set about their work anyway.
"Danielson, go get their Majesties. Collins, go with him. We'll take these two to the lantern balcony." A guard began directing.
The guard Rapunzel had approached and another ran off into the castle, leaving two others with Eugene and Rapunzel.
"Follow us." The one who had given directions said.
They were taken to the balcony, where they were told that the King and Queen would meet them out there shortly.
Then, the guards left, the door closed and Eugene and Rapunzel were left to await the arrival of the King and Queen.
Rapunzel stood at the end of the balcony, resting her hands on the rails and leaning forwards. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes to take in the moment.
"Wow." She breathed, opening her eyes.
"What?" Eugene asked, turning to her.
"It's just that – for eighteen years, my parents have stood out here, releasing lanterns to call me home. And now, finally, they're going to meet me out here."
"Yeah. Eighteen years. I can't even imagine that. Or how it felt like before when they thought maybe they'd found you, but it was just a someone pretending to be you."
Rapunzel looked shocked.
"People do that?"
Eugene nodded his head.
"Are you at all scared?" he asked softly.
"Pssh, bring on all the pretenders, I'm not afraid!" she said triumphantly.
But in a moment, her shoulders sank a little.
"Well, maybe. A little bit. Eugene? I'm terrified. I just want them to know it's me and love me so bad. But what if they don't?"
"They will." He promised, wrapping his arms around her middle. "They have to know it's you. You look so much like them, they have to know." He said, stepping back to look at her. "And how could they not love you, Blondie?"
Rapunzel shrugged her shoulders.
"Eugene? Will you take a moment here? Promise me this. Promise me that you'll stand by me forever, and – "
"I told you I never planned on leaving you again, Blondie."
"I know, I know. But if fate should step in – since I can't change it's design any more - ," she laughed a little, "And we're forced into a goodbye, well…"
Eugene knew it was possible, even probable that they'd be forced into a goodbye, but everything inside of him screamed that he never wanted to say goodbye to her.
"If you ever have children someday, when they point to the pictures," she motioned to his satchel, where the wanted posters were, and to the mural of the Royals where she was a baby, "please tell them my name. Tell them all about our dragon-fighting adventures together. How I had the time of my life with you. And if no one believes that I'm the Lost Princess, tell them that I am. Tell them how I hope they shine, just like those lanterns do. Promise?" she looked up at him with her big green eyes expectantly.
When she said the word "children", Eugene's mind had immediately flashed back to the vision he'd had this afternoon. But even as strange as it had seemed, he couldn't even imagine having children if they weren't his and Rapunzel's. If they were forced into a goodbye…what would he even do? That is, if he wasn't killed.
So, he promised her and hoped that things never came to that.
"I promise." He said, kissing her forehead. "And when I promise something, I never, ever break that promise. Ever."
Rapunzel looked up and beamed at him.
Both turned their gazes to the setting sun and stood there, hand in hand, awaiting the moment that had been anticipated for eighteen years.
A/N: Soo, review and tell me watcha thought! And FYI, the first picture Rapunzel shows Eugene is the one shown in the end credits in the movie that came from a deleted scene, in case you wanted to know. I just decided I wanted her to randomly draw it :)
But anyway, review!