Here's the next chapter! I hope you enjoy it! I hope everyone's Christmas was as beautiful and amazing as mine, and I want to wish everyone a safe and Happy New Year! Here's the future, because we're done with the past! 2012 was great, but it's time for a new day to begin. :)

I had great fun writing this chapter. I loved the banter and careful planning behind the dialogue, and everything, and I hope you will too! :D

CHAPTER SONG: "Timebomb" by P!nk

Disclaimer: Not mine. Believe me, I listen to Adele songs thinking about it.

Smoke & Mirrors

A "Tangled" fanfiction

by doodlegirll

...oOo...

Early the next morning, Eugene was awoken quite suddenly to the sound of Rapunzel's surprised squeak, as well as the jolt of her scurrying backwards, and he sat up quickly, hitting his head on the bottom of her bed as he did so. Somehow in the midst of his slumber, he had managed to roll himself beneath Rapunzel's bed, his feet sticking out from underneath, almost comically. He groaned as he rubbed his sore head, gently easing his way out from underneath the large divan. He squinted against the bright sunlight up at Rapunzel's inquisitive face from her place on her bed as she peered over the edge at him, her green eyes wide in a mixture of shock and anxiety. Pascal was perched on her shoulder, the same color as Rapunzel's nightgown, blending in so as to not be seen.

"Morning, Blondie." Eugene said, yawning as he did so.

"Eugene…" Rapunzel said slowly. "What were you doing underneath my bed?"

"Uh…sleeping?" Eugene replied, still slightly groggy from having been aroused from sleep so suddenly.

"Why?"

"Well, I started out on the floor next to your bed, but I guess I rolled under there sometime last night." He grinned at her.

Rapunzel giggled, reaching out a hand to smooth down a cowlick in his disheveled hair.

"Does that make you some kind of bed troll?" She asked. "Like the troll that lives under the bridge in that story of fables you read to me in the library?"

"Hey, I will have you know, I am not a troll." Eugene said, feigning hurt. "I've met a few troll-like civilians before, and I'm much too handsome to be considered one, thank you very much!"

Rapunzel laughed, and he got to his feet, nearly tripping as he found the blanket he had used wound tightly around his feet. Rapunzel hugged him around his midsection as she, too, set her feet on the cool marble floor, and he wrapped his arms around her tightly, pressing a kiss into her brunette hair.

"Did you sleep alright?" He asked her. She nodded.

"Yes, I did." She said. She cocked her head to the side. "Why did you stay here all night? When did I fall asleep?"

"You weren't asleep very long when your parents came in to say goodnight." Eugene said. "They told me that the council had gathered, and that I was welcome to join them, but I wanted to make sure you weren't alone, so I stayed."

Rapunzel smiled at him gratefully, and he felt her slip her hand into his.

"I wonder if Mama and Daddy are up yet…" She said. "Should we go check?"

Eugene shrugged. "I don't see why not." He said. "Besides, I'm starved."

The two of them, still clad in their night clothes and bare footed, made their way down the corridors towards the dining room, gently pushing open the doors and poking their heads inside. Sure enough, the King and Queen sat at the large table, sipping steaming bowls of soup.

The two entered quietly, and Eugene made sure to shut the door behind him.

"Mama, Daddy?" Rapunzel said as she walked towards her parents. "Good morning!"

The royal parents looked up, their tired, drawn faces brightening at the sight of their only child.

"Good morning, darling." Queen Anwen said, smiling at Rapunzel. "Did you sleep well?"

Rapunzel nodded as she took her usual seat. "Thanks to Eugene, I did." She said. "Thank you for letting him stay with me last night."

King Leander cocked an eyebrow and looked towards Eugene as he too took his seat next to Rapunzel. He smiled and looked back at his daughter.

"I saw no harm in it." He said. "I'd say he did a fine job if you slept peacefully."

A servant, having noticed Eugene and Rapunzel's entry, set steaming bowls of soup in front of them – hazelnut, Rapunzel's favorite. Rapunzel was the first to break the silence.

"Did the meeting with the council go well last night?" She asked.

The King nodded. "Yes." He said. "We have come to a conclusion as to what must be done, and how it must be laid out as carefully as possible."

"So what must be done?" Rapunzel said. "What's going to happen to Eugene?"

The Queen reached across the table and laid her hand on Rapunzel's. "There are parts of it you're not going to like, dear." She said, smiling sadly. "But I think you'll find that it's all for the best."

Rapunzel nodded slowly. "So what is the plan?"

"Do you remember my mentioning of your Aunt Colleen from Lunaria?" The King asked. Rapunzel nodded.

"She's your sister." She said. "But I've never met her."

"We sent a messenger to Lunaria in search of her permission for Eugene to seek refuge there with her at her estate until this whole situation settles down very late last night so as to ensure a response as soon as possible" The King explained. "We have only just received her reply back, and she has said that Eugene is welcome to stay with her."

Rapunzel's eyes widened. "You're sending him away?!" She gasped. "How long will he be gone?"

"It's hard to say." The Queen said. "It's one of the things you're not going to like. It could be a few days, or it could be a few months, or even a year. Either way, the council agrees with us that this is the best possible way to ensure Eugene's safety until we can figure out why, exactly, someone wants him killed."

Eugene cocked an eyebrow. "The council is actually concerned for my safety? That's a new one!" He joked. He saw King Leander smirk out of the corner of his eye, but Rapunzel shook her head.

"But what about me?" She asked. "What will I do?"

"You'll stay here." Queen Anwen answered her. "This separation is one we had hoped to avoid, but it seems that it is not going to be so."

Rapunzel shook her head. "No." She said. "If he's going, then I'm going with him!"

"Rapunzel, I don't think that's such a good idea." Eugene said.

"Eugene is right, dear." King Leander said. "This separation is not permanent, Rapunzel, and the council agreed that frequent enough visits would be allowable. We know how close the two of you are, and no one wants the two of you to be apart."

"But I want to go with him!" Rapunzel protested. "I haven't met Aunt Colleen yet, and so this is as good an excuse as any to do so! I could take my books with me so I could keep up with my studies, and I'd make sure my tutors got any work I had, and I would write letters every day, and…"

"Rapunzel, dear, slow down." Queen Anwen said. "There's more for us to tell you." Rapunzel closed her mouth, and allowed her mother to continue. "Eugene must leave Corona. The council wants him safe just as we do. He's your suitor, and thus, the future king of the kingdom after you're married one day. We don't know why someone has made an attempt on his life, but we are exhausting every possible asset to find out. Until then, Eugene could be in grave danger, and leaving the kingdom is the most reliable way to ensure that he is properly protected. Upon further inspection, we have decided that the best and most inconspicuous way to get Eugene out of Corona and into Lunaria is via criminal transport."

Rapunzel's eyebrow furrowed, and she frowned.

"Criminal transport? What does that mean?"

"Eugene will be traveling under an assumed identity so as to protect him from those who may be watching his every move and try to assassinate him again." King Leander explained. "So, early tomorrow morning, Eugene will be escorted from the castle prisons disguised as a prisoner being transported to one of the prison yards on the perimeter of Corona. He'll have to be bound and blindfolded to conceal his identity, and loaded into a heavily guarded prison carriage and taken to Lunaria. That way, if anyone is watching the castle, all they'll see is a criminal transport leaving, and not a royal carriage, which could attract unwanted attention from unwanted adversaries." He looked at Eugene. "I'm afraid this means you'll have to stay in the prisons tonight. This will allow for an easy exchange tomorrow morning, and added security to ensure that it goes well."

Eugene nodded. "Thank you." He said.

"We believe this to be the best possible way to avoid any further attempts on your life." The Queen said. She smiled at him, her green eyes gentle and loving. "You're just as much a son to us as Rapunzel is our daughter. We only want what's best for you."

Eugene felt his face grow hot in embarrassment, but he smiled back at the kind Queen.

"Thank you." He said.

"We have decided to place Maximus at the head of this operation, along with a select few guards." The King said, chuckling. "He'll provide extra protection and confidence to this mission. He most certainly has proven himself to be such a clever horse! Crime is at an all-time low…"

"Well, it also helps that a certain Flynn Rider is off the streets." Rapunzel teased, elbowing Eugene in the ribs, her eyes sparkling with the familiar hint of mischief that had been suppressed for quite a while. Her face became serious again as she faced her parents again. "But I'd really like to be able to go with Eugene to Aunt Colleen's, even if it's only for a few days to make sure he gets there safely. Please?"

Her parents exchanged a look, their tired eyes meeting.

"We'll discuss it." King Leander promised his daughter, patting her hand. "And we will let you know tonight." He looked at Eugene. "I think it best to begin packing, Mr. Fitzherbert. I have arranged for guards to escort you to the prisons this afternoon around two. I want to make sure that everything is in order, and that you are properly guarded within the cell before the final preparations are made."

Eugene nodded. "I understand." He said.

The Queen looked at her daughter. "You'll be able to visit him, don't worry." She said before Rapunzel could say anything otherwise.

Rapunzel nodded. She took Eugene's hand underneath the table and squeezed it tightly. Worry coursed through her, threatening to overwhelm her. Not only was she going to be separated from Eugene for an indefinite period of time, but he would also have to spend the last day she had with him in a prison cell!

And what if Eugene never made it to Lunaria, no matter the preparations and precautions taken to make sure that he did? Of course she trusted Max; he had saved her, and Eugene, before, hadn't he? But an array of things could go wrong, and at least fourteen of them came to mind immediately. She wasn't sure that Eugene leaving Corona would ultimately solve anything; if someone wanted him dead, they would find a way to make it so, whether he was in the kingdom or not.

A horrible, hollow feeling twisted in the pit of her stomach, and she set down her spoon. She suddenly wasn't very hungry.

...oOo...

Virgil Johansson was not a happy man to begin with, but today was no exception.

First off, yesterday had been the day that that thief had been announced as the future king. And not only that, but the entire kingdom had welcomed him, their former most-wanted, had applauded him, had cheered for him. They were fools, each and every one of them. Flynn Rider was no more a future king than a pebble was a future mountain.

Not to mention the assassination attempt had failed. What a pity.

Johansson whistled lightly to himself as he sat down at a table in the pub and ordered a pint of beer, trying to give off an air of civility, though he was bristling with anger and frustration. He looked around the pub as his drink was set in front of him, waiting for his friends to arrive and explain the situation to him.

He didn't have to wait long. Two men entered the pub, both tall and athletic. One had dark brown hair and dark, almost black, eyes, while the other had sandy blond hair, a short beard, and green eyes. They set their sights on Johansson and made their way towards him, setting themselves down on the stools next to him.

"Afternoon, gentlemen." Johansson greeted them. "Care for a drink?"

They shook their heads. "We're dry." The blond one said.

Johansson nodded, and drank the rest of his beer, setting the cup down and paying the bartender. He stood to his feet, and gestured for the men to follow him outside.

"Let's get down to business, shall we, then?" He asked as they walked towards the door. Once they were outside, and away from any prying ears, Johansson stopped and turned to face them.

"Care to explain to me why the assassination attempt did not fall through yesterday?" He asked, his voice calm and even. The men before him towered over his short frame, and yet, he knew that they were under his jurisdiction, and with a simple click of his fingers, they could both be brought to their knees. Johansson was not a man to be reckoned with, despite his size.

The dark haired one rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"We got spotted." He tried to explain. "Last minute. One of the guards pushed Rider out of the way before we could try again. We didn't mean to, Johansson, honestly."

Johansson shook his head. "I don't care that you didn't mean to, Burks." He said icily. "What I do care about is the fact that it didn't work."

Burks' friend stepped forward to say something, but Johansson cut him off.

"No matter, gentlemen." He said. "I have yet another proposition for the two of you, and a chance to redeem yourselves." He studied them a moment, making sure that his statement had been received, before continuing on.

"The assassination attempt failed, yes." He said. "But I know for a fact that we will be given a window of opportunity tomorrow morning, and I have come up with a way to put a new plan into action."

Burks nodded.

"We're listening."

Johansson smiled. "Good." He said. "As you know, I have my sources from inside the castle, mostly with my former fellow council members that have remained in touch with me since that thief made me lose my job. I have only just heard today that tomorrow they plan on discreetly sneaking Rider out of the kingdom and into Lunaria to stay with the King's sister until the, er, situation has blown over."

"Sneaking him out? How do they plan on doing that?"

"He'll be disguised as a criminal bound for one of the labor yards at the edge of the kingdom." Johansson explained. "He'll be guarded, of course, but they won't dare risk sending more guards than is absolutely necessary to avoid suspicion. From there, they'll slip into Lunaria."

"And what do you propose we do?" Burks' friend asked.

Johansson waved his hand at him.

"What I am proposing is this: in the middle of the transport, when the guards least expect it, we jump the carriage and wash their hands of Rider ourselves. Of course, by "we," I mean the two of you. I'll be waiting at the old sugar mill at the edge of the forest, and you'll bring Rider to me there. I want him alive, is that understood? I want to make sure my revenge is well understood before I do anything else with him."

The men nodded.

"The plan is simple enough. Bring Rider to me, I'll pay you, and you can go about your merry ways." Johansson concluded. "Do we have a deal?"

Burks and his companion exchanged a look, and nodded.

"Deal." His blond friend said.

"Excellent." Johansson smiled fiendishly. "Thank you, gentlemen."

"One question, though." Burks said. "Once we bring you Rider, what are you going to do with him once we're gone?"

"Simple." Johansson said. "I kill him myself. And this time, I'll make sure there's no chance he'll escape it."