Epilogue: Warm and Real and Bright

It's done! It's done finally! Omg It's been almost a decade, cannot even believe it, I was a teeny tiny teen when I started this fic, literally grew up writing this lmao. But FINALLY here we are.

I want to say none of this would have been possible without the loyal readers this story has carried over the years, all the people who reviewed, who left encouraging words, especially the regulars that showed up in every update that let me know this story was still relevant. Every time I thought about abandoning this there was some encouraging reader that let me know how much they appreciated this. Thank you all so much, you carried this story and helped it get to the ending it got today. So this one is for you all, hope you enjoy!

So many reasons I would fight to stay

You're the courage when I fade

Take a look at what we've made

And here we are

After all the messes and confessions to the stars

That we never really owned as ours

~Honeybee

If there was one thing that could be said about Corona once darkness descended upon it was that it remained uncommonly silent. The city awoke with the sun, always bustling with activity, the docks a flurry of shouts and perpetual movement, even the woods beyond the bridge that separated the capital city from the mainland came alive with the sounds of nature. The Royal Palace itself, wasn't exempt from the hubbub that came every day. But just like the Kingdom awoke with the sun, it too fell completely dormant once it disappeared behind the horizon.

He'd been to countless places, cities where nightlife was prominent and only brought in the wildest side of people. But most citizens of Corona preferred to conduct their business during the warm sunny hours, most shied away from the shadows that fell once darkness took over, rarely ever out and about in the streets without daylight's protection. But for the nocturnal animals, for the people like him, the solitary nights provided an entire new world to be explored.

Unfortunately, it seemed he wasn't the only one who appreciated the hidden beauty of nighttime.

His footsteps didn't make a sound as he traversed the dark, spacious hallways, careful to mask his movements with expert practice, lest his target became aware of his approaching presence. The Royal Palace was engulfed in shadows at this hour, all its residents long since having retired to sleep the night away. It made his task all the more easy, although it also made it all the more pressing.

He'd had enough practice, though, to know all the right places to look and the best corners to hide. It had yet to be the day he'd been bested at his own game. That day would not come today, although he was becoming increasingly more worried that it would soon come to pass, at this rate perhaps much sooner than he'd like to admit.

As he rounded the corner, his eyes immediately fixed on the grand decorative vase by the end of the hallway. Innocuous, to the untrained eye, but he was nothing if not an expert. And although the fleeting shadow that disappeared behind the porcelain vase was surprisingly agile, he still caught the movement.

More importantly, he absolutely heard the very faint but undeniably present giggle that followed.

A smirk graced his lips.

He crept closer, the faint traces of moonlight filtering through the enormous windows the only thing allowing his eyes to make out where he was going. There was not a sound amiss, not a single hint that there was another presence in the spacious hallway, at least not very evident. But as he reached the end of the corridor, if he concentrated enough he could very faintly hear the shaky huff of someone clearly trying to suppress the sound of their breathing.

It was pointless, really, he already knew where his target was hiding.

He waited just a second, allowing the suspense to build, waiting to see who would cave in first. A breath. And then he felt it; movement from behind the grand vase, someone preparing to leap and run.

He had anticipated it though.

With agility that could only come from years of experience, he sprung to the other side just as the figure behind the vase revealed itself, his hands immediately snatching around a tiny little waist.

"Now, where do you think you're going, missy?"

An impossibly loud and shrill shriek resounded across the ancient walls as he caught her, the scream dissolving into peals of bubbling laughter as he swept the girl up in his arms.

The whole ordeal was bound to wake the entire place if she kept it up, and Eugene tried, unsuccessfully, to shush the shrieking child in his arms.

"Now, Sunbeam, that's a little bit too loud." He tried in a gentle voice, but of course his protests fell on deaf ears.

His daughter continued to scream bloody murder for the entire Palace to hear.

"No! Help! He's trying to take me!" She kicked her little feet and squirmed under his grip, trying to escape. Eugene suppressed a tired sigh, knowing exactly who she was calling for backup.

Because where one kid went, the other was inevitably bound to follow.

"Aileen, really now, that is quite enough." He said, hopefully more firmly now that he used her full name —which was a rare occurrence. But his daughter wouldn't really be herself if she didn't make his job endlessly more difficult.

He ended up throwing the little girl over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, her feet kicking the entire way.

"Help!" She called, he voice surprisingly loud for such a tiny body. "He's taking me away! Fynn!"

There it was.

Eugene knew he would find both even if he only spotted one. They had always come as a package deal after all.

He emerged from the shadows like a tiny phantom, reluctantly making his way towards them after he revealed his hiding place behind a huge tapestry on the opposite wall. Eugene had to hand it to him, his son was uncommonly good at hiding himself. He had surprising stealth for his young age.

Fynn, however —and rather fortunately for his parents— lacked his twin sister's knack of seeking trouble and her thrill for adventure. He had a softer, daydreamy personality that made him slightly more mellow. His emerald eyes, so like Rapunzel's, looked impossibly large and contrite as he stepped into the beam of moonlight coming from the windows.

"I told you we'd get caught, Ally." He murmured, the resignation in his young voice quite endearing. Eugene could already tell he would grow up to be the voice of wisdom between the two of them. Unfortunately now, Aileen always had a way of persuading him into her escapades. So really, it was usually common to find both of them immersed in some kind of mischief.

Not unlike right this instant.

Eugene felt his daughter's squirming begin with renewed force.

"Help me get down!" Ally said, as if this were a mere obstacle they had to get past in their make-believe adventure, and not their very tired dad trying —and failing spectacularly— to put them to bed.

"I don't think Daddy will like that." Fynn whispered furtively, unaware that it was loud enough for Eugene to hear clearly.

"Don't be silly, this isn't Daddy." Ally whispered right back, Eugene could almost hear her petulant eye roll even if he couldn't see her face in their current position. "This is… a thief! A ruffian! He's trying to kidnap me."

"Oh, really now?" Eugene suppressed a smile as he lowered her a bit to see her face clearly, her body now balanced over his forearm as his other hand rested protectively on her back.

Ally nodded rather seriously, the mischievous gleam in her brown eyes one he recognized all too well. Eugene lifted an unimpressed eyebrow. This did not have the desired effect. Instead of looking the least bit apologetic, she squeezed his cheeks between her tiny hands, still a bit chubby with the very last traces of baby fat, as though the silly look this gave him would erase the seriousness from his face. The charming grin she gave him, coupled with a soft giggle, had no business being as adorable as it was, really.

But she always did manage to charm her way out of trouble, that one.

"I was not aware of my change of profession." Eugene drawled, the irony of it not lost on him.

Ally merely shrugged. Having already decided to make Eugene part of her game, her attention was now back on her brother as she threw him an annoyed look. "Fynn! Are you going to help me down or what?"

Fynn heaved a long-suffering sigh, so dramatic it almost made Eugene laugh.

Almost. Because the next second he had a five-year-old boy wrapped around his leg like a misplaced Koala climbing a tree.

"Please sir, will you let my sister go?"

"Why, aren't you a polite little prince." Eugene said dryly, not fooled for a second.

Fynn shook his head, looking a bit put out. "Not prince!"

"We are pirates!" Ally exclaimed loudly right next to his ear, making him wince slightly. "We're going on an adventure to find the hidden treasure!"

Fynn nodded, shifting to take out a wrinkled piece of paper from his pocket. "I have a map, see?"

"And what is this hidden treasure?" Eugene asked conversationally, hoping to keep them distracted as he started to walk —or more like waddle what with the boy still wrapped around his leg— down the hall and back towards the East Wing where the family bedrooms were.

"It's a crown!" Fynn said, almost vibrating with excitement. But Eugene felt Ally tense in his arms as her eyes widened, like Fynn had just revealed a secret.

This could not be good.

"Oh?" Eugene adopted a curious air. "Is this like… a real crown?"

Fynn nodded innocently, completely unaware of the warning glare Ally was shooting his way. Eugene was not so unobservant.

"Is this by any chance Mommy's crown?" He asked with fake casualness.

Fynn seemed to suddenly realize where this conversation was going. His green eyes widened as he bit his lips as though he could swallow back the words already spilt. But the damage was already done, that reaction alone was answer enough.

"Did you guys take Mommy's crown?" Eugene's voice lost all traces of nonchalance as he looked at his kids incredulously.

For the first time, Ally looked a bit apologetic as she murmured with a sheepish smile. "It wasn't the big one."

If Eugene's hand hadn't been otherwise occupied, he would've brought it up in a facepalm. Rapunzel had taken out exactly two crowns from the royal vault to examine, only taking one for her trip and hastily leaving the other on her vanity table, which had been sitting there untouched since she left. The big one was the crown he'd tried to steal years ago, the "small one" —the one his own kids had apparently stolen quite successfully— was the more luxurious one funnily enough, adorned with countless little diamonds and precious rubies worth a fortune.

Just thinking about it almost made him feel a bit lightheaded.

How did his kids keep doing that?! Who was teaching them to sneak into and out of rooms undetected? Because it sure as hell wasn't him. Or was that just a talent ingrained in their genes?

It were times like these that made Eugene wonder if his in-laws ever lamented their daughter's choice in life partner. Surely the children of some proper prince wouldn't be quite this troublemaking, with boundless energy and sly wits they employed best for mischief. He wondered if Rapunzel had ever been quite this wild as a child, or if that was a trait they'd inherited from him alone.

But as he looked at his daughter's endearing smile and his son's adorable wide eyes, Eugene found himself infinitely glad that he wasn't the only one that was susceptible to the kids' spell. They seemed to have the entire kingdom wrapped around their little finger.

Eugene let out a resigned sigh. "So, where is the crown?"

"It's hidden." Ally stated proudly. "Somewhere no one will ever find it."

Her words and the proud smile on her face were so reminiscent of her mother during a similar exchange, years ago, that it momentarily threw him back in time to the events that changed his life forever.

"We have a map that will help us find it!" Fynn piped up, showing him the clumsily drawn map in his little hands.

It was clearly the work of a five-year-old, but Fynn had inherited Rapunzel's artistic talent. Even in the somewhat inexpert doodles of a young child, Eugene could make out the rough outline of the Royal Palace's grounds, a red X over a splotch of green marking the spot where the crown would be hidden.

Eugene felt his heartbeat falter.

"Are those the Royal Gardens?" He asked, voice tight. The kids nodded in unison, and his pulse only spiked. "The same Royal Gardens that are open to the public during the day?"

This made the kids pause in confused contemplation, looking at each other before they nodded hesitantly again, unaware of why this was causing their dad a minor heart attack.

"You mean to tell me the crown is there? You hid the crown outside?" Eugene squawked, quite the undignified reaction but he couldn't really be blamed in his honest opinion.

"It's okay!" Ally lifted a hand up in a soothing gesture. "No one can find it without the map."

Eugene really felt like he might faint now. The King would surely have someone's head if such a precious heirloom was lost. And the kids had put it somewhere literally anyone could find it. He would have to send Stan and Pete to swipe the entire area in search for that crown as soon as he put the kids to bed.

He tried to control his nervous breathing.

"Okay, we've had this conversation before, remember?" Eugene sighed, speaking as calmly as he could as he regarded the twins with a slight frown. "Grownup's accessories are not play toys. That crown is a very delicate object and also very pricy. It's not something to be played with."

Fynn looked sufficiently remorseful, his downcast eyes making him look like a kicked puppy. But Ally, although a bit subdued, still had a glint of excitement in her eyes.

"I'm sorry." She said in a small voice, only really looking sorry for a second before she lit up again like she'd had a brilliant idea. "But you can help us find it Daddy!"

She was evidently trying to make this little escapade last longer. Eugene merely raised an unconvinced eyebrow.

"Please?" Ally tilted her head, smile growing, making her look entirely too cute. The sly hint in her brown eyes, the same brown eyes he saw in the mirror every day, made him wonder if she was aware of what she was doing.

Eugene had to admit, his daughter had a surprising talent for persuasion. No wonder she got away with almost anything.

He really ought to become immune to his kids' tricks though. He couldn't allow himself to cave in just because of Ally's sweet smile and Fynn's sad puppy eyes.

"Aren't you two supposed to be asleep already?" Eugene's eyes narrowed as he regarded them with as much seriousness as he could muster, bringing up the issue that really brought him here in the first place. "It's way past your bedtime. What did you do to poor Abigail?"

Abigail was supposed to have put the kids to bed at least an hour ago, but honestly at this point Eugene wouldn't be surprised if their nursemaid ended up quitting in the next few days. It took a special kind of patience to be chasing the kids around the castle on a regular basis. Eugene couldn't really blame the poor woman if the twins had disappeared without her notice, considering he himself sometimes had trouble keeping track of them.

Fynn pouted like the mere mention of it upset him. "She missed the bedtime lullaby."

Ally nodded solemnly. "Abby said it was too late for lullabies and we had to sleep."

"Mommy always sings us to sleep!" Fynn pointed out with a slight whimper in his voice.

Eugene felt his heart squeeze. They all missed Rapunzel terribly, but Fynn was especially emotional whenever Rapunzel had to leave to attend some royal event or other. Eugene and Rapunzel rarely ever missed their nighttime routine, kissing the kids good night after Rapunzel sang them a lullaby or he read them a bedtime story.

It didn't much help that this time Eugene had run late to tuck them in, having stayed in a meeting with the King and Queen that extended longer than he'd expected. He'd nearly had a heart attack when he'd entered their room to check on them and found their beds empty.

"Aw, I'm sorry Mommy couldn't sing for you tonight and that I wasn't there. I was busy with Grandma and Grandpa." He shot Fynn a sympathetic smile.

"When is Mommy coming back?" Fynn asked, like he'd been doing for the past couple of days.

Eugene wasn't really sure. Rapunzel had left a week ago to attend an important event in one of the neighboring Kingdoms involving dignitaries and heads of state to discuss better strategies to strengthen commercial relations within the Seven Kingdoms. He knew it weighed on her, to part from her family to attend these necessary duties. He also knew she valued these trips as well, they helped her free spirit feel liberated, fed her curiosity for the world, prevented her from feeling caged within the burden of her own crown and these palace walls that sometimes suffocated her.

Sometimes, Eugene went with her, but more often than not he stayed with the twins, who were still too young to endure such a long journey. And as much as he missed her when she left, Eugene wouldn't want it any other way. She deserved whatever freedom she could get, and he was more than happy to stand back and watch her grow into her role of future Queen of Corona.

Besides, his kids were a much more welcome company than the haughty nobles who attended those royal events. Taking care of two hyperactive children was a far less daunting prospect than making polite small talk with dukes and barons that would only ever look at him down their nose.

No, comforting his sensitive son was no burden at all.

"Mommy will be back home before you know it." He gave Fynn a reassuring smile. "How about we go back to your room and I read you guys a bedtime story?"

"Yes!" Both kids perked up at the idea.

"Ah-ah! But you have to promise, no more sneaking out of your room at night." Eugene warned lightly. "And no more stealing crowns. Alright?"

Both of them gave an earnest nod. Rapunzel had instilled in them the importance of keeping a promise, and they took them quite seriously. Eugene had no doubt Fynn would follow those rules to the letter, but he wouldn't be surprised if Ally somehow found a loophole in that agreement. Her devious cleverness was astounding now at her young age, he could only imagine what kind of trouble she would get up to once she grew a little older.

Well, they'd cross that bridge when they came to it, he supposed. For now, getting them both to sleep was the biggest of their problems.

Eugene looked down at Fynn, still wrapped around his already cramping leg, and felt his lips tug up.

"Hey buddy, do you mind walking now?"

Fynn looked up at him, all oblivious innocence, and promptly shook his head. "No thank you, I'm fine here."

Eugene couldn't hold back a small chuckle.

"I can't keep walking like this, Fynn." He explained, reluctant to let Ally down in case she decided to disappear again. But maybe they could compromise. "How about a piggyback ride?"

That certainly did the trick. Fynn jumped up with an excited exclamation just as Ally let out an indignant huff.

"Daddy, I want a piggyback too!"

"You can have one tomorrow, Sunbeam."

He crouched down to allow Fynn's tiny body to jump up and wrap his little hands and legs around Eugene's shoulders and waist.

He stood back up with slight difficulty, his back protesting the added weight of another five-year-old, but Eugene would never admit age didn't allow his body to remain quite as sturdy as it had been once upon a time.

He would argue he was still at his prime. The twins were just a handful.

"Okay, hold on tight, Fynn. Your mom will have my head if you fall." He craned his neck slightly to see the little boy give a firm nod.

"Ready!"

And so they went, with Ally babbling away the entire way back.

Fortunately it wasn't a long walk to the kids' bedroom, and Eugene was only so glad to finally put them down as soon as he entered the warmly lit nursery.

He made sure to put each kid on their respective bed, tucking them in before he settled on the plush couch right in the middle of both beds with an exhausted sigh.

"Now, what story are we reading?"

"The Tales of Flynnigan Rider!" Ally exclaimed loudly with an overexcited bounce, her messy brown locks flopping over her eyes. Because of course that was her favorite book.

Fynn didn't quite agree much. "Again? He reads that all the time! I want to hear the story about the Mermaid and her magic tears."

"I don't like that one." Ally frowned, crossing her little arms over her chest. Rapunzel liked to tease that when Ally got that little petulant furrow between her brows, she looked too much like Eugene when he was upset.

Eugene would beg to disagree. He was never quite that dramatic.

"It has magic!" Fynn protested, looking a little bit affronted.

"It's boring!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

Eugene rolled his eyes. This was a good way to exercise his patience.

"We will have to agree on one if you do want a bedtime story."

Both kids suddenly got an identical pensive look, pursed lips and tilted heads. And then Ally's face lit up.

"I want one of Aunty Cass' stories!"

Eugene swallowed back an indignant sputter. Cassandra would be entirely too smug about this if she were here. They had a somewhat good-natured rivalry, to see who managed to stir up the kids more with their fantastic stories. Cassandra had the added benefit of being the enigmatic relative who the kids saw every now and then. She'd left Corona shortly after the twins were born, in search of her own adventure, not cut out for the life of a handmaiden. She'd soon been offered to join the all-female guard of the Queen of Ingvarr and the rest was history.

Cassandra visited Corona often enough, though. Eugene was sure half the reasons of her visits were just to spite him. She regaled the twins with grand stories about her life and heroic exploits, and in turn the kids adored and admired her. She always left them a tad too overexcited with her tales for them to actually be able to sleep. A problem which Eugene was left to deal with later.

He maintained, however, that he was still the best storyteller out of the two of them.

Eugene softly ran a hand through Ally's messy brown locks. "Sorry kiddo, I don't think Aunty Cass' stories are adequate for bedtime."

That peeved little frown of hers came back in an instant. The conversation soon became a discussion between the kids about which story was the best to petition, like this was a very serious debate.

Eugene let the twins argue as he stood up again and made his way towards the bookcase on the far side of the wall, silently perusing the spines of the books tucked there.

The twins didn't take long to notice his eyes lingered over the row where a collection of fables was displayed, and soon made their displeasure known.

"Not those!" Fynn exclaimed. "Those are Abby's books."

"They're no fun at all." Ally agreed somberly.

Abigail constantly tried to steer them into more respectable behavior, but of course that was an almost impossible task. Figures his kids would dislike the tame stories with a moral lesson behind them.

Eugene merely raised his eyebrows with an amused grin. "How about a new story, then?"

That caught Ally's attention. "Ooh, is it exciting?"

"Definitely." Eugene gave her a conspiratorial smirk.

"Does it have magic?" Fynn's eyes widened in earnest interest, enhancing his resemblance to his mother when she got that same excited gleam in her face.

"You could say that." Eugene chuckled as he came to sit back on the couch.

"Does it have pirates?" Ally's voice increased in pitch in her excitement. Pirates were, bizarrely, her newest obsession.

Eugene suppressed a grimace. "Something like that, perhaps."

"Does it have a True Love's Kiss?" Fynn asked, much more keen on traditional fairytales involving dashing heroes and brave princesses.

"Maybe."

Ally didn't bother to hide her distaste. "I don't want a love story. I want adventure!"

Eugene let out a soft laugh. He'd thought exactly like her for so long, before Rapunzel came into his life and quite literally swept him off his feet. He wondered briefly if Ally would think the same once she grew up.

"Don't worry Ally, this new story has plenty of adventure."

Both kids looked at him with rapt attention, their silence indication enough that they wanted to hear this intriguing new tale.

Eugene cleared his throat, ready to set the mood.

"This is the story of how I died."

Two identical gasps followed, a moment of intense silence as their eyes widened. And just as Eugene was beginning to regret starting with that opening line he witnessed two very different reactions.

Ally looked a bit stricken for a moment before her face cleared in a smug smile, like she had successfully avoided falling for a ridiculous prank. "Silly Daddy, but you are right here!

He was indeed very much alive and well, although Eugene wasn't sure they understood quite perfectly the concept of death just yet.

"I don't like this story." Fynn whispered, a pout already forming on his lips, eyes bright.

Eugene immediately backtracked. "Oh but don't you worry. It is actually a really fun story! And the fact is, it isn't even mine."

They looked at him dubiously but he continued anyway in an animated tone. "This is a story about a girl named Rapunzel."

Ally gasped, bouncing in excitement. "Mommy!"

"Yes, like Mommy."

"No! Mommy!" She pointed, her little body already struggling with the comforter to get herself out of bed. Next to her, Fynn was having a similar problem.

Eugene's head whipped back towards the bedroom door. And he really should be used to this by now but his heart still skipped a beat at the mere sight of her. Every time without fail.

Rapunzel was indeed there, leaning against the doorframe with a fond smile on her face as she appreciated the scene before her, a soft look in her eyes.

Eugene had no idea she would be back so soon, so he couldn't really be blamed if his reaction was a dumbfounded look as his kids rushed to greet their mother with excited shouts.

Rapunzel beamed as she knelt, arms already stretched out to catch them in a warm hug.

"Hi my little loves!" She cooed, pressing soft kisses against their chubby cheeks as the two kids threw their arms around her petite frame. "I missed you so much!"

Eugene often thought his chest couldn't possibly swell more with infinite affection, but he was constantly proven wrong. Now, as he watched his family, the three people he loved most in the world, embrace and share excited smiles, he thought his heart might actually burst.

"What are you doing up so late?" Rapunzel stood back up, raising an inquisitive eyebrow. "You were supposed to be asleep already!"

"Daddy was telling us a story." Fynn explained, like Eugene had been the one keeping them up this entire time.

"Was he?" Rapunzel smirked, shooting Eugene an amused look.

"Well, I've been trying to put them to bed for the past hour, but they've been making it rather difficult." Eugene grumbled as he came to stand next to her, circling an arm around her shoulder to draw her nearer.

Rapunzel perked up as he pressed a chaste kiss on her cheek in greeting.

"Were you two good for Daddy while I was gone?" She looked down at the twins, who now wore identical innocent grins.

"Yes!"

"That's an overstatement." Eugene drawled, giving them a pointed look. "These two little hellions have been terrorizing poor Abigail and absolutely refusing to go to sleep at a reasonable hour."

"Abby tires too quickly." Ally shrugged, like she wasn't the express reason why the poor nursemaid looked constantly rattled.

"And we were going to sleep when you finished the story!" Fynn said.

Rapunzel laughed at their antics. She clapped her hands together and leaned down to look at them with a conspiratorial smile. "How about we have a slumber party? And we can all enjoy Daddy's new story together."

"Yes!" Fynn and Ally squealed in delight, already running back towards their bed to pull blankets and pillows to make into a pillow fort.

"Oh, come on." Eugene groaned, utterly unable to mask his grin even if he tried. "I had just put them to bed! Do you have any idea how hard that was?"

Rapunzel pinched his cheek, a mocking pout on her lips. "Aw poor little Gee-Bug. I'm sorry. Did you lose your sense of fun already?"

Eugene grimaced in distaste. She knew how much he hated the nickname she'd given him some years back. She also loved to tease him with it regardless.

He narrowed his eyes as he crossed his arms over his chest, making her giggle. "Someone has to be responsible parent sometimes. It can't always be me!"

It had surprised them both actually, that as the kids grew older, Eugene proved to be the one who found himself as the rule enforcer more often than not. He thought it awfully ironic considering his younger self's wild years as an outlaw. But Rapunzel was entirely too susceptible to the twin's charming smiles.

It didn't mean he didn't engage in a little bit of mischief with the kids every now and then. Just not when it was way past their bedtime. Mostly because he wouldn't look forward to the two groggy and cranky kids they'd have to deal with come morning.

But Rapunzel had already set the idea in their minds, and now she could only smile sweetly in return. "Just this once, promise. Besides, I missed you all too much, we deserve a little family quality time."

She gave him a quick peck on the lips before she went to help the kids build their pillow fort. And well, Eugene could rarely ever put his foot down anyway.

He was resigned to follow.

Eugene flopped down over the fluffy pile of pillows the kids had arranged in a cozy kind of nest in the middle of the nursery, and no sooner had he settled than he was surrounded by warmth left and right as Rapunzel and the twins came to cuddle with him. Rapunzel wrapped a blanket around his shoulders before she nestled next to him, a blanket of her own wrapped around herself, and rested her head against his shoulder with a tired sigh, green eyes blinking slowly, clearly exhausted from the long trip back home.

Fynn wiggled himself right in the middle of them, his tiny buddy cuddling up to Rapunzel as he let her arms circle around him in a warm embrace. Beside him, Ally came to settle on Eugene's lap, her bright brown eyes looking at him expectantly as she waited impatiently for him to continue the story were he'd left off.

Eugene ran his fingers through her soft brown locks, working off the tangles in her hair as he cleared his throat once more. "Alright, where was I?"

"A story about a girl…" Ally and Fynn prompted in unison, making Eugene smile.

"Ah, yes. This is a story about a girl named Rapunzel, and it starts with the sun…"

He felt Rapunzel stiffen a little next to him, but he bumped her shoulder in a soothing gesture as he launched into his grand tale. A story about a magical flower, and a woman so vain she would do anything to keep herself young forever. A story about a lost princess trapped inside a hidden tower, with magical blonde hair as long as the sun was bright. A story about a swashbuckling rogue running off with a crown and stumbling into said tower in the middle of the woods. There were enough differences and fantastical details to render the story completely different to the one Eugene and Rapunzel had lived years ago.

A true fairytale of sorts. No angst and doubt and the loom of a harsh reality. Just soft-spoken words wrapped in the whimsical magic of a faraway land where dreams came true. There was no reason for the kids to associate such a story with their parents save for the names, which they still sometimes forgot to link with 'Mommy' and 'Daddy'.

Some day, far in the future, perhaps his children would know the truth. The bitter facts and crude hardships Rapunzel and Eugene had to face to get here. To get this. This little moment that Eugene would die a thousand times over to protect.

But for now, dreams were still meant to be left intact.

Right here, safe and calm, illuminated by the soft light of the candles and in the quiet of the night, cocooned in the loving warmth of his wife's body pressed against him, his two kids resting in the circle of his arms, Eugene couldn't possibly feel happier. A happiness that he'd never thought he would ever get to enjoy, not even in his wildest dreams.

He wished he could tell his younger self, poor orphan Eugene Fitzherbert, frightened and lonely sleeping in the dark attic above the orphanage and so very love-starved, that he would get this; the loving family he so craved with his whole being. He wished he could tell the young man he would grow to become, jaded and cynical, that it would get better. That he would stop chasing down a ridiculous daydream where piles of money filled the gap in his empty heart. Wished he could tell him to let down the walls around his heart sooner, to welcome the light that was Rapunzel because this… this was the most valuable treasure we would ever find.

This was a dream he would give a thousand lifetimes and a million crowns to keep.

Footnotes: if you're interested in the meaning behind the twins' names:

Aileen: means bright, shining light. As a side note the spelling variation pronounced the same, Aylin, means of the moon. I liked the duality of it.

Fynn: means fair, bright. Obviously I liked the meaning but the sentimentality behind it being very similar to Flynn was definitely a bonus.

And that's happily ever after for you. If you read this far, thank you for coming into this long journey with me. This is it for now, though I leave the door open for that potential sequel I mentioned but that really does depend on my inspiration and how many of you let me know if you're interested.

Anyway, I hope this story made you feel something and if you enjoyed please consider leaving a review on your way out as that is a writer's only compensation lol. I always love to know what you guys think. Goodbye for now! 3

P.S. I'll let you know if I do ever end up writing that sequel through here.