Rapunzel showed him everything he should know about eating with royalty. She told him about different forks, spoons, knives, surprisingly enough to Eugene there were a few different knives and they were all used for cutting something different, and the placement for each individual fork, spoon, knife, cup, plate, bowl, napkin, and anything in between. Eugene found it all too much to handle, as there was one bowl that came in with water to rinse your hands with, another bowl for soup as the appetizer, another for salad, which, you don't have to eat but is served anyway, and another for bits of the meal.
She also discussed the forks, which ones to use for which. She, thankfully, narrowed it down to two forks Eugene must know, between the salad fork and the meal fork, at least, what she called it. She explained the salad fork is small, but not nearly as small as the seafood fork, and the prongs are wider. The meal fork, she said, looks like a normal fork, that he could use for the meal only, unless it was seafood.
Rapunzel told him about the soup spoon and the dessert spoon. Eugene was confused about why he needs a spoon for the dessert, but Rapunzel didn't have an answer for that question.
And finally, she showed him how to place his cutlery when he was done with his meal, taking a break, and how to show whether he liked the food or not. Eugene found it all too much to handle, even after practicing with Rapunzel. "Blondie, you're a pro at this already!" Eugene cried. "I can't do this if my life depended on it!" He dropped a fork.
"No, no, you're doing great, Eugene," she reassured him. "It's a lot of information but as long as you remember which forks I told you about-"
"Seafood, salad and the meal fork," Eugene replied. Rapunzel smiled and continued, "-and where to put the silverware after you were done, and about the water bowl, then I think you should be fine. This is top tier table manners, and I don't expect you to get it all right now, Eugene, but at least the basic understanding of it, if you have to."
"Thank you, Blondie, but this is too much for me right now," Eugene admitted. "There's, like, five different forks and spoons, I don't know why you have a knife for every piece of food, and the water bowl seems unnecessary if you wash your hands before dinner, placing the silverware a certain way-"
"Eugene," Rapunzel said, grabbing his hands. "Calm down. You got this. I know you do. The Eugene I know doesn't give up so quickly." Eugene took a deep breath. "Yeah, you're right," Eugene said. "Thank you, Rapunzel." Rapunzel smiled at him and pushed him out the door. "Now, go have fun, and don't stress too much!"
Rapunzel closed the door before Eugene could turn around and tell her something. "That's fine," Eugene said. "Who needs all this silverware anyway? I mean, just one fork, knife and spoons works wonderfully! Oh, how about just a spoon and a fork!" Eugene muttered to himself for a little bit before fixing his hair and walking towards the dining hall. "It's okay," Eugene told himself. "Rapunzel believes in you. She's having dinner with her mom somewhere else...oh, why couldn't I have dinner with her mom instead?"
Eugene stopped in front of the dining hall where two guards stand watch. "Ryder, we were expecting you," one of them said.
"Eugene," Eugene said, irritated.
"Come on in," the second said, ignoring Eugene's correction. The guards pushed the doors open to reveal a long table with the king sitting on the furthest chair. "Good luck," one of the guards whispered to Eugene before closing the door.
The door closed and Eugene stood in silence. This is it. This is the big moment. The dinner with the king. Eugene gulped. Don't make a fool of yourself, Eugene. Just remember what Rapunzel taught you, respect the king, and use the table manners you know. And don't make any witty comments. It's not too hard. After all, what could possibly go wrong?
"Ryder, have a seat," King Frederic said, pointing at the seat closest on his right hand side. Eugene wiped his brow and sat down on the chair the king pointed at. "So, Ryder," King Frederic started, "would you care to go into more detail with your encounter this morning with Maximus?"
"I, uh," Eugene said. "Well, I ran into an old enemy of mine but nothing happened, Your Highness."
"How did you draw him away," King Frederic asked, "if I may ask."
"Uh, I knew he was-should we really get into this, sir? Because I feel like there are way better things to be talking about!"
"Ryder," King Frederic said, venom in his voice.
"I knew he was allergic to seafood so I didn't stop him when he looked inside the wagon," Eugene said, sweating.
King Frederic rubbed his beard. Oh, man, I'm in trouble.
"I see," King Frederic said. "Well, I assume things went well besides that?"
"Uh, yes, sir," Eugene said.
The waiter walked out with a small bowl, which was placed on top of their plates. This bowl is full of water. Eugene remembered that Rapunzel told him it was to wash his hands in, but he wasn't quite sure hot to do it, so he waited for the king to do it and followed his lead.
King Frederic thanked the waiter and dipped his fingers in the water a few times, then dried them off on the napkin on the table. Although, the napkin was more like a cloth. Eugene did likewise, hoping he wasn't making a fool of himself. The waiter picked up the bowls and returned to the kitchen with them.
King Frederic returned his gaze to Eugene. "I'm safe to assume this is your first royal dinner?" Eugene was taken by surprise by this and dropped the cloth he was using. "I, uh, sorry, I-I'll get that." Eugene bent under the table to pick it up, banging his head against it. "Ouch," Eugene muttered, rubbing his head.
Eugene quickly folded the cloth and shoved it on the table. "Yeah, what gave it away?" Eugene finally said.
"Well, you seem nervous," King Frederic said.
"Nervous? Me?" Eugene asked.
"Mhm," King Frederic replied.
The man returned back out with two cups. Rapunzel never told him what the second cup was for. The man put two cups in front of both Eugene and the king. One, he filled with water, the other he left empty. Eugene watched him leave and stared at the door, waiting for him to return, but he didn't.
"So, Ryder," King Frederic said, picking up his filled water cup. Eugene waited nervously for the question, but it never came and it made him uncomfortable. Eugene decided to ease his nerves a little by drinking his water. It's like if the king was waiting for a weak moment because that's when he asked Eugene the question he was waiting for.
"What do you think of my daughter?" Eugene choked on his water. He forced himself to swallow, coughed, beat his collar with a closed fist, and cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, what?" Eugene finally asked, forcing himself to talk, although his voice didn't want to work and his eyes watered.
"What do you think of my daughter?" King Frederic repeated, calmly.
"I, uh, I..." Eugene tried. He tried to get the words out, he really did. It's just that, whenever he tried, his voice stopped working and he felt butterflies in his stomach. HIs heart beat faster at every thought of her, and he could swear his cheeks were turning red.
"Ryder," King Frederic said. "Ryder?"
"Ah-hah," Eugene said, his words failing him. "I-uh-I'm sorry, my voice j-just isn't working."
"Understood," King Frederic said.
What is happening to me? Eugene thought. I've never been nervous to talk about Rapunzel in front of anyone and now the king asks and I can't even talk? The man returned again with a bowl of soup for each of the guests. The king's was placed first, then Eugene's.
Eugene thanked the man again and looked at his spoons. Which one was the soup spoon? Was it the wide one, or the short one with the long top? Oh, man, this is going horribly. Why can't things just go his way for once? King Frederic grabbed a spoon, but Eugene couldn't see which one he picked up. Eugene looked at the spoons again and silently panicked.
"Is something the matter?" King Frederic asked.
"Uh, no, just fine!" Eugene said nervously. Eugene picked up the small, large spoon, and hoped for the best that he picked the right spoon. King Frederic never said anything about his spoon so Eugene was confident he picked the right spoon. Although the king is staring at him, so maybe he did pick the wrong one.
They stayed quiet while they ate their soup, Eugene getting more and more nervous as the time passed. The king continued to stare at him, which made Eugene more nervous about the spoon he chose, at least, before he started wondering what the king could be thinking. Maybe he didn't like the way Eugene handled the Weasel? Maybe he didn't like he made a fool of himself and it hasn't even been five minutes? Or maybe it's because he couldn't answer him about Rapunzel? Yeah, that has to be it. Maybe he's upset because he couldn't clearly answer him about his daughter.
They sat in silence as the man returned from the kitchen, and switched their soup with a salad. Rapunzel said he doesn't have to eat it, but he felt too nervous he used the salad fork, which, he thankfully, remembered, and shoved some lettuce in his mouth. Maybe he won't ask him any questions if he's eating. The whole time they were eating the soup, he didn't say anything, so maybe he won't ask him. Or maybe it's because both of them were eating? Is he going to ask him a question while he has food in his mouth and watch him make a fool of himself again?
The king said nothing while Eugene ate some of his salad. Maybe he's contemplating him and his actions? Is he going to get killed? Oh, man, he really messed up this time, didn't he? What has he done? He shouldn't have come to dinner with the-
"Ryder," the king said suddenly, starling Eugene, making him drop his fork. Eugene forced himself to swallow what he put in his mouth. "Y-yeah?"
"Are you alright?" King Frederic asked. "I can't help but notice you look tense."
Eugene gulped. "I, uh," he said, rubbing his hands on his pants. "Well-"
The chefs came out of the kitchen all at once, coming out with plates of food of all kinds. Eugene tried not to, but he couldn't help it. He opened his mouth in awe. Eugene has never seen that much food in his life. "I, uh-uh..." Eugene said, watching the table as the chefs put the food down. "I've n-never seen this much food before..." Eugene said, hoping he wasn't making a bad decision, talking about the food. "Do you eat like this every night?"
"Just on special occasions," King Frederic replied.
"S-special oc-c-casions?" Eugene asked. Does that mean he's a special occasion? "Yes," King Frederic replied.
"Oh, man..." Eugene replied.
Eugene waited to see how the king got his food. He used the utensils on the plates and served himself. Eugene passed him the potatoes when he asked. Eugene served himself as well and asked for the carrots. The man from before came back out, holding a silver platter with a bottle on it.
"Have a drink," King Frederic said.
"N-no, I really shouldn't," Eugene said.
"No, I insist," King Frederic said. He motioned towards the man, who then poured Eugene's cup about halfway, then proceeded to fill the king's cup. "So, Ryder," the king said, using his sharp knife to cut his food, "about my daughter?"
"Oh, right, s-sorry, I don't know what came over me last time," Eugene replied.
"Why do you like my daughter?" King Frederic asked.
"Well, b-besides the fact that she's beautiful," Eugene started, trying to remember which fork to use, "she's kind hearted, and courageous, and strong, and thoughtful. Your daughter is just...wonderful on...e-every characteristic. And she...she changed me. I mean, I stopped stealing because of her. I even returned some of the things I had stolen. Your daughter is one of a king, Your Majesty," Eugene said more courageously than before.
"And, if I may ask, how did you meet her?" King Frederic asked.
Eugene coughed. If choking on his water wasn't enough, now he choked on his food. This day can't get any worse. Eugene cleared his throat. "I-I'm sorry, w-what?"
"How did you meet my daughter?" King Frederic repeated, with a gravity of seriousness.
"I, uh," Eugene cleared his throat. "I was stealing the princess' crown, running away from Max and the Stabingtons, and I came across this tower, hidden in the woods, a-and, I climbed it and she knocked me unconscious with a frying pan. We made a deal with each other that if I took her to see the lanterns then she would give me back my satchel with the crown it in, but I fell in love with her and gave her back her crown."
"Hmm," King Frederic said, putting his fork in his mouth. Eugene wiped off his hands again, and carefully continued eating his food. The king has been taking him off guard, and he doesn't want to do anything else stupid. Not that he ever did, but especially in front of the king. And not to mention, his future father, at least if his relationship goes well with Rapunzel. No, not if, it will. He's talking to his future father in law and things are going completely downhill.
"How about we toast?" King Frederic suggested. "To Rapunzel."
"To Rapunzel?" Eugene asked.
"Yes, to Rapunzel. She is the reason why we are both here right now. Plus, she has grown up to be a wonderful woman." King Frederic smiled at Eugene for the first time he's interacted with him. Eugene felt his heartbeat slow down, and he couldn't help but smile. "Yeah," he said, picking up his wine cup. "To Rapunzel!"
They clinked their glasses together and drank. This wine. Eugene has never tasted anything so wonderful. It's not stale and it tastes magnificent. This must be royal wine. Maybe he can get used to this. After all, he wants a castle, and he's currently living in one, even if it is a rough, small room. If the tasks from the king goes well, then maybe he can get a better room, one, hopefully, closer to Rapunzel's.