Eugene finished trimming his goatee and leaned back to admire his work in the mirror. He frowned and leaned closer to the mirror to take care of some stragglers beneath his chin. A movement in the hallway outside his cracked door drew his eyes. By the sound of the footsteps, it was Cassandra heading to her room at the end of the hall. Eugene refocused his attention to the perfectly chiseled jawline in the mirror.
His eyebrows furrowed as he finished cleaning up from his trim. He couldn't quite put a finger on it, but something was different about the way Cassandra walked past his door. Eugene was highly attuned to minute details about body language; he prided himself on anticipating other people's moves and reading the messages that they tried to keep hidden. It was often a matter of survival for him, and part of the reason he had never been captured.
Eugene sighed. It was probably something mundane, but something was up with Cass, and his curiosity wouldn't let him go to bed without prying just a little bit. It would probably annoy her too, which was an added bonus.
He slipped his boots on and made to leave, but paused at the door, deciding. After rummaging through the chest at the end of the bed for a few minutes, he found what he was looking for. He left his room and strolled to the end of the hallway. With a rhythmic knock, Eugene sang "Oh, Ca-aaaass."
There was no reply. But Eugene waited, confident she would open the door any second. Sure enough, her face appeared between the slightly open door. Her black curls were disheveled, as if she had just taken off her lady-in-waiting bonnet.
"What do you want, Fitzherbert?"
"Just wanted to see how your day was," Eugene said casually, flashing her a friendly grin. "How about a bedtime drink?" he asked, holding up the bottle of rum and glasses.
Cassandra gave him a look that most people would interpret as a cold, blank stare. But to Eugene she was telling him everything. I'm scared she said. I need to tell someone because I'm confused about what I'm feeling. I need to tell someone but not you, anyone but you. I can't tell you.
"Come on, Cass, we're friends aren't we?"
After a few more moments of consideration, she opened the door wider and stepped aside. "We are not friends. But I could use a drink."
Eugene triumphantly stepped inside and set the bottle and glasses on a small vanity table. He poured each of them a drink, and turned around. Cassandra still hadn't moved from her position by the open door.
Eugene approached her with both glasses and shoved the door shut with an elbow. Cassandra took the glass of rum from Eugene's outstretched hand automatically. Eugene's now free hand found her waist and gently pushed her toward the bed.
"I bought this rum during that science expo thing," Eugene told Cassandra as he guided her to sit on the bed. "The guy that sold it to me said it's an aphrodisiac. I think he was trying to justify the ridiculous price, but I just wanted some rum. It's not like I need any extra help in that area."
Cassandra took a tentative sip of her drink and tried to repress her grimace. "What does that mean? Aphro- that word you said?"
Something Eugene had recently discovered about Cassandra was that she had grown up almost as sheltered as Rapunzel. Occasionally, Rapunzel would say something unintentionally suggestive and Eugene would glance at Cassandra in hopes of sharing his incredulous realizations of how oblivious his girlfriend is. By Eugene's estimate, Cassandra understood about half of the innuendos. Interestingly, some of the more obvious ones she was as oblivious as Rapunzel, yet some of the more vague ones she shared a smirk with him.
He smiled gently at her. "It's a stimulant to help you focus."
"Oh," she replied, slightly confused.
"Now, what happened that you can't tell Rapunzel about?"
Cassandra's shocked expression made Eugene chuckle. That was so worth it.
"How- what do you- I don't know what you're talking about," Cassandra sputtered.
"You don't?" Eugene smirked at her. He had guessed right. "Cass, let's not pretend we don't both know why you invited me in. You clearly need to talk about something, but you haven't talked to Rapunzel, whose room you've presumably just returned from. So, time to spill the beans."
Cassandra's expression transformed slowly from affronted to resigned. Eugene waited patiently.
"Yes, I was just with Rapunzel. There's nothing to tell her though because she was there."
Eugene took a sip of his drink, more eager to hear the rest than he'd like to let on. Cassandra copied him agonizingly slowly before she continued.
"Rapunzel…wanted me to stay."
When she let the silence stretch after that simple statement, Eugene got impatient.
"And? You apparently didn't stay?"
Cassandra finally made eye contact with him and her eyes were full of fear. Eugene couldn't puzzle out why she would be scared of staying with Rapunzel.
He softened his gaze and took Cassandra's hand. She stiffened at this touch but then relaxed into it. "Tell me what happened," Eugene said gently, yet urgently.
Cassandra gazed into his eyes, deliberating on whether to trust him. Finally she sighed, and looked down at their hands.
"I was undressing her and getting her ready for bed, just like always. We were chatting about something innocuous. Then, I don't know what came over me, I…behaved unprofessionally with the princess…"
Eugene's imagination went wild with the implications of that phrase. The scenes playing in his head made his pants a little tighter in the front. He adjusted his position on the bed so that it was less obvious.
"'Behaved unprofessionally'...come on Cass, you're killing me. Elaborate please."
"I…my hands may have lingered longer than they should have. On her hips, and up her back. She turned to face me, and…my eyes wandered where they shouldn't…and she wrapped her arms around my neck, pretty much naked, and pressed her body into mine. That's… that's when, um, she asked if I wanted to stay," Cassandra finished anticlimactically.
Eugene was completely hard now, and it was pointless trying to hide it. She looked up at him when he didn't say anything for a few moments. She looked more scared than before. As if he was about to yell at her.
"Um, wow," he said, dropping Cassandra's hand and running his fingers through his hair. For once he was speechless. "Did uh.. did you say yes?"
"No!" she said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Why not? She obviously wanted you to stay and touch her more," Eugene said excitedly. He'd had fleeting thoughts of Cassandra and Rapunzel together, but he never thought it would be something they would both want in reality. "What did you say to her?"
"I, um, come to think of it, I didn't actually respond to her question. I just stared at her like an idiot forever. Then I said 'goodnight Raps' and rushed out the door." Cassandra slapped her forehead suddenly and said, "I didn't even help her finish dressing! I'm the worst lady-in-waiting…"
"She dressed herself for 18 years, I'm sure she can manage by herself. As far as the worst lady-in-waiting…I haven't met many, well really just you-"
"Wait, what do you mean?" she interrupted.
"I mean you're the first lady-in-waiting I've met in my-"
"No, what did you mean when you said Rapunzel obviously wanted me to touch her more?"
"I mean she wanted you to touch her more?" Eugene said slowly, not understanding where her confusion lay.
"Why obviously? What makes you say that?"
Eugene raised an eyebrow at her. "Well you said you touched her all over, she turned and wrapped her arms around you, and asked you to stay. I'd say that's a pretty clear sign she wanted more of the touching."
Cassandra's expression made it clear that it was not clear to her. She went from confused to more confused.
"Why?" she finally asked after several moments of contemplating.
"Why?" Eugene repeated incredulously. "Because you're a beautiful woman, Cass. Why wouldn't she want to be touched by you? She's been enamored with you pretty much since the day she met you. I would be jealous, but Rapunzel has more than enough love to go around."
Cassandra's cheeks had turned bright red. She focused on her drink clutched tightly in both hands. Eugene couldn't help but revel in her discomfort. He had come here with intentions to annoy and tease her, so he decided to continue with his favorite pastime.
"I didn't know you were into Rapunzel as well, you should have told me! We could have a fan club for magical princesses. You can tell me all about her naked body. I still haven't seen her naked, you know, so you've gone much further with her than I have," Eugene laughed the last few words as Cass had shoved him when he finally annoyed her enough.
"Okay that's enough for tonight," Cassandra said standing from the bed. A half smile stubbornly stuck around as she tried to look angry with him. "I've revealed far too much to the world's worst secret keeper. I guess I'll resign myself to a difficult conversation with Rapunzel once you tell her you and I sat in my room giggling about her."
Eugene rose from the bed as well, disappointed that she was opening the door as a cue to leave. "Well I could promise not to tell, but Rapunzel will probably tell me what happened anyway."
She ignored that, and seemed to be deep in thought as Eugene collected the bottle of rum from the vanity. He reached for the still mostly full glass in Cassandra's hand. She released it and looked up at him.
"For the record, I am not 'into' Rapunzel. It was just a one time accident, a slip of my hands. I serve her as her lady-in-waiting and I am completely professional. Got it?"
"'For the record'," Eugene said with a smirk. Cass rolled her eyes, and pushed on his chest to urge him toward the door.
"Goodnight, Eugene," she said as she closed the door. He caught a glimpse of her smile just before the door closed all the way.