betrothed tangled fanfiction

8/10/2019 Betrothed Tangled Fanfiction

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Betrothed

Story:Betrothed

Storylink:https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10387940/1/

Category:Tangled

Genre:Romance

Author:BookishGray

Authorlink:https://www.fanfiction.net/u/5554155/

Last updated:11/16/2014

Words:22708

Rating:K+

Status:In Progress

Content:Chapter 1 to 12 of 12 chapters

Source:FanFiction.net

Summary:Flynn is getting ready to put his dignity on the line and propos e to Rapunzel. The only problem is, she's

already getting married. To someone she does n't even know yet. In fact, she is forced to decide between three princes tomarry. Flynn can either help her choose the right man, or sabotage her and the customs of her kingdom.

Flynn(Eugene)/Rapunzel. Just a random idea I got. :3
https://www.fanfiction.net/u/5554155/https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10387940/1/


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*Chapter 1*: Married!

The ring felt heavy in my pocket as I swung through her top-story window. Man, I will never get tired of the view up here

What was I talking about? Oh, yeah.

I swung from the roof into her art room on the top floor, though I almost fell while coming in. I never lost my cool in

situations like this before, but I guess today was no average day. Flynn Rider was never nervous, but I guess Flynn Rider

never had to go through this. I slipped my hand into my pocket and twiddled with the small s ilver band as I called out,

"Hey, blondie, whatcha paintin'?"

Rapunzel looked up at me with a knowing smile on her face. "Through the window again?" she complained, but was

trying to conceal a laugh.

"For old time's sake," I replied and shrugged. She sat on a s tool, facing me, in the middle of the canvas-and-paint-filled

room wi th an easel in front of her. When I strode around to the other side of the easel to see her newest mas terpiece, I

let out a long, impres sed whistle to show my appreciation.

"Not bad," I remarked. She had depicted a single tower in the m iddle of the forest at night. In the sky behind it there were

dozens of glowing l ights floating up into the air. A girl with short, brunette hair sat atop the tower's roof. I immediately

understood the painting. She had finally escaped her chains and achieved her dream. Now she jus t needed another.

"You really think so?" Rapunzel asked, looking up at me with her big, innocent green eyes.

"I know so," I praised her. She grinned at me with a rosy glow seeping into her cheeks. I figured at that point, it was now

or never.

"Listen, your majes ty..."

"Eugene, no. I told you, I'm not 'your majesty', especially to you. I'm Rapunzel. Now call me that instead," she corrected

me.

"Is that an order, princess?" I asked with a sm irk.

Rapunzel giggled. "Yes."

I knelt down on one knee bes ide her, tightly gripping the ring in my pocket. "Listen, Rapunzel," I began, emphasizing her

name to make her laugh a little more. God, I loved her laugh. "We've known each other for only a few months, and I know

you're a princess and I'm well, I'm nothing but a thief given a second chance. But I I need to tell - or ask - yousomething that's been on my mind for a while, now that-"

"Me too," Rapunzel blurted. My eyes went wide, but I soon calmed myself and let her speak.

"You go first," I told her.

"Are you sure?" she asked. I nodded. Why not? I was positive my question could wait. "Okay, okay. Whew" she took a

deep breath and exhaled s lowly to shake off nerves. She then looked me directly in the eyes as she announced, "I'm

getting m arried."

I can't remem ber my initial reaction. It could have been a lot of things. I could have started cursing or yelling or s tuttering

or jus t sat there staring. But all I know is that the love of my life had told me she was getting married. And it wasn't to me.

When I finally regained consciousness of the situation, I vaguely remember saying something like, "What the heck do

you mean by married?!" but I think it came out more as, "Wha you married?!"

"In a month. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but I... I didn't want you to worry," Rapunzel began playing with one of her

short, dark locks.

"Worry?" I asked aloud, but in my head, I added, "I'm much more than worried." See, being an outcast and a thief and an

orphan, I honestly had no experience with heartbreak at all. This was a wake-up call and a slap to the face and a s tab to

the heart all at once. How could Rapunzel be getting married and not even tell me?

"You're just so protective and I was worried you'd be angry if you knew," the princess explained further.

"Wh... Why would I be angry?" I asked her.


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"I figured the las t thing you'd want me to do was marry a man I don't know."

I could have fainted. Not only was my beautiful princess getting married, but she didn't even know him. This day couldn't

get any worse.

I tried to be as supportive as I could, though. I didn't know why or who, or even if she wanted to, but I knew I at least had to

be there for her.

"Why... And who?" I s tuttered.

"It's customary for our kingdom and those surrounding us to find three eligible princes from neighboring areas. When

the princess comes of age, she travels to all of their home kingdoms and picks between the three princes to marry. I'm

18, so i t's time, I guess ," Rapunzel continued. I mentally face-palmed. I knew about this tradition. How could I not? It's a ll

over the kingdom's press when it occurs. And I thought I could propose to her?

"How do you feel about choosing between men you don't know?" I asked.

"I don't know. I'm a nervous wreck. I don't know what to do or how to act. And, to be honest," she looked me right in the

eyes, "there's another man out there I'd rather be with." I doubted it, but she seem ed to be directing that phrase right at

me, making sure to say it slow and clear. My heart skipped ahead of me a few beats, but I quickly caught up with it, and

calmed it. I put on my bad boy persona again subconscious ly. That tended to happen when I felt upset or humiliated.

Rapunzel soon let the subject drop, though. "So, what did you want to ask me?"

I stood and dusted myself off. I turned toward the window I entered from and didn't even look back as I said, "It doesn'tmatter anymore. It was stupid to begin with. Good luck with your princes." I began to walk toward the exit when I felt a soft,

small hand on my shoulder which forced me to stop.

"Aren't you going to be there for me? I can't do this by myself," Rapunzel requested, begged of me. "I can request you as

an es cort."

I still didn't turn back to her as I replied, "If you want me there," in a bitter tone. Out of anger - more directed toward myself

and the rest of the kingdom than her - I took the ring from my pocket and toss ed it behind m e where I knew Rapunzel

could see it. I continued forward, swung my legs out onto the edge of the window s ill, and boos ted myself up onto the

roof. From there, I headed back to my home on the edge of the city and collaps ed onto my bed.

I didn't cry. Not as little orphan Eugene Fitzherbert, not as Flynn Rider, and not as the "new and improved" Eugene

everyone seemed to like. But that afternoon as I lay on my bed, I rethought my last conversation with Rapunzel and felt

like sobbing for the rest of my life. This was Rapunzel we're talking about. Obvious ly it was a long shot to think I couldever marry a princess, but I was the one who saved her, right? (Even if I did plan on tricking her and ditching her at first,

but that doesn't matter now...) I had the strongest bond wi th her than anyone in the world, even her own family.

I realized after a few hours (and a couple of glass es of whiskey) that I really did need to be there for her on her tour. She

needed m e, even if it wasn't in the same way I needed her, and I needed to be there for her. Rapunzel was my best friend

first and foremost, and - as much as I hated to admit it - I was nothing without her. Losing her as a friend would be even

worse than losing her as a lover. I sent a letter off to the castle right away (hoping she could read m y slurred, rushed

handwriting) and s lept peacefully that night. Did I still hope she'd seen the ring I'd tossed over my shoulder? Yes. I hoped

she'd have seen it and s topped the tour altogether and marry me. But that wasn't the case. If she saw it, and knew what it

meant, then s he gave no hint to me about it. I only had one thing left to do. If I wasn't going to have her, then I'd need to

thoroughly inspect whoever did.


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*Chapter 2*: Thoughts of Sabotage

What's up, people? It's Gray here! You should know that this is my first Tangled fic, so please feel free to PM me with any

errors or OOC-ness you notice. Thank you!

In this chapter: Pascal and Eugene team up to try to "help" Rapunzel during the tour... albeit, a b it unconventionally.

Thanks for reading!

The next month passed just smoothly as its predecess ors did. The only problem was the overhanging thought of thetour coming soon. Rapunzel could sens e my dread, I know she could. She knew how I felt about her, it was obvious. I

thought I knew how she felt about me, but I wasn't sure. I often thought of - and dreamed of - that song we sung on the

lake, and that moment in the tower when she - er, I - kissed her. No, who am I kidding? She kissed me.

But did that mean she loved me s till? Maybe she got over me. Maybe s he didn't want to be seen wi th a non-royal. Maybe

she thought my past was too bad. Those ins ecurities were on my mind 24/7 that month. I don't think it mattered, anyway.

No matter what she felt, she was determined to honor her kingdom and go through with the tour. Royalty sucks.

Though it was constantly playing like a broken record in our minds, it was only until two days before the tour that

Rapunzel even mentioned it again.

"So... Are you ready?" She asked out of the blue. I had just entered the room - the library this time (and, yes, it was

through the door, thank you) - and she didn't even need to look up from her book to know it was me.

"Ready for...?" I prompted, not yet knowing what she meant.

"The tour, silly!" She exclaimed. She stood from her chair, ran up to me and gave me the tightest hug I've ever felt. "I

haven't seen you in a week! Where have you been?"

"Oh, you know, here, there. At work, mos tly," I replied nonchalantly. At the time, I had worked at a carpenter's shop.

"I was worried you wouldn't show," she comm ented, pulling away from me so she could see my face.

"Me? Not s how up?" I put on a face of mock insult that turned into a subtle sm irk. "I couldn't just leave you to fend for

yoursel f in those dis tant kingdoms. I'll have to make sure and watch those princes real close."

Rapunzel pushed my chest back, breaking our gentle hug. "Oh, no, you won't!" She argued, but still s miling.

"How else am I going to make sure you find the perfect man?"

Her face turned stony for a fraction of a second. "Am I going to?" she whispered, suddenly serious.

"To be honest, Blondie, I don't know for sure, but I ain't letting you walk out wi th some s leaze bal l."

"I know you won't." She gave me a s ad smile that pretty much s creamed, Sorry, but it will never work... I'm taken-to-be.

A royal guard entered the library just at that mom ent. "Your highnes s," he address ed Rapunzel with a bow. "And Sir

Flynn," he added awkwardly. "I have come to fetch you. The king and queen have summoned you both into their

chambers."

I looked at Rapunzel and held my arm out, which she took gladly. The guard gave me a strange look as we pass ed - one

that could have been either confusion, surpris e or resentment - but I ignored it. Hey, I changed. I'm not wanted anymore; I

(kind of) saved the Lost Princess. Well, she saved me too, but that's a whole different story.

As we walked through the lavishly decorated halls, I couldn't help but think how good the royals have it. As a child, I

dreamed of having gold and riches, but had rarely ever seen a coin in my life. How nice it would be to be a prince...

But you better not take that wrong. That had nothing to do with my wishing to marry Rapunzel. I was accused of that far

too often for my comfort at the time. Heck, I'm accused of it now.

Where was I? Oh, right. The King's quarters.

As soon as we entered the room, the queen rushed toward us and hugged her daughter, then me. Rapunzel's mother

has always liked me, it seems. Ever since she had first met me, she s eemed kind and accepting, which wasn't what I

was expecting at the time.


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Rapunzel's father wasn't so keen on me, though. He saw me for what I was: a thief who stumbled across his daughter

by accident. The only problem was , he didn't seem to think I had changed, which I very well had! But getting my name

cleared from the "Wanted" posters didn't convince him, I guess. The king just s tayed, standing firm, in the sam e pos ition.

His wife led us over to him, and gently chided me when I tried to bow.

"Now, now, Eugene. You are no less than us. You are family. You needn't bow in our pres ence." The queen gave me a

comforting smile, and Rapunzel squeezed my arm ass uredly.

The king cleared his throat loudly and began in a firm, formal tone, "My daughter, Princess Rapunzel of Corona, has

requested you as her only escort and mentor during the upcoming tour. Of course, we will be s ending some of Corona'sfinest royal guards to escort you both. I trust you know about this?"

I nodded once.

"Good. The next part, however, you don't know is that a prince of one kingdom has dropped out, and has been replaced

with another from a kingdom farther south." I nodded again, not seeing any significance. "To make up for lost travel time,

the two of you must leave immediately."

I raised an eyebrow. "As in, right now?"

"That is what 'immediately' means , Mr. Rider," he replied in a deadpan tone. I opened my mouth to say something more,

but, as if he were reading m y mind, he answered the ques tion I was about to ask. "Don't worry. We've gotten enough

packed for you."

"You... packed clothes for me?" I nearly asked, but kept the question ins ide. I didn't really want to ups et the king.

"Come, Rapunzel," the queen beckoned her daughter to follow her, "We'll get you dress ed for the trip."

"But, mother, I already am-"

"Nonsens e. It's a m other's job to make her daughter look nice for things like this." The queen left the room, Rapunzel

following closely at her heels. I felt like Rapunzel looked good enough, and there was another reason she was forced

out of the room.

"You know why Rapunzel wants you with her, I ass ume?" The king asked as s oon as the women were out of the room.

He's definitely a man to get straight to bus iness .

I shook my head. I honestly didn't know. It could be a lot of things. I figured it was mos tly because we were close, though.

"You don't? Well, I believe it has to do with her feelings for you. She doesn't want to lose you," the king told me. I felt my

cheeks burning and glowing, and I must have been as red as a tomato because the king laughed before continuing.

"You're a good man, Eugene," Those were the last words I expected to come from his mouth, "and I expect you will help

my daughter make the right choice."

"I-I will , your majes ty," I stuttered pathetically.

"Just remember," he added as he turned and walked away. "The right path is not always the one everyone els e wants

you to take." I'd like to think I'm pretty smart and all, but I had no idea what he meant by that. What was he trying to say; let

her decide? Don't let the others weigh in? I couldn't tell. I decided not to dwell on it for too much longer, and strode to the

door I saw Rapunzel and the queen enter. I was about to knock on it when I realized there were hus hed voices coming

from the other side.

"Are you sure you want to go through with the tour?" a whisper, most likely from the queen, echoed through the door.

"I have to. It's a kingdom tradition," a more forlorn voice, Rapunzel's, was audible.

"Traditions can be broken. You don't need this tour to find the perfect man, you know."

"What kind of princess would I be if I let down the whole kingdom of Corona? I missed 18 years al ready and-"

"Is that what this is about?" The queen asked. "That wasn't your fault, dear. You were taken by force, not by your own will.

You are learning to be a great princess . You don't have to go if you wis h to ins tead marry-" Their voices got even quieter,

and I was forced to lean farther in to the door to hear.

"No. I'm going. We already promised the first kingdom that I'll be there by tomorrow. I'm going."


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Footsteps drew nearer and nearer to the door, and I had to quickly back away before Rapunzel opened the door. The last

thing I wanted to do was to be caught eavesdropping.

I lost balance right as s he opened the door, though, and ended up flat on my back staring up at her.

Rapunzel laughed. "What are you doing, Eugene?"

"Getting a better view. You look good from this angle," I joked. She helped me up and I dusted off my pants and vest.

"Thanks," I said with a smi le.

"No problem," she repl ied, returning my grin. We stood there, just staring at each other for a few seconds , the s tupidest

grins on our faces, until Rapunzel blinked a few times and snapped out of her trance. She then took me by the arm.

"Come on, this way," she instructed me. "We've got to get to the harbor in time. They've already loaded our things into the

ship."

The next minutes were a blur. All I remember is boarding the ship from the harbor.

"Who're the guards they're sending?" I asked as we climbed the ramp onto the main deck. I was worried about sharing

close quarters with men who used to try to capture me, dead or alive

"I don't know, they just said they were-" Rapunzel stopped and screamed with del ight as she reached the top. She ran as

fast as she could in that tight, uncomfortable dress and pounced on someone out of my sight. As I climbed onto the

deck, I noticed a proud, white s tallion with a li ttle, green lizard-thing on his back. Rapunzel was hugging them both.

"Hey, Max!" I greeted my old frienemy. "And, uh, m iniature iguana?"

Rapunzel playfully punched my arm. "Pascal is a chameleon!" She picked him up in the palms of her hands and al lowed

him to climb up to her shoulder where, now out of her sight, he stuck his tongue out at me. That lizard will never like me.

At that mom ent, the captain came out of his quarters to greet us. He told us al l about how long each trip wi ll take, what

we should expect while traveling, what to do or not do. You know, all the kinds of stuff I never lis ten to. I just sm iled and

nodded.

By the time we set sail, it was nearly 10 PM, and Rapunzel was asleep in her quarters below deck. I stayed up with

Pascal (who was sitting on a crate next to me), watching for islands over the horizon.

After a few minutes of si lence, Pascal nudged me on the arm wi th his head.

"What do you want, an apple? Petting? I'm not petting you," I muttered. My happy faade was fading now. I hated the idea

of this tour. I hated it with a passion.

Pascal shook his head. He pointed a leg, er, arm maybe hand... whatever chameleons have, at the door to Rapunzel's

room.

"Rapunzel? What about her?" I as ked, actually interested in what he was trying to s ay now.

Pascal pointed at me, then back to the door, then raised an eyebrow as i f to say, "You and her have a 'thing', right?"

I shook my head. "I thought so. Even her parents thought so. But she's so determined to do what the people of Corona

and the other kingdoms want her to do that she's actually going through with this." I leaned up agains t the rail of the

deck, crossing my arms , almost pouting.

Pascal grunted angrily then pointed at the map hanging on the wall adjacent to me.

"I can't tell her to s top the tour, boy. She would hate me."

He just grunted again, pointed at me and punched a hole in the map wi th his tongue right where the kingdom of

Arendelle us ed to be.

"We aren't going to Arendelle, smart one," I muttered sarcastically, rolling my eyes.

Without looking, he punched another hole in the Southern Isles.


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"What am I gonna tell the captain about what happened to his map?" I asked, ignoring the mess age Pascal was

sending me.

He raised his eyebrows again and I understood what he was saying. "Are you really gonna let some random prince take

her away? Do something ab out it!"

"Pascal, she really wants to go through with this. We can't just sabotage it!" I argued, though I didn't even bel ieve myself.

Pascal jus t stood in the same position, silently saying, "You're blind if you think she wants this. I'm just watching out for

her."

As much as I felt it was wrong, I gave in. "Okay, you're right. Those princes will never be right for her. And I'm going to

make sure she knows that. One way or another."

Pascal smiled slyly, then crawled up onto my shoulder and stuck out his short, green hand for me to take, as if saying,

"Team?"

I shook i t using my thumb and forefinger, but then realized something. "Max won't be happy about this."

Pascal s hrugged trying to s ay, "Who cares? We have to help Rapunzel's first!"

"Right, right. So avoid the prissy horse. Sounds good to m e." I yawned. "Let's get some shut-eye first. And in the morning,

we mess with some princes"


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*Chapter 3*: The First Kingdom

AN: I'm baaaack! :3 My trip was fantastic, and gave me a heckuva lotta inspiration and such.

Did you miss me? I hope so! Thanks for all the support :3 I am officially off hiatus, so here is chapter 3!

I awoke the next morning with the oddest mixture of feelings. I had hope now, hope that I could win Rapunzel back. But I

also felt guilty about what I knew I had to do. I had to make everyone els e look bad. Then again, the little chameleon was

right about one thing: no matter how much she protests, I know Rapunzel doesn't want this.

I stood from my stiff, swaying cot and s tumbled as I started to walk. The lack of sleep I'd had recently, plus my anxiety,

and now the constant sway of the ship was enough to send m e tripping all over myself.

I dressed myself as bes t I could in the dim ly lit room. Not only was i t hard to see with no lantern or window, but the fancy

clothes put into my trunk weren't what I was used to; they were all uncomfortable, hard to figure out, and forced me into

perfect posture. Might as well s tick a board up my back.

The suit didn't look half-bad when I finally got it on. It fit nicely. It was a medium purple coat and white trousers, both with

gold trim and buttons, trademark colors of Corona. The kingdom's symbol, the sun, was embroidered in sparkly gold

thread on my left shoulder.

By the time I went up to the deck, dawn was breaking, and Rapunzel was al ready awake and leaning over the ship's rail

watching the sunris e over the horizon. Though I later denied it, I stood a ways away just marveling at how s he looked.She wore a long, fitted, lavender dress wi th lace lining the part below the wais t, and her short, dark hair was slightly

curled, but looked natural and beautiful as always. The way the sunlight and ocean glare reflected off her was

breathtaking. I began to question if she were actually real or jus t an illus ion."Hey, Princess," I finally greeted. She turned

around and seemed to notice me for the first time, and blushed realizing I had s tood there for a while.

"Corona's symbol is the s un," she replied dreamily, "I see it everywhere I go. But I didn't think the sun could be thispretty."

I thought for a moment, wondering if I should really yeah, worth a shot. "You know what goes great with sunris es?

Breakfast made by yours truly," I commented.

Rapunzel raised her eyebrows, chuckling a bit. "You cook? Since when?"

I shrugged. "How hard can it be? Come on!" I grabbed her by the hand and led her down to the kitchen. The ship's cook

probably wouldn't be too happy with us if he found out we were mess ing with all of his things, but, hey, we were having a

heck of a good time.

"Okay, just crack the egg reeealgentle" Rapunzel instructed me, guiding my hand and helping me smack an egg

agains t the edge of the counter. I hit it a little too hard, and chunks of yolk and egg-shel l exploded in all directions.

Rapunzel stained the sleeve of her dress and I got a glop of yellow goo in my hair. Some even got on the wall and

splattered across the ceiling.

Rapunzel laughed at my attempts to get egg out of my dark locks. "Okay, forget the eggs. I'll do that. Just mix this gently."

She handed me a bowl of flour, water and milk.

I seemed to succeed in stirring the ingredients (or at least Rapunzel didn't need to correct me as much), and she s oon

added freshly beaten, perfectly cracked eggs into the mix. "What did you call this again?" I asked as she poured the

batter into a pan over the fire.

"Pancakes. It's an English food. I read about it in a book. Back in the tower" her cheery express ion faded for a moment,and she seem ed to distance herself from me, som ething I wish I could cure. But as fast as it had left, her smile

reappeared as the pancake started to harden on one s ide. She flipped it enthusiastically, letting it flip in the air once

before catching it with the spatula.

"We have things jus t like this in Corona, you know."

Rapunzel nodded, s till not breaking her gaze from the pan. "Just without the fruit filling."

"What fun is that?"

She smiled slyly. "I put chocolate in it."


9/37

"I take that back," I quickly corrected myself as she loaded two, perfectly formed pancakes on two plates and handed one

to me.

"How is it?" Rapunzel ques tioned as we ate on the main deck. I couldn't answer right away. My face was too stuffed with

fluffy goodness to coherently reply.

"Gurhf." I swallowed hard, finishing my mouthful. "Good," I repeated, "Really good."

One of the guards, accompanied by Max, interrupted our picnic to inform us that we would be docking in Retana (the first

kingdom) an hour and a half. Max stole my apple.

"Thank you, Montier," Rapunzel responded, but only half-heartedly. She seemed a bit deflated (but who could blame

her?). The guard nodded and went on his way.

"Are you going to be alright?" I asked quietly once the guard was out of earshot.

Rapunzel nodded feebly. "O-of course, Eugene. How bad can this prince be, anyway?"

Rapunzel had no idea what was coming to her. To be fair, neither did I at the time. As s oon as we s tepped off the ship,

the princess and I were whisked away to the castle by royal escorts, chased by the screaming, s tar-struck citizens of

Retana. When we entered the palace, my breath caught in m y throat. Everything was made of solid gold. Gold floors,

gold walls , gold statues, gold chandeliers , gold stairs. Everything!I knew nothing about the Retanian royalty, but I know

now they were filthy rich. I added it to a m ental lis t of things I would complain about to Rapunzel rich are okay. It's the filthy

richyou gotta watch out for. About nine months prior, that place would have been my dream home. Now, I felt incredibly

suspicious of it.

A pudgy man in a glittery si lk cape waddled down from the staircase to the left. "Welcome, Princess Rapunzel, welcome!

I, my dear, am the King of Retana!" The king shook her hand excitedly, paying no attention to me (her escort!) and getting

straight to business . "We are s o pleas ed to have you as our gues t, my sweet! May I present to you: my eldest son, Prince

Adrian of Retana!"

A muscular, tanned, handsome (albeit very short) boy came strutting into view from the same staircas e his father had.

He looked barely Rapunzel's age, no older (and no taller either). Though he was quite vertically challenged, had perfect,

chiseled features (that looked nearly like a s tone bust), the kind of long, dirty blonde hair that girls went gaga over, and

an arrogant express ion that immediately made me want to punch him.

"Princess ," he addressed her with a bow before taking her hand and s oftly press ing his lips to it. Now I really wanted to

punch him. What a creep. The kid even wore the same s ilvery, sparkly cloak as his dad.

Rapunzel smi led politely, but her brows were subtly furrowed in a sort of "Let-go-of-me-you're-weird"look.

Adrian then turned to me. "You are her royal escort, I assume?"

I wanted to make a sarcastic comment about the fancy way he talked, but I decided that would jus t make Rapunzel angry,

so instead jus t nodded curtly.

"You seem... young to be working in such a high pos ition," he noted, eying me up and down. Nope. This kid cross ed the

line; he fired firs t. It was my turn next.

"Says the kid no taller than five and a half feet," I retorted, sneering a bit into the sentence.

Adrian was physically taken aback by my insult. "I happen to be five feet and eleven inches ," he informed me indignantly.

"Yeah, with those ten-inch heels on," I muttered, pointing at his fancy boots. Rapunzel pinched my arm discreetly to keepme from s aying more. Though s he gave me a s tern look, it was easy to tell that she was trying to conceal a giggle.

"Pardon my escort, Adrian. He'sjust a little protective,"she enunciated each word s lowly so I got the hint to shut up.

Pascal, on her shoulder, was nearly dying of laughter. I hoped the little guy wouldn't break a lung... Wait, can chameleons

even laugh?

"Might I know your name?" Adrian asked me in his annoying, high-pitched voice.

I felt like refusing, but Rapunzel introduced me before I had the chance. "This is Sir Eugene Flynnigan Fitzherbert-Rider.

He's my boy - er - best friend."


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I raised an eyebrow and looked at Rapunzel, whose cheeks were glowing a light shade of pink. What was she going to

say? Boyfriend? Really?

"Well, hello, then. I apologize for stealing your bes t friend away for the next two days," Adrian s aid in the mos t squeaky

tone poss ible for a man's voice to naturally be.

He turned back to Rapunzel. "Shall we set off?"

She smiled and nodded, taking his arm. He lead her out of the grand, golden palace doors and out into the courtyard. I

was about to follow them from a dis tance, but before I could, I saw Pascal s alute and wave at me from Rapunzel'sshoulder. It was clear he was saying, "I've got it covered up close. Just make sure nob ody interferes from afar."

I scoffed silently.As if, I said in m y head, I'm still keeping an eye on them. I began to move in their direction when the

king caught me by the shoulder and turned me around.

"Sir Eugene! You must accompany me on a tour of the palace! It is the least I can do for my guests!" The man was so

excited about everything. It irritated me. As much as I wanted to refuse, the guy had his arm hugged too tight around me

to move.

I chuckled in an obvious ly fake tone. "Yes, of course, Your Highness ." Boy, was I gonna hightail it out of there as soon as

he turned his back...

"So you see," the king continued. The tour had gone on for 45 minutes. This palace was huge.And when I said earlier

that everything was made of the gold, I really meant everything. The freaking toilet seats s hined! Who does that? "The

culture of our people is quite diverse and comprehensive..." Your accent is killing me. "Our entire population is relatively

wealthy. There is little poverty here..." What does this have to do with your gold-encrusted wardrobe? "Even the poorest of

peasants are able to afford basic necessities ..." I don't have time for this!

"I apologize, Your Majesty, but I just realized that I left my pocket watch on the s hip, if you don't mind me going to get it," I

requested, trying to sound as innocent as poss ible.

The king smiled at me. "Why, of course! Hurry along now! You still have to see the kitchen!" I sighed internally and

booked it out of the palace. As soon as I left the doors, I was knocked over by a tall, white, furry obs tacle. Max hovered

over me with a stern express ion.

"What? I'm not sneaking away!" I lied. "I just left something. My pocket watch." I pointed toward the harbor. "On the ship."

Max narrowed his eyes and looked me up and down, trying to catch my lie. When he couldn't find any proof, he simply

backed away slowly, still watching me. I knew I'd have to be careful around him. One false move, and he'd report it forsure.

Great.I thought. Just another thing in my way. I'd jus t have to be extra cautious while sneaking around. I walked by

Maximus slowly and then - once I pass ed him - booked it in the direction of the harbor. As soon as I was out of Max's

sight, I turned and made my way back to the village square where I had s een Rapunzel and Adrian go to.

Soon, the square came into view. And I laid my eyes on the most horrible scene I had ever imagined...

AN: I know, not much of a cliffhanger, but I had to end it somewhere. I didn't want to bombard you with a massive

chapter right after I get back... or is that what you would have wanted? 0.o

Anyway, I'll be back next week with more. Please review with thoughts, suggestions, or ideas. I'm open to anything

you say.

See ya later!

~Gray!


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*Chapter 4*: Adrian's Secret

A/N: Heyo! This is Gray back with my latest installment of this story. Sorry this is a short chapter because writers'

block sucks :(

Also, I apologize for not updating very often, but I've been working on other stories, namely Wolf Among Us stuff and

my own original sci-fi novel. I plan to start updating regularly now. Thanks for all your support and the helpful

critiques you're giving me. I love you guys. So without further ado, here is chapter 4:

...I then laid my eyes on the mos t horrible scene I could imagine:

Crowds. I hate crowds. Easy to sl ip around in, yes. I made m y fair share of getaways whi le hiding in crowds, but it still

didn't make me much of a people person. There were thousands of people gathered in the town square, and it took a lot

of shoving and crawling to get through them. I saw what they were all so interested in.

In the middle of the town square, there was a patch of grass one might call a park. It was the lamest park I've ever seen,

though. The grassy area couldn't have been more than 10 feet by 10 feet, with a s ingle tree in the corner and a bench in

the middle. Under the shade of the tree there was a long, golden picnic blanket, and on that blanket was piles upon piles

of food. Next to it was Prince Adrian and Rapunzel. I was close enough to s ee their dis tinct features and expressions, but

not enough to make out what they were saying.

Wait, where is Pascal? I thought. He wasn't anywhere near the couple. He wouldn't just abandon Rapunzel. No, he was

serious about his plan. So where was he?

It didn't take long to find him, really. I followed Rapunzel's distant, worried gaze to a cluster of little girls on the edge of the

crowd. They were al l petting and dress ing up a little pink lizard. Wait, pink lizard?

Then it turned red. Then blue. Then black. It was a chameleon, of course. Pascal, to be exact. He looked so agitated by

the children that he couldn't even control his color. Poor little guy.

I looked back to Rapunzel. She seemed to be trying to shrug off Pascal's s ituation and pay more attention to the prince,

but I could tell she wasn't interested. Adrian kept trying to feed her a bit of sandwich or chocolate or scone, but Rapunzel

would just take it from his hand and eat it herself. Fighting off flirtation? Good s ign.

I skirted around the outside of the crowd to be closer to them. Over the chatter and s tarstruck whispers of the crowd, I

could just make out some of their words.

"And s o I said... my exclusiveboat... and he... Funny, right?" Adrian said, then started laughing like he had been told the

funniest joke in the world. From the forced smile on Rapunzel's face, I could tell the joke had fallen pretty flat. Adrian

didn't seem to notice, though.

I sneaked around the outskirts of the crowd until I ran into the group of girls p laying with Pascal. I needed to get him free

somehow. I couldn't do anything to sabotage their date, not without Rapunzel noticing, but Pascal could do it eas ily.

"What a cute little gecko," I said in a nearly falsetto voice. Talking to kids wasn't exactly my specialty, alright? Pascal

scowled at me for calling him a gecko, but I was helping him out. He should be happy.

"He's a chameleon!" one of the kids replied indignantly.

"May I hold your chameleon?"

"He's the princess' chameleon, not ours," another one piped up.

"I'm very good friends with the princess," I told them. I tapped the golden sun symbol on my shoulder. The girls gasped,

realizing who I was .

"Ohmigosh! You're the guy who s aved the princes s, aren't you?" The girls giggled. They all immediately let go of Pascal

and handed him to me. The little reptile sm iled gratefully at me, turned back to green, and hopped out of my hands and

back to Rapunzel. The girls didn't seem fazed that they had lost their multi-colored playmate, though. They were all too

interested in me now. What was my name? Was I a prince? How did I find Rapunzel? Did I love her?

"What do you mean?" I asked, a little confused by the question.

"Everyone knows when a knight saves a princess from danger, they fall in love happily ever after and get married!" They


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explained. "You must looooooveher!"

I laughed, a little heartbroken at the irony. Even little girls could tell I had feelings for her. "No, that's what she's here for: to

see if she and Prince Adrian love each other."

"Prince Adrian? Why him? He's only 16," one of the girls said.

What? All of the princes in this tour have to be 18 or older. And this kid is 16? No wonder he s eemed short. And had a

still high-pitched voice. The kid isn't even through puberty yet. I knew there was something off about this place. At first, I

thought the king was just being overly friendly when giving me that tour of the castle, but I think he was just trying to keepme away from them, trying to s top me from finding out Adrian's age. I knew the filthy rich were always guilty of something.

I knew it. I don't even have to make him look bad this time, Adrian will be disqualified if I tell someone.

I excused myself from the group of children and made my way toward the patch of grass where the prince and my

princess sat.

Rapunzel had a squirming, whining Pascal trapped in her hands . Whatever prank he tried pull on Adrian had been

caught. It didn't matter anyway. I had to talk to her.

"Eugene!" Rapunzel's false sm ile evaporated into a real one as I strode up to them.

"Sorry I'm late, but your father was keeping me very busy," I apologized, eyeing Adrian carefully.

"Oh, yes, he is rather accomm odating toward our guests, s ir," Adrian mumbled nervously.

"Adrian was just telling me about all the different kinds of jewels on the king's royal scepter. It was... interesting." I know

Rapunzel was trying to be polite and all , but this was just pathetic. She was not interested in this guy already. All his

bragging and fancy words and golden belongings turned her off immediately.

"Would you mind if I stole the princess away for a quick while so we could have a small talk?" I asked, turning to Adrian.

"Not at all," Adrian said. He was smiling, but something in his eyes told me he was afraid of what I might tell her.

Rapunzel stood and linked her arm through mine as we walked to the middle of the grass, out of Adrian's earshot.

"What do you think of him?" I asked im mediately.

"He's... nice. He's funny, too."

"You are a horrible liar," I told her. She gave me a sm all smile.

"I'm giving him a chance," she s aid.

"He's too young," I couldn't wait any longer to say it; I had to get it out.

Rapunzel raised her eyebrows. "Sorry, Eugene, I don't know what you-"

"He's only 16. The king kept me away from you and from everyone else in the kingdom so I wouldn't find out," I explained.

"Are you sure? How do you know? And why would they want to marry him off so early?" Rapunzel was still too trusting

and nave to bel ieve it at first, I realized.

"First off, it won't be easy to marry him off without this tradition. Look at him: the kid is arrogant, isn't any taller than you,

and is flat-out annoying. The only thing he has going for him is his looks. Also, look around you. This kingdom already

spent al l its money on its gold decor; they're broke. You come from a wealthy family and a wealthy kingdom. They need

your money. They're using you, Rapunzel." Pascal grinned devilishly from her s houlder.

Rapunzel furrowed her brows and cocked her head, process ing what I told her. "You're right," she said, shaking her

head. She brushed the hair out of her eyes and hooked her arms around my waist. "Thanks for telling me. I'm glad you

came with me," she mumbled into my shoulder.

"No problem, blondie," I replied ironically, stroking her s hort, dark hair. I'm not really sure why I still call her that.

"What am I going to do? I'm in each kingdom for two days. It's only been a few hours!" Rapunzel said.

I shook m y head. "I guess we jus t play along until tonight. Then we tell Montier and Max. They'll get us out of here


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immediately... if Max doesn't blow a gasket first." Rapunzel laughed, playfully pushing me away.

"Alright. But stay close, will you?" She requested.

"Of course," I replied.

Rapunzel walked back over to Adrian and s at down next to him again. He began eagerly telling stories as s oon as he

could.

I followed her over and leaned agains t the trunk of the tree, making sure Adrian knew I was there. Pascal - real izing he

didn't have to watch Adrian as closely anymore - crawled off Rapunzel's shoulder and alm ost literally dove into a cherry

pie.

I nearly fell asleep over the next half hour as more royal guards brought out more food and Adrian told more s tories

about... well, about himself. And they weren't interesting in the slightest. Yay, boredom!

Suddenly, the crowd parted and a man on horseback pass ed through. A short, pudgy, golden-cape-wearing man on a

proud, white stallion.

"Crap," I muttered under my breath. Max and the king must have realized that I wasn't coming back. The king was there to

round me up and Max was there to keep me out of trouble. I didn't like any of it.

Max trotted up to me and glared at down at me, s ilently saying, "Did you lie to the King of Retana?! Did you lie to me?

What are you planning?"

The king s lid off Max's back and stepped in front of me, chuckling lightly. "You gave me quite a s care, Sir Eugene. I feared

maybe you'd gotten lost."

This guy was lying through his teeth, and I didn't like it. It's not like I didn't just do the same to both him and Max, but it

was for a better reason. "Well, I happened to run into the princess and your son, and I realized that I'm her es cort. And it's

my job to escorther around the kingdoms, you know." Max rolled his eyes at my response. He wasn't buying it.

"I really insist that isn't necessary," the king persisted nervously. I tried to catch Max's eye. If I could somehow tell him

about Adrian through my express ion, he'd have us out of here in no time.

"It is what I'm here for, your majesty," I replied nonchalantly. It was probably dangerous to argue with a king, but I wasn't

always the most level-headed, you know.

The king glanced around anxiously at the s ilent crowd around us. "Did I mention it's lunchtime?" he offered weakly.

"Rapunzel and Adrian just ate," I protested, pointing toward the picnic blanket behind me which was still loaded with

food. Somehow my comment seemed to make Max finally realize that something was up with the king. He narrowed his

eyes and sniffed at the king's cloak as if checking it for bombs. Thank God he and I are on the sam e page for once.

Maybe he could be a new ally.

"That was just an appetizer, my boy, now let's go for the real treat! Anyone up for roas t turkey? Or apple cobbler?" Max

visib ly perked up at the words 'apple cobbler'. He shot me a glance like, "Eh, how bad can he b e?" So much for a new

ally. Rapunzel sent me an uncomfortable look. I know she didn't want me to protest or argue any further. She didn't want

to make a scene in front of the crowd around us. We just had to play along for a little while longer. Even if it killed us .


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*Chapter 5*: Revelations and Nightmares

Yo. You've made it this far! Impressive! I'm here to say thanks a ton for reading this, and thanks even more to all my

awesome followers, favoriters and reviewers! Your support and ideas has helped me continue this story and kept

my head in the game. This chapter has a little less to offer 'cause school is starting soon, I've been working, and my

family is going camping on Thursday so I won't be updating until Tuesday next week, but I'll still be writing. And, hey, I

made a whole chapter in a week! It's a new record! Once again, thanks for your support!

-Gray

The palace hall was just as grand as the rest of the castle. Once again, everything in the room was s olid gold: the dining

table, the chairs, the walls , the floors, the silverware and plates. Everything. The king took a s eat in the largest chair at

the end of the table. A beautiful woman who shared Adrian's features and hair color sat in the chair adjacent to him. I

figured she was the queen. She looked shy, and looked at the floor when s he talked, if at all. She smiled genuinely at

Rapunzel and I, though. Maybe this country wasn't completely full of scumbags . Prince Adrian sat opposite her, and

Rapunzel sat next to him. I sat next to her.

A group of Coronian guards - led by the lead guardsman, Montier - tried to come in and stand next to Rapunzel and I, but

the king's Retanian s ervants shut the door on them before they could. I honestly don't trust this at all.

Servants brought out plates of roast turkey and cherry pies and beef stew. Rapunzel shared a plate with Pascal, but the

two combined s till barely ate anything. I think she was still process ing how she'd been tricked and used.

The king made small talk throughout the dinner. What was the weather like in Corona? How did we like it in Retana?

Were we enjoying ourselves? It took everything in me to stop myself from being rude or curt or sarcastic during the meal.

Rapunzel eyed me nervously every few moments as if she thought I would snap or tell him we know about Adrian's real

age. Honestly I might have just done that had I not had her there to motivate me along. But I also knew that accusing the

king of Retana of flat-out fraud wouldn't do anything but start a fight, and the las t thing I needed was to be thrown into

some Retanian jail or taken away from the tour because of som e "false accusations again Retanian royalty".

Adrian didn't speak throughout the entire meal. Maybe he knows we know his s ecret. Maybe he doesn't want to interrupt

his dad. Maybe he's less arrogant than I thought. I'm not really sure, but something was off the whole time, and I was

starting to become suspicious.

Eventually, the king grew bored wi th entertaining us, and left with the queen to their quarters. The servants followed

closely after them, still offering wine and des sert as they left the room.

"Wow," Rapunzel noted, turning to Adrian, "Your parents sure are something."

Adrian met her eyes wi th a forlorn expres sion. "Aren't they, though?" he replied in an incredibly deadpan tone. I was

puzzled. What was wi th this kid all of a sudden? It was like som eone flipped a switch inside him , making him go from

arrogant jerk to miserable weirdo.

"What do you mean?" Rapunzel asked cautiously. She narrowed her eyes and cocked her head to the side a bit.

"It's nothing. My father can jus t be a bit... crazy..." he said quietly. I was about to mention that we already knew that

because of all the fricking gold in the room, but the sad look on Adrian's face stopped me.

"We all have crazy parents," Rapunzel cooed gently. "I was rais ed by a kidnapper in a tower in the middle of the woods."

"But at least she was n't your real mother. And my dad is crazy crazy. He comes up with these s tupid schemes and..."

Adrian s ighed. "I can't get married! I don't want to! I'm still a boy and - no offense - but I don't even like you that much. Well,

not like you think I do. You're nice and all, but - ah, to heck with it, I'm 16, Rapunzel. My dad l ied to your family. He's doing

it for the money" Adrian sobbed in a boyish tone and buried his face in his hands . Rapunzel, Pascal and I exchanged

glances, our eyes wide and jaws dropped. Did he just confess to us?

I couldn't believe this kid would jus t spill his guts to us l ike that. Not only that, but he actually seemed like a real wimp,

ust breaking down and crying like that. Rapunzel leaned toward him and gently hugged him anyway, trying to soothe the

poor kid. I don't really want to admit that it made me jealous to see her hug him, but I knew I was anyway. At least he

could be officially out of the race with this confess ion. One prince down, two to go. Pascal sniffed at his hair as if unsure

whether to trust him or not.

"You have to do something. Tell someone, get me out of this contest, please!" Adrian pleaded. Rapunzel pulled away


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from him and patted his shoulder.

"I'm s till confused," I said, walking closer to where he sat. "Why did you act so... unlike yourself earlier?"

"I was trying to keep Rapunzel from liking me. If I was a self-centered, conceited jerk, then I knew she probably wouldn't

pick me," Adrian ans wered shyly, as if ashamed.

"Hey, it's alright," Rapunzel cut in, "You did the right thing by telling us . Someday - when you're of age - I bet you'll find a

wonderful girl to marry!"

Adrian s mi led a little. "Thanks , princess," he said with his crooked grin growing. I tried not to get too angry, but I felt only I

could call her 'princess' in an adorably joking way. This kid was an even worse pain when he wasn't some arrogant

aristocrat! I mentally sighed. What was I doing? Getting all jealous over a kid who wasn't even old enough to get married

and who jus t said he didn't even like Rapunzel. How pathetic.

Rapunzel then turned to me. "Are you ready to go?"

I nodded, sm iling. I couldn't wait to see Max's expression when he found out about the king's lies . He'd have a cow! Or -

er - a horse.

Rapunzel took my hand and we walked out of the castle s ide-by-side. Just before we reached the courtyard, a sheepish

voice cal led after us. "Hey! Hey, uh, Eugene - erm - Sir Eugene, I mean!"

We stopped and turned back to find Prince Adrian running after us. He looked so uncoordinated and dorky now. He kept

tripping over his own feet because of his way-too-tall boots, and his gli ttering cloak was fluttering wildly behind him.

"Well, I know you need to tell the guards about all this, and... Do you think I'll get in trouble?" Jesus Christ, what a coward.

"No," Rapunzel answered. "Of course not." Adrian exhaled deeply.

"Thanks," he said, "but... What about my father?"

"What about him?" I replied gruffly.

"Will he get in trouble?"

I rolled my eyes. "He's a king. How much trouble can he get in? Sure, you'll be disqualified from the tour and he m ight be

sham ed amongst all the neighboring kingdoms forever-" Rapunzel elbowed my arm gently. "But it's not like he can get in

any trouble!" I added quickly, massaging the spot where s he hit me.

Adrian nodded, then scurried back ins ide. Well, at least we won't have to deal with him anymore. We exited the palace

gates, greeted by thousands of screaming, adoring commoners. Rapunzel waved and sm iled and shook their hands

while I led her through the crowd by her arm. The herd of people followed us back to the harbor, where we met up with

Montier and his group of guards, along with Max. Pascal scurried down Rapunzel's arm and up m ine, stopping on my

shoulder. The little reptile was so giddy, it was most comical.

"Princess, Sir Eugene," Montier greeted us , "You're back early, aren't you?"

I shifted my gaze to the crowd still piling up around us. "We need to talk... privately."

The guards made a circle around us and es corted us onto our ship, the C.S. Sunrise.

Max had a cow. His jaw dropped at first, but then he started getting angry. His ears flattened agains t his head, his tail

stuck straight out behind him, and he started growling like an angry dog. He hadn't taken the news well. Montier wasmore composed. Sure, he was shocked at first, but he straightened his posture and set off to his quarters to write a letter

to the king of Corona.

The captain of the ship informed us we'd be setting sail at sunset, which was in approximately four hours.

Rapunzel and I stayed above deck, not saying much to each other until dinner. The crew and guardsm en ate, but

Rapunzel, Pascal and I weren't hungry. The one thing that impres sed me about Retana was their amazing cooking

abil ities . Man, that roast turkey was good! Max stayed above deck, too (obvious ly! Did you seriously expect that a hors e

could climb into the hull of a ship?) and watched over us. He s at next to me in his odd, canine-esque way and I

scratched behind his ears. I have to admit, as meddlesom e as he could be, he was a good horse, even if he was nave

as all heck. I mean, how hard was i t to see that Retana's king was hiding som ething?!


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17/37

"Honey? Are you in here?" a voice called into the room. Rapunzel quickly dried her eyes and sobered up.

"Yes, love!" she called back cheerfully as if nothing happened. Her eyes s till looked s ad and puffy, though.

The handsome man s he had married walked into the bedroom. Rapunzel stood to greet him. They met in the middle

and kiss ed. My trance broke, and I could move again. Anger and jealousy blinded m e as I stormed forward, grabbed her

husband by the shirt collar and pushed up agains t the wall. Suddenly, our surroundings s hifted one final time, and we

were back at the wedding. I still had her prince by the throat. The crowd was silent, and Rapunzel's express ion was

mixed between horrified and humiliated.

I dropped the man slowly, and Rapunzel pointed a finger at me. "You... you ruined everything!"

"I thought you wanted me to!" I defended myself. "You said you didn't love him ! You said you loved me!"

"How could I ever love someone like you?!" She spat.

The horrid dream melted into darkness, and I awoke to the sm ell of sea salt and fish.

I only had one thought left in my mind after that nightmare:Am I real ly doing the right thing?


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*Chapter 6*: Eugene Has a Brilliant Idea!

Hey, sorry this took so long. I had this done for a LONG while now, but I just have so much on my plate now with school

and whatnot. So here's to you guys! Thanks a million for b eing so supportive! :3

I woke up that morning feeling like crap. I had the same nightmare on repeat the whole night. I still didn't get what it

meant. In one reality, Rapunzel was married to someone else and abs olutely mis erable.

In the other reality, I interrupt her wedding and she flips out, asking how s he could ever love som eone like me.

I know it's just a dream, alright? I do. But I'm jus t worried that it might happen i f I go through with my plan.

But if I don't go through with my plan, Rapunzel could be left with a husband she doesn't love. I can't let her do that. She

isn't enjoying this tour, I know, and no matter how good a guy is, nobody can fall in love in two days or less...

Okay, maybe I did, but that was different. That was Rapunzel. I helped save her from a freaking tower and an evil mother,

give me a break here.

But how do I know that she loves me? I'd sure like her to (okay, I'd really like her to), and she kissed me in the tower all

those months ago, and her parents hinted at it incessantly, but if she really loved me, she'd have taken the Queen's

advice and s topped the tour, wouldn't she? Or does she just really feel that respons ible for her kingdom? God, what do I

do?!

If I sabotage her tour, she'll hate me, but if I let her go through with it, she'll hate her life.

And I don't get her either way.

I sat up in bed, stretched my arms over my head, and ran my hands down my face. Even if I don't try to sabotage the next

two princes, Pascal will keep going with it (even if his attempts at Adrian's picnic were s mothered... literally). Wasn't there

a princess from a few years ago that stopped her own contest for a husband and married nobody? Yeah, that girl from

Scotland. If only she were here to talk some sense into Rapunzel. Rapunzel is nothing if not determined.

I got off my bed, still not quite used to the sway of the ship, and dres sed myself in a casual outfit, a white undershirt and

blue vest, We wouldn't be in another kingdom yet, just floating around on the waters until tomorrow morning.

The sun was already fairly high in the sky and the crew was bustling about, doing the various chores of a sailorman. The

guardsm en were all s till asleep, save for Montier and Max, both pacing back and forth on the length of the deck. They

mus t both be mulling over the idea that Adrian's family so eas ily tricked them. Rapunzel was nowhere to be found.

I walked up to him, and it wasn't until I caught him by the shoulder to stop him did he notice I was there.

"Sir Eugene, good morning," Montier greeted me politely. Ironic. We used to be such bi tter enemies, and now he

addresses me as 'sir'.

"Hey, uh, have you seen Rapunzel?" I inquired. Montier shook his head.

"No. Now that you mention it, it's very odd that the princess is asleep this late. Perhaps you should...?" he tried to

suggest I check on her, but he felt awkward doing i t. I don't blame him . It's not like I was completely comfortable jus t

walking into her room.

I climbed below deck to the hallway with private rooms. All the guards men slept with the crew on little, stiff rope

hamm ocks som ewhere els e, but Rapunzel, Montier, the captain and I got our own rooms. I knocked on her door quietly,but earned no response. Maybe she was just as leep. I knocked again, louder this time. Slowly, I heard footsteps pad

closer to the door.

The door creaked open, and a groggy Rapunzel peeked out. She yawned theatrically before asking, "Eugene? What are

you doing here?"

"It's morning, kid," I told her, "at leas t 10 o'clock."

That woke her up. "Morning? I overslept?!" She ran back into her room, keeping the door open. I followed her in and

watched as she hurriedly made up the sheets on the cot and gathered up her clothes.

"Ah, let's see," she mum bled to herself impatiently, "Dress, petticoat, corset, braziere..." I blushed a little.


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She was about ready to throw off her nightgown to dress when s he remembered I was s till in the room. "Do you mind...?"

she didn't finish.

"Oh, yeah. I'll just..." I backed out of the room and shut the door behind me. Well, thank god I'm not in that situation

anymore.

I waited outside until Rapunzel was dress ed, and she poked her head outside the door when she finished.

"All done!" she announced, taking my hand. I looked away in a futile attempt to hide the reddish glow lighting my cheeks.

"Are you excited for the next kingdom?" I asked as we made our way to the kitchen.

"Yeah... Of course!" It was obvious she wasn't telling the truth.

"You're horrible at lying. I thought I would have rubbed off on you more," I joked. She laughed nervously.

"Was it really that obvious?"

"Plain as day. But that's alright, I think it's probably better that I'm around a terrible liar than a criminal m astermind,

anyway."

"Like yoursel f?" Rapunzel shot back at me.

I laughed. "Yeah, I guess you could say that."

By the time we reached the kitchen, the whole group of guards were eating. I crinkled my nose at the food served to

them: one bruised apple, a s lice of stale bread and a mus hy lump of cheese for each one of them. Yum, boat food. I tried

to politely decline, but the cook handed a plate of the same to me anyway. After (barely) getting the food down, I waited

above deck for Rapunzel. Pascal s tuck his head above the hatch, so he was just barely visible.

"Is it just you, boy?" I asked. He nodded and scampered toward me. "I have to talk to you."

Pascal cocked his head to the side. He crawled up onto the railing.

"Okay, look, have you thought about what will happen if we, you know, keep Rapunzel from getting married?" I inquired.

Dear god, I'm talking to a lizard again.

Pascal rolled his eyes. "What's the b ig deal?"

"It's a verybig deal!" I snapped. I darted my eyes from side to side, scanning the deck and checking to see if anyone waswatching before I continued. "It is a big deal," I hissed, lowering my voice. "We could-" I faltered. He's a chameleon. Right.

"Alright, I could get in very big trouble for interfering with royal affairs!"

Pascal stomped his foot down, glaring angrily at me. "So your reputation is suddenly more im portant than Rapunzel?!"

"Yes! I mean, no! Not my reputation! She... What if she hates me for stopping her marriage? What if she never talks to me

again?"

He crawled up onto m y shoulder and bit my ear. "Ow!" I exclaimed, "What the heck?"

"Get your priorities straight!" His express ion practically screamed it. He jumped off my shoulder and back onto the railing,

still looking up at me expectantly, triumphantly almost.

I sighed, letting my shoulders s ag forward and my back slouch down. If I don't sabotage the tour, I'll lose Rapunzel, the

love of my life. If I do sabotage the tour, I'll lose Rapunzel, who will always be the love of my life... but she'll be happier.

And wounds heal . Anger can s top, but marriage can't, right? Who saved her from her evil mother? Me! Not some foreign

prince. Who did s he kiss when she found out he was revived! Me, of course! Who did she s ing an entire romantic

mus ical number with, orchestra and all? Me! You saw the movie; it was me, right?!

Did I believe my own little pep talk? Yeah, a little. But I still had doubts. Hey, don't judge! If you were in my shoes, you'd

think it would be hard too! Wait... That's it!

Over 2,000 of you are watching me from out there, reading my thoughts and memoirs . I can't hear you from in here, in

this little space called the internet. But the author can! Why didn't I think of this sooner?!

Here's how it will go down: from now on, every one or two chapters there will be a choice I have to make. I'll give you my


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options here at the end, and you get to help me decide! Vote between the three choices in the reviews, and the author

will count them up after a week or two. Then, she'll find the mos t popular one and tell me to choose that! Gosh, it's nearly

genius!

So here's a practice one for right now:

How do I handle my problem?

A) Keep trying to sabotage the tour, attempting to convince Rapunzel not to marry a prince

B) Give up on sabotaging the tour, letting Rapunzel marry whomever she likes, and continue as her escort

C) Tell Rapunzel I can't be her escort anymore and go home to Corona

See how this goes? Vote for one of these options in the reviews please!

Not only do you get a say in this story now, but you can also help with my writers' block. Along with getting back into a

school routine, I've realized that I'm having some growing anxiety issues and I'm sorry that it has gotten in the way of this

story. I still want to tell you that I love you all and I 'm really thankful for how inspiring and complimentary you've all b een.

So please go ahead and vote for what you want Eugene to do: A, B, or C!

Goodnight fanfictioneers!

-Alex, also known as Book ishGray


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*Chapter 7*: Eugene Takes Your Advice

Heyo! I'm glad you all responded so well to my ideaEugene's idea! The vote was overwhelmingly for A (thank goodness,

it was the only one I actually like anyway). But anyway, thanks for reading, here's chapter 7:

Rapunzel suddenly popped up above deck.

"Hey, princess," I greeted her. I wore my usual p layboy-like smolder, but inside I was trying to sort out my inner turmoil.

"There you two are!" she stroked Pascal's back and played with m y hair. "I was worried you fell overboard!"

I laughed. "We all know if anyone is going overboard, it's the horse," I remarked. Max, who had just been chased out from

the kitchen and back above deck, snuffed at me indignantly.

Rapunzel giggled as s he stroked his m ane. "Isn't Eugene just so mean?" she spoke in a babyish voice. "I would never

let him do that! Good boy! Good boy!" Maximus gave her a puppy-eyed look in return. The kind, enabling princess she

was, Rapunzel jus t ate it up. She 'aww'ed and hugged him.

I scoffed. "Cry-baby," I muttered. Rapunzel gave me a s tern, but loving look.

"Don't be rude! He's just a poor little horse!"

I scoffed, "He nearly killed me!"

"Sure." Rapunzel rolled her eyes.

"Maybe you didn't know, but before finding you, I fell down a cliff all because he didn't realize that horses don't climb

trees!" I hissed. My emotions were running too high. I couldn't control what I was saying with s o much frustration and

indecisiveness bottled up inside.

"He was only trying to arrest you for stealing priceless crown jewels !" Rapunzel pointed to the tiara neatly fashioned atop

her wave of brunette locks. I wondered why she was wearing that. She hated wearing her crown around the kingdom.

"Well, if I never s tole that crown, I never would have met you, and that turned out pretty well , I think!" I yelled back at her. As

soon as I said i t, I immediately stuck my foot in my mouth.

"You are being s o imm ature all of a sudden," She accused. Some of the sailors stopped what they were doing and

stared at us.

"I'm immature?" I asked coldly. "Last time I checked, about a year ago, your only goal in life was to go see some

unidentified floating lights in the sky. Yeah, you were so wise." Of course, I didn't actually mean it, I just... Ugh, what was I

doing? I instinctively stepped over her, my height towering above hers.

"Eugene, why are you being like this?" She demanded.

"I can't stand this tour!" I admitted. I stared down at the ocean waves, rolling lazily around the s hip.

"You're not the only one," Rapunzel whispered breathless ly, tears threatening to show. She s wooped downstairs, the tail

of her dress flailing behind her in the wind, and I could hear the door to her room slam shut. Pascal and Max eyed me

warily. Everything was silent.

"What do you two want?" I growled, shattering the s tillness around me. They both jus t continued to glare at me. "Gah,

whatever," I muttered, storming back downstairs, feeling even worse than I did that morning.

As I passed Rapunzel's cabin door, I heard a s oft sobbing ins ide. I didn't... make her cry, did I?

I knocked on the door softly. "Hey, blondie?" I whispered as tenderly as poss ible. "You okay?" The sobbing ceased for a

moment, then the sound of quiet footsteps approached the door.

"I'm fine," her muffled voice replied with an obvious lie. She sniffled. "I need time alone."

"And I need to talk to you. I need to - need to apologize," I admitted. The door opened a crack, and through it I could only

see one of her green eyes, now bagged and ringed with red.


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"I'm sorry," I offered, "I know this is hard for you, and letting my emotions get in the way hasn't helped ei ther of us."

Rapunzel opens the door wider so I can see her whole face.

"Emotions?" she inquired. Oh boy. I clear my throat.

"Yeah, uh, like letting my thoughts cloud my vision."

"What kind of thoughts?"

"Just, you know, normal thoughts."

"You've been having second thoughts, too?" She whispered. Wide-eyed that she'd adm it to me that she was uncertain, I

nodded. She wiped her eyes on her dress s leeve, smiling.

"I'm sorry," she apologized.

"No, I should be s orry. The fact that I was even thinking about leaving was wrong," I said. Thought I have to admit, it was

really all you guys that helped me realize that.

"I know. Me too." Wait, what?

"What do you mean?"

"It was wrong of me to want to leave, too," she admitted. I shook my head quickly. I jumped on my chance to er,

convince her about that topic.

"No, no, no, it's perfectly normal for someone to want to leave a tour like this," I assured her anxious ly... and albeit

manipulatively. "I mean, going across the world to marry som eone you've barely spent two days with? That must be

horrible."

Rapunzel nodded, her face contorted into an express ion of thoughtfulness. "It is," she agreed absently.

"And being forced to choose between the three? When you might not even love any of them at all?" I added. Okay, so

maybe it's wrong to manipulate her like this, but planting little seeds of doubt never hurt anybody, right?

"I don't know how I'll do this."

I shrugged, shaking my head in mock-resignation. "Me neither, princess."

Rapunzel lifted an eyebrow, and I flinched, knowing she started to catch on. "But that's why you're here, right Eugene?"she asked, purposely trapping me in my own web of tricks. "You can help m e decide. 'Cause after all, I can't just leave,

can I? That would be wrong." She gave me a teasing s mile. She's gotten better at figuring m e out like this. I don't know

whether to be frustrated or proud.

"Real funny, blondie," I mumbled. Rapunzel giggled.

Just then, the navigator stuck his head below the hatch. "We'll be in Sixella wi thin the hour!" He announced.

"I should go get ready," Rapunzel excused herself, gesturing to her face. "And get rid of the red-and-puffiness."

"Yeah," I mumbled awkwardly as she shut the door behind her. Pascal hopped down the ladder to our area, and gave

me a knowing look. "So you sorted out your prob lems, I see."

"I had some help," I thought, thinking of the readers who were s o kind to me and m y author. "But, yes. We sorted it out."

The chameleon drew up his cheeks in what I guess was supposed to be some kind of reptilian sm ile, then squeezed

hims elf underneath the gap between the door and the floorboards . From ins ide the room, I could hear Rapunzel coo,

"Oh, there you are!"

I set off to my own quarters to plan my next acts of sabotage for the unlucky prince I'll meet.

What's up? Just a quick, slightly angsty chapter in prep for the next kingdom . I'm sorry if this seemed rushed or awkward,

but I'm really crunched for time and may not be ab le to write for some time after this. So here. And btw, the next chapter

will have another choice to vote for (thanks for voting so eagerly for the first one, too). I've decided to k eep the following

votes open for one week each instead of just five days, but I was eager to hurry this one along. Ciao!


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-Gray


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*Chapter 8*: The Second Kingdom

I'm back, fanfictioneers! I hope you're ready for another vote...

To my lovely reviewers: thanks a million for your support. If I had the time, I would write out a response to each and

every one of you.

Whoever this prince is, he's gonna wish he never signed up for this tour.

Adrian was easy to take care of. All I had to do was expose his s ecret and we were out of there in a flash. We got a letter

back from Rapunzel's father, which said they were very disappointed that Retana - a close ally - would so blatantly lie to

everyone. Although, something about the wording in the letter seem ed oddly... relieved in a way. Proud his daughter

didn't choose the Retanian prince:

My dearest Rapunzel, and the rest of the crew,

I am shocked to hear of Retana's deceitfulness. These deeds shall not go unnoticed by the kingdom of Corona or

any others for a long time to come. But for now, we must focus on the task at hand. Sixella, a very proud nation, is

your next destination. I trust my daughter and her accompaniment to make the wisest of decisions.

I hope to see you soon,

The King.

Rapunzel's eyes shone with pride as s he read her father's words . "He unders tands?" she whispered, and I think she

really didn't mean for anyone else to hear. I put a hand on her shoulder and sm iled at her. I can't believe she was worried

her father would be angry with her for dumping a prince so fast.

The king's las t line is what bothered me. "I trust my daughter and her accompanim ent to make the wisest of decisions."

He said s omething s imilar to me once, before we left: The right decision isn't always the one everyone else wants you to

make... Or something like that. I'm not really sure, I was kind of in a daze. Whatever, I got the point. I can't let others

influence Rapunzel's choice. I have to trust that she will do what's right... Wait... Isn't that kind of going against everything I

ust planned? All the elaborate pranks and mishaps and all? Oh, well. I'm making the right decision anyway.

"Land, ho!" a lookout shouted cheerfully from the Crow's Nest up on the mas t. Rapunzel and I rushed to the top deck,

Pascal on her shoulder giving me a mischievously eager grin. The princess clambered to the rail to get a better look at

the kingdom we were entering. From here, we could only see lus h, green evergreen forests and blueish-purple

snowcapped mountains fading in and out of the backdrop. It was beautiful to say the least. We dropped anchor in the

harbor. Rapunzel gripped m y palm tightly, lacing her slender, delicate fingers through mine and held m y upper arm

gently with her other hand. She s trayed s lightly behind as we s tepped off the ship, letting me lead the way.

The village of Sixella was small, and the commoners passing around us treated us much differently than in Retana.

These people passed by, stared for a while, smiled and bowed, then went on their way. I was actually pleased by this.

No more crowds.

When I say the kingdom of Sixella is a village, I mean it really is jus t a village. From the harbor, I could almos t see the

whole town. The main points of interest were the library, a little outdoor marketplace, an old church, and the harbor. In the

center, there was a lush, green park with several children s itting under the shade of trees, all reading. Reading.

Children. What the heck? Where's the sports, the games of tug-of-war and tag? Why are they all reading?

"Where's the palace?" Rapunzel whispered in my ear, "and where do all the people live? I don't see any houses here.

Just little shops."

I looked at the people passing us by. Most men wore dusty jackets and trousers or denim overalls. The women dressed

conservatively, in plain-patterned dress es and aprons . "I'd say this is a farming kingdom," I whispered back, "All of them

live outside city lines."

"And the palace?"

I pointed to a nicely-kept, fenced-in house on top of a nearby hill. "I'd say that's it."


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I walked next to Rapunzel as s he rode on Max's back to the royal hous e. Pascal rested on the saddle horn, looking

around the village eagerly. The whole village smelled of cinnamon, books, and powdered sugar. Based on the people

and the cutesy architecture, I wondered if this was some sort of Dutch colony, or maybe Scandinavian. Many of the

people were tall, with blonde hair and blue eyes. I felt a little out of place with my average height, dark hair and dark eyes.

I hated feeling s o different. As we walked, I kept my eyes fixed forward, and tried to imagine that the people weren't

watching as we went by.

Sixellan guards opened the gates as we approached, and I discreetly straightened my stiff, purple and white suit as we

walked into the courtyard. Or front yard, I should say. It was just a large plot of grass with a few trees and flowering

bushes. Rapunzel dismounted Maximus 's back, and Pascal leaped down onto her shoulder.

The "palace" was more of a three-story farmhouse with servants and gardeners mulling around it. Barn cats and herding

dogs played near the fence, catching mice and chasing tails. A long, cobblestone path led to the front doors of the

house. Just as we s tarted walking closer,a tall man with a muscular build and proud shoulders walked outside. He, like

many of the other village people, had short, golden hair and s triking blue eyes. He carried with him a scepter of silver

and around his neck hung a pendant with an old-style Chris tian cross etched onto it. I assumed he was the king, but he

seem ed more like a chief or a mayor than anything.

As he approached, the man bowed. I followed suit, and Rapunzel curtsied pol itely. "I am Jos eph Ladens on, leader of our

kingdom," he boomed, his voice an intimidating rumble. "I welcome you, princess , to our humble home."

Rapunzel smiled s weetly. Taking this as a good sign, King Jos eph continued, "I introduce to you my only son, Prince

Simon of Sixella." The princess and I turned to the doors again. They didn't open. King Joseph seemed concerned.

"Where has that dawdling boy gone?" he muttered, checking his silver pocket watch. Just then, a young man came

running in from outside the gates, his blonde hair a mess and his arms filled with novels as thick as you've ever seen.

"Sorry, I'm late, Father," the boy mumbled quietly. "I was tutoring Mrs. Van Dalen's son at the library." He looked up at us,

and I could s ee the resemblance between the king and his son. They looked almos t exactly alike, except the boy looked

much younger.

The king cleared his throat. "This is my only son, Simon." Simon s miled and bowed politely. He walked forward and took

Rapunzel's hand, kiss ing the top of it gently. I stiffened, my back and shoulders straightening instinctively. Even s tanding

as tall as I could, Simon s till had a good three or four inches above me.

"Would you both like a tour of our city?" Simon asked. His voice wasn't quite as deep as his father's, but it was getting

there. He also spoke cons iderably softer, gentler. And I worried that the look in Rapunzel's eyes was turning from

friendliness to captivation. I have to admit, he was fairly handsome, I guess .

"That would be nice," Rapunzel replied, nodding.

"I will fetch the girl straight away, then," said King Joseph, scowling. Girl? What girl? He s poke quickly and quietly to a

servant, who then hurried away. Seconds later, the servant returned with a young woman in a green dress in tow.

Simon ges tured toward the girl walking toward us, "This is my sister, Rose." The girl sm iled. I was dumbfounded. King

Joseph only referred to her as 'the girl', but Simon said she's his s ister. Something is wrong with this family, alright.

Not only that, but in a town full of people who all looked the same, there was a girl like Ros e living among them. Living

among them as their princess. Rose looked nothing like anyone else I've seen here. She had skin so pale, I wondered if

she ever spent any time in the sun. Though judging on the looming gray clouds rolling in overhead, I determined the

people m ustn't do much s unbathing here. Her hair was very dark, but not quite black. You could probably consider it

raven-colored, or maybe chocolate. And her eyes weren't blue, but more of a kaleidos cope color. It shifted as the light

changed. Sometimes they were green, then she moved a little, and they would fade to amber, then hazel. Around herneck was a pendant similar to her father's, but instead of a cross , there was a different symbol engraved on it. It looked

like three ocean waves interlocked into a circle. I've never seen i t before. The poor girl must feel so excluded, alone here.

She sm iled vibrantly. "I hear you want a tour?" she as ked. Rapunzel confirmed, and Rose nodded. She took the books

from Simon's hands, then handed them to the servant next to her. "Put these in his room ?" she requested.

"Right away, miss," the servant agreed, rushing away to do her task.

"Well, then," Rose turned to us , sizing up both Rapunzel and I. "What are we waiting for?"


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"It's a small town, really. We're hardly a kingdom," Rose explained as we walked down the main road of the city. "We

were first establis hed a hundred and twenty years ago by a colony of immigrants from Arendelle. We don't get a lot of

newcomers and we don't get a lot of visitors. Never have, never will. We almost always marry within the community. After

all, we pride ourselves a little too much on our heritage." Her face fell as she added the last phrase.

"So you're all bas ically Arendellans pretending to be Dutch?" I offered. Rose laughed.

"That's exactlywhat we are."

"That's nice," Rapunzel gripped my hand tighter with every word. "I have cousins in Arendelle."

Out of the blue, Simon suggested, "Maybe we could s top by the bakery. I promis ed Ms. Werdinaar I would introduce the

princess ." I stayed s ilent, but glared daggers at Simon. He just changed the subject completely, but nobody seem ed to

care. I thought it was a bit rude, but I didn't say anything. Maybe his likeability had something to do with his apparent

intellect, or his calmnes s. Maybe it was his timid nature or polite manners, I don't know! He was also a total geek of a

prince, and loved to read and study. That's why all the kids here love to read, I think. They're all trying to be like the prince.

Rose nodded. "Sure. As long as you don't talk her daughter into giving us too many 'free samples'," she teased. I liked

Rose well enough, she seemed alright.

Simon laughed, "It isn't my fault she fancies me, is it?"

"Well, no, but isn't it a little odd, seeing that she's 28?" Rose continued, a mocking sm irk drawing her cheeks up.

"That's only two years older!" Simon defended jokingly. I stopped dead in my tracks.

"Let me get this s traight: you're 26?" I asked. Simon nodded innocently. He was a whole eight years older than Rapunzel,

and he was up for marrying her?! I mean, I know royalty does some weird s tuff to marry other royalty, but eight whole

years? "Just, uh, just surprised. You seem younger," I covered. Rapunzel shot me a look like, "Give him a chance,

okay?"

Pascal's eyes narrowed, and the chameleon on Rapunzel's shoulder ran his eyes up and down over Simon, as if

somehow scanning him. He hopped from Rapunzel up to Simon's shoulder and s niffed him.

"Pascal!" Rapunzel scolded, trying to grab him off Simon, who seemed frightened by the little, green reptile on his

shoulder. "I am s o sorry about that," she apologized, holding her squirming chameleon in her hands tightly. "He's

been difficult lately." She looked down at him with a s tern glare, and he shrunk down in s hame.

"It's no problem. He just startled me, that's al l," Simon replied nonchalantly. Rose laughed.

"So, you s eem to know a lot about Sixella's history," Rapunzel commented.

Rose shrugged. "I'm a history buff. It's a small city and I've got nothing else to do. My father's been trying to marry me off

for years, but no takers. I'm a little too weird, I gues s."

Rapunzel pursed her lips, but said nothing more. I stood to her right awkwardly, and Simon cleared his throat to get her

attention.

"So... the bakery."

"Poffertjes, yum!" Rapunzel squeed as we walked into the bakery. The air smelled of chocolate and cream pie. I saw the

pancake puffs (Rapunzel's favorite, known as poffertjes to the Dutch) in a li ttle dis play case in the corner. As s oon as we

came in, a portly woman with greying hair waddled over to us and gave Simon a hug.

"Oh, you've brought a gi rl!" the woman cooed, "I'll fetch Diana."

"If it's no trouble, Mrs. W., could we take some of your poffertjes off your hands?" Simon requested politely.

"Got money?" The woman put her hands on her hips.

"Of course." Simon began digging around in his pocket.

"Well, leave it be. This one's on me, dear." The lady walked away before Simon could protest anymore, leaving him

deflated and guilty.


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Rapunzel laughed. "Is everyone in this kingdom so generous?"

"Pretty much," Simon agreed, "and they'

betrothed tangled fanfiction

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