Prologue

"And then, surrounded by vicious thugs, Flynn saw a way to escape. Taking one step back he quickly climbed his way into the rafters and broke out through the wooden roof of the bar, sliding down and jumping off into the grass, running away as fast as he could before the rest of the palace guards in the kingdom of Luna could even blink!" Prince Eugene Fitzherbert bowed before the children's clapping, the four little red haired girls watching in the utmost attention, their eyes glowing in admiration.

The youngest of them pleaded, "One more, please, Prince Eugene, one more?" He crossed his arms over his chest, contemplating and tapping his finger on his chin. The little girls held their breath, waiting for his answer, and he tilted an eyebrow at them.

"Let's save it for tomorrow," he said after a few moments, putting his hands on his hips and ignoring the disappointed groans from the girls. He laughed and said, "I have a lot of princely duties to attend to, ladies, and I wouldn't want to disappoint the Princess. She's a master of the frying pan you know." For a moment the girls were confused how cooking with a frying pan and disappointing Princess Rapunzel correlated, but Eugene gave them no time to ask questions as he hurried them home to their mother.

He made his way back through the square and saw a pair of lovely green eyes watching him intently. Eugene smiled his most dashing smile and made his way over to the girl in the purple dress with a green critter on her shoulder, his most roguish expression in place. "My dear lady, you know of all the women in the kingdom you're the only one for me?" Eugene kissed the girl's hand, eying the tasteful wedding band on her finger, and she raised an eyebrow. "The other girls, I tell them stories, but they are nothing to me, nothing." He bowed to her and she laughed, unable to keep her stoic expression.

"You're starting to sound like Flynn Rider again," Rapunzel said with a chuckle. "Is it from telling all those stories to your adoring fans, Eugene?" He took her hand in his as the two made their way back to the castle. He watched the sunset for a moment, contemplating her question.

Eugene glanced back to her and shrugged. "Flynn is always going to be a part of me," he replied vaguely. "Just because I'm a prince now, you know, doesn't mean everything before I met you didn't happen. I was a thief, I was cunning and dastardly and may I just say I was the best in the business. Don't look at me like that," he added after she made a disparaging face at his bragging. "It's the truth, I don't lie about my exploits." He winked at her and she rolled her eyes, unable to keep back a smile.

"You know, your stories are good," she admitted and he smiled as they walked through the doors, heading towards their room to change for dinner with her parents. Rapunzel picked out their clothes while Eugene watched her work, finding something nice that would compliment each other. "Hmm," she said softly, and he raised his eyebrows, wondering if she was going to share her thoughts.

"Hmm?" he questioned tilting his head to the side in amusement. "What are you thinking about in that pretty little head of yours?"

She smiled back at him. "Oh nothing," she teased, tossing an outfit to him and closing the wardrobe and a loud clang. "Change for dinner Prince Eugene." She left him in their room alone and he watched after her for a moment even after she closed the door, a stupid smile on his face as he began to put on the clothes she chose for him. He liked to think he had an excellent sense of fashion, but Rapunzel deemed his taste a little too coarse for palace life and made, yes made, him some new clothes. What couldn't she do?

They met up on the landing and linked arms as they made their way to the dining room where the King and Queen already sat, waiting for them. "We didn't keep you long did we?" Rapunzel said worriedly as she sat down, Eugene following suit afterwards. Her mother shook her head and smiled at her daughter and her husband. "Oh good," she sighed in relief. Eugene watched her for a moment as they all began to eat, still wondering what she had been thinking about earlier.

He actually did find out over pudding.