Rapunzel cradled the dying man she loved in her arms. The wound inflicted on him when Mother Gothel stabbed him was almost surely fatal, and with her magical hair gone, she was powerless to save him. She could feel his heartbeat slowing down, his breaths growing fewer and farther between. She was panicked. She wanted to cry, but she couldn't. She had to remain strong. She kept telling herself that there was still a chance he might live. She'd never wanted anything as much as she wanted Eugene, and the thought of losing him terrified her.

"Rapunzel," he rasped breathlessly, "You were my new dream."

Her throat caught and her eyes stung, but she shed no tears.

"And you were mine," she whispered.

She felt him grow still in her arms. This couldn't be happening. The next few minutes seemed to drag on endlessly, his body becoming colder. He was dead; she was sure of it. Her eyes watered. She tried to fight it, but a single tear escaped her eye. It trailed down her face and fell, landing on Eugene's deathly pale cheek. She buried her face in his chest, so she did not see the tear dissolve into his skin.

A small glimmer of sunlight flashed where the tear had landed. A few moments later, rays of sunlight shot out of his stomach, where Mother Gothel had stabbed him. Rapunzel raised her head in wonder. The bright sparks disappeared after a moment. Rapunzel dared to look at his face. Was it her imagination, or was some of his color returning? His eyes flickered open.

"Rapunzel... Have I ever told you I have a thing for brunettes?" he asked through partially lidded eyes.

Rapunzel's face brightened.

"Eugene!" she cried, throwing her arms around him.

She squeezed him as tightly as she could and her lips found his. Eugene's eyes widened with surprise before he finally settled into the kiss. His heart seemed to leap in his chest. He had kissed countless women before this girl. He had even taken most of them to bed, and it had been very pleasurable. But no woman's kiss had ever made him react this way. He flipped her over so he could be on top of her and deepened the kiss.

They had no idea how long they had been lying there kissing. Maybe minutes. Maybe hours. Eugene wanted her. Not in the same way he had wanted other women. He didn't just want to use her to satisfy his "manly urges." He wanted her and her alone, and he was fairly certain he would never want anything but her again. Careful not to break the kiss, Eugene scooped up Rapunzel in his arms and stood up.

"Where is your room?" he asked, his voice roughened with passion.
Rapunzel pointed. He kissed her again and carried her to her bedroom, where he set her down and began unlacing the bodice of her gown. She seemed startled, but made no effort to stop him. He pushed the material of the bodice down her arms until it fell to the floor. His hands wandered down to her waist and untied the ribbon securing her skirt. It, too, fell. She was naturally very thin and did not need to wear stays or a corset, so all she had left on were her thin shift and a pair of drawers. With trembling, inexperienced fingers, she began undoing the clasps of his doublet. He shrugged it off and whipped his shirt over his head.

Rapunzel had never seen a man's bare torso before. She tentatively rested her fingers on his chest and ran them over his smooth skin, taut muscles, and chest hair. She cupped his face in her hands and stood on tip-toe to kiss him tenderly. His arms encircled her and pulled her close, only a few pieces of thin material still separating them. He lifted her shift over her head and pulled down her drawers. She now stood completely naked before him. She seemed embarrassed, but did not try to hide herself from him. He quickly tugged off his boots and pulled down his pants. She stared at him with wide eyes, transfixed. She had never seen a naked man before, let alone an aroused one. He was very big.
He wrapped his arms around her waist and drew her close, her bare skin feeling so good against his. He kissed her and she sighed. He lifted her and gently laid her down on the bed, joining her a moment later. He wanted to pounce on her right them and give into his wild, passionate urges, but he did not. It was obvious this was her first time, and he needed to be gentle with her. He climbed on top of her and kissed her tenderly, running his hands down the sides of her torso over her soft, smooth skin.

"Eugene, what are you doing?" she asked, curious.

"Something I've never done before," he said, kissing her between every word.
Rapunzel was confused.

"I thought you were a man of great experience."

"I am," he replied, "I've had meaningless sex with plenty of women."
Rapunzel looked uncomfortable.

"What I meant," he said, "Is that this is my first time making love to a woman I genuinely care about. And I've never been with a virgin before."

She blushed.

"Is this moving too fast? Do you want me to stop?" he asked, concerned.

She could barely think. Whatever he was doing, it felt good, and she loved the feeling of his bare skin on hers. She shook her head.

"Okay, good," he sighed, kissing her deeply.

She kissed him back, putting everything she had into the kiss. She had never said it out loud, but she was sure she was in love with him. She trusted him, and she was sure that, whatever he was doing, he wouldn't hurt her. Her eyes widened a little as he lowered his hand to fit himself to her.

"This might be a little painful at first," he warned, staring deeply into her bright green eyes.

"I don't care," she breathed, wrapping her slim legs around him and raising her hips to meet his.
He kissed her hard before pushing his hips forward, filling her. He was right; it did hurt. She closed her eyes and wiggled her hips, trying to accomodate his size. He paused, not wanting to cause more pain than was necessary. A few moments passed and the pain started to vanish, replaced, instead, with pleasure.

"It... it doesn't hurt so much anymore," she breathed.

He let out a sigh of relief and began to slowly pull out.

"No, stay!" she cried, trying to pull him closer.

He looked mildly amused.

"I'm not going anywhere," he told her, thrusting back into her tight warmth.

She gasped. He withdrew and entered her again, panting. He repeated this over and over again. She could feel something welling up in the pit of her stomach. She wasn't sure what it was, but she knew she had an increasing need for release. He just felt so GOOD inside her. She was too preoccupied to come up with a better word to describe it.

Their breath grew more and more uneven and sweat glistened on their foreheads. Their bodies moved in tandem, producing delicious sensations beyond what either of them had ever experienced before. The feelings grew so intense that she couldn't take it any more. Crying out his name, she climaxed. His release came just moments after hers. Moaning, he spent himself into her and withdrew. Not wanting to crush her, he moved over, pulling her with him.

"Wow," he breathed, leaning in to kiss her deeply.

She smiled and snuggled against him. He held her close and kissed the top of her head.

"Rapunzel?" he whispered.

"Mmm?"

"Rapunzel, I love you."

She raised her head and blinked up at him.

"I love you, too," she told him, smiling.

He stroked her hair gently.

"The last time I told someone I loved them, my parents were still alive. I've never felt this way about anyone."

Her eyes glistened. He pushed the tears out of her eyes and kissed her gently. She seemed to melt against him.

"Eugene, I have a confession to make, too," she said, pulling away.

"What's that?"

She took a deep breath.

"I am the lost princess."

He smirked.

"I suspected you might be."

Her eyes widened.

"You did? How?"

"You're the right age, you have the exact same birthday, and you look just like the queen," he explained.

"Oh," she giggled.

He kissed her nose playfully.

"But now that I know for sure, I must marry you."

"What?" she gasped.

"Rapunzel, I am not a perfect man. I've been a criminal. I've done things that would make your blood run cold. I need to prove to the kingdom that I'm not just interested in you so I can steal your virginity. Marriage is the only way I can do that. And what we've just done... well. Society dictates that a woman shouldn't lose her virginity until her wedding night. It's different for a man. I don't know why, and it isn't fair, but that's how it goes. I've stolen your honor, Rapunzel. If anyone ever finds out what we've done, you'll never be accepted by society. I have to make this right."

"You didn't steal anything from me. I gave myself to you," she protested.

"I know, but that's not how others would see it."

She took a deep breath.

"I don't want you to marry me just because you feel honor-bound to do so," she sighed.

Eugene's eyes met hers.

"I want to."

It was silent for a moment. Then she threw herself towards him and attacked him with kisses.

"Well, I would like a real proposal," she laughed between kisses.

He pushed her onto her back.

"Fine," he smirked, climbing on top of her and pinning her hands over her head, "Tomorrow we'll set off for Corona. And you'll have your proposal. When you least expect it."

She smirked back and kissed him. He entered her again. This time there was no pain, so they could concentrate solely on their mutual pleasure.

When they had both come, Eugene gathered her into his arms again. Rapunzel settled against him and quickly fell asleep. He kissed her forehead.

"I love you," he whispered into her short, brown hair, "And I'm never going to let anything harm you again."