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Rapunzel found the first rose petal earlier that morning.
She rolled out of bed like usual, patting Pascal on the head and stretching with a long, drawn-out yawn. It caught her eye the moment she stood up. Planted on her dresser, curved up, the maroon petal sat lonesome. So, Rapunzel looked around for others. But it was to no avail. The petal was on its own, mysteriously so, and there were no clues to lead her to its friends. Not even Pascal seemed to know where it came from, and if he did, he sure was good at masking it from her. Not wanting to leave the petal to be tossed aside or blown away, she grabbed a purple satchel her mother had given her upon returning to the kingdom and placed it inside for safe keeping. Maybe someone in the castle would know where it came from before the day was done.
The second petal revealed itself to her during her scheduled writing lesson.
She was learning to perfect her penmanship today from Madame Greenwich. The staunch, five-foot-seven lady sat with her eyes glued to Rapunzel’s paper as she worked, never once glancing elsewhere. Every stroke from a princess had to be perfect, she claimed, and she was not keen on having Rapunzel be one of her first students to fail at it. It was a high-pressure situation. Rapunzel had been giving it her all and utmost concentration since she laid her pen on paper, destined not to disappoint.
But then, a pink rose petal fluttered onto her paper.
The two ladies both stared at the petal in shock. Where did it come from? How did it possibly get inside? Why did it have to go and smudge Rapunzel’s previous excellent work? They were aghast. Just as Madame Greenwich was about to explode into hysterics about the smudge, Rapunzel noticed the door to the balcony was cracked open and ran to it. This would explain at least how the petal got inside. Maybe it could explain who brought it there.
Upon peaking her head out, though, she saw the balcony was empty. She also could not see anyone down below who could have climbed and put the rose petal there. The petal was and would continue to remain a mystery. Frowning, she scurried back inside, defeated. Madame Greenwich grumbled to herself how she was going to have a word with King Frederic about castle security after the lesson. Rapunzel wondered, as she put the petal alongside the other in her satchel, if perhaps she should be doing the same.
The third petal, she almost missed.
She was playing a game of chess with Pascal out on the lawn when Cassandra showed up. Ever since the time Cassandra had taught her how to really play chess and it upset the chameleon, Rapunzel had made sure Cassandra was busy when they went to play. However, on this day, she somehow managed to get out of whatever was planned for her to join the two in their game. Rapunzel had opened her mouth to try and excuse her away, but Cassandra kept her distance and let the two play on. Rapunzel almost forgot her friend was there, she was being so courteous to their game. Then, suddenly, she spoke.
“Having fun today, Raps?”
Perking up from her game, Rapunzel turned and smiled her way. “Yes, actually. It’s been a bit odd at times, but I can’t complain. I love spending some time with Pascal, too. Why?”
“Oh nothing,” she sang, putting her hands on her hips, “just am curious. Have you seen Eugene yet?”
“No. Should I?”
Cassandra shrugged. “I just thought you would have. You know, given what day it is.”
Rapunzel frowned.
What day was it? It certainly was not either of their birthdays. Hers was always met with enough fanfare that an entire kingdom would remember, and his always fell a month after that. If her mental calendar was right, there was still nearly a half of a year before either of them were to happen again. It also was not their date night, which was planned for every Saturday like clockwork so they both would remember. That had been two nights ago. So, why did she need to see him, and why did Cassandra think she would have already?
Frowning deeper, Rapunzel left her chess game – and a very disgruntled Pascal – to inquire further. “Cass, why do I feel like I’m missing something here? What day is it?”
Cassandra smirked. “Oh my gosh, he didn’t tell you, did he?”
“Tell me what?”
“What an idiot,” she giggled, rolling her eyes as she brushed off her pants. “Raps, have you ever heard of Valentine’s Day before?”
The princess shook her head. “Never.”
“Well, it’s today,” Cass explained, “and it’s a day for lovers. You know, couples. Like you and pretty boy. They usually do something mushy like give each other elaborate gifts or spend the whole day together as a sign of their love for one another. You really haven’t seen him all day?”
“No,” Rapunzel replied. Her shoulders began to slump as her eyes cast down to the ground. “You don’t think…you don’t think he forgot about me, do you? Wait,” she yelped, eyes going wide. “Oh my gosh, I forgot about him! Oh no, Cass, I-I need you to help me find something I can give him. Anything. That’s probably why he hasn’t talked to me. He probably thought I forgot about him! What am I going to do?”
“Raps?”
“Yeah?”
“Breathe for me, please.”
Was she not breathing?
Oh, yeah, she might have forgotten about that in the heat of it all.
As Rapunzel did as she was told, her eyes remained wide and frantic. Cassandra sighed at this fact and, upon leading Rapunzel to the castle with Pascal at her side, she took her arm into hers.
“I’ll help you find pretty boy a gift. But,” she warned, making sure to look her in the eye, “just know I’m not doing anything too mushy. I’ll buy whatever, but the moment you have me helping you write some elaborate love note to him, I’m out. I can only tolerate him for so long from such a distance.”
Rapunzel’s face brightened. “Do you really think I should write him one of those? Oooh, I could use my new penmanship skills! He would be so delighted, don’t you think?”
“Whatever you feel like, Raps,” she sighed. “By the way, I forgot to tell you earlier. You have a rose petal stuck in the back of your hair.”
Rapunzel gasped. Dropping Cassandra’s arm from hers, she reached for the back of her hair for the offending petal. Sure enough, it landed between her fingers, bright white and clearly wedged in her brown locks.
Her mind swam.
How did it get there?
~~~~~~
The next few hours went seemingly petal-free. Rapunzel busied herself – and Cassandra – with going back and forth across the castle to find the ideal gift. She wanted to find whatever screamed Valentine’s Day to others, which led to her asking every single person they encountered what they personally would want for the holiday and tallying the results. She did not run into Eugene once during her survey oddly enough, but she did not mind. She got the results she wanted from the castle staff just as well. At the end of it all, it was determined that she was getting him something personal and a box of chocolates. A double whammy of love and affection.
It would the perfect gift.
The hour after her decision was made was almost more hectic than the others. Rapunzel scurried around her room and the royal craft room – a room she insisted be instated when they returned – to gather up all of the supplies she needed. Paints, pens, scrapbook materials, and even the chocolates all found their way locked inside her royal chambers as she worked. After tireless work, she reemerged to beckon Cassandra inside and show her the mother of all gifts. A scrapbook of all their time together. It was not big in size, but it was big in heart, and even Cassandra had to admit that it was touching to observe. It had hand-painted depictions of some of their biggest and most significant moments. Love was written on every page. If any man gave her a gift even half as romantic and sweet, she would maybe even shed a tear. That sealed it for Rapunzel. If Cassandra’s heart was touched, Eugene, known lover of her sappy displays of love, would be blown out of the water.
Opening up her door again, Rapunzel held her gift ready to go find him and display it to him proudly. However, she was stopped by a little red petal at her feet.
And then a pink one.
And then a white one.
And then a small trail of petals, all of which weaved down the hall from her room in the same color pattern and turned the corner, disappearing from sight.
Rapunzel gasped.
“Well, looks like somebody may have you beat on the whole Valentine’s Day surprise, Raps.”
It all made sense. The petals showed up with immense stealth. Only someone with quick action and practice in slipping away without being seen could deliver them in such a smooth fashion, and who else screamed stealth and smoothness but her beloved Eugene, ex-thief? The first petal probably was left last night when he kissed her goodnight and sang her to sleep. The second had to be blown in by him, though she was still confused how he managed to get away without her seeing. The third, Rapunzel did not even remotely have a clue about, but if anyone could wedge a rose petal in her hair without knowing, it would be Eugene. Having a tight-lipped Cassandra to not spill the beans on how probably helped his cause.
All of that paled in comparison to how impressive it was that he managed to start this new trail in the small time Cassandra had entered her room.
He really was not bad with the ladies.
“You might want to follow them, you know.”
Shaking herself out of her head, Rapunzel turned and blinked at Cassandra, who now had taken to leaning against the door frame. She was smirking, almost as if she knew what was planned and had the entire time. She probably did, the traitor. Rapunzel swore to herself that she would grill her on that extensively later. Right then however, she knew she had bigger fish to fry. She had to follow the trail Eugene blazed for her.
So, opening up her satchel and keeping her gift under her arm, she began to pick up the flowers.
One by one.
Red, pink, white.
Down the hall she went, not leaving a single petal untouched or forgotten. Each one landing in her satchel quickened her heart a little more. They brought her step-after-step closer to Eugene, and that made her excited. If this was a day for lovers, she wanted to see him and his little plan at its prime. It was as if she just knew he had something grand planned.
As the petals fell cold right before his bedroom door, her suspicions were all but confirmed.
Her stomach was tied into a billion knots and her mind was racing, but she nevertheless reached out and rested her hand on the door handle. One more shaky breath had her turning it and, eventually, stepping into whatever awaited her inside.
Man, did things wait her inside.
The petals were scattered absolutely everywhere in Eugene’s room. The floorboards were dotted in bright red, pink, and white assortments of them, trailing onto surfaces like his desk, his wardrobe, and even his window seat. Rapunzel followed them with her eyes across the room up to where they pooled and made a big, red heart on top of his bed. Her eyes admittedly teared up as she caught sight of it. He really was a sap, but gosh, she loved it. She loved it so, so much.
She loved him more.
Her heart fluttered to remind her so as he appeared from his bathroom, slicking his hair back with a final flick of his wrist and giving her that look of his, the one that put the smolder to shame. His look of pure, unadulterated love for her. It brought those tears that threatened moments before flooding back, this time spilling over. He smiled softly at that and met her at the front of his room, placing his hands over hers.
“Eugene, I-”
“I love you.” Eugene tucked back Rapunzel’s hair and wiped away her tears. His eyes twinkled as they gazed down at her, and she wondered how he had captured the light of the stars so perfectly in them. “Rapunzel, I’ll be the first to admit that I never imagined being here with you. I never thought I would find a girl who…who I would do anything for. Before I met you, I would have laughed at someone telling me to try every single chocolate in a candy shop, or someone dragging me to go drop rocks into holes to release a swarm of butterflies into the air. I would have never confessed who I really am and let someone see the parts about me that I do not really like. I surely would not have gone on some terrifying journey through our pasts to confront some magic rocks and visit some dark kingdom all just to get your hair back to normal. But, that was the old me.
“You brought out the man I want to be in me,” he said softly, rubbing his thumb against her hand. “You helped create the man I am today, the one who threw aside his fears and decided you know what? Sometimes life is more than yourself. Sometimes, it is the one you love, and the one you would literally die for time-and-time again. I love what you have taught me about myself, and I love what you continue to teach me every day. Now, I know I do not have the best track record in this, and I know we kept putting it off, but now that everything is past us and we are able to live our lives like we are supposed to, and because it is Valentine’s Day after all,” he winked, “I think the time has finally come where we both can’t deny it. Us.”
Dropping Rapunzel’s hand, Eugene reached into his pocket and pulled out the one object the two of them had become all-too-familiar with in the months’ journey before. Despite being brought out and put away more times than either of them believed possible, the diamond on the ring never dulled. It still sparkled and shone with brilliance. Behind her tears, Rapunzel thought it even shone brighter than before. This is really it, she thought. A gentle sob escaped her, causing Eugene to beam up at her as he fell to a knee.
“If you did not get the hint, I’m kind of crazy about you, sunshine.” Rapunzel covered her mouth, hiding another sob as her heart tugged at her chest at sunshine. Eugene once again ran his thumb across her hand, comforting her. “I’ve meant it every time I’ve done this, but I almost mean it even more now. I love you, Rapunzel. I adore you. I want to grow old with you here, o-or wherever you take us next. I don’t even care. I just want a forever with you. With that said, my new dream, will you make me truly the happiest man in the world in marrying me?”
Rapunzel practically lunged at him.
Her arms wrapped around his neck, and her present for Eugene clanking to the floor, the two toppled into a pile of giggles and tears. Eugene tried his best to stable himself, but found himself quickly trapped beneath his blushing, crying, jubilant ray of sunshine. He did not want to move when she was looking at him like that.
Or kissing him like that.
“Yes,” Rapunzel gasped between kisses, giggles escaping past her continuing sobs. “Yes, Eugene, I will definitely marry you. I love you. So much.”
Bringing her closer, Eugene enveloped Rapunzel into a tight hug. He buried himself into her, letting some of his own emotion escape him through quiet sobs. Rapunzel held him close, not judging him at all for his display. He needed it. She had put him through what seemed like, what, a dozen failed proposals? She would cry too if she was in his shoes. Having her one shut down had stung. She could not imagine how good it must feel for him to finally succeed.
She was so glad for him to finally succeed.
“You know,” Rapunzel said after a few minutes, pulling away to see Eugene’s tear-stained face for herself, “before today, I didn’t know what or when Valentine’s Day was. I thought it was about gifts and stuff like that. But I think I’m never going to forget it for the rest of my life, or what it really is about. Thanks to you.”
With a laugh, Eugene brought Rapunzel’s hand up where he could see it and slipped his ring onto her ring finger. He smiled and paused to admire it before bringing her hand to rest back on his chest and kissing her soundly.
“You know what, sunshine? I would not have it any other way.”
“I love you so much, Eugene.”
“And I love you, Mrs. Fitzherbert,” Eugene said, smirking with pride as the new name illuminated Rapunzel’s face. “More than you’ll ever know.”