Work Text:
Eugene sat watching while Rapunzel painted. She paused, looked at it, then looked at the table filled with jars of paint.
“Oh dear,” she sighed. “I’m out of xanthic.”
“Xanthic…?” Eugene asked.
“It’s… a particular type of yellow,” she explained. “The others won’t quite do, but I’m not sure where to find more.”
“Where did you get it before?” he asked, quickly realizing that, perhaps, he should have asked less directly.
“I don’t know… it was… it was a gift.”
He realized he definitely shouldn’t have asked directly.
“Do you think there might be some at that store in town?” he asked.
Rapunzel looked thoughtful. “I hadn’t thought about that,” she said. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to pay them a visit.”
With that, they were off to visit the art shop in town. The shopkeeper was delighted to see Rapunzel, and studiously tolerated him since he wanted his wife’s business.
They looked at the jars and the metal tubes, as well as some bins of unmixed pigments. Eugene looked at the labels to see if he recognized the name she had mentioned, but he was fairly certain he wouldn’t be able to tell one yellow from another. Still, he wanted to feel useful.
“Is there anything in particular that you’re looking for, Your Highness,” the shopkeeper said.
“As a matter of fact, I am,” she said. “You wouldn’t happen to have any xanthic yellow, would you?”
He put his finger to his lips, like he was trying to remember something. “Wait!” he exclaimed. “We just had a new shipment arrive this morning.”
The man hurried to the back of the shop, and they could hear some boxes being moved around, and with an “Aha!” he emerged a moment later with a small glass jar.
“Would this be the one?” he asked.
Rapunzel’s eyes widened. “Yes! That’s it! How much?”
“For you, nothing,” the man smiled.
“Really?” she asked. “Thank you!”
Eugene eyed the tag on the jar, and reached into his coinpurse. “Here,” he whispered, handing over the amount to the man. “Take this.”