Remile Short Stories and One-Shots

A Prince in a Tower

    This a loosely based Tangled AU mixed with some of my own Tangled headcanons, like Eugene's backstory before meeting Rapunzel, but after the orphanage. It isn't word for word, and also isn't super compliant with the original plot, as I skip around quite a bit, and I do apologize, but I'll probably make a part two with the omitted scenes. If it's wanted. As always, thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy!

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     Once upon a time, a single drop of sunlight fell from the heavens and from this small drop of sun, grew a magic, golden flower. It had the ability to heal the sick and injured.
Well, centuries passed, and a boat ride away there grew a kingdom. The kingdom was ruled by a beloved King and Queen.
     And the Queen, well, she was about to have a baby. She got sick. Really, really sick.
She was running out of time, and that's when people usually start to look for a miracle. Or in this case, a magic golden flower.
     But there was someone else after the flower. An evil warlock, wishing to use the flower for his own selfish gain. He used it to stay youthful and strong for centuries.
     When the castle search party found the flower, took it, and healed the Queen, the Warlock hatched a plot.
     The Queen gave birth to a healthy baby boy with beautiful, curling, golden locks of hair. He was a bright, happy child. Throughout the kingdom everyone rejoiced, for their queen had been saved, and her son was safe too.
The celebration throughout the kingdom lasted for days, but on the last day, when night came, tragedy befell the kingdom. The Warlock snuck into the castle and stole the child, then left without a trace.
     The King and Queen were heartbroken, and they searched for their son for days, weeks, months... to no avail. The warlock had vanished, and so it had seemed, with their son as well.
     The Warlock had hidden the child away in a tower, in a cove unknown to anyone else's eyes.  In that tower they lived, for years and years, the Warlock craftily spinning deceptions to instill in the child's mind. This time, he was determined not to let the flower get away.
"Heal what has been hurt... change the fate's design. Save what has been lost, bring back what once was lost, what once was mine." The Warlock felt the flower's magic surge through him as he instructed his 'son' to sing. He brushed through the child's hair carefully, with a touch here, and one there.
"Papa? Why can't I go outside?" The child asked, once they had finished. The Warlock had simply adjusted his hat, and sat the child on his lap.
     "The outside world is a dangerous place, filled with horrible, selfish people. You must stay here, where you're safe. Do you understand, flower?" The Warlock had replied, barely holding back his malicious glee. He would win this time.
     "Yes, Papa," the little boy had responded, a sad tone in his voice, as he leaned into his 'father.'
     But, there are some things even tall towers and secret alcoves can't hide. For every year, on the child's birthday, the kingdom released glowing lanterns in memory of their lost prince, hoping one day he would return.
     And every year, the little lost prince inside the tower watched them from afar, longing to be a part of it, and couldn't help but feel like... they were meant for him.

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"Hm... I guess he's not out here..." Emile stifled his giggles as he threw open the shutters to the tower's only window. He then, very quietly, reached over the edge of the wall and-
"Gotcha!" Emile laughed, picking up Patton by his tail. The chameleon stuck out his tongue and jumped down, scrambling back inside.
Emile closed the shutters behind him, but not before he gave a short, longing glance to the outside world. The two, reptile and human boy, conversed. Well, actually, it was more like Emile talked, and Patton rolled around the table.
"That round was just too easy Patton. Make it harder next time! But I guess.. you get really good at finding all the hiding spots when you've been hiding in a small tower... for the past... 16 years..." Emile sighed and put his head in his hands.
"Do you think Father will be back soon? I am so excited for those paints for my birthday. I'm not exactly sure where I'm going to paint, I've quite run out of room." Emile and Patton looked at each other, and then to the brightly colored walls around them, a product of several years worth of Emile's hard work. Emile sighed.
A loud rap sounded through the tower, and Emile froze. Father never knocked on the shutter doors, he just came in. Besides, they was no rope outside the tower he could have climbed up.
     Emile's slowly slid off to the side and grabbed a nearby frying pan that definitely didn't just appear for plot convenience. He silently stepped to the window and opened the shutters, Patton on his shoulder.
A man who was most certainly not Father fell onto the tower floor with a yelp, and Emile screamed and instinctively whacked him with the frying pan. The man immediately stopped moving and Emile dropped the frying pan, sprinting to hide behind the table.
Emile peeked out cautiously, afraid of what he might see. He rubbed his eyes. Yeah, there was definitely still a man on his floor. Emile began to drag the body across the floor, and with great effort lifted him into a chair. He winced.
Emile grabbed the rope he always used to let Father in, and tightly wrapped it around the stranger. Using the frying pan, he gingerly lifted up the man's upper lip. Emile turned to Patton.
"Father was wrong. This one certainly doesn't have sharp teeth..." Emile frowned and stepped back again, walking in small circles around the chair, observing. Patton stuck his tongue out into the stranger's ear, and the guy woke up pretty quickly. He gave a slight thrash.
Emile screamed again and knocked him out. Patton gave him a ferocious look.
"I'm sorry! It was instinct!" Emile defended, slinking to the ground in front of the chair. The two sat there for a good 20 minutes silently before the stranger began to stir. Emile raised the frying pan defensively.
     "What the- where am I? And who are you? Why do you have a frying pan?!" The man frantically attempted to get out of the ropes while Emile watched.
     "You don't get to ask questions. Who are you? Why are you here? Who sent you?" Emile glared at him, moving closer with the frying pan.
     The man looked at him in defeat, and stopped struggling against the ropes.
     "Call me... Sleep. Look- actually, could you put the frying pan down? I'm not going to hurt you." Sleep settled back and waited for Emile.
     "No one sent me here. I took something. Something important. I came here to-"
     Emile cut him off, rummaging through Sleep's bag. He took out a gorgeous crown studded with rubies, sapphires, and other glimmering jewels. Emile promptly put around his wrist. Sleep burst out laughing.
     "That's not how that goes at all! If you let me go- I'll show you." Sleep attempted to put on more a serious, even provoking, face to convince the boy, who frowned.
     "Absolutely not! I can figure it out just fine myself." Emile stood in front of the mirror and put the crown on different limbs, before finally settling it on his head. He held in a gasp. It felt... right. Patton gave a subtle "humph" of happy declaration.
     Sleep felt it too, even aggressively tied up in the chair. He noted how perfectly, how naturally the crown graced Emile's head. The way Emile seemed to stand just a bit taller. He was never one to slack on observance. Being a thief does that to you.
     Emile turned back to Sleep, admittedly very attractive Sleep, with a small smile on his face.
     "I absolutely love it. I'm keeping it." Emile said happily. Sleep cocked an eyebrow.
     "No ma'am. Look, Blondie, you can't have it. I've been planning that heist for months, you can't just take it. That thing is going to make me rich."
     Emile looked at him, a suddenly serious and menacing look on his face. He gestured towards the frying pan.
     "I don't think you're exactly in the position to be saying that. Tell you what. I'll make you... a deal."
     Sleep perked up, and studied Emile's face for any sign of deceit or malice. He glanced at the frying pan for good measure.
     "What kind of deal?" He asked curiously, leaning back into the chair as much as the ropes allowed for. Emile's eyes sparkled.
     "You take me- out there. And I want to see the floating lights. They only happen once a year- and it's coming up, tomorrow! I want to see them in person." Sleep stared at him as if he had three heads.
     "You've never been outside? Girl, come on. And floating lights... do you mean the lant- oh yeah- uh, the floating lights. That's easy. Deal." Emile clapped his hands in excitement and set the crown back in the empty bag next to the frying pan.
     "Really? Uh- I mean- yes. We should go. Now." Emile strode toward the window, then spun on his heels to release the ropes around Sleep, who stood and stretched gratefully.
     Emile grabbed Sleep's bag and the frying pan, then kicked open the shutter doors. He looked down and out.
     "How did you even get up here?" Emile asked, not seeing any obvious ways.
     "This tower has some of the shoddiest building I've ever seen. Honestly, some of those bricks are so uneven I could fit my entire foot onto it on my way up here," Sleep replied, hopping over the windowsill and starting to climb back down. Emile turned to Patton.
     "Okay. You're in charge of the tower until I get back. And- and tell Father I'm sorry." Emile turned back to the window, where Sleep was already almost halfway down.
     Emile, excited but terrified, looked out at the world with a new view. He stood there for almost a minute, until Sleep's voice caught him.
     "Blondie! You comin' or what?" Emile laughed quietly and threw the end of the rope out the window.
     Emile jumped onto the end of the rope and slid down, laughing and screaming the whole way, even past Sleep. He stopped about a foot off the ground, suddenly afraid.
     Sleep jumped down the rest of the way and strode past him, at this point not even surprised.
     Emile gingerly put a foot on the ground, and immediately jumped, but then acquainted himself with the soft grass. He giggled and ran towards Sleep.
     "Come on! There's so much to see!" Emile called, running towards the vines he had so often seen Father step through and return hours later.
     Sleep followed, walking instead of sprinting, shaking his head, but smiling. He looked away from the boy, and stopped smiling, feeling that sickening beat inside his chest. The feeling, the beat, the things he had only let get to him once before. And after that, he had told himself, never again. Sleep was a goner from the moment he met Emile. And unfortunately, he knew it, too.

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A Day Later

     If you asked either man what had happened in the boat that fateful night, neither one would say.
     For Emile, it was a thrill, a first timer, a new experience, and an emotion unlike anything else he had ever felt in his life.
     For Remy, it was a heartache, but a good one. A thread unraveled thin, a pin slowly approaching a balloon. An emotion he didn't think he'd ever feel again.

     Emile had been the one to make the first move, gently taking Remy's hand so they could lift the lantern together. As it rose into the air, Remy met Emile's firm gaze.
     It was the first time Remy truly had the moment to look at Emile. Emile, Emile, with his bright, emerald eyes, a small little button nose, a mouth with pink lips that seemed to know exactly what to say and when, brown freckles that danced across his perfect face, and his hair. Oh, those gorgeous golden locks, curling and bouncing with every smile, every laugh that made Remy oh-so-happy.
     Emile too, looked at Remy in that new light, a soft smile gracing his features. Remy, with his dark brown hair, natural and wavy, his kind, hazelnut eyes that seemed to warm up more every time Emile looked in them, his snarky smile, his defined nose, and a jawline sharp enough to cut steel.
     "You're like- you're like a light," Emile started, struggling, speaking so softly Remy wasn't sure if he was actually even talking at first.
      "You're this light I see at the end of the tunnel, and it's like you make my whole world new. You brought me here. You did this for me. And regardless of whether or not you're here for the crown, or for me..." Remy smiled softly.
     "Oh. Emile. I'm so happy you got to live out your dream. You sitting here, with me, in this perfect scene, it makes me wonder why I was only after the crown."
     The two leaned in, slowly at first but steadily gaining more confidence, until Remy saw movement out of the corner of his eye. On the land. He pulled back, and Emile, confused and hurt, followed his gaze. Their eyes met once more, panic-stricken brown ones meeting the soft, tender, green pair. Remy braced himself. It was just like it had been. He hated how that one word could sound so similar from two different people. The tone, the tenderness. Exactly the same. When Emile spoke, Remy heard it. And he broke.

     "Remy?"

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Okay. Sorry??  Anyway, it's been too long since I posted, I scrapped several projects along the way. I was writing this for Amino, and obviously posted it over here, because duh. You guys get another one tomorrow, that's actually Christmas themed. On Christmas. If you celebrate that.
Anyway, Happy Holidays!