Eugene had barely slept that night. So many things were running through his mind, the danger he'd put his friend into. The fact he suddenly had a fiancé and had to organize a ball, and whatever punishment Hector was making up in his twisted mind.
As he walked down the hallways, he spotted an unfamiliar silhouette walking in the same direction. It took him a moment to realize it was Varian. He'd known the boy had been in the group from Corona, and it had confused him why he was there with them, but he'd been trying to deal with a situation with Rapunzel and the huge diplomatic mess they seemed to be heading for, so he'd pushed it to the back of the mind.
"Varian?"
The teen turned, though he had changed Eugene knew it was him. That flash in his hair was too distinctive for it to be anybody else.
"Hi Eugene, it's good to see you again."
He paused, looking at him, he was still a boy, somehow in his mind he'd thought he'd be a man now, and he had thought of him sometimes. When he'd been a teen Varian had followed him around, his little buddy. In his awkward and spotty stage, the toddler had seen him as the coolest person on the planet. He'd seen Varian grow into a quick kid, always thinking, always planning... experimenting. Then he'd gone. On the day it had happened, they'd had plans. Eugene had promised Varian he'd help him with his sword practice, he had never been a natural and Quirin, well... he'd never stated his disappointment, but he'd never hidden it from his face. Eugene knew that look from Quirin well, so he'd wanted to help, yet when he'd gone to Quirin's apartments to meet Varian, Quirin had quietly told Eugene that Varian had gone away to stay with family.
"So... is that where you've been the court of Corona?"
"Not the court, the valley."
"With family?"
"With Rapunzel, I..." Varian hesitated. "Hector dousn't know."
"You can trust me."
"I was under the care of King Fredrick, but I barely saw him. I lived with his Captain of the guards and Cassandra... oh that's Rapunzel's ladies' maid, the uh... one with the dark hair and pretty eyes... I mean green, green eye, not that they're not pretty but..."
"So, are you back for good?" Eugene asked.
"I uh... my Dad said that we'll talk over the next few days.
"Are you and your Dad, okay? I mean, it was so weird when you got sent away. So sudden."
"Yeah. Yeah, it was really good to see him. We spent a lot of time talking last night."
"I'm glad." Eugene said clapping him on the shoulder.
Varian looked to the side.
"Can I ask you something? It's important."
"Sure Kid."
"What do you think of Rapunzel?"
"That's important?"
"Well... to me."
"Why?"
"Because there's a chance that I'm staying here now, and I want to know if Rapunzel and... her lady's maid will be staying here."
"No, I don't think any of us want that. She's obnoxious and entitled."
"HEY! Don't talk about the Princess that way!"
Eugene backed slightly away from the sudden outburst of anger. Varian himself went quiet and shied away a little.
"She's not like that. "He finally said.
"Yeah well, she demanded an engagement ball when she dousn't want to actually get married, just to twirl around in some dress... so if she acts obnoxious and entitled that's what I'm going to call her."
"There must be another reason for it, because the Rapunzel I know isn't like that."
"You know her that well?"
"Yes. She's amazing, she cares about people, she's always doing something to try and brighten another person's day. If she's demanding a ball, then it's not for herself."
"Well... perhaps later you can give me a quick run through. I'm going into talks with Fredrick, and I need to understand Corona's culture and their point of view."
"Yeah, sure Eugene."
"So, I have something I need to give to Rapunzel. Do you know what room she's in?"
"Yeah. She's in the apartments in the West wing."
"That can't be right. The only apartments in the west wing are my mothers."
Varian just looked at him and shrugged.
"Yeah, I think that's where they are."
"What? No." Eugene shook his head. Why would they be in his mother apartments? He rushed off in that direction leaving Varian stood staring after him.
***
Eugene too a deep breathe before he knocked on the door, inside his emotions were tumbling over one another trying to get to the front but he knew he had to still try to be diplomatic.
The door open and he noticed the Queen behind it. He'd not paid too much attention to her when he'd seen her the day before but now the words his father had said rung through his mind' great beauty', even though he knew she must have been in her later forties, her skin was completely clear and hair still a dark shining oak color like her daughters. She gave the smallest smile of welcome.
"Ah Queen..." He hesitated, not knowing her name was probably a huge diplomatic no-no, but he didn't think he'd ever heard her name.
"Arianna." She told him after a few moments.
"It appears that you've been put in the wrong apartments. These... you must understand... "He didn't know how to explain it, that he didn't want them in here. That he didn't want to annoy them or offend them, but this was his mother space and it felt strange to have strangers in this area.
"I can find you some other apartments." He finished lamely.
"It's you who've kept them like this, isn't it? It's exactly as they were when your mother was alive." Arianna said.
"No. "
She stood back from the door.
"Come in for a minute."
Eugene shook his head. He'd been into the rooms a couple of times over the years, trying to keep hold of the memories of his mother, but finding that only the bad ones from her final days remained here for him.
"There's some lovely rooms close to the library." He pushed.
"You don't remember me. I guess I shouldn't expect you too. You were so young the last time I saw you."
"We've meet before?"
"The last time we came here, it was your fifth birthday, when your father gave you your first horse. You went riding, and fell off, split your knee open."
"I remember, I still have the scar."
"You were off your feet for days we all took turns sitting with you trying to keep you amused, but you were an active child and hated being stuck inside."
"Arianna?" He said aloud thinking of the name, trying to make it match the old memories from that time.
"You couldn't say it back then, you called me Anna."
"I think... you made me a stuffed crow."
"Yes. We called it Hamuel." She said with a smile. "Being here, it's like stepping into a memory, and I can see her in your face. It is so strange for me."
"Well, that's what this place is. It's not a place where life is lived anymore, we only have the memories and the struggles. Your Majesty, don't subject your daughter to a life here."
"Come in." She said again.
Eugene didn't know how to argue against it a second time. He nodded and followed her into his mother apartments.
"I was happy to be put in these rooms. There are so many good memories here." She said as she walked over to his mother's sideboard, the one that was inlaid with little gold birds.
"I wanted to give you this." She said. He looked over, she was holding something up in her hands, Eugeen stepped closer to see. It was a necklace, one with a purple stone hanging down from it. He stared at it for a moment, and then it dawned on him that he'd seen it before. Every day for the first eight years of his life. He could remember being very small and sitting on his mothers lap and reaching out to play with it.
"That's my mother's necklace. Why do you have it?"
"Your father sent it to us when you and Rapunzel were engaged. It was for Rapunzel."
"But it was my mothers." Eugene repeated.
"It's an old necklace, it's always belonged to the Queen of the Dark Kingdom. Your mother was given it on the day of her engagement by your grandmother. Your father sent it to Rapunzel as the next Queen of The Dark Kingdom. I thought you should have it back. It should be your choice now who to give it to."
His hand hesitated as he reached out for it.
"Will Rapunzel mind?" He asked, more to be polite than anything, he was going to keep the necklace, it was his mothers. Though, he also wanted to know more about the girl, he'd seen a spoilt brat, but Varian had talked of somebody very different.
"Given everything that happened, and how unsure we were about the situation we never actually gave it to her." Arianna admitted. "I just kept it safe, for the next time we saw you."
He nodded taking the chain from her and carefully putting it in his pocket, beside the ring he had been meaning to give back to Rapunzel.
"Thank you, for this, and please return this to Princess Rapunzel." He held the ring out for Arianna to take.
"One of the maids found it in the woods on their way to work this morning and saw it had the crest of Corona. I think Rapunzel mentioned losing something, could this be it?"
"It is. She'll be very glad to have it back. I guess the robbers must have dropped it when Cassandra chased them off. Thank you Eugene."
He turned to leave
"So, do you want us to move to other rooms? Would you send a maid to help us move our belongings?"
Eugene hesitated. He looked around the rooms, the beautiful things that had belonged to his mother, as much a tomb as the one made of marble in the castle depths. He'd not wanted anybody in here. Yet, something had changed when he found out that Arianna had known his mother. That this place held good memories for her.
"It's okay." He said with a sigh. "I guess, if you have some good memories in these rooms, you should stay. Remember my mother, in a good way. Somebody should."
Arianna looked confused for a moment.
"Why wouldn't you have good memories?"
Eugene looked around and shrugged.
"When she was ill, she barely left these rooms. This was where she died. It's hard to remember anything else that happened in these rooms."
"Well, I have a lot of good memories. Maybe I can share a few with you."
Eugene paused. He had not been expecting this, for somebody to offer him tales of her mother. He hadn't heard anybody speak of her ins such a long time. He only had his own memories, and they were foggy at best. He didn't realize how much he had wanted somebody to speak of her before the offer came along. He looked at Arianna and wordlessly sat down, waiting expectantly.
Arianna smiled and sat on a chair across from him.
"I always loved this room so much, your mother always had such taste, when I first meet her, I was in awe of her. The first visit I thought we'd never really get on, she seemed so confident and cultured, then I realized that we were just the same, two newly married women in Kingdoms quite different from our own."
"My father used to say, she'd somehow made a corner of the dark kingdom bright."
Arianna laughed. "She made everywhere bright just by walking into a room. Is that why you kept the apartments like this? To still feel that brightness occasionally?"
"I told you, it wasn't me. It was Hector."
A shock, almost an anger passed over her face.
"Oh." She said. "I understand."
He had to wonder if she truly did, as he himself had never figured it out. It would have been one thing to leave the rooms to rot, but they were always cleaned.
"Stories. Anything you have." Eugene said.
"We visited when your mother was pregnant, if you were a girl you were going to be called Nadine."
Eugene leaned back into the chair, ready to listen, ready to reclaim the woman who had given birth to him, ready to see if Arinna's memories of her matched his own.
***
When Rapunzel entered the room her mother and father were sat together on the blue silk couch. They smiled up at her as they walked in.
"You wanted to see me?" She asked.
She'd been outside walking in the gardens with Cassandra when a guard had approached her and told her that her mother had requested her presence.
"Ah, we were waiting for you. Now my dear." Her father turned smiling to his mother. "Why did you want to talk to us?"
"Sit down Rapunzel. I know you are both about to go into communication with Eugene about ending the engagement."
"Yes, do not worry, it'll be over by the end of the day, and we can find somebody that Rapunzel deserves." Fredrick answered.
"I was going to ask for you to draw it out for a while."
"Oh?" Fredricks eyes widened.
Rapunzel too was puzzled, just the previous evening her mother had been talking about wanting them to end the engagement quickly. She didn't know what had changed.
"I think there is more to Prince Eugene than meets the eye, I think we should give him a chance and get to know more about him."
"Wait, you want me to marry the prince now?" Rapunzel blurted.
"No dear, I just want us all to have the chance to know him better. I think I see something in him, he just seems lost, I think we can help him. You said it yourself dear." Arianna had reached out and took Fredrick's hand. "He's Edmund's son. We owe it to Edmund to try to figure out what's going on with his son and if there's anyway for us to help. It's just a few days, we owe it the memories of our friends not to dismiss him so quickly."
"Rapunzel?" Her father said. "Are you alright with that?"
"Well... he does seem lost, and if you think you can help him... I guess it would be wrong of me to say no."
"Thank you, Rapunzel. I know you must be eager for this to be resolved, but to help the prince would be to help the Kingdom. We will avoid coming to an agreement today." Fredrick agreed.
***
"Quirin."
Eugene ran up to the older man, he'd been heading to his office to see him when he saw him leave.
"Excuse me Eugene, I am trying to make it to have dinner with my son." Quirin answered.
"I just want to know, why did you put them in that room?"
"Those rooms belong to the Queen of the Dark Kingdom. Rapunzel is the closest we have to that. Now, excuse me."
"Wait. "Eugene had to jog to keep up with him.
"How did your conversations go with King Fredrick today?" Quirin interrupted as Eugene tried to ask his question.
"He dithered; we didn't come to any kind of conclusion."
Quirin nodded.
"Hector doesn't want me to marry Rapunzel." Eugene finally managed to blurt out.
"I'm aware."
"You do though."
"It was what Edmund wanted."
"But things have changed."
"Even more reason that she should be Queen."
"She wouldn't be Queen unless she married Hector."
Quirin stopped in his tracks and looked at him.
"Eugene." He said glancing around. "Perhaps it's time you asked yourself why Hector doesn't want you to marry Rapunzel when the alliance with Corona would be so good for our country."
Eugene shrugged. "I guess there's just something about them that I don't know."
"No, he is not going to support it because though it would be good for the country, it would be bad for him. "
"Instead of talking in riddles why don't you just get to the point."
Quirin glanced around the empty corridors and lowered his voice to no more than a whisper.
"Because to get to the point would be treason." Quirin once again turned away form him, but Eugene caught him by the arm.
"Quirin..." Eugene struggled to find the words. "It's hard for me to ask this, you helped raise me, I know that you have spoken to Hector on my behalf many times. I will always respect you; I just need to know. It's clear to me you've been in contact with King Fredrick for a while now. Are you loyal to Hector? If things go south whose side, will you be on?"
"The side of the true King."
"Edmund is dead."
"He lives in you."
His hand clasped Eugene's shoulder, lowering his head slightly to look him in the eyes.
"I have, and always will be loyal to the true king of the dark throne. When you're ready to start asking the right questions, I'll answer them your Majesty."
"It's Highness...." Eugene muttered, but Quirin was already walking away.