“And we’re living happily ever after!”

Eugene felt his eyes go wide as he rushed to stand up, his berry tart (almost) forgotten about. “Whoa-ho-ho, Nellie!” Hands settled on either shoulder as he tried to keep the frantic princess pinned to one spot, even as she shifted from one foot to the other and tried to decide what to tackle first.

“Okay, we need to do the calm thing here, Blondie. ‘Kay?” As gently as he could, Eugene tipped her head to focus on his own features. “What happens when we panic? We lose control. Nothing gets done. Pretty soon, the milk piles up at the door, cats take over, society ends, the Frog will become the new ruler…” He stopped mid-rant to gesture at the fretting lizard, giving an ‘I’m watching you,’ motion. 

“… or none of that will happen and it’ll be fine. It’s just a day to pick - we’re spoiled for choice! Maybe we’re doing this in the right order, you know? I mean, if we really want ole’ Hooky to play, that will help us pick a date. Right? It’s not like we’ll have anything really huge to worry abo-”

The words died in his throat as he considered his fortnightly haircut, and how he would not be attending his wedding without a master holding the scissors. “… but what if Antonio is away or going on holidays?” he asked, more to himself. “Blondie! What if I have a cowlick?!”

Rapunzel listened to Eugene the best she could as he held her still. Yes, panicking did nothing. Panicking just made bad situations worse! It did nothing to help mend things! As much as she trusted Pascal to be a kind and just ruler, she knew she had to keep calm and not cause any trouble that would lead him to take over. No one needed that, including him.

But then, Eugene began to spiral as well, and all that progress crumbled like a sand castle in the water’s wake. Okay, maybe his spiral was a bit more unrealistically panicked than hers, but still. He made a valid point! What if people they needed the most to make this big day happen were busy? What if none of them lined up all on one day to be free? Rapunzel swallowed hard.

“I-I’d love you with or without a cowlick, Eugene.” That much was true. “But we need to look into it still. We should make a list! Yeah! That way we can check everyone off for one day that works best and go from there.” Rapunzel added an extra-happy smile at the end of that. Was it fully sincere? Not really. She still felt panic. Smiling might help calm Eugene though, and if he was calm, she would surely be calm too, right?

Eugene was fairly confident most people the world over liked berries - it was probably a character test in some places. Those little towns they had passed through on the way to the Dark Kingdom, for sure. ‘If someone doesn’t like berries, they have sinister motives.’ It certainly sounded like something someone would say in Pincosta. “I’ll behave myself,” he said playfully. “If I chase that whiskey with anything that isn’t water I’ll be up all night.” He was still going to have some tart, though - he wasn’t crazy.

Eugene made himself comfortable, watching her busy herself with the tray and the little ritual of putting in the right amount of sugar and milk to sweeten it to her liking. It was funny how even such an everyday thing as watching her do that just made him adore her. Did she have any idea just how adorable she was, just with the way she clinked her spoon on the side? He swore Cass or Crowley tried to kill that habbit, but Blondie was a force to be reckoned with. And it was just one of a ton of things he loved about her. 

“While we’re taking a breather from planning for the great, big day,” he hummed, waiting for her to settle with her teacup. “Do we have any idea on when? I kinda got the feeling that we’d have to pick some date that has some special significance because… y’know, royal reasons. All that.” Words failed him and he settled with making a cycling motion. Eugene had never heard of a quiet royal wedding, and as much as he loved attention, he wasn’t big on long build ups. 

Rapunzel momentarily froze in the building of her tea. Had she really been so caught up in all of the wedding planning business that she completely forgot to work with Eugene and the castle on setting a date? Was the date not the most important thing to set before the actual wedding planning? This was madness. Absolute madness.

“Oh my gosh, we didn’t choose a date.” Standing up, Rapunzel put her tea down and clutched her forehead, eyes wide. “Wow, okay, so that changes things. A lot of things. W-We have to go talk to everyone! We have to ask what days work and what times work and if there are any days we need to be considerate of like holidays and such and-”

Catching her breath, Rapunzel looks to Eugene with a stressed gaze, practically begging him to save her from the spiral she knew she was in. “How did I forget that, Eugene?”

Varian, admittedly, hadn’t gotten going as quick as he wanted to. Though he was eager to show Rapunzel what he’d come up with, he’d ended up having to make a few last minute adjustments just to make sure everything was in order.

All in all, he was proud of the prototype he’d made. It just needed to be tested- which he intended to do, as soon as he got the okay from Rapunzel.

“Hey! Hello!” The young alchemist called, as he finally approached the princess. He’d been given permission to borrow one of the palace horses to help tow his invention, which was currently covered by a sheet.

Climbing off of the horse, Varian flashed a smile at Rapunzel. “You ready t’ see what I came up with?”

“Hi Varian,” she exclaimed proudly, walking forward to greet the boy and his horse. After caressing the horse’s muzzle in a hello of its own, she moved to hug Varian. He was just always so much fun to speak to and see. The excitement for their venture was already building. 

New phone = new phone case!

“Oh ho ho, now that is some quality planning I can get behind,” Eugene said, squeezing her hand one more time before freeing himself. A smile and a wink marked his departure as he made his way to the kitchen. Were it not for Old Lady Crowley he might have whistled a jaunty tune and kept a bounce in his step, but history had taught him that was how you summoned her: no whistling in the castle.

It was with utmost care he carried a tray back to Rapunzel’s room in her tower, with a bag of tea diffusing in a cup of boiled water. Sugar, milk and honey barely bobbed as he Eugene knocked and swept back inside with the flair of a French maître d’.

“I believe someone ordered the house special,” he announced, something he knew she couldn’t take seriously. Lance may be banned from the kitchen, but Eugene was only allowed in providing he didn’t try to cook anything ever again.

Rapunzel’s eyes lit up as Eugene returned, her tea waiting just as she ordered in his hand and making its way over to her. A bright grin accompanied it as he spoke. He always was so precious, even when he did not think he was acting as such. 

Before he could sit down, Rapunzel made sure to make good on choosing a food for them to snack on as she sipped. She fluttered over to the pile that the cooks had been so nice to provide them and sorted through it, tossing more healthy options until she found something perfect for tea. In no time, she pulled out a berry tart. Just the smell of it alone had Rapunzel sure it was what she wanted. Trotting back to Eugene, she brought the treat over and rested it on the tray. 

“I don’t think I need to say this, but I hope you like berries,” she winked, remembering all the craziness the past they shared over the things. Graciously accepting the tea, she went to work preparing it for herself. “Are you going to drink anything?”