Behold, the first cut scene of my Lost Lagoon rewrite! The idea of this scene was originally gonna be in chapter 3, Royal Welcome, but it ended up not flowing with the general plot. So I decided to write it as its own story within the rewrite! Plus, this way I'm still working on the story as I work on chapter 5. Enjoy!
They would talk about it later, she said.
And they still hadn’t talked about it.
Rapunzel wasn’t sure whether to be worried or not. Lately she and Eugene always got too busy between dinner and bedtime now that he was working with the Royal Guard, but this time it felt…different.
And all she could do was wait. Sit there in her bed and wait, staring at the wall watching the shadows slowly change shape on her bedroom floor.
Usually she didn’t try this hard to stay up for Eugene sneaking into her room but the guilt was just gnawing at her.
What should she do??? Should she tell him everything? Nothing? Should she tell Cassandra that he knew???
The soft click of the door opening interrupted Rapunzel’s spiraling train of thought. There in the doorway stood Eugene already in his pajamas, his expression unreadable…which almost made this worse.
“You told me no more secrets.” Eugene’s eyes finally met hers as he closed the door behind him.
Well, that pretty much answered her line of internal questions right away.
"I know," she admitted, the anxiety gnawing at her gut. She sighed, ran her hands down her hair and rested them on her shoulders. She resisted the urge to grab at her hair, she knew that would only distress Eugene. "So... here it goes. Me and Cassandra found the Lost Lagoon.”
Eugene only nodded, he’d figured that much, “When?”
“Months ago, a couple days after the Contest of the Crowns.” Rapunzel didn’t hesitate to answer.
The guilt in her chest lightened, just a little.
“We found this poem that mentioned this really cool spot on the mainland, and turns out that was the gateway to the lagoon the whole time!”
“And…what does it look like?” Eugene sat on the edge of the bed beside her, “What’s the treasure look like?? Are there rubies? Gold??”
“Eugene, you literally live in a castle now.” A little laugh escaped Rapunzel, “But we actually don’t know what it is yet. The poem mentioned moonstone and rubies and opals and even topaz.”
Rapunzel let out a full on giggle as Eugene lit up. Her hands reached for her nightstand and pulled open the drawer, grabbing the book so Eugene could read the poem himself.
“But that’s not the treasure. The treasure’s something else, and the poem barely says what it is.”
Eugene’s eyes darted across the page and sure enough, no mention of the treasure. How odd.
“It’s gotta be something. There’s only so many things that are better than money, gold, and jewels.” He paused when he realized the implication of those words, “….and you are at the top of that list sunshine!”
“Hm.” Rapunzel pretended to glare at him, just to make him squirm a little.
“So…you’re really not mad..?” Rapunzel’s hand clenched the blankets a little tighter.
“Mad? Blondie, the Lost Lagoon is what inspired the Author to write Flynn Rider and the Journey to Sunrise Lagoon!” Eugene ran a hand through his hair, “I always hoped it was real! Heck, me and Lance used to look for it all the time as kids.”
“That’s the one where they find that cursed pearl that kills Lance Archer, right?”
“No, you’re thinking of Hunt for the Red Pearl. I haven’t read Journey to Sunrise Lagoon to you yet, that’s the one where they have to find this magical lagoon before the Dark Queen does and they’ve gotta find it by the Summer Solstice.”
“Mm…I can’t wait to hear it, then.”
A comfortable silence fell over the couple as Eugene got under the covers and scooted next to her. Rapunzel shifted so her cheek was smushed up against Eugene’s chest…right where they both belonged.
“I bet you’re pretty excited to finally meet your cousin tomorrow.” Eugene’s voice quietly cracked the silence.
Rapunzel’s eyes just barely opened…and then closed again.
“Eh.” She gave a halfhearted shrug, “I guess it’s nice to meet more of my family. Meeting my Oma for the first time was fun.”
“Oh man, her apple pies were delicious!” Eugene grinned at the memory, but he knew Rapunzel had more to say so he said nothing more.
“I just…it’s really weird that I never even heard of her until a few days ago.” Rapunzel mused, “If my family’s so big and missed me so much, why didn’t they all come to see me the minute I left the tower? And this will take away time from me and Cass trying to figure out the Lost Lagoon’s secrets. Which I know isn’t a big deal but…still…”
Rapunzel let out a tired sigh, and Eugene rubbed her shoulder with his thumb in a gesture of silent comfort.
“I know I’m almost asleep, but…do you have Journey to Sunrise Lagoon memorized like the other books?” She asked, trying with all her might to fight the oncoming yawn.
“I thought you’d never ask, Sunshine.” Eugene laughed softly and began to recite the book from his memory, “When last we left our heroes, Flynn Rider and his posse were heartbroken over Lance Archer’s death. But not all hope was lost. For Rider had heard many tales of an ancient map, leading to the Sunrise Lagoon…”
