A/N: Hi everyone! This is my first fic on here, and basically, it's going to be a set of one-shots about Rapunzel, Eugene, and the rest of the Royal family. I had this idea about the King and Queen having a daughter before Rapunzel, cause honestly, I thought it might a little boring for Rapunzel to be an only child, and I think she would love to hang out with her sister. I know in the movie, its pretty clear that Rapunzel's their only child, but hey, I like my idea and it's different! So this first chapter is like, a prologue/intro thing to the rest of the one-shots. And I'll be updating pretty much whenever I get an idea and have time to type it out. Oh, and in case you're wondering, the title is from the song "Charmed Life" by Joy Williams, and "I See the Light" in Tangled(and basically, I'm in love with them both, so I combined them and thought it was a good title!) SO, enjoy, and review! Constructive criticism is very welcome, especially since this is my first fic!
:( I don't own Tangled. :''( that makes me sad, now I'm gonna cry...Oh, I don't own "Charmed Life" by Joy Williams either. That makes me even sadder. I'm just gonna go bawl in the corner now...
King Jonathan of Corona looked out the window leading to his balcony, thinking and watching the decorations in the streets of Corona below slowly disappear. It was the day after the eighteenth time his wife, Queen Rosemary, and he had released lanterns in honor of their Lost Princess, and he had many things on his mind.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his eldest daughter, Rose, skipping down the cobblestone streets with her suitor, Wilson. He smiled to himself. They were off to a picnic at the beach, and if the King guessed right, Rose was going to come back home with a ring on her hand. Yes, Wilson had spoke with the King not two weeks before about marrying his daughter (Which he heartily gave his consent to, Wilson was a very good man, he and Rose were a good match and very much in love, and the King had been anticipating the conversation for a while.) He was thrilled to watch his daughter begin her future with this man, but it had also been somewhat of a reminder of everything he had lost with the Lost Princess.
He loved Rose so much, and it gave him so much joy to watch her grow up like this, and he longed to see his other daughter do the same. He so regretted that he wasn't a part of her life. He longed for her to return and to be able to be a part of her life. As of now, he had no idea where she was, who she was with, what she was like, how she felt about whatever her situation may be. He didn't even know what she looked like. In his mind, Rapunzel was still that little baby girl with long blonde hair, giggling and cooing as he held her. It was hard for him to picture her as the young woman he knew she was – and even harder for him to imagine her calling someone else "Mother" and "Father". The King felt that a man should know these things about his daughter, and because he didn't, he felt as if he had failed. He didn't even know if she was still…No, he wouldn't let himself lose hope like that.
The thought was one of the many that had crossed his mind in the past, but he couldn't bring himself to accept any of them. Maybe even if she was found, she wouldn't want to stay? The King had always assumed she was unhappy with her kidnapper, but he had no way of knowing. What if she was miserable right now, wherever she was? What if she did come back, and she wasn't what they'd dreamed she'd be? It wasn't her personality that mattered, because, of course, they would love and accept her no matter what her personality, but he couldn't imagine that the Princess, because she was most likely being raised by her kidnapper, might be hostile, unthankful, unkind, rude, or even cruel enough to kidnap a newborn baby girl. What if that was who she was? Or what if she really was what they'd dreamed? Either way, what would he do then?
He looked over at Rosemary, who was reading a book in the chair next to him. He rarely thought of these things, except now, of course, because over the years, the Queen had always been encouraging that Rapunzel would be found, that she would want to stay, that she would be what they'd dreamed. But what if she never came back? What if - the King sighed, making himself stop thinking up questions about the Lost Princess.
Her disappearance had been hard on everyone. It had been an emotional rollercoaster in the kingdom around the time of Rapunzel's birth. First, the whole kingdom rejoiced when they heard that their beloved King and Queen were going to be blessed with a second child. They rejoiced until the news spread that the Queen was ill, and immediately, the kingdom began searching for a cure - the legend of the magic golden flower. Amazingly, they found it in time, and brought it back for their Queen, who was healed, and gave birth to a new Princess. The kingdom rejoiced until Rapunzel's kidnapping. Again the people of Corona, as well as the Royals, searched and searched, this time for a Princess, not for a flower, and this time, they weren't so successful. This broke the King and Queen's hearts, as well as the kingdoms. The King remembered all too well how hard it was, especially for Rosemary, in those days. There had been days where she would just sit curled up on his lap and cry, making him promise they'd see their daughter again. And so far, the King hadn't fulfilled that promise, and even though Rosemary hadn't held it to him, it killed him that he hadn't, because he took his promises very seriously. His daughter, Rose, was still young then and didn't fully understand, but knew enough to know she wanted her baby sister back. Slowly, the kingdom and the royal family started to heal from the loss of their Princess. But the King knew he would always miss his lost daughter, and nothing could change that.
Suddenly, the doors burst open and a guard simply stood there, eyes wide, and a strange look of shock on his face. The King immediately looked away from the window, and the Queen looked up from her book and both directed their attention to the guard at the door. Had something happened to Rose and Wilson on their way to the beach? Or had…no, it couldn't be, the King thought. He had just been thinking about it; that would be too big of a coincidence. The guard just stood there, with the same expression on his face, chest heaving, and nodded slightly. Rosemary closed her book and stood up, and the King took a few steps forward. Could it really be the moment they had been waiting eighteen years for?
"Your majesty, it's the Lost Princess, sir." Another guard said, as he came up behind the first one.
There had never been certainty when they were informed of other girls claiming to be their daughter. There hadn't been many, because most of Corona shared the King and Queen's heartache and didn't want to cause them any more, but there were a few in Corona and neighboring countries who weren't as compassionate. It had to be her. Surely the guards wouldn't give them false hope like that. The Queen began to dart towards the door, the King right behind her.
"They're on the lantern balcony!" the speaking guard called after them, referring to the balcony that the King and Queen released lanterns on every year.
They're? There was more than one out there? Who was it? Questions buzzed through the Royals heads as the rushed toward the balcony. When they arrived at the door, they suddenly came to a halt.
Rosemary looked to her husband and gave him an expression of fear, hope, and uncertainty. Did he think this was really her? It looked as if she were almost pleading with him with her eyes to tell her whether or not this was real. The King looked into his wife's eyes for a minute before reaching for the door.
What he found behind that door changed the rest of his life and filled the part of him he thought he had lost.
A/N: SO, what did you think? Like? Hate? Needs work? I know it's not Eugene/Rapunzel or fluffy, but don't worry, that's coming later! Review, and like I said, constructive criticism is welcome!