Eric had truly enjoyed his stay in the kingdom of Corona and spending time with Flynn Rider. He had enjoyed it so much that he decided to return to Corona once again the following summer. He was able to take a break from his royal duties, and that was when he would make his return trip.
Once the time had come, Eric began to plan his return trip to Corona. He would stay at the inn just like he had on the previous trip. Hopefully, he and Flynn could share a room again and split the cost. And hopefully, Gaston would not be there to try to join them and disrupt their plans. And he knew that summer was the best time to visit Corona.
Pretty soon, Eric embarked on his journey. He was very excited and couldn't wait to get there. The weather was nice during his journey, and once he arrived in Corona, it was warm and sunny. The first thing he did upon his arrival was head for The Snuggly Duckling. Sure enough, when Eric entered, the first person he saw was Flynn Rider. The two greeted one another warmly, and each was happy to see the other. They started making plans almost instantly and enjoyed some of the pub's great refreshments.
Flynn told Eric that he was staying at the inn, and he said that the two of them should share a room again and split the cost. Eric gladly accepted the offer and was glad that they would be doing that again. Things were off to a great start.
Later, Eric and Flynn checked into the inn and settled in for the night. Each laid in a bed and crossed his arms behind his head. They both remembered the first time they stayed at the inn together and how terribly annoying it was having Gaston there with them. Both were glad that they would never have to deal with him again. As they drifted off to sleep, each began to think about the fun things they would do during the next several days.
The next morning, Flynn took Eric to a swimming hole that he had visited several times and liked. As they approached the area, they saw that two people were already there. They had been hoping to have it all to themselves. But at least it wasn't crowded.
One of the people at the swimming hole was Prince Charming. This was before he met Cinderella, and he had been visiting Corona after hearing about it from the Grand Duke. He had been able to take some time off from his royal duties, and he decided that Corona was a kingdom he wanted to visit during the summer.
The other person at the swimming hole was not a person but a big, hairy Beast. He was really a prince in disguise, and he and his entire castle had been put under a spell by an enchantress. This was before he met Belle, and he had decided to get away from his castle for a while after the spell had been cast. He had found the kingdom of Corona as well and decided that summer was the best time to visit.
Both of them were friendly toward Eric and Flynn when they arrived. Eric found that he and Prince Charming had a lot of common ground. They both liked to travel to other countries and other kingdoms, which they liked to do when they could take a break from their royal duties. They both agreed that even princes needed a little downtime every once in a while.
When Flynn saw how Eric and Prince Charming were hitting it off, he began to worry that he was going to lost his new friend. But he had nothing to worry about because Eric invited him to hang out with them, and he and Prince Charming found that they had common ground as well. The two of them had a tendency to engage in a little rebellion from time to time.
The Beast hoped he would be welcomed into their little group. He began to tell them about his predicament and hoped they would take pity on him. Sure enough, after he told them about the enchantress and the curse, they invited him to hang out with them. He was so grateful and hoped that hanging out with them would help change his attitude toward life.
After the four young men had spent time at the swimming hole, they decided to head to the inn and start planning their next excursion. When the Beast got out of the water, he couldn't help but shake off the water on his fur, which landed on the other three after they had gotten almost completely dried off. The young men were a little peeved at first, but the feeling soon passed. They realized that was normal behavior for someone with fur. And they knew that he didn't do it on purpose. They were not about to let something like that ruin their time together.
Before they headed back to the inn, the four young men stopped at The Snuggly Duckling to have a meal. They sat at a table, and when their food was brought to them, the Beast put his face down in his bowl of soup and began to slurp it up. Eric, Flynn and Prince Charming looked at him with weird expressions on their faces. When he noticed that they were looking at him, the Beast stopped slurping. The other three then put down their spoons, picked up their soup bowls and drank their soup. The Beast did the same. This was another instance that they were not going to let ruin their time together.
After they finished their meal, the four young men returned to the inn. Prince Charming and the Beast decided to share a room and split the cost just like Eric and Flynn. Their room was next door, and each young man has his own bed. Prince Charming was glad to have some other young men to spend time with, as was the Beast. The Grand Duke didn't have any desire to go to Corona, and the Beast's servants couldn't travel because they had been transformed into objects when the spell was cast. Both young men were looking forward to the next few days as they settled down for the night.
The next morning, the foursome decided to go horseback riding. Eric and Flynn remembered doing it the previous summer and enjoying it. Prince Charming said that it was one of his favorite pastimes, and it was one he did frequently. He mentioned that he once chased a stag while riding a horse, and he had chased him all over the castle courtyard and across all the castle lawns. He then chased him over the wall that surrounded the castle and all the way into the woods outside the castle. Once he caught up to the stag, the two became friends and decided to go for a jaunt through the kingdom.
The Beast had done lots of horseback riding before the enchantment, but he had not done any since the spell had been cast. He was a little uncertain at first, but once he got on the horse and began to ride, all of his worries went away. He remembered how much he enjoyed horseback riding and how invigorating it could be. He loved the feeling of the wind through his fur. It felt so good to be doing it again after so long.
After their jaunt through the kingdom, the foursome arrived at some hot springs that were part of a day spa. The young men were ready to relax, so they parked their horses and took a dip in one of the hot springs. After their soak, they decided to get massages. Eric decided to get his nails buffed after his massage, while Flynn got his feet scraped and Prince Charming had an ear candling done.
The Beast was the last to get a massage, and he was planning to get his claws trimmed afterward. When he went in to have those services, the staff refused to serve him. They thought he was hideous, and one of them stated that one of their policies was that they could only provide services to humans. The Beast was enraged by this, and so were Eric, Flynn and Prince Charming. They were also very dissatisfied with the service. The water in the hot springs was not hot enough and the staff did not do their jobs well. The four young men left the day spa immediately and vowed to never come back.
The foursome returned to the inn, feeling badly about how the day had turned out. It had started out nicely, with the four of them horseback riding and enjoying it. They all loved riding through the kingdom and feeling the wind against their faces, and then what they were hoping would be a relaxing time at the spa turned into a disaster. They couldn't believe that an establishment like that was in the kingdom of Corona. The four of them began to plan the next day's activities and hoped they would not end in a fiasco.
The next morning, the four young men went down to the harbor and rented a ship for the day. They went for a cruise around the kingdom, and each of them took a turn at the helm. When they were ready to take a break from sailing, they dropped the anchor and went swimming off the boat. The Beast had not been on a boat in such a long time, and it felt great to be on one again. He felt the same way he felt the day before when he went horseback riding for the first time since he had been cursed.
After their break, the foursome continued sailing. It was the Beast's turn to steer the ship, and he gladly took the helm. As they continued sailing, Eric and Flynn said how great it felt to have the wind blowing in their faces and to smell the salty sea air. Prince Charming agreed with them, and he decided to climb up to the crow's nest and get a better feel. It was something he had always wanted to do, and he had a good feeling in him once he reached the crow's nest and felt the warm, gentle breeze. When he was ready to come down, instead of climbing down the pole, he grabbed a rope and swung down. He came down very swiftly and made a swift landing on the deck. Eric, Flynn and the Beast all agreed that he was very stylish.
After they returned the ship to the harbor, the four young men returned to the inn. They were so glad that that day had turned out so well. It certainly made up for the awful experience they had at the spa. All four of them were starting to think of other things they could do in the coming days. They knew that they would have many more pleasant experiences in the kingdom of Corona. And so began a summer bromance between Eric, Flynn, Prince Charming and the Beast.