Chapter Two

Rapunzel

"I'm not sure, I understand what you mean."

Where was Arendelle, and why had she not heard of it before? Rapunzel started to shake her head. "And what does that have to do with Mother?"

The King sighed. "Let me explain further, my child. Arendelle is in Norway, right across the sea above—"

"I know where Norway is, Papa. What does that have to do with Mother, though?"

Baelfire stood again and began pacing the room, his hands behind his back. "I suppose you should know. Your mother had a sister, Amalie. I do not know what happened, but they grew apart when Soledad was about your age. Amalie moved to Arendelle, where she met Prince Adrian. They were married and had two beautiful children." The King stopped his movement and turned back to her. "Two gorgeous girls: Elsa and Anna Layette-Alexandria."

"Layette…" Rapunzel whispered. "That's Mother's maiden name."

The King nodded. "Elsa is the oldest, and she has just turned twenty one. Anna is now eighteen."

She narrowed her eyes at him, attempting to think. "I still don't understa—"

"We have since cut ties with Arendelle," her father interrupted. "Your mother and her sister's feud destroyed any and all connection we had with Norway."

"So why are you telling us this?" Eugene asked, sitting forward again. "It seems this is between the two Queens and—"

"The Queen and King of Arendelle are passed." Baelfire gave her husband a stern look. "They died three years ago."

Rapunzel gasped, surprised by her father's blunt confession. It must have been terrible for her mother. She could only imagine the guilt Soledad must feel, to fight with her own flesh and blood to have them die and never get the chance to reconcile. If it had been any of her own family members, Rapunzel didn't know what she'd even do—

"Three years ago…" Eugene turned to her. "That's the year we got married."

It was true. Rapunzel remembered the event well – Max and Pascal had shown up drenched in… black something, she didn't know what it was really. It had been one of the best times in her life; there was music and dancing, theatre and wonderful food.

"How did they die?" Eugene's voice was very… steeled. When she looked up at him, his face was hard and cold. What had happened this time? And then it hit her.

It hit her like a cold shower in the morning, like when they demolished the old library in town to replace it with a new one.

"I tried to reconcile them." Baelfire looked down, dismayed. The guilt painted his face, and Rapunzel had to hold back from making a snort of disgust. "I sent them word of your marriage, but I heard nothing back. I assumed your Aunt decided that it was not worth it. I didn't tell your mother of what I had done."

Eugene, now furious, stood up and angrily walked over to him. "That's not an answer," he said. "How did they die?"

The King looked up at him, trying to hide his emotions. "I found out some days after. Amalie… and Adrian died in a storm at sea." His eyes squinted. "They died coming here."

She didn't know what to think. It was a disaster. Of course, it wasn't his fault, and they all knew that but… They were dead… because of her and Eugene. They died attempting to make it to what had been her happiest days. "Does Mother know?" she whispered.

Her father shook his head. "I have not told her."

It was silent in the little room as all three of them tried to stomach what had happened. Rapunzel couldn't think of anything else – it was one thing to not tell her mother about reconciliation, but this? To not tell her about her own sister's death? How cruel was her father? It was unjust! It wasn't fair to her mother, or to Arende—

Just then, Eugene stormed over to the doors, ready to leave. Baelfire reacted and went to stop him. "Where are you going?"

"To tell Soledad," he replied. The King had gotten in front of him, blocking his way to the door.

"You cannot tell her," her father shot back, leaning up against the double doors and holding the handle with both hands. Rapunzel got on her feet, ready to stand in and break them up if something happened.

"And why the hell not?" Eugene pointed to the door. "That's her sister, and she deserves to know what happened."

"Not like this, Eugene, please. There is a time fo—"

"My father is right," Rapunzel cut in, already regretting putting her two cents in. She had to say something though! As much as she thought her mother needed to know what happened, the King was right to stop Eugene from barging through those doors. She didn't need to find out from her daughter's husband, and certainly not while he was angry. "Mom will be told in time, but right now is not that time."

She wrung her hands together, picking at her nails. Oh lord, this was going to end badly. Eugene stared at her for a long moment before sighing and moving away from the door. He threw his hands up in the air, as if he was surrendering. "Fine," he finally said, making his way to the window. The King leaned against the doors, closing his eyes.

Rapunzel lowered her hands. It was silent again. Eugene stood with his arms at his side, hands balled in fists with his back turned to the other two. After a few more moments, she couldn't take it anymore. "Why are you telling us this?" she asked, walking a few steps to her father.

The King opened his eyes, and glanced at Eugene first. He turned his attention to his daughter and said, "Their oldest daughter, Elsa, has come of age and will be crowned the new Queen."

"Yes, you said that earlier. Go on."

As the King started to explain, Eugene turned back around and walked to his wife, throwing an arm over her shoulder. "I'm telling you this," Baelfire continued, "because when a new Royal is crowned, it is customary for the European Dignitaries to attend. Germany's Dignitary hailed from Corona, but Jonathan passed a few months ago, and your mother and I have not decided on a new one."

"Why can't another Kingdom name a Dignitary?" Eugene asked, his fingers tightening around Rapunzel's shoulder.

"We are the most prominent Kingdom in Germany. Snow and Florian have decided to stay out of politics, and Aurora and Philip are going through a depression." Her father shook his head slightly. "Corona is thriving, and therefore, must hold the Dignitary."

"Are you suggesting that Rapunzel and I—?"

"No," he said. "After the death of their parents, I could hardly believe that your cousins would want anyone from Corona at the coronation." He took a deep breathe. "—which is exactly why you won't be saying who you are."

Rapunzel's eyes went wide. He wanted them to what? Eugene's grip tightened even more. "You want us to go even though we're not welcome?"

"They won't know it's you, though," Baelfire tried again. "You'll go by assumed names; no one will suspect."

"Papa," she said, moving away from Eugene for a moment to step closer to her father. "I lived with a crazy person for the first eighteen years of my life… but this is absolutely ridiculous." Her hand went to clutch at her hair, and then realized that it wasn't there anymore, settling for playing with the collar of her dress. "I-I don't know—"

"Rapunzel, my darling," he pleaded, resting one hand on her shoulder where Eugene's had been, and the other under her chin. "I need you to do this. I need you to go and try to talk to Elsa and Anna. Find out what happened with their parents, if they hold a grudge, anything. I would like to get Arendelle and Corona back on good terms." He tried smiling. "Plus they're family. They might not know you, but you're blood related."

"I don't know how I feel about this," Eugene spoke up, that death glare set back in his eyes. Rapunzel watched him warily as he tried to explain himself to her father. "Norway is across the sea, we're going to see two cousins of hers that might hate our Kingdom, as well as Rapunzel herself… It just doesn't seem right."

She turned to her husband. "I know, but Eugene… they're family." Rapunzel couldn't deny that what her father was asking her to do was probably half-insane, but she understood it. Elsa and Anna were family (though family she had never met, but still) and that meant a lot more to her than what would happen if Arendelle hated Corona.

His face went from murderous glare to contemplative sorrow. Eugene really didn't want her to go. Not only was she his wife, but his partner-in-crime (of course, not literally anymore). Rapunzel could sympathize with him, but she had her heart made up. She knew that he knew this, and that there was no changing her mind. Eugene knew what he was getting himself into as soon as he brought her to see the lights those five years ago. Rapunzel could be stubborn, almost obnoxiously so.

He stared at her another moment before giving in. "Alright, alright."

Rapunzel smiled at him and kissed his cheek. "Thank you," she whispered in his ear. When she pulled away, she didn't miss the slight grin on his lips.

The King cleared his throat. "It's settled then. You two will go unaccompanied to Arendelle for the coronation. You're mother and I will name a Dignitary tomorrow morning, and he will be off to deliver the letter to King Eric and his wife, Queen Ariel of Denmark about trade. Unknowingly to your mother, however, he will continue on to Arendelle afterward."

"Won't Soledad wonder where Rapunzel and I have gone?" Eugene asked.

Baelfire shook his head. "I have already talked to her tonight before I called you two here." Her father smiled a bit. "She thinks you two are packing your bags right now to go visit the Kingdom of Dun'Broch – after all, I heard the Princess has chosen a suitor at last."

Rapunzel's eyes went wide. "Merida? Has chosen a suitor?" She laughed. "I thought the girl would never get married!"

"Well, didn't she try marrying herself at the games?" Eugene put in, and then attempted in a Scottish accent, "Ah am Merida! And ah'll be shootin' fer mah own hahnd!"

"She's a feisty one, I'll give her that," the King chuckled. "Fergus is a bit of a brute, though, so I see where she gets it from." He coughed. "But," he started again, going back to being serious, "you two will be traveling to Dun'Broch to meet her. Soledad is expecting a letter from you on how it's going, so I had to agree."

Rapunzel stood up a bit more, listening to her father. "So we go to Dun'Broch, and from there we head to Arendelle?"

The King nodded. "Yes, that is the plan. Merida will loan you a ship to get across the sea. Arendelle is the Fjord if you head straight. You'll dock there and say you are from…" he fished for a place in his mind, "Ireland – they'll believe it. Anna and Elsa have not had much outside experience, from what I've heard."

Eugene spoke up. "What do we do while we're there?"

"Enjoy the coronation, and talk to Anna and Elsa, I presume." Rapunzel looked to her father. "I figure we'll have to reveal ourselves after some time."

"And hope for the best."

It got quiet again as the consequence of what they were doing bore down on Rapunzel again. To not tell her mother… it was killing her. Nevertheless, she couldn't find out like this; it was her father's job to break the news and she had to respect that.

"In order to make it there for the coronation, you will have to leave tomorrow morning." The King was firm.

"That doesn't give us much time," she told him. "We have to pack and make sure we're ready—"

"You pack tonight," Baelfire interrupted. "You must leave by tomorrow morning. There isn't enough time. If you were leaving with the Dignitary, you wouldn't have to go until a few more days, but because there are stops along your way, you must head for it at once. You have seven days to get there, and that's it. The sailing will take at least two, and traveling will take the five."

"It's a little rushed, Papa," Rapunzel tried cutting in. "Won't mother be—"

"Your mother is thrilled that you two are going to see Merida, as she wants news as fast as possible about the chosen suitor."

She bit her lip, and Eugene put an arm around her waist. "We can do it," he told her. "You're going with a man who learned to pack up his stuff and vamoose within an hour."

Rapunzel let out a chuckle. "Okay."

"Go pack your bags. Columbia will wake you an hour before dawn to get ready." The King pulled his daughter into a tight hug. "You are a glorious child," he whispered. "I'm so glad I have you."

She smiled and nestled into his shoulder. "And you are a wonderful father."

After that, Rapunzel and Eugene left to their chamber. The King let out a sigh and collapsed on the chair behind his desk. He put his head in his hands and mumbled, "I am a wonderful father, but a terrible husband."