It occurred to me recently that some of you, if you have seen the HTTYD movie but not the show, might not know who Alvin the Treacherous is, so let's just say he's a character from the show and basically Hiccup's archenemy. He's also a character from the books, but I figured if I was going to use the TV version of Hiccup I might as well use the TV version of Alvin, too, instead of his book version.

On to the story!

Chapter 2: Trouble in Corona

"All great changes are preceded by chaos."

-Deepak Chopra

Princess Rapunzel of Corona ran as fast as she could, her breath ragged and uneven and her feet bare. She didn't dare glance behind her, for that would only slow her down. And slowing down was not something she could afford to do.

Run run run run run… the mantra repeated over and over in her head, spurring her forward.

She sprinted down to the end of the hall, and barely slowed at all as she rounded the corner… straight into a pair of strong arms that captured her. She gasped and struggled for a moment, before realizing who it was that held her.

"Whoa, Blondie," Eugene said to her, kissing her playfully on the tip of her nose. "What's the hurry?"

Rapunzel giggled and took a step back, blowing a piece of her short brown hair out of her big green eyes. "It's my mom," she said with an exasperated sigh. "You know how there's that big ball tonight for the ambassadors from the nearby kingdoms?"

Eugene nodded. "Of course. I'll be there, right next to you the whole time." He put his hand on her waist and swung her around, pulling her into another kiss, on the lips this time.

Rapunzel pulled away, but she was smiling happily. "Well, Mom intends to put me in a corset. A corset, Eugene! I hate those things so much. It's so hard to move properly and even harder to breathe."

"You don't need a corset," Eugene said. "You could go just as you are and still be the prettiest girl in the room."

Rapunzel looked down at her thin, rumpled dress. It was getting a little short on her, falling a few inches below her knees. The pink and purple silk also had several grass stains from all the time she spent in the palace gardens. It was a mess, and Eugene knew it.

"You're a terrible flirt," she said to her husband, a smile playing across her lips. "And hopelessly cheesy."

Eugene grinned. "And that's exactly why you fell in love with me." He leaned in to kiss her again.

"Eugene, honestly!" Rapunzel said with a laugh, putting a finger to his lips. "I have to go, before-"

"Rapunzel!" The voice accompanied the exasperated face of Queen Primrose as she rounded the corner, Rapunzel's shoes in one hand and a corset in the other.

"- my mom finds me," Rapunzel finished with a sigh.

"Rapunzel, sweetie, I know you don't like it, but the ambassadors are all going to be there, and don't you want to look nice? And can't you at least wear shoes?" The Queen's tone was pleading, almost desperate.

"Shoes are overrated," Rapunzel stated. "And who's going to notice if I wear a corset or not? I'm already thin as a stick." It was true. The princess's frame was very small, and her arms were thin enough that, if Eugene tried, he could probably wrap his hand all the way around her forearm.

"It's more of a formality than anything," the Queen said. "Please, Rapunzel? For me?"

Rapunzel's willpower crumbled at the sight of her mom's pleading countenance. "Oh… alright. But just for tonight."

The Queen's face brightened. "Wonderful! Then let's go get you ready!"

She took Rapunzel's arm and began leading her away. The princess glanced over her shoulder at Eugene. Save me, she mouthed.

Eugene only shrugged. Good luck, he whispered back.

Then Rapunzel and the Queen rounded the corner and Eugene disappeared from sight. Rapunzel turned to her mom as she began speaking.

"I know this is your first real ball, but I don't want you to be nervous. Some of the ambassadors are good friends, like Sir Fabian from Goredd and Lady Evalina from Selvana. They'll be so thrilled to meet you after all this time! Evalina isn't too much older than you, actually…"

She continued, but Rapunzel wasn't really listening. She was looking down at the soft carpet beneath her feet, or more specifically the vine design that embroidered along the whole length of it. Walking in a slightly wayward pattern, she followed the path of the vine all the way down the hall. Her mind wandered, thinking that maybe a flowering vine would be a nice addition to the walls of her room. The walls were so extremely bare without art, after all. But she was working on changing that.

Had the Queen not been steering her by the arm she would have walked right past the door to her bedroom. Her mom half dragged her inside the enormous room and with a cheery goodbye handed her over to the ladies-in-waiting before going to get ready for the ball herself. Ellie, one of the ladies, eyed her suspiciously with the corset in hand.

"You're not going to run, are you?" she asked.

Rapunzel sighed. "I tried that already, so no."

"Good."

Ellie helped her into the corset, pulling the laces so tight Rapunzel thought her ribs might crack. She gasped for breath, and Ellie looked at her sympathetically.

"I don't like them any more than you do, miss, but it must be done."

"Easy for you to say," Rapunzel grumbled. "You're not wearing one."

Just then several of the other ladies-in-waiting came in with her clothes for the ball and the jewelry she would wear with it. They slipped the gown over her head, and Rapunzel turned to look at it in the mirror. It was a deep royal purple embroidered and laced in what she suspected was real gold. The skirt was sweeping and full, the fabric gathered at the waist so that it draped down artistically. The sleeves stopped just above her elbow. It was by far the fanciest dress she had ever worn; even her wedding gown had been simpler than this.

Her jewelry was a gold necklace with a single amethyst pendant and her tiara. The shoes were the same shade of purple as the dress with two-inch heels that caused her to wobble uncertainly. Ellie did her makeup, which comprised of a layer of foundation to cover her freckles, a soft blush, pale pink lipstick, and subtle accents of purple eye shadow. There wasn't much that could be done with her hair; it was too short and choppy.

Ellie sighed. "I don't understand why you don't want to grow your hair out, Rapunzel. You could do so much more with it that way."

"I told you," Rapunzel said, running her fingers through her hair. "I like it much better short. I wouldn't trade it back for long hair if you offered me the world."

Ellie just shook her head, but Rapunzel didn't expect her to understand.

Still wanting to pretty up her hair somehow, the ladies-in-waiting strung little threads of sparkly purple tinsel here and there, not glaringly obvious but enough that when she moved her head her face seemed to be framed by sparkles. For the finishing touch, Ellie polished the diamonds in Rapunzel's wedding ring and slipped it back on the princess's finger.

Rapunzel did a little spin for the ladies-in-waiting, who gasped in delight. They fussed over the little details one last time, exclaiming how pretty she looked and how much fun she was going to have and oh how they wished they could go! She argued with Ellie on whether or not she could bring Pascal, her chameleon, to the ball, but eventually gave in and bade him goodbye as he curled up on his little cushion on her bedside table.

Then Ellie took her to the room that led to the ballroom just through the big doors where her parents and Eugene awaited her. Eugene looked more handsome than ever in his suit as he came over and looped his arm through hers.

"You're not nervous, are you?" he asked quietly.

"No…" she said uncertainly. "Should I be?"

"Well, you are going to have to mingle with the ambassadors and meet lots of new people and probably do a lot of dancing and you don't want to trip in those shoes or say the wrong thing or accidentally insult anybody or-"

"Eugene!" she interrupted. "Are you trying to make me nervous?"

He laughed. "Maybe… just so I'm not the only one…"

She stared at him. "You're nervous?"

"Of course I am," he whispered. "Most of those people know I used to be a thief, and every single one of them will be watching me and judging me because of it…"

She squeezed his arm comfortingly. "And I'm the princess who doesn't know how to be royalty because she's been locked up in a tower her whole life. We're in the same boat, Eugene. Hopefully we balance each other out."

Eugene offered her another smile. "I'm not sure that's how it works, but okay."

The doors to the ballroom began to open, and the sounds of music and talking flooded through. The voice of the herald could be clearly heard above all the others, announcing their arrival to the party.

"The royal family of Corona," he said in a loud, clear voice. "Queen Primrose, King Thomas, Princess Rapunzel, and Prince Eugene."

Rapunzel took a deep breath and clutched Eugene's arm a little tighter as she walked through the doors and began descending down the staircase right behind her parents. She plastered on a bright smile and looked out at the crowd of people. Each person was curtsying and bowing to her and her family, and every single face was trained on her. Everyone wanted a glimpse of the lost princess, after all. She concentrated on not tripping in her heels and falling down the stairs in a disgraceful heap. Somehow, she made it.

She and Eugene began to merge with the crowd as people began to turn their attention elsewhere and the next person was announced at the top of the staircase. She let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding and loosened her grip on Eugene's arm.

"Alright, Blondie," her husband said with a nervous smile. "Let's just try and relax and have some fun."

Things went surprisingly well as the ball went on. Each of the ambassadors came to speak to her, and her responses came easily. Compared to taming a pub full of vicious ruffians and thugs, this was nothing. All she had to do was say something sweet or mildly witty and she would instantly win them over. Sometimes one of them would ask to dance with her, but at the end of every dance she somehow found herself back in the familiar arms of Eugene.

After a while her feet began to ache, so she took off her heels and hid them behind a vase of flowers. No one could see her feet beneath her skirts anyway, and the cool marble floor was soothing.

After a time her father came to find her. "Enjoying yourself?" he asked her.

"Oh, yes, Father," she replied with a smile. "Everyone here is so nice and the music is wonderful!"

The King smiled. "I'm glad."

Suddenly the herald's voice rang across the room, announcing one of the stragglers that had shown up late. "King Douglas of the Kingdom of Sceadu!"

Her father's face paled, and Rapunzel spun around to look at the new arrival. King Douglas of Sceadu was thin but muscular, with a sharply defined face and graying hair and beard. Even though he was late he walked with the complete confidence of one who knew he could ask anyone to do anything and they would have to do it. His smile, though charming, struck Rapunzel as vaguely unpleasant.

"Douglas…" her father muttered. "What is he doing here?"

"What's wrong, Father?" she asked.

"I must go find your mother," the King said in way of response. He walked away, leaving Rapunzel baffled. She looked up at Eugene, who held the same grim expression as her father.

"You know what's going on, don't you?" she said to him.

"Do you follow politics, Blondie?" he asked.

"Not really…"

"Well, Douglas is King of Sceadu, which is a kingdom that Corona is on shaky terms with. Sceadu has always been jealous of Corona's prosperity, see, and a few years back there was a war between the two kingdoms. They signed a treaty, but it's an uneasy peace. As far as I know, Douglas wasn't even invited tonight."

"Then why is he here?" Rapunzel wondered.

"No idea," Eugene replied. "But we'll have to watch our step. The slightest thing might set him off."

Rapunzel looked over at the King of Sceadu again, who was striding towards her parents. They were smiling, but they were strained, tense smiles. "Let's avoid him," she decided. Eugene agreed.

Unfortunately, it was not long before Douglas came looking for them.

"There she is! The lost princess herself!"

Rapunzel turned from her conversation with another of the ambassadors to see Douglas standing just a few feet away. His voice was warm, but his smile was warning and his eyes glinted with a strange light.

"Oh," she said, smiling uncertainly. "Hello."

Douglas took a step closer. "Rapunzel, correct? And her husband, Prince Eugene Fitzherbert, former scourge of Corona's streets."

Eugene stiffened at her side. "The key word being 'former' there," he said curtly.

"Oh, I'm sorry, dear boy," Douglas said, not sounding sorry at all. "I didn't mean to offend you. I only came to talk." He turned his attention to Rapunzel. "I'm King Douglas of Sceadu, by the way. I don't believe we've met."

"No, but I've heard of you."

"I don't doubt it. But I'm not here to talk about myself; I came to talk about you. Adjusting well to the royal life, dear?"

"Fabulously," Rapunzel said.

"Good, good. I was worried that perhaps you might have still have kept some, ah, unfortunate habits." He glanced down, and Rapunzel realized that her bare toes were sticking out from beneath her skirt. Mortified, she pulled them back.

Eugene spoke up. "She is doing a wonderful job as princess, I assure you."

"I'm sure," Douglas smirked. "Of course, things might be different when she becomes Queen."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rapunzel asked a bit sharply.

"Only that there is quite a big difference between being a queen and being a princess. And seeing as you have been absent from your post as princess for quite some time, you might have some trouble as Queen. And, well, the kingdom requires a strong queen."

"My 'absence' was not my fault," she replied stiffly.

"I never said it was, my dear." Douglas replied. "Just… do be careful." With that he turned and disappeared into the crowd.

"He gives me a bad feeling," Eugene said once he was gone.

"Me too," Rapunzel agreed. "But let's just go dance and forget about him."

Soon the pair was waltzing about the dance floor, but as much as Rapunzel tried she couldn't shake the uneasy feeling her meeting with Douglas had given her. During one of her spins, she thought she saw a dark hooded figure lurking by a tapestry in a corner of the room, but when she next looked the figure was gone. The dance ended, and out of the corner of her eye she saw her father moving through the crowd toward her with a grave expression. She turned and began walking towards him, but suddenly a man's pain-filled scream filled the ballroom.

There were gasps as everyone turned to the source of the scream, and through the gaps between the people Rapunzel could make out the hunched form of King Douglas. The king was clutching at his chest, where a splotch of red was quickly growing. He coughed, and a few drops of blood splattered the marble floor. With a horrible groan he fell forward, revealing the hilt of a knife buried in his back.

For a moment there was only stunned silence. Then, a woman screamed. This caused many others to scream as well, and all of a sudden all the guests began stampeding towards the exit. For a moment she thought she saw the hooded figure again in the crowd, but when she blinked they were gone.

Rapunzel spotted Eugene a few feet away and reached out to him. He grabbed her hand, but the rush of people quickly separated them. Her wedding ring slipped off in Eugene's grasp, and it fell to the ground with a soft clink and began rolling away, kicked about by the panicked guests' running feet.

"No!" she cried, and began going after it, but a hand grabbed her wrist. She looked up and saw her father, his eyes wide and panicked.

"Rapunzel, you must come with me!" he said.

"But my ring-"

"Now!"

She reluctantly followed, and soon they had exited the ballroom. The screams muted and faded away as they ran down the empty hallways.

"Where are we going?" Rapunzel gasped.

The King glanced back at her. "There's no time to explain, but you must leave Corona."

"Leave Corona?" she exclaimed. "But what about Eugene? What about you and Mom?"

"This isn't about us, it's about you." He stopped running and took both of her hands in his. "Rapunzel, you are very special. You have been chosen to save us all. You may not see any of us for a long time, but trust me when I say that my blessing goes with you."

Rapunzel suddenly found it hard to breathe. Everything was happening so quickly, and she didn't understand what her father was talking about. The corset wasn't helping, either. "What- why- is this about King Douglas?"

Her father hesitated. "It might be. We do not know for sure."

"We…?"

Her father opened a door to an empty room, and when Rapunzel followed him in she stopped short and threw a hand up to muffle a scream. There was a huge, hairy something in the room. The creature was entirely covered in fur, and it towered over her. Its furry mustached face was kind, but it was still frightening.

"What is that?"

"This is Phil," her father answered calmly. "You must go with him."

Tears welled up in her emerald eyes. "I don't understand…"

Her father took her face in his hands and kissed her gently on the forehead. She buried her face in his chest and he murmured comfortingly in her hair.

"Everything will be explained soon, I promise. Everything will be okay. I love you, Rapunzel. No matter what happens, I love you." He pulled her back and looked straight into her eyes. "Now go."

She turned to the creature named Phil, who shook what looked like a snow globe in his hand and threw it to the ground. Instead of shattering, however, it burst into a swirling whirlpool of color and light. He gestured to the whirlpool, indicating that she should go through it.

She looked back at her father one more time, who nodded reassuringly. She hesitated, then took the tiara off her head and handed it to him. "I don't want to lose it."

Then she turned and stepped into the whirlpool. There was a horrible lurching sensation in her stomach, and she got the sensation that she was spinning very fast. Suddenly the spinning stopped, and she fell to solid ground. The dizziness was terrible, and combined with the breathlessness the corset caused she felt like she was going to pass out. She had just enough time to see green grass, blue sky, and an endless span of ocean before dark spots clouded her vision.

There was a distant yell and an echoing roar, and then nothing.

Review and tell me what you think!