A wedding date was set for the next month. Over the course of the month, Rapunzel and Eugene barely saw each other, and when they did, it was only for a brief amount of time. Rapunzel had wedding gown fittings twice a week and was with Thomas for the majority of each day. She came to like him. A lot. She found she could share her thoughts with him and make jokes with him. He was a great friend. Spending time with him just made her yearn for Eugene even more, though. She wished she could be with him, instead, and despite Thomas's kindness, she resented him for that. She wished they didn't have to get married. The thought of her wedding day filled her with dread, and the thought of her wedding night was downright horrifying. She had heard some of the servants gossiping about "intimate relations." The thought of Thomas touching her body disgusted her. The only person she could even think of allowing to do that was Eugene. As the wedding day approached, she grew more and more restless. She wanted to ask her parents to call off the wedding, but she was sure they would never agree to it. She was having nightmares every night.

On the eve of her wedding, Rapunzel was considering begging her parents to stop the wedding more than ever before. She sat on her bed in her nightdress imagining all of the possible scenarios. She couldn't imagine that the king and queen would agree to it. The wedding was in less than 24 hours. Not that they would have called the wedding off to begin with, but they definitely wouldn't at this late date. Rapunzel lay on her back and held one of her pillows, squeezing it as tightly as she could. It didn't help to release any of the stress. Pascal stared at her sympathetically. She dug her nails into her skin to keep herself from crying. She stood up. She had to do it. She had to tell her parents to call it off. She couldn't marry Thomas when she was in love with Eugene. She walked over to the door, grabbed the doorknob, and stopped. She was terrified. As she stood there, doorknob in hand, she heard a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" she asked softly.

"It's Eugene," he answered.

Tentatively, Rapunzel opened the door to him. He entered and shut the door behind him. She was surprised to see him dressed in the same rugged clothing he had worn when they first met. He looked terrified.

"Rapunzel," he began, struggling to remember the speech he'd been rehearsing in his mind for the past few weeks, "I can't let you marry him. I love you and I just can't go on knowing you're with someone else, especially when I know you're in love with me and not him. You still are, aren't you?"

A tear trickled down Rapunzel's cheek.

"Of course I'm still in love with you. Thomas is a wonderful friend, but I could never love him, or anyone else, for that matter, the way I love you."

Eugene let out a sigh of relief.

"Come away with me. Please. I'll take you to the kingdom of Illyria where no one knows you. We can be together and we can be happy. Please say yes."

"Eugene," she started, "I can't. I can't do that to Thomas and my family, not to mention the kingdom. They're all expecting me to walk down the aisle tomorrow. I really want to say yes, but I shouldn't."

"But I need you," he said softly.

She had never seen anyone so desperate in her entire life, and she never thought she would see Eugene like this. He was always so strong and in control of his emotions.

"I need you, too," she whispered.

All of the sudden, she was in his arms. She wasn't sure which one of them had moved. Their lips met and their hands wandered. Pascal hid under the bed. Rapunzel's hands fumbled to undo the clasps of Eugene's doublet. He threw the doublet, as well as his shirt, off and pushed her onto the bed, his lips taking hers captive. She slid her hands over his torso, transfixed by his hard muscles under that smooth skin, and the small section of hair on his chest.

"Take me," she whispered.

"What?" he asked, surprised.

"Take me," she repeated, "I heard some of the servants talking, and I'm curious…"

Eugene groaned with desire and kissed her again. He moved down and began to slide his hand up the skirt of her white nightdress, feeling his way up the soft skin of her slender calf until he reached the lacy hem of her drawers. Suddenly he stopped.

"No," he said, "I can't."

"Why not?" she asked, confused, "Don't you want me?"

Eugene sighed and stood up to pull his shirt on.

"Good God, Rapunzel. I've never wanted anything more in my entire life. But I can't. At least, not now. You're not like the women I've taken to bed in the past. I have too much respect for you."

Rapunzel blinked up at him from the bed.

"You really do love me, don't you?" she asked.

"Of course I do."

She sat up.

"I'll go with you," she said decisively.

His face lit into a smile.

"Good. We need to pack your things right now. Take only what is absolutely necessary. A change of clothing, some money and food, jewelry to pawn, things like that."

Pascal emerged from under the bed and Rapunzel got out a leather bag to pack. Eugene helped her lace up her old purple gown she had gotten from Mother Gothel. It was easier to move in than any of her other gowns.

"Are you sure you're ready for me to take your virginity, anyway?" Eugene teased as they shoved Rapunzel's jewelry collection into the bag.

She blushed.

"Not really. I'm rather scared, actually," she answered.

He smirked and leaned in to kiss her.

"I think that's everything you'll need," he said, "Let's get out of here. I think it would be safest to go through the servants' quarters and go through the gardens to get to the stables. I've already saddled up Max."

Throwing her hooded cloak on to mask her face, she and Eugene made their way down the servants' stairs to their quarters in the palace. They hadn't run into anyone until they saw a man coming towards them. Thomas. What was he doing here?

"Rapunzel?" he asked, "Is that you?"

"Yes," she replied, "We're just going for a walk in the garden."

Thomas eyed her, Pascal, and Eugene suspiciously. It was late and they were dressed in traveling clothes and carrying bags. He said nothing, though. Of course, it was suspicious that he would be in the servants' quarters, as well.

"Enjoy yourselves," said Thomas before continuing on his way.

Rapunzel and Eugene exchanged glances.

"Well, that was strange," observed Eugene.

"Yes," she agreed.

"Let's go," he urged.

They made their way to Maximus and rode away into the night.