It was really hard to watch him go. The morning had passed by all to quickly. And now the two stood on the stairs, holding each other in a tight embrace. Neither one wanted to let go. Especially Rapunzel. She was trying her hardest not to cry. She didn't want Eugene to have to worry nor did she want him to see her as weak at the moment.. Eugene broke away, kissing her forehead. Eugene didn't want to let her go, but he wanted to do at least one thing before he left. He fell to his knees before gently stroking her bulging stomach. Rapunzel looked down in slight confusion before she heard him speak.

"You better behave for your mother. Do you hear me? You wouldn't like her much when she's angry." Eugene said quietly to her stomach. Rapunzel looked down at him, not stopping the tears now. A teary smile appeared on her lips as she looked down at him. He was so sweet with the way he approached things, and seeing this just tugged at her heart, "You probably won't see me when you're born, but I'm sure you'll be adorable. How could you not? You do have gorgeous parents, after all. But I'm sure that you'll have more of your mother's traits then mine. But I love you very much, little baby. I'll see you when I come back, and I can't wait for it." He finished awkwardly. Eugene gently pressed his lips to her stomach before rising to his knees.

He took Rapunzel's face in his hands, wiping away the tears off her cheek with his thumb. She threw her arms back around his neck, burying her face in the crook of his neck. Eugene held onto her tightly, running his hand through her hair before she pulled away. She stood on the balls of her feet, pressing her lips to his. Eugene tangled his hand in her hair, pushing forward against the kiss. Unfortunately, they were interrupted by Eugene being called. They both broke apart as Eugene gave her a chaste kiss, "I love you so much, Rapunzel. I'll be back before you know it." He said.

Rapunzel let out a strangled sob before looking up at him, "I love you too, Eugene." She said, pulling him into one last hug, "Please come back." She whispered to him. Eugene squeezed her, kissing her forehead.

"I'll try as best as I can." Eugene said. It was the best answer he could give. He really did want to return. But when it came to this, it was just something that he couldn't be sure on. Eugene was going to hope and pray everyday that he'd be able to come back home to her. He was going to try his hardest and Eugene was going to hope that it would be enough.

He finally moved away from her, having to go off with the last group of soldiers. Rapunzel watched him walk down, giving him a small wave and blowing him a kiss. She watched sadly as he turned his back from her, having to walk away. The tears flowed more freely down her face this time as she watched him leave. Rapunzel knew she was going to have to live with the growing fear that it could be the last time she ever saw him. She didn't like dwelling on such depression thoughts, but it was the truth and there was no way around it.

She watched until Eugene was no longer in her sight, feeling as if he was marching straight to his death. No, no. Rapunzel didn't want to think of it that way. He'll come back. He promised her after all, even though both of them knew that might not happen. But she didn't want to think about that. He'd come back. Eugene had too. He was going to have a family to take care of. All of these thoughts were incredibly overwhelming. Rapunzel turned on her heels and ran. She needed comfort. Everything was so frustrating and she felt as if she just wanted to sit and cry.

Maybe she'd go to her mother. She would understand. Rapunzel certainly did not want to go to her father. She was still rather infuriated with his decision and excuse he made, though it was true. Maybe she was blowing the whole thing out of proportion, but Rapunzel didn't think of it as that way.

After searching the halls for what felt like hours, Rapunzel made it into the library, relieved to see her mother. Her mother sat in her normal chair, curled up with a book. Rapunzel found it a normal thing for her mother to be in here on her free time. The Queen looked up after hearing someone come in. She set her book down and simply offered her arms out to Rapunzel. She immediately ran over to her, gladly accepting the loving embrace.

It was nice. It helped comfort Rapunzel as she felt the soothing circles her mother drew on her shoulders. Her mother desperately wished there was something she could do to help ease her daughter's pain. Unfortunately, there wasn't much she could do except be a mother to her. Rapunzel moved away, sitting on the seat next to her mother. Her head rested against her shoulder as Rapunzel kept her eyes onto the ground.

"Will you be alright, darling?" She asked in a quiet tone. The Queen was concerned for the well-being of her daughter. She hoped that Rapunzel wouldn't spend her days upset and full of sorrow. Rapunzel had things she had to attend to and not to mention she had to be in well enough health to deliver a child. Even after three years, Rapunzel still couldn't believe the kindness her mother showed to her, though she never bothered to mention that. Rapunzel looked back up at her, biting her lower lip to fight the tears that had threatened to come again.

"I think." Rapunzel said quietly as her voice slightly cracked, "I'm just so concerned for Eugene. What if he doesn't return for years? I don't think I could handle being away from him for so long."

Her mother looked at her, gently stroking her hair. The motion instantly soothed Rapunzel as she returned back into her mother's embrace, "Don't worry, sweetie. He'll be back before you know it. It may be a while but the time will surely pass quickly."

That reply didn't help Rapunzel much. She shifted in her chair, frowning a bit, "But what if he misses the child grow up?" She asked, "Eugene could be gone for years! I don't know how I can deal with that, Mom." She finished off quietly as the tears had continued to run down her cheek. Her mother knew where she was coming from. She had to miss her own child grow up, and it wasn't an easy thing to deal with or think about. The Queen continued to run her hand through her daughter's hair, letting out a quiet sigh.

"I don't know, Rapunzel." She said quietly, "We'll just have to wait and see. That's all we can do."

xxxx

Eugene didn't want to go. He felt his heart slowly break at the sight of her when he left. He hated seeing her in so much pain and being the one to cause it. It wasn't fair, but it was something he had to do and couldn't be avoid. It wasn't going to be easy for either of them. Eugene was going to try and write her everyday. Or as much as possible.

The last thing he wanted was to give her any unnecessary reason to worry. She needed to stay as stress free as she could. He wanted what was best for her. She already had enough things to deal with and he didn't need to add this onto the poor girl. Only a few hours passed since they had left and Eugene was already missing her terrible.

He turned his attention to the scenery around him. Eugene then realized how much he didn't want to do this. He did fear his for his life, coming into a war. He died once and didn't intend to do it again. Much less how was the war zone like? Just how brutal was the opposing team? Of course, none of these questions would be answered until he actually arrived.

So many questions had come into his mind. Eugene wasn't sure if he liked all this free thinking time. It was only making him worry more and making his heart ache. Another one of his fears was being gone so long. It could be over years before he returned back home. Would he miss his child grow up? Another fear that had come into his mind.

All of his thoughts were interrupted when their ride had come into a jolting stop. Eugene grabbed the side of the cart to steady himself. He could tell that they had arrived.

The smell of blood and rotting corpses was already heavy in the air. It almost wanted to make Eugene gag at it. It was absolutely horrid. Eugene was some what nervous to see what awaited him. How long had they waited to send him out for this? He had his hand on his sword as he exited the cart. The site was horrifying.

There was a multitude of bodies everywhere. Soldiers from both sides were scattered among the grounds. The smoke covered a good amount of the sky as many of the buildings around had been burned to the ground.

What could possess someone to cause some much destruction?

Eugene was once again broken from his thoughts once he was ushered by another soldier to report that they had arrived. They had to maneuver around the various bodies scattered about as Eugene tried not that think about the fact that it could be him on that ground. He shook away the thoughts, not wanting to think of that. Before he knew it, they finally had arrived at a safe point. Eugene looked up to see the captain plotting a few things on the map. Once the soldier had cleared his throat, the captain looked up, giving a nod to acknowledge the arrival. The captain had put down quill he was holding and walked over to Eugene. He offered his hand to him, which Eugene shook.

"Nice to see that you arrived safely, sir." The captain addressed formally.

Eugene simply nodded, turning his attention back to the outside before looking at him, "Yes it is. Unfortunate site to come upon." He muttered.

The captain looked out before suppressing a frown, "It rather is. But what's done is done. Now we need to discuss where you will be stationed." Eugene nodded again as the captain had lead him over to the map. He was pointed and discussing things to Eugene. Such as who he would commanding over, where he was to be placed and his job, after all. This was all incredibly overwhelming but Eugene knew he could pull this off.

Hell, he'd done of a lot of crazy and confusing things. This should be a piece of cake. Right?