CHAPTER THREE

"What!" Eugene said as he rapidly got up and away from the Doctor.

The Doctor got up and once again began to pace.

"Hmmmm," he said to himself. "That's interesting. Very interesting..."

"Doctor." Eugene said. "Just what is going on here?"

"I'm beginning to get an idea about what happened here. That is, what happened between you, your wife and Gothel."

"Eugene, could you take me to the tower where Rapunzel was kept by Gothel?" The Doctor asked as he turned to face Eugene.

"I suppose so, but what would that accomplish?" Eugene replied.

"Well for one thing, it may help to wake up your wife. You see she isn't just asleep, she's somehow being forced into an induced near comatose trance. There's little to no brain wave activity coming from her right now. I would say that she's dead, except that she's obviously not. So something is causing her to remain in this 'suspended animation'. I need more information. And I think I can get it at the tower."

Turning to one of the nearest guards, Eugene gave rapid instructions to have an escort and horses prepared at once. The guard saluted crisply and then left.

The Doctor felt a yawn come over him. He suddenly realized that, excepting unconsciousness, he had been at it for well over a day now. That and the crack to his noggin had drained him of most of his energy. Plus, looks excepted, he wasn't a young man anymore.

"Eugene, do you mind if we put off our little excursion till morning? I don't often say this, but I could use a rest."

The prince looked at the Doctor and noticed his haggard appearance. "I suppose Doctor, but morning is only a few hours away.

"That's okay, a couple hours of rest and I'll be right as rain." The Doctor replied as he fought down another yawn.

"Very well then, Doctor. I'll show you to some guest quarters. Come with me." They both headed out into the hall.

As Eugene and the Doctor, plus escort, walked along a torch lit hallway, the prince asked the Doctor a question.

"So Doctor, what makes you think Gothel was one of your people?"

"Well simply put, the facts would seem to bear it out, my reaction to you and your wife, the nursery rhyme. Everything points to one of my people meddling here somehow. In fact, I have a strong notion about who it was. Which is surprising to me, because she was supposed to have been imprisoned. Forever."

"Forever? She was that dangerous?" The Prince asked

"More than you could possibly know." The Doctor ominously replied.

"So it's a good thing she's dead then." Eugene said.

The Doctor put his hand on Eugene's arm halting him. "Eugene, it's never a good thing when someone passes on. No matter who they were. Everyone has the power of redemption in them. When they're gone, that's no longer a possibility."

Eugene looked at the Doctor crossly, "That woman tried to kill me and would have imprisoned my wife for an eternity if she could have managed it. I have a hard time believing there was anything redemptive about her."

Really? The Doctor asked. "So what about you Eugene? Hmmm? What were you before you met your fairy tale princess?"

"I was many things Doctor, but I was no murderer. And after meeting Rapunzel, I changed my ways." Eugene replied hotly.

"So you redeemed yourself." The Doctor said squarely facing the prince. "Then why is it so hard to believe that even a witch like Gothel couldn't have been redeemed as well? She only needed Rapunzels hair, Eugene. She could have simply had her chained up in a cellar somewhere and taken the regenerative power of the hair. But she didn't. From what I understand, she raised Rapunzel as if she was her own daughter. She cared for Rapunzel, and the only bad thing she did was to kidnap her and not let her leave the tower."

The Doctor continued on. "To be perfectly honest that probably would have been Rapunzels life even if she had been raised by her real parents. She would have grown up living a very sheltered life. In fact she probably would have never been allowed to leave the castle until she was married off to some foreign prince."

"Doctor, unless you want to spend the few remaining hours until morning unconscious. I suggest you drop the subject." Eugene replied darkly.

"Sorry." The Doctor replied back sarcastically. "Getting hit in the head with a frying pan tends to make me a tad tetchy."

They continued down the hall in silence.

The guard posted to a little used side entrance of the castle watched as a bent over figure in a hooded cloak approached.

"Halt! Who goes there! State your business and intent!" The guard shouted as per regulations.

"I am the apothecary the prince sent for, to attend the sick princess." The figure replied.

"Then go to the main gate. No one is currently allowed entrance to the castle except through there." The guard replied.

"Oh but surely you could make an exception for a poor old woman? It's such a long way to the front of the castle, and my lame lag is about to give up." The cloaked figure said as it painfully hobbled up next to the guard.

"I'm sorry old woman, but I have my orders." The guards dutifully replied.

"I figured as much." The figure said in a suddenly much stronger voice. It whipped a handful of dust into the guards face.

The guard violently shoved the cloaked figure aside as he went for his sword. He sneezed once and then suddenly stopped moving.

The Rani pulled back the hood of her cloak. "Right now your probably wondering why you can't move. Well darling, the reason is because of the microscopic brain parasites you just inhaled. I'm sorry to tell you that you'll be dead in about twelve hours, but at least you can be of service in that time.

Walking around the immobile guard she continued on. "You see, one of the side effects of the parasites is that the subject is conducive to suggestion."

leaning in close to the guards face she said. "So I suggest you listen only to me. Now open the door and take me to where the princess is. And make sure no one sees us."

The Doctor groggily woke to someone bursting into the room in which he was sleeping. He could hear a loud commotion that seemed to run throughout the castle.

Eugene ran up to the Doctors bedside. The look of panic clear on his face.

"Doctor! Rapunzel is missing!"