A/N: So, in this chapter, the thugs will make their first appearence. They weren't exactly planned to be in the story, but then I realized Eugene wasn't going to accomplish much on his own, and the story wouldn't be complete without them, so I added them to the plot. I've been thinking about Jean as well, if she should die or not.. I guess I still have to figure that out.

Also, thanks to Umbre0n, Rapunzel gold and fictional-characters for reviewing :D

I think I've said everything, so... Enjoy the chapter! Hope you like it :)

"We can't just stay here and let him go on a suicide mission!" said Hook Hand, shifting his glance from a pub thug to the other. They'd all gathered around a big wooden table, their faces as serious as they rarely were.

"Sucide? Who said suicide? I don't like suicide.." Shorty was as drunk as usual, and probably hadn't understood a word of what they'd said up until then. Not a big problem, since no one was really paying attention to him.

"Yeah, we have to help Rider save Rapunzel!" Big Nose agreed. Even though they all knew his real name was Eugene Fitzherbert they just couldn't help calling him Rider: it seemed to fit a thief better than his real name. Even though he now was the Prince Consort... It was a very complicated matter, actually, and they'd never thought about it seriously, so nobody knew exactly which was the right way to call him. For the rest of Corona he now only was Eugene Fitzherbert, while for them he still had two names.

The other thugs nodded, agreeing they couldn't le him do everything on his own. Their relationship with the former theif wasn't exactly what you'd call a friendship, but they were all so fond of the Princess that, just for her, they'd gotten along a bit better. There was like a silent agreement between them, they cooperated for Rapunzel's happiness, and that was as far as they could get. Now that she was in danger, and that reckless idiot of Eugene had decided he was going to save her, the thugs surely couldn't let him go on his own and get himself killed in the process, mostly because that would have made Rapunzel quite upset.

"It's all set, then. We'll leave as soon as Tor comes back with the horses." said Hook Hand. He had no clue if it was going to be an easy quest and wether they were going to find the Princess, but they had to try, at least. After all, it was thanks to her that most of their dreams had come true: he'd finally managed to become a pianist, Big Nose had met the love of his life at the celebration for the return of the Lost Princess, Ulf was now the best-known mime in Corona, Fang's puppet shows were famous all over the capital...

He'd given the other thugs the chance to stay home, but it'd turned out that everyone wanted to help, so here they were. The news of the kidnapping had spread quickly, and almost everyone in Corona knew the Princess was missing. They'd organized a meeting as soon as possible, which had been at lunch time. They'd heard Eugene had set off a few hours earlier, and they surely would've followed him if he'd only bothered letting them know, but he'd probably been too concentrated on how to track down the kidnappers to think about anything else. And now they were ready to race to the rescue for the second time, the first being when they'd helped him escape from jail. They'd spent a few days in the prisons for that, but then Rapunzel had convinced her father to release them, and they'd gotten the chance to pursue their dreams, obviously after dealing with all the surprises they'd found waiting for them, starting with Rapunzel being the Lost Princess.

"I have the horses!" said Tor as he burst into the room, letting the warm spring air come into the pub. He'd miracolously manged to convince some of his aquaitances to lend him their horses, using all of his persuasive powers (which weren't all that reliable). Maybe people trusted him because florists usually are very calm and responsable men. If that was the case, they were terribly wrong. Not that he wasn't going to return the horses. No, he just didn't know in which conditions they'd go back to their rightful owners. But that wasn't the time to worry about such a negligible detail.

"Very well. Let's go!" said Hook Hand as he walked out of the pub. Outside the Snuggly Duckling there were about fifteen horses, which were just enough for them. They were mostly packhorses, not very used to running, but it wasn't like they could've asked the King for his finest horses. The ones in front of them would do just fine. Plus, them being used to carrying heavy things, making Vladamir or the Pirate ride them wouldn't be a problem. The Innkeeper locked the pub door, and they settled for the trip, hoping they'd find Eugene and Rapunzel, possibly without breaking their necks.

...

They'd spent the whole day looking for even a small, almost imperceptible, trace of Rapunzel, but they'd found none. Luck seemed to have turned its back to them, but they went on anyway, without losing hope. Eugene led Max through the forest at a really slow pace, so that he could look for the Princess's scent. The horse's nostrils were sunk in the short grass, as if he were a hound. Eugene had guessed that Max had probably tracked him down the same way, back when his name was Flynn Rider. It all seemed so distant... He'd have never even imagined for something like what had happened during the past year to become reality, but since he'd met Rapunzel, his whole life had suffered a brusque change, one that he grew every day more happy of. But, of course, what's the fun in living a quiet life? He should've know that something was coming, especially since he'd started feeling observed, during the previous weeks. Then he remembered the strange feeling he'd had in the gardens with Rapunzel, and cursed himself for not having taken his instincts seriously. Maybe they would all be home, if he uadn't joked about his sixth sense.

They'd spent the whole day like that, sifting the forest, and they were really tired, but none of them wanted to be the first to suggest to get some rest, being afraid to be considered weak by the other two. Pascal was curled up on Max's head and kept his eyes open to check for anything his companions might've overlooked.

The sun was about to set, and the forest got darker minute by minute. Surely, the scarse illumination wasn't helping. Eugene shook his head, hoping to shake off all his fatigue as well. Unfortunately, it didn't work. They went on for another few minutes, then Eugene decided it was no use "Why don't we set camp for the night and continue tomorrow? We need to get some rest, otherwise we'll collpase very soon." he said, hoping Max wasn't going to disagree. The last thing he wanted was to start arguing. Fortunately, no one had anything to object, and they stopped in a clearing. Eugene jumped off Max and stretched his legs, wich felt so numb he could've fallen to the ground any moment. And that was exactly what happened a few seconds later.

"Wow, I can't even get back on my feet" he realized, his face half buried in the grass and his voice deformed by the way his nose was pressed against the ground. Max made a sound that was very similar to a laugh, and Eugene shot him a killing glance. Which was very hard, given his position, but he managed anyway.

"You'll pay for this. As soon as I get back the use of my legs" he threatened. Pascal started laughing as well, and Eugene wondered why he hadn't left him home, where he couldn't bother him. But, he had to admit, he'd started liking the little creature, although he still couldn't forget how that long toad-like toungue felt in his ear.

"Stop laughing at me and help me up!" Eugene ordered, cracking a smile. The other two went on laughing and soon Eugene joined them, his laugh distorted as much as his voice.

"Fine, maybe it is a bit ridiculous, but if you want to eat something you need me to go get some berries!" he said at last. Max shook his head glancing to the satchel attached to his saddle. Pascal somehow managed to open it up and found a few apples, a slice or two of bread and some water. If Eugene had known about the satchel at lunch time he'd have avoided eating all the berries he'd managed to pick up while riding Max.

"You could've told us earlier" was his only comment berfore he realized he finally had the strenghth needed to sit up against a huge rock. It was a true relief to finally get to speak without all that grass tickling his nose. They ate quietly and then went to sleep. Eugene looked up at the moon, a lot of questions filling up his mind. He told himself Rapunzel was going to answer most of them as soon as he found her. Because, no matter how long it would take, he would find her. So he just had to answer one of them on his own: where was the Princess?

...

Locked up in her new tower, Rapunzel couldn't get any sleep. Maybe it was because the floor was so hard, or because she had too many things on her mind. She kept looking out the window, at the moon. It was a beautiful sight, and she wished she could've been admiring it from her terrace. She and Eugene had watched the stars so many times from that place...

For the first time since she'd woken up in the tower, she wondered how her parents were feeling. Surely it mustn't have been easy for them: losing their daughter, finding her and then losing her again. She felt guilty for having dedicated to them such a little space of her mind. After all, they were her parents, no matter how many things she had to worry about. She glanced one last time at the moon, before leaving the window.

She sighed and got back on the floor, trying to nod off. She told herself she was going to be completely unable to think, the next day, if she didn't get a good night's sleep. That helped somehow, or maybe it was just the late hour that suddenly made her sleepy. The floor was incredibly cold and hard, so she imagined to be lying in the forest, bringing up memories of her journey to see the lanterns with Eugene. She couldn't believe her nineteenth birthday had ben just two days earlier. It already seemed so far away... Everything had been just perfect, and now here she was. But she wasn't going to be a prisoner for much longer, she was sure of it. She was going to get out of that tower before Conall came to visit her again. She just didn't know how, yet.