It's rather entertaining to hear your theories on how this will end, but of course, I'm the only one that actually KNOWS the ending. So you'll all just have to keep reading to see if you are correct :)

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"Are you sure you want to do this?" the queen asked.

"Yes, Mother," Rapunzel sounded more confident than she felt. She tugged on her sleeves a little, adjusting them so that they remained as unwrinkled as possible.

A carriage was suddenly heard approaching. Rapunzel could not see it yet and she was sure that her parents couldn't either. Rapunzel stood straight with her head held high, just like her etiquette tutor always insisted upon. She wanted to fiddle with her hair like she always did when she was nervous, but the etiquette tutor had said that nervous habits were the worst impression one could make, especially on visiting royalty.

Rapunzel needed something to say or do. "Mother?" she said, turning slightly so that she was facing the queen, "You said that the king was widowed right?"

"Yes, but it's not him you're marrying, dear."

"I know, I was just wondering. Which kingdom are they from again?"

"Faldonia."

A large, very decorative carriage suddenly appeared at the bottom of the hill and began making its way up the winding road towards the castle. Rapunzel could see why her parents chose this kingdom to unite with just based off of the carriage. It was far fancier than anything Corona had to offer. Faldonia must have been a very wealthy kingdom indeed.

The carriage moved at an astounding speed for something so large and within moments, it was beside the royal family of Corona. Rapunzel forced herself to look happy as the carriage door was opened.

A tall, broad shouldered man with gray hair and beard stepped out first. He wore a large crown, adjourned with all sorts of enormous jewels, rubies, diamonds, and such. The second to step out was another older man, but significantly younger than the first. He had darker hair and his eyes were such a dark brown that they almost blended in with his pupils. The third to step out was a woman with long, sleek, raven hair that was twisted into a complex braid that ran down her back. Her dress was massive and colorful, the folds of fabric seemed to go on forever. The last to step out was a young man, probably not much older than Rapunzel. He had light brown hair, almost blonde, but not quite, and soft blue eyes like the first man had. He wore a smaller crown atop his thick locks, but it was still covered in all manners of sparkling stones of all shapes and sizes.

"Robert, king of Faldonia," a servant announced after hopping off the carriage.

Rapunzel and her parents each bowed to the gray haired man. He returned the bow and beamed at them with a large, pearly white smile.

"Sir Radcliffe, the king's brother." The second man with the dark eyes gave a low bow.

"Vivian, Sir Radcliffe's wife." The raven haired woman swooped her gown in a flamboyant curtsy.

"And Nathaniel, crown prince of Faldonia." The young man with the light hair bowed and tweaked his thin mouth into a small smile.

"King Jonathan, Queen Elinor, and Princess Rapunzel of Corona." Each of the royals bowed or curtsied in turn.

"We are very pleased to have you here," Rapunzel's father said in a very formal tone

"Jonathan!" King Robert cried, and threw his arms around Rapunzel's bewildered father. Jonathan's arms were pinned to his side as the foreign king squeezed him in a tight embrace. "Must you act so formal towards an old friend?"

Robert released the king of Corona and chuckled. Jonathan chuckled in return. "I was not expecting you to be exactly as you were when you were fifteen years old."

"Was that the last time I saw you?" Robert asked, appalled, "Good gracious! That's far too long!"

"Yes, far too long. Come, we are having lunch in the garden. It's a beautiful day." Jonathan held out his arm to his wife who took it with a pleased smile. They began to walk towards the garden, with Robert right beside them, chatting up a storm.

Sir Radcliffe raised an eyebrow with a scoff. He held his arm out to his own wife and they followed after the older royals. Rapunzel was left with Prince Nathaniel. She had never felt more uncomfortable in her life. What was she supposed to do? Just follow after her parents? Offer to show the prince to the garden?

She was saved the trouble of trying to figure out how to best handle the situation when the prince held his arm out to her. "May I have the honor?" he asked in a formal, but friendly tone.

Rapunzel obliged and wrapped her hand over his elbow. She would be brave. She would not let him know how nervous, uncomfortable, and sad she was. They walked in silence. Rapunzel had been taught that it was rude to stare, so she studied him out of the corner of her eye.

He did not appear to be so uncomfortable with their present situation. He was staring straight ahead, head held high just like a royal was supposed to. He was strangely handsome, but in a different way than Eugene had been. His features were not as firmly chiseled as Eugene's and his eyes were much softer almost to the point of being droopy. Nathaniel's nose was large and round while Eugene's had been thin and defined. His eyebrows were thick, but neat like Eugene's had been. She had to admit that although not close to being as nice looking as Eugene, she could still admire his face.

He cleared his throat. "It is a pleasure to meet you princess," he broke the silence, "Stories of your beauty has reached our kingdom and I'm pleased to tell you that none of the praise has been exaggerated."

Rapunzel felt herself blush at the compliment. She forced herself to be civil back. If they were going to bound together, she didn't want to come across as reserved and unfriendly. "Thank you," she said, "I feel terrible that I really have heard nothing about you."

She saw a subtle look of amusement play across his face. "I'm not at all surprised. No one remembers the timid son of such a rambunctious, fun-loving king," he remarked.

He did not seem very timid to Rapunzel. "Actually, I had not heard of your father either. I'm not very familiar with any other kingdoms and their rulers."

Nathaniel seemed a little surprised by this, but didn't say anything. Rapunzel cleared her throat slightly. "The garden is just ahead," she pointed out. She would have get used to this.

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Eugene leaned against a wall and observed his surroundings. The lower kingdom was almost exactly the same as he remembered it. It did look significantly different than it had when he had first come there when he was two years old (but that was because it had been built up out of its ghetto state when he was about 12 years old).

He turned his focus to a building directly across from him. The orphanage. The place he spent most of his life. It was still a dump even though it had been repaired in some places. He remembered running in and out of that old creaky door with the other kids. He remembered the one time he had to scrub down the entire building, inside and out, for climbing on the roof and tossing handfuls of mud at the girls on the ground. He smiled a little at the memory. Good times.

The door was open and he thought about going inside to see if it had changed inside at all. Most of the kids were somewhere behind the old shack, probably playing some sort of game under the supervision of the mistress. Eugene made up his mind and walked towards the orphanage.

He stepped inside. His foot didn't creak on that floor like he expected, but then he remembered that he never made any noise when he walked anymore. He looked around. Nope, it hadn't changed much at all. Same old rickety walls, random mats and beds scattered throughout the room. The same broken door to the broom closet. The only difference was that the hole in the roof had been fixed.

The hole suddenly sparked a memory. He moved over to the area directly under where the hole had been. He had slept there and he had enjoyed looking out at the stars every night as he fell asleep. Of course, it was never convenient when it rained or something, but still. Then he remembered the loose floorboard. He wondered if maybe...

He quickly found the board in question and tugged on it. It lifted up and emitted a puff of dust. He looked into the compartment and saw it. His book, The Tales of Flynnigan Rider, was perfectly placed inside, exactly as he had left it. He couldn't believe no one else had discovered the hiding place since he left the orphanage nearly six years ago. He opened the book and stared at the pages, worn from being turned so many times.

A cough suddenly sounded behind him. His head shot up in surprise. He had not seen anyone when he came in. Searching the room, he spotted a little boy, probably no older than seven or eight huddled in the corner. The boy had his knees pressed against his chest and he was rocking back and forth wearing a lonely expression.

That's when a crowd of kids burst through the door, loudly laughing and teasing each other. A number of the kids plopped down onto their beds and others just ran around. Eugene watched as the little boy in the corner hugged himself even more as though trying to avoid any attention.

"Hey it's Julien!" an older boy declared, pointing at the little boy and laughing. Eugene didn't like the way he said the boy's name. The older boy and his friends rushed over to the boy.

"Hey Julien!" one scoffed, "Why are you over here moping? Is it because of your stupid name? You know it's stupid right? A stupid, sissy name!"

The boy, Julien, buried his face in his knees. "What? Are you crying, Julien?" another boy sneered, "It suits you. A sissy boy to go with the sissy name!"

The older boys walked away, laughing and scorning. Eugene instantly felt pity for the poor little boy. He was once is his position. 'Eugene' was not exactly the greatest name in the world and he had been teased when he was younger too. What could he do to help that little boy? What had helped Eugene finally stand up for himself?

Then he remembered. He had gained confidence after he started reading The Tales of Flynnigan Rider. He wanted to be just like the brave and noble hero in his book, therefore beginning his transformation from a nervous little boy to what he was now... or once was. He couldn't really say 'now' since he was, technically, dead.

Eugene looked at the book resting on the floor in front of him, trying to avoid a little girl who was flailing her arms while she jumped from mat to mat. Eugene pushed the book along the floor. He didn't want to pick it up and scare the kids since they would probably only see a floating book. None of the kids seemed to notice the book slowly inching across the floor.

Eugene finally reached Julien's side. The little boy still had his head buried in his knees and his shoulders were shaking as he cried. Eugene pushed the book right next to the boy so that it was just touching his foot. Eugene stood back and watched Julien.

The young boy eventually raised his head and saw the book by his feet. He looked around curiously, then back at the book. He cautiously reached forward and lifted the old book from his mat. He was studying it, his red, puffy eyes full of curiosity, but he didn't open it.

For a moment, Eugene wondered if the boy even knew how to read. This thought was disproven when Julien finally opened the book and began to read it. Eugene watched the boy go through several pages. The boy's face started to brighten up a little as he read.

Feeling satisfied, Eugene left the boy to enjoy the book. One good deed down. How many more would he need to ensure that he did not go to hell?

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I should have named the king and queen earlier. I'm reprimanding myself right now. Oh well, so here we are with all these new names to remember.

I'm free all day. If I get enough motivation, I could possible get another chapter up before tomorrow. Where does the motivation come from? Reviews! :D