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"We expect to have everyone in attendance by next week. The treaty will be signed as soon as the last representative arrives."

Everyone nodded in agreement with Jonathan's proposal. Rapunzel swallowed her mouthful of bread, trying to catch Amelia or Levi's eyes. Neither of them came even close to looking in her direction though. She heard someone clear her throat from her side. She turned and spotted a portly looking lord, the representative from the kingdom of Crefton. He smiled a yellow smile and raised his eyebrows. Although Lady Greene was supposed to be flirtatious, there were exceptions... and this fat, yellow-toothed lord was definitely one.

She cleared her throat and looked away. Creep. She returned to her goal of catching Levi or Amelia's eyes. Levi was far too busy pretending to listen to a rambling prince and poking absentmindedly at his food. Amelia was staring at her half eaten plate looking like she was going to be sick. Rapunzel suspected that was because the yellow-toothed lord was looking in her direction too. The nerve! The princess was married for goodness sake!

Rapunzel glanced at Steven who sat by her side. He was staring at the royals of Corona, though he seemed rather spaced out. Rapunzel nudged him in the knee. He snapped out of his trance and looked at her. She just stared at him innocently as if she had never bumped him. He gave a half smile then looked at his plate, occasionally throwing glances at the other side of the table. Rapunzel looked to see what he kept looking at. Frederick. Frederick was sitting right next to Amelia and had not spoken a word the entire dinner.

Just then, Amelia looked up from her plate and caught Rapunzel's eyes. Rapunzel nodded at her and then looked towards the door, hoping to imply that she wanted to see her outside. She looked back at Amelia who nodded, understanding. Amelia leaned over to Levi and whispered something in his ear.

"If you'll excuse me, father," Amelia spoke up, "But I'm not feeling very well. I think I might go to bed early."

"Oh. Of course, dear. Go ahead," Jonathan replied.

Amelia stood up and left the room. Levi watched her leave. He stood as well, "I think, I'll go make sure she's alright."

Rapunzel kept her eyes on him until he was out of the room. She turned to look at Steven, but found that he was already looking at her. "So, how was your first day in Corona?" he asked.

"Divine!" Rapunzel declared as she began to focus on the door again, trying to figure out how she could follow Amelia and Levi without looking suspicious.

"Better than Faldonia?"

"Where's Faldonia?" Rapunzel asked, not really paying attention.

Steven hesitated for a moment. "Where you live," he said slowly.

"Oh right, right... um, what about it?"

"Is Corona better than Faldonia?" Steven asked again.

"Corona?"

Steven looked her straight in the eyes, "Are you feeling alright? You seem a little out of it."

Rapunzel knew an opportunity when she saw one. "Oh I'm fine," she replied, "But perhaps I should be getting to bed soon. I think I shall retire to my chambers."

She stood up to leave. "You're sure you're alright?" Steven asked.

"Quite," Rapunzel replied.

She hurried out of the room. She found Amelia and Levi just around the corner. Levi spoke first, "What is it?"

"We have some new developments," Rapunzel said.

"Such as?" Amelia asked.

"We know who to keep our eyes on," Rapunzel reported, "Frederick Gavin, Queen Gillian's advisor."

"How do you know?" Levi asked.

"Prince Steven said he overheard Frederick plotting to take my life."

"Wait, wait, Prince Steven knows who you are?" Levi asked, holding up a hand.

"No," Rapunzel said, "He was acting strange when Frederick volunteered to represent Laconia for the treaty, so he was just explaining his behavior to me."

Levi and Amelia nodded, contemplating this new information. Rapunzel continued, "He also has a known incentive. He is actually the queen's cousin. So if I were to die and Steven were to die, that would make him next in line for both the thrones."

Amelia audibly gasped and Levi frowned. "Another takeover of not just one, but two kingdoms?" Levi scoffed, "Honestly, can't anyone come up with any original plots?"

Amelia smacked him in the shoulder. "We should be happy that we know what he's up to! Who cares how original it is!" Amelia looked back at Rapunzel as Levi rubbed his shoulder. "How does he plan to kill you?"

Rapunzel shrugged. "That's what we need to find out," she said, "Amelia, since you are me, you really need to be on your guard. Stay away from Frederick."

Amelia nodded in agreement then suddenly clutched her stomach. "Ugh, I really think I ought to be going to bed," she moaned, "I wasn't lying when I said I wasn't feeling well."

"You know, I haven't been feeling very well either," Rapunzel said, "Your stomach?"

"Yes."

"Mine too. Maybe it was the food."

Amelia slowly began to walk away. "Most likely. The meat did taste rather raw."

She disappeared down the hallway. Rapunzel noticed Levi staring after her, eyes round and the small trace of a smile on his lips. "I know that look," Rapunzel smiled, "You still like her?"

When that subject was brought up, Levi normally withdrew his eyes and stuttered like an idiot about how he didn't know what she was talking about and such. However, this time he just sighed. "Yeah," he admitted, "It's driving me crazy. I... I think I'm in love with her."

"You are," Rapunzel continued smiling, pleasantly surprised by his openness, "I've been watching you all these years. There's no doubt. Why not pursue it?"

"I would if I could," Levi said, "I would marry her if I could."

"So why don't you?"

Levi shuffled his feet. "It's her mother," he muttered, "She doesn't like me."

"Levi, she's just a little over-protective, that's all," Rapunzel assured him, "If she saw how much Amelia likes you, she would probably warm up to the idea."

"I don't know. Every time I come close, she looks like she's ready to chop my head off."

"You're just being silly."

"She came at me with a broom!"

Rapunzel gave an amused sigh. She reached out and buttoned the top button on Levi's shirt. "You know, Eugene always has this problem with the collars too."

Levi sighed again, discouraged, allowing her to fix his shirt. "What do I do?"

"Just what I told you," Rapunzel replied, "You need to show Amelia's mother how much you care for her."

"Then we can be together?" Levi asked hopefully.

"Absolutely."

There was a short silence then suddenly someone cleared their throat from nearby. Rapunzel and Levi turned their heads to see Steven standing a few feet away, hands clasped. "Am I interrupting?"

Rapunzel realized her hand was still on Levi's collar and quickly removed it. "Of course not!" she declared, returning to her Lady Greene persona, "We were merely discussing the meat at dinner. You see, it seems to have given me quite the stomachache and I thought that our prince consort here would ask the cooks to watch it more carefully."

"I see," Steven replied, "And is this why you had the sudden urge to leave the table?"

"Yes indeed!" Rapunzel replied, "I do not cope well with pain."

Levi cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Excuse me, I must see to my... wife. I will speak to the cooks for you, my lady." He bowed slightly and hurried down the hallway.

"Well I just wanted to make sure you were alright," Steven said.

"I am, thank you," Rapunzel said, "I will go to my chambers now. Good night."

Steven took her hand and pressed his lips to her knuckles. He let it linger a bit, but he finally released. Rapunzel had been caught off guard by the sudden gesture, but she quickly recovered before he noticed. "Good night," he said softly.

Rapunzel withdrew her hand, curtsied, and then headed towards her room.

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Pain. Pain. Pain. Especially in the head. Pain. The blackness was beginning to fade away. Still pain. There was someone near. More light and more pain. It was a man, an old one at that. "Ah, he awakens," the old man said.

Still pain in the head. Words managed to escape his mouth. "Where am I?"

The old man leaned over him. "Do you know who you are?"

Come to think of it... no. "No."

The old man nodded. "Just as I feared. Well, I know who you are, Eugene Fitzherbert."

"Who?"

"You. You're Eugene Fitzherbert."

Eugene Fitzherbert. Yes, that sounded a little familiar. Perhaps it really was his name... not that he remembered. "What happened?"

The old man raised his bushy gray eyebrows. "You hit your head. Do you not remember?"

Eugene strained to remember. There was an animal. Yes, he remembered an animal. "A horse?" he asked.

"Yes. You fell off your horse just outside the kingdom of Faldonia."

Eugene rubbed his head. That would definitely explain the pain in his head. The old man began to crush something in a small clay bowl. "Where am I?" Eugene asked.

"My hut," the old man replied, gathering some bottles full of... something and pouring some from each into the bowl, "You were lucky you fell off where you did. I found you on my way back from collecting herbs." The substance being crushed in the bowl began to give off smoke with a pinkish hue.

Herbs. Herbs? Why did that seem familiar? The old man took whatever it was over to Eugene and held it under his nose. The pinkish smoke drifted up into his nose and the next thing he knew, he was in a fit of coughing.

The old man nodded and removed the bowl. "Just as I suspected," he said thoughtfully, "You are suffering from memory loss. The smoke doesn't lie. If you were perfectly intact, the smoke would not affect you."

"Who are you?" Eugene asked through his coughs.

"I am Alden," the old man replied, setting the bowl down on a rickety table covered in bottles, books, and strange gadgets, "A miracle man."

"A what?"

"A miracle man," Alden repeated, "It's sort of like a physician, a scientist, and a medium all rolled into one."

"How do you know my name?" Eugene asked, his coughing beginning to cease.

"I have my sources," Alden replied simply as he sat down on a small stool, "Now lie back down and rest your head. You've got quite the lump forming under there."

Eugene suddenly became aware that there was something wrapped around his head. He obeyed Alden and rested his head back down. "So," Alden said, scooting his stool closer to Eugene's side, "Let's see how much you can remember. Tell me about yourself in as great detail as possible."

Eugene thought hard for a moment. "I am... important?"

"As in an important public figure?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Eugene thought again. Nothing. "I... don't know. I can't remember."

Alden wrote something in a crude looking notebook. "OK. Tell me more."

"I remember a building. I was young. It was old... lots of kids... I don't think we had parents."

"So you're an orphan?" It was said more as a statement than a question, "What else?"

Eugene had a vague vision of someone. A female with short brown hair and a small figure. "There's a... girl."

"Sister? Mother? Wife? Friend?"

Eugene racked his brain for some answers. "Wife... I think," he said uncertainly.

Alden wrote in the notebook again. "Do you remember her name? What she looked like?"

"Name... no, I don't remember. I just remember she had short hair."

"I see." Alden wrote again. "How about your home? Do you remember where you're from?"

Eugene thought long and hard. It almost hurt. "No," he finally said, "Nothing."

"Hmm," Alden hummed as he wrote, "I think that is enough for now. I will take this information to my... source. You just stay here and try to get some rest."

With that, the old man walked through a doorway draped with a thick brown curtain. Eugene was left to his thoughts. He had fallen off a horse, he hit his head, and he lost his memory apparently. He didn't remember any of this. How had he fallen off the horse? Why was he on it in the first place? Where was he going? Where was he coming from? Eugene had not the slightest idea. No matter how hard he tried, he could not remember.

He groaned as his head throbbed. He closed his eyes and sighed. He certainly hoped he did not have something important to remember.

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Well, well. This really stinks, eh? Reviews= a kiss for all three of my dogs and a ballet performance by me for my parents :D