The lake was more serene and beautiful that Annalynne had expected. The way that her father had described it was, by far, not giving it credit enough. She stared in wonder at the colossal scale of the mixtures of the reds and the yellows and the greens, all creating a beauty that should only be preserved in paintings.
The sun was trying to stream into the lake, but the trees shielded it's beauty from the shimmering attack, causing random rays of yellow to splat onto the undisturbed water. It was so peaceful, so magnificent, that Annalynne felt that at any moment she might find herself falling asleep.
The King cooed in amazement and glory at being able to find the lake once again, and in a second, it all came flooding back to him his far off memories when he was last in the presence of Mother Nature's true form. Like a small child, the King dismounted, and then ran happily towards the waters edge.
Annalynne dismounted herself, still staring in wonder. When she finally managed the ability to draw her eyes away from the site, she tied both of the horses' reins to the tree. Then, she walked up to her father, who was just as stupefied as her. When he caught her approach, he began to show her the small things that seemed to throw him into an undying sense of wonder.
All the while Annalynne pondered what the old woman had cooked up for them today in the woods, and she began to wonder what devastating factor was to occur on their little trip.
Sure enough, Eugene was waiting for the two women when he realised that he was not being followed. Rapunzel and the Queen came over the small hill, to see Eugene waiting by a fork in the road, dismounted off his horse, with his arms folded over his chest and his leg bent against the post. He smiled at them, almost cocky at having been standing there for so long.
"My, my. You really are a slow one, aren't you?" He said to Rapunzel, and before she could reply, he turned to the Queen, loosening his posture. "My Lady."
"Eugene." She smirked, with a voice full of knowing that made both he and Rapunzel blush in unison. She didn't even stop her horse and continued on the path to the left. "I see you still aren't all to keen on these woods."
A ghost of a frown glimpsed over Eugene's face and he briefly looked at Rapunzel. But in an instant, his bold nature returned, and he jumped upon the horse. "I was simply waiting for both of you so you wouldn't feel so lost without me."
"Ah, yes..." The Queen cooed, humour lacing her soft voice as she started to tease him. "Because if you were missing, we would feel lost, and not relieved from the wise-guy always cracking jokes."
Rapunzel laughed, and Eugene scoffed with false hurt. "Oh! Please!" He trotted his horse so that it was almost in line with the Queens, just slightly ahead. "I am the saviour of women." He boasted, sticking his chest out boldly, "I am loved by many, and loved by all, and throughout it all, I keep my devilishly handsome good looks, and I keep your daughters' hand."
Eugene's comment caused the Queen to laugh heavily, and soon the joyous laughter became infections, so much so that Rapunzel soon joined in, both laughing heartily as Eugene marvelled in the glorious sound.
The happiness was stopped suddenly when they heard an almighty scream echo throughout the forest, and one with a voice that was identifiably to even the first person to ever hear her voice.
"Annalynne." The Queen muttered in worry. Eugene kicked his horse into a gallop and headed towards the disturbing sound, and the Queen and Rapunzel soon followed after him, fear drawing into their veins for the safety of both the King and the young Princess.
Rapunzel felt an air of stickiness drawn to her skin, and her old fears of the Corona Forests were drawn back as she remembered the many years that had spent trapped inside with Gothel. As she rode desperately, she could not help but fear that perhaps her history was about to repeat itself.
