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"It's a giant talking lizard," Eugene squeaks.
"Dragon," she corrects him absently. "But I thought Banale killed—"
"Run now, speculate later," Eugene scolds her, trying to pull her bodily back down the tunnel.
"But my parents!"
He huffs out a breath and something that must have been a curse word but it's too muffled for Rapunzel to catch. "Right. OK." Without another word, he thrusts the map at Rapunzel and grabs the frying pan from her hand. "I've got this. You and the frog get inside the castle."
"I'm not sure that's such a good idea…" she mumbles. Rapunzel recalls reading about dragons. The castle has an extensive library and the subject is well-represented in the stacks, but despite her studies, she'd never imagined one being so… gigantic! The poor lighting from the lantern doesn't let her see many details of the hulking beast except for the fact his scales seems to glisten and he seems to have a very large—!
"Are those wings?" Eugene sputters.
Rapunzel nods. Pascal scrambles under her collar, presumably diving for cover. "It will be alright, Pascal," she whispers. But she can't imagine how it will be. There's no way they can get past the beast if it decides to block the passage by unfurling its wings!
Despite Eugene's command to run for the castle, she stays right where she is.
"Rapunzel…" he growls in a warning tone as he hefts the pan. "Get ready."
She ignores him. She watches the dragon. The dragon watches her back. Eugene takes his chance. Diving, ducking and dodging a dragon attack that does not come, he brings the pan down with all his might… on the creature's largest toe.
The dragon appears decidedly unimpressed.
Eugene is undeterred. He readies himself for another attempt. Pan held high, he glances briefly over his shoulder at her and frowns furiously. "Go, Rapunzel!" He punctuates his statement by hitting the dragon squarely in the belly.
"I'm not leaving you!" The man is clearly still suffering from those knocks on the head that she'd given him in the tower if he honestly believes she'll just dash off without him! She looks around the cavern to find something to fight with. In the corner she sees a large rock. That could work.
"Now is not the time to argue," he retorts. Swinging the pan.
Clang!
This time the flat bottom of the pan connects with his chin. The dragon sighs with boredom.
Eugene glares at the dragon and then at the pan. "This… is kind of an off day for me," he mumbles, but prepares for another go.
Rapunzel leaps over to the stone lying on the tunnel floor and sets down the lantern. Ignoring the very idea of an animal smaller than the dragon existing in the tunnel, she heaves the rock up from the floor and into her arms, bracing it on her shoulder. She stumbles forward until she's within range.
"Eugene! Duck!"
In mid fry pan swing, he does and Rapunzel twirls once to build momentum and then hurls the rock at their adversary…
… but it bounces off of him as if it were nothing but a pebble. The dragon issues a grumpy snort, lifts up his mighty tail and knocks the frying pan out of Eugene's hand. With the fry pan once again out of reach, the rock lying at the dragon's enormous feet and only a handkerchief map and a low-on-oil lanter between them… well…
They've had better odds.
Eugene stumbles over the dragon's tail, trying to reach Rapunzel. She reaches out her hand for him to take, but before their fingers meet, the dragon spreads its huge wings and flaps them. The force of the wind causes Eugene and Rapunzel to lose their footing on the slippery floor.
She falls to the ground, landing precariously close to the dragon's large clawed toes. Pascal flies out of his shelter and ends up on the floor next to the frying pan.
"Rapunzel!"
She tries to spin out of the way of the dragon, but her breeches are caught on the dragon's claw. "Eugene!"
He scrambles over to her, grabs her arm and pulls. The fabric rips slightly. That and no more. He braces himself against the rock floor and heaves, but the cloth stubbornly refuses to budge.
The dragon slowly lifts up his enormous tail, ready to strike. Rapunzel winces into Eugene's chest. This will be a killing blow, she doesn't doubt. She should push Eugene out of the way! He should run, save himself and—!
And then, suddenly, the dragon stops.
Rapunzel opens her eyes and sees Pascal, standing between her and the great beast, holding up his hands in a clear gesture to stop and desist.
For a long moment, nothing happens. No one moves. And then the dragon lowers his head and studies the chameleon closely. There's the sound of a delicate sniff, a surprised lizard squeak, and before Rapunzel can panic over the fate of her friend, the dragon wonders aloud, "Brother? Is that you?"
An astonished squeaky exclamation is the reply.
Rapunzel gapes. "You… you know Pascal?" she asks, her fear forgotten.
The dragon looks up, confused for a moment. "Pascal? Who is that?"
The chameleon starts chirping to the giant leaning over them. Rapunzel does her best to keep up with Pascal's expressive squeaks, but he seems to be far too excited to enunciate properly! She can only just barely get the gist of what is being said.
"You have got to be kidding me." Eugene sinks to his knees and begins to tug at the fabric itself while the dragon is clearly distracted. His efforts, however, are in vain. He raises his head and opens his mouth to bark some order or other at the chameleon.
Rapunzel hushes him with a look before returning her attention to Pascal.
And then the dragon laughs. "It is you, big brother!" He lifts Pascal up and brings him close to his face. "I haven't seen you since you left Berk!"
Stuck breeches forgotten, aggravation forgotten, all crises and imminent disasters forgotten, Eugene's jaw drops. "Whoa, hold on. Did he just say big brother?" Eugene whispers.
Pascal, who had apparently overheard Eugene's question, nods.
"Of course he and I are family. Anyone can see the family resemblance!"
Eugene looks from Pascal to the dragon and then back again, his expression droll. "Of course."
The dragon places Pascal carefully on the ground. "Though it has been years since I have seen him." Speaking directly to Pascal, he accuses, "Look at how big you've gotten! I almost didn't recognize you!"
"And you are his brother?" Rapunzel asks the dragon.
"Of course, but where are my manners? My name is Witzig." He holds out an enormous clawed hand for her to shake.
She hesitates only slightly before clasping the tip of his forefinger in greeting. "I'm Rapunzel… of Corona."
"Rapunzel… Rapunzel…" The dragon mules the name over. "Where have I heard of you… Ah hah! Now I remember! You're the princess!"
She nods, wondering at how this could be significant to a dragon.
He tells her proudly, "You are the beautiful young woman who has ensnared the heart of my prince!" Witzig examines her closely. "Strange, but he never mentioned your excellent sense of fashion."
Her eyes narrow. She lets the comment about her attire slide. "I do not believe the prince's intentions are as pure as you think, Witzig."
"Whatever do you mean? I'll have you know that out of all the princes in the land, he is the most charming!" argues the dragon, back up a step as he pulls himself up to his full height. The motion has the additional effect of releasing her breeches from beneath his massive, rock-like toes. Eugene hastily pulls her to her feet.
Pascal takes the opportunity to set the record straight. With a firm shake of his head, he starts chirping.
Rapunzel watches as the dragon intently listens to Pascal's recount of everything that has happened. She looks at Eugene who seems to be trying to understand this most interesting exchange.
Finally, the chameleon is finished giving their side of the story. The dragon studies Pascal for a second before he starts pacing. The floor underneath them rumbles and shakes with his of his mighty steps. "And you believe this princess?" he asks, nodding towards Rapunzel.
Pascal nods emphatically.
Witzig rubs his chin, thinking. "The story the prince has told me is quite different from yours, brother. When he found me and hired me on as Guard of the Secret Tunnel, he said that he would bring the King and Queen of Corona to the castle because their palace had been infiltrated by a notorious thief."
Pascal crosses his arms and points at Eugene with his tail.
"This is the thief he was talking about?" He studies Eugene for a second. "He hardly looks fearsome and sinister."
"Hey!"
Rapunzel lays a hand on his arm. Blows to his ego are always the most painful for Eugene.
The dragon turns to Rapunzel and bows before her. "My sincerest apologies, your Grace. I have been misled. I hope you will find it in you to forgive me."
"Of course," she replies. "But we need to save my parents before Banale does something drastic."
"No harm will come to the King and Queen of Corona, I assure you. The prince seemed quite convinced that you would agree to marry him once you heard his side of things."
The nerve of that… not-yet-a-monarch! She crosses her arms. "I will never marry him!" She feels Eugene's arm settle on her waist and she is instantly glad for the warmth.
She doesn't miss the appraising look Witzig gives her and Eugene. "Yes, I can see that."
Rapunzel doesn't understand what he sees (maybe as a dragon he sees things differently), but a spark of hope starts to bloom in her chest.
"Will you… will you help us find my parents?"
Witzig looks at her, then at Eugene, and finally at Pascal. He nods. "I can lead you to the dungeon. The key, however, is in the Prince's possession. It will require someone with rather… unsavory skills to retrieve it." His gaze settles on Eugene once more.
Rapunzel glances up and shares a grin with the man at her side. In a playful tone, Eugene admits, "I might be able to help with that."
