A/N: Phew, finally I found the time to write. I'm sure you've all been dying for this chapter. . .or maybe not. Come on, 1 review really? Ok 2 technically but the second didn't count. The one time I have a horrible day and don't tell you to review cuz I think it's too demanding of me, you don't review! Anyway, this weekend has worked wonders on my mood and I'm feeling great now. Enjoy!

Dear reviewer:

Disneyisbeautiful: For being the only one to write an actual review, here's a cookie (::) you deserve it.

P.s. I don't own Tangled

Chap 12

Eugene's POV

Once we were outside, and Hook finally stopped dragging me by the straps, we walked around the base for a while before I saw a group of 30 or so soldiers making a large circle around two figures. We drew closer and I saw the figures were in full armor, one with a small helmet and white gloves while the other wore a helmet covering most of his face and had red feathers going from side to side. Both were armed with spears and shields but I was shocked to notice who the two figures were none other than the Captain and Mr. Thames. . .and they were dueling.

They were circling each other like a pact of dogs, eagerly waiting for the other to strike first. Mr. Thames was positioned as if he were scorpion; his spear held high over his head like a tail, and his shield blocking most of his body from view so all you could see were the eyes behind the helmet staring coldly at you. His movements were smooth, calculative, and as unflinching as a viper. The Captain's. . .were not. He looked a bit nervous and it was kinda obvious from his posture and the way he shifted his feet quickly.

I peaked over at Hook Hand who looked on with a bored and unamused expression on as if this sort of thing happened often. "Shouldn't we do something?" I asked motioning toward the fight.

Hook just looked at me oddly, "No one ever, EVER interferes in a fight against the commander, and for good reason. But. . .you feel like getting your ass kicked all the way home. Be my guest, Pretty boy."

I stared at him but nodded and turned back to the duel; no action so far. "This usually happens a lot?"

He shrugged in response, "2, maybe 3 times a week. It's just a demo for the new recruits to…you know, get 'em ready for the hard stuff later on. Shows 'em what would really happen in a duel."

"They any good?"

He grinned, "The Commander's unbelievable. Most of us wouldn't last 2 minutes, and that's when he's not tryin to slice your head off. The Captain's got experience and skill, but he's agitated. Look at how he's moving, I'd bet my right hand that he'll-"

Before he could finish, the Captain moved in close and tried to jab Mr. Thames with his spear. But the Commander was fast, as if he were expecting it. He sidestepped to the right just before it would've made contact with his armor. The Captain was left vulnerable and couldn't recover fast enough before Mr. Thames brought his leg down to break his spear with a loud snap! He then smacked his shield against him, causing his opponent to stagger back as Mr. Thames quickly regained his posture. His body was low to the ground, shield hanging over his head as if to protect himself from rain, and his bronze spear tip glistening in the mid-day sunlight as he pointed it threateningly toward the Captain, as if to say 'Come and get some'.

The Captain shook off his setback, drew his sword, and charged again; swinging left and right like a maniac. Mr. Thames just calmly dodged, ducked, or sidestepped each swing; not even bothering to strike as if he had all the time in the world. The Captain was getting irritated, and it showed on his face. He was pushing too hard and it wasn't paying off, exhaustion was creping in on him as his movements were slowing with each swing.

The Captain went for another jab to the stomach but it deflected off his shield but before he could recover again, Mr. Thames kicked him square in the chest and the Captain went down and landed on his ass. The Commander took the opportunity to finally strike; with his spear in hand he ran and leapt in the air with incredible speed and agility, like a cheetah, as he sent the weapon to his target.

I couldn't watch this, so I averted my eyes. I might not like the Captain but I couldn't watch the man die. Oh wait, I forgot this is just a demonstration. I reopened my eyes and. . .as expected the Captain doesn't have a spear running through him, luckily, but he was sitting up with a look of shock, and then I noticed why. The spear just happened to be implanted less than an inch away from where his. . . I'll call it his 'private area' cuz I'd be horribly uncomfortable saying 'it' and the Captain in the same sentence. The commander removed the spear and offered the Captain his hand in a sign of peace; he took it, reluctantly I might add, and stood up.

Hook Hand whispered next to me, "Two minutes, what I tell ya."

Commander Thames then turned to the men surrounding them and spoke. "And that Gentleman is a real duel. It's not about how hard you swing; it's about timing, it's about posture, and of course it's also about endurance. That. . .is what you'll be learning today; endurance." He grabbed a crossbow off one of the men, raised it up to the sky, and pulled the trigger. We watched it soar high until it finally it landed on the top of a small, rocky hill in the distance. It must've been a good ½ kilometer away.

"Strap up, everyone. We're going for a run." Commander Thames finished.

Hook grinned devilishly at me, "I'd wish you luck. . .but there isn't any where you're goin." He said then gave me a pat on the back before heading back to the cabins.

!#$%^&*()

1 hour later

Torture, pure torture! The man is a monster! I thought we were going for a 'run' but instead we were basically crawling the last 50 meter UPHILL! We were in full armor, and if that wasn't enough, Commander Thames made us hold 4 extra, heavy shields; 2 on our backs and the other 2 in each arm. Once the other 30 soldiers and I had reached where the arrow landed, we all collapsed on the rocky ground in exhaustion. I finally had a good look at the other men on the way, and let's just say they were all young men and quite a few of 'em weren't 'up to standard' on the physical level. 'Poor kids' I thought. Probably were forced or persuaded into joining the place. Some of 'em didn't even look old enough to join in the first place.

And then it went from worse. . .to horrible. "GET UP LADIES! BACK TO BASE FOR ARCHERY!" Commander Thames yelled, we all groaned, loudly. "NO COMPLAINING!" he shouted back, we stopped mid-groan.

I had willed myself to look up at him, he had walked with us all the way with the same amount of armor and was even the first person to reach the top, but he was still standing strong and barely even panting. What is he, an animal?

None of us really had the energy to walk downhill, except Mr. Thames, so there was a little incident when we just rolled down that might've caused a small accident at the bottom where we all crashed into each other. Commander Thames shook his head in pity and had to pull us to our feet.

After we found our footing, we managed to walk to the archery field without any assistance. The Captain was waiting for us there with a line of crossbows spread over the floor next to our targets.

He had one hanging over his shoulder and demonstrated how to handle it as he said "Today we'll be testing your accuracy in shooting, archers are some of the most strategic assets and one of the few people used in long range warfare. They're used for both attack and defense so accuracy is absolutely critical. Cadets, fall in and take aim; on my mark your fire. Understood?"

There were a few nods and unenthusiastic 'yes sir's until Commander Thames stepped up and yelled "UNDERSTOOD CADETS?" we all nodded and replied louder 'Yes sir!' but, at least for the other men, it was more out of fear than genuine excitement.

He smiled proudly and said, "Good, now take aim." We all obeyed, held our bows as demonstrated, and stared at the bull's eye as he walked over to the Captain to speak to him in private. They kept mumbling back and forth to each other, and they were too far away for any of us to eavesdrop.

But for some reason, I was having a really hard time keeping focused; I thought back to the palace and how everyone was doing. I imagined the place should really be quiet right now. . .you know, with the king being sick and me gone in all. Rapunzel must be bored out of her mind; she's probably sitting outside her balcony staring out into the town beyond the gates with that adorable, but absently sad longing look of hers. Her hair long enough to almost reach her shoulders, wearing that light purple dress I bought for her as a late birthday present, the one that shows her thin but curvy frame and really brings out her emerald green eyes. . .

"CADET FITZHERBERT!" someone yelled over to my right.

I snapped out of those thoughts and in a frenzy, I turned to the direction of the voice and accidentally pulled the trigger. The next thing I saw wasn't pretty; Mr. Thames had an arrow in his right leg, just above the ankle. His eyes went wide as his face turned red, I don't know whether it was out of rage or he was trying to hold in a scream of pain. He mumbled something to the Captain through grit teeth, who happened to be keeping him balanced on one leg. He said something back but Commander Thames cut him off with a firm glare and mumbled something again.

"You two!" the Captain said to two of the larger cadets among us. They took a step back in fear but the Captain added, "Take the Commander to the infirmary, and make sure he gets treated immediately." They nodded and said 'yes sir' before helping him walk out of the field.

The Captain then turned to me and he didn't too happy. "Back to your cabin, soldier." He ordered.

"Captain, it was an-"

"Back. To. Your cabin. Soldier." He interrupted firmly.

I probably shouldn't argue with him, I figured he was letting me off lightly considering I had just shot a commanding officer. "Yes sir." I replied and walk off, feeling everyone's eyes on me as I left.

When I got back, the place was empty. 'Great, just great' I thought. 'Nothing to do except lay down and stare at boring, grey ceiling all day.' I ran a hand through my hair, took off my armor, and just sat down on some random bed, not that I gave a damn who's it was. 'What am I doing here?' I thought. 'I'm no soldier; I'm not even good with a sword or anything. And don't get me started on my issues with authority. Mr. Thames said I was here to learn about leadership, and how is shooting arrows or running half a kilometer leadership? With me being useless and the way things are going the way they are, what reason do I have for staying?'

I thought about that as I saw something on the floor; it was a piece of paper and a pen, the one Mr. Thames gave me to write to Rapunzel.

I picked it up and stared at it. 'This is why I'm here. I'm here so I can be good enough to be king one day. So I could be worthy enough to be with her. I'll prove those people wrong. I'll prove to everyone that I have what it takes.' That thought gave me new confidence as I picked up the pen and started writing my letter.

Dear Rapunzel,

How're you holdin up without me? Cause I'm not. Today's been a bit. . .rough. Moving into a new place, meeting the other soldiers (by the way, Hook Hand, Big Nose, and Vladimir are here too, so at least I have a few friends), accidentally shooting Mr. Thames, who happens to be the officer in charge here, in the leg. I managed to get by some training without losing too much blood. . .just kidding! You have absolutely nothing to worry about; I'm actually feeling alright at the moment.

I miss you Blondie, more than you know. I couldn't stop thinking about you today, which happened to be the reason Mr. Thames got shot, but still, I can't wait to see you. I hope you're doing alright, because I want you to know now I'm only doing this for you. Maybe if I do well here, I could ask Mr. Thames to take me with him back to Corona just for a day, how's that sound?

Anyway, tell your parents, Pascal, Max, and anyone else it may concern I said hi and I'm doing fine. Just remember, I will come back. . .who knows I might even bring my shield with me. Stay strong and write back to me will you? I need to know what's goin on in that adorable head of yours.

Love, your dashingly rogue cadet, Eugene Fitzherbert.

And P.s. I love you. (Sound's cheesy I know, but I really mean it)

A/N: REVIEW! Or else I'll have to kill someone important. You wouldn't want that would you?

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