A/N: Thank you so much everyone! I love getting all your reviews, they make me so happy. Unfortunately, I'm going out of town, so I won't be able to update for a few days.

Chapter 13

King Rupert gazed down at the glass of amber liquid in his hands, swirling it idly.

It wasn't his first, and it wasn't his second glass. It was…well, he'd admit he'd had a few. But there was a lot on his mind, and so many thoughts and fears and whispers had been plaguing his mind today and he wished they would all just stop.

So he'd sat down at his desk, shut the door, and pulled out the scotch.

It wasn't the new tax law that had been handed to him last week that wasn't sitting well with him. It wasn't even the stirrings of unrest in the western part of the kingdom, nor was it the crumbling relationship with the traders from the next kingdom over.

No. It was a certain young girl with green eyes so wide he always feared he'd lose himself in them. They were so much like Marie's that it settled in his gut like a lead weight and refused to move.

The fact that it was coming up to Anna Maria's twentieth birthday did not help matters.

Rupert downed the glass in his hands and filled another.

It wasn't just the eyes; this curse went beyond it. Rapunzel was always bright and chipper and pleasant. Marie had always been the same. It was one of the reasons he'd fallen in love with her. Both women held such a love for life that no one could compare. Rupert thought no one could love the world as much as his wife did. Now he knew that was untrue. Rapunzel loved it just as much, perhaps more.

Cursing his wife's whispered hopes, he emptied the glass. He filled it again.

Just last week Marie had told him that Rapunzel's hair had once been blonde. Rupert had only stared at her, waiting for the rest of the sentence, or punch line, perhaps, but she'd gone back to her reading. It took a few minutes, but he understood what Marie hadn't said.

Anna Maria's hair was blonde.

He scowled and drained the glass. Another was poured.

His wife was not going to let this go. And now that Rapunzel had just given birth, he was likely to never hear the end of it. Didn't she realize that she was only hurting herself by hopelessly clinging to a poor commoner? Couldn't she see that this was not Anna Maria?

Marie thought him too dark and bleak. The fact that he kept pushing for her to not see Rapunzel any more only thickened her resentment. What was he to do? He loved his wife dearly, but he couldn't watch her fall apart like this. Not chasing a dream.

They didn't speak about it, not outright. It was much too hard for the both of them. Marie would say that Rapunzel was coming to do a painting and Rupert would sigh and glance away. It was her way of saying 'I really think this is her,' and his way of saying 'you are only going to break your heart chasing after groundless fantasies'. Needless to say, the pair was hard-pressed to discuss anything meaningful these days. Conversation around the dinner table consisted of mainly the kingdoms faring and the new horses the king had purchased.

It wasn't as if the king disliked Rapunzel. He didn't resent her either, for it was not her fault that Marie was so fixated upon her. He quite enjoyed her company in fact. He'd had a few portraits of himself done, and it was always a pleasant affair. Listening to Marie and Rapunzel banter back and forth, their laughter ringing in the air…it was almost domestic. Peaceful. Like it was meant to be.

But Rapunzel was not Anna Maria.

She couldn't be.

Although, he conceded as he threw back another shot of scotch and enjoyed the feeling of disconnecting from the world, Anna Maria's hair was blonde.