Eugene muddled through his daily drills. The shoves, impatient yells, and arguments thrown on him by older, more experienced soldiers eventually turned into planning the infantry and militia's next moves, based on the king of Corona's plan of action, which was supported by Queen Merida. He'd gotten thrown into the role of captain of the infantry nearly by accident - but the countries started gaining ground in Al'vae after he took over, he wasn't gonna lie.
But regardless of his beginner's luck, he still couldn't get his mind off of Rapunzel. He always hoped for some word from her, but it never came, and that worried him. Had she gone back on her word; was she courting some rich prince who didn't have to lift a finger in this war?
The letters to the soldiers were delivered weekly, but it wasn't until the middle of October that he received a letter from her.
The men under his command, of course, joshed him for being a hopeless romantic - as if they were all tough guys! Far from it. No matter how tough they tried to seem, they all secretly hoped for word from home.
Home. Eugene had never put much stock into the word, but he'd learned that home wasn't a place, but instead the people you loved.
He had to fight Sebastian and Lee, two rowdy and teasing men, off in order to read his letter in peace. It was short, but he appreciated it anyway. He tore through the words written neatly across the paper, his eyes filled with satisfaction. After re-reading it - twice - , lying on his back on his cot, he put it up to his nose, hoping it smelled like her. It didn't. Sighing, he resumed staring at the paper, tracing his finger over her delicately-written signature.
Sebastian thunked him upside the head with his helmet.
"Stop lookin' so down and write back to her. You'll be home soon, cap."
He nodded. "Did you hear from your wife?"
"O' course. She never misses a week writing. I just got four letters - the month of September," he grinned toothily before leaving Eugene in peace. The young man curled up on his side, facing the makeshift tent's side and holding the paper to his face a moment, considering what he wanted to write to his beloved. Things had been going well, yes, but tomorrow was their biggest move.
They had located the captain of Al'vae's forces, and their next move was to attack. They weren't going to kill him; they were going to capture him.
It was their riskiest move yet.
Sighing, Eugene got up and rummaged for some spare paper and ink. He'd write a letter to her and give it to the man who was in charge of getting any special items back to them at the end of the day. If someone...wasn't able to get them back, it would be sent to their family when the letter updating the King of their current position was sent out - which was every Sunday.
The next day, they stocked up on what ammunition they had left, gathered their muskets, swords, daggers, and other weapons.
Eugene took his place in front of the entire group of soldiers, who were staring back expectantly at him, waiting for his orders. His palms were sweaty. How many of them would make it out today?
"We're going to stay safe today. Our mission is to capture Boone: nothing more and nothing less. You'll report back to the office at the end of the day, and hopefully, we'll be back home in a month. Now, here's our plan..."
"...Two...one...go. Go, go, go." Eugene hissed, and the men charged the ramshackle office. His men moved stealthily inside, quickly but quietly. Several of the Scottish warriors, about as bloodthirsty as Al'vae's soldiers themselves, came racing in, pounding their chests and yelling in Gaelic.
Eugene stopped them. "Hey, hey, hey! You guys know we need to be quiet."
"Och, but we're gettin' revenge, laddie! Ye know nothin' of prop'r revenge! Out' the way!" a wild-haired man exclaimed, pushing past.
Eugene grabbed his skinny arm. "Well, laddie, do you want to live? You won't unless you keep with the plan. It's not a threat, it's a fact."
The man glared for a moment, unwilling to back down. Scotland wanted the opposing captain's head on a plate to deliver to Queen Merida. But then he huffed, motioning to the men crowding behind him, and they settled down from a boiling rage to a slow simmer.
"Thank you." Eugene nodded them through, and then he went in himself.
"Well, well. How idiotic are you all? Did you really think we'd be gullible enough to let you all capture me here?" the tall, blond haired captain chuckled. Eugene's eyes widened as he glanced around the building. It was where Al'vae kept their ammunition. The man took a torch from the wall and waved it.
How had he not seen this? It had been too easy. "Men, back off-"
"No, not unless you want picked off sooner." Boone warned Eugene, pushing past the crowd to go toe-to-toe with Eugene. He was tall, sure, but Boone was even taller. "I've the rest of our militia waiting outside. Fully armed."
"If I start a riot out there, there's a chance you'll get shot, too." Eugene warned.
"Maybe, but maybe not." Boone said shortly. "Now, what's your highness going to do? You're out of moves." he taunted him. Eugene clenched his jaw and his fists. Could he knock him out with one hard hit? Or stab him? He fingered the dagger at his side. The other captain chuckled, not even turning when he heard the plethora of swords being unsheathed behind and around him. "I wouldn't. One wrong move and I throw this torch. You know what happens after that. You're not smart, but you all know what happens when you throw fire at ammo."
Eugene waved his hand, and even the Scottish warriors backed down.
"It'd take one quick swipe to knock that out of your hand, you do know that, right?" Eugene was considering it himself, but he wanted to know if there would be any terrible consequences first. He wasn't stupid, and could tell when someone had all of the bases covered. He caught a flash of something in the window.
"My men are positioned everywhere outside, y'know. Some are waiting at the windows. They see me drop the torch, they start firing. They'll tear the place apart, and they'll tear all your men - and Scotland's - up."
"And what do you want in trade for their lives?" Eugene asked.
He cocked his head, a sly smile crossing his face to reveal foul, rotten teeth. "You, and five of your best men."
"Why?"
"Well, a lot of reasons," he turned away, walking back to the front of the building, talking loudly so everyone heard him. "First and foremost, to get all of Corona's secrets. I can't touch Scotland - well, I already did - but you were stupid to ally with and help them. Now you've got to pay the price. You and your men will tell us anything we want to know - don't worry, you will. If you do this, all your men will go free, all of Scotland's warriors will go free, and the royal families will be left unharmed."
"And what if we don't? What if we kill you?"
"You'll never get out alive. You have no chance to get out alive. Your ammunition is almost gone, and close combat with my men would be deadly. We've all the ammunition in the country; all right here," he waved an arm in a flamboyant gesture, showing off.
"Who's to say we can't steal-"
"You can't." he shook his head. "You wouldn't live long enough. And besides, regardless of if I'm dead, if you don't comply, your royal family will be murdered. I've already got it planned out: beheading for all but your princess. Beautiful little lady, isn't she? I've seen her. But no, she'll be tortured - among other things. When she finally breaks, she'll get her heart removed from her chest. But anyway, you're not one for details, are you? No, you know all you need to know. Either you comply or all of these men will be killed, along with the royal family of Corona. I might even plan another attack and obliterate Scotland - kill the rest of that royal family as well."
Eugene was sickened. All of the men backed away uneasily. He glanced around at his men. How could he play this? He'd let his finest men go, of course; in case they would need to fight off the men, given that Boone may not keep his word. As if he knew what Eugene was thinking, Boone chuckled. "I already know who your five best men are, so you'll not screw me over on this one."
He gulped. "Who's to say I would?"
"Oh, come on. Is that even a question?" he laughed. "Now, do we have a deal, or not?"
Eugene looked back to his men. Sebastian nodded, stepping up. So did Lee, Louis, and Fredrick. The young Anderson did as well.
"Yes," he swallowed. "We do. We have a deal."
Boone nodded, moving to put the torch back on its hanger on the wall. Motioning through a window, men barged in and took Sebastian, Louis, Lee, Fredrick, Anderson, and Eugene.