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Now come to chapter 25. The chapter song is 'I knew I loved you' by Savage Garden.

Queen Anne of Corona was watching the decorators decorating the stage in the middle of the public square from the royal balcony. The whole kingdom was wearing a whole new look for the celebration of the upcoming royal wedding as well as the coronation of the lost princess. The streets were decorated with bright purple flags with the golden sun shining in the middle & the roads were painted with bright purple colors. The wooden stage in the middle of the public square was decorated with the flowers of various colors which were now looking as the Garden of Eden. The castle of Corona was also being decorated with the flags& banners of the two kingdoms. The streets were full of the life sized posters of the future royal couple- Princess Rapunzel & her fiancé Prince Eltor. This morning the princess would declare the final date of her wedding in the public & the wedding would take place tonight after her coronation ceremony. And the enthusiastic people of Corona were looking forward to celebrate the biggest wedding of the century. Queen Anne could feel their excitement & joy in the air. Even the servants kept whispering about the wedding dress of the princess. She could see the joy radiating from their faces. But only the mother of the bride couldn't join the celebration. Her motherly heart could feel the consequence of the marriage. But she was so helpless to stop this.

'At last our child is going to be married.' A pair of arms wrapped around her shoulders & the queen could hear the familiar voice of her husband King Rupert 'We longed for this day for last eighteen years.' The king whispered again trying to put a fake smile on his face. But the queen didn't answered. She tilted her head to meet his eyes. And the penetrating look in her sad green eyes was piercing the king's soul. After a long silence she whispered 'But are you really happy, Rupert when our child is crying? Can you buy peace with her tears?'

'Anne.. I….' King Rupert couldn't finish his words as he meet her emerald orbs. He fall silent. He took his eyes away from her to afraid to confess the truth. But he knew his wife could read his mind like a open book. He could feel her walking near him, placing her tiny hand on his heart. He could hear her whispers 'Rupert, just listen to your heart. You can't buy peace with our daughter's tears. You can't believe Prince Eltor. The man is very cunning. He'll never treat our people or our daughter in the right way.'

But the king remained silent. He was confused, very confused. He was tired of fighting with himself. But he knew that his wife was telling the truth. He raised his head slowly & met Anne's eyes 'Should I call of this marriage?' 'Yes' Anne smiled & pulled her husband in a kiss. Now she could see the man she married twenty years ago after a long time.

But the royal couple was startled by a soft footstep from behind. 'You don't need to call of the marriage.' The king & the queen both turned to find their daughter standing at the door. The purple, elaborate gown was hugging her perfectly shaped body so nicely but it couldn't hide the struggle she was facing with herself for the last two nights. Her red rimmed eyes were telling how much tears she had shed in those days. But no one knew the fear was clutching her heart for all these nights & days to make her cry in the middle of the nights.

'Father' Rapunzel took a deep breath & walked near the king 'This is my problem. Let me deal with it.' 'Darling, what are you saying?' Queen Anne gasped with the sudden declaration of her daughter. She freed herself from her husband & walked near her. She cupped her chin to look into her eyes as if she was trying to read her mind 'Are you sure?' 'Yes.' Anne shivered at the tone of Rapunzel's voice. It was not the voice of her naive little girl but the voice of a woman who turned into a stone. 'Daughter' King Rupert waked beside her daughter 'I don't want to ….' But Rapunzel cut him off in the middle 'Father, I don't want any bloodshed just for me. I don't want to sacrifice the precious lives of our subjects just for my happiness.'

Neither the king nor the queen could talk for a while. But they could feel their little child had grown up. They hugged her tightly. But soon the moment was interrupted with the cold voice of Prince Eltor from behind 'Princess, it's time to go.' Rapunzel broke the hug to look at her future husband. 'Yes, let's go' she freed herself from her parents & followed Prince Eltor to the public square. But inside she was feeling like a prisoner who was leading to the gallows for execution. Yes true Rapunzel would die in the moment when she'd marry Prince Eltor.

Now she knew how Eugene felt when he led to the gallows for his execution. Now it was her turn but in a different way.

The king watched his daughter going. A sigh escaped from his mouth when she left. He looked at the wise green eyes of his wife & whispered 'I've hurt her enough. But I can't let her die like this. I'm calling my chief councilor Lord Denvan to call off this marriage.' The queen was amazed with the realization of her husband. "I'll be by your side Rupert.' She gently pressed his hand for assurance.

()()()

The captain finished the fourth glass of wine. It was a hazardous day for him. No one had ever disgraced him like this, except one man- Prince Eltor. This morning when the prince was getting ready for the celebration in the public square the captain decided to meet him.

'Sire!' the prince was startled with the voice of the captain from behind. The lines of annoyance began to appear on his handsome face. 'Why that fool always calls me when I am about to do something?' he muttered under his breath. Calling from behind- he always considered as a bad omen. 'What?' The prince turned to face the captain while tying the knots of the fancy tie around his neck. 'Sire!' The captain bowed to show respect to the future ruler of Corona 'I got my men ready to escort you to the public square.' A sarcastic smile laced Eltor's lips. 'Your men?' He let out a wry laughter 'I've never seen such useless men before. So I've my own men ready for me.' The captain could see the pure disgust dancing in the dark eyes of Eltor. 'But..' he tried to resume his lost dignity 'I can assure...'. But soon he was cut off by the prince who stepped closer & tapped his armor with his index finger 'Look, captain you've proven yourself worthless many times. So I can't depend on you anymore. May be you must be ready to kiss your job goodbye soon.'

To the captain's surprise Prince Eltor called his men inside & ordered them to escort him to the town square. And the captain remained standing there like a broken glass with his ruined dignity. But ... the captain placed the wine glass loudly on the table. How can the prince recruit new men without his permission? It smelled fishy. And he ruined his dignity & reputation which was his only treasure in the twenty years of his working life. His wife divorced him for this but he never minded. But now this prince just injured the most sensitive palace of his heart.

The king was blind & he remained bound to his law. But somehow he could see through the darkness - the light. He pushed his chair aside. He needed a walk to cool his brain with fresh air & to think everything again in the whole new light. Not with the eyes of an obedient servant to the king but with the eyes of a rebel.

()()()

The carriage stopped at the market place. And the headmistress of the Corona orphanage Lady Emlyn got down from the carriage accompanied by her companion- a hooded young man. They came to the town to do some shopping for the children of the orphanage. She was bubbling many things about her past visit to this town but her companion was strangely silent. She turned to have a look of the hooded figure who was still following her without any objection. 'Eugene!' she beamed with a false enthusiasm as they stopped near the great public library of the town 'Can you remember this place? You were lost when you were ten. It was your first visit to the town. And it was your birthday. I found you crying at a corner. But you were so afraid that you never stopped crying. So I had to buy you the first volume of 'The tales of Flynnigan Rider.' She walked closer to the young man who was staring blankly at the entrance of the library. There was no sign of recognition in his brown eyes.

'Eugene!' she called him again but there was no reply from the other side. A sigh escaped from her mouth. She had tried to bring him back to normal for last one month. But now she was loosing hope. What would she say to her sister while she couldn't protect her son? She turned back to hide her tears which were welling up from her identical brown eyes. Now he needed to meet the girl for whom he was standing here like a living dead. But that girl had forgotten him. She was going to marry the man whom her parents selected for her forgetting the memories of her first love.

'Come on, Eugene!' she said to her companion wiping away e tears. But the young man gave her a strange vacant look instead of following her. 'Oh,dear!' Emlyn's voice broke. She was really tired to see her precious nephew like this.

And the young man began to follow Lady Emlyn silently again. But his curious eyes were trying to resister his surroundings. A black cloak was wrapped around his body & its hood was shadowing his handsome face. It was Lady Emlyn's idea. She knew it very clearly that although this man was dead to the rest of the world but if he revealed his face again, then soon he would turn into the condemned thief again. And Corona's law never spared a prisoner without punishment. But this young man had no idea about these. He was too busy to take his surroundings.

Eugene couldn't explain any of the weird sounds around him but all of them seemed very familiar to hi in a strange way. Had he ever been here before? His mind was searching for clues. And some faces especially a childlike face of a strange golden hair girl was flushing before eyes like a bolt of lightning. The city was being decorated beautifully for the upcoming royal wedding. The roads were being painted with the royal emblem. The young girls were busy in painting the streets. Eugene was wondering the beauty of his new surroundings. Suddenly something caught his eyes as they reached near the town square. A girl was painting the road with the golden sun surrounded by purple flowers. And the scene was so familiar that made Eugene to stop at his pace.

And suddenly the world disappeared around him. He found himself standing in the middle of another time. A girl with strangely long golden hair was painting the road . She raised her beautiful green eyes to meet him 'Eugene isn't it beautiful?'

'Sir, Can you please step aside? ' The voice of the girl who was painting the road brought him back to the reality. Eugene realized that he was standing in the middle of the square. He looked at the girl's face but she wasn't the girl of his dream.

Everything was so confusing. Eugene began to walk again while rubbing his aching head. He had already lost his companion & now he had no idea where to go now. But still this place was strangely familiar. He stopped for a while to think again clearly.

'Sire, want a flag of Corona?' He startled with a childish voice from behind. Eugene turned to find a little boy vending the flags. And the flags were purple with a golden sun in middle. 'Eugene, Can you give me a flag?' The girl of his dream pleaded. And he couldn't ignore the plea of her strange green eyes.

'Sir!' the boy asked again 'Want one?' Eugene frowned to take a clear look of the piece of cloths in his hands. And a strange cloud began to clouding his consciousness. He could feel a strange shiver running through his spine. A voice was calling him from far away 'Eugene..Eugene…' But he couldn't take anymore. He gripped his head with his hands & rushed. He wanted to escape from the memories. But his weak knees couldn't bear the burden anymore. He collapsed on the ground. He hid his face between his palms desperately trying to remember her name.

Something fell over his body from above. He raised his face to brush away the paper from his shoulder. But the faces on the paper caught his eyes. There was a face of a girl with big emerald eyes looking at him. And she was just like the girl of his dream. His eyes began jerking violently while his body was trembling with realization. He knew her. And a word flashed in his mind- her name 'Rapunzel.'

He turned his eyes to the face of the man standing beside her. His handsome face was shaped from ice & his dark eyes were as cold as snake. Then another memory flashed in his mind- a young man with same face standing with a blood stained dagger in his hand, laughing like a maniac. Eight years old Eugene could see his father lying dead at his feet. The little boy was crying for his life. But the man was stepping closer & closer to him. 'How about dying cousin!' his maniac laughter filled the air.

He remembered the eagle crown lying at his feet. He knew the crown. It was his crown. Eugene's eyes flew open. And now he knew his true identity.

But the words below the picture made the blood freeze in his veins-

'Princess Rapunzel is marrying Prince Eltor of Nalora tonight. All of the people of Corona are invited in this glorious ceremony to celebrate this wonderful union of two pure royal hearts.'

()()()

Lord Denvan, the chief councilor walked into the royal bedchamber accompanied by ten more men. He bowed to show respect to the king. 'Have you called me, sir?' He smiled gently. 'Yes, Denvan.' King Rupert took his seat at the other end of the round table in the middle of the room 'I need to talk with you about the marriage of my daughter. I want to call off this marriage.'

Queen Rubina was passing by the royal bedchamber. But Lord Denvan & his men couldn't escape her sight. And her blood froze in her vein when she saw the faces of Lord Denvan's companions. They were Naldorian soldiers. But what were they doing here? She looked through the keyhole & suddenly her body began to tremble with fear when she took a view of inside the royal bed chamber.

So they were planning to invade the kingdom tonight?

()()()

The stage was beautifully decorated with various types of flowers for the future royal couple. The air was heavily laden with their sweet fragrance & the excited crowd was waiting for the arrival of their future rulers of Corona.

At last their waiting was over. The golden royal carriage stopped in the middle of the public square. Two footmen opened the door & a handsome middle aged man stepped out from the carriage. He was Prince Eltor. His dark eyes were glittering with the satisfaction of the thought of the upcoming success of his plan. His dark hairs were combed neatly & the dark dress on his body added another tone to his royal grace. He held out his hand to help his companion to get out of the carriage. And at last she made her appearance in public. The crowd gasped at the sight of her royal beauty. The elaborate purple gown cascaded down from her tiny waist to kiss the ground below & the matched purple corset around her body couldn't hide her feminine beauty. The diamond crown on her head was shining in the morning sun. But none of them noticed the intense sadness that veiled her beautiful face. She tried to smile at the crowd but there was no life in the smile.

Eltor's arms encircled her waist to lead her to the stage. But the princess was seeing noting. The crowd was beaming with joy but nothing could touch her. She wasn't seeing anything nor hearing the cheerful cry below. But still she had a small hope in her mind that her prince would come someday to rescue her. Her anxious eyes were searching for a hint of the brown haired gorgeous man but there was none like him in the crowd.

A big sigh escaped from her mouth when she at last walked over the stage. She looked around to take her surroundings. It was time, to declare her final decision. She tried to move her lips with the intention to speak but no word came out. Her throat was dry, like a desert. But for last two nights she thought about her decision, cried in the middle of the night when she failed to find all the way out from this new tower. Then she decided. But why she was feeling so confused now?

She looked at the crowd below. They were waiting to hear from their princess. She could feel Eltor's arms pressing her shoulders 'Don't stand like here like a fool. Say something, princess. Don't waste your time among these filthy peasants.'

'Filthy peasants!' Rapunzel turned her green eyes to look at her companion. So this was he thought about her people? And she was going to marry this man? But still now she had no choice, she had to save her people. She closed her eyes for a while & took a deep breath. And at last she opened her eyes to make her final declaration…

'No, Rapunzel!' Right then someone cried from the crowd. Rapunzel opened her eyes to find a mysterious hooded figure running towards the stage pushing all the people aside. 'Who?' Her eyes grew wider with confusion. But a moment later she found herself in the arms of the mysterious stranger. His hands were caressing her face gently & his fingers were wiping away her tears. Rapunzel couldn't see the face of the mysterious stranger as the hood shadowed his face. But his touch seemed so familiar that she began to feel relaxed suddenly.

'Rapunzel, my Rapunzel!' the stranger continued to whisper tracing her face. And Rapunzel could see his gorgeous brown eyes under his hood. 'Eugene!' she whispered still not believing herself. The tears of joy began spilling up from her eyes. She knew her brave knight would come to save his princess. 'Yes!' Eugene crackled. He grasped her hands tightly 'Rapunzel, We must tell the truth to everyone, & stop the war.' 'What?' Rapunzel sounded confused but Eugene silenced her placing a finger over her lips. He faced the audience & pulled away his hood revealing his handsome face.

The crowd below was already whispering about the mysterious stranger, But now the crowd fell silent as the man revealed his face. 'Rider!' the whispering rose again 'He is alive. But he's a thief.' Confusion was growing among the audiences.

Eugene stood before the crowd & took Rapunzel's hand 'I want to say you something.' He pulled her closer 'The princess doesn't have to marry Prince Eltor because she was never engaged to him. She was truly engaged to Prince Eugene, the crown prince of Naldora.' Rapunzel was shocked too. She set her confused green eyes upon him. 'What are you saying Eugene?' she whispered. But Eugene wasn't listening to her. He continued 'And I'm Prince Eugene, the lost prince of Naldora.' And the last words dropped like a bomb in the crowd.

Rapunzel couldn't say another word. She watched her companion. So this was the truth he was hiding always? But why?

'He's Prince Eugene..' the crowd was whispering among themselves 'But he's dead…'

Prince Eltor was at a state of shock when he first saw Rider. He never imagined him to recover so quickly. But now he was now recovered from the wave of shock & he knew he needed to do something before the plan got ruined. He walked near the reunited couple & faced Eugene 'So, you claim that you're the lost prince.' He grinned wryly. The curious crowd was waiting for the final climax. And the growing whisper fell silent once again. 'But do you've any proof Rider?'

Eugene looked around him. Hundred pairs of eyes were watching him curiously. He knew his true identity but he had never thought of this possible situation. He closed his eyes for a while searching for a proof about his true identity. But unfortunately he found nothing.

Prince Eltor was waiting patiently for Eugene's response. He knew that man couldn't prove anything. All the evidences were destroyed carefully. The only person who could tell the truth, Queen Rubina was mute now. And Eugene's silence made his grin to grow wider & wider. He looked at the crowd below who was growing impatient. He faced the crowd & smiled 'See, my people it's another trick from Rider. He just wants to kidnap our princess. Do you believe him now?'

Eugene looked at the impatient crowd below. They were getting angry now. But he had nothing to prove his true identity except standing silently like a fool. 'That Rider is fooling us.' One of the men from the crowd shouted. 'Yes, he harmed us & now he wants to kidnap our princess.' Few more men joined him. 'Let's kill him.' Another shouted.

'Guards, get Rider.' And Prince Eltor was shouting shouted at his men. The whispers among the crowd never escaped his concern. He couldn't waste this chance to use the anger of these people against Rider.

"Eugene , we must get out of here & tell my father about everything. Probably he knows something!' Rapunzel looked around her when she saw the guards surrounding them from all the sides 'Yes' Eugene quickly grasped her hand & searched for a corner to escape. But the guards were surrounding the stage & the angry people were trying to get over the stage to get Rider. Everyone surrounded them from all the sides. There was no empty place on the stage or a small nook to escape. They couldn't even see the faces of their attackers except their heads.

Rapunzel was clinging to Eugene as if he was her final life line. Eugene looked around him. The guards were surrounding the stage from all the sides. "Rapunzel, what we'll do?' He looked at her helplessly 'Do you have your frying pan?' Rapunzel nodded negatively. This time she forgot to bring her trusty weapon with her. And the helpless couple watched more & more men & the angry people were rushing near the stage. Soon they climbed up on the stage & surrounded them from all the sides. 'Get Rider!' the angry crowd bellowed.

'Eugene!' Rapunzel yelled as she lost Eugene's hand in the ciaos. 'Rapunzel!' Eugene wanted to find her but the angry crowd separated him from her & they surrounded him from the all the sides. But he didn't care. He pushed the men hard trying to reach his precious princess. But he never noticed the guards standing before him. And he suddenly bumped into someone. He tried to stand up to meet the mustached face of the jailor. But the guards had already tied his felt & hands. 'So lousy trick Rider!' he grinned sarcastically 'I thought you're more intelligent than that.'

"Eugene!' Rapunzel was trying to find her beloved in the middle of the crowd. But there was no sign of him. And the angry people were surrounding her from all the sides. She couldn't see anything through them. But she could hear their angry mutterings 'Kill Rider!'

Some one snatched her hand & pulled her out of the ciaos 'Princess, let's get out from here. People got angry. We needed to go before they run into us.' Rapunzel turned her head to see the face of her captor- Prince Eltor. 'Eltor, But you know Eugene is in the middle of them. They'll kill us if we can't get him out of the angry crowd.'

'No Princess,' Prince Eltor smiled 'The guards had just arrested him.'

'But why?' Rapunzel sent a burning look at him 'You know he's not guilty. He hasn't done anything.' 'Who said that?' Eltor pulled her nearer 'He has disgraced our princess in the public and pretended as the royalty. This is the highest degree of crime. And he must get his punishment.'

'What punishment?' Rapunzel felt a chill running through her spine. '

'He's an already condemned thief.' Eltor's eyes danced with mischief 'So he will be hanged tonight.'

'No' Rapunzel clutched Eltor's shirt with her tiny hand sending a burning look at him 'You can't do that. He was hanged once. He had suffered enough for his past but now I can't let him suffer anymore.'

'Oh, true love.' A sarcastic smile laced Eltor's lips 'I should honor you princess. So if you really want to save him, I can offer you a deal.'

'What deal?' Rapunzel looked into his eyes. His dark eyes were shining with the joy of his victory. 'Well, princess, just a simple one. I will appeal for him to the council to spare his life only if you marry me.'

'You're so cruel.' Rapunzel felt her mouth filled with a strange bitterness. Oh, how much she hated this man!

'Yes, I agree.' Eltor was enjoying her hatred too 'But it's up to you princess.'

Then he pulled her closer & placed his lips near her ears 'His life or death is depending only upon your choice now, princess. Now you decide which one you'll chose now?'

After 3 weeks storming my brain about this chapter & I couldn't get out anything satisfactory. In my opinion it's horrible plus terrible & of course making the story boring & predictable. Oh, no I'm feeling really terrible & hopeless now. I just want to cry about this terrible thing. I needed to get out from this repeated Writer's block.

I know how you feel for this chapter. But But still thanks for staying with me. Your love for this story just keeps me writing yet.

Press the REVIEW button below before heading away from this page & rescue me from this writer's block.