Eugene's Treasure: part two

Chapter…um…who cares. Let's get back to Eugene and Rapunzel!

Things didn't look good. Rapunzel sleepily cradled her husband's head as the straw cart pulled them along the dusty road. It was completely dark now. They had been traveling for hours. The moon and the stars were covered by the thick, dark clouds.

Eugene groaned as the cart hit another hard bump. Rapunzel instantly woke up and held Eugene's face.

"Eugene?" She said, her green eyes filled with hope. Eugene had been unconscious the whole ride and now he was just starting to show signs of life. But her face slowly expressed disappointment as Eugene remained silent. Another hour passed until their train of soldiers and horses stopped. Rapunzel saw her father talking to the captain of the guard, Henry. She watched silently until her father came over to her with a frown on his face.

"Wha-what is it?" Rapunzel was afraid to ask but she had to know.

"While we were in Elisria, there was a rock slide and the pass is completely blocked off to Corona. We will have to take the long way which will take about two days."

Rapunzel's heart sank. "But…what about Eugene?" She asked, tears starting to form in her eyes as she looked down at Eugene's limp form then back at her father.

The king sighed. "Eugene's a strong young man. I know he'll make it through. Don't worry."

But Rapunzel was worried. Just then the army's doctor came over to check on Eugene. As he examined his broken arm, he frowned. Then he lifted his shirt and examined his various gashes and large bruises. And also one particular gash that was very deep and wide and his frown seemed to be getting bigger and bigger.

"Eugene's wounds need the proper utensils and ointments. I will take a horse and ride as fast as I can back to the small town near Elisria to get supplies."

Rapunzel didn't like the idea about the doctor leaving but what good would he be if he couldn't properly help Eugene?" She finally nodded and the doctor left with another soldier.

The doctor had told them to keep going and that he would catch up with them so they pressed on.

Another agonizingly slow day of traveling passed and soon it was dark again. Rapunzel tried to get some food and water into her husband.

"Here Eugene, drink this" she said as she lifted his head and brought a cup of water to his mouth. She slowly poured it but it only flowed over his lips and down his neck. After 20 minutes of trying the water, she tried the food but that didn't work either. As she put down the food, the captain of the guard came over and gently lifted Eugene's shirt. He gasped at what he saw. Eugene's deep gash had gotten infected from being in that filthy prison cell.

"Gangrene!" he whispered and Rapunzel's breath caught.

"Alright your highness, I may not be a doctor but I do know this has to be cleaned. I've done these types of infections before and I know that they need to be treated right away."

Rapunzel nodded, fear etching her face. "o-ok I trust you" she said slowly.

Henry nodded and called a nearby soldier. "I'm going to need clean, hot water, a pan of hot coals, a clean, sharp knife, a frying pan and plenty of clean towels or rags." Rapunzel shuddered at the list of supplies as the soldier saluted and hurried off. Her attention was suddenly drawn away as Eugene moaned softly and shifted a bit. Rapunzel's heart skipped a beat.

"Eugene!" She cried as she gently grabbed his shoulders and then his face. Eugene slowly opened his eyes to see blurry images of two people hovering over him.

"Rapunzel?" He asked hoarsely.

"I'm right here Eugene" she brushed his dark hair out of his face. Eugene suddenly started to cough violently. When he stopped, Rapunzel could see his face was full of confusion as a few soldiers came over with a boiling pot of water, steaming heavily along with rags, a knife and a frying pan. He couldn't tell what the other thing was but it looked hot and red through his blurry vision.

"It's ok, where going to help you Eugene" Rapunzel said as Henry cleaned his hands and rolled up his sleeves. Eugene felt Rapunzel gently lift his shirt above his chest which made him slightly nervous.

"This won't feel good Rapunzel so do your best to restrain him and just let me know if you need a soldier to hold him down." Henry said with seriousness in his eyes. Rapunzel swallowed hard as she slowly nodded. Henry had another soldier hold up a lantern as He placed the knife in the hot coals. After a few minutes, the knife was ready and Henry picked it up and slowly and carefully neared it toward the infection. Rapunzel looked back at Eugene's face and placed her hands around it, keeping him looking at her.

"It's going to be alright Eugene. I promise. Just keep looking at me and yell as loud as you want." She said and stared at him sternly yet comforting. Eugene smiled slightly and then prepared for the worst. He grimaced and cried out as the hot knife finally came into contact with his infected skin. Rapunzel kept giving him words of encouragement as his face tightened in pain and he eventually cried out again.

….

As the surgery continued, Rapunzel noticed Eugene getting weaker and weaker with every cry of pain. Rapunzel wiped the sweat from his face with a rag as he breathed heavily and his hands tightly gripped the sheets, turning his knuckles white. He yelled again as Henry finally got the last bit of gangrene out of his wound. He then cleaned it with the hot water as Eugene groaned loudly in pain. After Henry finished, he wrapped Eugene's wound tightly in clean cloth. Eugene kept breathing hard as Rapunzel wiped him down with a damp cloth. Henry washed the blood off his hands and leaned over Eugene.

"You did good kid" He said and started to leave the couple alone but Rapunzel panicked when Eugene started to loose consciousness. "Captain!" she cried.

When Henry saw Eugene he smiled slightly to relax Rapunzel.

"It's alright your highness, he been through a lot. The pain took a lot of strength out of him so he must sleep." He left and Rapunzel held Eugene close to her and she watched him drift off. She was glad the worst was over.

"No more pain Eugene" she whispered and eventually fell asleep next to him.