A/N: This is it folks. I hope you have enjoyed it. Thanks for sticking with me. :)

Chapter 25

"Good people of Corona! I bring you great news!" The King spoke from the front balcony of the castle. The crowd had gathered after rumors began to swirl through the capital city. The rumors had intensified when the Royal Guard sent out word there would be an announcement from the King.

"My daughter has come back to us! She was saved by her loving nature and great capacity to make friends!" He proclaimed to the crowd who at first fell silent and then burst into cheers.

"He's laying it on a little thick isn't he?" Rapunzel asked Eugene from their spot behind the balcony doors.

"Not really. Why do you think I fell in love with you?" Her fiancé replied. She blushed and turned her attention back to her father.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you my daughter, Princess Rapunzel!" Cheers went up and Rapunzel, with the help of Eugene and the wheelchair, came out through the balcony doors. The Prince Consort wheeled her up to the balcony railing and gasps came up from some of the crowd.

"It is good to be home. Thank you for your warm welcome," Rapunzel smiled as everyone took in the sight of their Princess.

"What happened to you?" Someone shouted.

"What you see is the result of my kidnapping. I will be better in about a month," she explained.

"How did you escape the Kraken?" Another shout went up.

"I did not escape him. He saved me from drowning," the brunette told them. This got everyone confused. The Kraken was not a creature who was usually in the saving business. It had been known to eat whole ships along with their crew for breakfast. Seeing she would need to explain, Rapunzel continued,

"I was being accosted by one of the sailors on the ship and he was trying to throw me overboard. The Kraken came up and swallowed us both. At first, I feared I was going to die but as he swam through the water, he made sure to stay on the surface allowing me to breathe. The next thing I knew he had brought me to the back of the castle and dropped me off on dry land. Needless to say, I needed a good bath and was more than happy to find Maximus had followed my pungent odor and found me in the middle of the night. He brought me into the stables where Eugene and Doctor Caldwell found me the next morning." This seemed to satisfy the crowd as they smiled and nodded. The tunnel was left out of consideration when an attempt to get into it was met with tough opposition from the stone door. The lock had easily rusted and fallen off but the door, swollen from years of non-use along with the lack of a sturdy handle which had rusted also, would not budge. An attempt to gain access through the stable proved fruitless as well when it was realized that the door had caved in when one of the carriage horses had stomped on it. The hole had been filled by the staff without telling anyone.

"What's next Princess?" A third person called out.

"I am going to marry Eugene as soon as I am able to walk again and you're all invited!" Rapunzel smiled and the former thief squeezed her shoulder. This time cheers went up. News spread across the Kingdom that the Princess would marry in a month's time. Everyone was excited by the news and soon wedding presents began to flood the castle.

"What are we going to do with all this stuff?" Eugene asked, looking at the pile which had been started in the library and subsequently spread to the adjoining rooms.

"Hope you are prepared to write a lot of thank you notes," Rapunzel smiled from her seat in the wheelchair as he pushed her down the hall. It was now only a week away from their wedding. The braces that the doctor had put on her arm and leg would come off soon with little impact to the straightness of her bones. She had yet to try her powers, afraid they may not work. Eugene was healing just fine without him though his shoulder would forever bother him when it rained and his complete range of motion would not return but he would be able to do most everything he'd done before.

"So having any second thoughts about coming to the capital?" He suddenly asked.

"No. I thought that my tower was the only place I was ever meant to be despite dreaming of more. When you shattered that notion, I grew scared. Everything happened so fast, I guess I was overwhelmed. You were right. We had to come here first. Otherwise we would not have been able to be together and I couldn't bear the thought of that," she said with conviction.

"For better or worse, I'll always be here," Eugene said. He leaned down and gently took her lips in his. Their lives were finally heading in the right direction and nothing was going to get in their way.

The End

Or so they thought... I'm thinking about doing a follow up but I'm not sure. Feel free to drop me a review and tell me what you think.