Got ourselves a crazy chapter here.

1. One more after this that's a part of the 'Chains of her Sorrows' storyline. I hope you've all enjoyed it up to this point!

2. I just wanna say thank you to everyone who's been keeping up with this. I can't say it enough; this story started as some simple dabbling in my google drive and it has evolved into something I never even could've imagined. I know my writing isn't the best, I know I sometimes repeat/word things weirdly, and I hope it isn't too much of a turn off for you guys and gals who like to read.

3. After 'Chains of her Sorrows' is finished, I do plan/intend on introducing/bringing in more characters from the show and using some of my original characters more often. I have extended, unrefined plans for this story (and its potential second installment/spin-off); my ideas are quite complicated and do take heavy inspiration from the show, and I hope I'll be able to formulate them onto the page in the best way possible.

3. My apologies for any spelling/grammar mistakes that fall through the final cut. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 34 - Dead Man Walking

Type: Direct continuation of last chapter, part of the 'Chains of her Sorrows' storyline.

Description: The mighty King Frederic has had enough of this seemingly endless loop of waiting, and is more than ready to give Eugene a piece of his mind.

"I'm going to kill him."

Arianna looked up to her husband as they both leaned with their backs against the wall outside their daughter's room. Her eyes widened at his sudden comment. "Fred, please think-"

"No, darling. That boy is a dead man walking." He turned to Captain Jones, who had returned from his small mission of assisting Fitzherbert, helping him get into his daughter's room by tying a rope to a large rock so he could smash through her door and come to her aid immediately. That all happened practically an hour ago at this point, and in Frederic's mind, it's completely irresponsible of Eugene to keep him and his wife locked out here for as long as he has so far.

"Captain," Jones turned to his majesty with ready and willing eyes. "Ready the noose."

Jones' eyes widened and an evil smirk came across his face. It's...it was as if he's been waiting for this day ever since the man formerly known as Flynn Rider snuck in and stole their most precious treasure. In his most lively voice, he responded to his majesty. "Yes sir! I never thought the day would come!"

Jones turned sharply to the two guards who stood behind him. "Stan! Pete! You heard his majesty! Off to the gallows! Woo-hoo!"

"But, Cap, Eugene's done nothing-" Stan made an attempt to defend his friend, but Captain Jones' growl in response told him everything he needed to know. The two men sighed and followed the way behind the Captain, who was practically skipping and jumping for joy as they went off to the Prison, intending to raise the noose and probably prepare a large crowd of people as an audience.

"Fred!" His wife punched his arm, rather hard at that, and he winced at her sudden force. He let out a faint, quiet yelp as she looked up to him with fire in her eyes.

"You're not thinking straight, dear!" She pointed at his chest, and he raised an eyebrow in response, crossing his arms.

"I'm not thinking straight? Ari, the boy has kept our daughter locked inside this room for the past damn hour! I want to see my baby girl! Don't you want to-"

"Yes I want to!" She threw her arms in the air. "More than anything. But you heard what they were saying," she lowered her voice and looked up to him solemnly. "He's proposing to her, dear."

"It does not take an hour to propose! Arianna, you're not dumb. I'm not dumb. Dr. Henry here," he gestured a hand to the much smaller doctor, "is certainly not dumb, and I suspect he's thinking the same thing that I am as well." Frederic turned his head and looked at the doctor in search of support.

The man fiddled with his glasses, repositioning them in front of his eyes and stumbling over his words, "Uh-uh, your majesty, o-of course-"

Frederic raised an eyebrow, not believing the older man one bit but he chose not to comment on his lack of ability to read the room. He turned back to his wife.

"You heard his words, Ari. I fear Eugene is doing something with Rapunzel that is far more than a meager proposal. I fear he has finally taken things too far."

She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms, completely oblivious to his suspicions. "And what do you think he's been doing with her?"

He frowned with saddened, but angry-written eyes and bit his lip. He did not want to say such a foul and vile thing, such a foul idea to his wife whom he has taken a vow to protect with every ounce of strength he holds in his body until his very last breath. Instead, he darted his eyes twice down in the direction of a certain male part of his body, and she followed him. Her mouth and eyes both widened as she looked up to him, only receiving a nod from the older man in response, confirming exactly what she now thought.

"I'm going to kill him!" Arianna ran up to the door and frantically began to bang on it.

"Eugene Fitzherbert! You open this door right this instant!" There was a silence in the room, and Frederic walked up to his wife, wrapping his arm around her as she huffed and puffed with clenched fists. His jaw was wired shut as he awaited some sort of response from the young man in question, and they heard faint footsteps inch closer and closer.

"Your majesty," they both heard, it was Eugene's voice.

"Eugene Fitzherbert! If you know what's best for you, you will open this damn door and let me see my baby girl!" Arianna yelled and screeched as she banged on his door ever so violently, and her husband chuckled to himself. Oh, how lovely it was to see his mostly calm and poetic wife, who usually kept her cool in even the most nerve wracking situations, suddenly let loose on this boy who they both suspect has just tainted their daughter's innocence.

"Mama! Mama, please calm down!" This voice was from their daughter, and it sounded frantic and fearful.

"I am calm!" Arianna retorted sharply, "Now open this damn door, Fitzherbert, or I will break it down with my very own fists!" She clenched her teeth shut and Frederic began to stroke her shoulder in a soothing manner, because he was starting to think himself that she was taking this a tad too far.

But who is he kidding. Oh, the things he's going to do to this boy when he opens this door.

"Your majesty," Eugene cleared his throat, "I promise you, we've done noth-" His voice was interrupted and the next thing the two monarchs heard was a loud yelp. Unknowingst to them, Rapunzel had just stomped on his foot.

"What the hell was that for!?"

"You can't say that! You know the rule!"

"What rule!?"

"The rule!"

"'The rule'!?"

"You know, the rule that you can't promise something that isn't the truth!"

Both her parents eyes widened, Frederic's in his case also twitching relentlessly, and Dr. Henry immediately recognized this face of the two majesties. It was a face of bloodlust, a face of murderous intent. He slowly backed away and rushed behind the guards, who were still standing in their line from earlier when the King instructed to do so. He hid behind the last one in the line, motioning him to lean down so he can whisper in his ear.

"I'm going to get a stretcher, please do your best to make sure he doesn't kill that Fitzherbert boy." The guard looked at him as if he was crazy, but nodded and saluted anyway, and watched as the aged doctor scurried off down the hall.

"Eugene!" The King's voice boomed and the two of them, him and his wife, could practically hear the boy trembling in his own two feet behind the door. "Open. This. Door."

There was a deafening, nerve wracking silence that took over the inside room and the hallway that they stood in. About a minute later, Frederic and his wife heard the creaking sound of the dresser being pushed across the hard wooden floor. Frederic's fists curled up into tiny balls, and he raised his right one as the sound of a lock turning filled their ears, before hearing the creak of the door as it opened.

He roared a mighty roar and stepped forward, ready to pummel this boy's face in, but was stopped when he saw that he was…

Hiding behind his daughter, who was also holding a frying pan.

"Rapunzel! Sweetheart!" Her mother ran up to her and wrapped her arms around her entire body, digging her face into her daughter's shoulder. Rapunzel wrapped her one arm around her in response, too, but held a menacing look in the direction of her father. In her free hand, her right hand to be more specific, she held the frying pan, pointing it in his direction.

"I am not going to let you hurt him!"

Frederic scoffed, "Hurt him? Young one," he chuckled, "all I want to do is congratulate him!" He inwardly prayed that she did not notice the way his eye was twitching in anger, and that his fists were still curled at his sides. "That is, if you accepted his proposal. He did propose, correct?" He raised an eyebrow as he maneuvered both his hands behind his back, trying to look more formal and calm than he actually was. He watched as Eugene's head slowly rose behind her shoulder and he nodded frantically with a look of absolute fear, widened eyes on his face.

"Good. Welcome to the family, Eugene." Frederic extended his hand to the young man. Eugene looked at him with a face of bewilderment and stepped ever so slightly to the side, away from the only person who could ever stand in between him and the King, making one of the worst mistakes of his life in the meanwhile.

Frederic seized hold of Eugene's wrist and ducked out of the way as Rapunzel let out a scream. He took hold of both of Eugene's arms and stepped back two large steps, holding him, Eugene's back facing his chest. The young man squirmed, panted, and screamed,

"Papa! No, please!" Rapunzel yelled to him, but her words would not stop him now. He needed to know the truth.

"I will not hurt him, daughter!" Frederic's grasp on Eugene tightened and it was just about the time that this young man lost any hope for a potential escape. Here he is, locked in place by this mighty King's arms, completely vulnerable to whatever form of torture he may want to bestow upon him for taking his daughter virg-

Wait.

We never had sex. We never had sex! Eugene thought frantically.

"Your majesty!" Eugene screamed and attempted once again to flail his arms. "We didn't do what you think we did! I swear to you, I promise you!"

Rapunzel gasped and stepped forward, her mother standing just to her side and lifted her frying pan up to her fiance's head. "You! You can't do that! You just-"

"No, Rapunzel, I didn't! You don't get it! I'm not lying because we didn't go the distance-" His words immediately became muffled by the King's abnormally large hand, and his eyes slowly fell. Her father looked down to her.

"Rapunzel, what is he talking about?"

Rapunzel stared up at her father with shock-filled eyes and her voice cracked as she turned to her mother, then to him, then back to her mother, and so forth in a frantic manner.

"He's...he's…"

"Sweetheart," Her mother gently took hold of her arm and turned her daughter, who was merely a few inches shorter than she, so they could now face each other. In a soothing voice, she asked, "Was he actually proposing that whole time?"

Rapunzel bit her lip and turned her eyes ever so subtly to Eugene and saw the pleading look in his own two ones. If she told the truth, they'd probably punish him, no matter what she says or pleads to them. But if she lied, she'd be losing every ounce of trust they had for her after all these months of hard work she went through, getting used to having actual real parental figures in her life.

"I-I...I don't…" Her eyes teared up and she flung herself into her mother's arms, sobbing relentlessly into her shoulder. Arianna frowned up at her husband who was clenching his teeth as he kept his hand held over the boy's mouth. The guards, of course, would not specifically intervene against their King's wishes.

And a few of them were actually enjoying the sight of the former rogue trembling under their King's hold, to be completely honest.

Frederic looked down to Eugene. "Did you taint her innocence?" The man vigorously shook his head in response with wide and fearful eyes. Frederic sighed, as he would not be able to talk to him in such a position like this one.

"Guards!" Frederic yelled to the men who were still positioned against the wall.

"Two of you, come here and take hold of him." The two guards at the front nodded and walked forward, each of them taking hold of one of Eugene's arms as they stepped away. They pushed Eugene, leaning him over forward so the royal majesty would have even more of a height advantage than that which he normally had.

Frederic stood tall with both of his hands behind his back. He gazed down to Eugene with menacing eyes and asked, "What were you doing in there with her for this past hour?"

Eugene gulped and looked towards Rapunzel, who was enveloped in her Mother's arms with wide and teary eyes. He scrunched his eyes shut before turning back and looking up to the royal majesty. "I-I was-"

"Proposing?"

"Ye-yes...sir.."

"Don't play dumb with me, boy!" Frederic roared, "What kind of proposal takes an hour!?"

Eugene had begun to sweat profusely and felt as if he was going to throw up. The last time he saw the King this angry was after that dance incident when he threw him into that cell; literally, the King grabbed him and threw him against the wall after that embarrassment. Ever since, they've been on good terms, though. Or, better yet, were on good terms.

His voice was raspy and his words got caught in his throat, but he managed to mutter out, "Fi-fine...I wasn't proposing the whole-"

"Time. Good, you can still tell time. For a second there I thought you'd lost the complete ability to read a clock. Now, tell me," Frederic stepped forward and leaned over to get a closer look at Eugene's face, which was full of fear by this point, "What were you doing with my daughter?" he asked in a much lower, darker tone.

Eugene stared deeply into the King's eyes and in his reflection he saw a mental picture of himself hanging from a rope in the gallows, his body completely limp and lacking the ability to breathe. He shivered. "I-I was...I was tending to her wound-"

"For an hour!?" Frederic lost his cool and brought his palm against the young man's face, and all the men and women in the area watched as the impact created a large, sharp sound that echoed through the hallway. Eugene's face immediately jerked to the side with a large, red-handprint painted on his cheek. He groaned and spit out what felt like a tooth, he thought, which had to be encased in his own reddened blood.

Rapunzel, meanwhile, was watching the whole thing unfold. She could tell that her father was angry at her beloved Eugene, but it made no sense to her. He didn't do anything wrong! If anything, she's the one who...well, she feels like she may have to wash her own mouth out with soap if she says specifically what her touch made him do.

Anyway, her eyes widened farther than they ever have when she saw her father pull his palm back and bring it against the face of her soon to be husband, and she immediately screamed bloody murder as she watched helplessly in her mothers arms as Eugene slumped over to the side and spit out blood.

"You! You monster!" Rapunzel attempted to jerk forward and pry herself away from her Mother's grasp but found trouble in doing so.

"Rapunzel, sweetheart, come with me-" Her mother made an attempt to calm her down by pulling her off to the side, but did so to no avail. Rapunzel kept kicking, lunging forward, trying to escape and go hold the head of her beloved who was now slumped over and looked as if he might be…

The thought of him being dead put Rapunzel into overdrive. She stomped her Mother's foot, without even thinking of the potential repercussions in doing so, causing her to flinch back and give the Princess the opening she needed. She escaped her Mother's arms and ran to Eugene, both of the two guards holding him looking on as confused as ever as their Princess knelt down and grabbed his face with both of her hands.

"Eugene? Eugene!?" She tilted it upwards and gasped as she saw the large hand imprint on his right cheek, and that there was red, watery blood seeping through his bottom lip, running all the way down to his chin. The King, even as an older man these days, still held immense power, not just in his voice, but in his body and motions as well. When he wanted to hurt someone, he held the power to do just that, even go farther if he ever so deemed it was necessary.

Eugene was seeing stars. Literally, he saw the faint images of stars near the top of his vision. Speaking of his vision, it was slightly blurry but he could make out Rapunzel's face, her teary eyed and emotional face as she cupped his cheeks together, trying to get his attention. He felt the hot blood dripping onto his chin, and without even thinking straight, he put on an open-mouthed smile, fully showing off the bloody mess that was now his inner mouth.

Rapunzel gasped even louder at the sight of it and couldn't hold back all the tears now. She lifted her hands to her face as she sobbed, only being brought out of her own little world at the sensation of her father placing a hand on her shoulder. She turned violently to him and held her pan up, mere inches away from his face.

"You're-you're a monster!"

Frederic's heart broke once again at the sight and sound of his daughter saying such things to his face. He now saw that he had made a grave mistake in striking the boy, even if there was more than enough proof already that he seduced and fooled around with his daughter in the most inappropriate of ways while he and his wife stood out here thinking he was going along with an extra long proposal.

"Daughter, I-"

Rapunzel moved her frying pan to strike her father in the arm but was stopped by the arm of a third guard. She jerked her head to him and immediately began a battle to free herself so she could strike her father in the same way that he had just struck her beloved, her now fiancé.

"Let me go!" In response, the guard only held onto her arm tighter and looked up to the King for further orders.

"Release her."

"Your majesty?" The guard breathed, shocked as he was starting to have a hard time keeping the Princess at bay.

Frederic looked at him neutrally and his face fell. "Release my daughter," he said in a solemn, quiet voice.

The guard looked at him, bewildered by his request, but did so as asked. The King had to know that his daughter would strike him as soon as she's released, right? He can't be that blind to the way she's acting right now, he thought.

Rapunzel was flung forward by the sudden sensation of the guard's grip on her unraveling out of thin air, and she looked up to her father, growling with clenched teeth. She opened her mouth to say something, something probably very vulgar, but Frederic lifted a hand up.

"Rapunzel, please let me explain-"

Frederic hadn't expected his daughter to actually go through with such an action, so it took him by surprise when the last thing he saw before falling unconscious was the back of her frying pan inches away from the left side of his skull. His eyes rolled into the back of his head as he fell, landing completely and perfectly on his back, eliciting audible gasps from his wife, the guards, and Dr. Henry who was just down the hallway running as fast as he could with the stretcher. Well, he was running as fast as he could, but suddenly found himself locked into place, being taken over by the shock of what he just saw.

Rapunzel stared wide-eyed at her now fallen father and her jaw began to tremble as she darted her eyes from her frying pan to her father, slowly beginning to understand the severity of what she had just done. She was just about to lean down and check her father's pulse before she felt a sharp tug of her hand. Her Mother, who was now more furious than concerned, tugged her down the hallway past the shocked face of Dr. Henry who was still frozen in place.

Rapunzel did not react, nor did she fight her Mother's pull. She stared absentmindedly over her shoulder at what was now her father's fallen figure, before finally having lost sight of him when she turned the corner.

Eugene, who was now finally coming to his senses, lifted his head up and wiped the blood away from his face. The grip from the two guards who were just holding him a mere second ago had vanished, and the first thing he saw with his returned perfect vision was the King laying backwards on the ground, appearing as if he was unconscious.

Immediately his brow furrowed and he lifted a finger to ask questions but he was interrupted by the soft noise of Dr. Henry's shoes bouncing off the wooden floor, and the quiet, soothing sound of wheels as he led the stretcher down to their position. All of the guards stood still, still shocked at what just occurred between the royal majesty and his daughter.

Eugene stared open-mouthed at the doctor, watching him kneel beside the King and checking for a pulse. "Wha-what happened, doc?"

The old man lifted his head, "You didn't see? Mr. Fitzherbert, how did you not see when I saw all the way from down the hall!?"

Eugene tilted his head slightly and Dr. Henry sighed. "I won't ask. Help me lift him up onto the stretcher." Henry had lowered the stretcher by then and Eugene rushed to his side, grabbing hold of the King's right abdomen as he heaved and pulled with all his might.

"It's...he's too heavy.."

The doctor gasped and threw a hand to his mouth, "Mr. Fitzherbert, that is not the proper way to speak about-"

"Proper shlopper, I don't care." Eugene turned to some of the guards. "Well? Want to give me a hand?" The two guards who had just held him down rushed over, and the three of them lifted the King up onto the stretcher. Dr. Henry cranked the hilt and lifted it up. The stretcher was painfully too small for the King, and his arms and legs draped over to the sides. Henry made an attempt to push and pull it on his own, but eventually he had to seek the help of the two guards who had just helped him, and Eugene watched as they ran the majesty down the hall.

Even after all of this, Eugene still held not a clue as to what happened. He turned to the remaining guards who were still positioned against the wall, and opened his mouth to ask them just what the heck happened, before jerking his head to the side when he heard the sound of footsteps approaching in a hastily manner.

He saw Captain Jones, Stan, and Pete ran up to him, all of them out of breath, leaning forward as they attempted to catch their air. After a few seconds, Jones cracked open his mouth in between breaths.

"Where's...where's his majesty…?"

Eugene opened his mouth and very hesitantly pointed to where the men had come from, "He's...getting medical attention."

"Medical attention?" Stan lifted his head and wiped a bar of sweat off from his forehead. "Why would his majesty need medical attention?" He immediately scrunched his eyes and winced at the still bloody sight that was Eugene's mouth, eliciting a small sound of disgust.

"Maybe he's hurt?" Pete looked up and shrieked in horror, jumping behind Stan for protection.

"What are you two idiots doing-" Jones lifted his head and his words got hitched in his throat, as he now caught the picture of Eugene's face. "Oh, OH...that's bad."

Eugene furrowed his eyebrows and lifted a hand up to his bloody lip and instantly remembered that it was the King who had just done this to him a moment ago, but he chose not to comment to these three men, because...they did not deserve the right to know. Simple as that. And that he didn't want his reputation bruised, of course.

And so Eugene, Captain Jones, Stan, Pete and the other few guards stood there, left to their thoughts as to what the heck was going on inside the castle.

Edit History (MM/DD/YY):

1. 6/23/20