"You wanted to see me?" Andrew asked.
"Yes, I did," the old man said, trying to sit up straighter.
"What about?" Andrew sat down in a chair that he pulled up.
"Your time of becoming chief draws near. You will be the one to take back Saporia to its former glory," the chief spoke calmly.
"You needn't worry, grandfather. I will not let you down," Andrew assured him.
"I know, but there is one thing that I would like you to work on," the chief continued.
"Er… yes?"
"You're too nice. You let the people talk to you however they want. As their future chief, they need to respect you and not backtalk you."
"I see… but you do realize I let them not because I'm not sticking out for myself, right?"
"Juniper may be your girlfriend-"
"I mean... it was never official..." Andrew corrected.
"Which means the same to me. You can not let people talk to you how she does. Especially if she is the one you have your heart set on. The chiefs wife must be submissive."
"But you forget that the husband must respect his spouse and that-"
"Do not interrupt me," the chief growled.
Andrew bit down on his tongue, but his eyes could not hide his fury that was starting to build up in him. This was the man who had raised him. He was a strict ruler, and abided by all his own rules. Except when it came to Andrew. Andrew had gotten whatever he wanted and he would admit he was spoiled, but his grandfather refused to show any "weekness" to anyone else, but doesn't want Andrew to show any period.
"Another thing is that boy, Varitos was it?"
"Varian," Andrew corrected.
"Oh, right. That. As a child, there is now way you should let him say anything but sir."
"But grandfather, you know my cousin abuses him-"
"Doesn't matter. He's a boy and not even Saporian. He should treat you with higher respect."
"That can't be a reason grandfather! He's just as much as a Saporian as any of the other kids. He's grown up here."
"Damn it, Andrew! I did not raise you to be soft!"
"But you did not raise me to be a tyrant! A wise chief once told me was a chief of Saporia must be fair! How is any of this fair when a I am being is a-"
"But a chief must also be obeyed without question! And as your chief now, I expect those wishes to be carried out," the chief snapped.
Andrew grew silent. Finally, he sighed. "Very well..."
Eugene groaned as he entered the room Rapunzel requested to meet him at. Honestly, he was exhausted and just wanted to get into the bed with his wife. However, he had to admit that he was glad that she left the room. It had been a while. What he saw made him freeze.
Rapunzel stood there in a new dress. Half of her brown hair was pulled back in a style much like her mother's. She had put make up on, but she was still barefoot. But she had taken the time to do her nails and toenails with bright red polish.
"What's this?" Eugene smiled. There was table with candles. The last time they did this was when Rapunzel told him that she was pregnant. Was she pregnant? Was some of her depression due to one of the side effects?
"It's been forever since we did something like this. You know, the two of us. Mom helped me, but you know."
"It's wonderful," Eugene smiled, kissing her. They sat down. "Was there something you were wanting to talk about?"
"Yes, actually. You know how hard you and I have tried to have another child, but I can't get pregnant? Well, I'm still not, but mom did make an interesting suggestion," Rapunzel answered, getting right to the point.
"Oh?" Eugene raised a brow.
"How would you feel about adoption. We can't replace Ryder, obviously, but like my mom said. If we adopted we would have a kid. That kid sould drive us to live every morning when we don't want to get out of bed. Give us someone to love."
"I hadn't actually thought about it, but I think it's a great idea."
"You do?" Rapunzel's eyes brightened up.
"As an orphan myself, I love the idea," Eugene explained. "However, maybe we should wait until the war with Saporia has gotten under controlled to avoid another... you know..."
"I was thinking that too," Rapunzel admitted.