A Thief and A Death Trap
Back in the present, Madam Estrada heard a ping at her shop door. She was back in the workroom and Faith was off on an errand. When she moved to go see who was at the door she heard another ping less than a minute later. 'Two customers!' She thought. She'd better hurry. But when she got to the main part of her shop no one was there. One customer must have come in, then turned around and left. She was a little surprised that a customer came in and out, changing their mind so quickly. Then she saw it. The red hat with the black and red plumes, that Faith had embroidered so eloquently, was gone.
Someone had stolen it. She rushed outside to see if she could still catch the thief. She saw a the back of little girl with her arms hunkered inward as if she was carrying something, running in that awkward way that one had to run when trying not to drop something. "Stop thief!" Madam Estrada scolded. The little girl blushed and turned around. "What? I don't have anything!" The girl protested raising her hands to demonstrate. Something made a noise as it fell through the inside of her dress to the ground. The girl obviously wasn't very good at this. "Step back." Ordered Madam Estrada.
The girl hesitated and Madam Estrada widened her eyes to indicate that she was going to take no funny business. The girl stepped back, and just like she thought, it revealed the red hat. Madam Estrada picked it up and brushed it off. It was none worse for wear. She realized the girl hadn't even tried to run. She just stood there once she was caught, her brown wispy hair blowing around her face, which was frozen in fear. It must have been her first time.
"You are a very bad thief." Madam Estrada frowned at the girl.
"Yes ma'am." The girl didn't dare disagree, her teeth practically chattering, her brown eyes wide.
"That is a good thing." She looked at the girl. "Don't try this again."
"No ma'am! I won't!"
"Good. I'll let you go this time. Now get out of here." Madam Estrada told the would-be thief. The girl ran, not having to be told twice. Faith came back from her errand to see Madam Estrada with the red hat in hand, talking to a little girl, who then ran off. "What was that about?" Asked Faith.
"I don't know." Answered Madam Estrada. Madam Estrada realized the girl was an orphan because she had "Humphert" stitched on the hem of her sleeve. Why was an orphan stealing when they were supposed to be getting generous regular stipends from the Humpherts? She doubt that stopped with the war. She saw now that these donations were part of the Humpherts tactic to switch people over to their side.
"Faith I think we need to visit the orphanage again to see what is going on there."
The fire crackled. Eugene almost wanted to stop here, but he had made a promise. He kept writing his letter about his past to Rapunzel.
The thug from the Baron's was closing in on he and Lance. They apparently didn't like to just let boys who hadn't committed to the cause, go.
"Lance quick," Eugene whispered. "Give me your button!"
"My button? What do you want with my button? Why don't you just use your comb?"
"Because it won't work as well. Here just give it to me!"
Lance forked it over. Eugene tossed it at a vase in the entranceway. It shattered the vase with a loud clattering noise, making the thug turn back to see to it, giving them just enough time to run out the door. "Hey!" The thug called, raising his fist in the night air. He went to step out of the doorway after the boys, their shadowy figures already disappearing. "Let them go." The Baron said, laying a hand on the man's shoulder. He had seen most of what happened. "They have talent. They will be back. I guarantee it." When they had ran far enough away, Eugene and Lance held their hands on their knees and panted rapidly. "Are they still following us?"
Lance checked. "No I don't think so."
They had far outrun them. "C'mon let's get back to the orphanage."
When they got back, Missy was just finishing some of that nasty smelling porridge.
"Missy! I told you to wait up for us!" Eugene said.
"I was too hungry!" The girl complained.
"Well look what we brought back for you!" Eugene pulled the decadent food out of his shirt. "Wow!" She gasped, immediately gorging herself. She stopped. "Did you get some for everybody?" She asked. They looked at each other. "We weren't able to get some for everyone." Eugene admitted. Missy swallowed, looking a little guilty. "Hold on me check. There might be something else." He searched his shirt for any crumb. "This is ruining my shirt you know." He complained. He didn't find any food, but the comb fell out.
"What is this? This is pretty!" Missy said picking up the comb to admire it.
"Uh never you mind!" Eugene snatched it back. "Just finish enjoying the food."
Missy stared at him. "You stole that comb didn't you?"
"Stole? Stole is such a harsh word?"
"Eugene!"
"Alright, alright I did. But only to get some of this good food for you."
"Eugene don't do it again."
"We weren't planning on it." Lance explained. "We were just trying to get some food. We don't plan on going back there."
"Back there?" Missy asked. Lance decided to be honest with her.
"The Baron's."
"That crime lord!?"
""Shhh." They told her. Everyone else in the orphanage was already asleep. "You all need to be careful." She said. "Patrick never came back here after deciding to work for him." They had only seen him here and there on the streets, on the rare occasions Matron Eva trusted them with errands.
"We will." They pledged. They all hunkered down in their bunks for the night. During the dark of the early morning hours, they were awakened by Missy's groans. Lance fumbled around for a match and struck it. "Missy? Missy? Are you ok?"
"Lance I don't feel so good." She confessed. Eugene was awake too now and came to check in on her. Both he and Lance gasped when they saw her. Even in the flickering light of the match, it was obvious she had the same look of the mysterious illness that was spreading through Corona. Two kids from the orphanage had died from it already. "Missy no!" Eugene shouted. Now everyone in the orphanage was up and came to see what the ruckus was about. "What! What is it? Why are you all disrupting my sleep?" Matron Eva grumbled. She looked at Missy. "Oh dear one." She gasped. Seeing the other kids suffer with the illness had taught Matron Eva a little compassion. She could be greedy and vindictive, but she wasn't beyond caring about a child's life. "Here let's make her comfortable." She ordered the kids. She knew enough now to know there was nothing else they could do at this point. Eugene caught onto her resigned tone. "Well don't just give up! There's gotta be something we can do."
"I don't think so Eugene. Only nobles are starting to get a hold of some new medicine that they say might help with this, but we can not afford that."
She was telling the truth. The generous stipends she had been getting from Eugene's father had stopped because it was agreed that Quirin was supposed to take in Eugene. Quirin had not come to the orphanage yet to collect Eugene however because he was dealing with his own family tragedy. Neither Matron Eva or Eugene knew any of this. They only knew they didn't have enough money to afford the medicine. Eugene thought of how easy it was for him to steal earlier today. He hadn't wanted to steal again, but this was for Missy. She was like a sister to him. "Well, I'm going to find something!" Eugene said, running out the door.
Lance stayed behind at Missy's side. The sun was rising. Eugene ran towards the nobleman's district, the part of the city where there was more wealth. He noticed with a shiver, the Baron's house was here! He ran past quickly, hoping he wasn't noticed. He had no idea where he was going to get a hold of medicine or what it would even look like. It was morning time and servants were throwing their masters' waste and chamber pots out from the night. He dodged to miss them as they were spilled out onto the street. "Look at that! The master's daughter is all better! Just a few drops of that medicine are left in the bottle. Not enough to help anyone anymore I reckon. Might as well toss the bottle out! We don't need it anymore and we don't need any more junk collecting around here!"
Eugene couldn't believe his ears. The bottle was tossed out with waste, but he caught it, just barely missing the more unsavory parts of the dump. There really didn't seem like there was enough in there to help Missy, but he had to try. "What are you doing with that bottle?" He heard someone roughly address him as he turned to run. He turned around, feeling caught. "Sir it was waste!"
The man growled, "My servant is an idiot! You don't waste something like that! I don't care if we need it or not! We might need it again someday! Give it here!" The man was dressed in the most eloquent refinery. It seemed to Eugene he could probably easily afford to buy more if he needed. He tried to appeal to the man's sympathetic nature, if he had one. "Sir, it's for my friend. She's dying." The man seemed to consider him for a moment. Just then Patrick came up from a distance hollering at him. Patrick had stayed at the Baron's that night and caught Eugene running past. "Hey Eugene I knew you would be back! The Baron said you would! He said you were so talented!"
"No Patrick! I want nothing to do with that! Really bad timing!" Eugene shouted. His mouth always did run faster than his head. It was too late. The nobleman scowled deeply at him.
"You're one of the Baron's boys aren't you? You little rat! No one can prove what the Baron is doing over there, but I know! You are all thieves and liars! That sob story! You were probably going to sell this bottle to the highest bidder! And to think you almost fooled me!" He snatched the bottle back from Eugene and boxed his ears until they bled a little. "Sir I am not a Baron's boy," he cried. "And I wasn't stealing from you. It was in the garbage."
"You know what? Even if all that's true I don't care! You and your kind are lower than scum! My garbage is worth more than you! You have no right to it! Now get out of here!"
Eugene walked back to the orphanage, nursing his ears. It was a long walk. The air against them made it too painful to run. He wondered how Missy was doing. When he finally got back, he saw Lance outside orphanage at a distance waiting for him. Lance shook his head at Eugene as he approached. Eugene knew what that meant. Missy hadn't made it. She was gone. He was too late and he had failed to save her.
He ran. He went out and stayed out into the night. It had to be the porridge, he knew it. The others had not wanted to touch it. Matron Eva only ate the left over bread that day. If only he had come back earlier to bring Missy food before she ate it. Or, if only he had just run off with the medicine and not tried to talk the man into giving it to him. Everyone only cared about themselves. That was the only way to get ahead it seemed.
He was gone a good part of the night, so Lance went looking for him. Lance found Eugene in a back alley flicking stones with the comb he had stolen. Eugene noticed Lance was wearing a gold necklace that he hadn't worn before. Lance noticed a hardness in Eugene's eyes that he hadn't seen before. Lance sat by him. "I don't want to go back to the orphanage Eugene. What about you?"
"Nope."
"So what do you want to do?"
"I say we go to the Baron's."
"Sounds good to me Eugene."
"But Lance?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm not Eugene anymore. I'm Flynn. Flynn Rider." He smirked. He'd take on a new identity of an adventurer in charge and forget all about his old life as Eugene.
They went back to the orphanage just to grab some of their stuff and say good-bye to Missy one last time. After that they never looked back.
Eugene finished writing and wiped water from his eyes with the heels of his palms. He had not thought about the events in his letter for decades. When he and Lance had gotten to the Baron's, the Baron's beautiful fourteen year old daughter Stalyan caught sight of him. "My, my, my what a handsome one we have here!" She said to him in that predatory tone he would come to know. "Come on, you big lug, I'll show you the ropes. I think my father will big plans for you!" Since then, he had always been able to run from his memories and who he really was. Until Rapunzel. She always seemed to be able to draw the best out of him. He would protect her at all costs. He looked at Rapunzel and kissed her forehead.
He didn't want to leave, but if he didn't tear himself away and figure out where he wanted to have the duel, he never would. He left to go look at a map of Corona to see where it would be best to have the duel and where Phineas couldn't play any tricks on him. He would need to get back to Phineas about his choice by the end of today.
Ethel, Rapunzel's handmaiden and the palace spy, saw him leave. She wondered if he left any clue as to where he was going to choose to have the duel. She hadn't heard anything yet. When she stepped into the room, the princess was still asleep. She saw a letter with Eugene's handwriting on the desk. Maybe he had written Rapunzel where the duel location was going to be, since he couldn't communicate to her for the time being.
When she picked it up she decided this time she would read it through before she handed it off to Phineas or did anything else. Too many times she had done something without realizing quite what she was doing. She didn't want to be in the dark any more. It was going to get her in trouble. As Ethel read through the letter, she couldn't stop reading, even after she realized it probably didn't mark the duel's location within its contents. When she neared the end, she started crying. What had she done?
How did she go from occasionally giving the Humpherts a bad report about the royal family to doing what she was doing now? A door creaked open, but Ethel was too emotional to care. She was done with hiding. She looked up, the letter still in her hands. It was Queen Arianna. Arianna saw the private letter in Ethel's hands and the caught and crying look on Ethel's face. She put two and two together.
"Ethel, you are the spy aren't you?"
"Yes. I am." She answered.
Queen Arianna crossed her arms. "You have a lot of explaining to do."
Faith looked at Madam Estrada after the orphan thief she caught ran off. "I bet there is something going on at the orphanage." Faith responded to Madam Estradas musings of if something was wrong there. She crossed her arms. "I just came back from the palace to deliver Rapunzel's baby curtains." They were the yellow curtains, with the blue nightingales embroidered on them that Rapunzel had requested way back. They knew for sure now they were for a nursery. They had been ready a long time before, but Rapunzel had not been able to come by because of her sickness.
Madam Estrada had meant to give them to Eugene when he came by asking questions about Wolfgang but, in the excitement of the moment she completely forgot. Then with the threat of war she had been too afraid to send Faith to the palace to deliver them. Now it was well known that the Captain of the Guards had accepted a duel with Lord Humphert in place of an all out fight. The city was safe from battle, for the time being. There were also rumors that princess Rapunzel had taken a turn for the worst and was bedridden.
No matter what happened, Madam Estrada felt that she could at least send these curtains to Rapunzel as a show of loyalty. She decided to give them to the princess free of cost. When Faith was sent up to the princess' room to deliver the curtains, she stumbled on a very remarkable scene. "Do you remember I used to be Rapunzel's handmaiden?" Faith asked Estrada. "When they sent me up to the princess' room to deliver her curtains, Ethel, one of her other handmaidens, was giving a very interesting confession."
Twenty one years ago, Ethel had been baby Rapunzel's nurse. She loved the baby and was so excited to see and play with child after her mother had that close brush with death just before Rapunzel's birth. She was a good baby, who loved to laugh and coo. She had this inexplicably long golden blonde hair, that seemed that it came from neither of her parents. In part because of the miraculous way baby Rapunzel came into this world, through the healing effects of the golden flower, Ethel felt her mother and father were a little overprotective of her.
For instance, Rapunzel loved looking out of her nursery's glass doors. She loved to see the sunlight dance among the trees. She cooed and wiggled when she saw the moon and stars shining at night. She seemed to love light. And she loved the feel of breeze against her face when the nursery door's was open. Ethel thought that the warm summer night air would be good for Rapunzel as a baby. It ventilated the room a bit more. Plus, Rapunzel had to be hot with all that hair! However, her parents did not allow Ethel to open the door at night, not even a crack when it was a clear summer evening. They insisted, especially King Frederick, that it was too dangerous. The baby could catch cold.
She thought that was ridiculous, but she followed orders. Until one night where the sunset was absolutely gorgeous. Pinks, purples, oranges all streamed together in an unearthly array, streaking endlessly onward into a vast sky. The baby princess was enthralled. She giggled and squirmed to get closer to the windowed doors. It was during the day so they were open. Wind blew through and the little princess actually closed her eyes in pleasure as it brushed against her face. Ethel laughed to see it. It was time for the princess to go to bed.
She moved to pull her away from the view. The princess fussed a little. She didn't want to go. "Well you have to get some sleep." Ethel told her. The princess teared up a bit, her little mouth trembling in a frown. "I'll tell you what," said Ethel, "We'll leave the balcony door cracked open just a little for tonight to let the fresh air come in. It will be just between us! If you can keep it a secret, I will!"
The night was the night that Mother Gothel stole Rapunzel from the palace. In their harried search for Rapunzel, an investigation followed to see how the kidnapper was able to get in. Ethel confessed to leaving the balcony door cracked. She was beside herself sick with worry over the princess as well. She loved Rapunzel.
How was she supposed to know that a haggard old woman would pick that particular night to climb up an upstairs balcony and steal the child away? It seemed impossible! When King Frederick found out, he was furious. He was going to dismiss her from the palace even though she had nowhere else to go. No one would want to hire her after they found out why she was fired by the king himself. She begged for mercy. Queen Arianna defended her on her behalf. It was an accident, she told the king, seeking to mollify him. Ethel couldn't have possibly known that a kidnapper was lurking in wait to steal the princess away.
"Let her be one of my handmaidens for a while. I will look after her." The queen asked. The king agreed but only if they docked her pay in half. She lived at the palace and shared meals with them, he reasoned. She didn't need all that pay anyway. Queen Arianna insisted it was the best she could do for Ethel. Her pay was never restored, even after long years passed on. Even after princess Rapunzel was found. Scraping by on half the pay the other servants made, left her bitter and resentful. It wasn't her fault! And when Rapunzel finally returned, the princess couldn't even get her name straight at first!
She hadn't remembered her at all since she had been a baby. When Cassandra left, Ethel rotated her duties between Rapunzel and Queen Arianna. So when the Humpherts were made aware of her situation and asked her if she would bring reports in on the royal family, she agreed. Like Antonio the tailor, who she found out was also spying on them, she thought that she would merely give unflattering reports of the royal family for some extra lining in her pockets.
Lately though it had progressed to something far more nefarious. She wanted to pull out but the last time she saw Rebekah she saw the tailor's tell tale hat sticking out of her cloak. The next day she heard that the tailor had retired and gave all his stuff to the Humpherts. However she knew that was unlikely to have happened. They had harmed him some way she thought. She knew if she stopped spying she would be next.
Faith listened to all of this part of the story behind the partially closed door to Rapunzel's room. She didn't get to hear Ethel finish telling the queen all that she knew. Her listening was interrupted. The handmaiden Charity spotted her and almost gave her eavesdropping place away. "Faith what are you doing here?" She asked, recognizing the former handmaid. Faith startled that she may have been caught listening in, abruptly turned toward her. "Oh! Um, I am just delivering these embroidered curtains to Rapunzel for her nursery." Charity took a look at the curtains.
"Oh these are lovely! Did you do these yourself?"
"With Madam Estrada's help." Faith beamed.
"Rapunzel will love these!" A sad look passed over her face. "Better deliver these straight to the nursery. Come here, I'll show you where it is." She was dismissed from the palace after that.
Faith delivered all the information she heard Ethel impart to an open mouthed Madam Estrada inside the shop. They were sitting together on the maroon settee back in the workroom. For a while the chatty seamstress couldn't even speak. Then breaking the silence that hung in between them, she suddenly said loudly. "I can't believe it!" The exclamation startled Faith after such a long silence. "So Antonio the tailor might not have really retired! He might not have really given them all his stuff! I thought that was so strange! But from your story, Ethel was not sure what had happened to him?"
Faith nodded. "She just had a feeling they harmed him."
"Huh, I wonder which is the truth? If the tailor did give the Humpherts all his stuff it might explain why she had his hat, but I think it is odd that he would even give his hat away! And that it would be on her person! He wore that hat everywhere outside! It kept his balding head warm!" She shifted towards Faith, raising her finger in the air. "Hey! Let's do a little detective work Faith! Let's see if the Humpherts really did give their profits from the tailor's stuff to the orphanage. If we caught them in one lie, maybe we can catch them in another!"
"Well, I also wanted to tell you Madam, that the day that Rebekah came by to request outfits for the orphanage, she wasn't nearly run over by Maximus. She flung herself at the ground, pretending to be knocked over. I didn't know what to think of it at the time. I thought she just wanted attention."
Madam Estrada shook her head. Both her and Faith agreed something needed to be done right away. Madam Estrada had to mind the shop, but Faith went to the orphanage. It was much updated since Eugene had been an orphan there. They had expanded it and added fireplaces. There were rooms, pillows and bright comfy blankets. People had donated little wooden dolls and horses. It was a comfortable place for children to stay despite the sad reasons for staying there.
Really it had been Rapunzel's goal for the home to be a temporary place for the children to stay for only a few months before they found parents to adopt them. She wished she could adopt them all! However at first she was dealing with the black rocks, kingdom repairs, and then she had gotten pregnant herself. In the course of time she had found families that she thought would take them all, but the war stopped all that.
That wasn't the only thing that had stopped. Usually this time of winter, Rapunzel came to the orphanage with a fresh set of winter's clothes for the children, donated or handmade by others. She had fallen ill though so she had not made the stop. Everyone else had been too distracted by war, her illness and the potential food shortage to take up where she left off. The orphans were forced to take up last year's ill-fitting donation instead. The girl caught thieving earlier saw Faith, and screamed! "I gave it back! I gave it back! Please don't take me to jail!"
Faith crouched down to comfort the little girl.
"No one's taking you to jail. Don't worry."
"What did she do?" The Matron of the orphanage asked, startled. She wasn't aware of the girl's earlier activities. She was a new Matron, younger and a far kinder than Matron Eva was. Faith explained. And the Matron shook her head. "She probably just wanted something warmer for her head, or thought she could sell it for some new winter clothes."
"But I don't understand," Faith began. "I get that Rapunzel's winter drop off didn't happen, but don't Rapunzel and the Humpherts donate to this orphanage? Don't you all have enough money buy clothes?"
"Rapunzel and her family do donate to the orphanage." The Matron explained. "But they also donate everywhere else. They spread their money toward the whole of Corona. And now investing in defense, helping Varian's efforts, trade deals with the Dark Kingdom to get crops here, has thinned out resources even more. Plus the mere rumors of the food shortage has raised food prices way up. So every little bit of money that the orphanage gets helps! It helped when all the vendors, like you, were pitching in and donating to us and other charities. But I understand everyone has stopped that." She said with a frown. "So I'm having to see if I can sew clothes out of these extra blankets we have here." The Matron held up a snuggly fur.
"I can see if I can help with that." Offered Faith. "But what about the Humpherts? Don't they donate?" She asked again.
"They did give us a generous donation around the end of summer." The Matron answered. "And they gained such popularity doing it, that they said they would continue donating every month. But when this war started a messenger from the Humpherts told us that they would only continue donating if we would switch loyalties to them, from the crown. Of course we weren't going to do that. So the donations stopped."
"I see." said Faith. Everything had been made worse from the Humpherts' desperate grasp for power. And their generosity had not been as altruistic as it seemed. She grabbed some blankets from the kindly Matron, promising to help sew up some clothes. She took the children's measurements and then left, reporting everything to Madam Estrada.
"Oh Faith, I fear we have made a grave mistake." She told her assistant when she had finished.
"But we didn't support the Humpherts." Faith pointed out.
"No but we didn't do our part either." Faith wanted to ask Madam Estrada what she meant, but the no nonsense woman clapped her hands and rubbed them together, grabbing the blankets from the orphanage. "Come girl let's get to work on these right away for those orphans. Maybe we can use some of our own fabrics too!"
Ethel was going to complete her story to the queen, when they heard a noise at the door. Charity was talking to somebody outside of it. Whoever was outside of it might hear what Ethel had to say. The queen wasn't sure if she was ready for everything to be overheard. Who could she trust? "Hold Ethel." She interrupted. "Does any of the information you know have to do with Eugene's duel tomorrow?"
"Yes." Ethel said her eyes watering. The queen narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips. "Come, we are going to find the prince-consort together."
They found Eugene and Lance putting their heads together to figure out the location of the duel. They stood with their backs to them, over a large table hosting a map of all of Corona. They were arguing over the best place to pick.
"Too bad the duel has to be in Corona." Lance was saying. "If you have to kick the bucket, I think the city of Vardaros would be a good place to do it. Especially now that it has been renovated!"
"Lance!" Eugene objected. "How do you know I am going to die? I could pull this off!"
"And believe me buddy, I'm rooting for you!" He declared. Then he had a thought, deciding to give his buddy a hard time. "Oooh but if you don't, you think I could have your dagger? I've always loved that thing!"
"Lance!" Eugene railed again.
"Ahem." Queen Arianna cleared her throat.
Both Lance and Eugene looked her way.
"Your majesty! Ethel! What are you doing here?"
"Ethel has something to say to you, Eugene." The queen prompted. Seeing their serious looks, Eugene smile vanished. "Is it something to do with Rapunzel?"
"No, it has something to do with you." She gestured to the handmaiden beside her. "Ethel is our palace spy."
Ethel repeated her story, saying how she became a spy and how she did more and more risky things until, Lord Humphert felt comfortable enough to tell her his true plan regarding the duel. It was a trap of the worst kind. Her stomach turned at sitting on information that was so vile, but fear and self-preservation pushed her, rebelling against her conscience. Finally after reading the Captain of the Guard's letter, her inner turmoil came to a head. She felt that sitting on the information would lead to his death.
"Uh yeah no kidding!" Commented Lance. "It was a trap after all! And the tailor! He was spying on you Eugene! Aren't you street smart? Didn't you pick up on that? You really are getting rusty!"
"Hey!" Eugene rolled his eyes. "I am street smart but that's just it, on the streets! I know nothing about this palace intrigue!"
After the whole confession, suddenly Ethel fell on her knees facing them weeping. "I'm so sorry my lord! Can you ever forgive me!"
Eugene regarded her and didn't know how to react at first. "Well, I guess I am still alive! And you don't look like you were tortured to give me this information." He observed eyeing the queen. "So I guess I can forgive you. But what happens to you isn't really up to me." He finished, knowing it would be up to the king and queen. The queen spoke.
"I think first we might have her confess to everyone what Lord Humphert was really planning with this duel! That way they know he was going to go against his word! After that I am not sure. I will have to talk to Frederick about it." Ethel trembled and Eugene felt a little sorry for her. He knew that the king and queen were merciful though, especially after their daughter's influence.
"Hey! Whatever happens to you it will probably be better than whatever the Humpherts did to Antonio."
"Yeah they probably lumped him in the cellar, or dungeon, or whatever, right next to Wolfgang!" Said Lance. Since arriving at the palace, Lance had heard a little of where Eugene and Rapunzel guessed Wolfgang was at the Humpherts' manor. Lance was only kidding, but Eugene thought he might have a point.
"Yeah," Eugene agreed, thinking about it, and only half joking, "Too bad you couldn't break in there and get both of them out. The place was just too heavily guarded." Then it hit him like a bag of bricks! "Lance you're absolutely right! I am getting rusty! You are too!"
"Hey speak for yourself!"
"Lance I dismiss you from being my second."
"What? Eugene, I was just giving you a hard time earlier! No need to take offense! I really do care-"
"You can save the flowers for later buddy! What I mean is instead of being my second I need you to break into the Humpherts'!"
Lance gave him a blank look. "Eugene, we've been over this. You said it yourself, I can't break in, it's too heavily guarded."
"But not at the time of the duel!"
"But the duel is just between you and..." Lance got it! The trap for Eugene, meant everyone would be at the duel! "The duel is between you, the Lundars, the guards and everyone else holed up in that house! There will be no one there left to guard it when they're all out trying to capture you!"
"The old switch and bait buddy!"
"We could have done that at the first battle."
"Yup you're right buddy. Although we weren't absolutely certain when Lord Humphert was going to surprise us that day. But you're right. That's why we're rusty."
"Eh speak for yourself. I still got it."
"You'll still have to be careful Lance. Lord Humphert still might leave some people there." Queen Arianna warned.
"Aw naw to catch ole Flynn Rider?" Eugene thumbed his shirt, giving his best cocky smile. "I bet they'll send everyone out to catch me!"
"It took only two of the Stabbington thugs to knock you out before Eugene." The queen reminded.
"She's got a point Eugene." Lance grinned.
"I'll be careful ma'am." He acknowledged, rolling his eyes a little at Lance.
"So Eugene, instead of Ethel confessing, you want her to stay silent? That way Phineas thinks his trap is working, and all of the Humpherts' forces will exit their manor and grounds to get to you, correct?" The queen asked.
"And that way the manor is free for me to break into and get Wolfgang! Who knows? Maybe even Antonio too!" Lance added.
"Yup that pretty much sums it up!" Eugene confirmed.
"But Eugene, you still can't go alone! They'll kill you!"
"Oh don't worry your majesty, I won't. I am all about sparing men, but in a fair fight you know? I will bring the Royal Guard and Snuggly Duckling troops with me." He ruminated on that a bit.
"Although! I may have a way that the Humpherts men can choose whether to fight everyone, or just let Phineas and I duke it out."
"Honestly, you can't still be thinking of dueling Eugene!" The queen lamented. "Lord Humphert will never stand for it anyway when you bring the others! He will just back off and let everyone else fight for him just like he did before."
"Not if he's tricked into dueling with me." Eugene pondered. He had an idea. He decided to voice it out loud. "You and Rapunzel gave me the idea actually."
"Rapunzel and I?" The queen was puzzled.
"Yes!" Eugene answered, moving to show the map. "I might be able to trick Lord Humphert into dueling only with me, if I choose the dueling grounds as Mt. Saison!" He pointed to the mountain on the map dramatically with a thud. "Specifically that cave that you and Rapunzel had discovered." Eugene had just been thinking about it, because it was just before visiting the cave that he made the promise to Rapunzel to tell her everything he had written to her in the letter Ethel found.
"The cave?" The queen questioned. "The cave!" The queen's eyes lit up as she remembered. "The secret cave! That's what Rapunzel calls it!"
"Yup!"
"But that's still so dangerous. How do think you will get Phineas to follow you up there without sending his forces first?"
"I don't know for sure if it will work, but if Phineas is trying to trap me, he will want me to think I am going to duel him alone to the very last minute. My hope is that he will hide his men and come after me himself. Then when he thinks he's distracted me, he'll try to get his men to capture me instead."
"I still don't see how this is a good thing for you."
"I won't tell him about the cave. Only one person can fit in that opening at a time. By the time he gets to me, I'll bait him into following me in there. If he doesn't take the bait, I'll just fight with everyone else. But if he does follow me in there..."
"It is unlikely that everyone else will be able to follow you two, before his forces and our forces clash."
Eugene gave her a thumbs up. The queen continued. "And with you two fighting in there, his forces can decide if they want to fight everyone else or just wait for the victor to emerge."
Eugene put out his arms as if to say that was it. To his surprise Queen Arianna hugged him. "Eugene please be careful. Rapunzel is not the only one who cares for you, you know. I still don't like this. But I see what you are doing with the cave." She stepped back. She frowned. "That still leaves one loose end."
They all turned to look at Ethel. She still looked remorseful and hadn't tried to escape. "Ethel, my daughter would give you a second chance. Are you willing to take it?"
The Other Side of the Mountain
That night Lance was sent again to Lord Humphert detailing Eugene's choice of location for the duel the next day. "Finally!" Barked Lord Humphert. "The nincompoop sure took his sweet time!" As he read the location he almost cursed. "It's the top of Mt. Saison." It was smart. That terrain was treacherous. If he really was dueling with Eugene he'd also have to climb up to the top first which might tire out a less fit man. He also wondered if Eugene maybe anticipated a trap.
From the top of Mt. Saison Eugene could see if anyone else was there with Phineas, especially at midday. His troops would also have to climb up to the top as well, leaving them half spent. Then his message didn't specify where on top of the mountain Eugene would be. Would he even be visible? Phineas and his men might have trouble tracking him down since he was a known escape artist.
"Aaaahhh!" Phineas slammed a fist on the message and the map that went with it showing an "X" on Mt. Saison. He thought this was a clever trick on Eugene's part to get out of this duel. There must be something else he could do to back out of it himself and try something else. But what? Everyone knew now that he had challenged Eugene to a duel. After he trapped the man, it wouldn't have mattered if it actually was a duel or not, because Phineas could likely win the following war. Yet beforehand, everything rode on it.
The Lundars had only agreed to fight with him in this, because they were only going to ensnare one man, to get the duke back, and it was the man they wanted to get rid of anyway! Otherwise they would not fight. This terrain offered too many risks however, without knowing exactly where Eugene would be. He had to think of something else, but for once he was coming up short. He needed more information. He needed his spy. He felt that it would be too dangerous going to the castle to see her himself. They might be on the watch for that. Maybe he could send Rebekah.
Just then one of the guards came to him roughly tossing an older woman with graying hair at his feet. "We caught this woman outside." He snarled accusingly. "She claims that she is here to see you." As the woman looked up Lord Humphert recognized who it was. "Ethel!" He exclaimed. He helped her up. "Just the person I wanted to see!" He looked at the guard. "It's alright." He told the guard dismissing him. "Wait!" Phineas paused suspiciously. "You are just the person I wanted to see. You have never met me here at my manor before. Why are you here?"
"I have information that is too important not to get to you my lord." She informed. "It is about the duel. Unknown to Lance, I followed him here so I could give you this information in a timely manner."
"Oh did you really?" If this was true, she really was getting bold. "And how do you know Lance didn't spot you?"
"Would he have just left knowing I was here lord? He knows me from the palace. He used to live there."
Phineas checked with the guard. "Did he really leave?"
"Yes my lord. Straight out. He seemed none the wiser for the woman being here to me."
"Very well. But how did you get away from the palace on a night such as this without being noticed?"
"It is because it is a night like this I was able to get away. Everyone is frantic and distraught. They are saying their good-byes to Rapunzel and Eugene. They don't know if either one of them will survive tomorrow." Phineas wanted to believe that too badly to doubt it. He smiled cruelly. "In addition," Ethel continued, "I am on rotation with Rapunzel's other handmaids. I watched Rapunzel during the day, so another handmaid is set to watch her tonight." Ethel knew that Charity was scheduled to be with Rapunzel right now.
"Alright, I don't need a life story." Phineas waved his hand for Ethel to get on with it. "What did you come here to say to me? I'm sure you will still need to be back soon."
"Sire I know that Lance just told you the location of the duel."
"Yes tell me something I don't know Ethel."
"Sire I know exactly where the captain is going to be on that mountain."
His eyes fixated on her and he smiled again as she divulged her secrets. This was exactly the information he needed to know. The Captain of the Royal Guard thought he had anticipated him, but he was going to find out how deadly wrong he was. Ethel finished relaying her information and turned to go. "Wait a minute! I didn't dismiss you!" Lord Humphert announced. "You may be telling me the truth, but just in case you're not, you're staying here. We are going to leave now to get a head start on Captain Fitzherbert's arrival to Mt. Saison. We can't have you going back to the palace to warn the others, just in case that was what you were planning."
"But-" Ethel turned to Lord Humphert her eyes watering in fear. "If they know that I am gone, they might catch on that something is up. I need to return my lord to keep our secret safe."
"You said yourself, everyone's frantic and you're off duty tonight. Don't worry, you've been a good spy. I am not going to keep you here forever. Only long enough to ensure we will get to Mt. Saison first undiscovered, just in case you prove untrustworthy. Then, you may return to the castle, because by then it will be too late for warnings!"
He turned to a guard. "Guard how long do you think it will take us to get to Mt. Saison?"
The guard looked at map and gave his estimation. "Very well." Lord Humphert, turned to a city rebel. The man was out of shape and not fit to climb mountains tonight. He and some of the other less fit city rebels were going to stay behind at the house. "You watch her until it is such time." The lord commanded the rebel. "Then let her go. If she's missed completely at the palace they might start asking too many questions." Lord Humphert and his rebel forces prepared to leave. Phineas thought inwardly that even if they did discover Ethel, it might not be a terrible thing. If tonight ended in a victory, he would no longer need her.
Eugene laid back with his arms behind his head on the top of Mt. Saison, looking up at the stars. He knew to anticipate Lord Humphert he'd have to get to this spot first. The duel was set for midday but nothing said that either side couldn't get here before the duel started. He saw his breath wisp in front of him in the cold winter night air. It was getting cloudy up there. He could tell a lot further up then he was the clouds were whirling around in a hurry. He hoped that it wouldn't snow. He hated snow.
He heard a little commotion as at the bottom of the mountain he guessed the Royal Guard and the Snuggly Duckling gang were settling in for the night. The Snuggly Duckling guys were going to have teach the guards how to hide a little better, or else this was going to all go awry. Lance was supposed to deliver the message to Lord Humphert about the location of the duel, after they all had time to arrive here. That way it was certain they would get here before Phineas and his men, could try to get here, and hide themselves. Timing was going to be everything. He had no idea if any of this would work, but he knew he owed so much to Cassandra and Rapunzel for thinking this whole thing up. Watching them trick the demon had taught him a lot. Then, Rapunzel had never said it to him, but Cassandra was right. He knew how to escape, but he hadn't known how to fight before. Even this plan seemed to be a cross between escaping and fighting, but maybe that was ok. He wondered if he'd ever see either one of them again.
Rapunzel didn't know how but she saw Eugene. She saw Eugene in her dream. She didn't know if it was real or imagined, or a little bit of both like the dream of amber she had months ago. There was a pain in her side. Was it time now? Was she going to meet her twins? But why was Eugene on the top of Mt. Saison instead of with her, back at the castle, where she really must be? She seemed to be able to float up and down at will. Eugene was on the easternmost facing side of the mountain, at the top. It was near to where her and her mother went to star gaze. It was also near to her secret cave. He was all alone, but she heard some noises at the bottom of the east side of mountain. With her newfound ability she was able to float down to investigate.
The Snuggly Duckling troupe and the Royal Guard were all down there hiding incognito! She laughed as she saw Stan and Pete, the guards, being instructed by the two of the Snuggly Duckling guys how to hide more discreetly. They were actually doing a good job of teaching them how to be more clandestine. What was this? A night training exercise? Where they marching all around the mountain?
She went around to the west side of the mountain in record time to see if she was correct. She was loving this floating thing. It reminded her of being a bird. Evidently, no one could see her. This had to be a dream right? On the west side of the mountain, she thought she confirmed that the guards were encircling the entire mountain, but when she looked closer, she realized those were not their guards.
Those were the rogue guards and the Lundars! They were approaching the mountain stealthily. She could tell it was the Lundars from their white hair that gleamed in the moonlight. She also knew that the rogue guards fought without their helmets. The helmets, forged with the sun crest of Corona, signified something they were no longer loyal to. Without the helmets the rogue guard could also move more deftly. She also thought that the massive plumage the on top of Corona's helmets, while showy, slowed everyone down. She would have to talk to Eugene about that.
Presently, she watched on in horror, when, after the Humphert alliance arrived at the foot of the mountain, they crept up it, crawling as quietly as they could. The west side of the mountain was forested, the east side was steep and virtually bare. They were trying to ambush Eugene! He wouldn't be able to see them because he was on the opposite side of the top of mountain. The Royal Guard and the others wouldn't be able to spot them either at the bottom of the same side he was on. She tried to get this straight in her head while in her floating form. Eugene was at the top of east side of the mountain and Corona's loyal forces were also on the east at the base. All the Humphert forces were on the west side of the mountain. She looked and saw Lord Phineas Humphert was leading them! That sneak! But how did they know Eugene was here at the top east?
She thought of their loyal guards at the foot of the east side of the mountain. Were the Humpherts forces simply climbing up to meet them on this mountain, at a designated spot?
She knew the Humpherts manor was on the west side of the mountain, so it would it make sense they would come from this direction, but from their postures she was confident that she was right.
They were sneaking up on Eugene. They had to know he was there. Why he was there alone, she didn't know. She surmised Eugene must have been expecting the rogue troops on some level. That had to be why the Royal Guard and other men were on Eugene's side at base of the mountain. They must be there to support him. However, if they didn't start climbing up quickly to aid him, Eugene would be surrounded and they would be too late to get to him. Rapunzel struggled. Her side really hurt now and since it seemed she wasn't really here, at least not in a physical form, there was nothing she could do to warn anyone. She had to try to do something! She whirled around to the other side of the mountain where the loyal Royal Guard was and Snuggly Ducks were.
Did she just call them Snuggly Ducks? That was a perfect nickname for them! See! She could be good at nicknames too! She tried grunting, screaming at any one who would listen, anybody who might hear her. It seemed no one could. She tried to find guards she knew. She tried talking to Stan and Pete but they paid no heed, unaware of her presence. Finally she saw Armon. Armon Schmidt, the new guard that started to show some promise. "Armon! Armon!" She shouted. "The Humphert forces are ganging up on Eugene! Please tell the others to climb up too!" She had to get to somebody before the Humphert alliance got to far up the mountain and disappeared within the trees.
The guard moved and rubbed the back of his neck as if something was bothering him. Could he hear her? She yelled, and tried repeating the message. He stepped forward a bit as if he was unsure. "Hey guys?" He whispered to the others.
"Shhh." They quieted him from their hiding places. "We need to be quiet. If we're found out the Captain's whole plan collapses."
'His whole plan collapses.' Rapunzel thought. 'What did they mean by that? Weren't they just here for defense?'
Armon felt too strongly prompted by a gut feeling he couldn't name, to back down. He whispered, "I just got a really strong feeling that the Humphert troops are already here."
"A feeling? Are you kidding me?" Another guard whispered back.
"Well, they tried this before right?" Armon pointed out. "They came early even though the battle was scheduled for midday."
"Yeah but this is a duel." The guard argued. "Keep your feelings to yourself."
'A duel!' Thought Rapunzel. 'A duel? Was that what this was about? Was Eugene supposed to be fighting a duel? Was that why he was up there by himself?' She wondered at it, angry with worry. 'Really! He had the whole Royal Guard, or most of it, at his back, and the Snuggly Duckling men. Why did he need to submit himself to a duel? And now it seemed the Humpherts were trying to pull another fast one on him. They should have just found the spy! Finding the spy could reveal everything!' She sighed and urged Armon again. It seemed to help. The young man tried one last time.
"I don't know. It's a really strong feeling that they are on other side of the mountain!"
"Hey don't knock feelings." A Snuggly Duck finally overheard and defended him. 'Snuggly Duck' was what Rapunzel was going to call any one of them now. She hoped they'd like the name!
"Feelings can serve you well." The Snuggly Duck continued. She thought it was Toll. "We can at least go check. Urf," he called the miming Snuggly Duck as quietly as he could. "You're the quietest one out of all of us. Go see if you can check the other side of the mountain out, to see if the Humpherts are there, without alerting them if they are."
"It's too risky!" A guard protested.
"Shush. We broke into the prisons before without you all noticing. He can handle this."
A few minutes later Urf came back waving his arms and nodding emphatically. He mimed that the enemy troops were already climbing up on the west side. Armon was right!
"Thattaboy Armon! Ok you know what that means boys!" Toll, the Snuggly Duck, commanded, albeit quietly. "We gotta climb up too, but in stealth mode!"
Luckily the Snuggly Ducks had such forceful personalities, and were so trusted, that the other men listened and fell in line. Everyone started climbing up. Rapunzel breathed in relief.
She didn't know how Armon heard her, but thank goodness, now they weren't going to be too late! The west side of the mountain was sloped slightly higher than the east, so if they started now, both forces would get to about the same distance from the top around the same time, even though the rogue guards had a head start.
She floated to the west side of the mountain to check on the enemy forces there. It must have been nearing sunrise because Rapunzel thought that she could see the barest hint of sunlight. "Ow!" She gasped. That side hurt was starting to become ever more frequent. She looked around panicked to see if anyone had heard her, but then breathed a sigh of relief when she remembered that in this state, no one knew she was there.
Climbing up in 'stealth mode' took both sides a long time. The sunrise was indeed coming up, hitting the mountain at different angles and casting odd shadows. Was she still hidden? It would seem so. The sun finally rose all the way, its rays revealing the mountain top in the full strength of morning. Both forces were still not visible from the mountaintop however, as they were hidden on either side of its slopes. It was cold. Though it rarely snowed in Corona, from this elevation, a few snow flurries softly fell, their beauty at odds with the climatic struggle threatening to breakout. She guessed the cold slowed everyone's movements as well.
After a while, just before they got in sight of the top of the mountain, the Humpherts' side stopped. Phineas whispered for them to do so. They were probably still too far away for Eugene to hear them. "Ok. I am going to check if Flynn is here." He smiled, purposely using Eugene's old name. "The trickster could be here early as well."
"But then, when do we know to come and attack?" One of the men asked.
"We've discussed this," Phineas growled barely keeping his voice down. Rapunzel hoped Eugene would be able to hear him!
The lord continued. "Once I get to Eugene, if here's already there, I will make enough noise so that you can hear us start to fight. Then you come and get him. Or I will wait until he approaches we will do the same thing. Either way, attack when you hear the noise!" Lord Humphert had brought his voice back down.
Rapunzel realized it must have been Lord Humphert that Eugene was supposed to duel. Had Eugene heard? He was still in the same spot. What a dirty trick they were playing on him! Rapunzel tried calling out to Eugene like she did Armon. At first, she thought he heard her because he rose, but he stood cemented to the same spot. He wasn't trying to get away.
Phineas was already climbing up to the top to approach Eugene. She could only hope that the others on the east side would hear the noise as well, and both forces would meet on the top before anyone had a chance to attack Eugene, while he was all by himself. It was going to be close. Lord Humphert climbed over the last precipice to reach the top plateau. "Hello Flynn." He said as he sighted Eugene.
'Uh why did people insist on calling him that name?' Rapunzel thought. He was a changed man!
"Eh I go by Fitzherbert now." Eugene replied looking at his nails, acting unsurprised and unconcerned to see Lord Humphert there.
Phineas drew his sword. He didn't approach Eugene yet, but looked around. "I see that your second abandoned you. He's nowhere to be seen."
"Maybe he's just not here yet." He rubbed his chin. "You are early. Again. And where is your second?"
"I prefer to fight alone!" Lord Humphert charged at him, yelling at the top of his lungs. Eugene drew his sword, but what was he doing? Running? Was he trying to escape? Or was he trying to get the guards? That would be smart. No, he was pushing himself in a crevice. A crevice? Was he trying to get away? Then Rapunzel recognized the crevice. It was the cave's! The secret cave's!
"You yellow bellied coward!" Phineas Humphert screamed "You won't get away from me in there!" The thin Humphert pushed his way in after him, and they both disappeared from sight. Rapunzel followed after them. She panted and fought to wake up to get to him for real, but exasperatingly she was still stuck in the dream! Was it useless? No, she couldn't believe that. She pushed herself within her dream to go into the entrance of the cave.
By now both opposing forces rallied to the top, but they were both still trying to climb quickly and quietly. The Humpherts forces reached the top first! However they stood in place looking confounded. The Lundars, rogue guards and some of the city rebels who had braved the trip, were looking around for Lord Humphert and Eugene.
Both men were now hidden in the cave and the rebels couldn't see them. "Where is Fitzherbert?" Captain Vrott called. "Where is Horace?" One of the Lundars echoed. They heard some noises but couldn't make out where they were coming from. They looked on in surprise as a large hand grabbed a rock at the top, some distance away. The owner of the hand, pulled himself up. It was neither Lord Humphert or Fitzherbert. It was a Snuggly Duck! They looked really surprised to see him there! The Snuggly Duck spoke up immediately before they could lay hold of him. "Lord Humphert and Captain Fitzherbert are fighting in there." He pointed to the crevice of the cave.
The enemy forces started to converge on it, thankful for the free information. Just then the rest of Corona's forces rallied up to the top of the mountain to confront them! The opposing forces stopped short, shocked. They didn't expect the numerous force. "As you can see," the Snuggly Duck yelled, "You are surrounded! So either face and fight us, or wait for the victor to emerge like a proper duel! If you chose to stand down, you can spare yourselves!"