The Fall of Captain Fitzherbert
The first day of travelling by hot air balloon was smooth sailing for Varian and Quirin. Varian's father, Quirin decided to trust his son, and conquer his fear of heights by flying with him back to Corona. Varian was over the moon that his father had agreed to join him. The friendly Lundars travelling with them agreed to stay on the ground and drive the caravans full of crops to Corona. Quirin was still nauseous with worry. He had never been this high up before! In the balloon, the skies were a little cloudy and it was really cold up at this height, but signs didn't seem to portend to the storm Varian had predicted earlier.
Quirin was actually starting to enjoy it a little! The ground yawned before them in a beautifully dizzying bird's eye view. Fields, cities and farmland stretched out in a majestic picture. By the second day all that changed. The second evening, gusts of wind picked up and the clouds grew dark. This high up and this far into winter, scattered precipitation turned to soft snow flurries here and there.
They blew around the balloon in bursts, and Varian had to ask Quirin to protect the hot air balloon's flame from them, while he navigated. The winds tossed the balloon about, rocking the basket in discombobulating tremors. As the night drew on, with this much wind and fog, it was a miracle that the flame hadn't gone out already. Varian didn't want to tell his father what would happen to them if that happened. His dad was helpfully keeping the flame ignited by lighting a match every time it threatened to go out. Varian meanwhile wondered if he had made a mistake. He wasn't sure if he was on course anymore. It was extremely disorienting up here.
He thought about landing but didn't know if they could safely in the dark. They persevered on through the night, through the clouds and frozen mists. The wind howled and threatened, chaffing their skin and chilling them in any gaps of their clothing it could wriggle through. Until finally, in their white knuckled journey, dawn appeared. The first rays of the sun and its heat blasted away the fog and mists. The clouds scattered into disjointed puffs. The light was still low over the land, but Varian could just make out where they were! He saw Corona's castle! "Look dad!" Varian belted out. "It's Corona! We made it!" He looked out towards his homeland.
He thought his dad had been so brave on the trip to get here, considering. He guessed he bested his fear of heights! "Dad?" Varian asked, when Quirin didn't respond right away. He looked back, and the coming sunlight revealed that Quirin's hair completely stood on end! Quirin was giving Varian a forced smile, plastered to his face and nodding stiffly in response. "Sorry dad! Air travel is usually not that bad! I promise!" He looked out again, and noticed they were approaching the plaza. "Oh, look dad!" Varian showed him. "It's the plaza! That would be a good wide-open space to land." He thought again.
"Although, through the smudges in Rapunzel's letter I thought she had something about the next battle being at the Humpherts manor. I don't know exactly where that is, but somewhere in the woods north of here." He didn't know how to land at a house in the woods through hot air balloon, so he brainstormed out loud. "Maybe we should go a little further and land in a field or something to be able to find it-"
"Oh no you don't!" Quirin put his foot down. "I've had enough of this! We're landing right here!" He turned the gear to let off the flame and land.
Down at the plaza, Madam Estrada turned to see what the others were looking at. "Make way! Make way!" An incoming guard yelled. Henry, the guard was galloping furiously straight toward them. They were in the middle if the plaza and directly in his path! "Clear the path!" He ordered. He stopped the horse just in time and it reared upward, whinnying as he pulled it to an abrupt stop. From the harried crowd there were several gasps and ruffled demands of what this was about? "I must get to the top of Mt. Saison." The guard rattled out tersely. "The duel between Lord Humphert and Captain Fitzherbert is there! Humphert's laid out a trap for him! Make way!" He repeated. The crowd diverged and let him through, and he galloped furiously onward. A hushed epiphany rippled through the crowd at the news. Madam Estrada was right!
"See! I told you so! I told you the spy said the duel was a trap!" Madam Estrada reaffirmed a bit smugly from her soap box. However, the crowd was pointing at something else now, high in the air, beyond Madam Estrada. "Isn't anyone paying attention to me?" She furrowed her brow, exasperated. She turned around again to see what they were looking at, and this time, even she got excited. Clouds had dispersed to reveal Varian's balloon! King Edmund's crow had delivered Rapunzel's message to Varian two days ago. Even though the message was delivered very late, Varian was still right on time! The red, orange striped balloon had a wooden rounded wing tip attached for speed, although it looked a little worn by the elements. The balloon got closer and closer.
It looked like he was planning to land here in the plaza! They all watched and waited while the balloon loomed into direct overhead view and cast a shadow over all of them. They could just now catch a sight of the kid with the blue striped hair. "Varian! Varian!" They shouted overjoyed. Some of the crowd was already cheering, hollering hurray. Some of the participants peppered him with questions. "You're here? Have you brought back crops?"
Now that he was landing, they could see that Varian's father Quirin was riding with him in the balloon as well, though he clung to the center until they landed. "Quirin what has the boy brought back?" The crowd switched to asking him. However, Varian and Quirin stayed in the basket of the hot air balloon. They had their own questions to ask the crowd. "Yes, yes, yes the crops covering our shortage in the yearly supply are coming in a few days' time by caravan." Quirin pacified the crowd, quelling their questions with a downward motion of his hands. "Has the battle at the Humphert's manor started?" Varian queried on the heels of the hushing of the crowd. He held up Rapunzel's smudged letter in his hand. "Rapunzel told me that the king had given Lord Humphert a deadline to grant them access to his manor, or else there would be a battle there!"
The crowd backtracked. Various voices fed Varian information. "Well, it has started, only it's not really a battle anymore."
"Mmmhmm. It's all been changed recently!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah it's been changed to a duel now between Lord Humphert and Captain Fitzherbert!"
"A duel?" Spurted Varian.
"Yeah, but we just found out, it turns out that the duel is a ploy! A trap for the captain!" The crowd murmured in agreement. This was a well-established fact now, but it was still news to Varian.
"What?! Well, where is this duel?"
"The top of Mt. Saison!" The crowd all said at once. It seemed that now everyone in Corona knew!
"Well, I've got to get over there! Dad fire up the flame!" Varian responded.
"I'm going with you!" Said a small voice.
It was Faith. Everyone looked at the quiet seamstress' apprentice in surprise. She looked a little vulnerable in the spotlight, but she carried on, "It seems that Lord Humphert most likely lied to us about everything! If he lied about this, he probably lied about everything else! Look at us, Madam Estrada's right, we're not doing our part in helping each other out! We faced a demon together, but we've let this tear us apart! I want to go with Varian to confront Lord Humphert myself and do my own part!"
"I'll go with you lovey!" Madam Estrada called out to Faith.
"And me! And me! And me!" A plethora of voices called.
"Uh guys I can't bring all of you in here!" Varian warned. "Not everyone will fit!"
"Varian, you take the group that will fit, I will lead the rest by foot." His dad's commanding voice asserted. He was already climbing out of the balloon.
"Are you sure dad?"
"Yes!" The man said instantaneously. He had enough of flight for a while. Faith, Madam Estrada and others loaded up in the hot air balloon with Varian and took off with a spurt, drifting off towards the mountain. As they flew through the air, they made a plan to spot Lord Phineas Humphert from the air and call down to him that they had found him out. They had no weapons, so they planned to do this safely from the height of the balloon. They thought it might be just enough to stop Lord Phineas from whatever he was about to do, if his dirty trick was revealed. They'd tell him that they would spread the truth about all his lies. His schemes would not win Corona's subjects over so easily.
They all reflected on the last few months. "You know," Uncle Monty, the resident baker said, one of the new passengers of the hot air balloon. "If Lord Humphert was lying about the duel, and he greatly exaggerated the food shortage, I bet he was wrong about the princess too. I bet Rapunzel will pull through." He confided in the others.
"Pull through?" Varian asked disturbed. "Is she worse?"
"We'll fill you in on the way there." The others said. "For now, let's do this for Corona, for Rapunzel!"
"For Corona! For Rapunzel!" The chant continued.
Inside the cave, Rapunzel, still travelling through a dream state, noticed the light streaming through the cave was still faint, but it was lit better than it was the night that she and Eugene walked it. The path across it was straight and smooth, though a little slippery. Rapunzel guessed if either of the men didn't wear shoes, they wouldn't have a problem with grip. Shoes, what were they really for? She always preferred bare feet.
The purple and blue stalagmites clustered on the cave's sides looked like sentinels frozen in place. The pink and beige stalacites, hanging from the ceiling, poised as silent witnesses to the combat about to take place. Rapunzel looked for Lord Humphert and Eugene. Where were they? They had leaped from the straight path to a clearing in the stalagmites.
When Lord Humphert first entered the cave, daylight streaming through was still scarce, even though it was rapidly increasing with the morning. Whatever he had been expecting when he walked through the crevice, he hadn't expected this. Inside the cave, it was as if he leaped into a whole other isolated world. It gave him pause, but only for a moment. Everything was riding on this! The only sound he could hear was the dripping of moisture from the cave's natural formations. He couldn't see Eugene anywhere in the shadows. How were his men going to find him, if he couldn't even see in here? He had to make some noise! "Where are you, you two faced halfwit! Come out and face me!" He shouted. He started hearing a stirring, a flutter of movement that didn't seem human. Nevertheless, the shadows shifted, revealing a human silhouette.
"Two faced! Are you sure you are referring to the right person?" Captain Fitzherbert emerged. "Although I suspect if I had two faces, I'd be twice as pretty!"
Their voices echoed off the walls. Phineas' sword met Eugene's with a loud clang. That did it. The stirring from earlier catapulted into a full-blown frenzy. Tiny mammals flew at them from all sides, enraged, spooked by their voices and clashing swords. The lord and prince-consort ducked from the onslaught, as with difficulty they parried. It was bats! Some of the animals bumped into their shoulders and upper arms, briefly before flying off. It was disconcerting to both the dueling men. "The bats! I completely forgot about those!" Eugene remembered they hadn't been there at night, when he and Rapunzel walked the cave. "They must have come back to roost here in the morning, just before we climbed up!" Laughed Eugene.
The sound mingled with the shrieking bats, rebounding back at them from all angles. Indeed, the creatures had come back to huddle together for warmth a little earlier than normal, to get away from the sudden cold snap. The flying rodents were exiting out the crevice, and although they were tinier than their human counterparts, they still had to angle themselves out, so their exit was slow and streamlined. "What are you laughing about?" Lord Humphert snarled, annoyed.
"It's just that I was worried about Rapunzel being here at night, and it seems that now it's more dangerous here during the day!" It was at this point that Rapunzel saw them again through the thick streamline of flying mammals. She heard what Eugene said and smiled in spite of everything. Phineas didn't think it was funny at all.
Moments before, it was eerily still on the mountaintop. The only sound was the slow soft noise of a few stray snowflakes, falling to the rocky terrain. Gunther, the Snuggly Duck, had just posed a question to the opposing forces. They had two choices. They could stick it out and fight, or stand down and spare their lives, while Eugene and Phineas fought it out in the cave, like the duel that was originally planned. The enemy forces were silent for a few seconds before Vrott took a crouched posture with his sword, preparing to spring to action. "We will fight!" He avowed. Yet the others didn't look so sure. They didn't immediately rally behind him.
Just then, without warning, a mass of wild ear-splitting screeches expelled itself out of the cave. Black winged creatures flew out in masses, obviously disturbed from their home, their wings clapping against their sides. It was a maelstrom of bats! The bats brushed and hit against the men on their flight out, on both sides, but rattled the Humphert side a little more than the Snuggly Ducks and the loyal guards. As they turned to try to protect themselves from the bats, the Humphert troops noticed a hot air balloon headed straight for them. They could just make out, through the spaces in between black wings flying at them every which way, that the balloon was filled with angry people staring right at them. "It is an air attack!" One of the Lundars shouted in desperate panic. "They sent people to fight us through the air as well! Run!" The Lundars invoked. "Run!"
They ran from the bats and ran from the hot air balloon, down the mountain. Vrott called after them. "Stop! Stand! Fight you cowards!" Some of them remarkably listened and stood shakily lifting their swords to face Corona's troops. King Frederick's men drew their swords, waiting to see if the other side would back down. "Stand your ground!" called Vrott. His men looked barely convinced, but they obeyed.
"Very well! If that is your response!" The Royal Guard with the Snuggly Ducks responded and ran toward them with a battle cry. Now that the traitors were already partially further down the slope of the mountainside, their footing wasn't great, and Corona's forces had the high ground. The Snuggly Ducks and their guards triumphed, chasing the Humphert's group, who was half fleeing, half fighting, down the mountain. "Seems like we're in for a game of tag boys!" Gunther smiled as a fleeing opponent turned and then clashed swords with him. He didn't notice Vrott and a few of his men escaping the fight, in an attempt to climb back up the mountain.
Varian's balloon was in trouble! After arriving in view of Mt. Saison, it was being pelted by random bats! The majority of the frantic animals were coming out of a cave located somewhere on the mountaintop. From their elevated perspective, Varian's sharp eyes observed that there seemed to be another opening at the back of the mountain that the animals were also flying out from. He thought quickly that it must be the second mouth of the cave, facing a sheer drop down. The bats flying out from that direction roosted on a nearby tree, fluttering still, as they landed in agitation. There were still too many bats coming at them, and they were struggling to navigate! From above, they witnessed the two small armies of both sides face each other and then start to run down the mountain. The mountaintop was cleared now. That was a good thing.
If they didn't land soon, they were going to crash, or the balloon was going to burst! Luckily, Varian was able to sort of crash land on the mountaintop, with a scud, right where, moments before, a battle had started. He tied down his balloon, but kept the flame lit in case they still wanted to travel. First to make sure everyone was alright. Then he would need to quickly inspect his balloon to make sure they weren't any small tears and make sure it was still intact. "Whew! Is everyone ok?" Asked Varian.
Everyone was. Though they wanted to touch solid ground for a moment! They shakily exited the hot air balloon's carriage onto Mt. Saison, after their close call. The last smaller spurts of bats still flooded out, angrily screeching and flying over. The bats' presence gave away the hidden crevice of the cave. "My goodness!" Madam Estrada commented. "What could have disturbed them like that?"
"I am not sure, but I think I hear noises coming from the opening they were coming from!" Varian said inspecting the crevice. "I think I hear Eugene's voice!"
Xavier the solemn blacksmith spoke up. "I saw the loyal Royal Guard chase the Humpherts forces and the Lundars. If the Humpherts' forces were meant to trap to Captain Fitzherbert maybe, they have already done so, and he is in that cave! The loyal Royal Guard might be looking for the captain in the wrong place. They are probably chasing the Humphert forces, not realizing the enemies they're chasing don't have custody of him!"
Varian had a decision to make. If Eugene was trapped, should they try to rescue him? What if there were more enemy forces they didn't see in the cave? With the large force they just watched battle the loyal Royal Guard it seemed unlikely, but someone might be in the cave with Eugene. Suddenly Varian got his answer. "Fi NAY us!" He heard screamed. So, Phineas was in the cave with Eugene. They were dueling after all, or else Phineas had already trapped the Captain and was waiting for his men. He had to warn the loyal Royal Guard.
Just then they heard the Humphert forces were rallying up west side of the mountain! They weren't expecting that! He quickly tried to give his balloon a once over to see if it was ok. He thought it was, but he couldn't be sure. He signaled to the others to get into the balloon, but it was too late. The fighting would be back on the mountaintop at any moment! They had to get away before they got caught up in it defenseless. He ran to try to untie the balloon, but it was going to take too long! "Can you all help me?" He begged. The townspeople ran over to the other rope to try to untie it, but the footfalls were too close. They turned to run down treacherously steep east opposite side of the mountain but heard heavy footfalls now there as well! "Maybe we should take our chances and hide from all the fighting in the cave!" Someone said. "It sounds like only Phineas is the only enemy in there with the captain and if it's dark, maybe he won't see us! We could sneak in quietly!" As the heavy plodding continued up both sides of the mountain, getting unbearably close, mass panic mindset took over and the suggestion became an incentive. The townspeople began to run into the cave to hide from the onslaught of forces about to hit. "No!" hollered Varian, but they weren't listening. He didn't come up here to watch the people he brought up here with him to get slaughtered. He had to convince them being in the cave was not a good idea. He finally untied the first rope, but the second rope was still tied when he ran in after the townspeople. He entered the cave. Maybe he could sneak in and see without drawing attention to himself.
Varian was the last to slip out of sight through the cave, moments before Lance, Angry and Red arrived on the mountaintop. When Lance and his girls first rescued Wolfgang and Antonio, convincing the two captives to help by showing themselves to the opposing forces, had been the easy part. Those two had been so thankful to get out that they agreed to anything to help! Lance was going to have Red transform into her werewolf self to scare them into the mission.
To their surprise they didn't have to do anything. Once they got safely away from the manor, they both dropped to their knees in gratitude for their freedom and begged for mercy. They swore they would do anything to show their loyalty. "Hmmm, what could you do?" Lance facetiously wondered, pretending to think about it. "Aha! I got it! You could go to Mt. Saison with us and show everyone you're alive."
"Yes anything!" They both agreed. Lance hid a smile.
"But first, just in case you change your mind. I would like you to meet my daughter and have her show you one of her amazing talents."
She transformed to her monstrous self to their shock and awe.
"Don't worry! I won't hurt you!" She told them. She still had a little girl voice even in this form. "This is just the only way my dad will let us see the battle!" She explained.
"And only from a safe distance at that! As much as we can!" Lance warned. "Now come on, we don't have a moment to lose!" They started the walk, but Lance turned back for a moment and hugged his girls. Well, as much as he could hug them with Red being in her werewolf form. "Thank you, girls." He admitted. "I guess we do work better as a team."
Red, in her powerful werewolf form, had inhuman strength. She easily carried Wolfgang and Antonio on her back on the climb up Mt. Saison. Wolfgang and Antonio were weakened from months of captivity and couldn't climb to the mountaintop on their own. Still, it took them a long time to climb up this way, with several breaks on the way. They finally arrived.
Varian and the townspeople were already in the cave, so they couldn't have known the footfalls they heard on the east side of the mountain, were not the Humphert forces, but Lance and his two girls, along with Wolfgang and Antonio!
As for the footfalls the townspeople heard on the west side, it was Vrott and a few of his men. They had been able to escape the main fighting going on, and rally back up the mountain, still trying to capture Eugene. By the time they finally got there, the townspeople had already hidden in the cave. They were met instead by the sight of Lance, Angry and…. a huge feral werewolf?! "Ahhhh! First bats and now a werewolf! What is going on here?!" They screamed in shock, clambering back down again. They didn't see Wolfgang or Antonio because they were still hidden from view, clinging onto Red's back. Lance and the girls couldn't help laughing out loud. The laughter was short lived, however.
Not only could they not see Eugene or Phineas anywhere, but they could also hear the massive cacophony of fighting alongside the opposite side of the mountain. And there was something else that troubled Lance even more. Barely hanging on from taking off in flight with one rope was Varian's balloon! He must have been captured before he had a chance to take off!
"Oh no! Varian is here! The bad guys have him!" Lance cried. "C'mon girls we got to go save him!"
Lance thought he had heard the boy cry out in protest moments before, but thinking Varian was still far away, he thought he had to be mistaken. Now he knew Varian must have returned early and got caught up in the battle. He started to run to rescue the boy, but Angry pulled on his sleeve.
"Dad, why don't we take the balloon down?" Angry asked. She pointed at the contraption.
"Humph! Do you guys know how to fly that thing?"
"Well no." The girls admitted. They heard some noise from the cave. "Eugene!" The girls realized. "He's in there fighting! What about him dad?" Lance listened in to the sounds of fencing. He couldn't be sure, but it sounded like Eugene's plan had worked and it was only Phineas and him dueling in there.
"He'll be fine." Lance hoped. "And Red, you can't squeeze into that cave now, as a werewolf! It's too dangerous." He shook his head. "Anyway, we'll may be able to help both of them if the enemy forces see Wolfgang and Antonio alive after all," He pointed at the freed captives, "Who knows? Maybe when they see them, they'll surrender. Either way someone is in for the surprise of their life! C'mon girls let's go! Varian needs us!" They ran off towards where they could hear the fighting, not knowing that Varian was in the cave. The teenager, and the townspeople, were watching the duel between Phineas and Eugene play out before them.
Though Rapunzel was physically back at the palace, she watched within her dream form as, even with bats surrounding them, Phineas was determined to peg Eugene in place. She watched as the airborne pests, along with the natural difficulty of the moist sloped ground and the dimness of the cave, all combatted with their ability to fight. Yet Phineas, as a spare to the heir of Corona, had lifelong training in sword fighting. He found good footing and slammed his sword into Eugene's, hoping with the all the distraction of their surroundings, it would make the prince-consort lose his grip and disarm him, allowing Phineas to yank him back out as a gift to his men. Rapunzel sucked in air rapidly. She needed to be there physically and not just an inert witness! However, somehow Eugene pulled out of the lock, breathing hard himself. She sighed in relief.
"You sure you don't want to just wait until the bats get out of here?" Eugene asked panting. "It could be easier for both of us!"
"Keep dreaming Rider!" His opponent snapped.
"You know," Eugene bit his lip, anticipating another parry from Phineas. His sword clashed into Eugene's with a blunt blow. "You have a bad memory. It's Fitzherbert now." Their swords scraped. "But that's ok, I have bad recall too! For instance, is your name pronounced "Fin NEE as or Fin NAY as? I always forget."
"It's Fin NAY as!" Lord Phineas Humphert screamed. It was his pet peeve when people mispronounced his name. "And that's Lord Phineas Humphert to you, you twit!"
"Alright! Fi NEE as, it is!" Eugene verbally sparred, sucking in his teeth. The last of the bats had already exited the cave, but thanks to the bats, neither man could hear what just went down outside. Nonetheless, Phineas was beginning to wonder where his backup was. He would think the bats pouring out of the location would indicate where he and the prince- consort were fighting. And he was certainly making enough noise!
Eugene was facing the crevice of the cave, and Phineas had his back to it. The positioning wasn't ideal to Lord Humphert. He still wanted his forces to ambush Eugene, and if they came from the crevice, Eugene would see them first. However, Eugene had ran in here beforehand and on the somewhat slippery narrow path, the lord couldn't manage to get their fighting positions turned around.
His only recourse was to fight with Eugene so intensely that it would distract him enough from looking out the small mouth of the cave. That, and daylight came in greater illumination towards the back of the cave, where Phineas, could see another, wider opening. If he could just push Eugene far enough back, it might allow his men to see them better too.
He drove them to where a stalagmite was forced between them on purpose, just for a moment, so he could dare to look behind them to see if his men were following him in yet. He grinned. To his satisfaction, he saw shadowy figures arriving at the back of the cave. It had to be his men finally getting there, creeping up behind them. He slashed his sword towards Eugene so the captain wouldn't have a chance to notice.
Rapunzel in her vision could just make out who one of the new arrivals was. And so it seemed could Eugene. Eugene, through a shaft of light that shone down from the crevice, recognized a tell-tale blue stripe. It was Varian! Both Rapunzel and Eugene couldn't have known it, but the same thought followed in both of their minds. What was Varian doing here? They had missed his arrival. Eugene had been in the cave, with Rapunzel watching him through her dream, while Varian's hot air balloon landed at the mountaintop. Seeing Varian here, made Rapunzel suck in a sudden intake of breath. 'Oh! Varian,' Rapunzel thought. 'I told you to stay away!' He and whomever was with him, could be in danger here. She knew the loyal royal guard was likely busy fighting the opposing forces, or Varian and the others wouldn't have been able to get here.
She tried moving to warn them to leave or see if outside of the cave was safe. Yet when she tried to move this time, the focus became blurry. A ring of pain wrapped her sides, making her gasp excessively for air. The pain would subside for a time, and then come again in waves. She must be extremely close to giving birth! Maybe that was why moving forward was making her vision of the cave blurry. She was so close to birth, moving must be waking her up! Even in her pain, she was excited about meeting her children, but she knew she couldn't wake up yet! If she woke up, there was no way she would be to send anybody in time to help Varian or Eugene. Earlier, even in this dream state, she had been able to somehow get through to Armon to warn him. She tried moving slowly. She found if she moved slowly, her vision didn't blur, but moving fast did make it start to fall away. So, if she moved slowly enough, it was her best chance to see if either Varian and Eugene could hear her warnings. She was closer to Eugene, so she would have to focus on helping him win this fight, to keep him, Varian and the others safe.
From Eugene's perspective, he had no idea of Rapunzel's struggles, and there was no time to work out why Varian was here. The teenaged genius was accompanied by- who was that? Townspeople? Eugene thought he recognized Madam Estrada by her wide sleeves. What were they doing all here? He thought he might see some of his, or Humphert's men at the cave's entrance, but Varian and townspeople? He almost called out to them, but thank goodness, for once his mind worked before his mouth. He needed to let Phineas push him further back to keep them safe from danger. He didn't need the kid and his pose getting hurt. He had to think of something.
Phineas swung his sword low, but Eugene's sword caught it in the nick of time. "You know, maybe we should call this a draw?" Eugene stalled. "We really shouldn't be in here! It's way too dangerous! Someone could get hurt!" He shouted to Phineas, but in reality, he hoped that Varian and the townspeople would get the message.
"Losing your nerve Captain?" Phineas hewed at him furiously, giving him no quarter.
They heard indiscriminate shuffling from the townspeople at the back of the cave. It wasn't a loud sound, but even though they were several feet away, this was Rapunzel's secret cave. Where, a noise at one end of the cave, sounded like it was right next to the person on the other end, even if it was only a whisper.
The elliptical roof of the cave was working its acoustic magic. The shuffling movement had sounded like it was right by them. Phineas turned his head to look briefly, excited that the prospect that his trap might be closing in soon but had to hurry to look back in confusion. The dim forms seemed far away. 'Still,' he thought, with the sound that close, 'someone has to be getting here quickly.' He was trying to shift while fighting to get a better look.
Eugene couldn't afford for Lord Phineas to look around more and have a chance to realize their impromptu audience was not his men, but Varian and the others. He didn't know how they got there, but he also didn't know where the Humpherts' men or his men were. They could be due to arrive at the mountaintop any moment. Even if he was able to keep Phineas back from hurting Varian and the townspeople, if the lord became aware of their presence, he could alert the enemy forces. Maybe the Humphert forces were already outside and that's why Varian and the others weren't heeding his warning to get out of the cave while they still could. Whatever the case, they would have no qualms about harming townspeople, especially if Eugene's men were late climbing up.
He needed to lure Phineas into a false sense of security. He needed a distraction, so he would concentrate all his focus on Eugene. With Lord Humphert actively trying to search, he had to act fast. He intentionally opened his left arm up to attack. Lord Humphert slashed at it without hesitation and made a gash. "Ahh!" Eugene let out. He had expected it, but it still hurt. Blood ran down his arm. It was working though. Lord Humphert was zeroed in on him even more. The lord was feeling he could win this fight without any help after all.
Eugene!" Rapunzel cried through her vision, when she saw him hurt. Neither Lord Humphert nor Eugene heard her. Back at the palace where she really was, the attendants surrounding her, heard it, and her quickened breathing. Yet whatever might be happening to her in reality, she still had the cave in her mind's eye. Lord Phineas snorted when he saw Eugene injured. He drew close and whispered, in between the exchange of swords, "Maybe I can dispatch you, just like I did the tailor."
"Did you kill the tailor then?" Eugene huffed, the pain in his arm getting to him.
"No," Phineas said quietly, "I just trapped him." Then louder he beckoned, "Just like I am going to trap you!" Still thinking the townspeople were his forces, Phineas hoped the words would bring his men here, wherever they were. He suspected they had to be getting close by now, but maybe the slippery ground and heavy armor were slowing them down. Phineas thought smugly that, perhaps they were also recognizing, he was effectively handling this situation on his own. Even though he saw no one nearby, he felt like his suspicions were confirmed when heard footfalls, though he couldn't tell from which direction.
Eugene had to keep him from looking back. He fought with Phineas, weakened, trying to display pain as much as he could on his face so that Lord Humphert would be emboldened to say more. He was hardly feigning. "What did you do with your son Phineas?" He said quietly. The lord smiled and shrugged. He saw Eugene's struggle. He had him now. "Wolfgang is safe. Trapped alongside the tailor." He remembered to keep his voice down. He could feel Eugene's strength slowly surrendering to his own, but he didn't want the others to hear him. He suddenly swung at Eugene's left arm again, he knew Eugene would instinctually go to defend it, and in the process the captain left his throat open. Lord Humphert lunged at it with vicious speed. They didn't need Eugene as a bargaining chip anymore. Killing him would embolden their side and demoralize everyone else. "No!" Rapunzel yelled through her dream, and with all her might, she didn't care if she was here physically or not, she pushed Eugene backward.
Eugene actually stumbled back a few steps. He didn't know how. He must have tripped on something. It was lucky too because that sword had been inches from his throat. He met the sword this time, before it lunged at him again in the same place. Lord Phineas grunted in frustration, but his sword and Eugene's were crisscrossed around Eugene's throat. It wouldn't be long now. Ignoring the danger, Eugene took advantage of their proximity to ask another question.
"Phineas tell me, did Wolfgang start the fire?"
"Of course, he did! The dolt! He was supposed to destroy the hot water machines. That is why I had to get rid of him and his blunders and make up that fake story about him dying in the fire!" Maybe he was being too loud now, but Lord Phineas didn't care. He would kill the prince- consort now, the princess wouldn't survive, he'd win the war and take the kingdom.
Even if anybody overheard him, he'd sort that out later. No more skulking quietly in corners. He'd driven Eugene back to the back entrance of the cave. At first as they neared it, he wondered why the former escape artist didn't just run out that direction, but now as they were all the way back, he knew why. He watched the prince-consort teeter on the edge of a sheer deathly drop down. Phineas had to lean forward a little to see it for a brief moment. Some of the view had been partially obscured by the cave's natural lip.
"No way out Rider!" He laughed. "The escape artist has no escape! Either meet my sword or fall to your death!" Rapunzel breathed heavily, like she feared, she could no longer move around like she used to, she was stuck watching this play out just the way it would. She felt herself starting to exit her dream. She was starting to wake up. Eugene for his part, even in his precarious position, knew he had already won another victory. He gotten Lord Humphert to confess to his crimes.
He knew because of the odd trick of acoustics that played off the curved smooth part of the roof, running along the center the cave, that the townspeople had heard the lord's confession at the other end. The queen let him go on with this duel because he and she figured if somehow Humpherts' men did get to the cave to attack him, he was going to try to trick Phineas into confessing the truth from a distance, since the lord did not know about the acoustic abnormality. That in itself might stop the fighting.
It was the townspeople who had heard and not Humpherts' men, but regardless the truth was known, and it would spread. He could still see the townspeople's shaded silhouettes huddled close together at the entrance of the cave. They were far enough from Phineas now, that even if he turned around and saw them, they could run out of the mouth and the loyal guard would take care of them wherever they were. Rapunzel's kingdom and family would be safe.
He also knew deep in his heart that she and their blossoming family would be safe. He felt somehow that she was with him now. He did not know how, but he guessed part of her was always with him. Phineas' sword was still crisscrossed with his own around his throat. He hadn't meant for him to get him in this sort of lock. He wanted to drive the lord into a false sense of security, yes, to both get him to confess and drive him away from the civilians at the back of the cave. He had made a major misstep however in trying to defend his arm, that allowed the lord the advantage here.
Beforehand he thought he could focus on winning the fight after the lord confessed. Now, from his awkward position, perched on the cave's lip, if he pressed in, it would likely give Phineas leverage to drive him out. Any other move, and there would be no other way to miss the sword's point. He didn't want to go that way. He knew what that felt like. He looked behind him, and then he knew.
He knew what his dad had been talking about, the decision to survive and fight versus the decision to sacrifice it all, only after all options were exhausted. This was that time. It was time to bow out. He lunged forward and like he thought, Phineas pushed him out. In a moment, he was gone.