Chapter 12
1 month after the escape
Rapunzel gazes out at the open ocean, leaning over the railing of the vast ship sailing slowly along the water.
The sun shines high in the light blue sky, which is completely clear of clouds. Rapunzel swears it has never looked brighter, even during summers like these.
The sunlight shimmers off the surface of the waves, sparkling mesmerizingly as the ripples dance from the gentle breeze flowing through the air. She admires the horizon, the ocean seeming to stretch on forever and ever beyond it. There isn't a single island or other vessel in sight.
Corona is miles away from them now, and Rapunzel couldn't be happier about that. Even after all this time at sea, it all still feels like a dream, but it seems she developed her sea legs early. She could stay here forever.
Rapunzel is so lost in the breathtaking view beyond the ship that she almost doesn't notice the figure appearing next to her.
"So, Blondie… is this everything you dreamed it would be?" Eugene copies her in resting his arms over the railing, following her gaze.
Crewmembers wander around the deck behind them, their footsteps pacing as they shuffle about.
A smile instantly forms on Rapunzel's face at that. She inhales deeply as she grips the railing in front of her, breathing in the scent of saltwater and fresh air. The temperature is perfect, the sun hitting her skin warmly. "It's even better than I dreamed it would be."
"You know, it's not too late to turn back," he suggests without looking over at her, jokingly. "I mean, if you ever decide you miss royal balls and arranged marriages, we can always—"
"Yeah, no thank you. Never again in a million years," Rapunzel promises confidently.
Eugene smirks, knowing she would say that. "Good."
They continue to stare out at the waves in silence until Rapunzel sighs softly from next to him. "I miss them sometimes," she admits, suddenly somber. "I just hope things weren't too bad after I left. I know Cass let me go but… I hope she's okay without me."
Eugene's expression falls at that too.
Rapunzel hasn't spoken much of Corona since they'd left. And he hadn't brought it up, assuming she didn't want to talk about something she had tried so hard to get away from. But he always told her he is there to listen, if she ever needed it.
No doubt, Rapunzel misses them, despite what a nightmare it seemed to be at times. Eugene doesn't know all the details. But he can only imagine what it must have been like for her, and how it must feel to leave behind everything you've ever known so suddenly.
Rapunzel doesn't need to tell him that. He knows her well enough by now to be able to read these things just by looking at her. The one thing he knows for sure is that he has never seen her look so happy since they left.
As much as Rapunzel loves it out here, she often finds herself replaying that meeting with Cassandra in her head – when Rapunzel had asked her to come with them. Of course, as selfless as Cass always is, she'd merely told Rapunzel not to worry about her, which only makes her want to worry more.
And her mother… Rapunzel isn't sure she can ever make it up to Arianna. If it weren't for the Queen helping Eugene escape that awful prison, he would be long dead by now.
Arianna didn't have to help them. She risked everything to make sure that her daughter ended up happy in the end.
Rapunzel knows she broke a part of her mother's heart that night, yet Arianna had still chosen to let her go. That's a sacrifice that Rapunzel will never be able to repay.
"Well… maybe one day you'll see Cassandra again. And your mom too," Eugene grins at her, rocking against the railing. He didn't know Cassandra or the Queen personally, but he knows just by the way Rapunzel talks about them how much she truly loves them, and how much they love her. He shrugs, his tone humorous again, "'Course, the fact that we're all wanted now kinda makes stepping back into the kingdom a little more difficult."
Rapunzel chuckles softly, despite the circumstances.
"You know what I just realized?" They both turn their heads toward Lance's voice behind them, who is sauntering along the deck toward them, staring at the sky in deep thought. "We've been sailing on this thing for what? A month now? And we still don't have a name for it. So, here's what I'm thinking. Since I'm the one that pirated the ship, we can call it…" He makes a presenting gesture with his hands, as if picturing the words written in the air, "…The Strongbow." Lance announces in a dramatic and whimsical tone.
They stare at him blankly for a moment, before Eugene bursts into laughter. "Are you serious? The Strongbow?"
"Well, what would you name it, Fitzherbert?" Lance crosses his arms across his chest with a pout, saying Eugene's real name with a mocking tone.
"Clearly, I would name it something that people would actually recognize. No offence, Lance, but… I think we both know I'm the more popular one out of the two of us." Eugene copies Lance with the hand motion. "How about… The Notorious Rider?" Eugene nudges him with his elbow, wiggling his eyebrows at his own genius idea even though Lance looks entirely unimpressed. "Huh? Kinda has a ring to it, don't ya think?"
"Guys!" Rapunzel exclaims suddenly, not paying any attention to their usual banter that she has grown used to. "Look, look, look!"
When they whip their heads toward her, she is leaning far over the railing of the ship and pointing at something in the water below.
"What, what, what?" Eugene mimics her, both him and Lance leaning over the edge to see what all the fuss is about.
Suddenly, she has forgotten all about missing home. Rapunzel jumps with excitement, her eyes wide with intrigue as she squeals, "Dolphins!"
As the three peer into the water, Eugene and Lance notice the shimmering silhouettes of what must be a dozen dolphins, racing beneath the waves alongside the hull of the ship.
They breach out of the water one by one, soaring into the air and splashing back down as they whistle cheerfully. Rapunzel has never heard such a sound before.
Eugene crosses his arms, smirking. "Oh, yeah, look at that!" Amused, but neither of them as excited as Rapunzel seems to be.
She beams at the creatures with a wide smile on her face, absolutely fascinated. Rapunzel has never seen dolphins before, only read about them in books. She never thought she'd ever see one, but they are so much more enchanting that she could have imagined.
"They're so beautiful," Rapunzel gapes, mesmerized.
Eugene watches Rapunzel, his heart warming at such an innocent sight. In this moment, it's as if nothing else exists in the world to her, and Eugene swears it makes him fall in love with her all over again.
"Land ho! Raise canvas! Prepare to lower anchor!" The crew shouts across the deck as everyone scurries to their posts, their voices overlapping.
A flock of seagulls have begun to caw above, some of them landing along the posts of the sails. They circle the crow's nest, indicating the mass of nearby land floating on the open sea.
The sails begin to raise as the ship drifts slowly into the bay, the shore forming a half circle around the enormous vessel.
The island is filled with lush green trees, with hills and rocky mountains in the distance that protrude from deep within the jungle. There's a small rickety dock along the pale yellow sand, stretching out of the beach and into the bay.
It's the first island they've spotted in weeks, and the crew has agreed they can't pass it without making a short stop to recuperate. Though, since they have no final destination, they can stay here as long as long as they like, and that freedom is incredibly refreshing.
"All right!" Eugene stretches out his fingers excitedly as the ship prepares to dock. As much as he loves sailing, he can't wait to be on land again. "First thing I'm gonna do… find a nice palm tree to sit under, drink some ale, and do absolutely nothing at all." His grin disappears as soon as he turns over his shoulder, realizing that he is talking to no one. "Rapunzel?" Eugene searches around himself, swearing she was right behind him.
"Whoohoo!"
His heart skips a beat when he hears Rapunzel's high-pitched cheers somewhere nearby, followed by a loud splash.
Eugene rushes to the edge of the deck with mild panic, stopping in front of the wooden plank stretching out over the sea.
Much to his surprise, he spots Rapunzel's long blonde hair poking out from the water below, splaying out around herself and floating on the surface. She smooths her soaking wet hair out of her face and behind her shoulders, breathing in deeply.
Ripples are spreading out all around her as she floats onto her back, wearing a content smile on her face. "Jump in! The water's great!" Rapunzel shouts up at Eugene. It's cool and crisp temperature feels perfect paired with the hot summer sun.
The water is a bright aquamarine color, sparkling from the sunlight. It's so crystal clear that the bottom of the shallow bay is entirely visible, as well as the colorful coral reef below her feet. The ripples reflect off the ocean floor, the white rays dancing along the pale sand at the bottom.
Lance appears next to Eugene, following his gaze. It doesn't take him long to realize what the other man is looking at. Lance only shakes his head at the sight of Rapunzel below. He plants his hands on his hips, snickering at the amusing scene unfolding.
"Oh-ho-ho, sorry, Blondie," Eugene chuckles, raising his hands in protest. "I'm not much of a swimmer. However, I will gladly watch from up here and meet you at the dock later," Eugene says with his arms crossed in front of himself, merely peering down at her and aiming to do nothing else.
"Oh, come on! Don't be like that." Rapunzel calls out, her voice echoing within the bay. She splashes onto her back again, "We're finally free, Eugene! We can do whatever we want now!"
"You know my hair doesn't just look this good on it's own, right?" He points out insistently, entirely serious. "I mean, you of all people should know—" Eugene shrieks as Lance shoves him in the back, sending him stumbling over the edge of the ship before he realizes what's happened.
He lands below with a loud splash, popping out of the water to gasp for air a few moments later.
Eugene shakes his hair out briefly, then peers up the hull of the ship towering high above them, raising his chin.
Lance is standing triumphantly on the deck exactly where Eugene had been standing, puffing out his chest smugly. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch that last part."
"Very funny, Lance!" groans Eugene in annoyance, realizing he should have expected that to happen.
Before Eugene can throw an insult at him just for the fun of it (and because he deserves it), Lance leaps off the plank and canon balls into the water, splashing them both.
Rapunzel laughs, and Eugene winces.
The bustling of the crew can be heard in the distance as the ship anchors nearby.
The three of them hadn't even realized the ship had already parked, too distracted with their own shenanigans that nobody else ever pays any attention to.
The crewmembers prepare the ramp, attaching it to the dock that connects to the beach.
Lance wastes no time in swimming toward the sounds of their chatter, excited to reach the shore.
Eugene glares at his backside as he leaves, and Rapunzel watches Eugene with a guilty expression. She struggles to hold in her laughter at how ridiculous he had looked falling off the ship like that.
"Come 'ere, you," Eugene reaches for her playfully once he notices her smug expression, knowing exactly what she's thinking.
Rapunzel shrieks as she tries and fails to get away, the two of them splashing through the water like children. Eugene hooks his arms around her waist and refuses to let go.
Rapunzel giggles as she absentmindedly finds herself wrapping her arms around his neck, finding no other choice.
He grins at her and her laughter finally dies down, catching her breath.
Rapunzel doesn't stop smiling as she kisses him.
