Book I: Serial Dilution
Chapter XIV: Royal Rescue
CRACK!
"Careful, darling."
Queen Arianna smiled thinly at her husband as she placed some wood from the busted carriage wheels on the window that now lay at their feet. She shivered and hugged herself tight, then unsteadily took a match from her pocket, and lit the splinters of wood for the small fire they had prepared. Arianna had actually done most of the work.
She glanced to Frederic with concern.
"How's your ankle, honey?"
The King, who was back against what was once the floorboard, glared at his own leg, propped against a cushion from what had been a seat, when right-side-up. He tried to shift it, then hissed.
"Just a sprain," he insisted. "If it was broken, we'd be a lot worse off than we are now."
Arianna decided not to comment on the fact it couldn't really GET much worse – stranded in the mountains, with practically no provisions, in a precarious spot, and in the middle of a raging blizzard – and simply smiled a frail smile once more. Once the fire had started on the glass panel, she moved back against her husband's side.
"My ankle is the least of our worries," the King murmured, brow knitted pensively. "The Kingdom…Rapunzel…there's so much more to do…and there's so much I haven't told her…"
The Queen placed a hand on her husband's and scooted closer to him.
"She'll be okay, Frederic. Rapunzel doesn't need anybody to take care of her. Usually."
"It's the 'usually' that bothers me," the King said, bluntly, scowl deepening, causing Arianna's own smile to flicker away. "This snowstorm can't be a coincidence, darling. After so many years without her…after so little time getting to know her…"
He went quiet.
Arianna paused…then moved her hand, placing it on her husband's shoulder as her smile steadily returned. The King turned to look at her…and almost timidly smiled back, his bristly moustache twitching.
"She'll make a great Queen someday, Frederic."
There was a pause…and the pair impulsively hugged one another…as a stray curl of cold air put out the blossoming fire.
"Happy Anniversary, Arianna."
"Happy Anniversary, Fred-"
THOOM!
"-What in the world was that?!"
A Little Earlier…
Unbeknownst to the Royal Couple, even as they sat in the ruins of their coach, a familiar horse was marching up the spiraling slope of the mountain road. Maximus ground his teeth, straining against the wind, as his passengers all squinted through the swirls of snow around them to try and spot something.
"Not much farther, eh, Max?" Flynn Rider checked with chattering teeth.
The equine snorted in response.
"I sure hope Their Majesties are all right," Goofy almost whispered, a nervous look in his large, dopey eyes.
"I just hope we don't freeze helping them," shuddered Donald Duck, feathers ruffling from the chill.
A few minutes passed in silence…then suddenly, the great steed came to an abrupt halt. The three hurriedly got off the horse, as he let out a sound of distress.
"What is it, Max?" Flynn inquired. "Are we…?"
He noticed the sad, almost scared look in the normally stalwart stallion's eyes, and turned to see what he had noticed. His own expression matched Max's as he rushed towards it.
"No…!"
Donald and Goofy looked to each other, shrugged, and then followed Flynn quickly. Their hearts sank with his as they found the road ahead had been blocked by a huge mound of fallen snow and ice, along with likely a good number of small stones.
"NO!" Flynn exclaimed in frustration, dropping to his knees and pounding a fist into the ground. The duck and the dog approached him carefully, once again looked to each other, and then patted the man on the back.
"It's okay, Eugene," Donald soothed.
"Yeah. There's gotta be another way to get to 'em!" Goofy reasoned, optimistically.
His optimism was rewarded, for a moment later, Max let out a neigh, calling out to them. The trio turned, and saw the horse looking off into the distance, over the side of the mountain road. The three hurried over, and looked in the same direction. Their eyes widened as, a distance away, and a little below them, they spotted the broken royal coach, lying on its side and partially buried in the snow.
"There they are! Good job, Max!" Eugene cheered.
The white horse smiled proudly.
"Well, gawrsh…how do we get down there?" Goofy mumbled, scratching the back of his head.
The ex-thief glanced about with narrowed eyes…then pointed. The others present followed the gesture of his mitten-clad hand, and spotted a thin ridge, less than two feet wide as it jutted from the side of the mountain. The ridge led to a clear spot not far above where the carriage had crashed.
"We'll have to reach them that way," Fitzherbert said.
"That tiny little thing?!" Donald nearly screeched. "You'd sooner find a horse on that ledge before you get ME to go out there!"
"That is one determined horse," sighed Donald, as Maximus led the way for the group. The four sidled across the ridge, moving with their backs against the mountain wall, steadily maneuvering towards the clearing in the rocks. Donald followed Max, with Flynn following him ("I'm right behind ya, Quackers…literally!"), and Goofy taking up the rear.
Halfway across, Flynn gasped as a loose stone slipped under his foot. The group froze for a moment…and all breathed a sigh of relief as the former convict managed to regain his balance.
"Aw, man…I knew I should have stopped at four doughnuts this morning," muttered Eugene, then lifted a fist and shook it at the sky dramatically. "CURSE YOU, CRULLERS, AND YOUR ALLURING DELECTABILITY!"
"Shhhhhh!" Donald and Goofy hushed, and pointed upwards indicatively.
Flynn snapped his mouth shut, and looked up…then gulped nervously. A huge snowbank loomed precariously over them all; too much noise, and the entire mound would come down.
"Ah…gotcha. Oh, man, I hate snow…"
The other three all rolled their eyes and continued on their way. Finally, they reached the end of the ledge, and hopped down onto the clearing. The wagon that held the royals was now a couple dozen feet below them and a little to their left.
"Okay," Eugene said, taking a deep breath, and put his hands on his hips. "Loyal Sidekicks, the time has come to put 'Operation Future In-Laws' into action!"
And into action they went. First, the trio pulled out two thick cords of rope out of Max's saddlebag. They wound the two ropes together part of the way, knotted them, and formed two separate ends. The team then tied the wound end of the rope somewhat loosely around the stallion's saddle horn, while Donald and Goofy tied the two separated ends around their waists.
"Max and I will hold onto things up here," Eugene said, tightly gripping part of the rope that had sagged into the snow at their feet. "You two climb down and check on the King and Queen. We'll figure out how to save them from there."
The dog and the duck stiffened their postures and saluted, much in the way they often did when addressing their own king.
"Aye-aye, sir!" they chorused, and then loosened their stance as they hurried to the ledge, and then carefully began to make their way down the side. Flynn Rider held the rope firmly, and fed them more to allow them to move downward, while Maximus dug his hooves into the snow with a slight snarl, acting as an anchor.
Once again, halfway down the side of the cliff, there was a problem. Goofy – being Goofy – suddenly felt his foot slip on the icy cliff.
"WHOOOAAA!" Goofy yowled, and Flynn winced above them as the rope jerked. Max let out a short, shrill neigh – the equine equivalent to a yelp – but they managed to keep it set without sliding off or falling.
Goofy swung back and managed to regain his footing. He looked to Donald, and smiled loopily, giving a thumbs-up.
"A-hyuck! That was kinda close!" he chortled nervously.
Donald rolled his eyes.
"Just try not to be so loud," he hissed. "You could bring the whole-"
A single snowflake perched on Donald's bill. The duck blinked…his beak wiggled…he began to gasp…
"Ah…ahhhh…"
This time, it was Goofy who gulped nervously.
"Uh-oh."
"AAA-CHOOOOOO!"
The sneeze echoed everywhere, echoing like a thunderclap. The mountainside seemed to quiver…and then, down the side of the slopes rolled a great wave of white, thick snow.
Flynn watched as the snow fell past him, dumping down over the cliff side towards Donald and Goofy.
"…I really…REALLY hate snow," he grumbled.
THOOM!
"WAAAAAAK!"
"YAH-HOO-HOO-HOOEY!"
On the snow-covered ledge below, the door to the broken carriage opened, and out clambered Queen Arianna. She saw a huge pile of snow – which hadn't been there before – lying near the coach's back wheels. The Queen waded over and brushed some of the snow away…then jumped slightly as Donald's head popped out of the pile.
"Ptooey!" the white mallard spat, snow coming out of his bill as he shook his head fast, knocking it off of his beret. He then sighed. "Well, that could have gone better…"
"You!"
Donald looked up…and grinned cheerfully up at the Queen.
"Your Majesty!" he exclaimed. "We came to rescue you!"
"We?"
"Yes! Me, Max, Eugene…er…hey, where's…?"
"Gawrsh! Who turned out the lights?!"
The pair turned and saw a pair of gangly legs kicking in the air. They glanced to each other, giggled, then Donald flapped free of the snow and held Arianna pull Goofy out and back onto his feet. As the Knight of Disney Castle straightened himself out, Arianna looked up as a familiar voice called down.
"Hey! Everyone okay down there?"
"I'm fine, Eugene!" the Queen called back. "But the King is hurt! We need to figure out how to get him up there to safety!"
"Don't worry," Eugene smiled down at the lady in blue, "Where there's a will, there's a way, and I have both!"
It took time to get everything set, especially with the frigid conditions, but the team worked as fast as they could. First, Donald had climbed back up the cliff. The Queen followed, so Donald could help her onto the wide ledge above if needed. Goofy and Flynn stayed down where the royal wagon had fallen. The ropes were unbound and reconfigured, as Eugene Fitzherbert removed one of the more intact wagon wheels and tied a complex sort of "harness" around it. Goofy then helped hm get King Frederic out of the carriage, before climbing up the cliffside to join Maximus, Donald, and Arianna.
Finally, Frederic sat upon the wheel and gripped the ropes that kept it bound and set tight.
"Okay, Your Majesty; this should hold you," smiled Eugene.
The King nodded, then looked up.
"Are you all ready?" he called.
"Ready!" Arianna, Donald, and Goofy all answered, holding onto the rope. Max, meanwhile, whinnied in the affirmative.
"Alright, steady now!" Flynn called.
Thus, slowly but surely, the Mage, the Knight, and the Queen all worked together to pull the King up to safety. All seemed to go well at first…but Flynn Rider was never one to let his guard down, and he looked worried. Things had gone wrong halfway through their tasks twice now. He had little doubt fate would play a hand to make the third time an absolute charm.
He was, of course, right. Halfway up, the already unpleasant wind kicked up a notch, snow stinging all cheeks like a flurry of white bees as it sprayed about. The pullers all winced and froze up for a second or two…and as they did, the wagon wheel bound by ropes suddenly swung hard. The ropes creaked horribly, and the wood crackled unsettlingly…
Eugene braced himself.
"Oh, no, oh, no, oh, no…!" he muttered, clenching his covered hands into woolly fists as he grit his teeth with worry. One of two things was about to happen, he knew it: either the wheel would break, or the ropes would. He bit his lip, hoping against hope he was wrong…
But, once again, he was, of course, right.
SNAP!
"YAAAARRRRGH!"
"FREDERIC!"
The wheel, remarkably, remained intact…but the rope wasn't so lucky. The harness like ties snapped on one side, and the King cried out as he toppled to one side, and fell back towards the ledge below. Eugene began to lunge forward to try and catch the man (hey, it always worked in the Flynnigan Rider stories), but he was a fraction of a second too late! The King rolled across the snow at his feet, then began to slide feet-first towards the edge of the cliff. Frederic clawed at the frozen earth, trying to stop or at least slow his descent, but nothing helped! Gravity grabbed hold of him, and the King began to howl as he fell over the edge-
WHAPP!
Two hands grabbed hold of his wrist. Flynn struggled and strained to try and pull the King back up.
"Your Majesty…hold on, Y-Your Majesty!" growled Eugene, gritting his teeth as he fought to pull Frederic up…but the King was a larger man than he had realized, and the dead weight began to drag him closer to the edge, as well, instead…
Donald and Goofy gasped, then nodded to each other firmly.
"Your Majesty," Goofy said, "Hold onto this rope and don't let go!"
"Yeah!" Donald quacked, as he and Goofy released the rope and hurried to the edge of the rocky clearing. "We need to get down and help!"
"Be careful," Arianna said, nervously, and tightened her own grip quickly as the Court Wizard and Army Captain grabbed the rope and scrambled down it towards the ledge below…
Meanwhile, Eugene dug the points of his boots into the snow, grinding his teeth as his muscles seemed to groan like rusty gears. He stopped his own descent, but the king's hand was starting to slip…
"Yeesh…guess you had a few too many doughnuts, too, huh?" he laughed nervously.
The King didn't even smile. He glanced down, then back up at Eugene.
"Fitzherbert," he said, softly, "If I don't make it…please…protect Rapunzel…"
"You'll be fine!" Flynn insisted, once again trying to tug the man up. "And you should know by now: Rapunzel…doesn't need…protecting…!"
Each phrase was accompanied by Flynn trying to pull Frederic up higher…but with every pull, it only seemed the king slipped away further! Finally, the former robber's muscles gave out, and Frederic started to cry out once more his hand slipped free, and gravity snatched at him with its cruel claws…
WHAPP-WHAPP!
A feathered hand and another bound by winter gloves grabbed onto the King's arms.
Flynn Rider gasped, grinning with relief as Donald and Goofy managed to get hold of the King. He shook his hand, then slapped it back down on Frederic's back, and the three began to pull the royal liege up again.
"Almost…gotcha…!" Goofy grunted, while Donald growled in his own "ducky" way…
They pulled and pulled and PULLED…till FINALLY, with one last great effort, the trio hauled King Frederic back up and sat him against the cart, safe and sound.
Queen Arianna, who had been watching with interest, sighed with relief. Max, who had been watching the Queen's expression – since he couldn't see what was going on down there from his spot - smiled with some relief of his own.
"Thank you," sighed Frederic with a tired sort of smile. "I'm grateful to you all."
"A-hyuck! Gawrsh, it was nothin'!" Goofy blushed.
"What're heroes for?" Donald grinned, puffing out his chest proudly.
The King smirked at the pair, then looked to Eugene seriously.
"Rapunzel," he urged. "Flynn, what's happening back in the Kingdom? My daughter…is she safe?"
"Let's focus on getting you out of here," Flynn suggested. "Then we can talk about Blondie. Sidekicks? See if there's another rope in the carriage. We need to secure that wheel better…"