Chapter Three: The Road at Large

Rapunzel sat across the fire, curled in Eugene's cloak snugly, eagerly waiting for him to return with more firewood. As Pascal snored lightly, curled along her side, she couldn't help but shake off the sense of déjà vu.

She half-expected Gothel to appear from the bushes behind her grinning madly, 'Well, hello, little flower.'

Shaking the thoughts away she repositioned herself, so the cloak was over her head, as if it would protect her like her hair once had.

Rapunzel's chest tighten as the weight of everything finally began to set in. Gothel was dead, Eugene was still wanted at the Kingdom where he was currently re-escorting her, and her magical hair that glowed had been cut.

Also, she was the Lost Princess.

She sighed loudly, resting her head on her knees, as doubt slowly seeped into her mind. What if she wasn't? What if having Eugene bring her to the Kingdom only resulted in the King and Queen rejecting her and fulfilling Eugene's execution?

While the idea of being alone scared her, the thought of Eugene dying again threatened to shattered her to pieces.

She was ripped from her thoughts as she heard whistling and Eugene's form made his way back to their campsite.

"So, I was thinking," he grinned as he dropped the firewood to the side of a log. "Since your magical tear drop brought me back to life, does that mean that the powers from your hair are part of me now?"

"Probably not," she said lowly, staring at the fire as he added more wood. "You're not getting Super powers, Eugene."

"But it would be so useful!" he insisted, before facing her and seeing how badly she looked. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she mumbled, wrapping herself tightly with the cloak, only her eyes and nose visible.

"You don't look fine," he said finally, turning his entire body on the log to lean before her. "What's wrong?"

"I'm just tired," she answered, still focused on the fire. "It's been a long day."

"Did what the thugs say get to you? About me being wanted at the Kingdom?"

Rapunzel buried her head in her hands, groaning. A heavy silence fell over them, as Eugene stared at her and the tiny chameleon that snored besides her. He turned to Maximus for assistance, who motioned with his head back to Rapunzel.

Making his way over, he took a seat next to her on the log. Sheepishly she uncovered one eye, inspecting him from behind her fingers. He gathered her up in his arms, hugging her she pressed her face into his chest, breathing in his scent.

"You should leave," she mumbled into him, as he held her.

He chuckled, but she took her hand in his.

"I'm serious," she pressed. "If you go with me they're going to arrest you. You should leave now, while it's dark. I'll go into the Kingdom with Maximus and you can-"

Her babbling was broken as he kissed her, passionately enough to fog her mind and lose her train of thought. She wasn't aware of how much she wanted the kiss until it started, a reminder of their changed relationship. They weren't just Flynn and Blondie off to see the lanterns, they were Eugene and Rapunzel and this journey wasn't entirely happy.

Keeping contact, she climbed onto his lap, digging her hands through his hair as he ran his own down her sides, cupping her rear beneath the cloak.

She gasped at the contact, leaving an opening for him to deepen the kiss. He traced his hands upwards as she moaned into him, still so new to sensations like this, still unaware she could feel this good, even when she was feeling so bad.

He was the first to pull away, feeling weird blatantly necking Corona's new Princess in front of the palace's finest horse. He rested his forehead against her's, their lips still barely touching, tickled by each other's breath. Her hands ran through his hair, as if attempting to tousle it back into place, unsuccessfully.

He was brought back by Rapunzel's tiny voice, speaking against his lips.

"I can't have you die again," she said softly, her freckled nose touching his.

"I won't," he answered, just as softly. "At least not for a while."

"How do you know?"

"Because you are the Lost Princess," he said, realizing how stupid it sounded when she pulled away from him, still in his lap but now looking at him as if he grew another head.

"What?"

"I don't know how I know, but I just do," he explained slowly. "There's something about you that's just...indescribable. If you're not the Lost Princess, then you're some kind of weird magical being. You just have something about you...that's too wonderful to be normal."

She smiled, and he ran his hand through her newly chopped locks - his handy-work.

"Are you scared?" she asked, her arms coiled around his neck.

"Me? Scared?" he laughed, overzealously. "Well, now you're just being silly."

Giggling, she kissed his forehead, leaving a trail down to his lips where she pecked him chastely, enjoying the intimacy. Finding a comfortable place on his shoulder, she snuggled into him, closing her eyes. He readjusted the cloak on her, making sure she was warm. He turned to Pascal to see that he was still sleeping on opposite end of the log. Careful not to wake him, Eugene took the small chameleon in his hand, bringing him closer to their warmth.

Looking down at his situation, he wondered when did he become so considerate?

Staring past the fire, he locked eyes with Maximus, who was shooting him mocking grin. He pursed his lips in thought, before whispering to the horse.

"Hey, Max? C'mere for a second."

Tilting his head to the side, Maximus looked at Eugene with confusion. Slowly, he made his way to thief's side, still looking baffled.

"I just wanted to say thank you," he whispered, slowly. "For everything. We wouldn't have made it this far without you."

Grinning wildly, the horse puffed his chest, he leaned closer to Eugene as if to say, "Yes, go on..."

"All right, all right, don't get such a big head about this," he rolled his eyes, before taking a deep breath. "But...what I really want to talk about is something more serious. It's a big favor to ask after all you've done, but really you're the only one I can trust with this."

Knowing already what he was about to say, Maximus looked down at the sleeping girl in Eugene's arms sincerely.

"If something does happen to me," he managed. "Just make sure she's okay, all right?"