Chapter 15

Eugene has an extra bounce in his step as he strolls out toward the guard tower. His hair is still damp from his rushed bath, and even though he's a bit concerned that he might miss Walter entirely he can't wipe the smirk off his face so he doesn't even bother to try. As it so happens, he's not too far behind the ex-captain and he catches sight of him a half block ahead, walking away from the guard tower, down the street, into town.

Eugene's grin grows to the point where it can only be described as shit eating, and he picks up his pace to catch him. "Hey," he shouts. "Hold up a sec."

The captain looks over his shoulder and comes to a stop, frowning as he sets eyes on his least favorite person on earth. He's out of his bright red uniform again, and even though he's dressed quite nicely and even though he is still carrying himself with dignity, he seems somehow shabbier, shorter, less intimidating. He drops the bag he was carrying full of his meager personal effects onto the ground, and plants his hands on his hips.

"What do you want, Rider? Come to gloat?"

"I'm mostly here to kick your ass for trying something with my girl," Eugene says with a smirk. "Gloating's a bonus."

Before Walter can get out his derisive snort, Eugene throws a punch hard and fast and aimed at his face, which the captain grabs and blocks before throwing a punch of his own. With a twist and a spin, Eugene avoids the blow entirely and rams his elbow backwards into the captain's stomach, causing the man to stagger back a few scuffling steps with an oooff!

They stare at each other for a moment as the people in the street around them pause in their daily activities and watch the scene in awed, tense silence. Eugene smirks and the captain's eyes narrow.

With a growl, the captain flies forward, years of battle training and war tactics and a championship boxing title on his side. He rails at Eugene with a flurry of punches, powerful and swift and vicious, but Eugene taps into his own experience as easily as slipping into cool water, and he ducks and dodges, light on his feet, bending and twisting to avoid most blows and block the rest with his forearms, which sting with every hit until his reddened flesh turns raw.

He throws his head and shoulders back and to the right, and the captain's fist sails past his cheek. With a series of quick steps Eugene manages a glancing blow against the other man's kidney, then with another quick dodge he moves in for a choke hold, only to be head butted away. Pain blossoms across his forehead and the captain lands a solid blow to his stomach, which hurts like hell and would probably make him lose his lunch had he eaten any. But he holds his own and blocks the next punch, not giving into pain or doubling over or showing weakness other than to grunt as the air is expelled from his lungs.

The captain slides a half step back, then throws a roundhouse kick at Eugene's face. Mixed martial arts was not what Eugene was expecting, but he manages to grab the leg with both hands and dampen the blow enough so that he is only pushed violently to the side, his heels scraping into the ground, raising a cloud of dust. He has the bright idea that he should twist the leg he's holding to bring his opponent down, but the captain is ahead of him, already throwing another punch, and Eugene has to drop his advantage to protect himself, slipping easily back onto the defensive.

And then he sees his chance. Bob left, bob right, and –

"Bam!" he shouts as an uppercut makes contact with the captain's overly pronounced chin. And Bam! A left hook to the nose.

Eugene does a fantastically obnoxious gloating victory dance as the captain splurts and snorts blood out of his nose.

His eyes widen and his dance ends abruptly as the captain bellows with rage, throws himself forward, and tackles Eugene to the ground. They grapple with one another, rolling across the dusty street, all form and style abandoned as they brawl, fueled by righteous anger. One of the captain's hands clenches around Eugene's throat and he grits his teeth and yanks the man's hair and punches him in the side again and again and again as dark spots pop before his eyes.

And then something grabs the back of his shirt, the captain is yanked away, and Eugene's vision and airways slowly clear enough to see that the townspeople have decided that enough was enough. He coughs and shrugs off the hands restraining him so he can cringe and rub his throat. Just out of reach, the former guard glares at the two townspeople holding him back and starts to wipe at his nose, leaving behind a smear of blood.

"Good Lord, Rider. Can't you control yourself for five minutes?"

"Not when someone makes a move on Blondie just because they've got some stupid vendetta against me."

"You think I spent time with her just to get to you? Just to make you jealous? You're insane."

"You tried to steal my girl and rub it in my face."

The men who had pulled the combatants apart shift awkwardly, ready to grab the thief turned princess' lover and the disgraced Captain of the Guards, but unsure if they should be listening in on something so private. They silently agree that they should stay put. Not only can they break up the violence, but they'll have a great story to tell later.

"Oh, grow up!" the captain shouts. "Not everything is about you. I spent time with your girl because I like her. She's sweet and kind and funny. She lights up a whole room just by smiling. I would spend time with her even if you had never been born. Rescuing her from you was just icing on the cake."

"Rescuing her? Seriously? Is that what you've been up to?"

"I know you, Rider," the captain hisses. "I've been chasing you for three years. I've seen the aftermath of your little adventures. I've met the men you've stolen from, the men you've backstabbed, the women you've used and ditches the next morning, the bar owners and stable hands who you sweet talked out of paying, and even the black market contacts you've swindled, and I've seen your complete lack of remorse. I know you. I know that you are a dishonest criminal who is not to be trusted, and I will not have you hurt the royal family, this country, or Rapunzel."

Eugene stares at him, his face slackening and his stomach knotting with guilt. No, it couldn't be guilt because he doesn't feel sorry for anything he's done. It must be something else – something else that makes him drop eye contact and lower his voice. "I've changed."

The captain snorts. "Right. Of course. You met just the right girl and she changed your malicious, deceitful ways overnight. You saw the light and now you're on the straight and narrow. An upright citizen. Please excuse me if I don't buy that load of a fairytale."

The knot in his stomach tightens to the point where he feels a bit sick. Must be from that punch. He shrugs. "It's a miracle."

The captain rolls his eyes. "I've no idea how you've managed to fool absolutely everyone this time. It makes me sick."

"You know what? Think what you want. I'm done talking about my past with you. That's not what this is about. This is about you attacking Blondie."

The captain blinks at him in confusion. "Attack? What are you talking about? I would never attack her."

"Attack. Molest. Generally freak her out. Whatever you want to call it doesn't really matter. You upset her and now you have to deal with me. Ready for round two, or do you need a mop for your nose?"

The captain doesn't move, holding perfectly still as he allows his mind to inspect this new concept, letting it sink in, trying to ascertain if it is true. "I- I upset her?"

The look of surprise and concern in his eyes is so genuine that it gives Eugene pause. "…Yeah."

"But I thought…" the captain's eyes flick back and forth across the ground at his feet, as if trying to replay his encounters with Rapunzel, the time they shared, the feelings lit in his chest. "I thought she liked me," he murmurs, more to himself than to Eugene.

Ouch. Eugene sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "She probably does. She likes everyone, you know. But not like that. She's vulnerable and naïve and you took advantage."

"I did nothing of the sort. She was sending me signals."

Eugene bristles slightly, but lets it pass. "No. She wasn't."

The captain's head shoots up to give him the full force of a glare. "Yes. She was. I know it. You're lying. Again."

"No."

"You're lying and that's how you convinced the king to relieve me of my duty."

"I didn't know you'd been fired until he told me this morning. Wish I did, but I had nothing to do with it. The king made that decision for himself after Goldie spent the evening crying on her mother because she was so scared and confused."

The captain's stony face falters. "I- I made her cry?" He stares up at the castle, almost as if looking for Rapunzel so she can reassure him that this is all just Rider and one of his lies. Of course all he sees is the motionless facade of stone posed against a cloudless sky. "I never meant to hurt her."

"Well, it is easy to do," Eugene admits. He doesn't know why he admits it. A tingle of pity starts to nag at him before he shakes it off. Walter's a prick and he doesn't feel warm and fuzzy enough to go looking for his humanity.

The captain thinks for a few moments, then takes a deep breath. "Is she alright?"

"…Yeah. She will be."

The captain nods absently. "Good." He dusts himself off, and steps forward to pick up his discarded bag. The townspeople near him twitch, but he waves them off with an easy hand movement.

"I hope for her sake that you have had a miraculous transformation. I really do hope it's true. But in my line of work I've come to believe that there are no miracles."

With that he shoulders his bag, turns on his heel, and walks away.