A/N: this is really short and kind of half-assed. i wanted to leave you guys with something before i left for a friend's house. sorry.

Eugene made a long travel to the battlefield with the captain. He had heard that a good amount of soldiers had already faced their death. Eugene dearly hoped that he wouldn't join them. He cheated death twice already. He could do it again, right? Because for him, death was simply not an option.

But Eugene didn't want to think of the negative aspect of all of this. Instead, he vowed on looking on the positive of it. Whatever it may be. But he figured that those thoughts would help him out in the long run. Eugene was determined to return back to his love and have a family.

Eugene kept his eyes on the ground, not wanting to look at the destruction that had already plagued the country side. It was all very discomforting for him. The captain wanted him to give sort of a pep talk to the soldiers that had yet to go out onto the field. Eugene wasn't sure why. He hated talking to people and wasn't much of a motivator either.

After what seemed like an eternity, they had finally arrived to a pavilion stationed at the edge of the forest. Eugene had followed the captain inside, not preparing for what laid in store once climbing it. Apparently this was also the hospital for them. A few soldiers were on stretchers as they had gruesome injuries being tended to. There was also a few dead bodies stationed in the corner. Eugene looked away, trying to shake the image from his mind.

Now he wanted nothing more than to be back with Rapunzel, in her warm embrace, feeling nice and safe.

Eugene turned his attention back to the captain, who was in the midst of giving out a few orders. Once concluding, he motioned for Eugene to follow him. As long as it would get him out of here, he would gladly oblige to the order. The two walked out of the suffocating pavilion, heading towards another section of the forest. Over hear, he heard other shouting, figuring it was a commanding officer giving off orders as well. Once arriving to the area, Eugene could see about twenty new soldiers, all standing at perfect attention. The captain headed over, putting his shoulder to dismiss the officer for now. The captain motioned to Eugene who went over to his side.

"Men." The captain started off, "You are here to serve for your country of Corona in such perilous times that have happened to befallen us. You will serve for us no matter what may happen to us. Do you family and country proud. We are lucky enough to have the Prince Consort in our presence, not only here as his royal duty."

Eugene kept his eyes on the ground, coming to terms of what this truly meant. There was a very large possibility that he wasn't going to return home. The captain looked at Eugene, giving him a pat on the back, signaling for him to speak. Eugene had no idea what to tell these men. He couldn't even keep himself motivated for this.

Eugene cleared his throat, "Well. We are here to fight, obviously." He started off awkwardly, "But if we get this job done quickly and correctly, then we can return home safely."

And that was all that he had to say. He didn't know what else. Because it was true. Hopefully this wouldn't take years to complete. Months, yes. But hopefully not any longer than that.

And with those final words, the men filed out to the battlefield.

xxxx

Rapunzel decided to barricade herself inside her room after talking with her mother. There had to be something that she could do to have Eugene come back. Everything seemed impossible. With Eugene being gone, Rapunzel realized how much she really needed him. For a lot of things. And now, how was she supposed to have a child without him to help her? Despite being back for three years, there was still a lot of things that she was unsure of. At least with Eugene with her, they would have been able to go through this new experience together.

How long would he be gone?

Days?

Months?

Even years?

It pained her to think that he could be gone for so long. And what if he didn't even make it back to her? What was she supposed to do then? How could she live without him. All these questions passed through her mind and made her very uneasy.

There had to be some way that she could ensure Eugene's safety.

Rapunzel hoped that very soon, she would find a way.

xxxx

After Rapunzel had left, her mother went off to find her husband. She hated seeing her daughter in such pain. It was all incredibly discomforting for her. After going through the halls, she had found her husband in his study. He seemed to be intently studying a document in his hands. He obviously didn't hear his wife enter the room.

She made it across the room, setting her hand over the piece of parchment, setting it down. He looked up at his wife, giving her a small smile. He didn't look to happy. Usually he only busied himself with this type of work if that was the case. The Queen walked over to the chair, sitting on the arm rest, leaning against her husband. He looked up at the Queen, frowning.

"Do you think that we should go and tell her the truth?" The King asked.

The Queen nodded, "She deserves to know. It's the least we can do." She replied.

The King nodded and stood up, offering his arm to the Queen. She took it as they slowly made their way to Rapunzel's room. Once arriving there, the Queen gently knocked on the door, "Honey? Can we come in? There's something we need to tell you." She said.

Rapunzel frowned once hearing her mother's voice. She slowly got up off the bed, wiping off the tears from her face. Rapunzel opened the door, giving her parents a confusing look, "What is it?" She asked, gesturing for her parents to come inside the room. Rapunzel shut the door after they did so.

"Honey, it's about why this really happened."