A/N: i meant to get this out sooner. :c i lost motivation for it and i'm leaving on camp for a week and i wanted to leave you guys with something before i left. i'm finally knowing where i want to go with this, so. i hope you like it.
Rapunzel had arrived at the kingdom within a few hours. She hated the fact that she had to leave her babies alone, but Eugene was in trouble and she needed to get him. Alexander made her feel incredibly uncomfortable the entire way there. His unnecessary touches began to get on her nerves. Luckily before she didn't anything extreme, they arrived at the kingdom. Her parents had sent their best guards to accompy her, making sure nothing bad would happen. They tried to convince her out of going, but she refused.
Both guards stood on either side of Rapunzel as they made their way to the castle. Elthon stood there, waiting to greet him with a sickening smile on this face. Rapunzel clutched one of the guards as he only frowned at her. Elthon greeted his brother with much enthusiasm and tried to embrace Rapunzel in the same way.
"Princess. It's such a pleasure to meet you!" Elthon exclaimed, the fake attitude seemed to be dripping off him.
"Let's just cut the chase, Sir. I am in no mood for pleasantries. Where is my husband?" Rapunzel demanded, clenching her fists tightly. Elthon immediately frowned and scowled at her. He crossed his arms over his chest, and with a roll of his eyes, walked closer.
"Come on, Princess. Loosen up. We've got time to see him. How about some tea?" He asked, offering his arm to her. Rapunzel frowned and took a few steps back.
"Look. I'm sure you want to cut to the chase." Rapunzel said, "Let me get my husband back, and then we can discuss ending this war and coming to a peaceful ending with it. Please."
Elthon frowned and only sighed. Might as well humor her to get what he needed. He nodded to his guards as they began to walk. Rapunzel followed behind, keeping her guards close to her. Elthon did not seem pleased with this. Once arriving to the entrance, he asked her guards to leave. Rapunzel reluctantly agreed. They walked until he arrived they arrived at his cell.
"Don't get comfortable in there. I'll give you a few minutes before we talk." Elthon said harshly, opening the door for her to enter.
Eugene heard the door open. He did not move from his corner, figuring that it was Elthon back, coming to beat him senseless. Rapunzel had trouble adjusting to the site in the room before looking for Eugene. He was huddled in the corner. She frowned and rushed straight over to him
"Eugene? Honey. Can you here me?" Rapunzel asked, gently stroking his face. Eugene winced and tried to move back. He looked up, seeing Rapunzel. Was he hallucinating now? Was she really here? Rapunzel frowned when Eugene moved back. She saw the cuts on his face & arms and the lash marks on his chest. There weren't that many. Until she saw his back. That was the worst, "Oh Eugene." She said quietly, trying to hold back her tears.
Eugene didn't care how much he hurt, all that mattered was Rapunzel was right here. He threw his arms around her, clutching onto her for dear life, "Rapunzel.. Why did you come? You need to get out now. Please." He begged, holding her even tighter, "He's going to kill you."
Rapunzel had her arms around him as well, being careful of his wounds. She looked at him with disbelief. He wanted to kill her? But why? What did she have to offer? Nothing. Rapunzel gently pressed her lips to the top of his head.
"Hey. I'm going to get you out of here." She said quietly, "And you can see the kids for the first time. They've grown so much." Eugene felt his heart break. He buried his face into her neck, letting out a strangled sob.
"Rapunzel. You don't understand. He's never going to let me go until he gets what he wants. And that's not going to happen." Eugene said, quietly, eying the door, "Apparently there's some sort of all powerful weapon he wants. But to get it to properly work, he needs the flower. I told him that was destroyed because you had it, and now it's out of you. And-d he thinks killing you is going to make it work."
"I.. Eugene. That's not going to happen, alright?" Rapunzel said, not believing her own words. She knew this man was capable of much. And that included killing her, "When?" She asked, quietly.
"Not now. I know that much. You aren't even suppose to know about this." Eugene muttered, "Next time he asks you to come down here, please don't do it. I love you." He finished, pulling her into a kiss. Rapunzel didn't want to let go until she heard someone clear their throat. It was Elthon. She pressed her lips to his head before standing up. Luckily, he didn't hear their conversation.
She started to walk to the door before it was shut, "What are you doing?" She asked, trying to open the door. Elthon grinned at her.
"Let's just say this is going to be a little sort of warning, Princess." He said. With a snap of his hands, two guards grabbed Rapunzel, holding her in her spot. She started to thrash about.
"Let her go!" Eugene said, weakly, struggling to stand up and face him. Elthon just sneered and threw a punch to Eugene's face, causing him to stumble backwards, crashing to the ground. That made Rapunzel incredibly angry as she started to yell. Elthon just ignored her and put Eugene in the normal spot. He walked over to one of his guards, taking his whip and knife from him. Rapunzel struggled more and the guards just held her tighter.
"What are you doing to him?" She yelled, thrashing about even more. Once again, Elthon ignored her and began his normal routine.
Each crack of the whip.
Each lash mark.
And each yell that came from Eugene was breaking her heart.
The tears ran down her face as she tried to get out of the guards grasps. With that final lash that made Eugene go limp, Rapunzel yelled as loud as she could for her guards. She broke hold of the other's grips and ran straight towards Elthon. She began pounding on his back, shouting unlady-like things at him. Elthon groaned and turned around, striking Rapunzel across the cheek. She fell backwards, rubbing the already bruised cheek. Just in time, her guards came through the doors, taking immediate action. With a quick strike, they had Elthon unconscious and was now underarrest.
Rapunzel quickly got up and took the keys, unlocking Eugene. Once doing so, he fell to the floor, still in a heap. He was barely breathing. Rapunzel couldn't believe what she had just seen. Why would anyone do that? At least she could get him home, but he couldn't travel like this. She at least had to clean and bandage him. Rapunzel called harshly for the guards to get her water, a rug, and plenty of bandages. Within a few minutes, Eugene had all his wounds covered and another guard picked him up, carrying them out to the carriage. She sat down as the placed Eugene next to her. His head was placed in her lap as she gently stroked her hair. He looked so weak and fragile for once. There was a slight rise in his chest, indicating that he was indeed breathing. But he showed no signs of waking up.
After a few hours, they finally arrived at the castle. The prince was sent to jail, making sure he was in a heavily guarded cell. Rapunzel hurried as they got Eugene inside and in their room. A physician quickly came. Her parents had come with the kids, as she took them both in her arms. She cradled them while waiting for the physician to finish. After what seemed forever, he finally came out.
"Well. He's in a very weak state. I do not know when he will wake or if he will at all. But we've given him things to help heal. Hopefully Mr. Fitzherbet will pull through." He said, "But you may go see him."
Everyone was relieved for the most part. Rapunzel turned to her parents and simply nodded, "Go on, honey. We'll see you later." Her mother said, giving her a comforting smile. Rapunzel nodded and took the kids inside the room, closing the door behind her. She sat down next to him, as the kids stayed in her lap. Rapunzel bent down, gently kissing his forehead
"I hope you'll wake up soon, Eugene." She muttered, trying to keep herself from crying, "I can't wait for you to see the kids. I've told them a lot about you. I bet they are very eager to see you." Rapunzel glnaced down at the children, who were now a bit younger than one. She let out a sign, "Oh, Eugene." She mumbled, stroking his face.
Eugene slightly stirred once feeling Rapunzel's touch and opened his eyes, "Rapunzel?" He asked, quietly, trying to ignore the pain, "Where are we?" Rapunzel looked down in disbelief. He was awake and safe. And hopefully doing fine.
"Eugene. Oh, honey." She muttered, "You're home. The guards I brought came down and rescued us. But you took a horrible beating. I'm just glad you are safe." Eugene gave her a half-smile, trying to sit up but only made it half way, "Don't overwork yourself, honey. I have someone for you to meet."
Eugene smiled once seeing the babies. It made him feel better, "This is Henry and here is Alys." Rapunzel said, gesturing to the green-eyed boy and hazel-eyed gir. She gently handed them both to Eugene as the kids seemed to take a sudden interest in him. He held them, feeling much happier than he had in a while. Rapunzel cuddled closer to him, running a hand over Henry's head.
"You know we made some cute babies." Eugene said, trying to hide the evident tears in his eyes. Rapunzel looked over and smiled, slightly laughing, holding back tears of her own.
"Yeah. I guess we did." She agreed, resting her head against his shoulder.