A/N: I apologize again and beg your forgiveness for the lack of updates. I love this story, and by no means will I ever abandon or forget about it. Turns out high school graduation and its festivities consumes a lot more time than I thought, but now that I am a graduate (woohoo!) and don't have to go to school, I will have more time to write. If all goes well I will have another chapter up tomorrow. Please continue to follow, favorite, and review! You, my faithful readers, are amazing! Thank you for sticking with me!
"Time's up," the guard announced from the doorway.
In a flurry of emotion Rapunzel gripped the handle on the prison door and shook it. "No, wait! I think it might open!" She winked at Eugene, knowing he would catch on.
"Get away from there!" The guard came stalking down the hallway, his tall frame barely missing the ceiling. Rapunzel moved down the hallway a few feet toward the advancing guard, and when he began to walk past her to check on the door, Rapunzel inconspicuously stuck out her foot and tripped him, sending him sprawling onto the stone floor.
She immediately eyed the keys attached to his belt and pulled them off, leaning down to make sure he was okay. Yes, he would be fine, though he might have a pretty terrible headache when he woke up.
"Hey! Stop!" The other guard finally looked and saw the scene down the hallway. He began to sprint toward her, and Rapunzel could only hope that the one key she had chosen out of the three on the ring was the right one. She thrust it into the lock and heard a click as the door swung open. Eugene jumped out just as the guard reached Rapunzel and pushed him into the cell, closing the door behind him but leaving it unlocked.
"You laid him flat!" Eugene said proudly as he clapped Rapunzel on the shoulder.
"I hope he's okay..."
"Ah, he'll be fine." He waved it off and looked into his former cell. Rapunzel followed his gaze to see the guard glaring murderously at him. "We'd better get out of here, fast. Come on."
Eugene grabbed her hand and began a mad sprint down the hallway and through the castle. Some of the people still milling about looked at them strangely, but they paid no mind to them. Eugene kept running until they were outside the castle and then skidded to a halt, his breaths coming out in white puffs.
"We have to hide somewhere, before Hans comes back." He snapped his fingers. "The innkeeper. He'll know." With a deep sigh, Eugene ran again, having no trouble maneuvering through the abandoned streets. He stopped outside of the inn, bending over to catch his breath just for a moment. Rapunzel continued on and opened the door to the inn, holding it open for Eugene. He nodded and walked inside, Rapunzel following.
It was like a different world inside the inn; a roaring fire was being kept alive and well in the fireplace, tended by the innkeeper. He looked up at their entrance, and his eyes grew wide. He stood and bowed low, his expression creased in worry.
"Prince Eugene, I tried to stop them, I tried to tell them you were an honest man, thank goodness you're well!"
"Relax," Eugene said in a calm voice, putting on a warm smile. "I'm sure you did everything you could, and I'm thankful for that. All the same, we need a place to hide. I know it doesn't sound good, but-"
"There is no need to explain, Your Highness. Neither I nor my sons have had a good feeling about Prince Hans since he took over Arendelle. Though he may be doing everything right on the outside, it seems like it's all a mask, and after running this inn for thirty years, I can read people well. Besides," he said with a grin, "I have heard nothing but good things about Corona. I trust you. Now if you'll wait a moment, I'll be right back with a map." He lumbered behind his counter and began shuffling several papers and books in various shelves.
Rapunzel felt Eugene stiffen at her side, and fear clenched her gut. The sound of whistling wind outside seemed to intensify, and she shivered in the sudden cold. Had he heard or seen something to put them in danger?
Without warning, he grabbed her hand and pulled her closer so that they were shoulder to shoulder. She looked over at him with a raised eyebrow, recognizing alertness and uncertainty in his eyes. He shook his head, as if answering her unspoken question.
"It makes me feel better when you're close." Though she knew he was talking about her safety, he quickly followed it up with, "You know, 'huddle for warmth' and all that" and a small smile.
"Here we are!" the innkeeper announced in a booming voice. Eugene visibly flinched, and Rapunzel jumped. "Map of Arendelle and the North Mountain." He held a rolled up piece of yellowed parchment in his hands, made his way back over to Eugene and Rapunzel, and displayed the map in front of him.
"We're here in Arendelle, of course," he explained, circling the kingdom with his stubby finger. "Normally to avoid being seen you would have to go around the kingdom on a rocky path to get to the base of the mountain, but now that the fjord is frozen, you can go straight across." He drew an imaginary line from the edge of the kingdom to the bottom of the North Mountain. His eyes flickered up to Eugene's, as if making sure he understood.
"Once you're there, it will be hard to navigate with the snow. But somewhere on the west side of the mountain," he continued, pointing at the location on the map, though it didn't go into much detail on the mountain, "there is a small hut that the ice miners use during the winter. It's not much, but it's safe and Prince Hans won't know about it. It will be vacant now, because technically speaking, it's really summer."
"Right," Eugene said, studying the vague map as well as he could. "Needle in a haystack? Nothing to worry about." He began to push the map back to the innkeeper.
"No, I insist." He pushed it right back into Eugene's hand. "You need it more than I do." His expression grew grim as Eugene tucked the map underneath his vest. "Be safe, Prince and Princess. I'll do anything I can to help you."