Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry for posting this late! I feel bad about making you wait so long. I've been busy with Christmas stuff, and such. This was not easy to write, and I could have done taken this in other directions (some alternate chapters may pop up later). I hope it's worth the wait! (I tried.) I made it longer! It's the longest chapter yet. Do I get points for that? : P

Chapter 4: Return to The Snugly Duckling

Eugene was happy to be with Rapunzel. He was savoring his time with her, knowing that he would have to leave her once they reached the kingdom. Believe me, it was the absolute last thing he wanted to do. He could imagine leaving her, after all they'd been through, but he knew it was going to happen. So he was savoring it all before it all disappeared.

Rapunzel was happy to be with Eugene. She was happy to be outside, in the big, wide, world, seeing and experiencing things she couldn't even imagine days ago. However, she couldn't get thoughts of "mother" out of her head. Gothel was the only human she'd known for 18 years, after all, and she had been using her and lying to her and brainwashing her the whole time. Rapunzel couldn't help but wonder what was real, and what wasn't.

"The plague… is the plague a problem?"

"Nope." Eugene smirked.

"And what about poison ivy? And quicksand?"

"They're easy to avoid if you know what to look for."

"I know that she lied when she said I can't trust other humans. I can trust you."

Eugene smiled at that. Not many people trusted him.

Rapunzel continued. "Cannibals?"

Eugene laughed at that one. "I can honestly say, I have never met a cannibal."

Rapunzel sighed, not getting the joke. "She lied about everything… I wonder if anything she told me was true…. Do you think she loved me?"

It was a tough question that Eugene didn't know how to answer. But he said, "I think she loved your hair, and your obedience, to be honest."

Rapunzel's face fell. "Oh." She thought, and said "But that's basically all that there was to me. My hair, and my obedience. Now, they're both gone…"

Eugene sighed. "Rapunzel, there is so much more to you than that. If she couldn't see that, then she must have been blind."

Rapunzel smiled. "Do you mean that?"

"Of course." Eugene squeezed her hand gently. Everyone was silent for a minute.

"So… Are snakes a problem?"
"Only the poisonous ones."

"Large bugs?"

"Only the poisonous ones."

"She obviously lied about ruffians and thugs being an issue. The guys at The Snugly Duckling are really nice."

Eugene sighed. "Not all ruffians and thugs are bad, but they aren't all good. It's not black and white like that. Remember the Stabbington brothers?" Rapunzel shook her head, which Eugene took as a cue to continue. "Those big guys that tried to kidnap you?"

Rapunzel looked down. "Right. Them. I had actually almost forgotten about them."

Eugene felt bad about having to bring up a bad memory. "Just be careful. She may have exaggerated how terrible the world outside your tower is, but don't assume that everything is safe."

Rapunzel ignored him as a thought occurred to her, being the most important thing to her at that moment. "Let's visit them! I want them to know that my dream came true!"

They had been traveling faster than the first journey to the kingdom, because with Rapunzel on Maximus, she wasn't running off everywhere. By this time, they were actually quite near The Snuggly Duckling, so a visit wasn't out of the question. Max and Pascal weren't too fond of detours, but there wasn't much they could do about it. Eugene just wanted to continue on with their journey, too, but he hated letting Rapunzel down.

"Sure," he said, much to Rapunzel's delight. "I should thank them for rescuing me, anyway."

This was news to Rapunzel. "They rescued you?"

"Yep," Eugene replied, realizing he'd never explained how he escaped his hanging. "I was about to be hung, but they saved me just in time. So I could save you."

Rapunzel smiled. "That's really nice of them. Maybe their dreams have already come true, too!" Rapunzel said, excitedly.

Eugene hated bursting her bubble, but it had to be done. "It doesn't work like that," he said.

"It did for me! A lot can happen in a day or two."

"Not for most people." He sighed. He loved her, but she was hard to get through to at times.

The unlikely team arrived at The Snugly Duckling shortly. Eugene let Rapunzel enter the establishment first. She pushed the doors open shyly. She felt strange without her frying pan. She had never been outside her tower without it, but she had forgotten it in her tower. She felt safe with Flynn, and she felt safe where she was, but still- she felt strange without her frying pan. Pascal was outside with Max, and that was strange too (being without him). Eugene was standing by her side by now. Rapunzel didn't know what to say to everyone there, so Eugene announced their arrival. "We're back, good sirs! Blondie and me, though she isn't blond anymore. Long story."

"Her hair's short now," said the thug who had blood in his mustache. "I thought she was growing it out."

"She changed her mind," Eugene replied. "Blondie, look! He still hasn't gotten the blood out of his mustache."

Rapunzel found the thug with the hook hand, who was sitting next to the thug with the big nose. She gently tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around quickly, with a sneer on his face, which disappeared once he realized whom it was. "It's you!," the hook handed thug said. "The girl with a dream."

Rapunzel smiled. "I came to tell you, both of you, that my dream came true. I thought that you'd want to know."

They both smiled. "That's great," the big nose thug said. "Flynn didn't mention that when we rescued him... but he didn't have much time for talking."

Eugene joined Rapunzel now, hating not being at her side. It was something he'd grown accustomed to. "Back off, boys. She's mine," he said jokingly. Then added, "I never really thanked you for saving my life, so thank you. All of you."

"Glad we could help fellow dreamers," the hook handed thug said.

"Speaking of dreams," Rapunzel said excitedly, "have yours come true yet?"

Both thugs shook their heads. "Not yet," one said.

Then Rapunzel's face brightened, and Eugene could tell she'd gotten an idea.

"Oh no," he said. "What are you thinking of doing?"

"I can help you!" Rapunzel said. "I'm the lost princess, which means I must have some kind of authority! I'm sure the kingdom could use a pianist, and have plenty of girls who could love you, and need a interior designer, and someone to bake cupcakes, and I knitter, and a sewer, and-"

"Blondie, stop," Eugene said, pulling her aside and interrupting her. "Don't make promises you can't keep."

"But I know I can help them! And I never back down on a promise," Rapunzel said, stubbornly. "Remember?"

"But you can't guarantee anything you can't control!" Eugene said.

Rapunzel cocked her head to the side, looking confused.

"Look," he sighed. "You don't know what the king and queen will do once we reach the castle. I doubt that they'll believe that you're really their daughter if you show up with a group of thugs!" He quickly turned around to the others. "No offense, guys."

The thugs agreed that none was taken.

"Eugene, I'm just trying to help their dreams come true…" Rapunzel said, sadly.

"Well, you can't. Not right now." Eugene hated to say it, but it had to be said. "You need to think about yourself for a chance."

"But…" Rapunzel looked into Eugene's eyes. "I want to help them. And I know I can!"

Eugene just couldn't get through to her. "If all goes well when we get to the castle, we can come back, and bring these guys a long. Okay?" He regretted saying it, and didn't know what he'd gotten himself into by saying it.

Rapunzel smiled a bit. "Okay. It will all go well. I know it will."

Eugene wasn't so sure, but seeing Rapunzel happy made him happy.

The two of them waved goodbye to everyone, and then left The Snugly Duckling. Max and Pascal were happy to see them, but by now, it was getting late, and there was still quite a way to go until they reached the castle. They had to keep going.