Chapter 5

Gothel cracked the door of her new room and peeked out. She looked from right to left and then back again to make sure she hadn't missed anyone. Satisfied, she closed her door and locked it. Reaching inside her cape, she pulled out a silver flask of elixir, made from her special flower. All she needed was barely a drop and it would keep her young and healthy forever. She'd lost track of her age or how old she really was; all she cared about was her looks and Rapunzel's death, Right now, all she wanted to get rid of the competition.

She twisted the cap and took a tiny sip. Gothel didn't use this method too often, only when an emergency arose, such as this. She didn't want to take charge, but without Rider around, these two were bumbling idiots, or so she thought anyway. Once out on the road, she would make quick work of the twins and move in for Rider and his new love, the princess. Well, now, wait a second. Maybe she'd just kill off Rapunzel and keep this Flynn Rider for herself. He could be useful; she'd have to see.

There were no mirrors in the room, in fact, she didn't really remember seeing any mirrors throughout the house. No matter; she carried a tiny one just in case. It wasn't her magic mirror; that was back at the castle.

Greta kept her collapsible gold plated mirror in her pocket, right next to the flask. It was her invention and design, at least she thought it was. Gothel had used one of her husband's old pocket watches for this. She replaced the insides of the watch with two small round mirrors, specially made for this purpose. It worked perfectly, especially when there was no lake or pond to admire herself in.

She opened up the case and peeked inside. The gray steaks in her hair had disappeared, leaving the usual black curls. Satisfied, she shut the case and returned the flask and portable mirror to the hidden pocket of her cape.

With a smile on her face, Gothel lay down on the bed. In an instant, she was asleep.

XXXXXX

"What do we now, brother?" Eye Patch asked as his brother paced their room. There were twin beds set up in small master bedroom that they shared. Eye Patch had the one right above the window. Sideburns had the closest to the door. It was a great set up. Eye Patch would signal his brother and Sideburns would take care of the rest.

"We've got to outsmart her," Sideburns whispered, staring at the wall that they shared with Rider's room. He used to hear everything that went on in the twins room and when he didn't like some plan they came up with, Rider would barge in and take over. It had been a great setup, but he was no longer there. The last thing they expected was Rider to walk out on both of them.

"I guess Rider didn't realize how much we need him right now," Eye Patch said a little louder than he should have.

"Shhhh," Sideburns answered, placing his finger to his lips. "Quiet or she'll hear us." He looked at his brother. "We've got to get rid of her, brother, the sooner the better." He looked up at his twin. "She's probably plotting our deaths as we speak."

Eye Patch looked at him. "What do you propose we do?"

Sideburns smiled. "My idea is to try and lose her; let her fend for herself, but we'll have to see how it goes. In the meantime, we play along with her. I want you to watch her movements, day and night. I've got to know what she's up to."

"Well, we've all heard the stories," Eye Patch whispered, "about how she keeps herself young and beautiful."

"Yes," Sideburns nodded. "but that's only in the castle. She's not there now, is she? And what's more, she wants to take over where Rider left off." A smile lit up his face as he turned to his brother. "Forget losing her, she might be more valuable to us than we know. But we need to stay quiet and watch her every move. We can handle that, can't we?

Eye Patch nodded. It wouldn't be the first time and they hoped it wouldn't be the last. Beside, they wanted revenge as far as Flynn Rider was concerned. At least, he did. He was sure his brother felt the same.

"Of course we can, brother. We've done it before, we can do again."

The two smiled at each other. It would work, Sideburns thought as he watched his brother. It had to. Their very lives depended on it.

XXXXXX

In the morning, Shorty indeed filled the Pub Thugs in. Two fugitives were on the run, a young couple. It was rumored that one was a princess and the other was a wanted hunter/bandit and he was pretty sure that it was these two.

Hookhand walked into the common room and spied the two still asleep by the fireplace, the fire long since burned out.

He turned back to rest of the group. "Okay men, there's a decision to be made here. What should we do with these two?"

And so it was decided that, for now, with the blizzard still raging outside, that they would hold on to them, at least hear their side of the story.

"They could be useful here," Bruiser said, pulling out his knitting. He was working on scarf and glove set. He had a few to sell already in the village marketplace. With this weather, he figured that they would get snapped up in no time.

"And from what I hear, this Flynn Rider is a smart guy," Attila said, kneading enough dough for 10 loaves of bread.

"We would need to disguise them," Big Nose said, looking at Killer. "They'd be recognized in an instant with their clothes."

"Not a problem," Killer said, "I'll take their measurements as soon as they wake up."

"And we'll have to get them married," Shorty said, downing his third drink of the morning already. "I'm still a valid justice of the peace."

Big Nose nodded. "Last I looked, you were, Reverend Pike. But you'd better confirm that before you set up any marriages, Shorty. I know you've recently married travelers, but you've got to tell them…"

Shorty smiled accepting his fifth drink. "I know, I'm just an old drunk who likes to dress up as Cupid for weddings. He downed another one, but by this time, he'd lost count. Well, he wasn't going anywhere, was he? Not out in this storm.

"And I always tell them to marry again, just in case."

Lena came entered from the kitchen area, she had been helping Attila with his baking as she did every morning.

"Let's get breakfast on the table, Shorty, I think you can use something solid."

"Nah," Shorty said, downing another drink. "I'm fine." Lena handed him a roll anyway. He would ignore it, but it was a try.

"They're waking up in there," Gunter said as Ulf pointed to the two restless figures inside.

"Let's go find out what they have to say," Big Nose said, as he swung open the counter door. "I don't believe we'll be getting too many visitors today, not in this blizzard."

And they all trooped into the common room where a still groggy Eugene Fitzherbert was getting to his feet. He was helping Rapunzel up when the Thugs descended upon him.