Chapter 7

It was the snowiest winter in the history of Corona and its outlying counties, Shorty reported. The only time they would be able to continue their search was when the road between the inn and the main village was partially cleared enough for minimal travel. No one measured the amount, but it was so deep that it stalled travel and trade for almost two weeks. And that wasn't all, Shorty told them, the main road connecting Corona to the rest of it counties was so covered with the deepest snow that everyone would suffer for the rest of the winter, especially if it kept snowing every other day as it had been.

That would be another four months at the most, Shorty said and there was no telling when Flo and Gene Fitzherbert would be able to leave. Something had to be done, Shorty continued. The minute Queen Greta returned to her tower, she would discover that her stepdaughter would still be alive, despite all the precautions they had taken.

"We can't kill her, Shorty," Greno whispered, shaking his head.

"We've got to do something, though," Tor said, "or else she'll be coming up here to find them."

"And then she'll find all of you," Eugene said, as he came in from taking care of Max and Suede and cleaning the stables.

"Finding us doesn't matter much, Eugene," Killer butted in. "We've been out of the thieving business so long, we can't even count."

"The only other thing we can do," Gunter said, is to disguise her so that every time Her Majesty looks into that mirror and she'll see someone else, someone else named Flo Fitzherbert."

They all turned to Fang who along with Killer created puppets and disguises, especially for many of the traveling performers that passed their inn.

"Do you think it'll work?" Rapunzel asked carrying out a big pot of homemade pea soup for everyone. Big Nose had long since told her that dried vegetables, grains and certain fruits were kept in the root cellar. All other food stuffs that needed to be kept cold were stored in the ice house, right next door to the inn.

"Come and get it, boys, while it's still hot."

All the thugs made it over to the table before anyone could say "Soup's on."

"I think it might," Fang said, finishing up his big bowl and handing it back to Rapunzel for a refill. "We'll just have to give it a try."

Rapunzel nodded and looked over at Eugene who was sitting at the head of the table; his brown eyes locked into hers. He had a worried look on his face and fear in his eyes. Rapunzel smiled, grabbed his bowl and filled it to the brim with more pea soup. She'd speak with him later as usual. Meanwhile, she had her job to do.

XXXXXX

The main road between the castle and the tiny farming village of Pern, next door and where the twins were located, was starting to melt. It melted just enough to let the Guards out to scour the countryside for Queen Greta. No one was quite sure where she had gone off to, and the search was called off in a few days. If she wanted to return, they'd give her a few months. If she'd not returned by then, someone else would take her place.

And of course Rapunzel was next in line, but she was missing as well. Something had to be done. But the Queen had to make the return trip on her own. No one knew where she had gotten off to.

XXXXX

"Well?" Gothel asked as Sideburns and Eye Patch said, shutting the front door behind them. It was starting to snow again.

Sideburns shook his head. "The roads are still shut down, especially further up into the village of Perth and beyond. My sources tell us that's where Rider and your stepdaughter were last seen."

"BUT THEY COULD BE ANYWHERE!" Gothel breathed aloud. "We've got to pinpoint their location."

"As we mentioned before, they could be dead," Sideburns said, shaking his head. "We have no way of knowing if they are truly there, Majesty. As we told you before, the two of them have not been spotted since the snowstorm ended. It seems as though both of them disappeared. We have no way of determining the exact place where they might be located."

"But I do, boys," Gothel said, shaking her head. "We need to get back to the castle and quickly before time runs out. I need to know if that little imp is still alive."

Sideburns looked at Eye Patch, then back to the Queen. "We will try tomorrow, Your Majesty, but if it's the same weather as today, we will have to wait until road clears up a bit more. Until then, we stay here or until someone from the castle comes to claim you. We've heard that some of the Guards were out this way a few weeks ago, but they have not been seen since. The snow is still piling up. We might have to wait until spring, my lady."

Gothel was getting angrier by the second. She too wondered why not one single soul from the castle had come to her rescue. They should have knocked on every door to find out who was harboring a queen. That would have been the smart thing to do, but who said that the guards were smart. They were clumsy and foolish and knew nothing about proper procedure and protocol.

Staring up at the two of them, Gothel frowned and shook her head. She got up from her chair and stamped her foot. "I will not tolerate any more of this," she spat. "I thought that the two of you were brave souls who could tackle anything that comes there way. Well, I guess you aren't the same famous twins that I've been hearing about."

Gothel turned her back on them and retreated angrily to her room. She shut the door.

The twins stared at the closed door and turned to one another. Sideburns smiled and Eye Patch cocked his head, looking confused.

"You know more than what you're telling us, brother," Eye Patch said, staring into his brother's face.

Sideburns smiled and shook his head. "I'm not exactly sure where they are myself, brother, they could be anywhere. The one thing I do know is that there is a small inn run by a bunch of former bandits. They call themselves the Pub Thugs."

Eye Patch's eyes widened, but Sideburns told him to take it easy. "Everything will be accomplished in due time."

XXXXX

Rapunzel looked for Eugene everywhere. Desperate to find her husband of three weeks, she ran into the stable. She'd figured that he'd be caring for the horses and the other livestock and telling his troubles to his best friend, Maximus.

And that's just where she found him, pitching hay and getting the horses ready for the night.

"Hi," she said, surprising him, as he turned around to face her.

"Hi youself," Eugene smiled as he put down the pitchfork and placed his arms around her waist. "This is a pleasant surprise."

"What's wrong, Eugene?" she asked him, staring into his brown eyes.

Eugene looked back and shook his head. "Why should there be anything wrong? You're my wife, I love you. It's just that..."

"Just what?" Rapunzel asked, as Eugene's smile disappeared. He untangled himself and picked up the pitchfork again.

"It's just that I'm afraid of losing you, Rapunzel. I should never have put you in such danger to begin with. I should have let you go onward by yourself. I'm not worthy of you. I don't even know how to cope with this. She'll find us, with that magic mirror of hers. She'll find us and track us down and..."

Rapunzel shook her head. She wrenched the pitchfork out of his hands and shook her head.

"We'll get through this together, Eugene. Nothing can happen when we stick together. Don't be such a coward. Where is the hunter/bandit when I need him? I love you."

Eugene looked into her eyes and nodded his head. "And I love you, but I'm not sure about all this."

Rapunzel smiled and looped her arms around his waist. "But I am, Eugene. Together, with the help of the Pub Thugs we will succeed. If their scheme works, we'll be fine. But we've got to set up our own plan and we've got to do it now. Things will work out, my own Flynn Rider. And nothing will stop it."

Eugene smiled. He took her face into his hands and brought it down to meet his. Their lips touched and all thoughts after that were forgotten.

Including the plan, well for right now anyway.