Chapter 16

Rapunzel stared from one to the other, a bit confused.

"Wait a second. You two know each other? Eugene, just what the heck is going on here?"

Bastian shook his head and narrowed his brows. "Eugene?" He smiled. "EUGENE?"

Bastian threw back his head and laughed, he laughed so hard that the twins joined in.

Rapunzel frowned. "AND JUST WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT?" She stared at Bastian. "And what kind of a name is Bastian Smyth?" Rapunzel turned her attention to the twins. "And who the heck are these two?"

"Rapunzel," Eugene turned to face her. "It's a long story."

Rapunzel smiled and folded her arms against her chest. "I have nowhere to go, do you?" She shook her head and stared at everyone. She stepped out and extended her hand toward the brother with the sideburns. "Hi, I'm Rapunzel Fitzherbert and you are?"

Before Sideburns could answer, she turned back to Eugene and Bastian. "Don't you think that it's about time we got this all out in the open? I mean what other surprises have you guys cooked up or was all this staged for my benefit?""

Before anyone could a respond, a new voice boomed from the shadows. "No, Rapunzel, no one even knew that I was going to be here, not even me. This was a last minute addition. No one expected me."

Rapunzel eyes narrowed. That voice, where had she heard it before? She was trying very hard to place it.

And out of the darkness strode a tall, slender man with short, thinning dark hair, bright blue eyes and a mustache and short beard. He was wearing a white shirt with dark black trousers and had a coat draped over his right arm.

Rapunzel's eye grew wide and she gasped aloud when she recognized him. She shook her head and stared at him. "No," she whispered, "it can't be. You're dead."

"I don't think so, Rapunzel, I'm very much alive."

"Father, is that you?" Rapunzel whispered staring into his eyes.

"It's me, my daughter." He spread his arms wide and Rapunzel ran into them, forgetting everyone and everything around her.

"We have to keep this quiet," Eugene said, "there are ears out there,"

Bastian frowned and stared at the King. "What are you doing here, Sire? I mean, how did you get here? We were all supposed to…"

"It didn't happen, did it?" Roland said, releasing his daughter, but placing a protective arm around her. "It does seem though that Rider has fulfilled his part of the bargain, but not the way it was originally planned."

"Um, my lord, he is my husband. We have been living together as man and wife for close to five months now. He confessed to me that he couldn't do what he was hired to do and that was to kill me."

The King put his finger to his lips in a plea for silence. He let Rapunzel join Eugene who was still under the rock along with Bastian and the twins. "The trees have ears," he whispered. He looked up into the sky and noticed that the rain wasn't falling anymore. "We need to find a quieter place and plan our next move. But first, I must make sure of a few things."

He turned to Bastian. "What of the elixir and the flower? Were you able to steal it away from my wife as originally planned?" He turned to the Stabbington boys and pointed. "And who the heck are they?"

"Well, sire, it's kind of …." Bastian started, when he saw the King shake his head.

"From now on, Smyth, the name's Cuthbert or Cuth, you got that?" Roland said, looking around the small group. "I want no titles, no references to my first name, is that clear?"

"Cuthbert?" Everyone said the name in unison.

The King nodded and blushed. "It's my middle name. My mother had to carry on some crazy family tradition, but no matter. We have to move on."

He turned back to Bastian. "We also need a quieter place to discuss this. The cottage is well known, we can't go back there. It's the reason I left." He turned to Rapunzel and Eugene. "Your stepmother is on the move and Bastian's traitor cousin is with her. Their carriage just broke down and they're headed for the cottage. It had to be abandoned."

"They're closer than I thought," Eugene said, shaking his head. "I knew that they'd come this way." He looked up at the King. "She interfered with us, Majes…uh, Cuth. She got in our way. She hired me and the twins here to kill Rapunzel. I mean, we just couldn't come right out and say what we were really doing and besides, the twins are well known for their deeds. They agreed to help when I told them of my plan. The Queen showed up two days later as we were just about to move out."

Rapunzel backed away from her husband. "You didn't tell me any of this, Eugene," she said, shaking her head. "What's going on?"

Bastian stared at Rider as well. "Yeah, just what the heck is going on?"

Roland, or rather Cuthbert, smiled and shook his head. "This isn't the place to talk." He turned to Rider.

"Do you know somewhere we can get this all hammered out?"

Eugene nodded. "Follow me. There is shelter two miles from here. We can hold up in the barn while our friends will protect us at the inn. I don't know how long it will take the old lady to get to find us, though. Rapunzel tells me that she's headed in that direction and if she's at the cottage…"

Cuthbert smiled. "I understand, but the longer we stay here the worse it gets."

"What about the rain?" Bastian said, looking upwards.

"It's definitely stopped." Eugene said, "We need to go." He turned toward Bastian. "Take Cuth on your horse. We need to head for the inn. You can follow us."

"There's no need now," a small voice slurred. Shorty and Suede wandered out of the forest with a spare horse in tow. "Follow me, everything is ready. The horse was for Rapunzel, Cuthbert, but now it is yours."

He turned to Eugene. "I told you someone would come for you when it was all over."