XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Do you know what this is about?"

"No. He just said he wanted to see both of us in his study right away. That's all I know."

Rapunzel hurried after her mother, holding her skirts up off the floor so that she didn't trip. The king had sent a servant to fetch them, asking to see them immediately. Rapunzel was more than happy to leave her nighttime etiquette lesson and quickly obliged. She met up with her mother after rushing down a few hallways. He had never had to call both of them so urgently before. Rapunzel wondered what it was all about.

They finally reached the door to the study and the queen pushed it open. The king was not seated behind his desk like Rapunzel had expected him to be. Instead, he was looking out the window, hands firmly clasped behind his back and his shoulders tense. He didn't seem to notice their arrival.

The queen opened her mouth to say something, but the king pointed to the desk before any sound was made. "Read it," he said without looking at them.

Rapunzel watched as her mother slowly moved over to the desk and picked up a scroll of paper with a broken seal. Rapunzel watched her face begin to drop as her eyes bounced back and forth across the paper, reading the contents. She looked up with a half horrified expression on her face.

"When you said we owed a lot of money, I didn't realize it was this much," she said in a hushed tone, allowing the hand holding the paper to fall to her side.

The king turned around, his face contorted with angst as he shook his head, staring at the ground. "I keep getting more and more of these claims. Even if we tripled the taxes we would not even be close to having enough."

"But.. but..." the queen could not think of anything useful to say.

"Is there something we can do?" Rapunzel piped up.

Her parents exchanged concerned glances and didn't say anything. Something had passed between them in that glance. Something important and Rapunzel wondered why they weren't telling her.

"Mother?" Rapunzel asked after several moments of tense silence.

The queen shook her head. "No. We couldn't do that," she said to her husband.

"Do what?" Rapunzel wondered.

"She's already had enough worry and stress on her shoulders," the queen continued, not seeming to have heard Rapunzel's question.

"I know. But what other choice do we have?" the king asked.

"I refuse to put her through something like that. Especially after her loss."

"But what can we-?"

"She needs more time!"

"We don't HAVE time! We will be taken over by all these kingdoms of whom we are indebted within a week if we do not pay this off!"

The two royals seemed to have forgotten that Rapunzel was in the room. She was in shock that they were arguing. She had never heard either of them even come close to raising their voices before. Now they were almost screaming at each other and Rapunzel was pretty sure it was about her.

"Can you imagine being forced into something like this after all she's been through?" the queen demanded, disgust and outrage clear in her voice.

"I know! You think I really want to do this to her? She's my daughter too, you know!"

"Then tell her! Tell her what you want her to do and see if she agrees!"

Rapunzel swallowed hard. "What do you need me to do?" she asked timidly.

The queen took a deep breath, regaining control over her temper, and raised her eyebrows at the king. "Go ahead. Tell her."

Rapunzel cautiously turned her eyes on her father, unsure of how dreadful this information she was about to hear would be. The king cleared his throat and fiddled with a pendant around his neck.

"In order to attain enough money to pay off these debts, we would have to unite with another kingdom and share the wealth of both kingdoms," he explained, his tone much softer than it had been a few seconds ago.

"What's so bad about that?" Rapunzel asked, puzzled.

"Dear, there are only two ways that kingdoms can be joined," the queen explained, "Either one takes over the other and the first ceases to exist, or they are bound together through a marriage."

Rapunzel wasn't sure if she understood what the big deal was. She looked at them with an expectant face, waiting for them to expound. When neither of them said anything, Rapunzel pressed, "A marriage?"

"Yes," the king nodded, "Between the two heirs to both kingdoms."

That's when it hit like a sack of bricks, and Rapunzel realized what they were talking about. She was supposed to get married to someone from another kingdom. A prince no less. Rapunzel stood frozen for a moment as the meaning of this revelation sunk in.

"I told you she would not agree!" the queen stated, "Now she feels pressured into something she doesn't want to do!"

"She hasn't said anything yet!" the king snapped back.

"She just lost her first love and you are trying to push her into a marriage to a complete stranger!" the queen cried, "We'll figure something else out. I won't allow-"

"I'll think about it!" Rapunzel interrupted the heated discussion, suddenly breaking from her trance.

Both her parents looked rather shocked at her response and they stared blankly at her. "What?" the queen asked quietly.

"I said I'll think about it," Rapunzel repeated in a flat tone, "I just need to speak with someone first and then I'll let you know as soon as possible."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As soon as Rapunzel was outside the castle walls, she broke into a run. The cool night air blew her hair back out of her face as she did so. She felt so conflicted. She most definitely did not want the kingdom to fall when she could do something about it, but she also did not want to marry a complete stranger, especially when there was still hope of Eugene getting back into his body. She had to go talk to him, get his opinion. She had to hear him say that it was possible for him to reunite with his body. She would do everything in her power to find some other way to save the kingdom.

She was not entirely sure where exactly she was running. Eugene had told her that he would be out for a stroll that night while she was in etiquette lesson. She ran down the empty streets towards the water. She ignored the stares coming from the few people that were still out and continued running.

Her eyes scanned each street as she passed them, searching for Eugene. He was no where to be found. She finally reached the water's edge and bent over, breathing in deep puffs. Once she was able to breathe again, she looked up. To her relief, she saw him.

Eugene was standing at the water's edge, his hand hovering over the surface. She crept closer to him and saw that he was rhythmically immersing his hand in the water. Each time he pulled it out, he rubbed his fingers together and sighed in dejection. Rapunzel realized that he could not feel the water and instantly felt pity for him.

"Eugene?" she said.

He instantly pulled his hand away from the water and straightened up, his eyes wide with surprise. When he saw who had addressed him, he relaxed. "I'm so used to no one seeing me," he said.

Rapunzel felt her pity begin to turn to sadness. "Eugene... I have something to tell you."

Eugene looked at her, concern flooding over his face. "What's wrong?"

Rapunzel looked out over the water. She watched the full moon reflecting int the water. She remembered how beautiful the lake had looked during the lantern festival. The warm pink and orange glow surrounding her and Eugene in the boat, the soft lights reflecting off the glassy water. She recalled how Eugene had looked at her then, how he held her hand...

Her heart instantly was wrenched at the thought of touching him. She longed to just feel his touch ever since he came back. She wanted him to get back inside his body so that she could enjoy a physical relationship with him as well as an emotional one.

"Rapunzel?" Eugene's voice broke her thoughts, "What's wrong?"

"Eugene I... the kingdom is in trouble."

Eugene tilted his head and looked at her quizzically. "What happened?"

Rapunzel recounted everything her parents had told her. Eugene just held a blank stare through the entire explanation. "And so I just wanted to know that you're trying to find a way to get back into your body. I want to be with you. With the motivation of knowing you're close to getting back in your body, I'll think of a different way to solve this problem with kingdom. I just need to hear you say it will be alright."

Eugene didn't say anything, he just held his unreadable expression. "Eugene?" Rapunzel asked after a moment.

"Rapunzel..." Eugene said quietly, "I'm not sure if I will ever get back in my body."

Rapunzel felt her legs turn to jelly and she began to teeter. She sat down on the ground to prevent herself from falling. How could he say such a thing?

"Rapunzel, I've told you before, I don't have the slightest idea of where to even begin to look for a solution to my problem," Eugene said, his tone forlorn, "I can't give you hope of a future with me."

Each word he spoke just paralyzed Rapunzel even more. Her heart ached almost as much as it had when he died.

Eugene crouched down beside her. "I'm going to leave."

Rapunzel's eyes shot up to his face. That was the last bit of heartbreak she could handle. "You can't leave!" she cried.

"I have to," Eugene said, "I don't want to affect your decision on what's best for your kingdom."

"But Eugene-!"

"I'm just in the way."

"No you're not! Eugene, I love you!" Rapunzel had no idea where the last sentence came from. Then it slowly dawned on her that she had spoken the truth. She did love him. She loved him!

Eugene's face was twisted with pain. He rubbed a hand against his cheek and squeezed his eyes shut. "I love you too," he whispered in a cracking voice, "But I can't give you false hope and I can't let you stray from the wise path to saving the kingdom. There's not a chance that I'll be able to get back into my body before it withers away."

"Then you don't have to go back to your body. We can still-"

"Rapunzel, really. How would you manage a relationship with something that doesn't really exist?"

Rapunzel felt her eyes sting from approaching tears. She still had not actually cried since he died, but even though they were there, they still didn't fall.

"Eugene," she choked a whisper.

"Goodbye, Rapunzel." He leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers, but Rapunzel could not feel it. She could not feel it!

It was because of that supposed-to-be kiss that Rapunzel realized that he was right, a relationship with a Paranormal would never work. He pulled away from her and stood up. Rapunzel watched him longingly as he slowly turned away and disappeared into the darkness.

He was gone. She lost him again. And for the first time since he died, she felt a tear roll down her cheek.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Oh! Eugene how could you do that? *cries* D'X

Aren't I mean to leave it like that? I enjoy tormenting my readers with drama. What will happen next, I wonder. Reviews help me update faster :D