Chapter 7
Back in Corona, Eugene raced about the castle searching for Rapunzel. She'd been gone for almost thirty minutes and he was starting to get concerned. Daybreak was not far away and if she was not found soon, people would start to ask questions. Questions he had no answers to.
"Prince Fitzherbert, you should be in bed," one of the guards said as he walked speedily by.
"Cramp in the calf," Eugene lied.
"Ouch," the guard nodded and let him continue down the hallway. The former thief turned the corner and ran smack into his bride. She was soaked and she smelled.
"Good gravy!" Eugene burst out.
"Shhhh…" Rapunzel clamped a hand over his mouth.
"Mmpojagbhf vnvnhvovvw," he tried to speak but it came out as gibberish and she slowly removed her hand.
"Where have you been?" He asked trying not to gag.
"Just get me to our room and I'll explain everything," she promised.
"I'd be turned on if you didn't smell so bad," he teased. Rapunzel laughed and they made sure to go the long way to their room. Eugene promised to get some water for her bath and Rapunzel started a fire in the fireplace to heat the water up. Once she had done that, she stripped off her dress. It smelled awful and no amount of beating against a rock was going to fix it so the dress along with her underthings went into the fire. Slipping into the bathroom, she waited for Eugene to return.
"I've got the water heating," he said as he walked into the bathroom some ten minutes later.
"Good because I'm getting cold," she shivered in the metal tub.
"Where are your clothes?" He asked.
"They were beyond saving, I just burned them," the brunette said.
"Good call. No why don't you explain to me what happened?" Eugene prodded.
"I will but first go check on the water. If it's boiling, I'm going to be freezing my butt off waiting for it to cool down," once again she deflected. He was about to object but the smell was killing him so he went out and checked the pot. Rapunzel let out a sigh and absentmindedly placed her hand on her stomach. Granted it would be awhile before anything would show and maybe it was still a fluke but more and more her heart told her to be prepared.
"We're all set. Just warm enough so as not to burn you," Eugene said when he entered the room a few minutes later.
"Fabulous," Rapunzel smiled as he careful poured some water into the tub. She grabbed some sweet smelling soap and started scrubbing.
"All right spill," the former thief had lost his patience.
"The reason I smell like dead fish is because I was swallowed by the Kraken. He transported me to Oseyan who in turn promised to pass my message along to Soley. However he warned me that we may be on our own for this. If my powers could not reverse the sickness then there is a good chance that the sickness was caused by more powerful magic," Rapunzel explained.
"More powerful magic, meaning…" Eugene paused.
"Meaning that if we cannot break the spell ourselves, all is lost. My father will die just as that servant will," tears formed in her eyes and immediately Eugene did what he could to calm her.
"We'll figure this out. We always do," he said.
"I want him to be here. I only just found him and now he could be taken away before he even gets to meet his grandchild," the words just flowed out, her emotions getting the best of her.
"Grandchild?" Eugene asked.
To Be Continued…