A/N: Two updates today, you lucky ducks! In order to reach my deadline of when I want this story completed, I decided to post another chapter today. If you like Queen Marie, then I'm sure you will love her in this chapter. I really think this is her shining moment. And I may have taken some liberties with politics and things - I try to keep everything realistic - but this is Disney and an imaginary kingdom and my story, my rules. As usual, enjoy and don't forget to drop a review!

Chapter 16

Once she was certain there was no one in the halls, Marie lifted her skirts and broke into a run, heading straight for Rupert's office, where she knew he would be.

She skidded to a stop at his door, knocking sharply before entering. He was sitting at his desk, going over some papers, and looked surprised when she shut the door behind her.

"Marie, darling, is everything well? What are you still doing up?" He watched as she fell; weary, into the chair opposite his desk, trying to straighten her windswept hair.

Instead of answering, Marie jumped right into it. She posed a question of her own. "Rupert, the thief the guards brought in today. Flynn Rider?"

He frowned, setting his quill on the table. "Yes, darling, they did bring him in. The captain reported directly to me. In fact," he shuffled through some papers, before pulling out one in particular. "This is his death warrant. For a hanging at noon five days from now."

"You can't sign it," Marie snapped.

Rupert looked at her in shock. "Pardon?"

"You can't sign it, Rupert," she said again, desperately.

"Marie, dear, he's a thief who's already escaped a hanging six years ago – "

"And hasn't the crime rate gone down in the kingdom over the last six years? Rupert, he has changed."

Rupert frowned at her, studying her intense features. "What has gotten into you, Marie? Why this sudden interest in a petty thief?"

She cringed at his word choice. "Flynn Rider is actually Eugene Fitzherbert. Rapunzel's husband."

Rupert sat in shocked silence. "She – she married that thief? I –"

"He is a good man, Rupert! I just talked for nearly an hour with him. There is a story; one of such proportions that you could not fathom." She leaned across the desk, her eyes wild with desperation and the knowledge that she held. "And it involves us. Strongly."

"Marie, please – "

She overrode his words. "Rapunzel, until she was nearly eighteen, lived in a tower all her life, kept there by her mother. For one reason: her hair held the power to heal her and keep her young. Rapunzel had never been outside, until Eugene stumbled across her and took her to see the lanterns…that lit up on her birthday every year."

Rupert said nothing. Marie continued.

"Her hair was long and blonde. It held magical healing properties. Where would it get that?" She didn't wait for an answer. "From a magical healing flower."

Now Rupert could sense where she was going with this. "Marie – "

"Listen!" Marie finally exploded, hitting her palms on the desk for good measure. She was tired of Rupert pushing back her claims and ideas. She was tired of being brushed aside, of being told that she was holding on to a ghost. She was tired of it all. There was evidence, right there, that said she was right. Why couldn't he see it? "Don't you see it? Rapunzel is Anna Maria! They share the same birthday. They are the same age. They both had long blonde hair. Rapunzel got her powers from a magical healing flower, one that saved my life! That woman who took her that night – that was the same woman she grew up calling mother!"

Rupert locked eyes with his wife. He didn't see a madwoman, as he had expected to, but a woman who was willing to fight to the death to have her voice heard. She was like a mother bear fiercely protecting her cubs. And as much as he wanted to deny it, there was a certain truth ringing in her words. Every point she made hit home.

The enormity of it washed over him, and his head pounded. With a long-suffering sigh, he dropped his head into his hands and massaged his temples. He heard Marie lean back into her seat, breathing heavily. Finally, he looked back up and met his wife's gaze. Marie saw everything mirrored in her husband's eyes: her own astonishment at the situation, but also acceptance. He believed her.

"Oh, by the gods," he breathed, looking upwards as he asked for strength. "Oh gods, Marie, what do we do?" He did not often look as lost as he did now. "We have to tell her. She's the Lost Princess. Oh gods," he moaned again.

Marie stood and moved around the desk to wrap an arm around the king's shoulders. She laid her head against his. "It's not as simple as that, I'm afraid," she said softly.

He stiffened. "What do you mean?"

"Rapunzel and Eugene are married. Do you know what that means?"

A shocked hand rose to Rupert's mouth. A tremble rushed through him. "Oh gods," he breathed again. "He – he – "

"Is a prince," Marie finished. "He married Rapunzel, the Lost Princess, which makes him Prince Consort. And it was all legal. Eugene says he has papers to prove it. And you can't hang a prince," she added.