Eugene had had a good enough day at work. No terrorists had attacked. There were no kingdom-wide celebrations that he had to help Rapunzel prepare for, and make sure they had enough security for. There were no upcoming inter-kingdom meetings or banquets that he would never feel fully prepared for. Varian was in Old Corona, so Eugene didn't have to check up on him to make sure he was eating, sleeping, and not blowing things up. And Hector hadn't distracted him from his job yet today, or caused problems with the guards. At least, not as far as he knew.

Actually, Eugene hadn't seen Hector at all that day. At first it had been a relief, because he could finally focus on his job and have some time where he didn't have to think about being a lost prince, or having a weird family. As the day went on Eugene started to have a bad feeling about this. Hector had never been gone for so long without at least telling him where he was going.

Maybe he should just appreciate the peace and quiet, but the more he tried to not worry about it, the more worried he got. Finally, when he was done with work for the day, he decided to do something about it. He grabbed a nearby guard and asked him if he'd seen Hector. The guard got a strange expression on his face.

"The report is on your desk, Sir." The guard said, and then he walked away before Eugene could get clarification.

Eugene groaned in frustration. So something had happened to Hector. Not just that, but Eugene had forgotten that he wasn't done with his work yet. He needed to go through today's reports.

Eugene reluctantly went downstairs to his office located near the dungeons. He knew there wasn't a lot of paperwork, but he hated that he had to do any of it. Still, he had a job to do. Eugene sat at his desk, pulled out a bag of cookies that Lance had made a few days ago. It was so much easier to work when he was bribing himself.

Eugene passed through all the reports and files until he found the one about Hector. He settled back and read through it, and every word made him more and more angry and concerned.

He should have talked to the guards about Hector. He'd been meaning to, but since Hector had seemed to stop antagonizing them as much the problem didn't seem so bad, so it had slipped down Eugene's priority list. Now it was right up there at the top again.

This was an arrest report, and a vague one at that. Eugene had been a thief, and he was now the Captain of the guard, so he knew how to interpret different styles of reports. If a report was extensive and very specific, then the suspect was probably a repeat offender, and the guards were desperate to get them off the street. Those were the criminals that Eugene was actually fine with arresting, because he knew for a fact that they were the ones who were criminals for the thrill of it, rather than out of need.

If there was just a single charge, but it was more serious and very specific, then Eugene had to tread carefully. Those were the cases like Varian's and Cassandra's, but also Andrew's. Each of those cases needed to be looked at individually.

Hector's report was far too vague. It listed a minor crime, and a fairly serious one, but didn't explain what it meant. How did Hector aid and abet a criminal? For all Eugene knew, it was talking about when Cassandra brainwashed the brotherhood, and the guard was using it as an excuse to arrest Hector because of their grudge against him.

What really infuriated Eugene was the other accusation. Manipulating the monarchy. That accusation wasn't about Hector, it was about Eugene.

He knew that some of his men didn't like him. He'd heard the rumors that he had manipulated his way into the royal family to gain their favor. He just tried to ignore them, because what was he supposed to do about such rumors? Punish those participating? That would probably just reinforce the idea in their minds that he was just out for power.

He could handle their rumors and disrespect, but this was out of line. The guards couldn't do anything to Eugene, so they were putting his so-called crimes on Hector, who hadn't done anything that could be considered manipulating the royal family. He didn't even talk to them. He talked to Eugene, because they were family. Was that a crime now?

Eugene felt his temper rise when he saw that the guard responsible for the arrest hadn't put his name down. It wasn't unheard of for the guards to forget to sign their papers, because they had other work to worry about, but this wasn't a simple mistake. Eugene knew that this had been done on purpose, because the guard responsible didn't want to be disciplined.

The report also didn't say what Hector's punishment was? Had he been given a fine? Was he sent to work a day in the fields to work off his 'debt to society' with physical labor? Had he been locked in the dungeon? Sent to his room in a type of house arrest? Eugene didn't know, but he wasn't going to rest until he found out.

Pushing aside the rest of his papers, not caring about them at all, Eugene left his office to look for Hector. Because he was right next to the dungeons, and that seemed like the kind of supposably harmless punishment that the guards thought they could get away with, that was where he searched first.

He walked swiftly past the cells, glancing in all that he passed. The dungeons had a lot of levels to them though, and he didn't want to waste time checking all the cells. Especially since Eugene knew he didn't actually have a good poker face. If he was concerned or angry, which he currently was, then it showed on his face. Normally he didn't mind this too much, but he didn't think the criminals locked up down here needed to know that the captain of the guard was clearly upset.

It was a relief when he saw Stan and Pete patrolling the dungeons. He knew that these men at the very least didn't have a problem with him. They didn't have a problem with Hector. They were safe to talk to.

"Guys," Eugene approached them. "Have you seen my uncle?"

Stan and Pete looked at each other. They looked confused. "Who?" Pete asked.

Eugene didn't have the patience for this. "Hector. Scary looking guy. Fights with guards for fun. Sleeps with animals."

"Oh, him." Stan nodded. "I mean, I haven't seen him."

"Keep an eye out for him for me, will you?" Eugene asked. "I don't know where he is, and someone decided to mess with him. He got arrested, and I don't know what happened to him."

Pete's expression shifted slightly. "Actually, I thought I heard something earlier. It sounded like someone was in the interrogation chamber. I didn't really stick around to figure out who. I don't like being anywhere near that place."

"Oh, me either." Stan said. "The screams creep me out."

Eugene felt a shiver go down his spine. "Hang on, screams? Interrogation chamber? What are you talking about?"

Stan and Pete looked at each other before looking back at him. "You don't know about the interrogation chamber?" Stan asked. There was a touch of pity in his tone, and it didn't make Eugene feel better. He had a pretty good idea what the interrogation chamber was about. Even without knowing about the screams, he would know what happened there. What terrified him was that it was possibly Hector who was stuck there.

"Take me there." Eugene insisted firmly. They looked hesitant, but they did what they were told. Eugene was brought to a locked room that he'd passed by dozens of times, and never thought twice about. He always thought it was just a storage room. Clearly not.

"Get me my keys." Eugene said to Pete. The man ran off to obey. While he was gone Eugene went to the door and knocked on it. If Hector was in there, he needed to know.

"Hello?" Eugene asked. "Is anyone in there?" He listened carefully for an answer. He almost missed it when it came, and he was both relieved and horrified when he heard Hector's voice.

"Horace?" Hector's voice was quiet and weak, but it was there. Eugene's search for his uncle was over, but what state was he in? Stan mentioned that screams came from this room. Eugene swore that if his guards had laid a hand on his uncle, he would tear them apart. Being fired would be the least of their concerns.

"Pete!" Eugene shouted. "Hurry up!" It was another minute before Pete came running back with the Captain's keys that Eugene had left in his office. He wanted to snatch the keys and open the door, but he forced himself to stand back and let Pete take care of it. The second the door was unlocked Eugene ran in, and he felt disgust, horror, and fury at the sight before him.

Hector was kneeling on the ground, his hands in manacles above his head. There was a collar around his neck that was chained to the manacles. Hector was slumped forward, with the chains pulling on the collar. Even from here Eugene could see the redness around Hector's neck, and he worried if the man could breathe like that.

Hector's shirt had been ripped away, and his chest was covered in angry whip marks and bruises. His head was bleeding and it looked like a clump of hair had been pulled right out.

Eugene had seen Hector fight fiercely, but right now he just looked beaten. This wasn't the Hector that Eugene knew. Why hadn't he fought back? Eugene knew that Hector could easily take on one guard. What had happened?

Eugene was scared of the answer, because he had a suspicion. He'd explicitly asked Hector to not fight the guards. To roll over and take whatever they dished out. It had been so easy to ask at the time, because Eugene never thought they would go this far. Clearly he had underestimated the cruelty of his men.

Varian hadn't. The kid had been worried about this very thing happening. Eugene had sworn that nothing bad was going to happen to their uncle, and Varian had trusted him. The kid had enough trust issues as it was. He didn't need another promise broken.

What disgusted Eugene most was that he could see that Hector was wearing a muzzle. It wasn't too restrictive. He could still move his jaw and breath properly, and obviously he could talk. The only thing it seemed like this thing achieved was humiliation and dehumanization.

Eugene didn't think that torture was a good method of interrogation, but even if he did this muzzle would be completely unnecessary. It didn't make someone more willing to talk. This was just cruelty and nothing else.

Eugene was stunned and still for a long moment before he got into action. He ran forward and supported Hector to get the pressure off his neck. "Stan, find the castle doctor and send him to my room. And then go get Lance." Eugene knew that Hector would be happier if he wasn't in the infirmary. And he just wanted Lance there as an additional support, because he was running solely on anger and protectiveness right now. Eugene knew that as soon as he got Hector out of here and in the care of a doctor he was going to fall to pieces. Lance had always been really good at picking him up again.

Stan hurried out, and Pete stepped forward with the keys, getting started on the collar first. Eugene wanted the muzzle off, but Pete was probably right. The collar was their biggest concern. Then they would get rid of the manacles, and then finally they could worry about the muzzle.

"What happened?" Eugene asked.

"Your guards are jerks." Hector huffed. Eugene frowned. This wasn't the result of someone being a jerk. This was someone abusing their power because they were upset that they thought someone else was doing just that.

"Jerks don't muzzle people like they're animals." Eugene growled. Hector gave a breathless laugh. Eugene was worried about how casually he was acting. Was Hector so used to getting hurt that he thought this was normal and acceptable? Or was he so hurt that he just wasn't thinking straight.

"He didn't like when I bit him." Hector said proudly. Pete released the collar and pulled it off. Hector slumped more now that he could. He was straining his arms, but at least his neck was free. Eugene held onto him while Pete got started on the manacles.

"I swear, I'm not trying to blame you, but how could you let this happen?" Eugene asked. "You can take a single guard on with your hands tied behind your back." His stomach twisted. "Please tell me you didn't just roll over and take it because of what I said, because you have to know this wasn't what I meant."

Hector hummed and seemed to nuzzle against Eugene. He wasn't used to this type of affection, but he wasn't going to push him away. "He said if I fought him then he'd go after Varian. I can take a few hits if it means you guys are left alone."

Eugene looked at Pete, who started to rush releasing Hector. Finally the manacles were released, and Hector slumped fully against Eugene, groaning at the sudden change.

"Give me the keys." Eugene said. He could take care of it from here. "Go to Old Corona and bring Varian and Quirin here. Bring them to my room, and see to it that no other guard even talks to them." Eugene still didn't know who was responsible for this. Until he did, every one of them was a potential threat.

Pete hurried off. Eugene got to work getting the muzzle off. Hector didn't make it easy for him. He twisted his head and looked at Eugene.

"They don't need to come here." Hector said.

"Yeah, they do." Eugene said. "Because I won't feel confident that Varian's safe unless I have my eyes on him, and you know that Quirin's going to want to be here as soon as he finds out what happened to you."

"I'm fine." Hector rubbed his wrists. "I've had worse."

"That isn't the vote of confidence you seem to think it is." Eugene unlocked the rusty muzzle and carefully took it off. As soon as he pulled it away from Hector's face he tossed it carelessly aside. He wanted to burn it, and condemn everything in this room. This shouldn't even exist. Why didn't he know about it?

Eugene had nobody to blame but himself on that aspect. It was his job to know about this kind of thing. What other abuse were the guards getting away with right under his nose? Eugene had been told dozens of times by Varian that the guards were mean, but he thought that he was exaggerating. Eugene had convinced himself that his men were just doing their job. Nothing more. Why had he been so blind?

Eugene stood up, supporting Hector. "Let's get you looked at."

Hector half-heartedly tried to pull away from him. "I told you, I'm fine. I just need to sleep it off."

Eugene tightened his grip on him. "You're not fine. Please, just…just let me make it up to you."

Hector was quiet for a long moment. "I don't want to be just another thing on your list of responsibilities you hate." Hector's voice was strangely quiet. He was admitting something personal. Eugene felt like he had no right to hear it, but he knew it was important.

"You're not just my responsibility." Eugene said. "You're family. Family takes care of each other."

Hector grew tense in his grip and Eugene felt like he'd said something wrong. He looked at Hector, whose head was lowered. Was he hurt? "Uncle Hector?"

Hector made a weird sound that could have been a groan, could have been a laugh, and could have been a sob. "You've never called me that."

Eugene blinked. "Uncle?"

"Hector." He said, and Eugene felt gutted. That couldn't be right. He'd called Hector by his name…hadn't he? Eugene couldn't remember. He hadn't really thought about it. But this was the kind of thing that would linger in someone's head. Hector would definitely notice if his nephew wouldn't even call him by his name, only referring to him as the 'crazy rhino guy'.

Hector was stubborn, but he wasn't an idiot. He probably knew perfectly well that Eugene felt conflicted about him being here. Hector probably thought he couldn't care less about him. Eugene had probably tried to convince himself of the same thing. But he wasn't going to make that mistake again.

He didn't understand Hector, but he did like him. He'd come to see tht everything Hector did was out of loyalty. Before, it had been to the moonstone. Now that that was gone, that loyalty was towards his family, because it was all he had. Hector had let himself get hurt to protect Varian, as well as to keep his promise to Eugene. He cared about them, that much was clear. But Eugene was worried that Hector didn't realize that he deserved that same concern aimed towards him.

"You've taken care of us." Eugene said. "Let us take care of you."

Hector sighed. "I don't have a choice, do I?"

"No, you don't." Eugene said. "We're both covered in your blood, and the more you fight me, the longer this will take. And if we don't get you cleaned up by the time Varian gets here, then he'll see how bad it is, and he'll faint at the sight of your blood. Do you really want that?"

Hector groaned and leaned against Eugene more. "You're horrible, you know that?"

"I've come to learn that's a requirement in this family." Eugene said. He supported Hector as he brought him out of the large room and away from the dungeons. He wanted to take him away from the castle and the guard responsible for this, but he didn't think Hector was ready to move around so much. Hector acted like he was fine, even as he was bleeding, so Eugene didn't know just how bad this was.

Until the doctor gave Hector the okay, he was going to stay right here, and Eugene wasn't going to let anything else happen to him. Not if he could do anything about it.