Eugene struggled a good while with the fallen tree. Eventually, the tree moved, like it was nothing, and Eugene pushed it out of the way. "See, Max?" Eugene said, turning around. "I told you my strength is nothing to laugh about!"
Max stamped. "Right?" Eugene said. "You can't beat my unbridled strength, Max! Now, I know you're strong, but you can't lift that tree!" Max stamped again. "Hey, don't get jealous of me," Eugene said, waving a hand at the horse. "It's nothing too impressive. I mean, I could do that the whole time, not to brag," Eugene said, flexing. He stopped flexing when he turned and saw a large, muscular man standing behind him. "Maybe I'll reconsider my strength," Eugene said.
"Would you like to reconsider coming down this road too?" the muscular man asked.
"Well, no, I mean, I just barely left Corona, and, you know, my house is this way, and I would love to get through," Eugene said, backing up a little until he bumped into Max.
"Hmm, weird, I don't remember seeing any houses down this way," the man said.
"Well, my place is a long days travel, like, two days travel. It's like...really far out there. You couldn't see it unless I showed you," Eugene said.
"Want to tell that to my fist?" the man asked, punching his palm.
"Well, uh-" Eugene said.
"Hey, Tank!" came a familiar voice nearby. "Leave him alone. He's mine." The man jumped out of the trees and onto the ground in front of Eugene. Eugene rolled his eyes. "Well, look who finally decided to show up!" Eugene said. "Did you come crying for Baron's knife back?"
"No, actually, Ryder," The Weasel replied. "We came for you."
"For me? Aw, is the Baron a fan of mine? I never thought this day would come! You hear that Max? It's time to celebrate!"
"What's you got in that wagon?" The Weasel asked.
"Nothing important," Eugene said.
"Mind if we take a look-see?" The Weasel asked.
"You can, but it's not like you'll find anything good in there," Eugene said, leaning against the wagon. "It's all boring things the Baron doesn't like. 'Cause, ya know, the Barons' allergic to seafood, and I don't recall him being a fan of bread, unless that was..." Eugene gasped. "Aw, that was you, wasn't it, Weasel?" The Weasel ducked out of the wagon, hiding his face. "You win this time, Ryder, but we'll be back! You won't win the war!" Eugene laughed. "Only if you show your face, Weasel!"
Max whinnied. "See that, Max? THAT'S how you handle bandits! Piece of cake!" Eugene hopped back onto the wagon and continued off, on a silent road with Max. Eugene tried to start a few conversations, but Max isn't too chatty. Well, at least, he can't speak English, and Eugene hasn't quite learned how to understand Max yet. Rapunzel and the Captain of the Guard seems to know what he's saying just fine, but Eugene is left for the dust on this one.
"Hey, Max," Eugene said, switching the reigns to his left hand. "Is there a girl horse?" Max huffed. "Oh, come on! There has to be one horse out there you like!" Eugene started naming off the female horses in Corona. He figured he might get some response from Max if he said the right name. "Cantaloupe? How about, Stella? Skylar? Or...Midnight? How about Fidella?"
Max huffed at Fidella's name and tripped a little bit. "Oooh! So you do like a horse!" He paused. "Fidella? You like Fidella? Oh, come on, Max! You can do better than Cassandra's horse! I mean, seriously! There are other lovely horses out there, Max!" Max huffed angrily. "Does if have to be Fidella? Why not Sparkle? She has a wonderful coat!"
Max shook his head. "Ugh, just my luck to be riding with a horse who hates me and likes my enemy's horse. Whoopee."
They rode in silence again for a while until they made it to the kingdom walls. "Halt!" called the guard at the gate. "Who goes there?"
"Relax, guys," Eugene said. "I'm just the delivery boy from Corona." The guards narrowed their eyes at him. "You can look in the wagon, guys," Eugene said. He rolled his eyes when they were out of his vision. "Everything looks in check back here!" the guard said. "You are free to enter." The gates opened and Max walked inside.
Eugene just waited silently as Max walked up to the storage and some guards unloaded. "You're all good, sir," the guard said, patting the back of the wagon. "You are free to go."
Eugene tugged at the reigns to make Max turn around and walk back towards Corona. "Max, you think we can go faster?" Eugene asked. Max whinnied. There was no running, so it was safe to assume Max said no. Eugene sighed.
Eugene returned safely to Corona at noon. Rapunzel was the first to greet him, and she seemed overjoyed to see him return. "Eugene!" she cried, practically throwing herself at Eugene. "Woah, Blondie!" Eugene cried, catching her and stumbling backwards. "I was only gone for a few hours!"
"Yeah, but then you vanished without saying anything and then dad told me that he didn't trust you and-"
"Oh, he told you," Eugene said. "I see. Well, Blondie, just know I'm doing this for you. Your old man doesn't like me much and he wants me to do his chores for him so he won't kill me." Eugene leaned in closer. "Then, we can have more time together."
"To watch the stars?" Rapunzel asked. "And picnics? And painting?"
"All of the above and more!" Eugene replied. Rapunzel frowned. "It might also be the way you're talking about him behind his back, Eugene. Just because you're living in the palace-"
"Barely," Eugene inserted.
"-doesn't mean you'll get boyfriend privilege," Rapunzel continued. "Maybe, you could change your tone?"
"Change my-change my tone?" Eugene gasped. "Blondie, I'm offended!"
"I'm sorry, Eugene," Rapunzel said. "But maybe it would help. He might give you easier things."
"From talking about him behind his back? I mean-" Rapunzel cleared her throat and motioned her eyes behind Eugene, "-who does that? Really? It's cruel! I mean, that's crazy!" Eugene awkwardly laughed and rubbed his neck. He leaned in closer to Rapunzel. "He's right behind me, isn't he?" She nodded.
Eugene quickly turned around. "Your Majesty!" he said nervously. "Max and I made it back okay, with nothing for you to worry about!"
"That sounds suspicious, Ryder," King Frederic said.
"What?" Eugene asked, rubbing the back of his neck, sweating. "Suspicious? Me? Are you cr-kidding me? You're joking, right?" Eugene awkwardly chuckled, then stopped when King Frederic stood unamused. Eugene cleared his throat. "Apologies, sir," Eugene said, standing straighter with his hands behind his back.
"Did anything noteworthy happen, Ryder?" King Frederic asked.
"Uh..." Eugene said. "There was an old enemy of mine but I handled that and nothing was stolen or anything."
King Frederic nodded. "Thank you, Eugene. Meet me in the dinning hall for dinner. I want to have a conversation with you."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Eugene said, saluting King Frederic. King Frederic shook his head slightly as he walked away.
"Ah, I see your problem, Eugene," Rapunzel said.
"Problem? What problem? Eugene? Problem? Those don't go well togeth-" he stopped when Rapunzel narrowed her eyes and him and crossed her arms. "Yeah, okay, I have a problem. It's just that, your dad makes me super nervous. I mean, Flynn Ryder's never even been close enough to the king to see his jewels and now Eugene Fitzherbert is standing close enough to him to touch him. Plus, he's your old man, and let's not even mention that I'm the most wanted criminal in Corona."
"No, Flynn Ryder is the most wanted criminal in Corona," Rapunzel said, putting her hand on Eugene's cheek. "Eugene Fitzherbert is the man who saved me, showed me a world I never knew, and the one I fell in love with. You just have to be comfortable with my dad. I know he seems intimidating, but he's a really sweet man. Just, try to loosen up, okay, Eugene?"
"I can try, but-" he softened up when Rapunzel smiled at him. "Yeah, okay, Blondie. I'll give it a shot."
"That's the man I fell in love with," Rapunzel said, smiling. "Remember, you're talking to the king now. You have to be respectful and...yeah, no, that's it."
"Respectful," Eugene repeated.
"Here, let me show you the different things set up on the table for dinner, Eugene," Rapunzel said, grabbing Eugene's hand and walking into the palace.