Roused 011 Rapunzel Gets The Call

~ Roused
~ Chapter 011
~ Rapunzel Gets The Call

Rapunzel is brought by her Lock Maid Margaret to the Palace Map Room. Where she finds her parents, Eugene and some of the military leaders in a huddle around the big table.

Rapunzel was feeling pretty good, she had finally gotten Margaret to giggle today. She was also very curious about what was going on, they'd never pulled her out of lessons before and apparently Eugene as well. Rapunzel thought he looked so dashing in his Prince uniform, but she hoped the thread of gold braiding on the collar wasn't itchy.

Everyone was looking very serious. Mama came over and gave her a hug.

"Hello, papa," she said, coming up next to him. He put his arm around her for a quick hug, but turned her attention to the map.

"Thank you for coming so quickly. There is a problem and it needs your special kind of help."

Rapunzel was wondering what she could do. Her magic hair was gone, even though she kept finding herself reaching for it. All the books and lessons had been showing her how dumb she was. Even with mama telling her she was smart all the time, she didn't feel smart. There was so much to learn, but she had made a bit of a dent in the palace library.

"How can I help, papa?" She asked.

"Remember when I told you about Princess Aurora?"

Rapunzel thought for a moment, "Yes, she's the princess of King Stefan's kingdom who was cursed by a witch, to prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die before her sixteenth birthday. You've been exchanging letters trying to help them get ready for her to come home. That's coming up soon isn't it?"

The life of Princess Aurora sounded so much like her own. Instead of being kidnapped, she was cursed by a witch and then hidden in a forest, which at least was bigger then a tower, but still. Stalked by a witch and raised by fairies, would make for a different childhood. Magic was real, even if her own magic hair was gone now. Rapunzel tried to drop her hands from her shoulder nonchalantly.

"Well, yes, sort of, that was four days ago," said her Mama, gently. The Return of the Hidden Princess was to be an intimate affair. They knew they would be invited to the more general Coronation of the Princess Aurora and wedding to Prince Phillip. That was supposed to be some time after her return, so this message was a surprise.

Rapunzel felt dumb again, for some reason she had the hardest time tracking time. In the tower she could keep track with her star chart, but really only seasons mattered to herself and Mother. The only day of the year that was special in the tower was her birthday and it was easy to see it coming in the stars and position of the sun.

"Oh, is she okay?" She bit her pink lip. Eugene had slipped a book of fairy tales into her bed a few days ago and it was a great read, but so many of the princess' died in gruesome ways. It made her feel a little uncomfortable to actually be a princess. She had Eugene, who was a prince now and real parents, not stepparents. So she was safe, hopefully.

The king and queen shared a look.

"Not exactly. The good fairies, who were charged to keep her safe, and hid her in a forest, brought her home just a few minutes too early and the witch accomplished the curse. She's alive. But something went wrong. She seems to be suffering from some kind of deep melancholy, her parents are 'concerned.' They want you to come."

Queen Rebecca looked at her husband. "Concerned" was the word Queen Leah used in her letter, but the shaky script had sent chills down her spine. She couldn't possibly be hearing barely restrained panic in those written words could she?

The messenger himself was almost desperate, he related that he had been standing his evening post in the throne room and the flat monotone the princess had used with her parents had sounded like the dead talking. Queen Leah had taken him aside, wrote the letter herself and given him extra gold for any needs to get the letter to Corona as fast as possible.

He had run several horses to their very limits, using every technique for maximum speed, because something was very wrong with the princess and she desperately needed help. This was the fastest a message had ever travelled between the two capitols.

"She was saved by Prince Phillip and the good fairies. Prince Phillip killed the witch Maleficent during the rescue, but her goons are now on a rampage. He is leading the fight to destroy them, and has asked for military aid. And with him leading the fight he can't be there for her," said King Leonard.

"We only have one ship available right now that can make it up the river, we're going to fit as many soldiers on her as we can. We should be able to get to King Stefan's castle in a few days, if the wind holds. Eugene is going to be leading our forces in this effort."

"Are you sure they are going to follow me? They spent a lot of time chasing me when I was Flynn Rider, I know most of them still don't trust me, much less like me." Eugene looked uncertain, flicking a glance at Captain Forester, who was resolutely looking at the map on the table.

He was trying to make sure he had listed all the things that needed to be done for the widows and orphans. He had split his staff so half focused on the orphans and the other on the widows. He still wasn't sure how the widows got under his jurisdiction, but how could he not help those sweet little old ladies, especially when they made cookies. He had good people, but they were going to be on their own for the first time and he was worried about them.

Eugene had also been given some men to train in frying pan combat, as a way to build rapport with the guard and soldiers. With Max's help the combat training was going pretty well. The men were good, but there were many subtle disobediences. Funnily, most of them were things he recognized from when he was in the orphanage, but he couldn't think of a way to counter them either. He wanted to apologize to the headmistress, but she had died years ago.

"They'll follow you because I am their king and I will order them too. It's not a great solution, but it is your duty as prince to lead and their's, as soldiers, to follow." King Leonard was looking at Captain Forester, who was still looking at the map, though he nodded. Captain Forester was going to remain behind and organize the next wave of forces. Several ships were due back in the next few days that could make it up the river.

The King had talked to Captain Forester and much of the military leadership. They acknowledged Eugene as Prince of Corona, but were having a hard time accepting him as different from Flynn Rider. Stealing the crown and escaping the prison were hard for the men to overcome.

The reputation of Flynn Rider dogged Prince Eugene like a specter.

The king and queen had hoped that the orphanage project would help with that problem. Prince Eugene was scrupulous about the money used for the building repairs, clothes, bedding and food.

Leonard had almost exploded with pride toward Eugene when he had found out about him firing workers on the spot for shoddy work and then doing it right himself. Mortimer had a few people watching what was going on and reporting back to the king and queen.

Though they did have the tutors start nudging the lessons in a more leadership direction. While there were many things a prince needed to do himself, patching roofs was not one of them.

Eugene's actions had swayed a large portion of the palace staff, and the populous; the military was harder to convince, particularly some of the leadership.

King Leonard had decided to give them a year to get used to the idea before shaking things up with forced retirements or resignations, but he hoped it wouldn't come to that, they were good men and had risen in the ranks for good reason, they were good at what they did.

Now that this war appeared, King Leonard was quietly hoping that the fires of combat would bring out Eugene's true strength and forge trust between him and his men. So Eugene could become a true prince to his men and for Corona.

It was dangerous in so many ways, but it had worked in the past, if he didn't die.

King Leonard had also exchanged letters with Prince Phillip in the months leading up to Princess Aurora's return. He seemed like a good solid leader. He may even be able to help Eugene.

"Okay, but where do I come in?" asked Rapunzel.

"It's just that her transition is not going so well. They say she seemed fine at the Return Ball but then things started falling apart once the war started. Something went wrong. She won't eat and barely talks to anyone. She even ran away from the fairies that protected her for 16 years. Something's wrong and nothing they've tried has worked. They want you to come. They are hoping since you have lived such a similar life, you can help her somehow."

"Of course, I'll help." Rapunzel had loved to help Mother, and helping the orphans had been wonderful. She would certainly go help someone who lived a life so like her own. Becoming a princess has been such a challenge for her in so many ways.

"Good, we'll be leaving on the evening tide, which is about two hours from now. They are already packing for you. Eugene, mama and I will be coming too. Just as Aurora will need your special kind of help, so will her parents and her prince."

"We'll only be taking a minimal team for your protection, I want to take as many men as possible to support the war." Sergeant Gabriel was looking unhappy about that, he really wanted to take a full team since they were heading into a war zone. He may be second-in-command of the Lock Guard, but he did not like this decision from the King.

Captain Taygon and his wife had gone on leave just four days ago, his first real vacation in eighteen years. No one begrudged him that, though it was odd that he had mentioned settling a bet. Sergeant Gabriel had known the Captain for over eighteen years and never knew him to be a betting man.

He had sent a pair to find the Captain, but he and his wife had vanished into the forest, promising to be back in two weeks. If they didn't want to be found, they wouldn't be.

The King had limited him to only four people, which would fill a cabin on the ship. He had objected as that wouldn't be enough to provide coverage to all the royals. The King had overridden his objection, saying they would keep some of the palace guard at King Stefan's castle as protection for the King and Queen, and Prince Eugene would have the rest of the men around him.

It had taken all his training to keep from snorting in derision at the thought of them actually protecting Prince Eugene. Though he was pretty sure they wouldn't put an arrow in the back of the prince, because that would make the Princess unhappy and no one wanted that.

Sergeant Gabriel knew the ship they would be taking was the Star Enterprise and it had a single stall to carry an animal, so he had asked that Maximus be brought along for Eugene's use in the war. The King thought that was a good idea. Sergeant Gabriel could also trust Maximus to take care of Prince Eugene even in a war zone.

The Star Enterprise was a good ship, it seemed to have a knack at finding new trade routes and making new trade partners. And it always brought the crew home, even through the worst storms. It had almost sunk on several occasions, but it kept floating.

The princess would be safe aboard her.

It hurt a little bit that the King thought the palace guard was good enough protection for the King and Queen. The newest Lock Guard graduate was far better then even the best of the palace guard or soldiers.

The King had assured him that they'd be staying in the castle and it was safe there, so he had gone along the King's wishes. But he knew Captain Taygon wouldn't like it any more then he did.

Sergeant Gabriel had chosen Mark and Margaret, as the most familiar with the princess and since they were also better then average in combat skills. James, their best dual-handed sword fighter and himself, he was pretty good with both hands too. He would protect the princess at cost of his own life, he couldn't ask another to do it. He'd be leaving Sergeant Michael in charge.

"Of course, I'll help her and it'll give us a chance for more Firsts," said Rapunzel. They all smiled about that.

~ End of Chapter 011