The sounds of clashing metal echoed in the room where Lena and Demetri were sparring. They had been going at it for a while now. They didn't seem like they were going to be finishing anytime soon. Lance was polishing some of the practice swords nearby while he kept an eye on the prince. Ashley was nearby as she thought about Bunny and how much she missed was sitting in the corner, her eyes never leaving Lena's body. Chartreuse and Enya were sitting on her and playing by themselves.

"You fight pretty well for a girl," said Demetri as he dodged a lunged from Lena.

"Oh,funny, I was thinking the same thing about you," she replied with a mocking smirk.

"I'll have you know that I have been trained since I was a young boy," he commented.

"Oh, how interesting. I started about a week and a half ago," was her reply as her smirk grew.

Demetri just raised a brow before trying to counter her moves. After a bit Lena aimed low but he countered it quickly. "That's hitting a little below the belt, don't you think?"

"No, this is," Lena replied as she aimed low again and brought the butt up and hit him in the head.

Demetri just shook his head and grins,"Touche'," He chuckled before a flash of black came at him and he was on the ground. Carmella was sitting on the guy's chest and was licking his face. Enya and Chartreuse had moved onto Ashley's head as they watched the dragon.

"Carmella stop it! You know that doesn't wash out!" Lena said as she came over to the downed boy and grabbed Carmella and gave a stern look. "Seriously?" Carmella just gave a goofy grin before Lena turned to Demetri and held out a hand for him to grab. "Sorry about that."

"It's fine, are you sure this doesn't wash out?" He asked as he got up and tried to flick the goo from out of his hair.

"Um...it does..but..do you have lemons here?" She asked him.

"I'm sure they have some in the kitchen."

"Good, squeeze lemon juice on it, it should get it out."

A knock was heard from the door behind them before a rather short and stout man came in. "Miss Da Vinci, Miss Draco, the king would like to have a word with you two."

"Ok, but it's actually Drake," Lena piped up as she was putting her Katana away. Ashley just gave her a weird look. "Manny changed it."

Ashley just nodded and motioned her friend to follow as she headed to the doorway. She gave a wave to both Demetri and Lance before going out of view. Lena who was nodding, motioned for her dragon to follow her and looked to the prince once more. "Thanks for the spar, Demetri. Bye Lance," She said before leaving with Carmella at her tail.

It didn't take them very long till they got to the King's private study. The stout man rapped on the door and announced, "Your highness, Miss Da Vinci and Miss Drake are here."

"Come in!" Came the voice of the king. The man nodded his head to his master's orders and opened the doors for the two girls. Ashley and Carmella walked in as the doors closed behind them. "Have a seat ladies," He said as he motioned to two seats before him.

"Ok," Ashley said as she went and sat in one, her eyes going to the man. Lena on the other hand sat in the one opposite of her friend's with Carmella curled around the seat.

"Now, I would like you to tell me what happened." The king said in a curt tone.

"Well…the trip to the tower went smoothly," Lena said as she placed a hand over her mouth in thought. "The tower seemed darker than how I remembered it."

"Something was off and we found that it was the hideout of Pitch and Eris, the two who had threatened your family." Ashley continued.

"They weren't there at the time, but we figured it would be a good idea to get out of there." Lena said.

"That was when a shadowed form of Gothel appeared-"

Ashley was cut off as the king clenched his jaw. "She was there!"

"Not exactly, um she wasn't human, she was more of what you think of as a ghost, a shadow, or an after image. All that she seemed to care about was Rapunzel's hair, she didn't even notice that it was different and she kept calling her flower." Lena tried to explain.

"So she's after my daughter because of her hair again?" He asked.

"That's the thing, her hair isn't long or blonde anymore, you'd think that she would have noticed that. I think she was just driven by an obsession. No real thought or sense."

"In other words, she's being used as a tool to get to your daughter," Ashley interrupted as she folded her arms.

The king was silent as he tried to think of as to why she would try to take his little girl away. "But why?"

Lena looked over to Ashley and gave a nervous look, a look that Ashley knew all too well. A look of knowing. She then turned her gaze back to the nervous king. "I think..they want her tears."

"Tears? What are her tears good for?!" The king asked in exasperation.

"They hold the same powers that her hair had, it's the reason why Eugene is still alive." Lena continued as Ashley nodded her head.

"The powers are still inside her?"

Ashley nodded. "Yes,"

The king's eyes looked sad but he never moved them from the two girls before him. "My poor girl, hasn't she gone through enough!"

"Your majesty, I know you are worried for your daughter, but we will protect her. She also has you, your wife and son, Eugene and Maximus, and Pascal. Not to mention she can take care of herself pretty well. I think she was just in shock at the tower," Lena tried to explain to him.

Ashley nodded,"Lena is right, your daughter is strong and you know it. She is a true warrior," She said gently.

"A very caring warrior, but still a fighter." Lena added.

The king nodded and gave one last sigh. "So what is the plan then? What can we do to stop these two from hurting my daughter and taking over the kingdom."

Ashley nodded and motioned him closer and she whispered the idea into his ears. Lena had overheard and gave a toothy grin.