8 months later

"Good morning, Sunshine." Eugene said to his wife.

"Good morning, Eugene." Rapunzel replied. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. It still felt like just yesterday that they got married. "So what's on the schedule for today?"

"Well I'm going to go look at some horses for the Royal Guard." stated Eugene. "The guy said he has something to do later so I have to come by early. I'll be back soon. I love you." He kissed her again and left. She loved how he took his job as the captain seriously. She watched him leave and started to get ready for a meeting later. She hated meetings more than anything. They were boring and went on for hours sometimes. This one was supposedly about a new treaty with the kingdom of Breven. Soon, she left for the meeting room and prepared for a long day.

At the horse barn, Eugene walked with the owner, Albert Campbell, and looked at horses. They went and looked at the ones in the paddock too.

"You still got that horse, Maximus?" Albert asked Eugene.

"Yeah. He's a great horse." Eugene said.

"Well, I still got his mama. I bred her and she gave twins. Both are strong and with a little work they can be great military horses. They're over in the south pasture." Albert gestured over to a pen and Eugene walked over. In the field, two colts were chasing each other, running and bucking. One was mostly white with some brown patches and the other was a chestnut color with a white face and white stockings.

"They seem like they would be good horses." Eugene said after observing them.

"They're named Decimus and Meridius. Father's name is Aurelius and the mother is Lucilla. They've got good genetics, that's for sure." Albert stated proudly.

"I'll take these two and some of the ones from the barn." Eugene told him. He paid for the horses and had his men take them back to the stables. When Eugene got back to the castle, he figured Rapunzel's meeting was over and went to find her. He went to the library and found the queen.

"Your majesty." Eugene said upon entering the room.

"Oh, why hello, Eugene. What brings you up here?" Ariana asked.

"Just looking for my wife." he replied.

"I think she went to her room after the meeting." stated Ariana.

"Thank you. I figured that but I wanted to check just in case." Eugene said as he left the library. He headed down the hall to their room and saw that the door was slightly open. That was strange considering Rapunzel usually had it closed. He walked in and saw that no one was in there. However, there was a note on the bed. Eugene picked it up and read it.

"If you're looking for the princess, she's not here. I've taken her. If you want to see her again, go to the abandoned house on the edge of the island. Come alone or else."

Eugene couldn't believe what he was reading. He ran to the library and told the queen. She requested that he take backup but he refused. He told her he was going to go get her and if he wasn't back by noon the next day to send someone. The queen agreed and he left on Maximus.

Once they made it to the house, Eugene went in, only to be knocked out. When he woke up, he was in a dimly lit room. As he was looking around, he heard a door open and footsteps walking towards him. A man walked into the light and made a motion with his hand. Two more men came out from behind him and Eugene saw that they were holding Rapunzel. They threw her down next to him. He grabbed her and pulled her up to his chest. She held onto him and he wrapped his arms around her.

Eugene looked up at the man and said "Who are you and what do you want with us?"

"I'm Ernest Ward. You're here because I have a plan to take over Corona." he said. "The first step in taking over a kingdom, is to get rid of the heirs. Then get rid of the current monarchs and establish your dominance over the citizens. Then take the throne. It's really simple." He let out a slightly evil chuckle.

Rapunzel stood up and said "You can't do that. It's-" She was silenced by a firm slap across her face. She stumbled backwards and fell into Eugene's arms.

"Sit down and shut up or I'll kill you right where you are." Ernest told her harshly. Eugene could feel his blood starting to boil. This guy was not only threatening his wife but hurting her too. He wasn't going to sit there and let it happen. He stood up and moved in front of Rapunzel.

"You can hurt me all you want, but you don't touch my wife." Eugene said. Ernest laughed and threw a punch at Eugene. He dodged it and threw a punch of his own. He made contact with Ernest's face and made him fall back. He hit his head on the wall and was knocked unconscious. Eugene looked around and saw some rope. He tied Ernest's hands and legs together then dragged him to the opposite corner of the room. After that, he went back over to Rapunzel to see if she was okay. She threw herself into his arms and cried into his shirt. Eugene hated seeing her like this. He hugged her tight and didn't let go. Rapunzel lifted her head up and looked into Eugene's eyes. Eugene placed a gentle kiss on her lips and moved a few strands of hair out of her face.

"Are you okay?" Eugene asked her. He wanted to make sure she wasn't seriously hurt.

"I'll probably have a bruise on my face for a bit but other than that I think I'm okay." she replied. "Maybe we should start heading home."

"I think that's a good idea." Eugene said as he started to get up. "Oh and one more thing, I love you, Rapunzel."

"I love you too, Eugene. I don't know what I would do without you." she told him. She pulled herself up and dusted her dress off. Eugene put his arm around her and they started walking out of the house. The sun was just starting to set so the couple hurried as fast as they could to get home before dark. By the time they got to the castle gates, the sun had disappeared under the horizon. They made their way up to their room when they passed the queen in the hallway.

"Rapunzel! Are you okay?" the queen exclaimed as she ran up and hugged her daughter.

"Yes, Mother. I'm fine." Rapunzel replied.

"Ok, well there's some food left in the kitchen if you're hungry." the queen said.

"I think I'm just going to go to bed. I'm pretty tired. Thank you though." Rapunzel said, starting to walk away. She and Eugene got to the room and changed. They climbed in bed and Eugene held his wife close to him. He was relieved that she was alright. He couldn't imagine his life without her. Rapunzel moved closer to Eugene and held his free hand. She leaned against him and closed her eyes. She eventually fell asleep against Eugene's chest. After a while, Eugene fell asleep too.