Chapter 1

The massive three-masted galleon slowly pulled into Corona port. There was great hustle and bustle as men on deck as well as shore worked to secure the mighty vessel. On board were the heir to the throne and her husband, returning from their lengthy and unexpectedly cold visit to the Kingdom of Arendelle to witness the coronation of its young Queen, Elsa.

Princess Rapunzel was wearing a lovely dress made entirely of different shades of purple that was reserved for foreign visits, though in truth this was her first official state visit to another nation. Barefoot as always, she stepped down the gangplank and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly in a sigh of contentment. “It’s good to be home!” the short haired brunette exclaimed.

“You said it, Sunshine,” said Eugene as he came down next to her. Like his wife, he was wearing his foreign dignitary outfit, a dapper suit of purple and blue with yellow highlights. “After all that magical snow and then the damp journey back home, I could really use a nice hot bath. You think Varian has finished installing that hot water system for the palace yet?”

“Really? The first thing you think about doing once we’re home is having a bath?” she teased.

Eugene grinned, sensing her playfulness. “Well, no,” he said while keeping his eyes forward as they walked along the dock. “The first thing I thought of was what I was going to do to you once I got you back to our bedroom. There’s a decided lack of privacy on that ship and it’s been far too long since we’ve had some time alone. However I didn’t think it appropriate to mention, considering our current location.”

Raps blushed fiercely as he spoke. Despite the topic now being discussed, he carried on as casually, and loudly, as before. Rapunzel deeply loved her husband, but his cavalier attitude when expressing things best kept private still caught her off guard. Her ever growing familiarity with matters of sex notwithstanding, it still left her equal parts thrilled at his unashamed desire for her and embarrassed at his public displays of it.

The docks were quite crowded, with most of the people milling about being too busy moving cargo or shouting at someone to have overheard. One dockworker, however, was only a few feet away and had looked up at Eugene’s words. He made eye contact with Rapunzel briefly before growing red himself and looked away, intensely focused on the knot he was tying.

Raps cleared her throat and pretended to not have noticed, trying and failing to will her own blush away. “Ahem. Be that as it may, I’m afraid that whatever you have planned will have to wait until tonight. We have to meet with my parents and report on what happened in Arendelle. A lot of unexpected things occurred while we were there and we even stayed a week longer than planned.”

“Well, we could have made it back sooner if you hadn’t decided to share your entire life’s story with them,” he chided.

“How could I not? After learning about Elsa’s powers and what she went through growing up, I just had to share. At least I was ignorant of my family while I was in that tower. Her sister was right there the whole time, pleading to be with her, but she couldn’t even touch her for fear of hurting her. It must have been torture for both of them.”

“I know, Sweetheart,” Eugene smiled. “Your openness and empathy are always a breath of fresh air, so don’t ever change. Though those sisters certainly have some strange friends. I know we’ve encountered plenty of weird and wonderful things on our adventures, but an actual living snowman? And a reindeer that talks?”

“Sven doesn’t actually talk.”

“I know, I know. Kristoff speaks for him. Still kind’a weird.”

“No more weird than a thousand year old talking monkey. Not to mention Max, and Pascal, and even Ruddiger. They may not be able to talk, but they can communicate just fine. That’s really not much different than what Kristoff and Sven do.”

“True. I guess we’re all strange. Speaking of Max and Pascal...”

As they walked off the dock they spotted Maximus the horse, waiting to greet them alongside another of the royal mounts, and sitting atop Max’s head was Pascal.

“Max! Pascal” Rapunzel called as she ran up and hugged the horse, then took the little chameleon in hand and hugged him too. “We missed you so much! You wouldn’t believe what happened while we were in Arendelle. Did anything exciting happen while we were away?”

Max whinnied an appreciative greeting, and shook his head no. He kept the Royal Guards on an even stricter regiment while Eugene, their Captain, was away and not so much as a pickpocket escaped while he was on the prowl. Rumour had it that would-be criminals were actually looking forward to Eugene’s return; not that he was any less vigilant with going after them, but was more sympathetic and gentle when apprehending them, being a former criminal himself. They received no such mercy from Max.

Pascal, however, definitely had something to show them. With a wave of his ‘hand’ another chameleon emerged from where she was hiding behind Max, then four more little chameleons followed.

“They hatched!” Rapunzel exclaimed in surprise. She was very grateful that Pascal had found a mate, just like her, and she knew of the eggs, but she didn’t know they would be hatching so soon. “I’m so happy for you, Pascal!” The baby chameleons all crawled over to her and she scooped them up gently. “Aw, they’re all so cute! Look, this one has your eyes, and that one looks just like her mother!”

“How can you tell?” Eugene teased. “They all just look like identical little green frogs to me.” At his comment each of the reptiles looked at him. “What?” he asked. They all changed to different colours, then opened their mouths. “No, wait!” he protested just before six long tongues lashed out and hit him in the face.

They all had a chuckle as Eugene apologised then congratulated Pascal at becoming a father. Rapunzel and Eugene mounted up, with Pascal and two of the babies on Rapunzel’s shoulders, and his mate, Flora, and the other two riding on Eugene, and made their way through the city towards the castle. They waved and exchanged greetings with practically everyone they passed, seeing familiar faces like Feldspar, the town cobbler, “Uncle” Monty, the finest confectioner in the land, and Ulf, the local mime. Many more greeted the princess and her husband, though most she hadn’t yet learned the names of. An hour later they finally passed the castle gates, where Pascal and his family headed back to their living space (right next to Rapunzel’s rooms, of course), and were greeted with an honour guard of dozens of soldiers headed by two very familiar faces.

“Stan. Pete,” Eugene nodded in greeting. “Anything I need to be brought up to speed on? How are the last of the repairs going?”

Stan, the broad shouldered, moustached guard, gave a sharp salute. “Captain Fitzherbert, Sir! Welcome back! We’ve apprehended Lady Caine once again, this time for trying to break into the princess’s bedchambers. We caught her before she actually got in but she’s not answering our questions, so we’re not sure of what her intentions were. She’s being held down in the dungeon, pending your decision.”

Eugene shook his head in disbelief. “Will that woman never learn? It feels like when she’s not trying to break out of jail, she’s doing something that will get her put back in.”

“Oh, go easy on her,” Rapunzel said. “You know how tough her life’s been.”

“I have been going easy on her! Mutiny, treason, grand larceny, kidnapping, not to mention the miles-long list of petty crimes, and those are just the ones we know about. If we were to throw the book at her, execution would be unavoidable. But instead she’s been given a few weeks in the dungeon here and there, and a boatload of community service.”

Rapunzel shrugged. “Well, in her defence, all of those harsher crimes were merely attempts. She never actually succeeded with any of them. And in the end she’s the one who suffered the worst injuries, none of her would-be victims were even harmed.”

“Which is the only reason your father’s allowed me to show leniency towards her,” Eugene added. “Otherwise, she would have lost her head ages ago.”

“And what about repairs?” Rapunzel asked Pete, the more spindly of the two guards, redirecting the conversation.

“The last of the repairs were completed while you were away, Princess, and the scaffolding and other materials dismantled and removed. You can’t even tell any more that the black rocks were ever here.”

The magical, indestructible black rocks, which were an extension of the Moonstone, had nearly destroyed the Kingdom of Corona, first under the control of a confused and power-mad Cassandra and then briefly by the demon, Zhan Tiri. Buildings had been toppled, the castle walls repeatedly pierced, Old Corona village completely overrun, and even the tower where Rapunzel grew up was utterly destroyed. Thankfully, when the Sundrop and Moonstone fused and Zhan Tiri was destroyed, all the rocks disintegrated, leaving many, many holes to be fixed.

“That’s wonderful!” exclaimed Rapunzel. “Now, we still need to see my parents. Where are they?”

“They await you in the throne room, Princess.”

The king and queen of Corona were delighted when their daughter entered the throne room. They had already received word about the strange goings-on in Arendelle, and that Rapunzel and Eugene were safe, but delayed. Yet they still couldn’t set aside their worry until they saw their little girl with their own eyes. King Frederic had been unable to focus on his responsibilities all afternoon, having seen the ship while it was still out at sea, and was impatiently waiting for Rapunzel’s arrival. Despite Queen Arianna’s best efforts to help him maintain his kingly persona in front of the many people also in the throne room, he abandoned courtly decorum upon seeing Rapunzel and rushed over, hugging her.

“Rapunzel,” he said as he gently embraced her. “I’m so glad you’re back.” The giant of a man towered over his daughter and his broad arms practically engulfed her whole. Even though the visit to Arendelle lasted only one tenth of the time as Rapunzel’s search for the source of the black rocks, it was still too long for his liking.

Rapunzel returned the hug. “Hi Dad. I missed you too.” Arianna had glided over to the group and as soon as she was within reach Rapunzel pulled her in as well. “And you, Mom,” she added.

“Welcome home, Sweetie,” Arianna said. She let go and turned to Eugene, hugging her son-in-law. “Good to see you both back safe and sound.”

“It’s good to be back, Your Majesties,” Eugene said.

“Nigel,” the King said, turning to the royal advisor, “no more audiences for today. Anything still on the agenda can wait for tomorrow. The Queen and I have some catching up to do with our family.”

“Yes, Sire,” Nigel responded, bowing.

While Nigel wrapped things up with the various attendees, the royal family exited to a smaller room where they could have a more intimate conversation. They sat comfortably on a pair or couches while Rapunzel and Eugene shared what happened during their trip, from the successful coronation of Queen Elsa, to the celebrations after she mastered her powers, and everything in between, some of which they experienced themselves and others that were only shared with them by the queen and her sister.

“Well, I’m glad we’ve never had much to do with Weselton,” Frederic said as the tale finished. “We get along with the Duke well enough to do business, but if he ever tried to harm anyone in my family, ending trade relations would be the least of his worries.”

“It’s a shame about Prince Hanz, though,” Arianna added. “I remember we met him when he was just a child. His family used to vacation at our mountain retreat to ski. Not much snow in the Southern Isles, you know. He was so sweet and innocent then.”

“What could have caused him to become so ... evil?” Rapunzel asked.

“Greed is my guess,” said Eugene. “He wanted more than what he had and was willing to do anything to get it.”

“Power is a dangerous thing,” added the king. “A desire for more of it, or a fear of losing it, can lead someone to do things they once thought reprehensible.”

Rapunzel took Eugene’s hand in hers and looked to her parents. “And how can we avoid that same fate?”

“I don’t think you have anything to worry about as far as that goes, Rapunzel,” her mother answered. “You’re far too selfless to let any kind of power, be it rule over a kingdom or magic strong enough to control the world, twist your morals. And that’s the key, understanding that the power you do have is not for your gain, but to help those less fortunate than yourself.”

The king stood and stretched. “I think we’ve talked long enough for now,” he said. “Dinner is soon and you two still smell like sailors and salt water, so why don’t you freshen up and grab some clean clothes before we eat?”

Along with the castle repairs was the installation of a complex water system that could transport hot or cold water to and from many of the castle’s rooms; the kitchen, bathing room, and toilet areas, in particular. Unfortunately, the bathing room was still undergoing renovations, specifically Varian’s ‘hot rain simulator’ was being installed at that very moment, so Rapunzel and Eugene had to bathe in the traditional way, with stove-heated water carried by the bucket from the kitchens all the way to a tub temporarily set up in one of the guest bedrooms.

The couple quickly bathed together, though Eugene had difficulty keeping his hands off his beautiful wife, especially when she teasingly asked him to wash her back. The only thing that kept him from making love to her right then and there was the fact that one of the handmaidens would be arriving any minute with fresh clothes for them. When the change of clothes were dropped off and Rapunzel exited the tub to dry herself, absentmindedly exposing her glistening wet backside, he nearly lost what remained of his self-control.

Instead, he followed Rapunzel out of the tub and pulled her to him, pressing his naked front to her back. “Do you have any idea how much I want you right now?” he whispered, not wanting the maiden on the other side of the privacy screen to hear. His manhood stood vertical, trapped between them.

Rapunzel glanced towards the other woman to make sure she hadn’t heard, then made a point of grinding her ass against his member. “Oh, I think I have an idea,” she whispered back, her own arousal being stoked by his attention. “But I promise it’ll be worth your while to wait until tonight.”

Dinner was lovely. Delicious food and pleasant conversation with the king and queen made the evening fly by. Not caring that her parents would notice, both Rapunzel and Eugene were constantly flirting with one another, whether it be sensual looks, or a gentle caress with a foot, or fingers being laced together under the table, or any number of other little things that caused the couple to slowly heat up as the minutes ticked by.

Eventually King Frederic had had enough. “Alright,” he said in exasperation, “it’s clear that you two would rather be somewhere a little more ... private, so why don’t we all call it a night?”

“What? No!” Rapunzel said, though it was clear her heart wasn’t in it at the moment. “We were having such a wonderful talk.”

Frederic raised an eyebrow. “Really? What was it that your mother was just talking about?”

Rapunzel drew a complete blank. While she may have been looking at her mother as Arianna spoke, her attention was completely on the reactions she was getting from Eugene by stroking his leg under the table. “Um, how the Gopher Grab festival this year was going to be the best ever?” she guessed.

The queen smiled. “I said, ‘I hope Quirin or Varian can acquire the supplies they need to finish off their renovations.’ The Gopher Grab was mentioned about half an hour ago, though, so I’ll give you points for trying.”

“Our apologies,” said Eugene, “it’s clear we’ve had a long day and probably should retire early.”

“Yes,” Arianna agreed, “hurry off to bed you two.”

The young couple, blushing slightly, excused themselves from the table and made a dignified but swift retreat, though not before overhearing the other couple’s next words.

“How come you don’t look at me like that anymore?” Arianna asked her husband.

“What, oggle you like a starving dog in front of a piece of meat?”

“No, like you’re desperate to fuck your wife.”

Rapunzel’s eyes went wide at her mother’s crass language, but thankfully the closing door cut off anything more from being heard, sparing her further embarrassment at hearing her parents discuss her and their sex lives.