Chapter Six

Rapunzel took a deep breath, stirring as the bright sun hit her. She batted her green eyes, stretching. She rolled to the side, smiling as she looked into his brown eyes above. He sat on a rock above her, sending her a soft smile.

There was a long pause, the both of them looking at each other. "Don't exactly talk your ear off saying goodbye, do they?" Eugene asked, breaking the silence. He looked over his shoulder, making Rapunzel sit up.

Off in the distance, the group of Aborigines were walking away. They must have left just as the sun was rising in the east. They had been silent as they packed up, not waking Rapunzel or Eugene up.

"The Johnson's were always like that." Rapunzel said, grabbing her corset as she stood up and moved closer toward Eugene.

"What?" Eugene asked, now used to her ramblings. They made sense in a way now. She called them people she used to know when they had the same characteristics or personalities.

"Remember the church social last year? They ate everybody's jams and pies and left without saying a word." She said, putting on her corset.

"Well," Eugene said, rising to his feet. "It's our own fault for inviting 'em again this year."

He moved to a higher rock, something not feeling right in the pit of his stomach. He watched the Aborigines, still wondering why they had left without a word. They saved them in the desert yet didn't say they were leaving. Something had to be up.

"Why would they do that?" Rapunzel asked, tilting her head.

Sure enough, just coming over the hill were Gaston's men. There were five of them on horses, storming towards the Aborigines. "That's why." He said, anger beginning to bubbling inside of him.

Woman began screaming as they grabbed their children and ran. The men shouted to each other, their spears held tightly in their hands. They were prepared to fight for their tribe.

"Oh no." Rapunzel gasped. She picked up her dress, running off after them as Eugene turned around to grab his gun. She had to save them. "No!"

Eugene whipped around, watching her blonde hair flowing after her as she ran away. "No." He said, realizing the danger she was putting herself into. "Stay back!" He shouted at her, worry and anger clear in his voice.

Gaston's men whistled signals to each other, loading their guns as they trampled to the Aborigines. They urged their horses to go faster, wanting to get as close to the Aborigines as possible. Rapunzel raced toward the scene of danger, groaning as her bare feet slammed into the harsh ground.

Eugene settled behind a rock in the distance. He only had a few bullets and he had to make them count. He had to kill of Gaston's men before they killed the Aborigines or Rapunzel. This was a life or death situation.

"No!" Rapunzel cried out, her speed never slowing.

The men pulled their horses to a stop and aimed their guns at the Aborigines. They fired, a few Aborigines falling to the ground in result. The tribe attacked back, launching their spears at the men, but they weren't close enough to hit.

The men continued firing, Aborigine after Aborigine falling to the ground with a loud thud. They stood no chance against Gaston's men. They had better weapons that could shoot far and aim better than a spear.

Eugene brought his eye up to his gun, taking careful aim. By firing his gun, he gave away his position. He had to kill at least one of the men to make it count for something. He fired, the bullet taking at least three seconds before hitting one of Gaston's men in the chest.

"Over there!" A man shouted, pointing toward Eugene's location. While they were distracted, the Aborigines closed in, throwing their spears at the men. One of them directly hit a man in the stomach, killing him instantly.

Two down with three to go.

The men raced toward Eugene. Who cared about the Aborigines? They wanted Eugene's blood. They wanted to be the one to go back to Gaston's with the satisfaction of killing Eugene Fitzherbert.

Eugene aimed again, killing another man. He only had two more left.

Rapunzel screamed, charging at the men. Eugene huffed as he loaded his gun. He was so upset with her at the moment. He knew she wasn't exactly right in the head, but did she have to run straight into the danger? Couldn't she listen to him and stay back?

"Shit." He mumbled under his breath, seeing the men head straight to her.

He quickly loaded his gun and aimed. Rapunzel was right in the way of the men. If he was even one centimeter off, he would shoot right through the back of her skull. He had to be extremely precise with this shot. He steadied his gun, waiting for the right moment.

Rapunzel shifted slightly to the left and he fired on the right side of her.

The man on the right groaned as he fell off his horse just a few feet ahead of Rapunzel. She gasped, covering her head as he rolled on the ground. She furrowed her eyebrows. What had happened to him?

The last man from Gaston's quickly realized he was outnumber and wasn't going to win. He whipped his horse around, rushing off back to Gaston's. He had to make it back to tell him that Eugene was still alive.

Rapunzel ran her fingers through her blonde hair, looking around. Where was she? What was she doing?

Eugene jumped to his feet, slightly groaning. Great, one of them got away. He looked down, seeing one horse trotting in circles. He would make great use of a horse right now.

So he packed up everything he had onto the horse and galloped to Rapunzel. He pulled the horse to a stop, scrambling off of the horse. "Of all the damn fool things I ever did see!" He shouted. "You trying to get your head blown off?!" He scolded, marching toward her.

But she sat as still as a mouse. Laying in her lap was one of the Aborigine women. Blood was beginning to dry around her mouth and her eyes were closed shut. Rapunzel used one of her hands to brush down the woman's hair while her other hand tightly held onto the button necklace she had given the woman just yesterday.

Eugene bit on his lower lip, slightly embarrassed from yelling at her.

Rapunzel looked up at him as she unwound the bracelet from her wrist. "Anyone who believes in magic," she said, squinting her green eyes. "is crazy." She finished. She gently placed the bracelet on the woman's chest, softly touching her face for the last time. Rapunzel carefully slid out from under the woman's head and sat beside the body.

Eugene sighed, shaking his head. "Don't be running off like that." He said, looking at the ground. He walked back to the horse, tucking away his gun. "I could have used some help up there, you know." He added.

But Rapunzel was still quiet and Eugene didn't like quiet. "I got my rig back." He said, patting his horse. Still, there was no reply from the young lady. "But no saddlebags, which means I can't make my reloads."

She stared off into the distance as he continued talking. "We got one horse and two canteens."

Rapunzel flipped around, tears glistening in her large green eyes. Eugene sighed, knowing she felt awful, but he hated dealing with those types of situations, so he kept talking about the horse. "And a rider got away." He said. "Which means Gaston'll know where we are."

"Yeah. And we don't." Rapunzel fired back.

Knowing that they had no time to lose, Eugene walked over and helped Rapunzel stand. He got himself onto his horse then helped sit her right behind him. Her arms wrapped tightly around his chest as the horse began to move through the burning desert.

Her tight arms made it difficult for him to breath, but he pushed the feeling away. He felt something moving and he looked down, seeing her slender fingers interlock securely against his chest. Following, her head softly laid against his back.

What was he feeling inside? What was he supposed to be thinking about this woman?

She was desperately in love with another man. So desperate, in fact, that she had gone mad. She would constantly called him her lover's name and say things about her past life that didn't make any sense to him.

Yet he still felt himself falling for her.

He held the reins in one hand then slid his open hand to gently pat her locked fingers. She had gone through so much trauma, more than any woman ever deserve to go through.

A smile broke on Rapunzel's face as she felt the tender touch of his leather gloves. She closed her eyes, moving her head to rest her chin on his shoulder. Oh, it felt so wonderful to hold him again. She didn't know where they were going, but she didn't care.

She trusted Eugene. And she was going to go wherever he took her.

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