Promises

One morning, Udonna opened her eyes and then screamed, "LEANBOW!"

The instant Nick heard his mother's scream, he jerked into a sitting position and then sprang out of bed and ran to his parents' room. "Mom, what's going on? What happened?" he yelled, as he pounded on the door.

Daggeron and Clare followed Nick and Daggeron ordered, "Nick. Calm down."

Nick glared at his original instructor—since the defeat of the Master and their return home, Leanbow had taken over most of Nick's training along with Udonna.

She opened the door and asked, "Have you seen Leanbow?"

"Dad's gone?" Nick froze, and sank to the floor, terrified—Leanbow had promised never to leave again. He had promised, Nick thought angrily.

Daggeron said, "Clare. Contact the others. We have to find Leanbow—and, if necessary, rescue him—fast."

She nodded and raced down the stairs, while Udonna tried to calm herself—and Nick—down, before she explained what had happened to the others.

Nick was still pretty shaky when everyone was gathered in the main room. "When I went to bed last night, Leanbow was with me. When I woke up, he was gone," Udonna told the group, trying to keep herself from breaking down into hysterics.

"We gotta get him back," Vida said.

Madison and Xander nodded in agreement.

Chip suddenly asked, "Nick, couldn't you contact him?"

Nick shrugged and he took a deep breath and rubbed his temples. Dad? Dad, where are you? He silently asked for his father, but there was only silence. He scowled and said, "Nothing."

Udonna grimaced and the entire team crowded around the crystal ball. "Where are you, Leanbow?" Udonna whispered.

"He's in the forest," Madison murmured.

"I don't think it's going to be that easy," Xander pointed out.

The others reluctantly nodded and began searching for some sort of identifying clue about the forest so they could find where Leanbow was and get him home.

Meanwhile, Leanbow opened his eyes and realized he was in the forest. How did I get here? The last thing I remember is curling up in bed, with Udonna, and then suddenly I'm in the middle of the forest? Leanbow thought as he walked through the woods. Hopefully, someone familiar—like Phineas—would explain how in the world he ended up in the forest in the middle of the night. Udonna was bound to be worried sick. And Bowen—I have to get back. I made him a promise and I intend to keep it. As Leanbow walked, he tripped over something. He studied the mysterious object, and drawing a small knife, carefully walked along, silently leaving a trail so he could lead someone over to whatever it was he tripped over. He soon came across two young lovers—they reminded him so much of Bowen and Madison—or of him and Udonna when they first got married, Leanbow thought nostalgically.

The other man saw him and leapt to his feet. "Stay away from Rapunzel," he growled.

Leanbow nodded and said, "My name is Leanbow of Briarwood. Can you tell me where I am and how I got here?"

"I am Rapunzel, Princess of the Realm of Corona, Lost Princess Returned," the woman said. "That is Eugene Fitzherbert. Welcome to Corona."

"How do I get home?" Leanbow asked.

"Why not stay here?" Eugene asked.

Leanbow said, "I made a promise to never leave my family again—and I need to be with them."

Then Eugene asked, "But you're here and they're there, so if you got here, maybe they could come after you?"

"Briarwood is our home. It's where we've lived for generations, and it's where we belong," Leanbow responded. "And I won't force Udonna to start over somewhere new. She's had to do that one too many times."

"How many times?" Rapunzel asked.

"Three times, give or take," Leanbow admitted. "And the last time was one too many."

Rapunzel nodded and Eugene asked, "So, why does it matter if you keep your promise?"

"It's a matter of honor," Leanbow replied. "I do my best to always keep my promises, especially the ones I made to Udonna and Bowen."

"Alright, who is Udonna and who is Bowen?" Eugene demanded—figuring correctly that those two names would come up again.

"Udonna is my beloved wife, and Bowen is my only son," Leanbow smiled, remembering how much his little family meant to him.

Rapunzel nodded. "You keep your promises?" she asked.

Leanbow nodded and Rapunzel added, "So do I. I always keep my promises."

Eugene nodded and said, "She's right. She promised the Kidnapper—Gothel—that she would give up her freedom in an attempt to save me, which is why her hair, which was originally long and golden—seventy feet to be precise—is now short and brown—I had to cut it to free and save her."

Leanbow nodded and said, "Of all my promises, I think I've only broken one. And it's the one I wish I hadn't."

"What promise?" Eugene and Rapunzel were both very curious.

"I promised that I would always protect Udonna and Bowen and nothing and no one would ever harm them, not even me, and I broke that promise in the past year," Leanbow scowled.

"How?" Rapunzel asked.

"I was Koragg and very nearly destroyed Udonna and almost killed Bowen," Leanbow replied.

"How did you become Koragg or whatever his name was?" Eugene asked.

"I was placed under an evil spell—the Master used his dark magic against me—and I became Koragg, and I had no memories of my previous life, but that doesn't remove the guilt—I came so close to killing Bowen, and nearly destroyed Udonna," Leanbow sank his head into his hands and closed his eyes—the guilt from being Koragg still haunted him, despite being freed by the Master's evil influence by Udonna twice.

"So you weren't yourself?" Rapunzel asked.

Leanbow nodded. There were times he truly hated himself—for what he had done to his family.

"Then it's not your fault," Eugene concluded.

Leanbow nodded and he closed his eyes. Didn't his wife have a saying about travel. How did it go again? He thought. I swear, I'm going to get home, no matter what it takes.

Rapunzel nodded in agreement and Leanbow murmured, "Thanks, I guess."

Rapunzel nodded and said, "I'm sure there was a reason you became Koragg."

"To torture my wife further?" he muttered sarcastically. Udonna had, more or less, been broken by the Great War, and the idea of her beloved being evil had very nearly killed her.

Rapunzel stared as Eugene asked, "How can you say that?"

"Nearly everyone in our family died during the Great War, and my "treason" against the Light, was the worst thing I could have done, and Udonna suffered the most from my "betrayal"" Leanbow replied.

Then, wanting to change the topic, she asked, "So, what's your opinion on keeping promises?"

"An honorable person will always keep their promises or do their best to keep their promises, and never make a promise they can't keep," Leanbow replied.

Rapunzel and Eugene nodded in agreement.

Eventually, Leanbow leaned against a nearby tree and vanished. The future rulers of Corona exchanged glances.

Leanbow blinked a few times and then yelled, as Phineas snuck up on him. "Phineas! Don't do that!"

"You do know the entire Mystic Force is looking for you, right?" The Troblin informed the warrior.

Leanbow turned his head in the direction of Rootcore and began walking toward home. "Hey, where are you going?"

"Home," Leanbow smiled, and began to run. He had to make sure his family was OK. He blinked and heard Bowen's voice say, Dad? Dad, where are you?

I'm on my way home, I promise, Leanbow replied. Come out the front entrance. I'll be there soon.

Nick blinked and tugged on Udonna's sleeve. "What is it?" she asked her son.

He led her outside as Leanbow arrived at Rootcore. He grabbed Udonna and Nick and hugged them again. "Where were you?" Udonna asked, in between her sobs.

Leanbow kissed her gently and he replied, "You'd never believe me if I told you."

Nick raised his eyebrows and challenged, "Try us."

"Um, somehow I ended up in a land called Corona, and met the future rulers—Rapunzel and Eugene Fitzherbert—and we ended up discussing keeping promises," Leanbow replied.

"Not that weird, Dad," Nick told his father.

"I'm just glad you're home," Udonna murmured, after kissing her husband again.

Then she scowled. "Relax, Udonna, I still prefer redheads," he kissed her gently. "And you're my favorite redhead."

The rest of the group ran out when Vida yelled, "Leanbow's back!"

Everyone crowded around him and he once again explained what had happened—and everyone believed him.

He then wrapped his arms around Udonna and said, "If you'll excuse us, Udonna and I are going to take a nap."

"Please don't disappear again," Nick asked.

Leanbow grinned and ruffled Nick's hair, before entering Rootcore, leading Udonna back to their room, where he promptly collapsed into bed and fell asleep, as Udonna wrapped her arms around his waist and curled up against him.

Back in Corona, Rapunzel murmured, "I'm glad we could help Leanbow."

"Yeah, I just hope he's alright," Eugene added.

The two then returned to the castle, silently agreeing not to tell anyone—other than Pascal and Maximus—about meeting Leanbow.

The End