I let out a sigh of relief. “Yes . . . yes, I’m her.”
“I knew it,” the boy said a little too loudly.
“Shh,” the girl scolded.
“Sorry,” he said. “Look, we don’t have much time. You probably don’t know this, but the servants who work in the garden also guard this tower at night, in shifts. We probably only have about five minutes until they return to check the stairway.”
Of course Theresa would take extra precautions to protect me. Then again, maybe the guards were there to prevent me from escaping. Perhaps Theresa had been brainwashing me to believe I was locked away for my own safety.
“I’m ready,” I said to Hansel and Gretel. “What do we do?”
“Gretel will make sure it’s clear. Then we’ll follow her down to the kitchen.”
“Why there?” I asked.
“We’re taking you through a secret door.”
“Why can’t you just take me back to the castle? I want to see my father.”
“Guards are stationed at every exit of the manor. We’ll have to hide until there is a chance to leave.”
“But there will be servants in the kitchen,” I said.
“I don’t know how much the woman who keeps you locked in here has told you,” Hansel whispered, “but there are secret doors and passageways in this house.”
“Are you certain? The walls are made of stone, and I’ve never seen anything out of the ordinary.”
“I should tell you that the other princess, Snow White, has also been kidnapped.”
“My cousin Snow?” I exclaimed.
“We saw the older woman take the princess through the secret door in the kitchen,” Hansel said. “That’s when we figured out about the secret passageways.”
“You’re saying Snow could be in this house right now?” I went to the door. I couldn’t believe it. My escape was in the palm of my hand, and perhaps I could save my cousin, too, before I returned to the castle to see my father.
The boy grabbed my arm. Even though he was probably only twelve, he was at least as tall as me. His gaze bored into mine. “There’s something else you should know. Theresa took the princess through that door, but Snow White didn’t return with her.”
“Then, she must still be in there. Is it a room or something?” I tried to pull my arm away, but he held tighter.
“Shh, calm down. That’s why we want to take you through the secret door—to see if we can find her. Gretel and I already tried but couldn’t find her.”
“Then let’s go!” I said.
“Wait until Gretel gives the signal that it is safe to escape.”
I quickly snatched my wooden box of letters to Snow, and then Hansel and I met Gretel at the top of the stairs. At her signal, he grasped my arm and the three of us hurried down the stairs and through the entrance hall. I wondered if my pounding heart could be heard over our stealthy steps.
We reached the kitchen with its door that led outside. Before I could ask Hansel where the secret door was, I spotted it next to the fireplace, well hidden to match the moulding around the chimney and mantel. Mirrored on the opposite side of the mantel, the pattern appeared to be only a decorative design on the wall, with straight lines and corners.
I had visited the kitchen on numerous occasions when Theresa let me out to go outside to exercise, but I had never noticed the secret door next to the fireplace. “Is this where Theresa went through?” I ran my finger down the seam.
Hansel walked up beside me. “Yes.” He placed one hand above the doorframe, and his other hand on the side of the door. “You open it the same way as the entrance to your tower.” He shifted his hands a little and pressed at different spots. With a click and a turn of the knob, the door opened, kicking up a small puff of dust.
“I wondered how Theresa opened my door,” I mumbled. “She never used a key.”
“Are you ready to find your cousin?” Hansel asked.
“More than ever.”
“Let’s go.” He pulled some white pebbles from his pocket, then bent down and placed one between the door and the frame. “Opening it from the other side can be a little tricky. I want to make sure we can come back.”
“It’s a strange place through that door,” Gretel said. They were the first words I’d heard her speak.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
Hansel swung the door open. “You’re about to find out.”
Through the doorway was a small room, with a bed against one wall, and a three-drawer dresser against the other. A chair and a desk sat next to the bed. The walls were bare.
“It’s just a room,” I said. “Where is Snow?”
Hansel walked to the door on the other side of the room. “This leads to the rest of the house. Not the manor and the tower, but a different house.”
“Is Snow in there?”
“She must be, because she never came back with Theresa.”
I entered the room, with Gretel following close behind. She closed the door most of the way, keeping it slightly ajar with the small white rock. Hansel held another small rock, as if ready to use it to prop open another door.
“Do you want to go first?” he asked me.
I set down my wooden box and walked over to Hansel, impatient to see what lay behind the next door. “Yes, please.”
He moved aside and I opened it. A dark hallway lay before us. I crept down it until I had to turn a corner. There in front of me stood a boy with the darkest eyes and the fiercest scowl ever.
“Who are you?” he growled.
I tried to step back but he grabbed my arm. “Why are you in my house?” Now his growl was almost a shout.
Instinct taking over, I kicked him between the legs. When he bent over in pain, I used the palm of my hand to hit him on the back of the neck. He didn’t pass out, but he crumbled to the ground.
“I’ve seen you do that move many times when you were training in the gardens,” Hansel said behind me.
“I always wondered how it would feel to use it on a real attacker,” I replied. “Hurry, we need to get out of here.” I pushed Hansel back to where we came from and followed Gretel, who was already retreating back into the small bedroom.
“Wait,” a female voice said behind us. I turned around. A kind-faced older woman in strange clothes, with her hair pulled back in a messy bun, stood over the injured boy.
“Are you Rapunzel?” she asked.
I froze, wondering how she knew my name.
The woman spoke again. “Are you the lost princess?”
I slowly nodded.
She sighed and moved toward me. “My name is Aunt Em. Your mother has been worried sick about you.”
“You know my mother?”
“Oh yes. She lived here for a while when she was growing up . . . but that’s a long story.” The woman’s gaze drifted as if she was lost in thought.
“She used to live in the manor?” I asked.
“No. She lived here in Idaho.”
“Idaho?”
“Your cousin was just as confused when she arrived.”
“My cousin? Snow? Is she here?” The words rushed out.
“Yes, come, I’ll show you.”
The boy clambered to his feet and stared at me. “At least your cousin has better manners.”
“If you didn’t scare off everyone you met, Maddox, maybe you’d have some friends for a change,” the woman told hm.
“Sorry about that.” I bit my lip, feeling bad about being so quick to inflict pain on him.
“It’s okay,” he said. “I deserved it, surprising you like that.”
Getting a better look at him now, I saw he was close to my age—maybe even a year or two older. Now that he wasn’t scowling, he was sort of cute. Perhaps it was because I hadn’t seen a boy my age in a decade, but I was a little bit intrigued with his appearance, especially his brown hair, which was swept to the side. My hand itched to touch its softness.
Oh goodness, that was weird. You just attacked hi
m, and now you want to feel his hair? Focus. You’re here to find Snow.
“Is Snow down the hall?” I asked the woman, hoping she wouldn’t notice the blush on my cheeks.
“She’s downstairs in the kitchen, rinsing the raspberries.”
“I thought we just came through the kitchen.”
“Not that kitchen. That one is in Fenmore Falls. You’re in Idaho now.”
I opened my mouth to ask what was going on, but she raised one finger up to her lips and said, “I’ll explain later. Let’s go find your friend.”
I followed the woman down the hall, passing Maddox, whose scowl had returned. I glanced over my shoulder. Hansel and Gretel were nowhere to be seen. They must be hiding and watching.
When the woman and I went down the stairs, I thought we’d emerge in a dungeon of some sort, since we had started on the main level of the manor. However, from the stairs I could see daylight coming through the windows below, which was peculiar, since it had been late at night when I’d left the tower a few minutes before.
What is this place?
As I stepped down the last step, I caught the view from a window. My breath hitched in my chest. Instead of the willow tree and small meadow outside my tower window, I could see miles and miles of farmland and pastures of tall green grass.
Where am I?
Chapter 13
Rapunzel
by the Brothers Grimm
At first Rapunzel was terrified when she saw a man coming in through her window, especially since she had never seen one before. But the prince started talking with her in a kind way and told her that he had been so moved by her voice that he could not rest easy until he had set eyes on her. Soon Rapunzel was no longer afraid, and when the prince, who was young and handsome, asked her if she wanted to marry him, she thought to herself: “He will like me better than old Mother Gothel.” And so she accepted, put her hand in his, and said: “I want to go away from here with you, but I can’t figure out how to get out of this tower. Every time you come to visit, bring a skein of silk with you, and I will braid a ladder from the silk. When it’s finished, I’ll climb down and you can take me with you on horseback.”
Reunited
}Snow White}
“Do you want me to wash the raspberries with soap or just rinse them?” I asked Aunt Em as she came down the stairs. I held my sore fingers under the running water while I waited for her response. I snatched a berry from the bowl in the sink and rinsed it off before plopping it in my mouth. The juice exploded, filling my senses with sweetness.
When she didn’t reply, I spun around. There she stood, along with the Atwood brothers, all wearing uncertain expressions.
Eddy glanced at Aunt Em. It was then that I saw a girl standing next to her with blond hair and familiar, jade-colored eyes. My heart froze in my chest.
Before I could grasp what was happening, the girl rushed over and flung her arms around me. “Snow!” she choked through tears. “It’s really you.”
I clasped my cousin Rapunzel in my arms, emotion clogging my throat.
“Snow,” she said again. “I can’t believe it’s you.”
I finally got a breath. “How? Where?” I pulled back a little and looked into her wet, sparkling eyes. “Is it really you?”
Punz nodded, wiping tears from her cheeks. All grown up, she was as beautiful as ever. A small ache hid behind her eyes. My chest tightened from wondering what she had been through.
“Where have you been?” I asked, wanting to erase her pain.
“Locked in a tower,” she said.
“Where?”
“Here, at Sherwood Manor.”
“Sherwood Manor?” I looked at Aunt Em. “Is that what this place is called?”
She shook her head. Then she came over and gently placed a hand on each of our shoulders. “Come. Let’s go talk.”
“What’s going on?” Punz’s eyes were large with worry.
“I’ll explain everything in my room,” Aunt Em said.
“Snow, where are we?” Punz asked.
“I’m not exactly sure.”
“How far away is the castle?” she said uneasily.
Aunt Em laughed as she looked around at all of the brothers watching the reunion. “You girls are too funny, with your crazy imaginations about castles and stuff.” She laughed again. “Come, I want to show you something.”
She grabbed Punz’s hand and mine and pulled us up the stairs. Once we entered her bedroom, she quickly shut the door and said, “That was a close one.”
I glanced at Punz, who appeared as confused as I was. “Aunt Em, will you please explain what’s going on?”
She took a big breath. “All right, where do I begin?” She paced back and forth. “I figured one of you would come here eventually, but I never thought both of you at the same time. Since hearing Rapunzel was kidnapped, I’ve been on the lookout. Your father came looking for you. I vowed I would help if I ever found you. The kingdom needed to be kept hidden and secret. That’s why I haven’t told anyone about Fenmore Falls. Nobody can know where you two are really from.”
Aunt Em stopped pacing and glanced back and forth between us. “That’s why we can’t talk about it downstairs, with my nephews and niece listening.”
I frowned. “Why can’t anybody know where we’re from?”
Again, she placed her hands on my shoulder and Punz’s. “Nobody knows Fenmore Falls exists.” Seeing our bewilderment, Aunt Em continued, “Your kingdom is a very special place with magic and fairy tales, but it’s also a place full of evil and danger. In order to protect my world and also keep the beauty in your world safe, only a few people have the honor of knowing about it.”
“What are you saying?” I felt disoriented, always half a step behind the answers. It was like being in a dream.
“Sweethearts” —Aunt Em gave a small smile— “Fenmore Falls is a fairytale kingdom hidden behind a magic door.”
I felt like someone had poured a bucket of cold water over my head. Punz began to question Aunt Em, but I could only comprehend some of her words because my mind was spinning.
“What is this place called?” I heard Punz ask.
“It’s called Idaho,” Aunt Em answered.
“Is Sherwood Manor in . . . Idaho?” Punz asked slowly.
“No. Everything on the other side of the magic door is in Fenmore Falls,” replied Aunt Em. “Speaking of magic, how did you get through the door?”
“I almost forgot!” Punz exclaimed. “Hansel and Gretel.” She rushed to the bedroom door and turned the knob.
“Where are you going?” Aunt Em asked.
“They were the ones who helped me escape from the tower,” she said. “They came through the door with me, but I don’t know where they went. I have to go find them.”
“I’ll come with you,” Aunt Em said. “Snow, will you be all right?”
It took me a couple of seconds to realize she was talking to me. In a haze, I lifted my eyes to hers. She asked again, “Will you be all right?”
I sighed inwardly. “Yes.”
After a brief hesitation, Aunt Em turned to follow Punz out the door.
I backed up to the bed and collapsed onto the mattress. Lying on the comforter, I stared up at the ceiling. I didn’t want to feel anything.
“Knock, knock,” someone said, accompanied with an actual knocking sound on the bedroom’s open door.
I sat up. Eddy was standing in the doorway. “How’s it going?” he asked.
His kind question and sincere smile brought my emotions to the surface.
Frowning in concern, he came to sit by me on the bed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you cry.”
I wiped away my tears. “No, you’re fine. I don’t know why I’m crying.”
He patted my knee awkwardly. “Is there anything I can do?”
“No, I’m fine.” Even as I said it, more tears came.
Looking uncomfortable with my crying, Eddy wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “
I’m sorry.”
I leaned into his chest. He rested his chin on the top of my head. Listening to his steady heartbeat made me sigh in relief.
He smoothed my hair. He didn’t say anything else, but he didn’t need to.
Wait! What am I doing?
I pushed away and stood up, hardly believing I had let myself fall into that kind of situation.
Eddy also stood, wiping his hands on his pants.
“I’m so sorry,” I said.
“For what? Blowing your nose all over my clean shirt or for blubbering like a baby?” He actually smiled at that.
I gaped in embarrassment. “It won’t ever happen again.”
He nudged my arm. “I’m only teasing you. Feel free to blow your nose on my shirt anytime you want, especially if it means I can put my arm around you.”
Heat rose in my cheeks. His teasing was getting me out of my bad mood. But I shouldn’t have enjoyed being in his arms like that.
“Where is the other girl?” Eddy asked, changing the subject.
“She went with Aunt Em to look for somebody.” I wiped away one last stubborn tear.
“Is she a friend of yours?”
For a second, I almost forgot my amnesia story, and blurted out my relationship to Punz. I caught myself in time and said, “I know she’s someone I’m supposed to know, but I can’t remember. She could be a friend or a cousin. I’m not sure.”
“You two acted like you were very close.”
“It felt like she was someone I haven’t seen for a very long time,” I said.
“You don’t look anything alike, so you must not be related.”
I smiled at his mistake. “Yes, we’re quite the opposites. I’m the boring one with plain, dark hair, and she’s beautiful with her porcelain skin and long, blond hair.”
“I don’t know about that,” he said. “You’re both beautiful in your own separate ways.”
He looked at the floor as he spoke. I couldn’t tell if his words were only meant to cheer me up or if he was being sincere. From the way he wouldn’t return my stare, it seemed he was actually being honest.
“Thanks, Edison,” I said. “You’re nice to say that.”
Rescuing Rapunzel (The Princess Chronicles Book 3) Page 6