It did still bother her that he had lied at first. She also wasn’t completely clear on why he had helped her in the first place. Sure, Corbina had sent him. But that wasn’t a reason.
She turned and looked over to where Justus was standing. It seemed he was talking to himself. Back and forth he walked, rubbing his hands together. She laughed aloud when he ran them through his hair, and it stood straight up.
Justus must have heard her because he turned and sent her his signature glare that she was becoming quite familiar with.
Rapunzel waved cheerily.
Justus rolled his eyes and continued to rub his hands and chant. After a moment, his hands began to glow much like Romy’s did when she was growing things. Rapunzel wasn’t sure what she had been expecting.
But she never could have dreamed that bees, tiny yellow bumble bees, would erupt from the palms of Justus’ hands. Hundreds and then thousands of bees surrounded him until Justus pointed across the woods to where the cabin was located.
The bees, clearly under his control, zoomed from where he stood toward the soldiers. Rapunzel had never seen anything like it. The bees looked like a black cloud as they descended. She saw the guards swat at one, then two. But when they became surrounded, the men began to run.
It was almost comical the way they bashed into each other. Firearms were dropped, swords tossed aside, and even garments removed because the bees clearly had no boundaries. When the last soldier took off, Rapunzel dashed across the forest floor to the cottage and slipped through the front door.
She waited for a moment, her heart pounding, praying that nobody was inside. When she didn’t hear anyone, she ran to Romy’s room and flung open her largest trunk at the bottom of her bed. It seemed that they items had been rummaged through. Rapunzel only prayed that whoever had been in Romy’s things hadn’t found the false bottom.
With a press of a lever on the side of the trunk, a small compartment popped open. Rapunzel nearly squealed with glee. Snatching the book, she quickly put the compartment away and then closed the trunk. Carefully she crept down the stairs.
While she was walking toward the front door, she saw the handle turning. Scared within an inch of her life. Rapunzel quickly moved behind the door. If anyone tried to take her, she would have to touch them.
The door squeaked open and she saw the top of a blond head peeking in.
“Justus?” she whispered.
He opened the door wider. “Rapunzel? We need to go. The bees are getting harder to control the spell is going to start falling apart. Did you get the book?”
She grinned at him. “Yes, it was right where I thought it would be.”
“That’s fantastic.”
She nodded. “Yes, it is, isn’t it?”
“Come on, let’s leave this place.”
They slipped out the door and ran toward their hiding place in the woods. Night was coming on and thankfully it wasn’t hard to slip into the shadows. Just as they went out of sight, they heard the soldiers returning.
“Where did you learn that spell?” Rapunzel asked quietly.
Justus shrugged, pushing back a large tree limb so they could both slip past. “I can’t do very many. It seems like anything I try has a bug involved.”
“A bug?” she repeated.
He sighed. “You know, ants, flies, bees, slugs, that sort of thing.”
Her eyes were wide but seeing as how his bees had just saved the day. Rapunzel didn’t feel like teasing him just yet.
Rapunzel followed him along the trail. They walked in silence for a time until Justus showed her a cave, they could sleep in.
Her stomach growled loudly. “We should have grabbed something to eat from the cottage.”
Justus looked offended. “I can fish.”
Rapunzel made a face. “Who is going to gut it?”
“Apparently, I will,” Justus said with a drawl. “Do you know how to build a fire?”
Rapunzel scowled at him. “Now that is just as insulting.”
Justus raised his hands in mock surrender. “I will be back shortly. Do you have any flint?”
“No,” Rapunzel answered. Secretly she had never built a fire in her life.
When she was younger, Papa Otto did it and then as Papa Otto got older, Einar and Romy took over the task. Rapunzel looked at the flint in her hand. Turning it over she frowned. Had he just given her a rock? Was he making fun of her?
“Is there a problem?” Justus asked.
She shook her head. “No, I will just get, erm...”
“Kindling and firewood?” Justus couldn’t hold back the broad grin that crossed his face.
“I knew that,” she snapped and moved around him.
Justus nodded. “Of course, you did. I will be back shortly.”
Rapunzel didn’t watch him leave. It bothered her that despite the fact she and Justus were of a similar age. He seemed far more independent. The last thing Rapunzel wanted was to be reliant on anyone. That had been her reality for her entire life.
It wasn’t that she wasn’t grateful. In some ways it quite the opposite. How could she ever think to repay them? It wasn’t that they would ask, but how did one thank somebody for giving up their lives for eighteen years?
Rapunzel looked over at her pack where she had placed the journal. As soon as she started the fire, she would begin looking at it. They needed to figure out the clue that Corbina insisted was inside of it. The trouble, however, was the Rapunzel had watched Romy read and reread the same journal over and over again.
If she couldn’t find it, what chance did Rapunzel have?
Chapter 9
“HOW IS THE FIRE COMING along?” Justus barely had the question out when the flint came hurling toward his head.
“You tricked me!” Rapunzel snapped.
Justus set down the fresh trout he had caught, cleaned, and gutted. It had taken him much longer than Rapunzel had planned. Each second ticking away was another notch that her temper climbed.
Justus picked up the wood and turned it over.
“That’s a big log,” Rapunzel said defiantly.
Justus inclined his head and dropped the log. “It is big, and also wet.”
Her brows inched together in confusion. “So?”
“Wet wood typically won’t burn. Also, where is the steel you were using?”
She looked at him blankly. “Why would I need steel?”
He sighed and pulled out a knife. Gathering some of the kindling she had prepared, he struck the flint against the steel and a spark erupted into a flame. It took a moment or two for the kindling to catch on, but once they did it appeared that they would have a fire after all.
Rapunzel turned to go back out of the cave.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“To find some dry wood,” she said sounding more tired and grouchy than she had ever been in her life. It had to be coming on midnight. Since she slept barely a wink the night before, Rapunzel was exhausted.
Justus motioned for her to sit back down. “Look, this smaller log you picked up will work just fine. Once we have the fire going, we can try and use the larger one. Don’t look so discouraged, you did a good job.”
Rapunzel groaned. “Oh, please don’t placate me.”
He laughed. “Alright. Your fire making skills could use some work.”
She winced and then nodded. “I know.”
“They are practically non-existent,” he continued in a teasing tone.
Rapunzel buried her face. “I know, I know.”
She could see the way he grinned at her out of the corner of her eye. Groaning, Rapunzel met his gaze again. “There are so many things that you already know how to do. I thought when I climbed out of that window that I would be fine on my own. It’s rather humbling to see just how far off the mark I really was.”
The smile faded from his face. “Rapunzel, I don’t want to offend you. But we have lived very different lives. While I am not saying either one was particularly easy
, they were in no means the same.”
Rapunzel thought about that for a while. It was true that her life, while at times had been a little monotonous, it wasn’t terrible. Her family had taken very good care of her. In the time since she had met Justus, they had talked about her problems or saving her family. What did she really know about him?
“You seem to know all about my life,” she grumbled, finding a warm spot near the fire and pulling her sack onto her lap. It took only a moment to retrieve the thick blanket and settle it around her shoulders. She picked up the journal and began to flip through the pages.
As she read Branwen’s words, Rapunzel got a sense of who the woman was. In some ways, Rapunzel felt that Branwen was similar to Romy and Rapunzel. All three women were raised by someone other than their natural birth mother.
It seemed to Rapunzel that the one who suffered the most from this was Branwen. Romy had Papa Otto, and Rapunzel had them plus Einar. How lonely Branwen must have been as a child? The words began to run into each other and for a moment, Rapunzel closed her eyes.
It seemed like ages ago that she had been warm and safe in their little cottage.
“Your eyes are sleepy,” Justus remarked softly. “Why don’t you rest, and I will wake you when the fish is finished.”
Rapunzel’s eyes flew open and she fumbled a bit with the book. “I wasn’t sleeping.”
The side of his mouth tilted up. “I didn’t say you were. What have you found in your book?”
Rapunzel frowned. Closing the book, she turned back to Justus. “Nothing really. Many of the stories I already know. Romy used to read it all the time. She said it held the secrets that would help with the curse.”
“But she never found anything?”
“No,” Rapunzel answered, shaking her head.
“What is it?” Justus asked, his eyes intent on her.
She flushed. “Nothing. Well, I suppose it’s something. I have learned rather quickly that there are so many things I don’t know anything about. It makes me feel like I have been completely self-absorbed. One would think that I was raised in a bubble, and in a way, I was.”
“This bothers you?”
Her brows snapped together in annoyance. “Well, wouldn’t it bother you?”
Justus smiled, and replied, “I try not to let the thing that I can’t control have that much power over me.”
Rapunzel opened her mouth to reply hotly, but Justus waved her ire away.
“Before you jump all over me, wait to hear the rest. I know that you are not self-absorbed. If anything, you are rather—innocent.”
“That’s a terrible thing to say to someone,” Rapunzel replied with a sniff.
“It isn’t your fault that you have been so sheltered and it isn’t your family’s either. They were in a precarious position and did the best they could.”
“So, what would you have me do?”
Justus pointed to the book. “We have days until we get to Northern Sea kingdom. Put that away for now and get some rest.”
Rapunzel did as he asked and watched him for a moment. “If I am innocent, by your estimation, what does that make you?”
“Experienced,” he said shortly.
“In what way?” she pressed.
Justus huffed. “In all the ways. Why don’t you get some rest?”
“Why are you avoiding me?” she countered. Sadly, as she asked the question, a huge yawn broke free.
Hearing it, Justus turned to look at her over his shoulder. Once again, he smiled.
He had a rather nice smile, she though sleepily. With a sigh she allowed herself to dwell on the fact that he was a rather handsome young man. Perhaps it was the firelight that made him so appealing? But she had never thought so about Papa Otto or Einar.
Perhaps all boys around the age of nineteen would seem appealing in the firelight? But somehow, she rather didn’t think so. There was something about Justus, something she couldn’t put her finger on.
Rapunzel shook her head. Obviously, she was more tired than she imagined.
“What do you want to know?” he asked at last, breaking her concentration.
“What?” she murmured. Letting her eyes close once, and then twice, she forced them open to reply, “Oh yes, about you. I wish to know simply everything.”
And then she fell asleep.
Chapter 10
THE NEXT THING SHE knew, Justus was shaking her awake. “Hey, Rapunzel. You need to eat something.”
The last thing she wanted to do was open her eyes. She couldn’t remember the dream she was having. But she knew it was pleasant. Feeling warm from the fire, she wanted to sink right back down into slumber.
“Come on, Rapunzel. Eat something.”
Opening her eyes, she saw that Justus was rather close, seeing that he still had his hand on her shoulder. His eyes weren’t just blue, there were shades of purples, golds, and even green. She leaned in a little closer when she also became aware that her lip and chin were damp.
Dear merciful heavens.
No.
No.
Please—no.
Had she been drooling?
A wave of embarrassment washed over her. Rapunzel scrambled away from him, quickly getting to her feet. As indiscreetly as she could, Rapunzel wiped away any remaining drool.
“Sorry,” she said abruptly. “I must have dozed off. Erm, what were you saying?”
Justus looked at her for moment, his eyes dancing. “I was asking you to eat something.”
“Right,” she agreed quickly. “Fish, I was going to eat fish.”
His lips twitched. “That is on the menu.”
A frown creased her lovely face. “Are you making fun of me?”
He offered her the fish. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
Rapunzel accepted the fish and began eating. “Oh, my giddy aunt! This is amazing,”
Justus laughed, but the tips of his ears turned pink. It was obvious he was pleased with her comments.
Rapunzel was about to say something else when Justus replied, “I didn’t know a girl could snore like that.”
Heat raced through her cheeks making them flaming red. “I don’t snore!”
“Yes,” he said, clearly enjoying himself. “You do.”
Her eyes narrowed. “There is nobody else here to verify your accusations, sir. Also, I do want it noted that no one in my family has complained before.”
“Do you sleep near your deaf grandfather?”
She nearly threw the fish at him.
He reached out and help save the fish that she nearly dumped into the dirt. “Don’t waste it!”
Rapunzel glared at him. “Why would you lie like that? It’s not kind.”
“Rapunzel,” he said with a smile. “There is nothing to be embarrassed about.”
“I’m not embarrassed,” she protested. Clearly knowing full well that her statement was a bald-faced lie.
“Glad to hear it,” he replied cheekily.
“Are all boys always this annoying?” she groused.
“Are all girls always so easy to wind up?”
Rapunzel stopped for a moment and thought about his words. “You know, I’ve no idea. Romy doesn’t get upset easily. But Einar can definitely get her going. There are times when he is rather playful, and times when he can be stern. But my favorite times is when he looks at Romy when she doesn’t know he’s there. I can’t describe it. I can only say that it makes my heart melt.”
“Sounds like love to me,” Justus said sleepily.
Love? What did Justus know about love? Suddenly the conversation earlier took on a different tone. Had Justus ever been in love?
Rapunzel suddenly felt warm and pushed the blanket away. Even the very idea that Justus may have loved another was distressing to her. He had called her innocent. It hurt knowing that she didn’t understand some things that a person of her age ought to.
Justus seemed oblivious to her thoughts. After he cleaned up her turned to her and said, “I a
m going to add another log and then we had better get some rest.”
Rapunzel watched as he walked over to a large woodpile. It was far more extensive than the one she had carried in. Apparently, he was better at that as well. Feeling sorry for herself she watched as he lifted a few logs and settled them on the fire.
She liked the way that the muscles in his arms flexed as he was picking up the wood. When he looked up and caught her watching him, he smiled at her.
Rapunzel didn’t understand the conflicting emotions within herself. It was hard to grapple with why she cared so much about his opinion. It was even more difficult to know if he was just being kind to her, or if he was feeling the same strange emotions that she was.
Sensing her concern, Justus stopped his movements and asked. “Are you alright?”
Rapunzel pasted on a smile. She knew that it likely looked forced, but she didn’t know what else to do.
“Perfect,” she replied.
Justus moved to the other side of the fire and prepared to lay down. “If you say so.”
“I’m just worried,” Rapunzel blurted out and then felt angry at herself for opening her mouth.
“About what?”
“The journal,” she rushed to say. “I am just worried that we won’t figure it out.”
A softness came over his expression that made Rapunzel feel like a heel. She didn’t deserve his kindness; she hadn’t been thinking of anything but herself.
Justus interrupted her thoughts by saying, “We will figure this out. Don’t worry any more about it tonight. Just get some rest.”
Rapunzel nodded and watched as he turned onto his side. She then looked into the fire. The trout’s skin was still sizzling away where she had tossed it back into the fire. It reminded her of the face that her fingers were still slightly sticky. She wanted somewhere she could wash her face and hands. And she desperately missed her bed.
The thought of trying to sleep now seemed impossible. She opened her mouth twice to speak, but each time stopped herself before saying anything. The last thing she should do was keep him awake.
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