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.
Quietly she sat back down and tried to cover herself with the blanket. Doing as Justus asked, the journal was now safely tucked away. She would rest. Obviously, that was what was wrong with her; she was tired. It shouldn’t have been any sort of surprise after the day they had had.
But no matter which way she tossed or turned, she couldn’t find a comfortable position
“Are you ever going to go to sleep?” His tired voice froze Rapunzel mid-turn.
“Maybe I am asleep,” she called out in the darkness.
He laughed, the sound filling the dark cavern and making her stomach flip. “No, you aren’t.”
Rapunzel turned to face him and saw that Justus had turned to face the fire as well. She liked how the firelight splashed light onto his face as it crackled and popped merrily.
She remembered his last statement and replied, “How can you tell?”
Did he just wink at me?
There was laughter in his voice when he answered, “Because you weren’t snoring.”
Rapunzel couldn’t help the small snort of laughter that escaped her own lips. It was nice to hear them laugh together, the voices mingling in the darkness. Perhaps this was one argument that she should let go. After all, from the way that Justus was now smiling at her, perhaps he didn’t mind girls that snored after all.
Chapter 10
“I don’t think I can walk one more step,” Rapunzel said, sinking down upon a large rock and trying for the hundredth time that day not to burst into tears.
They had been walking for five days. The first day, Rapunzel bounced along, loving every moment of being free from the cottage. Day two brought blisters, which curbed the bouncy attitude, but she was still confident that all was well. Day three, the blisters popped and began to bleed. Justus had offered to heal the blisters, and for a time they were better.
However, day four, there were blisters upon blisters. Justus was healing them as fast as he could. But it was more than obvious that Rapunzel’s life hadn’t properly prepared her for the physical rigors of walking across the countryside.
Now here they were day five. Her body hurt in places she didn’t realize she had. Her feet were bloodied and in need of healing again. Her heart was weary, and her tears kept threatening to make an appearance.
To make matters worse, they had both poured over the writings in the journal. If Rapunzel thought something was of importance, Justus would shake his head. But if Justus thought something was important, Rapunzel would ask him if he had lost his mind.
It was more than obvious that being tired, hungry, and scared impaired one’s judgment. Rapunzel truly felt like she had reached the end of her rope.
“Why don’t you go on without me?” she mumbled, her bottom lip trembling.
“You can’t cry,” he said quickly. “Heroes don’t cry on rescue missions.”
Rapunzel fought the tremble of her lip, hating that her eyes were most likely shining with unshed tears. “I can’t even get that right.”
Justus groaned when the first tear slipped over into her cheek. Once the dam broke, there was no stopping the onslaught. “Don’t cry, really don’t.”
“I can’t… Can’t help it,” she sobbed.
Justus moved to her side and performed the spell to heal her feet. But sadly, Rapunzel knew there weren’t any spells to heal a weary heart.
Taking her hand, Justus patted it awkwardly. “There now, please don’t cry.”
“That’s like asking me not to breathe,” she said through copious amounts of tears.
He laughed and then thought better of it. “Erm, well, let’s talk about something, shall we?”
Rapunzel wiped at her tears. “What can we talk about? The fact that Romy, Papa Otto, and Einar are imprisoned, and it’s all my fault?”
“No,” Justus shook his head.
“How about the fact that we can’t figure out the journal and the entire rescue mission is a complete waste of time.”
Justus scratched his head. “Yeah, we should probably avoid that as well.”
“This is all my fault,” she said again.
“It’s not all your fault,” he said cautiously.
She glared at him.
“Don’t misunderstand,” he said quickly.
“I don’t see how I could take it differently,” she wailed.
“Rapunzel, I can’t win here. Come on, please don’t cry. I will say anything to get you to stop crying.”
Rapunzel brightened as she mopped at her eyes. “Anything? You will tell me about yourself?”
They both knew that Justus had been avoiding this conversation since the cave. He had been lucky that they were both too wrapped up in trying to find the clues in the journal. Otherwise, she would have pounced before now.
It wasn’t a secret to anyone that Rapunzel may not have started crying because of Justus’ refusal to share more about himself. But she certainly had no qualms about utilizing her tears for maximum potential.
“Fine,” Justus bit out. “Just stop crying, already.”
Rapunzel smiled. It was like the sun coming out after the storm. For a moment, Justus just stared with his mouth open.
“Are you alright?” she asked.
He grunted something she couldn’t make out. She was about to ask again when Justus began to talk in a hurried tone.
“All of my life, I have known war. It started long before I was born. My father and brothers all died trying to protect the Raven people. You say that I know so much more. Rapunzel, I don’t know nearly enough.”
Rapunzel watched as he ran his hands through his hair, trying to find the right words.
“They learned that I had magic when I was very young. But because my country is missing its monarch, they are in disarray. Instead of summoning me to the palace, I was left in an orphanage. I have known Corbina a long time. I met her at the orphanage one night.”
“Did you know her when she was alive?”
Justus shrugged. “If I did, I certainly don’t remember. My first memory of Corbina was when I slipped out of the dorms and down to see if I could swipe a paper. Some of the other children had parents who were fighting in the war. The deaths were always listed in the papers.”
Rapunzel’s stomach turned. “How often did you steal those papers?”
“Every night,” he said tonelessly.
“How often did you find a parent listed in the dead?”
He brought his gaze up to meet hers. “Too often. I would have done anything not to have to tell another boy or girl that they were all alone in the world. You don’t know what it’s like knowing that one day you too will be sent to fight a war you don’t even believe in.”
Something jogged her memory. “Justus, why did you come for me?”
He looked away. “Corbina asked me to.”
“So what?” she said a little sharply. “You don’t strike me as the obedient type.”
He snorted but didn’t reply.
“Why?” she asked again.
Justus blew all of the air out of his lungs. “The truth?”
“Let’s go with that for a change.”
He didn’t even smile at her quip. “I intended to ask the Northern Sea King to trade Romy’s life for yours.”
She gasped. Even though she suspected that something similar might have occurred, it still hurt to hear him speak the words aloud.
Justus went on talking. “I didn’t know you. All I knew was that Corbina had asked that I help you escape. I thought she was opening up the window of opportunity, and I was ready to jump on board.”
“I see,” Rapunzel said tightly.
“No,” he replied gently. “You don’t see. Once I had spent a little time with you, I knew I couldn’t do it. I had reasoned that if the king touched you, he would die, and all of my pr
oblems would be over. I had thought to use you as some kind of weapon.”
She blinked, trying even to imagine it was difficult. “I could just kill anyone that got in your way. But what if someone killed me first?”
When he didn’t reply, Rapunzel sighed and answered for herself, “Then you were no worse of then when you started. Well, let’s go.”
She pushed to her newly healed feet and began to walk again.
“Wait a minute,” Justus raced after her. “Where are you going?”
“To offer myself to the king of the Northern Sea.”
He shook his head. “No, you are not doing that.”
Rapunzel felt a surge of anger well up inside. “Really? That was your plan. So, why are you against it now?”
“Things are… They aren’t the same as before.”
The words fell on deaf ears. Rapunzel was tired of being a pawn. She was tired of everyone else making decisions and choices for her.
“Rapunzel, stop!” Justus called out.
But she wouldn’t stop, not until Romy was safely back in her arms. Once she saved Romy, they could get Einar and Papa Otto back from her natural parents. Maybe then things would go back to normal. But then, what was normal?
Romy wasn’t meant to be her mother. Even thinking the words gave her pain because, despite the fact that she knew Romy wasn’t her natural mother, she was the only mother she had ever known. This Frieda, she was little more than a dream, myth, or legend.
Frieda hadn’t tucked her into bed at night. Frieda hadn’t dried her tears, mended her scrapes, or taught her lessons.
Suddenly her heart ached for Romy. She just wanted to be held in Romy’s arms, to be told that her fears were nothing more than magpies yapping in the breeze.
Not looking where she was going, Rapunzel didn’t see the man reach out and grab her until it was too late.
She tried to scream, but everything moved incredibly slowly as if time had decided to stand still. She wanted to turn and see how far behind her that Justus truly was. She wanted to see who was holding her so tightly.
But her head wouldn’t move, despite how loudly her heart was beating. What was wrong with her?
“You look just like her,” a deep, menacing voice whispered in Rapunzel’s ear.
“Who are you?” she managed to reply.
The cruel laughter that echoed in her ear took years off of her life. Whoever this man was, he was very evil. She wasn’t sure how she knew, but somehow it came to her. This had to be the man that tried to ruin her mother by spelling her with the killing curse.
“Leon?” she asked hesitantly.
“Well, well, well. You are a smart one, aren’t you?
Chapter 11
“You truly are Leon? The man that cursed my mother?” Rapunzel asked as time snapped forward again. Only, when she looked around, they weren’t anywhere near where she and Justus had been walking.
They were in a circular tower made of bricks and mortar. Rapunzel looked for the door, but there wasn’t one. The man who had taken her seemed to find delight in her confusion.
“Isn’t it hilarious? To hide you in a tower in the woods, just like the silly made-up story your mother spread about. I shan’t be climbing up your hair if that’s what’s given you that stricken expression. I have no desire to attempt such a feat. However, we shall need to make this look authentic.”
The follicles on Rapunzel’s head began to tingle. Reaching up, she clutched her scalp. It didn’t hurt, but the feeling wasn’t pleasant. It felt like hundreds of ants were crawling on her head. What happened next truly astounded her.
Rapunzel’s hair began to grow. It went from her typical shoulder-length curls to long straight tresses. It grew past her shoulders, beyond her hips, cleared her knees, and surpassed her feet.
The weight of it all made her headache. Clutching at her skull, she cried out, “Why are you doing this?”
Leon shrugged. “Why not? Your mother and father ruined my life. Why not have a little fun with them? Your mother will be in shock when she realizes that her silly tale has been turned into reality. But then I suppose she will never know that it was her plan all along. That’s the beauty of it.”
“I don’t understand,” Rapunzel said stiffly.
“The Devil’s Breath, of course. I had to use a pinch or two.”
“You spelled them?” Rapunzel gasped.
“No, no, nothing of the sort. While it does take magic to cause the plant to grow, it’s the drug inside of the seeds that causes one to lose their memory. All you have to do is tell them what you want them to believe, and when they awaken, that will be what they think is true. I couldn’t have your mother remembering that I cursed her. And besides, isn’t it better this way that they both are in ignorance of Romy’s act of selfless bravery? I quite like setting her up as the villain of this piece.”
“You won’t get away with this,” Rapunzel cried out.
He laughed, the cruel tones feeling like shards of ice being shoved into her heart. “Stupid girl, I already have. Eighteen years your mother has spent without you, every day growing weaker and more pathetic. Thomas was never good enough for her. The only person Thomas loves is himself. Without you there, Frieda has become nothing more than a shadow of her former self.”
Tears ran tracks down her face as she tried to make sense of what Leon was telling her. She had always hated the man for cursing her. But now, to listen to him openly mock Frieda, it was far more than Rapunzel could stand.
She looked around and grabbed an iron frying pan from a hook on the wall. Without taking a moment to consider, she flung it at him.
Instead of being angry, Leon laughed. “You have fire in you, that is for certain. Maybe someday I will let you out of this place.”
“What did I ever do to you?” she sobbed.
Leon looked down at her with surprise and then pity. “Nothing, child. You are merely caught in the storm.”
To Rapunzel’s surprise, Leon walked to the window and then right out of it. She raced over to see him carefully floating down to the ground. Obviously, this too was some magical feat, probably black magic.
The tower was so high in the air that it made her sick looking all the way down to the ground. So instead, Rapunzel looked across the trees, trying to see if she recognized anything. In one direction, there was forest for as far as the eye could see.
In the other direction, a few miles out was the sea. It was the first time Rapunzel had ever seen it. She sank down on the window seal and cried. Rapunzel wasn’t sure if it was for Romy, Einar, or Papa Otto. She wasn’t sure if it wasn’t for Justus, or even Frieda and Thomas. Perhaps the tears were for herself. Never in her life had she ever felt quite so terribly alone.
The winds blew through the trees bringing a chill in the air. But Rapunzel didn’t move from the window. Even when her tears dried and all that was left were unsolicited hiccups, she still sat by the window. She needn’t have worried about being cold now. Her voluminous hair was keeping her very warm.
When the stars came out and danced in the sky, Rapunzel remembered what her Papa Otto had once told her about shooting stars. With a prayer in her heart, Rapunzel searched the night sky. Surely one star would see her and take her wish to be granted.
Closing her eyes, Rapunzel decided to offer up her wish anyway, “Please send me someone to find me, anyone. Please don’t let me be alone.”
When she opened her eyes, Rapunzel saw a small star shoot across the sky.
Moving her hair out of the way, Rapunzel got to her feet. The tower wasn’t overly large, but it had a full larder and steel and flint to make a fire. Next to the fireplace, there was a stack of logs that could easily keep her warm for months.
Rapunzel felt a surge of gratitude for Justus for teaching her to make a fire. She had become rather adept at it over the last few nights. After getting the fire going, she saw that in the middle of the tower was a large bed. There was nothing fancy, but the fabrics looked clean and the
pillows appeared soft.
Grabbing an apple and some cheese from the larder, Rapunzel moved to sit on the edge of the bed. Her head still ached from all of her new hair, or perhaps it ached from the two crying fits that day. It didn’t really matter either way.
Hoping that she would feel better in the morning, Rapunzel stood and removed her shoes. On the dresser she noticed there was fresh water. She poured it into a bowl and noticed the pitcher refilled itself.
An idea popped into her head as she saw the bathing tub behind a screen. Dumping the picture upside down she waited for the water to run out. But water continued to pour until she tipped it back up again.
Placing her hand into the bath she quickly removed it. While it was nice to be able to bathe, she did wish that the temperature was warmer.
However, beggars certainly can’t be choosers. Removing her clothes, Rapunzel stepped into the bath. She expected it to be freezing, much like it had felt when she tried it with her arm.
The water had warmed to a nice pleasant state, and soap appeared on the shelf near the side of the bath. Picking it up, Rapunzel began to scrub off the days of walking through forests and hills. When the water was nearly black from dirt and grime, she finally arose.
On the shelf this time was a fluffy towel. Begrudgingly, she took the towel and began to dry off. It had taken her far longer to wash her hair that she could have imagined. Rapunzel wasn’t even sure that she had gotten to it all. Perhaps the hair was more of a ball and chain. It certainly felt like it to her.
Everything seemed so very, very wrong. Slipping into the bed, Rapunzel tucked her hands under her cheek and began to drift to sleep.
Chapter 12
“Child! What are you doing sleeping the day away?”
Jarred from her sleep, Rapunzel’s eyes popped open to see Corbina pacing the floor. As she blinked to clear the sleep from her eyes, Rapunzel saw that Corbina was actually floating above the floor.
“Do all ghosts float?” she asked with a yawn.
Kingdom of Crowns and Glory Page 21