Towers Page 10

  Papa Otto had sighed wearily and began to clean up the mess. Rapunzel could hardly stand the feelings inside. The truth sat on the tip of her tongue, screaming to be heard. But Rapunzel kept her mouth shut tight.

  Papa Otto turned to her and asked, “Rapunzel, if I said that the sky was filled with polka-dots, would it be true?”

  “No,” she replied softly, feeling so ashamed that she couldn’t meet his gaze.

  “I see,” Papa Otto replied, and continued with his work. A few moments later he asked, “How about if I said Einar’s famous meatballs were not only my favorite, they were the best meatballs I’ve ever tasted? Indeed, they are the best meatballs in the entire world. Would that be true?”

  Rapunzel grinned having firsthand knowledge of just how terrible Einar’s meatballs really were. Her bright green eyes met her grandfathers. They both knew that Einar had no business ever entering a kitchen. “No, Papa Otto.”

  The older man smiled at Rapunzel. “Well then, I want you to listen and understand something.”

  Rapunzel nodded.

  “Seedling,” he began. “Just because you say something, it doesn’t make it true. Lies are a nasty trap, and the only person you hurt by telling lies, is yourself. Remember that, Rapunzel, and you will be happy.”

  Chapter 1

  CAREFUL TO AVOID THE squeaky floorboards, Rapunzel navigated her way to the window. Pausing a moment, she listened to hear if anyone had awakened. When silence met her ears, she unlocked the window latch and gently tried to raise the window frame.

  Nothing happened.

  Putting a little more effort, Rapunzel tugged again. But the old window was warped and never had been cooperative in the best of times. With a scowl, Rapunzel braced herself and using both hands she yanked the frame upward.

  Again, nothing.

  Not to be deterred. Rapunzel gave it one final pull. She pulled as hard as she possibly could, using her worry and fear as a catalyst to find the strength necessary to open the darn thing.

  With a snap, the old metal latch broke clean off the window. The glass shook in its frame, and thankfully, the window opened. Rapunzel’s grin of triumph was nearly squashed when she heard movement in the house.

  Silent as the grave, her heart pounding, she listened. It wasn’t unheard of for Rapunzel to get a scold or two even at the age of eighteen. She was honest enough to even admit that a good deal of the scolding she had most likely deserved. Thankfully, Rapunzel had taken many of those lessons to heart.

  Snort! Zzzz...

  Rapunzel froze. Had that been Papa Otto waking up or the wind rustling through the trees? As much as Papa Otto slept like the dead, he did have a knack for squashing her best shenanigans. If the truth were told, what she had planned for this night was the biggest one yet.

  The person she really needed to worry about waking was Einar. He tended to keep one ear open even when he slept, just in case Papa Otto needed him in the night.

  When silence once again descended, Rapunzel took action. Leaning out of the window and swallowing hard. Rapunzel looked for her best option to freedom. Her bedroom was inconveniently housed in the attic space of their cottage. It irked Rapunzel that there wasn’t a handy tree branch to ease her way to the ground. It seemed that all the best fairy tales made it easy for the heroine to make their escape.

  Rapunzel also didn’t fancy breaking all of her bones. She had broken her arm once when she was younger. It had hurt something fierce when Romy had used magic to knit the bone back together. The thought of another healing wasn’t very appealing.

  Romy was the only member of her family with the gift of magic. According to Einar, magic was becoming so rare that one had to be careful who knew about it. Rapunzel wasn’t sure who she could have told. She only knew three people, Papa Otto, Einar, and Romy.

  In the years growing up, Rapunzel had seen other people, but never spoke to them. It seemed once a place started to get to know you, they were packing up in the night and moving on to somewhere else.

  This latest location was one of Rapunzel’s favorites. Romy had said they were about two days travel from the sea. The weather was pleasant and someday, Rapunzel vowed, she would see the ocean.

  Glancing around, Rapunzel decided that now was as good as ever. Throwing one of her legs over the ledge, she maneuvered herself so that she could get both legs out and sit on the casing. To the left of where she was perched there was a thick ivy growing up the side of the cottage.

  Climbing further down until she was able to slip the toe of her shoe in between the wooden slats, Rapunzel reached her hand out and caught the vine. Not daring to shout her triumph, she allowed a grin to spread across her face. This rescue business wasn’t nearly as hard as she had thought.

  Edging across she was just about to let go when a large black bird started to circle where she was perched.

  “Shoo!” she whisper shouted. “Shoo!”

  The black bird tilted his head to the side as if considering her.

  “I don’t have time for this,” Rapunzel muttered.

  Ignoring the bird, she reached for a branch only to the bird peck at her fingers. She nearly let go of the vine and plummeted to the ground.

  “If I survive this, I am going to strangle you!” she said through gritted teeth.

  The bird cooed and then hopped onto another branch.

  Rapunzel attempted to grab the same branch as before and the bird nipped at her again. It wasn’t until the third time that it dawned on Rapunzel to grab the branch the bird was on and not the one of her choosing.

  This time the bird simply hopped to another branch a little further down.

  “Alright, I will play along,” she said quietly.

  Following the bird’s lead, Rapunzel moved safely and carefully down the vine. When her feet touched the ground she nearly whooped with joy. She only stopped herself when she realized how incredibly foolish it would have been.

  One didn’t escape one’s window only to be caught in the backyard.

  Making sure her makeshift sack was still tied securely to her back. Rapunzel ran for cover in the woods. The bird was right behind her as she stumbled over hidden roots and felt the scratches of bramble bushes. It didn’t really matter though because Rapunzel had one goal in mind.

  She had to get to Romy.

  Chapter 2

  HUDDLED UNDER HER THIN blanket, Rapunzel cursed her terrible night’s sleep. She was wishing at that moment she had brought not only a thicker blanket, but a bed and pillow as well.

  The night before she had run as far and as fast as her legs would carry her. It was only when the sun had begun to peak up over the hills that she had found an uninhabited hollowed tree and curled into it.

  She thought sleep would be inevitable, as tired as she was. But apparently, even when one was exhausted, they needed to be warm. When her eyes had finally begun to droop, a bird had begun singing or squawking to Rapunzel’s ears. Never in her life had she ever wanted to hurt anyone. And yet at this moment she could have easily snapped his neck.

  Throwing her blanket back, Rapunzel pushed to her feet and glared at the offending creature.

  “Would you just shut up?” she bellowed.

  The bird’s head tilted from side to side as if she were an interesting artifact that needed ogling. Just when Rapunzel was sure the bird had gotten the message, he did it again.

  Squawk!

  “Ugh!” Taking off her shoe she hurled it at the large black bird.

  Instead of flying away as Rapunzel had intended. The bird’s wings extended, the feathers splayed, and then to her surprise they transitioned into fingers. Right in front of her eyes, the bird became a boy.

  “Oi! What’s the matter with you?”

  Rapunzel stumbled backward falling onto her backside. “That’s not possible!”

  The boy quirked a brow, bringing her gaze to his sea blue eyes. The same eyes that were narrowed and glaring back at her. Gulping, Rapunzel couldn’t help but take assessment. The boy
had to be around her age of eighteen. He was dressed all in black, from his breeches, shirt, vest, and even shoes. He had a pack on his back and a knife at his belt. It was so different from what Papa Otto and Einar wore. Rapunzel found that she rather liked it.

  The boy had a light dusting of stubble and his flaxen hair hung in his eyes. Her fingers itched to push it back so that she could see those eyes more clearly. This, in itself was a surprise. Rapunzel didn’t wish to touch anyone—ever. The last thing she wanted was to be responsible for someone’s death.

  Tucking her hands behind her she said shakily, “What are you?”

  “Your guide, it would seem.” His voice was deep, the timber pleasant. He was taller than she was by at least six inches, and he had the sinewy build of someone who worked hard.

  “A guide?” Rapunzel shook her head. “Don’t guides have names these days? Just so you know, I already surmised that you must be lying. Nobody knows who I am, and they certainly don’t know where I am going. I am going to stand up and gather my things. I want you to forget you ever saw me.”

  There was a pause where he didn’t reply, so Rapunzel assumed he had listened to her. Feeling rather proud of her first interaction with the outside world, she gathered her blanket and tucked away the items she had brought. Once it was stored in her pack, she turned to make sure the boy had left.

  He nearly ran into her.

  Rapunzel didn’t know who screamed louder, her or him. When she saw that he had almost touched her she screamed and scrambled away as quickly as she could.

  The boy, not knowing what she was screaming about, screamed and tried to follow her.

  “What are you doing, you lunatic!” she yelled in frustration.

  “Me?” he looked murderous. “What in the name of sanity were you screaming about? I thought a snake was about to sink it’s fangs into me.”

  Rapunzel stared. “Do you honestly think I would have made such a fuss if a snake was about to bite you?”

  The boy frowned. “No, you would likely ask he if he needed salt.”

  Rapunzel cracked a smile. She was quick to squash it, but sadly it was too late. The boy had already seen its appearance.

  When he spoke again it was with a gentler tone. “My name is Justus.”

  “Rapunzel,” she said hesitantly.

  He nodded. “Right. Well, at least I have the right girl. Corbina had mentioned you might be skittish, but this is ridiculous.”

  “Who is Corbina?” Rapunzel asked, making sure to keep a good distance between them as they spoke.

  Justus sighed. “Before we get into all of that, let’s eat something. My stomach is completely empty.”

  Rapunzel looked at the forest around them. “And what do you expect to eat? I am not magic you know.”

  Justus shrugged. “There is an apple tree not far from here.”

  Rapunzel’s mouth began to water. She was rather hungry. “Where?”

  He reached his hand out to help her back to her feet. The last thing he expected was for Rapunzel to shriek and shy away.

  “You seriously have to stop doing that,” he said as he tried to stop the ringing in his ears.

  “You can’t touch me!” Rapunzel’s heart was galloping so quickly that it threatened to leave her chest.

  “I was just helping you up,” Justus grumbled. “I wasn’t going to molest you or anything.”

  Rapunzel shook her head. “No, you don’t understand. One touch, and it will be the last breath you take.”

  Justus swallowed and tucked his hand away. “Well, if you are insisting on being that way, you can help yourself up.”

  “I don’t make the rules,” Rapunzel snapped as she got to her feet. “I am only trying to keep people alive.”

  Justus’ head tilted to the side and in that moment Justus the man reminded her of Justus the bird. “You have to be kidding me?”

  Rapunzel let out a bark of laughter that held no mirth. “I have one person in the entire world that won’t die the moment I touch them. And that one person that means the absolute world to me is missing. I may be making a huge mistake, but I would rather not try it out on someone and have them fall dead at my feet.”

  “I dunno,” Justus said thoughtfully. “There are loads of people that I wouldn’t mind finishing off.”

  Rapunzel gasped. “That’s a terrible thing to say.”

  He shrugged. “They are terrible people. Why? I suppose you mean to tell me that everyone you know is perfectly lovely.”

  Rapunzel thought of Papa Otto, Einar, and Romy. “Well, yes.”

  Justus rolled his eyes.

  “What?” Rapunzel shot defensively.

  “Nothing,” he grumbled. “I just think that perhaps you don’t know that many people if you think everyone is kind and good.”

  Rapunzel surprised him by laughing. “You have no idea how right you are.”

  Chapter 3

  “WAIT A MINUTE,” JUSTUS asked. “Let me see if I have this straight. Romy, the only mother you have ever known, is actually your mother’s best friend.”

  Rapunzel nodded. “Yes. She took me away when I was born so that nobody else would die.”

  Justus whistled low. “Wicked curse, wow. I get who Romy is and Papa Otto, but where does Einar fall into the mix?”

  Rapunzel frowned. “I don’t know. Einar has always been there, for as long as I can remember. He helps Papa Otto a lot and watches out for me while Romy searches for a way to break the curse.”

  “It still doesn’t make sense,” Justus argued. “There has to be something he’s getting out of the bargain. Are you sure that he and Romy aren’t romantically involved?”

  A lovely flush stained Rapunzel’s cheeks.

  “I don’t know much about romance,” she said stiffly.

  Justus laughed. “But you aren’t dead. Is there any heat or chemistry between them?”

  Suddenly Rapunzel didn’t like this line of questions. They had been walking for hours, careful to stay far enough off the main roads so as not to be seen. Justus hadn’t tried to touch her again. Rapunzel was truly grateful for this, but he had wanted to know about her.

  Was she foolish for trusting this boy?

  “Enough questions about me,” she interrupted. “Tell me who was the woman that sent you to help me. You just said that nobody does anything without a reason. Well, Justus, what is your reason for helping me? Why are you here?”

  Justus frowned. “I didn’t mean to offend you.”

  Her flush deepened. “I am not offended!”

  “That’s why you are changing the subject and getting snippy with me?”

  Rapunzel was tempted to stamp her foot. A gesture she had picked up from Romy when she was truly vexed. “I’m not snippy or offended.”

  The truth was she was a bit of both, and it didn’t really make sense to her as to why. To try and deflect his intense gaze, Rapunzel asked, “Where are we going anyway?”

  Justus pointed as he answered, “We need to walk southwest until we come to the main road. From there we will go due south until we reach Raven Country. Once we are there you are on your own. I promised Corbina I would get you that far.”

  The mention of Raven Country reminded Rapunzel of something Romy used to say. I was born of the ravens.

  “Is that your bird form, a raven?”

  “You couldn’t tell?” It was Justus’ turn to appear offended.

  “It’s not like I have had that much interaction with the birds. We have seen them from time to time over the years, but never up close. The only person they seemed to like is Romy.”

  Justus snorted. “Well, yeah, that should be obvious.”

  “It should?” Rapunzel asked.

  “You don’t seem to know the woman who raised you very well.”

  Rapunzel didn’t like the flippant way that Justus had phrased his last sentence. But what she didn’t like most of all was that he was right. How much did she know of Romy’s life? When she was younger, she loved hearing the sto
ries about her natural mother.

  Frieda had seemed like a lovely fairy tale princess. It helped that she actually was a princess in real life. Rapunzel had asked story after story of Romy about Frieda. But how much did she know about Romy?

  Rapunzel had known that Romy spent years upon years searching for a way to break the curse. But as to what Romy’s hopes or desires were, Rapunzel was embarrassed to admit, she didn’t know.

  It hadn’t occurred to her that their little family might appear strange to others. Rapunzel had always taken it for granted that Papa Otto, Einar, and Romy were meant to be together.

  It was obvious that Einar deeply cared for Romy. Rapunzel could see that now that Justus had mentioned it. Had they both put their lives on hold to raise her? The thought didn’t sit well.

  Nor did it sit well that Romy still wasn’t back from her last venture out to find a cure. Einar had set out after her, an occurrence that had only been repeated once before. Only last time he came back with her. This time he had returned empty handed.

  Even thinking about Romy’s disappearance had Rapunzel’s stomach tying itself in knots. Out of all the people in Rapunzel’s world, which at three was decidedly small. Romy was the only person she could physically touch.

  Rapunzel loved Romy’s inky black curls that tickled her palms and never stayed where Romy wanted them to be. They were so different from Rapunzel’s honey blonde strands. One-time Rapunzel had tried to brush Romy’s hair the same way Romy brushed hers. Rather than comb through nicely as it should. The handle snapped clean off.

  Romy had laughed and laughed when she met Rapunzel’s horrified gaze. Soon Rapunzel was laughing as well. The memory of falling into Romy’s outstretched arms, had tears stinging at the backs of her eyes.

  When she was very small, Romy stayed nearer to home. Rapunzel knew that Romy would be there to wipe away her tears, clean up her scrapes, and to hold her when she had bad dreams. Which was too often for anyone’s liking.

  As she grew, Romy had tried to venture further and further to find a way to break the spell. There had been moments when false hopes were raised. But no matter what the disappointment, Romy had always assured Rapunzel that she would find a way.