Rapunzel (Faerie Tale Collection)

  Once he could fully move, he stood upon his feet, but had no sense of his bearings. He was dreadfully lost, with not even a fraction of hope of knowing which direction was which. Calling for his horse, he stumbled again and again over bushes and into divots and trenches in the grounds beneath his feet. Without a placement of direction, he could not be certain where to go, and the darn creature would not come to him. He must have left during the skirmish with the witch.

  Jonathan stumbled into the trunk of a tree and held on. For a moment, he allowed the hopelessness of the situation to hit him. Rapunzel was in danger, waiting for him, and he could not get to her. Sliding down the rough trunk, he turned his back and brought his knees to his chin and wept, not as a child saddened by his own miserable state, but as a man desperate to save the woman he loved and having no notion of how he was to achieve such a thing.

  RAPUNZEL AWOKE AGAIN INSIDE the tight, dark box. No! She thrashed around, frantic to escape the confinement. She banged and jerked until sweat poured from her forehead to her gagged mouth. Her heart was racing. It was so hot. And she could not breathe fast enough through the cloth. It hurt. And she was so very frightened and cramped. Finally, she stopped, attempting to catch her breath.

  Think. What should she do? How does one escape something like this?

  All was silence around her. What had happened? Where was Jonathan? How long had it been? Jonathan! What if the witch had him?

  Gah! No! Let me out!

  She banged and clanked and rocked the box until something must have unlatched above her, for in the next instant, the lid sprang free and fell open completely. She crouched in case it was the witch who had opened the trunk, but when Lady Vactryne did not appear, Rapunzel carefully climbed out of the box. The place was bathed in light from the sun. In the much larger space of the room, she was able to bounce and jerk and grunt and bring her tied arms out from behind and underneath her legs and skirts and up to her mouth.

  She loosened her gag, breathing in fresh gulps of air, and then used her teeth to begin working on loosening the bands around her wrists. Once her hands were free, she would then work on her ankles. One thing was certain—she was not bound by the heavy chains. The witch must have removed them to fit her into the box.

  Rapunzel smiled and worked and pulled and attempted all manner of tugging to remove her bands. Finally, she noticed a small, jagged piece of stone that protruded from the tower wall. Scooting over to it, she began to saw through the rope. It took several minutes and her wrists were positively swollen and rubbed raw, but in the end, it was worth it. She was free. After that, it was only a matter of minutes to untie the rope around her ankles.

  Standing, she glanced around the room, not sure how much time she had. It was still daylight, so that was good. But it was probably late afternoon, so not much time to find Jonathan while there was still daylight to navigate through the foreign woods. She had to hurry. It was not until she approached the balcony with her long hair hanging over the edge that she remembered the blasted curse. Urgh! If she even attempted to climb down the tower, Lady Vactryne would be there.

  How was she ever to escape? There had to be a way.

  Rapunzel looked out toward the great clearing before them. And then she panicked. There was the witch approaching even then! How did she know? Rapunzel had not thrown one leg over the balustrade yet!

  Of course. She did not know. She probably was coming to see her and do whatever it was she had planned. Rapunzel backed away, hoping she still had a chance to conceal herself. She quickly scanned the room and found the heavy shackles. There was a portion of them still mounted to the wall, but about six feet of the large, bulky chain was completely unattached to the rest. Tossing it to the trunk, she first hid the rope and gag under her bed, and then picking up the metal, she climbed back into the box, and just before she shut the lid, Hercules jumped in with her. “Shh!” she whispered to the cat, hoping desperately that he would not give her away. She left a crack in the lid to peek through.

  Moments later, she heard Lady Vactryne on the balcony. “All right, you little menace. I saw you from the clearing. Obviously, you have escaped from your bonds. Where are you?”

  Rapunzel saw her enter the room and walk toward the bed. She held her breath and brought Hercules in closer.

  “Your precious young man has been dealt with. He will never see you again. Now, I suggest that you be a good little moppet and come out now. And obey me, or I will kill you. This has been an exceptionally rough day for me, and I am seriously disgusted at the betrayal I have witnessed. Do not attempt to defy me again!”

  What did she do to Jonathan? Was he dead?

  She heard grunting as the witch looked under the bed.

  “Where are you?” she shouted.

  Rapunzel flinched as she heard the rope lash against the trunk. The cat meowed and hissed in fear.

  “Oh, is that where you are hiding, then? Thinking to go back to where I put you? In case I was not stupid enough to see you?”

  Rapunzel crouched, ready to spring just as the lid flew open.

  “There you are!”

  Hercules leaped at the witch, clawing her face, as Rapunzel lunged, stepping out of the box, and flung the heavy chains about her, instantly whipping around and flinging the woman into the trunk. Then she quickly slammed the lid down and locked it, ignoring the shrieks as she lugged and pushed and dragged the heavy box out of the room and to the balcony. The ungracious cat sat upon the lid of the thing as she pulled. Just before she got to the edge, Lady Vactryne escaped, the box shattering around them and flinging the cat to the wall, and flew at Rapunzel.

  Rapunzel ducked, and the witch hurled over the balcony. She grasped the long rope of hair just as she was about to fly completely over. “No! You are not coming back!” Then by instinct, Rapunzel picked up a piece of the broken trunk and rammed it into the witch’s hands over and over again. Hercules came out of nowhere to land on the witch’s face, hissing and clawing.

  Lady Vactryne shrieked, her attempts at gaining momentum gone. And then with a final blow to the hands, Rapunzel clutched the cat’s fur as the witch fell, grasping and screaming to her death, the large piece of trunk tumbling down after her. The earth exploded with a bang, and a great dust cloud billowed up from below.

  Great heavens! She was free! She was finally free! She clung to Hercules, thanking him, and then tucked him upon her shoulder. Without waiting another second, Rapunzel scurried down the long rope of hair and ran with all of her might out of the clearing. She did not pause to examine the woman. Instead, she escaped the same way she had seen the witch return.

  “Jonathan!”

  She ran and shouted and ran and shouted, looking and searching for the man. Oh please, oh please, do not allow him to be dead. Not now. Not after all of this. Please!

  When she stumbled into a stream, she placed the cat down and stopped a minute to drink the water and still her racing thoughts. If he were still alive, he would have to be someplace near. Just then, she heard the faint whicker of a horse.

  “Jonathan?” she called, attempting to follow the sound. It was somewhere up the stream, she imagined. She heard an answering snort and walked quicker. “Jonathan, is that you and Brute?”

  Pushing aside some brush, she found his horse, saddled and drinking from the water.

  “Jonathan?” She glanced around, but could not find him anywhere. Hercules meowed softly and she picked him up. Approaching the horse, she asked, “Brute, where is he? Can you take me to him?” She tossed the cat on the saddle and then climbed aboard the large animal and grabbed the reins. Hercules found a pocket in the saddle bags to mold into where he could be safe. “Come on. Let us find your master.”

  JONATHAN HAD COLLAPSED IN a heap of foliage. He had wandered around for what seemed like hours and finally decided sleep was the best thing in the world. He had no notion of what time it was, or how much time had passed. But he needed rest and a moment to think properly enough to form a plan for how he
was to save his princess.

  When he first heard Rapunzel, he dreamed they were children, playing a hide-and-capture game at her home. He was enjoying the dream until Rapunzel’s voice grew fainter and fainter.

  Wait. She was going the wrong way. She was missing his hiding spot.

  He awoke to the eerie stillness all around him. That dream had seemed so real. “Rapunzel?” he called out as loudly as he could. When he heard a muffled answer, his heart began to race. Quickly, he scrambled to his feet and called again. “Rapunzel! Rapunzel! Is that you?”

  He heard her reply softly, and finding a nearby tree trunk, he clutched it. “I am over here. Follow my voice.” Relief in the form of unexpected tears sprang from him. Could this truly be happening? Thank the heavens she was safe!

  It took several attempts of a call and chant between the two, but she eventually found him. He heard her gasp and felt the ground shift as she ran to him.

  Her soft hands clutched his face and brushed the grime from him. “What has she done to you?”

  “Shh. It is okay. I will be fine. The witch wanted to ensure that I would never see you again.” His hands reached up, tracing the features he could not see. “You are alive. I am so grateful you are here. What happened?”

  “You would not believe it.” He felt sweet kisses rain upon his face and lips. “I cannot believe it myself. By the good grace of all that is holy, Hercules and I escaped and even killed the witch.”

  His hands found her shoulders, and he traced down them to feel the swelling of her wrists. “But how? Never mind. Allow me to hold you close. We have plenty of time to talk later. Just knowing you are here and safe is all that matters.” He gently pulled her toward him and hugged her, his kisses matching hers. “I am so grateful you are alive. I was terrified she had killed you.”

  “And I you!” Rapunzel’s shoulders began to shake, and he realized she was crying.

  “Hush, do not cry. All will be well. Shh.” He lowered them slowly to the ground.

  He could feel her small hands clutching him as her tears came faster. “No, it will not be well. Nothing will be well again. You are blind, and it is not fair. None of this is fair. You have done nothing to deserve this! Nothing.”

  “Neither have you.”

  He felt her hands capture his face, and her sweet mouth finding his forehead, eyes, and cheeks while the tears fell down. “For months, I have been so worried about you. I cannot do this anymore. This world is a cruel, cruel place.”

  “I love you,” he whispered. He could feel the gentle plops of her tears as they touched his cheeks, and a few slid into his eyes. The dear, sweet girl. “Rapunzel, do not be anxious. All will be well, I promise.” His own tears began to form again. It was too much. He had been so worried and here she was, fine and healthy. He shifted his head slightly to kiss her again, but then he noticed a faint glow of light behind his eyelids. He blinked, and very blurry images began to appear before him. But they were definitely images!

  He held her closer. “Rapunzel! I can see! I think your tears are healing my eyes.”

  “What?” He heard her gasp and then truly begin to sob. “Are . . . are you certain? Could this be true? Can you see?”

  More and more the image of her face became clearer. “Yes. Yes, it is working.” She began to sob in relief, pouring her tears into his eyes.

  After several moments, he could finally see her again, her red-rimmed eyes and happy smile. How he loved her. He brought her head down and kissed her perfect lips, and then sighed.

  “Let us get you home.”

  She nodded and hugged him. “Yes. It is about time.”

  Just then, a large gray cat peered up at him from Rapunzel’s side. “Well, hello there, Hercules. Would you like to join us too?”

  When he answered with a rub against Jonathan’s leg, Jonathan scratched his neck.

  “I would say Hercules was greedy, but I believe he deserves extra love today. Without him, I am not certain I would have escaped as easily.”

  “Really? Well, then, we shall be certain to reward him handsomely for his efforts.” Jonathan leaned down and kissed his grinning sweetheart.

  “Mew-row.”

  He looked down at the brazen cat and said frankly, “No. I shall not kiss you too, no matter how heroic you are. I shall leave all my kisses for Rapunzel.”

  A FEW DAYS LATER when Rapunzel, Jonathan, and Hercules rode into Ellyania, the whole village came out to greet them. Many shouts and exclamations and excitement could be heard throughout the land. Rapunzel rushed to the throne room, eager to see her parents. The servants had placed the statues on either side of their respective thrones.

  She had come to say good-bye, to wrap her arms around their hardened bodies and whisper that she loved them and that she was home.

  What she did not expect was to sob so heartily when she did so with her mother, or to feel the amazement of her mother’s answering and warm embrace. Goodness! She was alive!

  “Your tears!” Jonathan exclaimed as he approached her. “They have healed her too!”

  Rapunzel ran quickly to her father and cried upon him as well. The whole family soon hugged and laughed and wept together. What an incredibly joyous day for them all! A day of perfection, of bravery, and of love.

  All of the village wept with the great happiness of the royal family. It was truly a marvelous day.

  Jonathan’s parents came as soon as they heard the amazing news. The whole kingdom celebrated, and eventually Jonathan and Rapunzel got to dance at her coming-out ball for real.

  They were married a few years later and lived to a very old age. The Balligryn pendant became a great symbol of hope and overcoming the odds when the story of the trapped princess and the brave prince came to light. Many people looked to the Balligryn kingdom as a place where discovering one’s greatness and overcoming life’s circumstances could be found within.

  Ten years into their marriage, Jonathan’s father abdicated the throne to his son, who proudly wore the Balligryn pendant while the people wholeheartedly praised and applauded the event.

  The great king and queen had two sons and two daughters, all of which kept them on their toes. Rapunzel never allowed her cravings to become out of hand during her pregnancies, and she made sure to ban rapunzel from being grown anywhere near the kingdom.

  Hercules became a very spoiled, very loved, and very fat cat who enjoyed chasing the castle mice and tormenting them. However, he was absolutely too used to eating the finest of foods to lower his standards enough to even taste mouse, much to the merriment of the children who teased him and scratched him and loved him most of all.

  As they developed into great rulers, Rapunzel taught her children the importance of all the lessons she had learned on her journey of self-discovery away from home. But mostly, she taught them the value of never giving up, never allowing moroseness to govern their thoughts for long, and to truly believe there was always a way to make things better—even if the odds would seem impossible, there was always a way out.

  And so now, dear reader, I pass their lesson along to you. No matter what is happening within your own life, no matter how desperate and bad things may seem, all is not lost. There is hope. There is a way to overcome. Find it. Search for it. Believe in it. And it will be.

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  PEARL GIGGLED AS THE rush of bubbles swirled up and around her fins and over her arms and kissed her cheeks. There was nothing more exciting than the Octavian underground sea vents.

  "Try this one," Keel shouted from about ten feet to the left of her. "You have never experienced anything like this."

  Not needing another moment to decide, she quickly swam over to the handsome prince. He was amidst three streams of bubbles, all coming from the same hole tucked within the shimmering coral beneath them. Each stream sparkled and tickled as it burst around them.

  He slipped his arms around her waist, his own fin twitching as the persistent air escaped over their bodies.

  She snug
gled against his chest and grinned. Just then, the tide shifted and the bubbles caught her hair, whisking and dancing with it above them both. It felt so wonderful, as if a million minnows were gently tugging against the strands. Mm . . . She laid her head back and relished in the sweetness of it all.

  He chuckled, his deep voice resonating through his chest. "Did I not tell you this was magical?"

  "A hundred times."

  “And yet you still resisted coming out here, did you not?"

  She closed her eyes and wrapped her hands around his waist. "Hush, you. I can choose to be stubborn if I wish to be."

  "Aye. As stubborn as any of the great female tyrants who have ruled the sea."

  "Tyrant?" She gasped and pretended to be appalled at his silly declarations, but found that the sensation of being in his embrace and the soft tickling of the bubbles around her was too delicious not to stay exactly where she was for some time more.

  He chuckled again. "You sound so upset by my teasing."

  "I am," she murmured into him. "And later, you shall pay for being such a brute. Until then, I think I shall remain here a bit longer."

  "Only a bit?" She felt his hand slowly work his way up her back. So calm and peaceful.

  "Mmm . . . Maybe a bit longer than a bit." She grinned into his chest.

  After a few minutes of silence, he murmured against her brow, "Pearl?"

  "Yes?" she asked, not moving an inch.

  She felt his chest expand as he inhaled a large mass of the glorious sea water in these parts. His hands stilled in their travels along her back and instead came to rest against her shoulders. Slowly, he pushed her resisting form back enough to look deeply into her eyes.

  "Keel, what is it?" she asked. Usually he was much more playful. "Why are you so intense all of a sudden?"

  "You know there is no one else in this ocean I would rather be with than you."