by Talia Haze
“Your prince is here!” Ryan announced, striding to her and kissing her hand. Angel gave me a look and rolled her eyes. What a time for the fool to fall in love. “Do you have a key for me?”
“I do,” she agreed, pulling a cord out from around her neck. The cord threaded through a golden key with (3) engraved on it. She handed the key to Ryan who put it in his pocket. I looked around, anxiously. The hag still hadn’t returned, but certainly it couldn’t have been that easy.
My eyes fell upon Connie as I looked around. She stood by the door with her arms crossed, carefully watching Rapunzel. No one could better imitate Angel’s stern face than Connie in that moment; she looked almost as chiefly as my sister herself.
“Do you wait for people to come up here?” Ryan asked. “That must get wearisome.”
“I must. Milady says it’s our duty,” Rapunzel replied. “I have been here for a long time.”
“Milady?”
“The mistress that lives downstairs.”
“Perhaps you can come with us,” Ryan suggested, excitedly. I shook my head and grinned.
“I would love to. But why do you not rest here for a while?”
“That is fine,” Angel answered for Ryan. “Saramine needs it.”
“I am so sorry about your friend!” Rapunzel cried as Sean gently sat Saramine down in the corner. She clasped her hands together as she looked at Saramine with tears in her eyes. “Milady is mad! She does terrible things of all sorts downstairs; things I am not allowed to even see! She made the wind and told me if you didn’t say the words, I couldn’t let my hair down, or she would kill me. I would have tried to stop her if I knew she would hurt her this badly.”
Why did Connie glare at her so? Conversation continued, but Connie edged across the wall, towards Angel’s unattended bow. “Angel!”
Angel’s reflexes were quick, but my warning came too late. Connie quickly notched an arrow, pointing it at Rapunzel.
“Your story is false!” she announced. Angel stopped her reach. “How dare you…?”
“What?” whispered the girl, stepping back.
“Connie, what’s the matter with you?” Ryan demanded, gritting his teeth, and using one of his hands to shield Rapunzel. “She gave us the key, we saw that old woman…why wouldn’t you believe her?”
“She gave us the key because we are not assumed to make it out alive,” growled Connie as she pulled the arrow back. “I know what that writing on the wall meant. ‘Be wary! Although the fable says otherwise, when you arrive, she will perform sedition with the lamia by her side!’ Sedition means rebellion, mutiny. She. Her. She plans to turn on us.” Connie glared at Rapunzel and her hand shook. “A lamia was a snake witch. That is the old hag that opened the door. ‘Rapunzel’ only gave us the key, because she and that witch are going to try and kill us as soon as we ‘rest here for a while’ so we would never use that key. I have had the best governesses in Tempton, ‘Rapunzel,’ you cannot fool me.”
“I see that I can’t,” Rapunzel nodded her agreement, with a look of disappointment. Ryan slowly stepped back. “But it’s too late.”
With a loud growl, Rapunzel turned into a troll with large fangs and sharp claws.
“Not these again!” yelled Ryan, tumbling to the ground.
“I’m actually quite beautiful, once you get to know me.” The troll bared its teeth as it grabbed for Ryan, who dodged back towards the stairs.
“Surprise!” another troll threw open the door, leaping into the room. I stuck my leg out as she passed me, making her tumble to the floor. Before I could help with the fight, the troll’s tail lashed out, smacking me hard across the face and sending me down the stairs.
All I could think of was Uncle Harrison standing over me. I fell feet first and my head thumped against each step. His voice. His sour breath. The whip. It took a moment for my senses to return, but finally, I pressed my hands against the staircase wall, slowing myself a stop. I breathed deeply, closing my eyes as I lay on the stair. The stone felt cold under my fingers, like the stone in the cellar.
“Maynep? Are you okay?” Angel bent at my side. The others were right behind. She sure made quick work of those trolls. I nodded as Ryan helped me to my feet. “Maynep. Ma-hali.”
The fading light shone in broken strands through the dark clouds. We stayed in the spire a lot longer than I thought. Angel seemed intent on reaching the forest on the other side of the field and only slowed her quick pace once in the safety of the trees.
“We will make camp here,” said Angel, dropping her bags and looking around cautiously. I did too. What did she search for?
“This will be the first time we sleep outside,” noted Connie.
Angel nodded. “And I fear that river will flood in the storm we are sure to have.”
“Perhaps we should go back and stay in the tower,” I suggested.
“That will not be wise,” Angel answered. She couldn’t relax and kept watching the sky. “That place only has one way to get out. If someone were to raid us, there would be no means of escape. Saramine, ami nik. Ma dyimi a morine.”
Saramine nodded. “As you command, Nik’dalo.”
Sean gently sat her against a nearby tree. Angel stalked off, inspecting trees while Saramine’s eyes quickly scanned the perimeter.
“Connie, Gabriella, collect as many of these leaves as you can,” she said, shakily holding her hand out to a bush with massive leaves, each at least 3 feet long. “Aira will need several dozen…and be careful not to rip them.”
“Sean!” Angel called. She finished her inspection and returned to view. “Do you see these long, thick reeds? Get as many of these as you possibly can. They need to be cut close to the ground. Prince Charming, come with me.” She quickly turned deeper into the woods. Ryan sulked as he followed, making comments under his breath.
Connie and I gathered many leaves and Sean cut down several reeds. Saramine leaned against her tree with two long vines and tied them around small logs about a foot away from each other. Angel and Ryan soon came back rolling a large, long log. They went off again and ten minutes later, came back with another.
“Na-Izik!” Angel ordered. “Stop! The rest of you split into pairs and go find long logs like these. Quickly!”
After each group had made three or more trips with logs, Angel finally declared that we had enough. She then tied a thick vine to the center of a log, shimmied up a tree and looped the other end of the vine over a branch.
“Sean and Ryan, could you climb after Aira, please?”
They weren’t nearly as fast getting up the tree as Angel. Once they reached the bough where Angel stood, Angel handed them the other end of the thick vine, and had them jump down, sending the log into the air. Angel quickly lay the log across two large branches, tying it in place with vines.
“Connie, Gabriella, sit with me,” Saramine called.
We did as told, and Saramine took one of the reeds Sean had cut earlier. “We are to make a dome shape. These reeds are flexible, but not indestructible, so be careful. Peel the fibers from this one to tie it in place.”
It sounded a lot more complicated than it was. My fingers were not nearly as swift as Saramine’s. She bent the reeds just so; forceful enough to bend the sturdy reed, but gentle enough that they didn’t break. It took some managing, but even dazed and out of her senses, Saramine remained patient. We finished the dome in only a matter of minutes.
Ryan, Sean and Angel finished putting the logs in the tree soon after, and the rain fell lightly. Using a large stick, Angel pushed a gob of sticky sap from a pine tree before striding to our dome.
“This is the tricky part,” she said. Ryan and I exchanged glances as we sighed with exhaustion. She separated her gob into six smaller gobs and handed one of them to each of us. “We have to cover this dome with the leaves. Quickly, we only have a few minutes!”
I had to watch first. Saramine and Angel would dip a twig in the sap and dot a section of the reed dome with it. They then took the
leaves and pushed it into place on the reeds, rubbing the sap through the leaves until they held fast.
“Ma-hali; we do not have much time! And aim the leaves downwards. That way the rain will just slide off.”
I did as told…though not nearly as quickly. Angel breathed commands faster than Aunt Beth. At least this time, I didn’t toil by my lonesome. The sun finally vanished behind the horizon. In the darkness, Angel and Ryan lifted the leaf-covered dome up the tree like they did the logs. Angel then tied the dome shape tightly to the logs and tied large stones to every third reed.
“So, it will not blow away in the wind,” Saramine explained. A tree hut! The logs made a nice solid floor in the tree, and Saramine had made a ladder with the small logs and vines. Angel passed the biscuits as we settled in. A loud clap of thunder echoed, and the rain suddenly poured down fiercely.
“Decent, Angel!” I said. The hut was bright and surprisingly spacious. Angel lay out our mats, covering the rough bark of the logs. The leaves barely reflected the lantern light, but were thick enough to keep out the downpour. The hut had the warmth and comfort of a burrow with the height and safety of a nest. “How did you learn to do this?”
“The Inzi lived in these while we fought The Ambassador. It was too dangerous to live in our village; we could not risk having a lot of people in one place as someone is bound to see or hear. These morines are used by hunters who are away for long periods of time.” Angel stretched as she looked around. “Usually, one is to make their own morine.”
The rain struck loudly against the leaves and the river roared. I leaned against the bent reeds, surprised to find it was strong enough to support my weight. The morine was warm; but just the faintest breeze found its way through an unnoticeable crack, keeping it from being too stuffy. I liked it. I would update the floor in our tree back home into a morine once we returned.
Sean gently covered Saramine with her blanket as she fell asleep. Ryan broke the silence. “That was right brilliant back there, Goldilocks. In the tower.”
“You almost ruined it, Prince Charming,” Connie snapped back playfully.
“I suppose some trolls have fascination spells, then?”
Connie rolled her eyes while I giggled. “A fascination spell? And pray tell, My Prince! Why did this spell not work on Sean?”
Ryan just grinned at her. The smart mouth finally met his match with Connie. Angel smiled and reached for the book.
“Our haste was our mistake for the last clue,” she said. “We never read the book. This time, let us see first what we head into before we do so.” She flipped the pages. “‘He’s back!’”
Thunder clapped in the silence.
“That is it?” asked Connie at last.
“That is it.”
“The Big Bad Wolf,” I muttered, rolling to lay on my stomach. Who else would return? “This one’s probably Little Red Cap.”
“Wonderful!” Ryan complained, lying down and covering himself with his blanket. The rain became a constant rhythm in the background. I looked between little cracks of the logs, imagining some large, woodland creature walking underneath. Nothing came, but Angel’s predictions were correct. The ground became saturated with water. Soon, the river flooded, and the water swept quickly underneath. It happened without warning. In one moment, the muddy ground we once stood on disappeared under a torrent of waves.
Would the next key be like the original story? Rapunzel certainly caught me off guard. I never would have suspected her to be the enemy. I would have to be like my sister, I would have to become more observant. I knew the tales by heart…I shouldn’t have been the one falling for their tricks.
The lightning lit up so brightly that everyone disappeared for a moment in white light.
I needed to keep us safe. I knew the tales. How careless of me not to speak! I turned to stare at Saramine. She lay peacefully between Connie and Sean, smiling even in her sleep. I would have to pay better attention. What if something worse had happened? Oh, Saramine! But how was I to know that flying was cheating?
Still. I wouldn’t be so careless again. I couldn’t be so careless. I never thought the fairy route so dangerous. Especially with Angel’s wariness.
I glanced at my sister, surprised to find her also staring at Saramine.
“I didn’t think anyone else was awake,” I said. Angel nodded, solemnly. “What are you thinking about?”
“That I was foolish to allow her to accompany me,” Angel answered with clenched teeth.
“We wanted to come, Angel,” I replied. My twin put a lot of unnecessary pressure on herself. She wasn’t responsible for us; she was the youngest, after all. “We will have to be more careful next time.”
"I cannot handle a ‘next time.'"
“Handle?” I repeated, now sitting up. “I didn’t think there was anything to handle. I didn’t think her injuries were so serious…you were so calm after all!”
“Of course I was calm!” Angel retorted in all her chiefly glory. “Consider! What would you have done if I had given way to emotion?”
I looked back to Saramine. Angel was the only one who knew how to treat her wounds. If Angel hadn’t been so calm, we would have panicked. And what about poor Saramine? How would she feel if her nik’dalo broke into tears?
We didn’t even think of the consequences. We didn’t even consider the danger. We couldn’t even imagine the real result of a little dragon falling through a thick oak tree. We didn’t want to think of it…and we didn’t have to. Angel seemed fine, so we were fine. Angel’s strength was our strength. She was ‘strong leader’ for a reason.
Her stern face had softened, and the dim light reflected from her eyes. I thought she was crying, but no, just thoughtful, certainly a bit sad. I patted the floor next to me and rearranged my blanket.
“Come here,” I ordered. I hoped I could finally be the elder sister for once and she would stay her chiefly manner. She rose and sat next to me. “What did you think?”
“Terrible thoughts,” Angel sighed. “I thought she was gone. When I saw her fall through that tree...would I have to bury her in the fairy route? But how could I not return her to lay her with her tribe? What would I even say to her family? Would we wrap her and take turns carrying her? Oh Gabriella, I pray you never have such terrible thoughts. I was so certain I stood before my abiné’s corpse. I was so afraid to touch her. When Ryan did, I found my courage. After seeing everyone else’s emotions, I knew I had to contain my own. Connie’s flight made it easier; she distracted everyone long enough for me to come to my senses…You do not understand, Gabriella. Saramine stood faithfully at my side for years of war.” Angel leaned back and looked to her sleeping friend. “She is closer than a friend; she is a part of me.”
I nodded. I knew the two had gone through things together I couldn’t even begin to imagine…but she was still my sister. I missed the most important four years of my sister’s life, and now, I couldn’t even find the words to comfort her.
Angel locked her hand into mine. Our bond was not lost. “Saramine and I are close, Gabby, almost as one,” she said. “But she cannot replace you. You are still my sister…my twin! You and I are one.”
I smiled and leaned against her.
Chapter Four
Key Four
Angel awoke me early the next morning, accidently bumping into me before she made her way out of the morine. I yawned and blinked sleep away. I hadn’t a dream since we left home. I was freed from Uncle Harrison, reunited with my amazing sister and immersed in my favorite tales. I had no reason to dream. Though I did look forward to meeting our parents, that seemed so distant and fanciful. That did not yet seem real.
The flood waters had receded as fast as they came, but the ground was still very muddy and soft. Angel looked back and forth between her compass and the sky. Connie wandered ahead, pushing through the tall reeds near the river’s edge, and Sean and Ryan carefully helped Saramine down from the tree. I pulled the bottoms of my slippers against a rock to g
et the mud off, and tried to step only on the thick grass.
“See here!” Connie called from ahead, pulling a damp parchment off a tree. She walked with her skirts bunched high and in giant steps to avoid the mud.
Walk silently down the road,
Do not talk to any strangers,
Do not wander off the road
For it has many hidden dangers.
“It is another clue!”
“Some clue, that!” Ryan complained. “Don’t talk to the wolf…don’t wander from the road…yes, yes, we know!”
“Look!” Sean pointed to a path nearly hidden in the tall grass. Alongside it was a field of hundreds of beautiful flowers. Angel turned to grin back at us.
“Shall we pick some flowers?”
“No!” we replied in unison, following her down the path. It became steep as it wound through the trees. The morning sun finally broke through the clouds in a few areas, leaving the rest in cool shade. Water dripped off something far off and bullfrogs croaked unseen near the path. Even with all its dangers, the fairy route was still a beautiful place.
Connie broke the silence. “Let us play that something blue game,” she said. “Up to five!”
I didn't feel much like playing, but I could certainly watch. The others ran around the path, scanning the forest. I quickly walked alongside Angel.
“Blue sky!” Saramine called out.
“Doesn’t count, that!” Ryan argued.
“Of course it does,” agreed Connie. “Blue flowers,” she pointed to a clump of flowers.
“Bluebird,” Sean pointed.
“Wait!” cried out Ryan. “You’re going too fast!”
“Blue water!” Connie pointed to the river.
“That water isn’t blue! It’s brown!”
