The Golden Braid

by Melanie Dickerson

  “My mother and I are from Hagenheim, but we moved away many years ago. We came here from Ottelfelt.” She had run out of air after speaking so many words and paused to breathe. Lady Rose probably thought Rapunzel awkward.

  “Rapunzel also knows how to read and is learning Latin.”

  “Oh, very good.” Lady Rose turned her attention on Rapunzel again. “What made you want to learn Latin?”

  “I-I suppose I wanted to be able to read the Bible.”

  “Oh, I have a Bible that is written entirely in German. I will let you read it sometime. But it is also very good to know Latin.” Lady Rose looked to Frau Adelheit. “Perhaps Rapunzel could take Britta’s place as my personal maid on Sundays and whenever she cannot be here.”

  “Of course, my lady.” Frau Adelheit bowed her head respectfully.

  “But Frau Lena, our healer, also needs another apprentice to help her in the sick chamber. Perhaps you would enjoy that, Rapunzel.”

  “I-I am not very much help around people who are bleeding and in pain. My mother is a midwife.”

  Lady Rose smiled. “I understand. We will not force you to be around people who are bleeding and in pain. But I shall see you soon and certainly on Sunday.” She glanced at the mistress of the maidservants. “Thank you, Frau Adelheit. Sir Gerek. Rapunzel. You all may go.”

  Soon the three of them were walking back down the stairs and Rapunzel’s thoughts were spinning. Should she talk to Sir Gerek? He looked very well in the colors of the rest of Duke Wilhelm’s guards—green, black, and gold. His face was freshly shaved and his dark hair clean and freshly cut. How well his shoulders filled out his uniform. She was certain there could be no more handsome knight than Sir Gerek. He glanced at her once or twice.

  When they reached the bottom of the steps, Frau Adelheit said, “Wait here. I’ll be back in a moment to take you to the kitchen.”

  When she was gone, Sir Gerek turned to her. “What did your mother say about you working at the castle?”

  “Nothing. I left without telling her.”

  He raised his brows and nodded slowly.

  “Did you return this morning?” she asked.

  “I came back last night with the knights who came to fetch the prisoner. And it is good you are here because Duke Wilhelm will want you to tell him what happened.”

  Would she have to talk to the duke as well as Lady Rose? It was all so overwhelming. But she simply nodded. “I am glad you are walking now,” she said, looking at the new shorter splint on his leg.

  He let out a breath. “Not as glad as I am. And in three or four weeks, I can take this off, Frau Lena said.”

  They stood looking at each other. Finally, he said, “If you need anything, I’m sure Frau Adelheit will take care of you. But I will try to look in on you from time to time.”

  “Thank you.” The idea that Sir Gerek the Irritable was being kind to her made her stomach do a strange flip.

  He turned and started to walk away, but then said over his shoulder, “Your hair looks pretty.”

  Again, her stomach did the flip, and she watched him stride down the corridor, one hand on his sword to keep it still. How soon would he end up marrying that noble-born, wealthy heiress he was hoping for? Probably very soon, and she should keep that in mind.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Two days later, Rapunzel was helping knead the bread dough when Sir Gerek came into the kitchen. He looked straight at Rapunzel.

  “Duke Wilhelm needs to see Rapunzel in the Great Hall.”

  Such a summons did not require Cook’s permission to obey, so Rapunzel wiped her hands on a cloth and took off her apron. The other maidservants’ eyes were on her as she followed Sir Gerek out.

  Sir Gerek waited for her to catch up, then said in a low voice, “Duke Wilhelm wants you to tell what happened with that man, how he attacked you, and wants you to identify him.”

  Rapunzel swallowed, her breath leaving her. “I will have to see him, then?”

  “I am afraid so, but he will be chained and I will be there. He cannot hurt you now.”

  It was very kind of him to reassure her. But Sir Gerek wasn’t supposed to be kind. He was supposed to be slightly arrogant and very irritable, forcing her to be rude back to him. She liked it much better that way. Didn’t she?

  They reached the Great Hall. Duke Wilhelm sat on the raised dais, but the trestle table that was normally set up during mealtimes was absent. Behind him on the wall hung the massive shields and battle-axes his ancestors had used in battle, tournaments, and pageantry.

  Sir Gerek walked her straight up to the duke and Rapunzel curtsied, trying to force herself to breathe normally.

  “State your name, if you please,” Duke Wilhelm said.

  “Rapunzel Scheinberg, your grace.” A guard was standing near Duke Wilhelm, and a clerk sat writing at a table next to the duke’s chair. Sir Gerek stood beside her, but no one else seemed to be in the room.

  “Sir Gerek has told me what he knows about the man who claims his name is Balthasar. And now I would like to hear you tell what happened concerning the man who attacked you.”

  Rapunzel began to tell him what had happened but as briefly as possible. Her voice was breathy and halting, but she felt encouraged by Sir Gerek’s presence and was soon speaking normally. She finished the rather long narrative by saying, “Sir Gerek knocked him senseless and had him tied up. I have not seen the man since then.”

  Duke Wilhelm gave her a quick nod. “I know you probably do not wish to see him, but if you are willing, I need you to look at him one more time, to ensure we have the right man.”

  “Yes, your grace. I will.”

  He nodded to the guard beside him, who left the room.

  Duke Wilhelm said something quietly to the clerk, who handed the duke the piece of parchment he had been writing on. The duke stared down at it until the guard returned with two more guards who were leading a man with chains on his wrists and ankles.

  Her stomach twisted and her face tingled. It was the smiling man—Balthasar.

  “Is this the man who attacked you?”

  “Yes, this is the man.”

  Duke Wilhelm waved his hand at the guards and they pulled on the man’s arms, trying to turn him around. He snarled and resisted them for a moment, curling his top lip in an even more sinister version of a smile, looking directly at Rapunzel.

  It was hard to breathe as they led the man away with the clanking of his arm and leg chains.

  Duke Wilhelm was speaking. “I shall keep him in the dungeon for a while and then make sure he is banished from Hagenheim forever. Would you like to be present when I pronounce his sentence?”

  She thought for a moment. “No, your grace.” She never wanted to see the man’s face again. Ever.

  “I am very sorry that such a frightening thing happened to you,” Duke Wilhelm said.

  “I thank you, your grace. You are very kind.” Which was why she was having trouble blinking back tears. If everyone would cease being so kind to her . . .

  Sir Gerek walked with her out of the Great Hall while she concentrated on breathing evenly and remaining composed.

  Sir Gerek said nothing as they made their way toward the kitchen door. Just before she reached it, she glanced at him, then away, remembering how he had comforted her after this Balthasar had attacked her the last time. “I must get back to work.” She hurried into the kitchen before he had time to respond.

  After almost a week of working in the kitchen, being surrounded by people every moment of the day and night, Rapunzel was given permission to leave the kitchen early.

  She put away her apron and hurried outside. The sun was just setting and the sky was streaked with deep pink and orange. She glanced around for some place where she might sit and be alone with her thoughts. She drew near the maidservants’ quarters and pushed the door open a bit and listened. Voices. Someone, at least two people, were inside talking and laughing. Rapunzel turned and hurried away.

  She walked
behind the servants’ quarters. Beyond was the huge stable, and beyond that were the buildings where the knights and male servants slept. She would have to go out the town gate in order to get beyond those buildings.

  One enormous tree stood between the kitchen and the stable. It was so large and its limbs so low to the ground, her feet hurried toward it. Once she was on the other side of its giant trunk, she sat down and gazed at the bright sunset through its spidery branches, leaning back against the wrinkled bark.

  Rapunzel sighed. It had been so long since she had been alone. She didn’t want to think about her guilt at hurting Mother and leaving without saying where she was going. She pushed back against the pain of her mother’s madness and the cruel things she had said, of her not believing in Rapunzel’s innocence and threatening to give her a sleeping potion and carry her away against her will. She also didn’t want to dwell on the fact that she thought entirely too much about Sir Gerek. She just wanted to breathe in the fresh air, drink in the beauty of the sky, and listen to the breeze and the—

  Shouts came from near the stable and the men’s sleeping quarters, followed by a laugh and more voices. But at least they were not talking to her. She could still pretend to be alone and unseen.

  She also didn’t want to think about how every night she went to the maidservants’ quarters and was surrounded by a half dozen other young women. Instead of wanting to sleep or sit quietly with their own thoughts, they all wanted to talk. They talked and talked, and Rapunzel tried to pretend to be asleep, mostly hoping they would not talk to her. She was tired, she was lonely, and the guilt over leaving her mother was almost overpowering. The last thing she wanted to do was make conversation with strangers.

  Cristobel had made sure Rapunzel’s bed was next to hers. Rapunzel was so thankful for her new friend who helped her know what to do in the kitchen when Rapunzel was unsure. Thankfully, when Frau Adelheit asked for helpers to do some sewing and mending, others had volunteered, sparing Rapunzel from her least favorite chore, which she was not very good at. The other girls seemed so comfortable with each other, and Cristobel was friends with every other girl who worked at the castle, and she wanted Rapunzel to know them all as well. But Rapunzel listened, smiled, nodded, and answered their questions with as few words as possible.

  They talked of things Rapunzel knew nothing about. They seemed eager to finish their work so they could talk, and they laughed—so loudly! Talking and laughing, they looked like they were so full of joy and were completely at ease. Was there something wrong with Rapunzel because she did not want to join in? Would she always be the strange girl?

  The sky had lost most of its color and was growing dark. All around her the sounds of voices were low and muted, far away, as people finished their work and headed to wherever they needed to go. But Rapunzel had nowhere to go, and no one to go to. Mother . . . what was she doing now? Did she hate Rapunzel? Would Rapunzel break her mother’s heart with worry? Truly, she must be the worst daughter ever. But the truth was, she was afraid of Mother. Still, she should get word to her. She should tell her where she had gone. And she would. Soon.

  The next morning, while Rapunzel was working in the kitchen, Sir Gerek came in to get some food. He said he’d missed breakfast because he was helping a sick friend get to the healer’s chamber.

  While the cook was fetching him something, he started walking toward Rapunzel.

  “How are you liking the work?” He stared at her with those intense brown eyes.

  “I like it very well.” Rapunzel kept chopping, aware that all the other kitchen maids were now staring at her and Sir Gerek.

  He picked up an apple and bit into it. Then the cook gave him the food wrapped in a small cloth. He took it and nodded to everyone around the room. “Thank you, fair maidens. Keep up the good work.” He gave them a jaunty smile and left.

  “Rapunzel has a sweetheart,” one of the maids called out in a singsong voice. “Rapunzel, why did you not tell us? A secret like that?”

  Her heart thudded against her breastbone. She shook her head. “He is not my sweetheart.” But her words were drowned out by the exclamations of the other servants.

  “Leave her alone. They’re only friends,” Cristobel defended. The girls protested, so Cristobel went on. “You are all so crude and wouldn’t understand. Can she help it if he had to save her from robbers on the road?”

  “Oo, I wish Sir Gerek could save me from robbers!” someone exclaimed. Cristobel’s defense had only made things worse.

  Later Cristobel whispered in her ear, “Is something between you two, something more than friendship?”

  Rapunzel shook her head. “Of course not.”

  Then Frau Adelheit summoned her outside the kitchen door and handed her a small book. “Sir Gerek asked me to give you this. He said you didn’t have anything to read and would need to practice your skills.”

  Frau Adelheit’s face was unreadable as Rapunzel took the book from her. She hid it in her skirt pocket and went back to work.

  That night all the maidservants were together again, and she dreaded a return to the subject. All she wanted to do was run away, find a secluded place—perhaps the apple orchard behind the castle—and be alone with her thoughts. She also could feel the book heavy in her pocket. What book was it? But she did not dare take it out and let the others see it and make more insinuations about her and Sir Gerek.

  Tomorrow she would finally have a few hours to herself, as she had the morning off before taking over Britta’s duties with Lady Rose and her daughters. Perhaps she would go to find Mother and let her know that she was well.

  The other maidservants were talking amongst themselves, and Rapunzel lay down on her bed and faced away from them. If she was fortunate, they would forget about her tonight. She patted her pocket, feeling the book inside, and marveled at Sir Gerek bringing it for her.

  Of course she knew, as the other servants did not, that he was not the least interested in her. He was too honorable to take advantage of her, or at least, she hoped so. He intended to marry a wealthy heiress, and Rapunzel was the furthest thing from it.

  Even if the other maidservants did think untrue things about her and Sir Gerek, she was still thankful for a friend—especially now that she cried herself to sleep every night thinking about Mother and about how angry and lonely and hurt she must feel. O Father God, please forgive me.

  Rapunzel walked out of the town gate toward the meadow on the hill overlooking Hagenheim. The cool air caressed her cheeks while the sun warmed her head. Under her feet, green grass was beginning to peek through the brown leaves.

  Part of her wanted to keep going, all the way to the little hovel in the woods, and explain to Mother where she was, that she was safe and working, but she simply did not have the courage. Yet.

  She sat on the ground with her back against the trunk of the lone tree at the top of the hill and pulled out the book Sir Gerek had given her. The title was Parzival, an epic poem by Wolfram von Eschenbach. She had heard of this story. Parzival was a knight in the service of King Arthur who searched for the Holy Grail. She began reading the story-poem and found herself quickly turning the pages to find out what would happen next.

  The faint sounds of a horse’s hoofbeats drew her mind and her eyes away from her book.

  “I thought that was you sitting here.” Sir Gerek stopped his big black horse a few feet from her.

  She drew her knees up and made sure her ankles were covered. She had almost gotten used to having her hair showing. Almost. She touched the thick braid that lay across her shoulder as she gazed up at him.

  “You’re not wearing your splints anymore.”

  He dismounted. “No. Frau Lena said the bones were probably healed now. What do you think of the book?”

  “I like it very well.” She couldn’t hide her smile as joy welled up inside her. She was reading a book. She was reading.

  “I found that illuminated copy of Parzival when I was competing in a tourney in Koln with Valte
n—Lord Hamlin. The illustrations are very colorful, don’t you think?”

  “Yes, they are quite wonderful. But the story is my favorite part.”

  He fiddled with his horse’s reins.

  “I shall return it to you when I finish.”

  “No hurry. I know where to find you if I want it back. How do you find working at the castle? Is it to your liking?”

  “It is interesting, but a little overwhelming. Sometimes I think I will scream, being around people constantly. I am not used to that. I rather enjoy being alone, walking through the trees and listening to birds singing and the rustle of the wind.” Alone, except for Mother. And she did miss her.

  “There is none of that alone time at Hagenheim Castle.” One side of his mouth went up.

  “I do not wish to complain. Everyone is kind, and the work is not too hard for me.”

  He nodded. “It is difficult when you are never quiet with your own thoughts. I shall leave you, then, so you can enjoy some time alone.”

  She opened her mouth to tell him she didn’t want him to leave, but instead she said, “Thank you so much for the book. I am enjoying it.”

  “When you finish, I can loan you others.”

  “I would like that very much.”

  He turned his horse and rode away, the horse’s hooves quickly eating up the ground, throwing small clods of dirt up behind each footfall.

  Why was Sir Gerek so kind to her? He hadn’t grunted or growled at her once since she came to the castle. Would he expect something in return? Mother would say so. Mother never would have allowed her to accept the book, or allowed him to teach her to read. Mother . . . what was she doing at this moment? Was she looking for Rapunzel? Would she do something terrible to her if she found her? Or was she only worried and sad?

  She glanced around the wide-open space. No one was near. The springtime sun was warm but the air was still cold, and she pulled her hood over her head.

  She tried to go back to reading, but her thoughts kept pulling back to Mother. Sometimes she could hardly believe she’d had the courage to leave and ask for a job at the castle. Guilt still pricked her. But it had been the right thing to do. Still, she would eventually have to face her.