“You’ll have to use his clothes,” Victor told me, a note of apology in his voice.
Resigned to my fate, I knelt next to the apprentice and started to take his clothes off. My face flamed as I pulled off his robe—it was hardly something very decent for a maiden like me to do. Fortunately, the man was wearing undergarments, because otherwise, I might have fainted out of sheer embarrassment.
The idea that I had to wear his clothing didn’t appeal to me in the slightest, but I had no other choice. By this point, I also had to acknowledge that I’d have to change with Larue and Victor here, which scared me just as much as this entire endeavor.
Sadly, I had no choice. The veil across my face would give my disguise away. I looked at the sleeping apprentice and took a deep breath. Obviously realizing my discomfort, the other two men turned away. I couldn’t be sure in Larue’s case, since the only thing I could see of him was a slight silhouette framed by pixie dust, but it seemed that he did, and that worked for me. Before I could convince myself that it was a terrible idea, I dropped my veil and my clothes and quickly put on the apprentice’s robe.
Now ready, I had to tackle the hole in my plan. Someone was bound to come by this room and spot the fallen apprentice. I had a good couple of hours left until the wedding, and by that point, the man might even wake up.
“Don’t worry about him,” Victor said. “We’ll make sure he won’t ruin it.”
I bit my lip anxiously. That meant that, from this point on, I was on my own. “Thank you,” I told them. “I would have never managed to get so far without you.”
“You underestimate yourself, Rapunzel,” Larue answered. “You’re very brave just for coming to Camelot in the first place. I’m sure you could have handled it just fine, but there was no reason for it. After all, we’re in this together.”
I nodded. “Watch over Medwin until I can, all right?”
“We’ll do our best,” Victor promised.
I murmured a prayer to the Goddess and another thank-you to the two men I now considered friends. As I did so, I started to tie my hair back. Like the veil, it would be a dead giveaway. Once I had it bound in a tight bun—a nigh miraculous feat given that the damn thing had grown to a length that bypassed my height—I left the room and went deeper into the temple, where the preparations for the ceremony were being held.
By some miracle, the head priest didn’t question me at all. My build was somewhat more slender than that of the apprentice, and really, we weren’t even of the same gender.
Of course, every time someone looked my way, my heart started racing. Fortunately, my luck held and no one noticed me. Apparently, the Arthurian priests were too panicked over the incipient wedding of one of their princes to worry about me.
This was how, the next day, I ended up in the palace courtyard, accompanying the head priest and a horde of other apprentices. The residence of the Arthurian royal family welcomed us with open doors, and I suppressed the urge to gasp and hyperventilate at the throng of muscular guards who surrounded us from every direction.
If I hadn’t met Kirril and Medwin, I’d had thought them to be abnormally huge compared to my own, slighter build. As it was, I could no longer pull back, and I wouldn’t have even if I could.
The High Priest gestured for everyone to gather around him. Two artifacts were brought forward, a chalice and a crown. They were the symbols of the Arthurian royal family. I wiggled forward, so that I would be in view of the High Priest when he chose the people who would carry them. I willed my magic to give him a little nudge, praying that I wouldn’t accidentally mess up what I’d managed until this point.
This particular spell wasn’t very hard, so I succeeded in my task. “You, take the chalice,” he told me, much to my relief. “Be mindful. It’s a very important part of the ritual.”
“Yes, Your Holiness,” I whispered as I carefully took the item from him. When he looked away, I quickly poured the pixie dust into the chalice. So far, so good.
The procession met up with Prince Kirril, and his presence soothed me somewhat. Of course, his parents and older brother were also there, so I couldn’t approach him in any way. He didn’t look my way. Likely, he couldn’t tell which of the apprentices I was, since I wore a hood over my head. Nevertheless, it meant a lot to me that he and the others had trusted me with such an important part of the plan.
The royal family guided the priests, me included, into the gardens. The rest of the guests were already gathered there. Naturally, most of the people here were strangers to me, but I did catch sight of Victor and Larue in the crowd. They couldn’t tell where I was either, but even so, having Merlinians in this place filled with so many people different from me helped calm me down.
The high priest gestured for all of the apprentices to position themselves in a circle. I stood at his right, while the apprentice carrying the crown stood at the priest’s left.
At last, all the preparations for the wedding were complete, and the engaged couple entered the gardens. Time seemed to stop as I watched Medwin approach, hand in hand with Anelah, the supposed Morgannian princess. He was so handsome in his official uniform, the material fitting him like a glove, emphasizing his athletic body and making his eyes glow even greener. His dark-blond hair seemed so soft that I wanted to reach out and touch it. And all the while, he was completely focused on Anelah, on the witch he was supposed to marry.
I clutched the chalice in my hands so tightly its indentations dug into my palm. I didn’t know why I even cared about it, but I did, much more than I’d have liked. I remembered that one time we had seen each other, how our eyes had met, the depth of the emotion I had seen there. It was that memory that had led me here, the promise of that something I had seen in his gaze. I couldn’t really understand it, because even then, he hadn’t approached me in any way that could have been considered affectionate. And yet, seeing him with someone else hurt.
But this wasn’t about me, not at all. Whether or not Medwin had felt the same thing I had, I needed to help him, to free him from the witch’s clutches.
As Medwin and Anelah finally stepped into the circle we had created. The High Priest dropped his hood and started the ceremony with what I guessed was a traditional chant. “We gather here to celebrate the union of these young souls. As the gods and the Great Father watch over us this day, may their hearts forever be one.”
If I wanted to be perfectly honest, I didn’t know when I was supposed to throw the pixie dust at Anelah. I hated the way he was looking at her, but I feared that, if I acted rashly, I would ruin the whole plan.
As it turned out, I didn’t have time to agonize over my course of action. The witch—damn her—seemed to be experiencing some sort of trouble with holding her spells in check. She twitched slightly, and, as if on cue, Medwin asked, “Could we rush this along?”
The High Priest must have been shocked, but he didn’t question his prince, and neither did anyone else. My head started spinning and my muscles froze as the cleric asked, “Prince Medwin, son of King Ralph Theodore the Fourth and Queen Sedonia of Arthuria, do you take this woman to be your companion in all things, from this day henceforth?”
I wanted him to say no. I wanted that memory which had brought me here to have left the same impact on him as it had on me. But I couldn’t hope for that sort of thing to defeat a witch’s spell. It was simply not possible.
And then, just as I expected him to agree, Medwin frowned and hesitated. From my standpoint, I could see the struggle in him, the instinctive knowledge that he wasn’t doing the right thing.
As the cleric tried to make Medwin react, Anelah clutched his arm like a claw, her magic flowing into Medwin. At that, I finally snapped out of my trance. Taking a step forward, I threw the pixie dust at the witch.
Chaos exploded all around us. Medwin drew his sword, ready to attack me, but I dropped my hood. It was all a huge gamble, and something I didn’t fully feel ready for. But I wanted him to see me, to look into my eyes and realize that
I was only trying to help.
Medwin froze when he got a good glimpse of my face. His sword fell out of his hand and onto the grass. He seemed to have trouble processing what was going on, but a desperate plea glittered in his eyes. “You…I…”
With the corner of my eyes, I caught sight of the witch trying to reach for me. Another figure got in the way, giving me the chance to do what I’d wanted from the very beginning.
I rushed to Medwin’s side and kissed his cheek. It was a far more daring step than I myself expected to make, but I couldn’t help it. “It’s all right now,” I told him. “You don’t have to be alone anymore.”
Technically speaking, he had never been alone, not like I had. He had grown up in a loving family, surrounded by siblings, parents, and servants who cared for him. But there was just something about him, some sort of vulnerability that seemed to mimic my own.
Perhaps I’d gotten that right, because Medwin slumped in my arms, unconscious. I would have been concerned, and a part of me truly was, but my rational side reminded me that the spell Anelah had cast on Medwin had truly taken a toll on him. It was a testament to his true strength that he’d even managed to push it back instead of plunging into the marriage like she’d undoubtedly willed him to.
I held him closely, petting his hair, distantly registering what was happening to Anelah. The Fairy Godfather, who had appeared while I’d been busy with Medwin, had just turned her into a pixie-sized creature. Undoubtedly, all of her spells and curses would be lifted, just like we had hoped. Nevertheless, she glowered at me, and I tensed, ready to protect myself and Medwin if need be. At the last moment, the witch seemed to realize she was outnumbered and stopped her spell.
I wanted to avenge Medwin, to make the witch pay for her crimes. But right now, the best and only thing I truly craved was to be by Medwin’s side, and so, I didn’t attack her like a part of me would have liked.
I received my reward when, at last, Medwin started to open his eyes. In the background, I could hear the Arthurian king rant and rave at Anelah, but I could only focus on Medwin.
“Hi,” I whispered. “How are you doing?”
Medwin didn’t immediately reply. He reached for my face with trembling fingers, as if he couldn’t quite believe I was there. “Rapunzel?” he asked.
I nodded. “Yes. But you didn’t answer my question. How are you feeling?”
As I spoke, my knot finally surrendered to the inevitable and came undone, my hair tumbling down in a curtain of gold. Medwin blinked in shock, but instead of replying to my inquiry, he swept his fingers over my locks.
The touch was soft, almost reverent, and it made me shiver with pleasure. Heat pooled into my belly, and my skin sizzled with something I didn’t dare identify. Much to my dismay, I found something hardening at my crotch.
That had happened several times before, and my father had assured me that it was a normal reaction, but one I nevertheless needed to control as a chaste maiden. Gasping, I pulled away from Medwin. I could only hope that he hadn’t noticed it, because if he had, he would undoubtedly deem me shameless.
For a few moments, I didn’t even dare to look his way, but then, I remembered that my sensibilities weren’t what mattered here. I’d come to help him, and as much as my behavior embarrassed me, I had to focus on making sure that he recovered after the spell Anelah had cast on him.
As I lifted my eyes, I found Medwin scanning me with a small, concerned smile. “Are you all right?” Medwin inquired.
I smiled back and struggled to get up. “Fine, Prince Medwin.” I didn’t miss the fact that he hadn’t addressed his own condition, focusing on my own. That simply would not do. I might not have known much about magic, but I did realize all too well how hard it was for someone to overcome such a heavy spell.
Perhaps Kirril realized it, too, because he turned his attention to me. “Rapunzel, would you help my brother to his room?” Kirril asked.
All eyes turned to me, and for the first time, I remembered I wasn’t wearing my veil. It wasn’t necessarily Kirril who represented the problem. I’d actually grown accustomed to him. Since he was a dragon’s mate, he had accepted me openly and had actually agreed to give me his beloved magical mare. However, there were so many people here, and each and every one of them could see my face. Magda wasn’t around like before—after all, she was only a mare and couldn’t be present. As a consequence, I completely panicked.
My knees went weak, and I could no longer hold myself up. I fell back, but before I could hit the ground, Medwin lunged forward and caught me.
He didn’t seem to have any trouble whatsoever with holding me up, even if I was the one who should have been stronger. “Thank you, brother,” Medwin said. “I think Rapunzel will do that.”
I clutched the material of Medwin’s uniform and hid my face with my hair. Sometimes, it paid to have long locks, because they shielded me in spite of the absence of my veil. Granted, Medwin was obviously not used to carrying people with such rich tresses, because he tripped and almost dropped me. By some miracle, I managed to pull my locks back just in time, avoiding a total disaster. He quickly recovered and stalked out of the garden, carrying me into the palace.
At this point, I didn’t know whether to laugh, cry, or be absurdly relieved. I couldn’t say anything, because when we were away from other people, I became focused on his proximity, on his heat, on the way his arms held me so protectively, so close.
It shouldn’t have been this way. I should be the one tending to him, not the other way around. But I couldn’t bring myself to break out of his embrace. As much as I hated to admit it, the tower my father had kept me in was likely the only place I felt safe in. Yes, it had been lonely, with my father visiting once every few weeks. But I’d gotten used to it, and even in Merlinia, I had yet to find another haven.
But in Medwin’s arms, I felt sheltered. Even if I didn’t have my regular clothes to hide behind, I found my fear subsiding. Was this how it felt to be swept off one’s feet by a handsome prince? I hadn’t come here expecting that, but the thought definitely made me hopeful.
I was snapped out of my thoughts when Medwin veered off the corridor and into a room. “These are my quarters,” he explained as he placed me on a low settee. “No one is going to bother us here.”
I blinked in surprise and looked around a bit. True enough, I’d been brought to a lavishly decorated chamber, filled with bookshelves and objects of art. There were so many books in the area that my hands itched to browse them all. But that would have to wait, because displaying such curiosity was almost as inappropriate as being alone with a man.
I bit my lip, unsure of how to explain my wariness. I wasn’t actually afraid of Medwin. In the end, I’d come here for him. But I was a chaste maiden, and there were some strict rules I had been taught.
As if guessing my thoughts, Medwin sat on the other side of the couch, leaving a good distance between us. “It’s all right. I won’t hurt you. I only want to talk.”
Talk. Okay, I could do that, if I managed to hear what he had to say over the sound of my own racing heart. Shaking myself, I said, “I apologize profusely for my gaffe.”
“Your gaffe?” he repeated inquiringly. “What exactly did you do wrong?”
“I panicked,” I admitted. “I have never been around such a large crowd of people and…well, I really didn’t know how to handle it.”
Before I knew what was going on, Medwin reached for my hand and kissed it. I froze. Truly, I should have retracted my hand. I should have fled the room. That was what any maiden who respected her chastity would have done. But I didn’t. Instead, I just sat there, meeting his hypnotic green eyes, my face flaming and my body once more buzzing with that strange awareness.
Eventually, Medwin released my hand, and I held my now-free palm to my chest. “Rapunzel,” Medwin said seriously, “I realize that we barely know each other, but from the very first moment I saw you…How can I explain this? I am completely and utterly enraptured with yo
ur beauty and your courage. I understand that our current circumstances don’t encourage you to trust my affection, and for that reason, I’d like to humbly plead for you to stay in Camelot for a little while, so that I may convince you of the honesty of my intentions.”
I hadn’t actually considered what would happen after the wedding. My plan had ended the moment of Anelah’s capture. Sure enough, I didn’t want to abandon him before I was sure he’d fully recovered, but that really had very little to do with what he was saying.
“Prince Medwin,” I whispered, “I don’t know what to say.”
The entire day had been so strenuous. I had doubted myself, my ability to help him, my true chances to get past my fear of people and sneak into the palace. I wanted to stay at Medwin’s side, but could I do so?
“Say yes,” Medwin insisted. “I’m not asking for anything, just for some time with you.”
It was a dream come true, something that seemed torn from the books I’d read as a child. But my father had taken those books away from me. Likely, he wouldn’t be impressed once he realized I’d fled the tower. So far, he’d shown no sign that he’d learned about my rebelliousness, but that didn’t mean this state of affairs would continue.
Upon my hesitation, Medwin quickly added, “I know I’m not very impressive. I’m not like my brothers who are such amazing warriors. But if you’d give me the chance, I’d like to prove to you that I can be as reliable as them.”
The dejection in his voice instantly made me react. “That’s not it,” I replied quickly, “far from it. I would never consider you unreliable.”
“What is it then? Is it because I’m a man?” Medwin groaned and passed a hand through his hair. “Of course. Gods, I’m such an idiot. I’m sorry. I just assumed that…Well, that your preference would suit mine.”
I shot him a confused glance. “I don’t understand. Why wouldn’t it? Why would you being a man represent a problem? You are a prince, and I am a maiden. Isn’t that what this entire conversation is about?”
The Frog Prince's Hair-Raising Predicament [A Tail Like No Other: Book Three] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) Page 2
