The Witch dropped her own bottle and pulled a hand mirror from her pocket just as Dorin clamored to the windowsill.
A flash struck the mirror, and Dorin was knocked back like the reflection was a force that dealt a blow to his head. He was thrown out of the window and fell down the three-story tower as my heart seized. He crashed into the brambles below. They broke his fall, but painfully.
“Dorin!” I screamed. I wanted to hear him call back to me, to know he was all right.
“Rapunzel!” the witch cried. “Get—away—from that window. Pull up your hair. And tell me now—are you still a maiden?”
“Wh—what do you mean?”
“Did you let that darkling fuck you?”
I gave her only silence. I rushed to the bed and grabbed the knife out from under my pillow. She had magic beyond anything I could muster, but I hoped at least it would startle her.
“Did you hurt him?” I shouted.
She rubbed her knobby hands together. “You hurt him. You cast the spell. Do you think I would give you a spell that I didn’t have a defense for? That was for you, to defend against the King of the Northlands, but you used it on me. I know I have made mistakes, but haven’t I also taken care of you? Your parents were poor. You wouldn’t have had books and sweets and all these things I have given you—”
“You think all this is worth more than freedom? Or parents who love me?” I cried. “You know I’ve been lonely and unhappy. That’s why I asked you for a pet. But even that, you refused.”
“You couldn’t have a dog. There is nowhere to let it out. And I couldn’t carry a squirming cat on my back all the way from town. What do you want? A bird in a cage? You already have your songbirds.”
I shook my head. “That man is a darkling prince, and I’m his bonded mate. I had no choice but to let him have me, but—it was everything I never knew I wanted. To be touched and loved… You’ve never given me that.” I went to the window, keeping my eyes on her. I glanced down quickly. Dorin was no longer fallen onto the brambles, so I knew he was all right, if probably quite torn up. Ooh, it was a long way down.
The Witch came over to me. “You give me no choice. Amaria follacra negatum…”
I slashed her arm with the knife. It wasn’t a very good strike, because I was still nervous about hurting her, and as soon as I saw blood I yanked the knife back. It was a lot sharper than our old kitchen knives! Still, it broke her chant. I scrambled up onto the window sill.
I saw Dorin there, barely visible below the brambles. He put his palms on the wall of the tower. “Witch!” he called. “Let her go, or I will bring my army to bear on you.”
“Oh, I will be long gone by then,” she snapped.
“Yes, into death!” he said. “I know what you were planning. You were trading Rapunzel in order to buy the elixir of youth. You don’t have to give her up, do you? That story about the rampion is a lie.”
“Not a lie! Part of the bargain!” she cried, clutching her bleeding arm.
“It’s true?” Things were bad enough as it was, but this nearly broke my heart. “You bargained me away just so you can be young again? But you’ve already been young before! This is my first time being young!” I tried to be a good person all the time, I really did. Even now, I didn’t want to hurt her. I knew I couldn’t kill her. But it didn’t seem one bit fair that my whole life was ruined because of her.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “But I know the King of the Northlands will treasure a lovely girl such as you. Please—get down from the window.”
I looked down at Dorin, and she grabbed my braid, trying to pull me back inside. I tried to yank my hair back so hard that I lost my balance. My ankle slipped into open space. I swayed, trying to catch my balance. The Witch yanked hard on my braid again, but my other foot, clad in a soft-soled slipper, lost purchase on the stones. I fell.
Chapter Eight
Rapunzel
The Witch was still holding my braid out the window frame. My fall yanked to a stop a few feet below the window, and then I started slowly sliding. The witch was trying to pull me up and I was pulling her down instead. She was hanging out the window already, so light and so frail that it was already quite clear what would happen.
“Rapunzel—!” Dorin held his arms up to me.
“No!” the Witch snapped, just before she tumbled out the window after me. I shrieked, in freefall again. It all must have looked pretty funny if, you know, we weren’t risking our lives.
Falling three stories is just enough time to think you made a really big mistake. It isn’t enough time for much else. I was still holding the knife, and I hastily threw it sideways, because Dorin was trying to catch me and I didn’t want to stab him to death instead.
I tumbled into Dorin. He caught me hard and stumbled against the side of the tower, barely keeping himself from falling. The Witch fell beside me.
On the ground.
On the knife.
Somehow, the knife had landed so that she impaled herself upon it. I could see a darker stain spreading on her dark robe. Her eyes were closed.
“Oh—ahh—oh god—I killed her—” I stammered.
Dorin clutched my hand. He didn’t even look at the Witch. “We need to go before the King of the Northlands arrives.”
The wind stirred, like it was warning me. I looked up and saw the edge of high, gray clouds moving across the sky.
I had never been so scared, so speechless. I kept ahold of his hand, and he urged me toward the brambles. I looked back at him. He had fallen onto the brambles on his back. I hadn’t been able to survey the damage. But his face was scratched, and one of his sleeves was torn. “You’re bleeding,” I said.
“I’m fine,” he said. “Keep on, I’m right behind you.” He took my braid and wrapped it around one of his arms like a coil of rope, but left a fairly long section loose. This way it didn’t drag behind me.
“We’ll have time to talk when we are safe on my horse,” he said. “But I’m sorry that you had such a shock.” His voice was tense, but firm. He kept a protective grip on my shoulder.
For the first time in my life, or at least in a time I could remember, my feet touched the ground. We were in a tight tunnel formed between brambles. Thorns caught my skirts and tore at them. Grass tickled my ankles. From my tower, I could smell the forest on the wind, but now it was thick and heady, all around me. Behind me, Dorin stayed bent over to avoid the brambles, although twice he caught his horns on them, jarring our steps.
We came out of the brambles, and the path was more open here, winding through a forest. “The Witch told me once that a hundred years ago, the King cut down these forests for wood,” I said. “Isn’t it amazing to believe that there was nothing here back then?” A roof of green spread above our heads, with barely a spot for the sun to break through. The forest floor showed a huge variety of bushes, flowers, mushrooms, grasses and moss. I hardly knew what to look at.
Dorin stumbled on a rock and had to steady himself on my shoulder.
“Are you sure you aren’t hurt?” I asked. “Maybe I should take a look.” I turned, and he flinched back.
I reached for the cut on his face, stroking it with my finger. His eyes wouldn’t meet mine.
“I know, I know,” I said. “We need to keep moving, but what’s wrong?”
“Her spell blinded me,” he said.
“Blinded you?” I whispered. “That’s what it was?” Now I put both hands on his cheeks. “Dorin…”
“I’ll be fine,” he growled. “Don’t fuss. It’s a battle injury. I’m sure the mages back home can fix it.”
He was very proud. I understood that, even in the short time I had known him. “All right,” I said, trying to match his toughness, and show him I would be a good queen. “Do you know how to get home?”
“If you tell me what you see, we can manage. I’m sure of that.” He lifted his face to the graying sky, his eyes squinting like he was trying to see. “Let’s not linger any longer.”
Chapter Nine
Prince Dorin
I would never show weakness to my Rapunzel. This was her first time out in the wide world, and with this king chasing her, and her own naiveté, she would need me to protect her and explain things to her. I had been looking forward to it, in fact. And now, the world was shut off from my eyes. The Witch’s spell had plunged me into a disorienting darkness.
I didn’t have time to be disoriented. I let her lead the way, but I kept my hand on my sword, and my ears pricked. My people were hunters; it was in our nature and our blood. Our woods were the home of many dangers, wolf shifters and vampires. The reason darklings had civilized those woods was because we could match these vicious beasts. Although my vision was very keen, even at night, I also had excellent hearing. One of my hand-to-hand combat teachers was nearly blind, and he had gotten on well enough. I tried to tell myself I would manage until we found a cure.
But I didn’t want to encounter the King of the Northlands in such a state. Before, I thought he would not want her, now that she was no longer a maiden.
Now that I knew he had been willing to trade her for five gold, I wasn’t sure. A virgin pussy wasn’t worth five gold, unless it belonged to someone exceptionally special…
Something small rustled in a nearby bush. It sounded like an animal. I kept moving, but Rapunzel’s steps slowed.
“It’s a rabbit,” she whispered, putting a hand on my chest. She kept moving, then. “A real rabbit. Oh—oh—it ran away, but that little tail! It’s so cute. It’s cuter than I thought. I’m sorry…is it cruel if I tell you how cute it is?”
“No. I’ve seen a lot of rabbits. I believe, if I never see one again, I will still have seen enough. But I wouldn’t mind having one for dinner.”
“I’m not catching one!” she said.
The path was fairly open here, and we kept moving swiftly. Then I had to stop and consider my bearings, for I had tied up my horse some distance away so the Witch wouldn’t see it and grow suspicious. But here, too, experience served me well. I had spent time a good deal of time outdoors; hunting, tracking, and traveling through all sorts of conditions. I always paid attention to what direction I was going, and what landmarks were near. I knew I should walk east, and look for an oak tree with a large burl, and Rapunzel helped me to spot it. The horse was not far from there. I was relieved beyond words to place my hard-won prize in the saddle and settle in behind her, the familiar strength of my mare beneath me. Our Yirvagnan horses were fast and graceful.
“Can I touch him?” Rapunzel asked, after she had coiled up her long braid in her lap like a parcel.
“Her. And yes…” I took her hand and guided her to touch the end of the horse’s mane.
“Does she have a name?”
“It’s not very creative, but yes. She’s called Lightning.”
“I thought you’d have a very manly horse,” she said.
“Well, maybe I’d rather ride a lady.”
She laughed, and her small hand rubbed my thigh. Despite the laugh, I felt that her hand was shaking a little.
“I didn’t mean to kill her,” she whispered.
“You didn’t. But I did. The knife has a slight enchantment on it. Once you strike someone with it and draw blood, the blade will always point at them.” I wrapped an arm around her. “When I was in town, I overheard the Witch talking about how much she wanted her elixir. She didn’t care about you. We don’t even know how old she might be. She might have hurt other people before you. Maybe she was here a hundred years ago to see the forest cut down, and that’s why she remembers.”
She suddenly gasped. “There were slashes on the kitchen wall, marking time—was that from another girl she held captive?” She shuddered. “I don’t want to think about it. It makes me feel glad she was dead, and then I think about the times she was kind to me, and I just want to vomit everywhere.”
“Let’s not go that far. And, when we’re at court, it’s best if you don't volunteer that information.”
I got Lightning back on the road. The horse couldn’t read road signs, but at least for now, she was heading confidently in the right direction. I kept her pace steady. Once we reached a town, I would pay a swift messenger to alert my people and send a party to meet us. I calculated they would probably reach us by the time we crossed the border between Dorvania and Yirvagna.
Her hand gently stroked my thigh. “I know you don’t want me to fuss, so I won’t. But—please answer me honestly. Are you scared?”
“Why do you want to know if I’m scared?”
“Because I’m very scared. I’m excited, too. But scared. And I feel bad that you were hurt. I feel like I made a mess of things. I used the spell and I think she was tricking me. And I accidentally admitted we had sex. And I slipped at the window.”
“It had nothing to do with you. I’m not scared. I don’t get scared.”
“Never?”
“I’m a prince of Yirvagna. I don’t have the luxury of being scared. I might have to face war or tragedy, and I’d need to be strong.”
“Deep inside, though?”
“If I am scared, I’m certainly not going to admit it.”
“Okay,” she said, and I think she’d decided that I actually was scared. I felt a little off-balance, without my vision. My eyes were still searching, my instincts crying for information that I couldn’t reach. If it never improved, I would never see my Rapunzel’s face again, or the faces of our children, or the rugged pine-covered mountains out my bedroom window.
I scoffed. “My duty is to protect you and my people. As long as I keep you safe, I will never be scared.”
She turned and kissed my chin. “I don’t believe you, but I like you.”
The next couple of days were harried, as I feared the pursuit of the King of the Northlands. I rode deep into the night until we reached another sizable town. Rapunzel huddled against me and marveled at everything she saw. Children playing. Butcher shops. Ladies in different types of hats. Pigs. A beggar with one leg. A ‘fancy-looking’ man that I eventually determined was a high elf. A peddler selling old pans out of a cart.
I let her ramble on, while I strained to keep my bearings, my hands tense around the reins. My keen ears picked up dozens of different sounds all around me, but it wasn’t clear what many of them were, and of course a great many things didn’t make any sound at all. As long as I didn’t panic, I thought, I could make it home.
“We’re looking for an inn or a boarding house,” I said.
“I’ll look. But everyone’s looking at us!” She sounded nervous. “They’re not talking to us, they’re just looking.”
“That is how strangers usually behave. I suppose we’d better just ask someone and get off the street as quickly as we can.”
I hated to stop at all, but Lightning must rest, and so should I. I had been awake for two days and a night. A young woman pointed us to an inn, just around the corner. When we reached the place, I was briefly paralyzed. Here was the building, but where was the door? The stablehand? The stable itself?
“Dorin? What do we need?” she asked.
“I hate to ask you to help.”
“Of course you should ask me for help! If we’re husband and wife now, we’re partners. Maybe I don’t know what I’m doing, but I’ll try my best.”
As we entered the inn, her small hand was steady on mine. I had told her she could trust me, never expecting I would also have to trust her.
We were given a room and I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. Whenever I woke, she was nestled beside me, breathing softly. Her hair smelled like roses. I wanted her so badly, but it was barely a thought before I passed out once more.
I finally woke in the late afternoon and knew we must get going quickly. I had already slept too long. I got dressed, raked a hand through my hair, roused Rapunzel from sleep, and felt my way down to the restaurant for a quick meal. I seemed too big for the room now, bumping into chairs and tables, my disorientation a constant r
eminder that I could not let the King of the Northlands reach us, not until I reached my own men.
As if it wasn’t bad enough already, as we were riding out, some evening festival was going on in the town, making a huge racket of music, cheering, dancing, stomping, and children running by with little clacking toys. I had a fantasy of charging Lightning through them all.
“Ooh! Oh my!” Rapunzel bounced in the saddle. “So many dancers! Look at those bows they’re wearing! Why are the ladies carrying baskets? What’s in them? And this music; it’s like it’s inside my heart, somehow. What are they singing, I can’t really make it out, do you know this song? What’s that instrument?”
“Is anyone selling taffy?”
“I wish, but I don’t think so…”
“I need some more candy to stuff in your mouth.”
“You’re mean sometimes.”
I sighed. “I can’t see a damn thing you’re talking about. I wanted to show you the world and instead I’m gritting my teeth just to get us out of here.”
“I’m sorry, Dorin! I’ll try to be quiet…”
We rode along in silence for about three minutes before I realized I liked that even less. “The basket dance,” I said, “is to celebrate the harvest. We have something like it in Yirvagna, too. In the court, the ladies dress up like peasants, which they have a lot of fun with, and fill the baskets with little sweet buns that they toss out. It’s probably our most wild holiday.”
“Oh, I missed it?”
“Actually, you didn’t. Our harvest is a little later. If we get home we should just catch it, in fact. Now, as far as the instruments, I hear the dobrva, which is a stringed one with a long neck, played with a pick, and a merciu, which also has strings, and a big round bowl-shaped body…and the accordion…”
By the time we left the town, we were both in better spirits. Or, at least, I was. I’m not sure Rapunzel was ever in bad spirits. The road itself, which I had traveled on so many times that my mind usually was wandering ahead to whatever political matter I needed to attend to on my journeys, was an endless delight for my sheltered girl. Each new bird and flower, each farmhouse and field, was fascinating to her.
Rapunzel and the Dark Prince Page 5
