Grounded: The Adventures of Rapunzel

by Megan Morrison

“We’ve been robbed,” he panted, stuffing Ubiquitous acorns into his pockets. “I’m going after them.”

  “I’m going with you!”

  “You can’t!” Jack shouted as he sprinted away from her toward the steep northern wall of the valley. “They got your boots!”

  It was true. Her boots were gone.

  Rapunzel cursed, picking up one foot and then the other. The ground was covered in frost; her stocking bottoms were already wet through, and it was bitingly cold. The idea of journeying onward in bare feet was unthinkable.

  Panicked, she squinted after Jack. He had reached the valley wall. Above him, in the growing light of very early morning, Rapunzel saw a large man running along the snaking roads that led to the top of the steep hill. Far ahead of him, a thin man was carrying something that was just about the right shape and size to be her boots. She realized with a sinking heart that he looked too far away to be caught.

  There was an echoing crack! and Jack tossed a grappling hook straight up. It anchored in the rocks, and he began to climb the rope up the valley wall, able to clear its height faster than either of the bandits, who had to run back and forth along the road. Rapunzel watched, breathless. She had seen Witch scale her tower many times, and she had seen Jack do it too, but until she had clambered out of the river herself, she had never appreciated how much effort it took.

  Jack climbed on. Above him, the larger bandit had run high enough that he met with the top of the rope. He took hold of the hook and tried to yank it out of the rock wall, but Jack vaulted onto the road. He pulled his sword and swung it at the large bandit, who dropped something and backed away.

  Jack snatched what was dropped, cracked another rope in almost the same moment, and tossed the grappling hook up again. It lodged in the dirt just below the path where the thin bandit was running. That bandit was moving more slowly now, Rapunzel noticed, her heart in her throat.

  Jack raced up his rope, getting closer to the second bandit every moment. This time, when he came to the pathway, he pulled himself onto it and tore along the winding road after the thin man. Jack caught him at the top of the valley, where Rapunzel lost sight of them both as they stumbled away from the edge. She heard faint, distant shouting — and then nothing at all.

  Barefoot or not, she had to follow Jack. She folded the tent, packed the wagon haphazardly, swept Prince Frog onto her shoulder strap, and ran toward the bottom of the road, pulling the wagon behind her. She raced up the first few legs of the winding road, jogged along the next few, and was reduced to a winded walk before she was halfway there. She winced with every uncomfortable, wet, cold step. The large man had already disappeared over the sloping top of the valley and was gone.

  As early dawn became morning, Rapunzel willed herself to keep going, promising her feet that it wouldn’t be much longer. She looked toward the top of the hill, beginning to fear the silence. She hadn’t heard anything since Jack had disappeared.

  “Jack!” she called. Her voice echoed between the steep valley walls. “Are you all right?”

  There was no answer.

  “Jack!” she cried again. “Where are you?”

  At the top of the valley, now just a few turns of the road above her, a familiar figure staggered into the morning light, clutching a pair of boots by their buckled straps. He held them aloft. And then he doubled over, dropped the boots, and braced his hands on his knees.

  Rapunzel ran toward him without another thought of her feet.

  “Jack!” she cried, rattling up to him with the wagon and grabbing his arms to pull him up straight. “You got my boots! You climbed so fast! I can’t believe you caught them both!”

  Jack fought for breath. He was slick with sweat, his hands were rope-burned, and there were streaks of blood across one cheek and down one of his arms, where the sleeve had torn. Rapunzel stared at the blood. She had never seen so much.

  In spite of it all, Jack managed a brilliant smile.

  “What happened?” she demanded, strapping on her boots as Jack licked his thumb and rubbed the blood off his arm. “Are you all right? Did they run off? How did you get the boots? What did that other man take?”

  Jack breathed heavily and said nothing. But he pulled Rapunzel’s belt from where he had slung it over his shoulder, and he held it out to her.

  “So that’s what he dropped!” Rapunzel cinched the belt around her waist and checked to see that her dagger and money were still in it. When Jack had recovered, he strapped on his knapsack.

  “It’s a good thing we’ve got Prince Frog,” he said, cracking his neck on one side and then the other as they trekked over the top of the hill. Around them, the sky grew brighter every moment. “He bounced on my head till I woke up. That’s why I heard the bandits.” He gave Prince Frog an affectionate look.

  “He’s a very good frog,” said Rapunzel. “But what did the bandits get away with? I know they got acorns — I saw, when I packed the wagon.”

  “They got about half of them,” said Jack. “We should’ve kept them in the tent; it was stupid of us. They must’ve gone for those first and grabbed the rest of it second — your belt, your boots. I kept my belt in the tent, and you should do the same.”

  “I will from now on,” said Rapunzel. “All the money’s in there.”

  “What?” Jack yelled. “I thought you kept it in your pocket! Rapunzel, you can’t just leave money out in the wagon —”

  “Well, I said I won’t anymore!” she shot back, marching on. “Anyway, are you hurt?” she asked. “There’s blood.”

  “I’m all right,” he replied, touching the scratch on his cheek and looking at the blood on his fingers before he wiped them on his vest. “It wasn’t bad. They weren’t much worse than the chicken thieves we get around home.”

  “I’m so glad you caught them. You really were amazing when you climbed.”

  Jack smiled again, but there was a little less brilliance to it. He almost looked guilty.

  “Try to stay calm, all right?” he said. “Before the bandits ran off, they …”

  He slowed to a stop and gestured to the wagon.

  “After they got the acorns, they went for something else,” he said. He looked distinctly nervous. “They didn’t get it, but they tried. Look, I told you it was valuable. You should be flattered people like it so much, right? Don’t scream when you see it.”

  Rapunzel looked at the wagon, not understanding. What else was there to steal? The cloaks? The mittens?

  “My hair,” she gasped. Her heart pitched in her chest. She crouched beside the wagon and spoke to the hair wheel. “Unwind to the same place you did last night,” she commanded, and her hair shot off the wheel. It whirred to the point that Rapunzel had requested and stopped.

  Her heart stopped with it.

  There, where the braid fed into the wheel, someone had sliced into her hair, deep enough to sever a very thick lock — almost a third of her braid. The hewn hank of hair stuck out like bundled straw from the rest of the twisting mass. The cut had been made perhaps fifteen feet from the crown of her head; the severed chunk was plaited into the rest of her hair now, but as soon as she unbraided it, almost a third of her hair would be gone.

  Rapunzel touched the blunt ends with trembling fingertips. For the first time since Cornucopia, she longed to call for Witch. Witch could fix it. Witch could make it all right.

  It was all right, she told herself, still crouched beside her ruined hair. It had to be all right. She couldn’t go back to the tower now; they had come too far, and Rune was surely still watching. She had no choice but to go on.

  “I’m not going to scream,” she said, and she pushed herself to her feet. “Wind up,” she said, and winced when the severed lock frayed a little as it was whipped back onto the wheel with the rest of her braid.

  “I tried to stop them,” said Jack. “I should have gone out earlier, I knew it.”

  “It’s all right,” said Rapunzel. “Is that why you yelled ‘no’ at the bandits? To stop them
from cutting my braid?”

  He nodded. A satisfying suspicion struck Rapunzel.

  “But you’re always telling me to cut it off,” she said.

  Jack shifted his weight and looked away from her. “We might as well keep walking,” he said. “Get a head start on the day.”

  “You like my hair!” said Rapunzel triumphantly.

  He seemed to have gone temporarily deaf. “Let’s get on the road,” he said, picking up the wagon handle and setting off.

  “You didn’t let them cut it off,” sang Rapunzel, skipping after him. “You think it’s beautiful, admit it. You love my hair, admit it!”

  “Shut up or I’ll change my mind,” he said, and Rapunzel fell silent, beaming.

  THE acorns the bandits had stolen included all the sausages, a good deal of the other food, and many of the ropes and tents. To keep from despairing over the loss of so many supplies, Rapunzel decided to play Tess’s game while she walked. She tried to think of something to be glad about, and found it very easy. A flood of ideas quickly came to her.

  “I’m happy I won the jacks contest,” she said, and prodded Jack. “Your turn.”

  “It’s Tess’s birthday today, actually,” he said, smiling slightly. “She’s nine. We should eat some cake in her honor, if there are any good acorns left.”

  “There aren’t,” said Rapunzel. “That’s why I’m playing the happiness game.”

  “That’s what Tess calls it too,” said Jack, glancing at the sky. “All right, I’ve got one. I’m happy Serge showed us another fairywood and saved us more time.”

  “I’m happy he made us such comfortable boots.”

  “I’m happy we didn’t lose the boots.”

  “I’m happy you’re faster than a bandit!”

  Rapunzel didn’t quite hear what Jack said next. Her attention shifted to another sound, one that seemed out of place among the early morning noises of birds and breeze. She turned her head toward the sound, but saw nothing behind them except the empty road.

  “What is it?” asked Jack, glancing back as well. “Do you hear something?”

  “Shh.” Rapunzel listened hard. Prince Frog heard it too, and he leapt from Rapunzel’s shoulder and put his belly to the ground, looking warily in the direction from which they had come.

  Four horses trotted over the peak of the hilltop, pulling a cart behind them. The front of the cart held a bench, on which sat a large man with a large beard.

  “Quick,” said Jack, and he retreated into the trees that lined the road, tugging Rapunzel with him.

  “What’s wrong?” she said.

  “I want to get a look at him before he sees us.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you never know.”

  They stayed in the trees, and as the wagon drew nearer, Rapunzel read the words that were painted along its high-walled back.

  Rapunzel took a step toward it. If there was something delectable in the wagon, perhaps they could replace some of their lost supplies. Jack caught her hand and kept her with him.

  “Don’t,” he said, his voice low.

  “We just lost most of our food,” said Rapunzel. “We ought to at least talk to him.”

  Jack considered this and agreed that she was probably right. Together they approached the road. The wagon slowed and stopped in front of them. Rapunzel was a little frightened of the horses; she had never seen them up close and hadn’t realized what big round eyes they had, or how tall they were, or how hard they stamped. She stayed away from them and addressed herself to the bearded man who sat alone on the wagon’s front seat.

  “Do you have delectable things in there?” she asked, pointing to the back half of the wagon.

  The man nodded.

  “Can I buy some, then?” asked Rapunzel. “I have a bag of money. I won it in a contest.”

  Jack looked warningly at her. The wagon driver didn’t answer right away. His eyes traveled Rapunzel’s braid from where it started at her neck to where it ended in the little wagon, wrapped around the fairy wheel. Prince Frog had just hopped in and was settling down in the middle of the hair coil.

  “We’ve been robbed,” Rapunzel went on. “Bandits took our food.”

  The driver looked at her. Behind his beard, his face was difficult to read. “Where are you off to?” he asked. “North country?”

  His voice was a low rumble, almost even a growl. Rapunzel was unsettled by it and the intensity of his gaze.

  “We’re just camping,” Jack said, eyeing the driver. “Why do you ask?”

  “Because I’m headed north,” he said. “As far as White Pine Ridge.” His eyes were dark under his heavy eyebrows. “Why don’t I offer you a ride?”

  “A ride, huh?” Jack’s voice was clipped. “Thanks, but we’re not going much farther.”

  “If you’re going even as far as Hickory Hills, it’s five days’ walk.” The driver leaned his large forearm on the raised side of his seat and looked down at them. “I can get you there in three.”

  “We’re actually headed south,” said Jack, with a quick look at Rapunzel. “Isn’t that right?”

  But Rapunzel was doing quick calculations.

  “How far north is White Pine Ridge?” she asked.

  “Center of Green,” the driver answered, shifting his dark eyes to her. “More than two weeks on foot.”

  “But you could get us there in a little over a week.”

  “Sharp girl.”

  Rapunzel’s heart beat quickly. The center of Green, right near the First Wood, was where she wanted to be. If she could get there faster, then Witch would be safe from the fairies sooner, and she could return to her tower, as Glyph had promised.

  The driver’s dark eyes glimmered. He extended his large, rough hand. “Name’s Greve,” he said. “Hop in. I’ve only done the Bayberry drop-off this trip, so there’s just enough room in the back for one of you. The other one sits with me.”

  “That’s a nice offer,” said Jack, grabbing Rapunzel’s belt before she could hop onto the wagon seat. He gave her a piercing look. “But we’ll need a minute.”

  “Take your time.” Leaning heavily on the side of the seat, Greve got down from the wagon. He was as big as the two of them combined, and so tall that Rapunzel had to tilt back her head to look up at him. “Need to take a break, in any case.” He flicked his eyes from Rapunzel to Jack. “And there’s no point in stealing my wagon,” he said. “Everyone on this route recognizes it.”

  Greve pulled a walking stick down from the wagon seat. He seemed to depend on the stick as he limped off, favoring one leg. His massive boots crunched out a lopsided rhythm in the frosty grass.

  When they could no longer see him, Jack let go of Rapunzel’s belt.

  “Why’d you tell him anything?” he demanded. “Can’t you see he’s strange? We’re not riding with him.”

  “Of course we are!” said Rapunzel. “He can take us right where we need to go — in a week instead of two! Jack, it’s such a lucky thing he found us.”

  “Found us is exactly my problem,” said Jack, squinting over Rapunzel’s shoulder toward the trees where Greve had gone. “How did he know we were going north? And look at his wagon — his last delivery’s in Shagbark, not White Pine Ridge.”

  “Maybe he saw us from the other side of the valley,” said Rapunzel. “He could have been coming down one side while we were climbing the other — in fact, he must have been. He would have seen us walking north.”

  “Maybe,” said Jack. “But something’s not right. It’s too convenient.”

  “It’s so convenient.”

  “And the way he looked at you — I’m telling you, he recognizes your hair. He was too quick to offer us a ride.”

  Prince Frog gave a loud, wary croak.

  “We need to walk south until he’s out of sight.”

  “Jack, we don’t have food. He does, and he’ll take us straight into the towns too.”

  “No.”

  Rapunzel clenched her fis
ts in frustration. “You don’t get to decide by yourself!” she burst out. “I’m the one who has to find the First Wood, and I say we go in the wagon. I just want to go home,” she pleaded when Jack’s eyes flashed. “Witch is hurting while I’m gone, I know it. If I can get home a week earlier, then I have to do it.”

  “But Rapunzel, listen —”

  “No, you listen; I’ve listened to you a hundred times. I’m going with Greve.”

  “And if I won’t go with you?” threatened Jack.

  “You have to,” said Rapunzel. “Glyph said if you stay with me, then she’ll help you. Which you still haven’t explained to me, by the way.”

  Jack rubbed his temples with his thumb and forefinger. “Fine,” he said. “We can ride with Greve, but I don’t like it. And I’m sitting up front.”

  “You didn’t even want to go!” cried Rapunzel. “Now you want the front?” She dashed toward the seat before Jack could steal it.

  He grabbed her by the belt again, bringing her to a jerking halt. “I don’t want the front because it’s fun,” he hissed. “If Greve turns out to be a bad kind of guy, then you shouldn’t be alone with him.”

  “Why not? I’m not afraid of him,” she said, wiggling out of Jack’s grip. “He can’t even walk right. Didn’t you see him with his stick?”

  “But he’s big,” said Jack.

  “Well, I’m bigger than you,” said Rapunzel, tossing her head. “So you’re the one who should be scared of him.”

  “You’ve got all that hair. If it turns out we have to get away from Greve, you should be where he can’t grab your braid and you can get a head start.”

  Rapunzel humphed. But perhaps he did have a point.

  “Fine,” she said. “Take the front. But if Greve turns out to be all right, then you have to trade places tomorrow.”

  Greve limped into view. He climbed into the wagon and looked down at them.

  “We’ll go with you,” said Rapunzel.

  “Good.” The word was a low rumble. “I’ll expect help with my deliveries in exchange. It’s hard work, but you both look strong enough. Deal?”

  “Deal,” said Jack, sounding surprised. He was visibly more at ease as he walked with Rapunzel to the back end of the wagon, and she understood why. If Greve wanted something from them, it made more sense that he’d offer them a ride.