“It’s on purpose that way,” Dineiro explained when I said this. “So that it would be safe for us.”
His smile was almost dreamy as he patted his stomach, but he quickly shook it off with a self-conscious chuckle. “But please, come inside. Kirril is already on his way.”
At this point, we found ourselves in quite a pickle. In spite of Dineiro’s invitation, I couldn’t exactly ride Magda into the house, and I didn’t really know where and if I should leave her. Dineiro helped me decide by taking me off the saddle and into his arms. I distantly wondered if he wasn’t uncomfortable holding his mate’s brother like this while he was naked. Probably not. After all, right now, I was only a frog.
Dineiro left Magda next to a nearby tree without tying her down, then entered the house with me still in his arms. “I take it you’re planning to face Lord Stiltskin in a magical battle. Won’t you let us help you?”
“I can’t,” I explained. “If I do so, he’ll take Rapunzel away and I won’t ever see him again.”
Dineiro released a heavy sigh. “Well, at the very least, rest up and recover your strength. You’re going to need it. That man is a dangerous opponent.”
“Believe me, I know,” I replied glumly.
The dragon took me in a room at the back of the house. I hadn’t realized it before, but my brother’s abode opened straight into a cave complete with a pool filled with water that actually seemed to glow. To the right of the cave lay what seemed to be a nest made out of numerous furs. For the first time, I understood that when Dineiro had said he would be nesting, he meant it literally.
I had a feeling that he didn’t allow just anyone here. The place had a very private feel, and to a certain extent, I felt like an intruder for even coming. Dineiro didn’t seem to mind, though. He smiled as he placed me down. “Go ahead and take a dip in the pond. It’ll refresh you.”
I was very tempted to comply. Truth be told, the road had worn me out a little, and the armor was heavier than expected. Not to mention that I hadn’t actually allowed myself to follow any frog-like impulses in the past.
Probably noticing my silent agreement, Dineiro helped me out of my armor. His hands were very gentle, and he no longer seemed taken aback at all that I was a frog. Perhaps something like this seemed natural to him. Nonetheless, whatever the reason was, I greatly appreciated it.
He slipped me into the water, and I felt the tension drain away out of me as the liquid enveloped me in a comfortable, lukewarm embrace. Well, some of my anxiousness simply refused to fade, but that came as no surprise. Ever since I’d lost Rapunzel, there was an empty hole in my chest that would never be filled until I got him back.
As I relaxed in the pool, Dineiro changed into his dragon form and lay down in his nest. Perhaps he didn’t want to startle me out of my train of thought, because he remained silent. I, on the other hand, took the opportunity to understand him a little better.
“How does shape-shifting work, exactly?” I asked him as I leapt out of the pool.
Dineiro lifted his head and pinned me with large, purple eyes. “You mean, how I do it? Well, we don’t actually use our human forms all that much unless we have mates who are of a different species. But when I do change shapes, I simply visualize myself in my second form. It’s really not hard at all, especially since I know Kirril likes to see me that way.”
It was a little startling to note that Dineiro considered his human form secondary. I’d actually meant something entirely different—how he regularly shifted in his dragon shape. It certainly served to point out something very important. In spite of my predicament and my efforts to study magic, I was still thinking like an Arthurian. That wouldn’t do at all if I truly planned to rescue my love.
“Thank you, Dineiro,” I replied. “That’s more helpful than you can imagine.”
“Please, call me Dini,” the dragon said quickly. “You are, after all, my mate’s beloved brother.”
Before I could reply to that, Kirril stalked into the cave. “Medwin,” he said with a gasp. “Dear gods…”
As he picked me up, his expression of shock turned into a fierce glower. “That man is going to pay.”
“Let’s not start this all over again,” I told him. “Like I said to your mate, I’m going alone, and that’s final.”
“Medwin…” My brother attempted to reason with me.
“Look, let me put it this way. Remember last time, when I was under Anelah’s spell? I sent you to slay a dragon.”
Kirril winced, obviously sensitive about the topic, but Dineiro—Dini—just released a small, soothing noise, perhaps telling Kirril that all was forgiven. I hated having to mention it all, but I needed Kirril to understand. “Back then, in spite of her enchantment, I never felt the same urgency I do now. Granted, the situations are very different, but, brother, I love Rapunzel. I might not be a strong warrior like you. Right now, I’m not even human. But that love will help me. I’m sure of it.”
Even as I spoke, I found that I became more and more convinced of my own words. It didn’t matter that I was a frog. I could do this. I could save Rapunzel. I just had to believe in the magic of our bond.
Kirril seemed to realize I was serious. “Very well, Medwin. I’ll respect your decision. But if you don’t return…”
“I’ll return,” I replied. “Besides, the warlock doesn’t want to kill me. He only means to teach me a lesson, but he loves Rapunzel, and he knows that ending my life will cause Rapunzel to hate him.”
“He didn’t seem to be very worried about that when he turned you into a frog,” Kirril grumbled.
“Rili…” Dineiro said as he padded closer to us. “He might be right. I mean, if Lord Stiltskin had wanted to kill Medwin, he’d have already done so.”
“In any case, no matter what happens, I’m doing this,” I added. “Now, before I forget, I have a letter for you two from Mother. She mentioned that she’d like to invite you to Arthuria as soon as possible, or come here, if you’d rather.”
Dineiro visibly perked up. “That’s so nice of her.”
“Once this is all over, we’ll make sure to arrange a meeting,” Kirril said. “I highly doubt she’s in the mood for visits now.”
“She is quite worried about me, but it couldn’t be helped,” I answered. “She realizes that I’m doing the right thing.”
The three of us went outside, and I proceeded to show Kirril where the letter from my mother was. It had been placed in Magda’s saddlebag. Kirril pocketed it while Dineiro pet Magda’s large head with a clawed paw.
I wondered how it had become so normal for my brother to have a dragon around. Then again, I could understand it, since I’d been the same with Rapunzel’s strangely enchanted hair.
We spent a few more hours together, and throughout this time, Dineiro insisted that I eat and rest up for the road. I did so without comment, because I didn’t want to upset him. As it turned out, the meal he offered me was quite good—a first since my transformation. Lately, I’d only been eating for nourishment, but I had strongly refused to be reduced to hunting flies with my long tongue. I hadn’t even realized how much I had missed a good dinner until Dineiro had provided it.
At dusk, I finally put on my armor again and, with my brother’s help, mounted Magda. Dineiro hugged me, and for whatever reason, as he held me to his scaly chest, I felt something inside me pulse. My bond with Rapunzel flared to life, and for a few moments, I could see him in my mind, leaning against the banister of his tower, sighing and glancing into the distance. He was waiting for me.
The brief flash faded before I could reach out to him through our mental link. Dineiro pulled away and fixed me with his deep, purple eyes once more. “You have so much love inside of you,” he told me. “You will win this battle. I am sure of it.”
I wanted to touch him again, because I was suddenly certain it had been his magic that had helped me bypass whatever wards the warlock had put up to keep me from my beautiful love. But if I did so, I could easily draw
Lord Stiltskin’s attention to my brother and his mate, and that was the last thing I wanted.
“Thank you,” I told him honestly. “I’ll see you soon.”
They led me back toward the road, where I’d met up with Dineiro just earlier that day. The Rainbow Brick Road glowed in the dim rays of twilight, like a beacon calling out to me from the darkness.
Magda stepped onto the path, and I said, “The Rainbow Brick Road.”
It was apparently some sort of trigger to its power, or so Kirril had told me. I held my breath, waiting and hoping that I would be magically transported to my Rapunzel’s side. At first, nothing happened, and I turned toward Kirril and Dineiro. Dineiro had shifted into his human form, and Kirril was holding him close, as if he couldn’t bear not doing so. And then, before I could even ask them anything, the world started to blur, and their figures disappeared. The forest itself vanished into the darkness of the evening and then started to morph into different shapes.
I found myself in front of a canyon, mercifully still mounted on Magda. It was a little dizzying for someone my size to be on the proverbial lip of the abyss, but I would have braved that, and much more. As it turned out, it wasn’t even an issue. “We are close to Lord Stiltskin’s domain,” Magda told me with a neigh. “It’s that way.”
She was pointing away from the cliff side, toward a dark and gloomy forest. In the distance, I thought I could catch a glimpse of a tall tower. Perhaps I was imagining it—after all, frogs weren’t exactly known for their amazing vision. Nonetheless, what I had seen in my mind had been true and that image was guiding me toward that forest.
As Magda started to gallop toward Rumpel Stiltskin’s land, I sent out a message to my beautiful love. “Wait for me, Rapunzel. I’m coming.”
Chapter Nine:
In Which the Not-So-Maidenly Maiden Learns Two Shocking Secrets
“He’s not coming.”
My father’s words didn’t surprise me, and neither did his presence. I ignored him, as I always did these days. Since my father had dragged me into the tower again, I had not spoken a word. I simply couldn’t forgive him for what he had done to Medwin.
“Rapunzel.” My father sighed deeply behind me. “You have to accept this. It’s been a month. He abandoned you.”
I didn’t even spare him a look. Instead, I just continued my scrutiny of my father’s lands. Evening had fallen over the Merlinian lands. From my position in the balcony of my tower, I glanced out into the distance, hoping to catch sight of an incoming rider. I kept thinking that if I looked away even for a moment from the horizon, I’d miss Medwin’s approach.
In truth, even if I was doing my best not to let my father get to me, it hurt to hear him say all these things. I couldn’t deny that a month had passed since my separation from Medwin. I had no doubt that Medwin was doing his best to find a solution to our predicament. He wouldn’t have been able to defeat my father if he’d just come after me at once. I knew all this, and I trusted Medwin’s affection for me. Still, each second that passed while we were not together speared me with arrows of fear and doubt.
“Come inside,” my father finally said. “It’s getting pretty chilly, and I don’t want you to catch a cold.”
He grabbed my hand, struggling to pull me into the tower. I shrugged him off, freeing myself from him with ease. He allowed it, even if he could have easily forced me to comply. Perhaps he was truly distraught about my anger with him. But what had he expected? That I would openly embrace my separation from Medwin?
“Rapunzel, don’t be stubborn,” he said. “Do you think that your prince would want you to hurt yourself like this?”
That was a low blow. I turned around and glared at him. “Do you truly not realize that you’re the one hurting me?” I asked, finally breaking my vow of silence. “What kind of enchantment do you have on the tower that keeps me from reaching out to Medwin?”
“Rapunzel…” my father tried to say.
“No! I won’t hear it. You’ve been saying on and on that you’re only thinking about my own good, but what are you protecting me from? What can possibly warrant such a treatment from you? I can admit that I might not have been the perfect son, but that can’t justify you warping my sense of self like you did. And still, I could have forgiven that, because you’re my father. But I can never—understand this, never—forgive you for what you did to Medwin.”
He released another heavy sigh. “Very well, Rapunzel. You want me to answer your questions. I will.” Instead of trying to guide me back inside, he stepped onto the balcony with me. He wrapped an additional coat around my shoulders, and I accepted it in silent agreement that, indeed, Medwin wouldn’t want me to get sick.
My father stared out into the distance, and for a few moments, he remained silent. “I realize I haven’t been the best parent,” he finally said. “But you came to me unexpectedly. Rapunzel, the truth is…you’re not really my birth child.”
I should have been shocked, but in my heart, I’d expected it. Every time I’d asked about my mother, my father would dodge the question—until I’d at last stopped asking. “So then, why…Why did you stage all this?” I asked.
“It’s a really long story, one that started many years before you were born. You see, a long time ago, in Grimoire, there lived a strong witch, renowned all throughout Avalon. Few people even remember her anymore, as her name has been lost in the mists of time. At one point, in spite of her power, she grew lonely, and she had three children with men of different species. She picked a pixie male, a psychic from Mentalia, and a strong Morgannian mage. And then, she wanted another child, one with a shape-shifter.”
“She went to the most noble of the shifter houses in the whole of Avalon and requested that the king himself fulfill her plea. But the king of the province was already married, and his wife had just born him a boy, so he refused her.”
“Angry with the rejection, the witch cursed the kingdom. In the eighteenth year of the heir’s life, he was to prick his finger with a rose thorn. In that moment, he would fall asleep for all eternity, and so would the entire kingdom.”
“The king ordered for all the roses to be destroyed. This was particularly difficult for them, because the abilities of these shifters were strongly aligned with plants. Not even this sacrifice prevented the inevitable. On the morning of his eighteenth birthday, the young heir found a white rose in the gardens, pricked his thumb, and fell asleep. The witch’s curse took over, just like she had wanted.”
That was a sad and frightening story, but I couldn’t see how it had anything to do with me. “I don’t understand. Am I that heir? What about the witch? Who was she?”
“Please, let me finish,” my father answered. “The spell came with a caveat. It could be broken if a man from the witch’s bloodline, born on the same day the curse fell, saved the unfortunate prince. It was said that this man would be the one to pave the path to the kingdom’s salvation.”
“Meanwhile, the witch’s children grew up together, gradually learning magic. Time passed, with the witch ever watchful of them. And then, unexpectedly, the witch’s daughter fell pregnant. Knowing about the curse, she and her brothers concealed the pregnancy. By the time the witch found out about it, it was too late for her to kill the baby without risking her daughter’s life.”
“For all her anger, the witch loved her children, so she could only do her best and keep the child from being born in the wrong day. It was pointless. The baby—a lovely blond-haired boy—drew his first breath precisely a hundred years after the curse was cast.”
“The witch instantly attacked the helpless babe, but the child’s uncles stopped her. Anticipating her actions, they had prepared a binding spell. They stripped her of her powers and divided it within the three offspring, at the same time, tying her fate to the sleeping kingdom.”
“Unexpectedly, though, the witch’s evil endured, and it recoiled into her daughter, making her hate her own child. The two sons could do nothing but take the baby and hope
to keep him from harm.”
Finally, my father looked toward me. “I took it upon myself to protect you from my sister,” he said, “while my brother decided to watch over the rest of Merlinia, to make sure our mother never woke. My sister searched for you at first, but once I concealed you here, under the identity of my daughter, she couldn’t reach you.”
I would have been inclined to believe him, but even I knew that the shape-shifters who organized themselves in kingdoms had died out a long time ago. Time-line wise, what he was telling me made no sense. “That can’t be right,” I told him. “In my twenty years, I’ve never even heard tell of such a witch, or of such a curse.”
My father shot me a look full of pity. “This tower is enchanted, Rapunzel. Time passes differently here, according to my will. You were here for over two hundred years before I even brought you Magda.”
I glanced at him in complete shock, and in his eyes, I saw the truth of it. My head started to spin. I could no longer focus on his tale, but rather on the realization that the time I had waited could have been something entirely different. For all I knew, years had passed since Medwin and I had been separated. If that was the case, no wonder my father kept insisting Medwin had abandoned me.
“Did you…Did you speed up time while we were here?”
He shook his head. “I didn’t want to chance it. It was too risky.”
“Risky?” I repeated. I didn’t even know if I was supposed to feel relieved or even more concerned. I just couldn’t understand anything anymore, and I desperately wanted to be by Medwin’s side, where everything made sense. “What do you mean?”
Even as I spoke, I felt a wave of dizziness flow over me. I swooned, but my father—or was he my uncle?—caught me before I could fall. Before I could protest, he picked me up and carried me into the tower. “That’s the reason,” he said darkly as he placed me on a low settee. “Rapunzel, you’re pregnant.”
Pregnant. Pregnant. That word echoed in my mind over and over, like my father kept repeating it. I couldn’t even doubt him. The man might have lied about countless things, but this would be too much even for him.
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