Rapunzel Untangled (21 page)

Rapunzel’s stomach dropped as she flew forward with the motion. She panicked for just a second, but then sensation overtook her and she laughed. Fane continued to push her higher and higher while she clung tightly to the chains, her legs sticking straight out in front of her the entire time.

Fane jumped onto the swing next to her and pushed backward, setting himself swinging alongside her. He showed her how to pump her legs to keep the motion going. However, Fane, being much more experienced, soon swung much higher than her. After a few minutes, he released himself from the swing, landing about ten feet in front of the swing set.

“Wanna jump?” he asked.

“No thanks.” She laughed. Fane slowed her down and said, “You’ve gotta try the slide.”

Fane showed her what each piece of equipment was for and how to use it. The “monkey bars,” as he called them, were beyond her ability to hold onto with the thick gloves. She climbed up the top instead and sat atop the metal contraption.

Standing beneath her, Fane dramatically called, “Rapunzel, throw down your hair,” with his hands clasped dramatically in front of his chest.

Rapunzel laughed and dropped it through the bars.

“Wrap it around the bar twice,” he said.

She did as he asked, confused. He grabbed hold the end of it and began climbing as if it were a rope. The bar took his weight on her hair, only tugging slightly against her scalp as he climbed. At the top he grabbed the bar to hold his weight and said, “Lean down.”

She did so, and he pulled himself up, kissing her through the bars. Then he dropped back to the snowy ground. Rapunzel, enjoying the game, said, “Climb up again,” this time leaving her face near the bars. Showing off, Fane did pull-ups when he reached the top, kissing her each time he pulled up.

Finally he dropped back to the ground. “Come down. It’ll be much easier to kiss you down here.” Rapunzel was happy to comply.

The merry-go-round made her feel ill, but the teeter-totter was her favorite. She knew that Fane did most of the work to keep them moving up and down on the teeter-totter. The sensation of flying into the air and then dropping back to the ground gave her endless pleasure—even more than the swings.

Finally, he decided they better return to the house before his mother “called out the National Guard.” When she asked what the National Guard was, he told her it was kind of like the military police. Knowing that police would surely tell her mother that she had been out of the house, she practically ran back to Fane’s house. When they arrived, Rapunzel was stunned to find that it was time to eat yet again. Pie, this time.

After a couple hours and football games—which seemed pointless and violent to Rapunzel—the relatives began leaving. Rapunzel was sad to see them go. As Kevin left he hugged her and said, “As soon as you’re ready for a real man, just give me a call.” He laughed as Fane growled and shoved him away from her.

Fane and Rapunzel settled in front of the TV to watch a movie with his parents. The snow began coming down in earnest again, and Beth glanced worriedly out the window at the dark skies.

“It’s getting bad out there,” she said. “Maybe you should just stay the night here, Rapunzel, and Fane can take you home tomorrow when the roads have been plowed.”

Apprehension tightened Rapunzel’s stomach at the thought of not being home in her tower, where she belonged. Then she realized that her mother would never know she hadn’t spent the night at home. Also, it sounded incredibly appealing to stay here in the warmth and comfort of Fane’s home. She agreed and Beth gave her some dry sweat pants and a sweatshirt to wear to bed. She also gave her a toothbrush and washcloth. Fane showed her to their guest room.

“You’ll have to share the bathroom with me,” he said, pointing to an open door down the hallway. “Sorry if it’s full of boy stuff instead of the things you’re probably used to having in your own bathroom.”

“I don’t mind,” Rapunzel said. “It’s really nice of your mom to let me stay here.”

“Let me know if you need anything like more blankets or pillows or—”

“Fane, everything is great. Don’t worry about me.”

Fane shuffled uncomfortably and Rapunzel laid her hand on his arm. “Thank you, Fane, for sharing today with me. I never imagined how great Thanksgiving could be. Your family is really amazing.”

Fane cocked a brow at her. “So . . . what did you think of Kevin?”

“He’s really nice. I can see that teasing runs in your family.”

“Yeah, but did you think he was, I don’t know, cute, I guess?”

“Well yeah, of course,” she said. Disappointment colored Fane’s face until she said, “I thought all your cousins were cute, especially Ava and Liv.”

Fane grinned. “So you don’t think you would date him?”

Rapunzel shook her head. “I can’t date anyone, Fane. You know that.”

Fane looked frustrated. “But if you
could
?”

“Why would I date him? I like . . .” Heat suffused her face at what she’d been about to say.

“You like?”

Rapunzel looked away, embarrassed, and mumbled, “Someone else.”

Fane smiled. “I’m the only ‘someone else’ you know.”

Rapunzel looked up at him “So?”

Fane didn’t answer, only bent his head to kiss her. Rapunzel wrapped her arms around his waist and held him tightly. When he lifted his head he said, “I like you too.”

Later, as Rapunzel lay in a strange bed in a strange house, she’d never felt more at home.

 
^.*
*

R
apunzel opened her eyes and quickly sat up, startled. For a moment she didn’t know where she was and then remembered she was at Fane’s house. A knock sounded on the door and she said, “Come in.” Her face melted into a smile at the sight of Fane standing there.

“Good morning,” Fane said.

“Good morning,” she answered.

“There are towels and things in the bathroom if you want to shower or anything.”

“Thanks.”

“I have an idea,” Fane said, “for getting into the trunk.”

“Really?” Hope filled Rapunzel.

“After you get dressed, we’ll have breakfast and I’ll tell you my plan.”

Two hours later, they walked through the greenhouse. They went up to Rapunzel’s room so she could change out of her skirt. Fane had come armed with some tools. They made their way down to the old log cabin and pulled the trunk out.

“That’s what I thought,” Fane said, pointing to the tiny screws on the hinges. He pulled out a little screwdriver and proceeded to remove the screws. He looked at Rapunzel and said, “Are you sure about this?”

She nodded and he lifted the lid. Inside the trunk they saw stacks of papers, some old, some which looked a little newer. Rapunzel shuffled through some of the papers, not really looking at them. A wedding dress, wrapped in tissue paper, rested beneath the papers. She pulled it out, careful with the fragile, yellowed material. The dress was clearly old but beautiful. There were a few old pieces of jewelry in the bottom and some photographs. While she looked at these items, Fane went through the papers.

“Uh, Rapunzel, you might want to take a look at these.”

“What are they?” she asked.

“It looks like some of these writings might be from your mother.”

“What?” Rapunzel asked, dropping the ring she had been examining back into the trunk and reaching for the papers.

Just then, they heard a noise from the floor above them. They both froze. Fane raised a finger to his lips and then waved for her to stay put while he went to investigate. He walked over to the door and slowly turned the handle, opening it just the smallest of cracks to look out. He listened for a minute or two, then closed the door and returned to Rapunzel’s side.

“It sounds like maybe your cook has come home.”

“What are we going to do?” Rapunzel whispered, terror filling her mind, making it impossible to think clearly.

“We’ll have to sneak upstairs,” Fane said, moving to put the papers back in the trunk.

“No,” Rapunzel said, “I’ll take those up with me so I can look at them later.”

“Okay,” Fane said. Rapunzel replaced the other items inside, and Fane carefully replaced the lid, reattaching the screws to the hinges. He placed the stack of papers inside his shirt and tucked his shirt inside his pants to carry them hands-free. They carefully slid the trunk back beneath the bed. Fane took her hand and led her to the door.

Fane listened again and then apparently decided it was safe enough. He pulled the door open and led Rapunzel from the log room. They crept down the hallway, stopping to look around the corner. Rapunzel’s heart beat so loudly she was sure that Cook—she assumed it was Cook that was in the house—would surely hear it. They made it to the first set of stairs and went up. Just as their feet touched the top step, they heard a voice. Fane quickly dropped to his belly and down a few stairs, pulling Rapunzel with him.

They quietly crawled back down a few more steps and then froze as Cook came into view. It was the first time Rapunzel had ever seen the woman who’d been providing food for what she assumed was her whole life. She was younger than expected, looking to be somewhere around her mother’s age. She was average looking—brown hair, average height, and thinner than Rapunzel would have expected a cook to be.

Cook was talking on her phone, pacing back and forth. After a few minutes, she disappeared down one of the hallways, still talking on her phone, having never glanced their way. Sweat beaded on the back of Rapunzel’s neck at the fear of being caught. As soon as Cook disappeared, Fane took her hand, and they quickly ran up the stairs and then in the opposite direction. As quietly as possible, they hurried into her room.

“Whew,” Fane said, leaning against the closed door. “That was close.”

“How are you going to get out of here?” Rapunzel asked worriedly.

“I’ll just have to be extra sneaky,” Fane said. Then he patted his belly, rustling the papers, “Should we have a look?”

They moved to the counter, and Fane set the papers on its surface. They decided to split the pile in half and just start going through them one by one. Rapunzel began reading the top paper in her stack.

September 5: I am going hiking with Nigel tomorrow on another one of his stupid trips. I don’t know why he thinks that I enjoy doing these things with him. I would much rather stay home and continue to try and commune with my lost baby. I don’t talk to him about that anymore because each time I do he begins talking about my needing therapy. I DON’T NEED THERAPY! Why can’t he understand that? How can he be her true father if he refuses to acknowledge her existence? I’m beginning to wonder if he wasn’t her father. Maybe she was a gift to me from the spirits. I will have to find someone to talk to about that. Meantime, I’ll join Nigel on his stupid hike. Wouldn’t it be a shame if an accident were to happen and he didn’t come home with me? ~ BHG

Rapunzel’s head reeled. It seemed obvious that her mother wrote the pages.
Why loose papers and not a journal or diary or something
, she wondered. She knew about the baby, of course, from the news articles, but in all these years her mother had never spoken to
her
about the baby. She also couldn’t get that last sentence out of her head. She remembered the speculation in the articles that her father’s death had not been an accident. With some dread, she turned to the next page.

September 16: I was forced to withstand the affected sympathy of all the neighbors and other curiosity seekers at Nigel’s funeral. I know that they were all just here to look at the house and to try and ingratiate themselves with me, perhaps hoping to get some of my money. I earned this money. It’s mine. I paid for it with the blood of my daughter. I could hardly stand to play the part of the grieving widow when all I wanted to do was dance with joy that my scheme has worked. I am now free to do what is necessary to get my beautiful baby daughter back. ~ BHG

Rapunzel quickly flipped to the next page.

July 17: Good news, today I found Vedmak. He is genuine, not like all of the frauds who have come before. He knew all about my baby girl and how important it was to me to have her in my life again. He told me that I will have a golden-haired daughter who will be my savior. I am not sure how I will have another baby as I do not plan to be with another man again. However, if what I suspect about my baby girl is true, then I don’t need a man anyway. I expect that I will soon be pregnant. ~ BHG

November 3: I have not yet conceived, though Vedmak assures me that I
will
have a daughter, that I must be patient. He has told me more about the prophecy, that not only will my daughter be my savior, but will be the tool to return my first daughter to me. At first, I thought maybe he was just saying these things to try and get more money from me. But he spoke with such earnestness that I now believe he is telling me the truth, and he has not taken any further money, which proves he only has my interests at heart. I will try to be patient, though my anxiousness to be reunited with my daughter supersedes almost all else in my life. ~ BHG

February 25: It is very late but I could not wait until tomorrow to write of what Vedmak has told me. He said that the reason I have not yet been reunited with my daughter is because there is something I must do first. He said the spirits are unhappy with how stagnant my life has become. He said they would be happy if I began construction on my house and that as long as I continue to build and expand the manor, they will remain pleased with me and will provide for my reunion with my precious, golden-haired daughter. It’s required, though, that I oversee the work, according to Vedmak. I have spoken to a man who owns a construction company. He will come next week to begin work. I can feel how close I am to having my dreams fulfilled. ~ BHG

June 6: I SAW HER TODAY! My beautiful, golden-haired daughter. I now realize why I have not conceived. It is because I was meant to
find
her and today I found her. I was in the grocery store, a place I never go. I have others who shop for me, but today I felt compelled to go myself. Clearly, the spirits were trying to show me the way and it was there that I saw her. She is exactly as Vedmak described her. She has long, golden hair in spite of her young age. She looked right at me and I immediately knew that I had found the vessel that will bring my own baby back to me. I do not think it is a coincidence that today is the sixth day of the sixth month and that she is six months old. As soon as I realized I had found her I looked down to see that I had six apples in my basket. My own baby girl would have turned six on this very day. Clearly six is the number that my daughter is trying to show me. It must be connected somehow to her return. I understand and I will heed what she says. Six has always been related to the discipline that came from my mother, a number I related to pain. I can see now that she was only preparing me for this. Six will be the number that I will live my life by from here on. I must now plan. I must be diligent and cautious in order to bring my baby girl home. Tomorrow, I will speak with Vedmak and I am sure that the spirits will guide me in my endeavors.