Ravishing Rapunzel (Passion-Filled Fairy Tales, #6)(12)
Garrett gave his brother another gentle pat on the back. “You don’t have to commit to Princess Lucille right now. Just go and meet with her. Maybe she’ll have an older sister who you fancy better. Then you can grovel for the opportunity to court her.”
Garrett laughed, and Bradyn chuckled along, but unless Lucille’s sister was Rapunzel, he didn’t think it would work out.
“Don’t believe me, eh?” Garrett said. “Well, at the very least, it’s a two-day ride. You can get out of the castle a bit. I have a good feeling about this, Brae. Give it a chance.”
Bradyn nodded. He’d ride off for the neighboring kingdom tomorrow. He was tired of trying to make his destiny with Rapunzel happen. If she was part of his future, destiny would have to do its part.
*
Bradyn had spent the better part of the day riding with his footman, Johan. They’d settled at an inn a little beyond the midway point of the journey. They were in the neighboring kingdom, and would set out in the morning to finish their ride. They’d picked an inn at the outer edge of this town and had taken an early meal.
Johan had an affinity for the ladies, and two years ago, he was a great companion for Bradyn. Johan still enjoyed carousing so Bradyn had let his servant go, while he perused the shops.
On a whim, Bradyn stepped into a porcelain shop and was looking about when he overheard a snippet of conversation between the shopkeeper and a customer. “I’ve engraved it just as you requested, ‘To Rapunzel,’” the shopkeeper said. “My engraver thought it was odd to engrave it to a flower.”
“It’s my favorite flower,” the customer said, her voice clipped. “I thank you for adhering to my strange custom.”
“Of course, so long as you pay, because once we engrave it, we can’t sell it to anyone else, not with a plant inscription. Might as well say ‘lettuce.’”
The customer gave a sharp cackle and plunked down her money on the table. “Here you go, milady, and you have a good day.”
Bradyn had stayed put, eyeing a whimsical figure of a ballerina during the conversation. Luckily, there was a mirror nearby, and he could make out the customer who was picking up the engraved music box. She was an older woman wearing a red hooded cloak.
Once the woman left the store, he waited a beat and left. He was sure she didn’t have a strange custom. She had to be Rapunzel’s mother, and he intended to follow her and find her. After all these years, this was his first lead, and he wasn’t going to lose her.
Once out in the crowded market, he kept a good distance behind the woman in the cloak, and he followed her away from the city and through the forest. It was almost completely dark by the time the woman exited the woods into a clearing with a tall tower. Bradyn peeked out from behind a tree, hoping he was concealed fully. There didn’t appear to be a door to the tower. The woman just stood there in her cloak at the bottom.
She looked back toward the forest, and Bradyn quickly ducked his head to avoid discovery. He waited. If the woman had seen him, she would approach, he was sure. He listened for footsteps, but heard none.
Finally, he heard a voice. The old woman was calling out. “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair.”
He peeked around the tree again to see the old woman standing there, looking up. Then in the tower window she appeared: Rapunzel. Even at this distance, the light from the tower bathing her perfectly, she was as beautiful as ever. He watched as she tossed her braid out the window. It unfurled the entire length of the tower, and then the old woman grabbed hold of it and shimmied up.
Even after the old woman and Rapunzel disappeared into the tower, Bradyn watched the little window, still stunned. He’d found her. After all these years, he’d finally found her. He wasn’t going to let her go this time.
Chapter 6 – An Underwhelming Gift
Mother Gothel had arrived as the sun was setting and called out. Rapunzel, who generally enjoyed watching the last gasps of the day, had seen her mother in the distance and hurried to the lower window to let her mother up.
“Happy birthday, darling,” Dame Gothel had said after climbing through the window. “How does it feel to be eighteen?”
Rapunzel smiled and resisted saying the first word that had come to her mind: trapped. Or perhaps “alone.” That was another word that came to mind. Especially after Giselle’s gift. She was both heartened and distraught by how the tome had made her feel. Alive, yet deprived. Rapunzel forced a smile and said, “I feel older.”
Her mother laughed. “And that you are. I have brought you gifts.”
Rapunzel should have been delighted, for she loved gifts, but she couldn’t muster any enthusiasm, because she was certain the gifts would not be what she wanted: freedom.
Gothel frowned at Rapunzel. “What’s wrong, dearest? You love presents.”
Rapunzel retrieved her braid from the window, pulling it all the way inside, and then she walked over to the comfortable sofa, her braid trailing behind, and sat. She turned to her mother still standing at the window, debating momentarily whether to admit the truth. And then she said, “I’m fine mother. I’d like to see the presents.”
Gothel, who’d been wearing a cloak, pulled off its hood, exposing her white hair tied in a neat bun, and walked over to the sofa. She sat beside Rapunzel. “Are you sure you’re alright, dear? You’re usually so much giddier on your birthday.”