Rapunzel Untangled (23 page)

“It occurs to me,” Gothel said, “that I am not required to keep you in the lap of luxury as I have all these years. I am only required to keep you alive and keep your body healthy.” She set the tray of food on the floor and without another word strode from the room, locking it behind her.

Rapunzel crawled as quickly as she was able to the tray. She desperately gulped down the water. When the glass was half empty, she forced herself to stop. She had no idea how long it might be until she might get more. She examined the other contents of the tray.

A sandwich and six baby carrots were on the plate. There was also a small container of pudding. She picked up the sandwich and took a bite. The bread was dry and stale and the turkey tasted slightly rancid. It was the best thing she had ever tasted. She ate the entire thing and the carrots but decided to hold onto the pudding, just in case.

She took the pudding and the half glass of water with her back to the opposite side of the room. At least if Gothel decided to take them away from her, she’d have to come further into the room than just the doorway.

Rapunzel felt much better now. She was still cold, but at least she wasn’t hungry and thirsty. She lay down on the cold cement and let her mind drift back to the day she spent at Fane’s house. The laughter and noise of having a family around her was something she longed for. She couldn’t have ever guessed that she’d want that. Now that she knew how great it was, she wanted it. Badly.

She remembered the easy love between them all. Touches and hugs were easily given and received. Even wrestling and arguing were done with love. The comfort of Fane’s home, his entire family, the simplicity with which they cared for one another was worth more than a lifetime of staying safely locked in a tower. As soon as she escaped, she’d do whatever she had to just to be in that same atmosphere for even one more day.

She closed her eyes and let herself drift into dreams, tears sliding down her cheeks.

Rapunzel sat on the teeter-totter across from Fane. The sun was bright and they were in a field of green grass. She was happy and content. When Fane pushed off and her side of the teeter-totter touched the ground, it disappeared and she was a baby once again on the same green blanket with pink rosebuds. Only this time, instead of being in a crib she was on the middle of a bed in the log house.

She waited for the blonde woman to come and get her, but instead Gothel entered the room. Rapunzel wanted to yell out but could not make a sound. Gothel took the blanket and bound it tightly around Rapunzel, covering her head. The dark was smothering. Rapunzel couldn’t breathe. She struggled but was bound so tightly she could not move more than a fraction of an inch.

She felt herself being lifted and moved, to where she had no idea. But when the blanket was finally lifted from her head, she was in the center of the star in the black room surrounded by chanting people. She wanted to crawl away but was unable to move. She was too weak.

The black room melted away and she was now lying in a field of snow. All she could see was white wherever she looked. She started calling for Fane, knowing that he was the only one who could find her. But no matter how long or how loud she called, he never came.

 
^.*
*

T
he sudden light as the door opened roused Rapunzel. She pushed herself upright from where she lay as Gothel entered with more food. This time, instead of dropping the tray and leaving, she entered, carrying a lantern as well. She closed the door behind her and brought the tray halfway across the room. She set it on the floor, her eyes on Rapunzel as she did, then retreated to the door.

Rapunzel watched her warily, afraid to move. When she didn’t, Gothel finally spoke.

“I’m not going to feed you, Rapunzel,” Gothel said disdainfully. Instead of leaving, she sat in front of the door, placing the lantern by her side.

Rapunzel crawled toward the food, reaching out when she was within reach to pull the tray toward her. It scraped loudly against the cement floor. She dragged it back with her to her position against the wall. She gulped some of the water, then picked up the roll and began to chew it. The thought suddenly struck her that Gothel would poison her and immediately spit it out.

“You must eat, Rapunzel. Your body must be kept healthy.” When Rapunzel made no further move to eat, she said, “If you won’t eat willingly, we’ll force-feed you.”

Rapunzel didn’t know who “we” was and didn’t want to find out.

“Is it going to make me sick?” she asked Gothel. “Or kill me?”

Gothel rolled her eyes. “Why would I do such a thing? If we don’t keep your body healthy, the procedure can’t be completed.”

“What procedure?”

“Eat,” Gothel commanded.

Rapunzel jerked at the harsh tone and began chewing the roll once again. A piece of chicken on the tray proved to be much tastier than her previous sandwich.

“Why are you doing this?” Rapunzel asked.

“Because of the—”

“Prophecy,” Rapunzel interrupted with frustration. “I know. But what does that mean? Why am I part of it?”

“Quite simple, really. You’re the vessel.”

“The vessel?” Rapunzel’s appetite fled but she forced herself to keep eating. “A vessel for what?”

“Why, for the return of my daughter, of course.”

Shock zinged through Rapunzel as if struck by a bolt of lightning. Now she did set the chicken down.

“Your daughter?” she repeated, her mouth dry, barely able to form the words.

“My daughter, Rapunzel. You know, I always thought you were fairly intelligent. Perhaps I overestimated. No matter, when she returns she’ll continue the education you began and be as brilliant as I know she is.”

Rapunzel picked up the water and swirled it around in her mouth, swallowing with difficulty. Tears stung her eyes, and she shivered against the cold.

“Do you mean the baby girl you had who died?” she finally asked.

Gothel’s gaze shot to her as she rose quickly to her feet. She moved threateningly toward Rapunzel, who cringed against the wall.

“She did not die!” Gothel screamed. “Do you hear me? She did not die!”

Rapunzel nodded as tears fell, one arm held up defensively. “Yes. Yes, I hear you. She didn’t die.”

Gothel backed off at Rapunzel’s words. She moved back to her sitting position near the door. She smoothed her hair, then glanced at the tray.

“You must eat some of all the items on the tray,” Gothel said calmly, as if her outburst hadn’t happened.

Rapunzel’s eyes dropped to the tray. Chicken, the roll, string beans, applesauce, an apple, and the water were on the tray. Six items.

She took a bite of the items she hadn’t yet tasted. Once she had, Gothel seemed much calmer.

“You told me I was the savior of the world,” Rapunzel said.

“How else was I going to get you to take care of yourself?” Gothel spit out. “From the beginning it was clear that you are a bleeding heart, worried about everyone and everything else other than yourself. You wouldn’t care enough about yourself to keep yourself healthy, but to save others you would.”

Rapunzel bit her lip, thinking about the risks she’d taken with Fane and leaving the house.

“The preparation for all of this began years ago,” Gothel said as if Rapunzel had asked. “When first I met Vedmak. He came with the others. I have a room, a special room, where we first began the ritual.” Rapunzel shuddered as the black room of sixes came into her mind. “Vedmak taught me the chants, the ones needed to get the answers from the spirits. At first, we needed fire. Then, once you came, we only needed you.”

Rapunzel thought of all the strange nightmares and realized they must be memories. “You had me in that room?” she whispered.

“Of course. We couldn’t continue preparations without you there.”

“Did you do something to my hair?” she asked, wondering if that was the reason it grew so fast.

Gothel’s eyes burned as she shot a glare toward Rapunzel. “No, Rapunzel, that was
you
. You did something to your hair! You cut it. You were commanded not to, and you did anyway.” Rapunzel sat silently, afraid to breathe. Gothel was terrifying in her anger. And then in a blink, Gothel soothed her hair, taking a deep breath. “Vedmak will be here soon. And then he’ll know whether the damage is reversible.” Her mouth tightened. “For your sake, you better hope so.”

The silence stretched. Gothel didn’t seem angry anymore. Rapunzel thought about what she’d revealed. She hated the thought that she’d been in that horrible room. She remembered the creepiness of the sixes all over the walls. “Why six?” she ventured quietly, afraid of causing another outburst.

Gothel clicked her tongue in irritation. “Enough questions,” she said. “Take the tray back to the center of the room and move away.”

Rapunzel pushed the tray back to the center of the room, then quickly scuttled back to her original position. She had no desire to be near Gothel, who seemed as if she were tenuously holding onto control as it was.

Gothel picked up the tray and backed toward the door, watching Rapunzel as she did so.

She opened the door and backed out, never taking her gaze from Rapunzel, closing the door and shutting Rapunzel into the darkness once again.

 
^.*
*

W
hen Gothel came again, she brought pancakes. Rapunzel assumed that meant it was morning. Once again, she placed the tray in the middle of the room then moved to sit by the door. This time, though, she also brought a blanket that she left near the tray.

Rapunzel stood and picked up the tray and blanket. She wrapped the blanket around herself before sitting back down to the food.

“Thank you,” she said, indicating the blanket.

“I can’t have you getting sick,” was Gothel’s only response.

Rapunzel ate half of the stack of three pancakes, both pieces of bacon, and drank most of the water in silence. It made her edgy and nervous to have Gothel there, watching her eat. However, the silence was worse than anything.

“Why do you build so much on this house?” she asked.

“It’s part of the prophecy, Rapunzel. Vedmak’s spirits weren’t happy with how I was living, obsessed with nothing more than the return of my daughter.” Rapunzel shivered at her words. “I needed an activity to appease them. The more I build, the more space it gives them to roam.”

Rapunzel glanced around her worriedly, as if they were in the room with them.

“As long as I keep building, they stay happy.”

“But why the stairs that go nowhere, doors that open into walls? It doesn’t make any sense.”

Gothel grinned, the expression completely lacking humor. “That’s the beauty of it, Rapunzel. It confuses the spirits. They get stuck at the ends of the stairs, or inside the doors, because they don’t know where to go. It’s how I keep their numbers down.”

Rapunzel’s jaw dropped.
What?
That explanation made even less sense than the strange construction. For the first time Rapunzel realized that Gothel was truly insane, and fear crawled along her nerves. She pulled the blanket closer. “Six workers, six hours a day, six days a week?”

“Well, yes, of course.”

Rapunzel gaped at her. She acted as though it were normal when she now knew that it wasn’t. “Everything in sixes?”

“Why the sudden curiosity? You’ve never questioned any of this.” Gothel sounded less angry than she usually did, so Rapunzel pressed on.

“You said I needed to be educated right?” She tried to remember any reasons Gothel had ever given her for the importance of education but couldn’t recall any of them. It didn’t matter, though, as a fanatical gleam came into Gothel’s eyes. Rapunzel recognized the look.

“You’re right. I’ve been instructed to make sure you are educated before the time comes for the transformation. I’ve been remiss in that, haven’t I?” She glanced at Rapunzel, her eyes narrowing. “It’s just too bad she’s going to look like you. There was a time when I thought you were beautiful, a worthy vessel, but now . . . now I worry that the ugliness of your heart will taint her.”

Rapunzel could only stare at Gothel as she stood. Her words twisted like a knife in her heart. Gothel had raised her, was the only mother she’d ever known. She hadn’t doubted that Gothel loved her. Now it seemed obvious that she didn’t.

“We’ll begin your education tonight,” Gothel announced as she opened the door. She looked at Rapunzel harshly. “Take a nap. We’ll need your mind to be clear.” She closed the door behind her, not even bothering to take the tray with her.

Rapunzel’s eyes welled up as she stared at the seam of light beneath the door. She didn’t know what Gothel meant when she spoke of her as a vessel for her daughter. A vessel carried things. What was she supposed to carry?

“A vessel with an ugly heart, apparently,” she muttered, unable to stop the hitch in her voice or the tears that followed.

* * *

Rapunzel was in the greenhouse. She walked slowly among the fragrant blooms, running her fingers lightly over the tops of them. She came to the beautiful rose bush and leaned down to breathe in the scent. As she did so, the thorns on the stem pricked her finger. She jerked her hand back, looking down at the tiny dot of blood that welled up. She glanced back at the rose, which shriveled into a bud and became the green baby blanket with pink rosebuds.

Unlike before when the blanket was nothing more than that, this time it became ominous as it grew and came after her. She ran, but the greenhouse never ended. There was no trap door, no door to the outside world, only rows of plants that stuck their branches out to slow her down as the blanket bore down on her. She hyperventilated as the blanket wrapped around her, smothering her, binding her, taking her away from—

“Rapunzel!”

Rapunzel jerked awake at the sharp sound of Gothel’s voice. She was bound up in the blanket Gothel had brought her earlier and panicked for a moment as the dream’s vestiges clung to her. It wasn’t the baby blanket, though, and she definitely wasn’t in the greenhouse.