Rapunzel Untangled (12 page)

Before crossing the threshold, she stopped. Nerves vibrated up her legs and down her arms. Her entire body trembled with the idea of venturing out into the house without Fane by her side. Unsure of the wisdom of her decision, she hesitated. Turned around. Turned toward the open door.

Taking a bracing breath, she moved into the hall, her hand running along the walls to guide her. She didn’t dare use the light of the phone here. She only hoped her hands wouldn’t leave a mark for her mother to discover. She went toward the tall room, as she thought of it, the one with the tall windows and fireplace. It sat in darkness, some ambient light filtering in from outside. She went down the stairs that took her into the room.

Moving slowly, carefully, so as not to trip over something and bring unwanted attention, she made her way across the room. On the opposite side, she found an opening into what she assumed was another hall. She walked down the hall, keeping her hands on the wall. Suddenly, she bumped into a solid wall in front of her. She moved left, then right, but found no opening. It just ended.

Huh.

She went back up the hall, then back down again, feeling both walls only to discover there were no doors, no openings, no escape from the hall.
Odd
. She braved the light of the phone and discovered it was as she thought—just a hallway with walls. She walked back toward the tall room and froze when she heard a noise.

Her heart pounded so loudly in her ears she barely made out the sounds. Then she realized it was a familiar voice—the same one she and Fane had heard their first night out of her room.

“The crazy old bat is holding one of her séance’s again . . . No, I can’t yet . . . She was particularly agitated after she was up in that tower . . . Yeah, who knows, some kind of . . .” Her voice faded as she moved further away.

Rapunzel pressed her hand against her chest. She peeked around the corner, but saw no one. Why was Cook walking around this time of night, talking on the phone? Rapunzel waited a few minutes, then crept back to the stairs. Instead of going up, she walked around behind them, finding another hallway as well as a second set of stairs that descended. She glanced down the stairwell, but it ended in inky blackness. Her last trip down a set of stairs didn’t end anywhere good, so she bypassed them and continued down the hall.

She came to a closed door and pressed her ear against it. When she heard nothing, she pushed it open and looked inside. It was a bathroom, large but basic. She closed the door and went to the next. A linen closet sat behind that door. A few more doors revealed what appeared to be sparsely decorated guest rooms.

At the end of the hallway was yet another bedroom, but this one was different than the others; larger, though still sparsely furnished. She looked behind her and, assured she was alone, entered the room. She pulled open the closet doors and was immediately assaulted by a familiar smell. She gasped, realizing she stood in her mother’s room. But why would her mother provide her such an opulent room and live in one so utilitarian?

She walked over to the bed, reaching out to touch her mother’s pillow. Just before making contact, she quickly withdrew her hand. The bed was made perfectly, the sheets and blankets pulled tight, the pillows smooth. She had a feeling that her mother would notice anything out of place, even a small handprint on the pillow.

Suddenly afraid of being in this room, Rapunzel turned to the door to leave when footsteps padded in the hallway. Panicked, she looked around for escape. A window on the opposite side of the room beckoned and she hurried over. She pulled up the sash as the footsteps neared. Looking out, she saw a small balcony. She swung her legs over the sill and pushed the window closed quietly and quickly as she could.

She pressed herself against the outside wall, as if she could be invisible this way. A light turned on in the room. Cold sweat broke across her forehead as she shook with fear. Peeking around the edge of the window, she could see the tall shadow of her mother moving around within. She didn’t know how long she stood in place before the light within went off.

She still didn’t move for several minutes, paralyzed by the thought of being caught. Finally she peeled away from the wall and leaned over the railing. There were no stairs leading from the balcony, and she was still on the second floor.

She weighed her options. She could sit here all night and hope to sneak back in at dawn without being seen, or she could find a way down. Since the first option seemed the bigger risk, she decided to find her way to the ground. She supposed she could hang from the railing and drop but decided that might end in a broken leg. She looked up. Nothing there either. No trellises adorned the walls here. She was truly stuck.

She pressed herself back against the wall, wondering if she dared try to sneak back in this way. She didn’t know how easily her mother woke. She shuddered at the thought of being caught in her mother’s room in the middle of the night. Her hand tightened around the cell phone, useless for calling anyone other than her mother.

Except . . .

One day when Fane came to visit her, he showed her how to text. Of course the only person to text was him since no one else knew about her. She pushed a button on the phone and it lit up, bright as a spotlight to her petrified mind. She hunched over the phone to shield the light and began pushing random buttons, trying to remember how he’d done it.

By happenchance she found his last text to her. Now if only she could remember how to send a text to him. Through trial and error she finally discovered what she thought was the right way. She typed in

The message showed on the phone, but she thought it was supposed to disappear. Then she remembered she had to send it. She found the little button below the send command and pushed it. Almost as soon as she did, she wished she could retrieve it. Fane would be asleep, of course. And even if he woke, he could hardly leave his home in the middle of the night to rescue her.

Her phone beeped, the sound loud in the night. She cradled it against her, breathing quickly as she waited to see if it was loud enough to wake her mother. When there was no apparent movement from within, she dared to look at the phone.

Rapunzel took a breath.

Rapunzel released the breath she’d been holding. She’d hoped he would come,
known
he would, even though she knew he probably shouldn’t. Now she just had to wait.

 
^.*
*

I
t felt like ages—though only fifteen minutes according to the phone—before Fane came. Rapunzel watched him scan the yard, then the upper walls, before spotting her. He crept over to stand beneath her.

“You okay?” he whispered. She barely heard him but nodded. He held up a single finger, then jogged lightly back across the yard.

Soon he was back, lugging a ladder. He carefully tipped it vertical and placed it against the side of the balcony. The aluminum rattled as it settled, and Rapunzel’s breath caught as she pushed herself flat against the wall. Fane froze, hands on the sides of the ladder. Rustling came from within the room, as if her mother had stirred, or at least it sounded so to Rapunzel’s ears. Long, tense minutes passed while they waited. Finally, Fane grinned up at her, his teeth glowing in the moonlight, and began his slow ascent.

When he reached her, he leaned his forearms casually on the balcony railing. “So, what’s a nice girl like you doin’ in a place like this?” he asked quietly in some weird accent. She laughed and quickly slapped a hand across her mouth. She pushed his shoulder lightly.

“Come on,” he said, leaning back to give her room to climb over.

“Don’t you want to go down first?” she whispered.

“No, I’m going with you to make sure you don’t fall.”

“What if the ladder falls with us both on it?”

“Good point,” he said. “Go slow, though. This isn’t the quietest ladder ever invented.” He descended and then held the ladder steady while she climbed over the railing. She was terrified as she looked at the ground far beneath her, secure that at least Fane would make sure the ladder was steady. When her feet touched the ground, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Fane pulled her into a hug. “You okay?” he asked.

She wrapped her arms around him tightly, closing her eyes. She nodded against his chest. A bird chirped nearby, startling them. Rapunzel wondered if it was Angel, and why she’d be out at night.

“Let’s go,” Fane said, releasing her. He carefully pulled the ladder back and eased it down. It clattered as it dropped the last few inches. Fane quickly pushed it and Rapunzel against the house beneath the balcony, flattening himself against her. A light came on above them, brightening as Rapunzel imagined her mother pushing the curtains back to peer outside. She heard the window being raised and imagined her mother leaning over the sill. Pressed against Fane, her head turned to the side, Rapunzel could only hope they were hidden from view.

After a few minutes, the window was shut, and soon the light went out. But still they stood, Rapunzel pancaked between Fane and the rough stone wall. She became aware of his heartbeat against her ear, the feel of his arms pushed protectively around her, the feel of his heat against the chill. He dropped his head, rubbing his cheek against the top of her head, and she closed her eyes against the wonder of feeling that flooded her.

He moved back, the cold night air frosting her skin. He smiled down at her. “That was close,” he whispered. She could only nod, her throat choked with emotion. He leaned down to retrieve the ladder, and she helped him carry it as he led her toward the greenhouse. They laid it on the ground, and Fane tested the doors, which opened easily.

He pulled his phone from his pocket to light the way and led her by the hand through the plants and flowers. Rapunzel regretted hurrying, wishing she could stop and smell them. They went through the dark tunnel beneath the house where she pressed closer to Fane, then up to the main part of the house. Fane slowly opened the door at the top of the stairs, creeping stealthily around the corner to look. He came back and took her by the hand, and they hurried toward her room, stopping at each corner to look first. Once they were in her room with the door closed, Rapunzel sank to the couch.

Fane sat next to her, pulling her hand into his. “So,” he began, “is there a reason you were hanging out on a balcony in the middle of the night?”

“I . . . yes . . . no.” She squeezed his hand. “I’m sorry for calling you so late. I didn’t know what else to do.”

Fane smiled. “You can call me anytime, though I admit I was shocked to see your message.”

“I’m sorry,” she said again.

“Please stop apologizing. I mean it when I say it’s fine. I
am
curious how you got there.”

Rapunzel sighed, tears pricking her eyes.

“Come here,” Fane said, pulling her next to him and putting his arm around her. She relaxed into his embrace.

“My mother came home today. I decided to ask her if she thought I could go out of my rooms.”

Fane stiffened. “Did you tell her you’d been out?”

“No.” He relaxed at her answer. “She wouldn’t even discuss it. I mean, I know she’s worried about me, but she wouldn’t talk to me about it. She got angry and we fought. She told me never to ask again. It was kind of . . . weird, her reaction.”

“So you decided to go anyway?”

“Yeah, I guess so. I don’t really know why. I think maybe I just wanted to see if it felt different, with her here, I mean.”

“And did it?”

“It was different, but I think it had more to do with not being with you than her being here.”

Fane’s laughter rumbled beneath her ear. “Nice to know I’m loved,” he teased. She smiled. “So. How is it you ended up on her balcony? You said that was her room, right?”

“Yes, it was. I found it while wandering around, and I was curious.” She sat up and looked at him. “Before you came, I’ve never been curious,” she said with wonder. “Why do you think that is? Why haven’t I ever wondered what was right outside my door? Or why didn’t I wonder if I could survive out there?”

Fane shrugged. “I don’t know really. Maybe because this was all you knew. I mean, you’ve only ever had your mom so why wouldn’t you believe everything she said, right?”

Rapunzel shook her head. “I should have questioned at least a few things. I don’t know a lot about money, but a house like this has to be a little expensive, right?”

“
Very
expensive,” he confirmed.

“So why doesn’t she have doctors or something up here trying to figure out how I can live a real life?” She stood, agitated. “Do I have to spend the rest of my life here, locked in these rooms? With nobody else? No friends, no husband, no children. No
life
. Just me and her. What happens when she dies?”

Fane stood and took her hands again. “We’ll figure it out.”

Rapunzel smiled at him. “You aren’t going to be around forever, Fane. You have a real life.”

He glanced at the floor, not answering. Then he said, “I’ll always be your friend.”

For some reason, his words caused an ache in her chest—small, but there nonetheless. “I honestly don’t even know why I left my room tonight. I was in bed, and it suddenly occurred to me to wonder if she’d locked the door. When I discovered she hadn’t, I decided to leave.”

“Curiosity is a good thing,” he said.

“I thought it killed a cat?”

He laughed. “Maybe sometimes. But not you.”

She looked at him skeptically.

“I should go,” he said, “before anyone gets up.”

“Please be careful,” she said.

He pulled her into another hug and she leaned into him.

“Hey, Fane?”

“Yeah?”

“Since you’re here anyway, do you think you might . . .” She trailed off, stunned at herself. She was about to ask him to kiss her again. What was wrong with her?