Rapunzel Untangled (25 page)

It wasn’t long before Gothel returned with another tray of food. She brought it directly to Rapunzel, not noticing or caring about the tears that continued to flow.

“Eat,” she commanded.
Fat chance of that
, Rapunzel thought. “I’ll not give you any further lessons in this incarnation. Once the transformation is complete, I’ll help my daughter to understand anything
she
needs to know.”

She exited without another word. Rapunzel shuddered. They’d already begun the transformation. What did that mean for her? She couldn’t fight it if she couldn’t even remember what they’d done to her. She looked at the tray of food and kicked it away from her. It clattered across the floor, the glass of water shattering. A large chuck of the glass bounced next to her. She picked it up, examining the sharp edges. Forcing the consequences from her mind, she pushed the piece of glass against the corner of the wall behind her where it wouldn’t be obvious from the door.

Sometime later, Gothel returned. She saw the overturned tray and the spilled food. Rapunzel waited for the explosion, panic suffocating her. She was sure the piece of glass behind her was as visible as she was, and that Gothel would see she’d hidden it.

Gothel walked over to the mess and picked up the bottom of the broken glass. She turned to Rapunzel and stared at her for long, tense moments. Rapunzel swallowed over the dry lump lodged in her throat. Then Gothel turned back to the tray, picking up the items that had been spilled, including the broken pieces of glass. Without a word, she walked to the door and exited, not so much as glancing back at Rapunzel.

Rapunzel let out the breath she’d been holding. She pulled her knees up beneath the robe against her chest, trying to warm up. She felt like crying again but decided it wasn’t accomplishing anything. She grieved the loss of the woman who she’d thought was her mother. She wanted to reverse time and go back to when she was in her tower, Gothel brushing her hair, not exactly loving but at least a caring companion.

Gothel returned hours later, during which time Rapunzel slept lightly. She was afraid of what might happen to her if she fell asleep too deeply. Gothel brought in another tray and placed it in the center of the floor.

“You
will
eat, Rapunzel. If you don’t, we’ll put a tube down your throat and force-feed you. Do you understand?”

Rapunzel nodded, having no doubt she meant what she said.

“The time nears,” Gothel continued. “We need your body strong.”

As she left, Rapunzel tried to calculate the time to know just how long she did have. She wasn’t sure since the passage of time was fluid in this room. She had no outside lighting to determine days. The sporadic meals brought in from Gothel might indicate a new day each time she brought in a breakfast meal—or not. She couldn’t count on anything normal with Gothel anymore.

She walked over to the tray, her legs shaky with weakness. She wasn’t going to eat or drink anything provided by Gothel, she knew that. She couldn’t subject herself to that blankness again. She also didn’t want a tube down her throat.

She picked up the tray and walked to the furthest, darkest corner where she proceeded to dump the food and water. She placed the tray back in the center of the room and lay down once again. She couldn’t afford to exercise now that she wasn’t going to be eating or drinking anything.

When Gothel returned, she examined the tray with satisfaction. Rapunzel made certain to keep the lantern where the light would not reach the corner where she’d dumped the food.

“Good girl,” she said, leaving once again.

This pattern repeated several times. Rapunzel was getting weaker, afraid that it wouldn’t be long before she gave in and drank the water that she craved stronger than ever, or ate food to calm her rioting stomach. Most of her time now was spent talking to Fane, hoping that somehow he heard her.

 
^.*
*

R
apunzel shivered. It was a nearly constant thing now, shivering. Gothel had finally relented and given her a blanket, but only when Rapunzel told her she thought she might be getting a cold again. She’d hoped Gothel would bring Dr. Henreich. Of course, it would be hard to explain why she kept Rapunzel in the dungeon. At least, that was what Gothel called it.

She fingered the shard of glass that sat next to her on the stone floor. The quality of the meals had depleted steadily, and Rapunzel wondered if Gothel made them herself, rather than having Cook prepare them. The broken glass rested beneath her fingers, taunting her, tempting her. Did she have the courage to try to fight for her freedom? For that matter, did she have the strength? She wasn’t sure about either one. She wanted to stand as a warrior, to command her destiny rather than having it thrust upon her. She removed her fingers from the piece of glass and sighed dejectedly. She doubted even now, that she knew Gothel had kidnapped her as a baby and had been holding her a willing prisoner all this time—that she could cause harm to the woman who she had always known as her mother.

Rapunzel wrapped the blanket tighter around her. At some point she’d decided that she could tell night from day based on the temperature of the room. The sliver of light that came from the bottom of the doorway never changed, which must mean that it was a lighted hallway, rather than light coming in from outside. So as far as she could tell, it was now sometime deep in the night. The lantern had long since gone out, leaving her in the dark once again.

Gothel hadn’t brought her any food or water today if she was correct in her time approximation. She was thirsty beyond belief, though no longer particularly hungry. With her lack of food, her body had adjusted to not eating so often. Doubting anything was coming this late, she let her eyes drift closed.

Noises outside the door woke her. It sounded like scratching, and at first she thought maybe it was a mouse or a rat trying to get in. She sat up, wondering how much time had gone by while she slept. When the scratching noises continued, it occurred to her that it wasn’t Gothel. Gothel had a key and would have simply unlocked the door to enter. It sounded as though someone were trying to get in who didn’t have a key.

Panic gripped her. She searched around until she found the shard of glass. Pushing herself painfully up from the floor, she moved until she stood next to the door. For one wild second, she imagined that it was Fane, but knew that there was no way he could have found her here. Gothel had assured her that no one would ever find her.

She thought about her nightmares and the chanting people in the room of sixes and her missing time after she’d eaten the oatmeal and was suddenly filled with the surety that one—or all—of them had come for her. After long, tense minutes, the door handle was pushed into the room, clattering to the floor. And then she knew. It had to be Fane. That was the trick he’d used to get her out of her room the first time. The door slowly opened and a flashlight shone in.

“Rapunzel?”

At the sound of his voice, she dropped the glass shard, shattering it. The sound drew Fane’s flashlight her way. She rushed forward and launched herself against him. His arms wrapped around her as he stumbled back, his hands running down her braid.

“Rapunzel,” he said again, more surely. His arms tightened, lifting her, and he buried his face in the crook of her neck. He held her tight for several minutes before finally lifting his head and saying, “I can’t believe I finally found you.”

He kissed her then, wildly and urgently. Rapunzel met his fervor.

“How did you find me?” she asked.

“Not easily,” he said. “I’ve been searching for you since I last saw you. I snuck in several times but couldn’t find you anywhere.”

“What time is it?” she asked. “In fact, what
day
is it?”

“It’s been ten days since I saw you last,” he said.

“
Ten
days? I’ve been down here that long?”

“Yeah, and I’ve been frantic. I’m so glad I finally found you. Oh, and I think it’s about two thirty.”

“In the morning?”

“Yeah. Let’s get you out of here. Now.”

Keeping one arm firmly around her shoulders, Rapunzel’s arms wrapped around his waist, they stepped from the room into the hallway. The brightness blinded her eyes that had not seen light for so long. She wanted to ask Fane what day it was but decided that it was more important to get out of there before all of her questions could be answered.

The stone walls and floor were vaguely familiar from when Gothel had dragged her down, though she had no idea what route would get them out of the house. Now that Fane was here, she knew that together they could find their way. He led them toward up a flight of stairs when suddenly Rapunzel remembered the papers.

“Wait, Fane. We should get the papers from my room.”

“Too risky,” he said. “We’ll have the police come get them.” Fane released her long enough to cup her face with his hands. “You have no idea how good it is to see you.” He kissed her quickly, then put his arm around her again and resumed walking.

“How very touching,” a voice drawled behind them.

 
^.*
*

R
apunzel and Fane jumped at the sound of Gothel’s voice behind them. They swung around to see her standing behind them with an evil grin on her face. Fane pushed Rapunzel behind him.

“I’m taking her out of here. You can’t stop me,” he said.

“Can I not?” Gothel pulled a strange-looking object that looked like the handle of a gun from behind her back. She pulled a trigger and some kind of wire shot forward into Fane. He immediately fell to the ground groaning, his body twitching and straining.

Rapunzel screamed and dropped to the floor next to him. “What did you do to him?” she cried.

“Don’t worry, he’ll recover. Maybe.” Gothel stepped forward and, grabbing Rapunzel’s arm, jerked her away from him. “However, his recovery depends on you, Rapunzel.”

“What do you mean?” Rapunzel couldn’t tear her eyes from Fane, who no longer twitched but now breathed heavily, his eyes rolled back in his head.

“Meaning, Rapunzel, if you want this boy to live, then you will do exactly as I say.”

Rapunzel wished she’d kept her shard of glass. It wasn’t much, but it was something. She looked up at Gothel, anger consuming her. “And if I don’t?” she asked defiantly.

Gothel squeezed the trigger thing again and Fane’s body stiffened and twitched, unearthly groans coming from him.

“Stop!” Rapunzel yelled, defeated. “I’ll do anything you say. Just stop.”

“Move away from him,” Gothel said. Once Rapunzel had done so, Gothel stepped forward and pulled him into a sitting position. She pulled a knife from somewhere and laid it against Fane’s throat.

Rapunzel moaned. “Please, Mother. I said I would do anything that you ask. Please don’t hurt him.”

“Who is this boy to you?” Gothel asked suspiciously.

“He’s my friend,” Rapunzel said.

“How did you manage to make a friend when you have never been outside of your room?”

Rapunzel knew that to lie to Gothel at this point would be to seal Fane’s fate. “On my computer,” she said. “I met him on the Internet.”

“So this is the boy who has caused so much trouble for me.” Gothel yanked Fane’s head upward, pressing the knife more tightly against his skin. “I should just get rid of him now.”

“No!” Rapunzel cried, holding her hands toward Gothel in supplication. “Please don’t hurt him. I’m begging you.”

Her gaze dropped to Fane’s, and she saw that he was coming back around. His eyes met Rapunzel’s, and he gave the tiniest shake of his head. Gothel also seemed to notice that he was nearly back to himself.

Gothel leaned close to Fane’s ear and in a voice full of warning said, “Don’t try anything.” She gave a little tug on the wire thing, still attached to Fane’s abdomen. “I’ll drop you in two seconds flat. Nod if you understand.”

“I won’t leave her here with you,” Fane gritted out angrily.

“I don’t believe you have a choice,” Gothel replied.

“Run, Rapunzel!” Fane said.

“No, I won’t leave you here!”

“Go now,” he said.

Gothel tightened the knife against his throat. “She won’t run if she has any care for you at all.”

“I’d rather die than see her left here at your mercy.”

“Again, touching, but also futile. She has nowhere to go. You, however, I think shall go to your grave for all of the trouble you have brought into my house by coming here. Do you understand what you have done? Do you understand what will be destroyed if anything happens to Rapunzel?”

“You’re crazy,” Fane said.

Gothel pushed the edge of the blade into his skin, far enough to cause a line of blood to form. Fane grunted against the pain, and Rapunzel cried out.

“You care very much for this boy, don’t you?” Gothel said menacingly.

Heart pounding, hoping against all hope that she was making the right choice, she said, “Let him go, Gothel. If you don’t, I’ll take my own life.”

Gothel’s hand sagged a little, relieving the pressure of the knife on Fane’s throat. As soon as she did, Fane shoved her hand away. Gothel struggled with him, trying to regain the upper hand. Her hand closed around the trigger again and in horror Rapunzel watched as Fane’s body twitched into a straight line, his head hitting the floor. Rapunzel found a surge of strength she couldn’t have imagined and struggled back to the dungeon, her hand on the wall to steady herself.

“Rapunzel!” Gothel screamed.

Rapunzel pushed into the hated room, searching desperately. There, in the far corner. She hurried over, her hands closing around the tray left earlier by Gothel.

“Rapunzel!” Gothel was closer now. As soon as Gothel burst into the room, she lifted the tray and brought it down on Gothel’s head. In her weakened state, she didn’t do the damage she’d hoped, but Gothel did stumble and go to her knees. Not waiting to see what she’d do next, Rapunzel ran from the room, back to Fane’s side.

She dropped next to him. He looked ghostly pale, clammy and sweating, with eyes closed. “Fane, please, you have to wake up. We need to go!”