Rapunzelle: an Everland Ever After Tale (8 page)

After, she retired to her room again, and pondered how she was possibly going to leave the house. And more importantly, did she
want
to? She wanted to see Dmitri, yes, but was it worth disobeying her parents? Worth making them worry, worth making them disappointed?

She thought about Dmitri’s smile, and the way his arms felt around her, and the way he was showing her new possibilities for the future, and decided:
yes
. He was worth it.

When the stone sailed through her window a second time, she immediately worried that something bad had happened to bring Briar back so soon. She threw herself towards the window seat, and poked her head out… Only to see a stranger standing below. A stranger holding a ladder.

The woman was gray-haired and tiny, in a lime-green hoop-dress a few decades out of date, and a little reticule dangling from one wrist. And was carrying a wooden ladder, perched on one shoulder, as if it was another out-of-date accessory. When she saw Zelle, she smiled and waved jauntily, and then swung the ladder against the side of the house. Zelle could only watch, mouth agape, as the old lady began to scramble up it, hoop skirt and all.

When the gray head poked above the sill, Zelle backed away from the window, not sure if she was doing it out of fear, or to give the stranger more space. The little old lady swung one leg over onto the window seat, holding her hoop petticoat up practically over her head to manage the feat, and then tumbled onto the cushion with a mighty
ooof!

But, just as Zelle shook herself out of her shock and moved to help the mysterious house-breaker, the old lady pushed herself upright amid a litany of good-natured mutterings, and began to straighten her gown. When everything was in place, she looked up at Zelle— “up,” because she was a full head shorter—and smiled brightly. “Hello, dearie.”

“Um. Hello?” Who was this woman? “Can I help you?”

“Oh, goodness, no. I’m here to help
you
, Zelle. I’m Helga, your Godmother. But you can call me ‘Happy.’ All the others do.”

“The other who?” Was she batty, then?

“The other Godmothers, of course! There’s a whole slew of us, you know.”

“I didn’t,” Zelle said weakly. “Is there a reason you’re here?”
And how soon can you leave?
This tiny old woman had just
climbed
into her bedroom. Her actual
bedroom
, and was claiming to be…what? Godmothers only existed in stories. Maybe she was deranged…but Zelle hadn’t ever seen her before. Someone’s sick granny who never came to the church socials, maybe?

“I’m here to help you, of course. That’s what we do. The Godmothers, I mean. We help!”

“Oh. Good.” Surreptitiously, Zelle peered at the ladder resting against her sill, wondering if she should try to convince ‘Helga’ to climb back down, or just escort her out the front door. Could she sneak her past Papa, or should she try to come up with an excuse of how she’d apparently acquired a little old lady upstairs? On the other hand, anyone claiming to be a Godmother should probably visit with Papa in his office, just to be safe. “I can see how having a Godmother would be useful.” She winced a little to see the way Helga’s face lit up as she humored the woman.

“So!” The woman clapped her hands together. “I know that you want to go walking with Dmitri, but we need to find you a way out of the house. Wishing on stars? Honestly, you were at your last resort, weren’t you? Besides, that was a planet. Jupiter, if I’m not mistaken.”

Zelle’s mouth had dropped open. Helga knew about Dmitri?
Helga knew about the star-wishing?

“Ooops, sorry, dearie. Probably shouldn’t have mentioned that last bit, it just gets confusing.
Anyhoo
, we need to get you out of the house for a few hours, don’t we? Without your parents noticing. You have plans to meet Dmitri in front of the inn soon, don’t you?”

“How do you know all of this?” Zelle’s voice sounded as weak as her knees. Who
was
this woman?

“Godmothers have to know all sorts of things, dearie. It’s my job to make sure you get your Happily Ever After. That all your wishes come true, you know. I’ve been a little distracted by my other clients, but now it’s your turn.”

Zelle
heard
the capital letters when the little old lady said
Happily Ever After
, and felt her eyebrows raise. Such a thing existed? Maybe her doubt showed, because Helga’s smile slipped a little, until she looked almost pitying. “Don’t worry, dear. I really
am
a Godmother, and I really
am
here to help you see Dmitri today. It’s a simple enough wish you made, you know, and I can make it come true.”

“How?” Zelle felt like things were getting away from her, so she just focused on the fact that apparently, this strange little happy lady could make sure she went walking with Dmitri.

Helga clapped her hands again. “Well, we need to get you out of the house, don’t we? Your father is in his office for the rest of the day, a full docket of patients. Your mother is in her room—Mrs. Muffit’s daughter was born right before dawn, healthy and strong, in case you were wondering—catching up on her sleep. So I think the logical thing to do is send you out your window.” Zelle’s mouth was open again, looking from the woman to her ladder. She certainly knew a lot of things, for a batty house-breaker. “Now, how to do that? Well, obviously you can’t just climb down, or use your hair as a rope or something.” A high-pitched giggle. “Don’t be absurd! That would never work! The follicles aren’t nearly strong enough, and would cause split-ends, I’m sure. But I thought:
Aha!
A ladder!” She gestured grandly towards the window. “And there we are, dearie.”

“You want me to climb out of my window and go see Dmitri?”

“Why not? You’ll have until supper. Four hours to stroll and chat and maybe even hold hands, eh?” Helga’s wink was comical, and Zelle was suddenly glad that the old woman wasn’t close enough to poke her with an elbow, which was what she looked about to do.

“My parents—“

Helga was still smiling. “Don’t worry about them, dearie. I’m telling you; I’m your Godmother. This is what I do. I
promise
that, if you climb down that ladder and go to see Dmitri, and then climb back up within four hours, they’ll never find out. They’ll be busy, and I’ll make sure they don’t know.”

Zelle found her doubt wavering in the face of the woman’s upbeat certainty. “But the ladder…”

“Dear, I’m a
Godmother
. If I don’t want anyone to see the ladder, they won’t! I promise.” She made little shooing motions with her hands. “Now, the longer you stand here arguing with me, the less time you have to spend with Dmitri, and the fewer chances you have to make him fall in love with you.”

“…
What
?” She didn’t want Dmitri to fall in love with her, did she? She just wanted to talk to him, to learn about his mission and his home. He wasn’t her future; he was just an adventure.

“Oh no, I probably shouldn’t have said that. Oh well.” She waved dismissively. “Just pretend it never happened, like with Jupiter. Don’t mention it on my performance review.” More shooing motions. “Now, go! Go show him how wonderful Everland is! Go have an adventure with him. Fall in love! Oops, never mind about that part, dearie. Just wipe that last bit from your mind!”

Zelle studied the woman a moment more, thinking about her words. An adventure with Dmitri. That’s what she wanted; that’s what she’d wished for. And now a stranger had showed up and given her a perfect excuse. Even if she
was
batty, and Zelle’s parents
did
find out, did it matter? She’d already decided on defying them, in order to see him…

She was already moving towards the window when Helga clapped again. “
Yay
! Oh, I know you’re going to have so much fun! Maybe he’ll kiss you again! Oooh, I hope so!”

A Godmother? Zelle didn’t quite snort as she swung her leg over the sill and onto the ladder, but she wanted to. Helga certainly knew all sorts of secrets, and she didn’t seem like a bad sort. Besides, she’d given Zelle a way to see Dmitri, and that was important. So the young woman paused on her way down, and smiled up at the gray-haired head poking out the window. “Thank you, Helga.”

“Call me Happy, dear.” Her smile stretched ear-to-ear, and it was easy to see where the nickname had come from.

“Then, thank you, Happy.”

Helga wiggled her fingers down at Zelle. “Have a good time, dearie. Give him a kiss for me!” And then she pulled her head back across the sill, and Zelle chuckled and continued down the ladder.

She was off on another adventure, and this time she’d be with Dmitri! Maybe she
would
kiss him again, just to see if he was as good as she remembered. She had no doubt.

He felt ridiculous. Just looking around would show him that he was completely over-dressed for a place like Everland; the cow-folk ambling along the streets were wearing
dirty
trousers, for heaven’s sakes! But one should dress properly when stepping out with a lady, and that included shined boots, his best gold frogging, a top hat and cane. Didn’t it?

Chert
, being in Everland was messing with his surety, apparently. Dmitri knew that he was better than these cowboys, knew that he was better-dressed, better-mannered. Didn’t he? Yes, surely.

So why did he feel so silly, standing here on the inn’s porch, watching them snickering at him? He’d tried to peer down his nose at them, the way he’d learned from Court, but it hadn’t worked, and now he felt even more at odds. At odds with his surroundings, and at odds with himself.

A sharp jab between his shoulder blades had him whirling, to confront the sleepy old proprietor of the inn. A gnarled finger was still pointed at him.

“Mr. Rip, yes? What do you need?”

The man’s answer was a series of yawning mumbles, his eyelids already half-closed.

“What? I’m sorry, I don’t…”

Another mumble, and a few noises that might’ve been throat-clearings. Or perhaps the old man was dying. Either way, Dmitri didn’t understand, and could only shrug helplessly.

Rip yawned again, and then gestured in a manner that was probably meant to be emphatic, but came off looking—to someone who lived his life at a
normal
speed, at least—as lethargic.

Dmitri shook his head firmly. “I’m sorry, but I am meeting a lady.” He was, wasn’t he? She was late. “I have no time for distractions.”

Another gesture, this time involving a thumb hooked towards the interior of the inn, and another mumble. Glancing up and down the street, and not seeing Miss Carpenter anywhere, Dmitri gave in. “All right. Just a moment, though.”

The old man led him back into the dim foyer, past the stairs, and towards a back hall. There, he sunk down in a wooden chair placed by the door that led to the alley, and mumbled twice more. He opened the door for Dmitri even as his eyes were closing, and as the younger man peered around the jamb, wondering what he was supposed to be looking for, he heard Rip begin to snore.

How in the world could a man fall asleep in the time it took—?

And then Dmitri forgot all about Rip and the inn and the way being properly dressed among all these peasants made him feel, because
she
was there. Zelle was sitting—sitting?—on some kind of railing, her feet swinging back and forth under a simple pale purple dress, a pleased grin on her face. And the absolute only thing that
he
could do in return was return her happy smile.

She hopped down from the railing, as if it was a perfectly natural activity for a young lady. “Hi.” Her little wave was sweet, welcoming.

“Hi.”
Bozhe moy
,
he sounded like an idiot, but it was all he could manage right then. His brain just didn’t seem to want to work properly. Not since seeing her.

“Sorry I didn’t meet you out front. I asked Rip to fetch you.” And then her cheeks pinked fetchingly, and she looked away. “I’d rather avoid the main streets, if you don’t mind.”

Dmitri looked down at his fine blue coat with the gold frogging, and thought about missing the chance to parade down Everland’s Andersen Avenue showing off his finery. “Actually, I’m perfectly at ease with the suggestion.” He resisted the urge to brush dust—why was this town so dusty?—from his lapels. “But I’d be remiss as a gentleman if I didn’t ask why
you
want to avoid seeing others.”

“No reason. Shall we go?” She smiled so brightly that he knew she must be lying.

Reluctantly, he stepped off the Inn’s back stoop, not sure if he should push her to tell him what she was running from, or if he should just be happy that she was here with him. As he moved beside her, gripping his ivory-topped cane in his right hand even as he offered her his left elbow, her smile faded to something…
real
.

And staring down at that beautiful,
real
smile, he knew. Knew that he could trust her to know what was best for herself, and knew that he should be grateful to be with her. So his voice was a little husky when he finally responded, “Dear Miss Carpenter, I shall follow wherever you lead.”

“Zelle.” Her whisper sounded like she had something stuck in her throat, and the realization that
she
was as affected by
his
closeness as he was by hers made him smile as well. “You’re supposed to call me Zelle.”

“Zelle, of course. Where will we be walking today?”

Another smile, and then she slipped her hand through his arm, and began to lead him down the alley. “To the Lake. All visitors to Everland need to see Lake Enchantment, at least once. It’s the reason the town was founded, you know. Early settlers—perhaps even the ones you’re seeking, were so…well, so
enchanted
by a perfectly grand lake out here in the land of seasonal streams that they settled here. It’s quite lovely, Dmitri.”

In St. Petersburg and London, women had fought over the chance to stroll on his arm. They would “My Lord” him and simper and bat their eyelashes, and he would escort them to the gardens or—if they were
those
sorts of women—to more private venues. But in Everland, no one seemed to care or acknowledge his title, his status. There’d been no bowing, no attempts to pander to his status or wealth—what little of either remained.

It had been…odd. And in some ways, a little relieving. Here, the men treated him the way they treated each other; as equals. It was galling to be considered equal to a man like Roy, Jr., who was a self-centered imbecile…but actually a little flattering to be considered Max Deville’s equal. Max was respected because of who he was, and what his talents were...not because of who his father was or had been. It had given Dmitri plenty to think about.

And the women? Most of the women he’d met here in Everland hadn’t been too different from those back in London, or even Russia; they’d batted their eyelashes and cooed over his shoulders, and then snapped open their fans to titter to one another behind them. But
one
woman…

Zelle had fallen into his lap, a lady made up like a
shlyukha,
a whore. Zelle had returned his kiss with an innocent sort of enthusiasm he’d never experienced before. Zelle swung her legs freely when she sat on a rail, and turned her face up towards the raindrops, and found simple, breathtaking joy in the freedom of riding a horse.

Zelle was special. And not just because she peeked in both directions before they stepped out from behind the last storefront, and seemed to almost jog across the path that, because it had ruts and was bordered on one side by buildings, must be considered a street. But once they were past the buildings, through a little copse of trees, he felt her sigh, felt her grip on his arm ease. Felt her relax.

And so he smiled at her again, and liked the way she pulled his elbow against her side, like she wanted to touch him as much as he wanted to touch her. “So, Miss Carpenter, we’re not actually running to the Lake?”

A chuckle, and he fell half in love with the uninhibited sound. “We are not, sir.” A little skip that seemed to convey her excitement. “And you’re supposed to call me Zelle.”

He’d done it on purpose, called her by her last name. It had been a ploy to start a conversation. “An unusual name, even in America, I think?”

“Not that there’s anything wrong with American names.”

“Of course, that’s what I was going to say.
—even in America, not that there’s anything wrong with American names.
You just didn’t give me a chance.”

Another chuckle, and he grinned in response. “My father says that I chose it, which I’ve never understood, but I like it.”

“It’s unique, just like you.” The well-worn path led them up a hill.

“I shall take that as a compliment.”

“It was intended as one, I believe.”

“Oh, good.” She lifted her simple purple skirts in her other hand, to better navigate the rocky hill, and he caught a glimpse of small ankles incased in leather boots. And even that little glimpse made his heart pound. “Papa thinks I’m unique too, which is why he’s so over-protective, I think.”

“Over-protective?”

“My parents worry about me. But of course the more they try to make me quiet and reclusive, the more I want to go out and…and…and have
adventures
, I suppose.”

He was beginning to suspect why they had to sneak out of town through the alley, and found that he didn’t mind at all. “I think your adventurous spirit is what makes you…”
Fascinating. Compelling. Utterly intoxicating.
“You.”

She pulled to a stop, right as they crested the hill, and he turned to see her staring up at him with a serious expression. Those beautiful green eyes bore into his, and he found that at that moment, he wanted to kiss her more than he’d wanted anything else. “Thank you. For seeing
me
, instead of the ‘me’ my parents want everyone to see.”

He might’ve nodded. Might’ve cleared his throat, trying to keep his mind on the conversation, rather than how her lips might taste. “I think that your parents see the real you, too.”

A sigh, and then she smiled sadly. “I think you’re right. Which is why it’s aggravating they keep trying to tamp it down.”

“They’re trying to protect you.” He’d been an only child, too, but his mother had died young, and his father had raised him to be a companion, rather than a cherished innocent. “They’re good people, I think.” And then, desperate to make her chuckle again: “With odd taste in names, I’ll admit.”

A dimple appeared in one cheek, so he knew her smile was genuine again. “Good point. And now…” With a gesture, she turned his attention to the path again, and Dmitri actually sucked in a breath when he saw the view that he’d ignored to talk to her.

Lake Enchantment stretched out before him, surrounded on all sides by hills steep enough at the far end to be considered mountains. The water was sparkling in the sunlight, a blue that he hadn’t seen since leaving the mountain lakes of his home, and stretched for some distance. There were surprisingly large shade trees dipping down close to the water, and some sort of yellow and purple wild flowers growing in abundance around the small beach that faced them.

It was stunning. Absolutely mesmerizing, and he tore his gaze away to tell her so. But when he met eyes the same green as the grass that stretched under the trees, he forgot what he was going to say. “…Beautiful.”

The dimple flashed again. “Yes, it is, isn’t it?”
Not it, you
. “That’s why I wanted you to see it. Come on!” She ran her hand down his forearm until it nestled in his grip, and then tugged him down the hill. He stumbled behind, not sure how he managed to keep from tripping, so intent was he on drinking in her unbridled exuberance. It was intoxicating.

And when they reached the shores of the lake, and she pulled him towards the shade of the largest oak, he realized that he could follow her anywhere. His life had been so empty since his father’s death, but watching her
live
made his own life seem…fuller, somehow.

Still holding his hand, she spun around once they reached the shade, her thick blonde braid swinging over one shoulder. It really
was
much cooler under here, with the branches dipping down low enough to make him feel almost secluded. She tugged at his hand, and then sunk to the ground, sighing. He had no choice but to follow…not that he had any desire to do anything else. He placed his tall hat atop his cane on the grass beside him, and wished yet again that he hadn’t dressed quite so properly for this outing.

“See? Isn’t this lovely?”

“I have to admit that it’s the second-prettiest thing I’ve seen since coming to America.”

“The second-prettiest? What’s the—“

“You.” They were seated close enough, their fingers entwined, that he didn’t have any trouble watching her cheeks flush at the compliment. But instead of looking away, of demurring, of somehow cheapening his words, she met his gaze boldly. Curiously.