Golden Braids and Dragon Blades: Steampunk Rapunzel

Chapter 14: Once Upon a Time

Later that night, after the girls had eaten and had a chance to stretch, I dressed into a simple sleeping gown and crawled into bed. The maid, whose name turned out to be Caroline, had helped me wash out my long locks which now smelled of soap and lavender. After washing in the cave pool, dodging fish and diving dragons, it was an entirely new experience to soak in a warm basin. Despite the new, material comforts, I still couldn’t fall asleep. It was almost as if the bed was too comfortable. The rich covers and nightdress were too soft. I missed my little cot built into the cave wall, the soft sounds of the water trickling down the stalactites, the smell of the earth and minerals. And I missed my books which always helped me sleep when my mind was too busy. I had left the copy of Sense and Sensibility behind during my hasty escape from the Sparrow.

My thoughts turned once more to Mother. Surely she was all right. She was, after all, a faerie. She could easily slip away, right? Mother had always managed. I eyed the cats who lay curled up all around me. The enchantments were still in place. Gothel was alive and well somewhere. But how would she ever find me?

Sighing, I slipped out of bed and went to the window once more. I stared across the moonlight landscape. Opening the windows, I stepped outside on the balcony.

Closing my eyes, I inhaled deeply. The sweet scents of flowers and grass filled my senses.

Gothel? I whispered in my mind. Mother? Where are you?

I neither felt nor heard anything save the soft voice of the breeze and the sound of the leaves in the trees. Perhaps Mother couldn’t hear me. But maybe the land could.

“The land and the king are one,” I said. Maybe, just maybe…

“Whisper to Gothel. Tell her Willowbrook Park,” I called lightly to the wind.

The air around me swirled, and I heard the sounds of insects, owls, leaves, grass, and wind. I reached out with my senses, feeling the land, the realm. Britannia. The land and the king were one. I was one with the realm. I quieted my mind and listened to the voices on the breeze, in the rustle of the trees, in the call of the night birds. I felt the realm, both outside of me and within me. I felt alive with its magic.

“Rapunzel?” Ewan called lightly, knocking on our shared door. Before I could answer, the door opened with a soft click, and Ewan stepped into the room. “I heard a noise. Are you all right?”

I turned to him. “Sorry, couldn’t sleep. I’m just worried about Mother.”

Ewan stood frozen, staring at me with the oddest expression on his face.

“What is it?” I whispered.

“Your eyes…they’re glowing. And your hair…”

I looked down at my long locks that I had left unbraided. They trailed behind me across the floor to the bed where they lay in a heap. I saw what he meant. My tresses had a silvery shimmer. “Just the moonlight reflecting on them,” I said then looked back outside once more. My hair was glowing oddly. Why?

Ewan coughed uncomfortably but said nothing more. He merely joined me on the balcony. “So, couldn’t sleep?”

“No. I usually read, but I left my book on the Sparrow. Not used to making hasty escapes. I’ll have to add ‘grab your book’ to my list of things to remember during Article 7, Section 22 rescues.”

“Item 22, not section 22.”

I chuckled. “Sorry. Item 22.”

“Another Jane Austen novel?”

“Sense and Sensibility.”

“Ah, the Dashwood sisters.”

“You know it?”

“Of course. I am a connoisseur of all the best romantic literature.”

I chuckled. “You still haven’t told me why, really.”

“Why? Well, how is a man expected to learn what a woman really wants unless he has a look inside the female mind? Miss Austen’s works are very obliging in that matter.”

“Really? And what did you learn?”

“That knights in shining armor are still in fashion. I did make a very dashing entrance on the rail of that airship, wouldn’t you say? I really should wear my red cape. It would have billowed magnificently.”

“I might say that if you didn’t seem so pleased with yourself about it.”

“And humility, of course, is always in good form.”

We both chuckled.

“Do you want me to tell you what happens in the book?” Ewan offered.

I turned to him. “I’d like that.”

Collecting a handful of my hair, I sat down on the balcony floor and leaned against the rail, Ewan sitting beside me.

“Where did you leave off?” he asked.

I grinned. “Start at the beginning.”

“Once upon a time—“

“It did not start with ‘Once upon a time.’”

“No? It should have. All the best stories do. Now, where was I? Once upon a time…”