Frosted (Frosted #1 | Jackunzel)

{ Chapter Ten }

Rapunzel awoke to darkness, and the musty smell of... She wasn't exactly certain what around her. The sound of dripping water drew her back into the present as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes with a palm. She felt something wet and grainy smudge against her cheek, but she couldn't see what it was—it was absolutely pitch black here, wherever she was. She felt the sensation of tiny paws pressing onto her stomach, making their way over to her shoulder. Pascal. She knew his presence immediately. It was a comfort in itself, considering their situation.

"Ah," she heard a familiar voice say from somewhere nearby. "And so my sleeping beauty awakes."

"Wha...?" Rapunzel mumbled as she pulled herself upright. Her head begun spinning almost immediately, starry flecks blooming in her vision, over the blackness of never-ending darkness. She hissed slightly at the soreness stretching across her back. The floor underneath her was harder than anything she'd ever lied down on before.

"Couldn't really see much when I flew in here," the voice continued. Jack, she reminder herself. It was Jack Frost. "But I'm pretty sure you just slept on a bed of rock and moss. Sorry about that. I know how stiff you humans get."

Rapunzel groaned. It felt safer, to speak when you could not see those listening. "Thanks for the reminder of your etherealness."

"Aw. You really think I'm too perfect for this world, Goldy?"

Rapunzel was grateful for the darkness hiding her blush. "No," she was quick to reply. "I meant that you're a spirit."

She could hear the smirk in this tone, clear as day. "I'm sure you did."

The room succumbed to a mutual quiet. It was a comfortable silence, but one Rapunzel would have rathered not have. She held Pascal's tiny body in her hand to serve as a reminder to herself that she was not truly alone in this unknown place.

Everything hit her, quite suddenly. The tower. Kozmotis and his creatures attacking her Guardian. Feeling her limbs give out beneath her as darkness devoured the edges of her vision. Couldn't really see much when I flew in here. That's what Jack had told her, but mere seconds ago. I'm pretty sure you just slept on a bed of rock and moss.

Worry gripped at Rapunzel, mixed with a tinge of fear. She brought Pascal close to her heart, pulling her knees up even closer to her chest in the process. She wasn't certain she desired seeing her whereabouts, but it was something she needed to be aware of in case the beasts of the world cornered them both. She needed to know where to run and—

She was outside.

Rapunzel struggled to process the realization in her mind. The hard rock underneath her, the wet soil thinly layered over her hands and cheek... It was all the product of nature. Real, actual, nature. And she was sitting on top of it all. How long had she sat by her window, dreaming of this very moment? How often had it been tainted by the thought what lay beyond the beauty?

"What happened?" She found herself whispering now. "Mother..." She hadn't seen her escape. She hadn't said goodbye. What would she think when she saw her gone? How worried had she become already?

A hard lump formed in her throat at the thought. They'd been together practically ever since she'd been born. Rapunzel had trusted her with her life. But now... She'd abandoned her, with no escape. That was, unless she found the scarf Rapunzel had knitted what already felt like an eternity ago. But how long would that take? Perhaps the shadow would find it in his heart to fetch her mother supplies and let her feel the grass beneath her feet every once in a while.

The lump in her throat almost choked her at the thought. If she could have found her voice, she'd have ordered Jack to take her back.

"I'm sure your mother's fine," Jack begun. But it was so dark, Rapunzel could no longer stand it. Without waiting for the rest of his answer, she sung her song quicker than she'd ever sung it before. Magic pulsed into her hair, illuminating it from her roots, all the way to the pile strewn into an uneven mountain before her. Oh, god. She'd never seen it so knotted. Branches and leaves alike were tangled heavily in its hold, altogether making for a horrifying sight.