Rapunzel Reborn

Prologue

I run.

What else do I do? The home I love is being attacked and engulfed in flames, not something a girl can get used to.

"Kill them! Kill them all!" I hear a soldier say. It's not one of my people. I know them far too well. And so, I run away from the voice.

My hair rises and falls due to my running, my head turning every second to glance back.  Each time I do, my eyes bulge. My face grows in fear as I watch every last one of the buildings collapse with a roar, tumble to the ground, and turn into dark black ash. The air was cool this morning, sun bright, shining in my face. But tonight, it carries yellow sparks that burn your skin like a thousand stinging bees. Surprisingly, this scorching fire still isn't enough to dry my tears.

Minutes pass, burning buildings tumbled down in front of my little eyes. I desperately dug through scrap, hoping to find an exit, or at least a living human being.  Anyone that doesn't include the corpses that have scarred my mind, nor the soldiers who want my blood.

No luck.

My breath going fast as I cried for help, tears swapping down my face. My sense of humanity is slowly being drained.

"Help! Mommy, daddy!" I coughed, looking around for a living being, "Please! Anyone! Help me!"

No one in sight. No screams were heard, they've all gone away, leaving me behind. The princess was left alone during a fire. Then, I heard rustling from nearby.

"Come, hurry!" Said the boy, whom I've lived with all my life. He was reaching out to me with his hands, covered in black soil. He has obviously been digging and running around, as seen in his retched appearance, and finally found me on the other side of a wall of debris.  He looked almost immortal surrounded by the flames. His eyes burn like the fire itself, black hair being blown by the powerful winds.

"We must run, before they find us!"

He's the one whom I've lived with since birth, Erin. His glasses have fallen off his face, and his clothes were shattered and burned.

Proof that he came back to find me, something no one else dared to come back and do.

I stepped forward a bit, reluctant to grab that helping hand. "Where will we go?! What about my parents?!" I screamed with my small voice, but loud enough so he could hear me. My parents, I almost forgot about them with safety staring directly into my eyes. How could I even forget? Were they safe? My loving parents. Things were falling apart near us. Buildings collapsed, things were engulfed in flames.

"They'll catch up!" He yelled at me, obviously angry and flustered.  His hand kept reaching out, waiting for me to grab on. Another building collapsed near us, almost knocking me off of my feet.  I flinched and shut my eyes, and when I opened them, he was in front of me.

Although he himself was startled by the collapse, he wasted no time, and he quickly, yet gently, picked me up and carried me away from the village. My home. I struggled to get away from his grip, but it was no use.

"No, stop!" I yelled, crying, "Stop, I won't leave without my parents!"

He didn't stop, not for a second. Everything was falling down, the home I loved. The place I've lived in all my life. It was all falling apart in front of my eyes.

"My apologies." He told me quietly, but loud enough so I could hear.  He set me down, but before I could get away, he took a small, dirty cloth from his pocket and tied it around my eyes and mouth.

"Stop! What are you doing?!" I cried out, trying to yank the cloth off. But he held it there, tied tightly across my face.

"I'm sorry...my princess..." He whispered in my ear. I struggled from his grip, but for a 6-year old boy, he was strong. "I can't...I just can't allow you to see this any longer."

"Stop..." I cried, tears streaming down my face, "Please stop..." My eyesight was dimmed, and I couldn't see a thing.  I wanted to see my village burning, to see it engulfed in my memories. But I felt his hands pick me up once more. He carried me away from the burning village. Farther and farther away from home, my wonderful home. I sobbed even louder.

"Seems like you won't stay quiet..." He said to himself, knowing I wasn't listening anyways. "Apologies in advance," He tried telling me, "Once again, I mean."

"W-What?" I said, obviously confused. He cast a spell on me, one I've never heard before. Although the cloth tied around my head was still there, I can see blue flashing lights, popping up all around.

And in a flash, I fainted.

He carried me away, running at full speed. Far from home, far from civilization. Far from my family, my friends, my everything. Erin took away my all.

But that was 12 years ago.

Today, I sit in a tower with the boy who saved me.

He's always at my side.