History of Fictitious: Volume Two

Chapter 5

"Why have you done this?" Rapunzel cried, not even caring where Gothel took them.

"Because I couldn't have a child! It was my father's dying wish that I had one! So I stole you! A golden child. A precious child!"

"Witches aren't evil, as you have taught me. However, there are two things I have learned from my journey that you didn't teach me. One, humans aren't inherently evil either. And two, witches like you are corrupt. You are corrupt! And I will find a way out of here!"

Gothel stormed over to Rapunzel, grabbing her by her hair. She dragged the girl across the large circular floor to the edge of the black tower they stood on top of, forcing her to look down it while almost pushing her off a one-hundred-foot drop.

"Do you see that, dear? You will never be able to escape! Even if you somehow find a way down, your fishy friend waits in the swamp below. She may have been kind to you, but not anymore. Now I'll be back for supper with all my sisters to discuss how we will overthrow the humans and what I should do with you."

Gothel disappeared. Rapunzel quickly shied away from the edge and into the middle of her new tower. For the first time ever, she saw the complete truth. She had always been a prisoner, just as Colden thought she was. Ironically, the tower she stood on was a prison being built to replace the one in the mountains, which explained the scattered parts lying around and the unfinished railing.

Rapunzel sat down, curling herself up in a ball as the cold wind blew at her hair. Her whole life was a lie. Everything she thought she knew could be a lie. The one true thing was that Gothel didn't tell her the story of spinning straw into gold. The person who told Rapunzel that story was her real mother.

As she sat there, her mother's face came into her mind—her glimmering blonde hair, sweet smile, and the affection she showed to her family. That was right. Rapunzel had an older brother, Edward. How could she so easily forget them? How old had she been when Gothel took her? Five? Four?

Unexpectedly, another image popped into her thoughts: Colden. She thought of him flying outside her window, scaring her to death. She remembered his thrill for freefalling and high speeds. Then she smiled when she recalled how he jumped in the water to save her despite his fear. If only she had known sooner. She would have . . .

Rapunzel jumped back to her feet and looked around the tower. She wouldn't give up so easily. She walked to a trapdoor, which she assumed would open to a ladder or stairs to go down. However, it was locked from the other side. She walked over to the random pieces left on the top of the tower. What she really wanted was some rope, and luckily for her, there was some. Its length reached around twenty feet, but there were two more sets. It would get her more than halfway down the tower.

"Thank you, Gothel, for not checking our surroundings. One of the reasons I could always hide extra soup under my bed. Turns out I was never your golden child," she muttered, tying the three ropes together and then to a section of finished handrails on the tower. She threw the rest of the rope down, then tugged on it before trying to go down.

She breathed and shivered from the wind. "Here we go." She climbed downward, praying that the ropes and the railing would hold her weight.

Throughout her climb, she took rest stops at the different levels where there was a place to stand. The only places, however, were on barred windows and various balconies. She paced herself so she rested on balconies instead of the windows' ledges. Unfortunately, the doors leading inside the towers were shut, but she checked whenever she found a door.

She kept moving until she reached the end of her three ropes. The rope continued, stopping at a window's ledge. She decided to halt at the closest balcony where she could freely stand. Rapunzel yanked on the rope as hard as she could, trying to get some of it loose so she could reuse it. Only one came loose, but she smiled triumphantly. It was more than she could ask for.