Rapunzel

  “So, where are we going?” Jacob asked, breaking a silence that had stretched for near an hour.

  “Chauvenegris,” Rapunzel answered. “It’s a rather quaint country town that has a bustling artisan trade. It’s also nearby several places I could be intending to visit, which should throw off anyone who may try following us.”

  “Such as?”

  “There is a fair amount of history in this town. Nothing world-changing, of course, unless you are particularly into fashion and textiles. There are a few trade schools for specialty crafting, very exclusive, whose students include some rather influential individuals. There is a museum known to few that includes examples of ancient magics and curses. Nothing actively dangerous of course, it is all kept under constant watch and heavy warding. It is a good place to learn how to deal with such things. I have also heard of a few underground libraries and artifact collections that I am genuinely interested in visiting sometime.”

  “This town suddenly sounds much more interesting. And your family lives near there?”

  Rapunzel nodded. “There are several manors nearby as well. One of them is my family’s summer home.”

  “Understood. I can see you have put a lot of thought into this.” His tone was lighter, more conversational than curious. Which snapped her out of the mood she was beginning to slide down into.

  It was perfect weather for a long ride, she thought, no reason to get lost in the dread over something she had no control over. There would be time for that later.

  “Let’s just say I’m in the habit of thinking several steps ahead when it comes to my family. They were unhappy when I ran away, so I had to develop a new way of looking at a place in order to stay away from them,” Rapunzel explained. " I think that may have been part of what drew the attention of the Table. That and my creative use of runes.”

  “I am glad that they found you when they did,” Jacob said earnestly. “No one deserves to live under their family’s thumb like that.”

  She nodded, not quite sure what to say. They lapsed into a comfortable silence for some time before Jacob broke it once more.

  “So, tell me about these schools. What sort of tradecraft do they teach?”

  That conversation flowed much easier, bouncing around a variety of topics and sending them occasionally into peals of laughter.

  “She had spent so much time toting her own brilliance when it came to the design of the dress that she couldn’t possibly bring herself to admit she made a mistake. So instead, she flounced around pretending she had intended to have her dress covered in snails.”

  “Please tell me no one believed her…”

  “That’s the scary part. Some people did." She laughed. "For the next few months, you couldn’t go to the market without seeing at least three individuals wearing that fabric, trying with varying degrees of success to ignore the snails. Took the poor girl until the next festival to realize she had woven a poultice of summoning, not repelling, into the fabric she used for those garments. Thankfully by the next big festival she had figured it out, and the snail cloth was never to be seen again. The incident is never mentioned in good company, but I’m pretty sure some never forgot.”

  “Whatever happened to her? Did she move on to another practice or keep at it?”

  “She actually ended up being hired by the Table, specifically the Rangers. Her skill with weaving magic into clothes and fabrics was phenomenal, even with the snail incident. Someone managed to convince enough people to give her a chance, so she was given access to more proper materials and education. There was also a trial period imposed by those who didn’t expect much from her, in which she had a chance to prove her usefulness.”

  “What would have happened had she failed?”

  “It depends on the extent of the failure, but most likely one of the Table members who liked her would have found a way to secure an apprenticeship for her. As it was, within a few months she produced a glamor cloak that completely fooled several Statesmen. It may have also temporarily fooled some of the Table members." Rapunzel smiled with a hint of pride. "There was no debate after that. Now she works with a team of other clothiers, leatherworkers, and artificers to craft all manner of protective clothing. I think there is also a cobbler on their team, but I have yet to see their work.”

  “Fascinating,” Jacob exclaimed softly.

  “She returns every so often to speak to the students, answering their questions and sharing her story.”

  “I would love to see that sometime.”

  “Well, you may be in luck. It just so happens that she will be at the school while we are in town. Perhaps you can attend one of her talks while I handle my business. There will also be a few bazaars set up this time of the year,” she offered.

  “That all sounds lovely, but you don’t need to worry about me. I am certain I can handle myself while you take care of whatever you need to take care of.” Jacob hesitated before continuing. "I know this isn’t an easy thing that you are doing, so I mean this when I say this. You can count on me to have your back, whatever happens.”

  She chuckled at this.

  “You sound like Snow.”

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  “I am going to assume that is a good thing." Jacob chuckled. "Well, I hope that is a good thing. She does hold my brother’s life in her hands.”

  The rest of the day's ride passed with the two sharing stories and pulling off the road regularly to rest and refresh themselves. The conversation steered clear of their situation, especially the parts that concerned them the most. Wilhelm. Snow. The Ryders. Even so, Jacob’s words about Snow holding his brother’s life in her hands stuck with Rapunzel. She mulled them over in the back of her mind, watching him as she spoke of fond childhood memories involving his brother.

  They found a nice little clearing well off the main road that was just the right size. Jacob dropped his pack then went to collect wood for a fire while Rapunzel set up the tent, politely refusing his offer to help. It was up by the time he returned, dumping his armful of branches into the small divot she had dug into the ground. A little more work and they had a small but cheery fire going a few feet in front of the tent.

  Rapunzel set about preparing their dinner while Jacob kept glancing nervously at the tent, no doubt worried about how small it appeared. She smirked, looking forward to his reaction when he saw the inside.

  “Do you think the others are okay?” he asked, shifting his nervous energy to a different topic.

  “Oh, certainly. Had anything come up, Snow would have contacted me by now.”

  “I wish I had your confidence in the matter. It is not that I distrust your partner, I just don’t know her very well." Jacob almost sounded apologetic. "I swore to my father that I would ensure no harm would ever come to my brother, that I would never tell anyone of his gift or of the family secret. Now I have shared all of that information and sent my brother off with a stranger…”

  He wrung his hands as he spoke, not even bothering to hide his nerves. His eyes darted around like a cornered rabbit, lingering far too long on his horse for Rapunzel's comfort. She sighed, marching up to him, clasping her hands on his shoulders. He flinched slightly at the impact but made no effort to break free.

  “I know it was a hard decision, separating from your brother and letting him go off to some unknown place. He couldn’t be in better hands, though. I have known Snow for years now and I have long since lost track of how many times I have trusted her with my life," Rapunzel said emphatically. "She has never let me down. She is smart, she is powerful, and she is determined. If anyone can safely escort your brother to the Veil, it’s her,”

  Jacob’s eyes stayed locked on hers, searching for something, and she did not flinch. After a few seconds, he nodded, relaxing his shoulders.

  “I apologize, this has just been a lot to get used to. I do trust the both of you, of course, and I trust Dina. She has always been a friend of my family." He paused. "That doesn’t mean I won’t have doubts creeping up on me, though. As much time as we have spent together over the past few days, I must confess I still do not know much about either of you. Especially your partner, who seems to possess a skill and familiarity with a variety of magics that I have never seen before." His voice grew thoughtful. "I cannot help but wonder where she comes from and how she gained such instinctive control of the magic around her.”

  Rapunzel paused in the middle of what she was doing to stare incredulously at Jacob.

  “Are you asking me to reveal private, personal information about my partner? Why, that would violate the most sacred principles of our partnership and our oaths as Rangers.”

  Jacob blanched.

  “Oh no, I would never ask something like that...I was only...I would never seek to pry into the affairs of others like that, I only wished to express my curiosity. I apologize for any lines I have crossed because I would never ask someone to break a sacred oath or anything of that nature, at least not for the sake of satisfying my own curiosity, which is all that was…” His voice trailed off as he noticed Rapunzel’s shoulders shaking as she buried her face in her hands. Then he was concerned until he heard laughing.

  “There is no such oath,” she admitted. "I’m sorry, I was not intending to make fun at your expense, I just couldn’t help myself." His face reddened. "Of course, you can ask me questions about Snow. We are going to be traveling together, after all. Keep in mind I may not answer some questions, as some stories are hers to tell.”

  “Oh, well yes. Of course,” he stammered, attempting to regain some composure.

  Rapunzel gave him a sympathetic smile and passed a flask of ale she had pulled from a pocket.

  “That cloak truly is a work of art.”

  “It really is. Now, what do you want to know about Snow? Or about me, for that matter. I will admit I don’t know much about Morpheus, beyond what Snow has told me.”

  “Is Snow her real name?”

  “Define real? Was she born with it? No. Does that make it any less her name? No. Will I ever tell anyone her birth name? No." She took the flask back. "It is rather common for Rangers to take on new names, as well as members of other branches of the Table. She chose Snow White. I chose a different last name.”

  “That makes sense with what I know of the Table. Does she also come from an old magic family?”

  “Not to my knowledge, but then some family names dwindled into obscurity while the bloodlines continued. So, there is a possibility that she could come from old magic, just no way to know for sure. She does not have much in the way of family, beyond those she chose,” Rapunzel said carefully.

  A puzzled look briefly crossed Jacob’s face, only to be chased away by a sudden realization and a dash of discomfort.

  “She already had a pretty good handle on her magic when we met, though she said she had not been practicing for long,” she explained. "We were part of a few of the same group training sessions, vying for the top like everyone else. We never really spoke until we were paired together for our trial." A smile crossed her face. "Now that was a fun week. Surviving in a cryptic forest, systematically taking down Dina’s defenses before finally taking on the witch herself. I still cannot believe it actually worked, but it did.”

  “Now that story I would love to hear.”

  “Unfortunately, that is not one I am able to share. I can, however, tell you of a variety of other adventures we have been on. It is never a dull moment as a Ranger, especially when you are partnered with Snow.”

  “That also sounds entertaining.”

  “And I would love to share them. Perhaps we should retire to the tent first." Rapunzel stood. "The insects will be swarming soon, and I would rather not deal with that.”

  “I was actually planning to camp out here, so you could have the tent to yourself. I wouldn’t want to crowd you.”

  “Oh, don’t be ridiculous. As if I would ever travel so unprepared to not have enough space for the both of us." She scoffed. "You need to start improving the way you look at things, otherwise who knows what else you will miss while it’s right in front of your face.”

  “I...what?”

  “Just shut up and get in the tent will you,” she snapped. “You will see what I mean.”

  He arched an eyebrow, not buying a word of her explanation, but upon her insistence, he started towards the tent. She stood there, arms crossed, watching him as the fire slowly began to smolder out. He gave her a questioning look, and she nodded towards the tent flap.

  With a shrug, he lifted the flap and ducked inside.

  “Oh. This is bigger than I thought it was.”