Once upon a time there was a wealthy, young socialite who (due initially to an impulse that had seemed a good idea at the time) kept her hair dyed a pleasing shade of azure, thus earning her the nickname of Bluetresses. Bluetresses lived in a magnificent mansion all by herself. She found this a rather lonely existence, and thus often invited Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks, and various other fairytale characters to join her in her enormous domicile.
"Thanks for coming to spend the weekend!" exclaimed Bluetresses one day to her newest visitor, who happened to be Rapunzel. "I'm sorry to be a bad hostess and run off the moment you arrive, but something unexpected came up suddenly." She tightened the belt on her saddle-brown trench coat and smiled apologetically. "Don't worry, though; I'll be back shortly."
"What do you have to do?" asked Rapunzel, running a hand through her hair, which, with its extraordinary length, took some doing.
"Something important," was all Bluetresses would explain. "In the meantime, feel free to explore. There's plenty to see here: a wonderful library with lots of books, a billiard room where you can shoot a few games, and even an indoor swimming pool, in case you feel like taking a dip."
"Sounds like fun," lied Rapunzel. Whoever heard of playing billiards by oneself? Swimming was out of the question as well, because her abundant hair couldn't possibly fit under a bathing cap. Still, she maintained her pleasant smile and nodded happily.
"You can go anywhere you like in the mansion," continued Bluetresses, "except for one room, an old bedroom we don't use anymore. It's the only room with a blue door, so you'll know the one I mean. It's in the West Wing on the third floor, just to the right of the staircase."
"What's in there?" asked Rapunzel.
"Something important," said Bluetresses, once again limiting herself to that brief explanation.
"Sheesh, you're being awfully secretive about things," grumbled Rapunzel, but she kept her thoughts to herself.
"Please, Rapunzel, promise me you won't go in there!"
"All right, I promise," she agreed sulkily.
"Because I'll know if you have!"
"I told you I wouldn't, okay?" Rapunzel rolled her eyes. "Where's that library you mentioned?"
Bluetresses escorted her guest through the hallways of the East Wing to a chamber with soft, comfortable chairs, casements that opened to reveal the beautiful gardens, and bookcases filled with tomes beckoning silently. "Enjoy yourself while I'm gone," Bluetresses said encouragingly. "I shouldn't be too long, I don't imagine."
"Don't worry about me; I'll be fine." Rapunzel scanned the nearest shelf and randomly selected a book, tall and thin. "I've simply been dying to read, um, your university yearbook," she stated, after quickly checking the cover. She flopped into a chair and flipped a few pages. "You go out and have yourself a great time!"
"Oh, I will!" exclaimed Bluetresses with such a sudden smile that it caused Rapunzel to sit up straight and take notice. "Well, see you soon, okay?"
"I wonder what that's all about?" Rapunzel asked herself. She strained her ears until she could no longer hear Bluetresses. She tossed the yearbook aside and jumped to her feet. "Now to find out what's in that secret room!" she exclaimed, scurrying out of the library.
She flew up the stairs. "She must have something wonderful in there!" Rapunzel reached the third floor, her head filled with visions of top-secret government documents lying carelessly on a tabletop, or piles of stolen jewels, or gold coins inside bulging bags! She looked around. "That door's blue, so it must be the one," she stated, moving forward. She reached for the doorknob. "Maybe this is a test," she thought slowly, pausing. "Maybe there isn't something wonderful in there at all. Maybe Bluetresses set something up to teach me a lesson for going into the forbidden room."
She thought about that for a minute. "But what, precisely? What could she do to me if I went in there, except tell me I have to leave? If it is a test, she must have thought of something like, hmm, a trap door! Only, I don't know; that seems kind of improbable. Perhaps she has a giant pet spider who's hungry and would wrap me up in its thread!"
She shuddered as she imagined that scene, but then dismissed the idea as a new possibility came. "Hey, I know! Maybe Wolfy's in there, hiding, waiting for me!" She smiled, thinking of The Wolf, who was obsessed with human females, and who especially seemed to enjoy binding and gagging them. "Well, if that's her plan, Bluetresses really made a big mistake, because I enjoy it when Wolfy ties me up! That's a reason to go in, not stay out!"
And so, having convinced herself that The Wolf was crouching inside, a length of rope held in his waiting paws, she flung open the door.
…..
There was a tiny voice in Rapunzel's head that suggested perhaps her reasoning was just a bit specious, so she was delighted when she did indeed see The Wolf, complete with rope in paw!
He did not show the slightest surprise to see her. "Hey, baby, glad you popped in."
"Hey, Wolfy!" she answered and then added, "Oh, hi, Bluetresses."
Bluetresses was in the room as well. Her trench coat lay discarded on the floor; all she wore now was a strapless, pink minidress, tightened with a plastic belt. She looked at Rapunzel as if she wanted to say something about her guest's unauthorized appearance, but could not speak, owing to the white cloth cleave gagging her. Vivid yellow ropes circled her body, binding her legs together and her arms against her sides.
"So, that's what the important thing was!" Rapunzel thought in wonder as she took in the scene. "She thought she could ditch me to play tie-up games with Wolfy. The trench coat hid the sexy outfit she had put on for him, and she told me not to come in here so she could have him all to herself! Yes, I see it all now!"
She was about to spout her accusations, but then abruptly closed her mouth, thinking a subtler approach was needed. She looked at The Wolf and Bluetresses in mock horror. "Wolfy! Whatever are you thinking, capturing my good friend Bluetresses like this, and tying her all up?"
"Just having a bit of fun, baby," he answered, swinging his tail lazily.
"I'll rescue you, Bluetresses," Rapunzel continued, smiling cryptically at her friend. "Your awful ordeal is over, now that I'm here!" She moved into the room and lifted Bluetresses, carrying her in her arms firefighter style. "I'll get you out of here!"
"Mpfff!" said Bluetresses, not wanting any rescuing, but realizing she could not say so, and not merely because of the gag, either!"
"Hey, don't take her away, baby!" exclaimed The Wolf.
"I have to, Wolfy," explained Rapunzel. "I have to save her from you! And then I'll come back; you can be sure I will, so be sure to wait right here for me so we can, um, sort out this situation!"
"Yeah, we'll do that, baby," agreed The Wolf.
"Oh, by the way, I'll need some of that," announced Rapunzel, helping herself to rope from The Wolf and moving briskly (or close to briskly, burdened as she was) out the blue door.
Bluetresses fumed silently as Rapunzel carried her down two flights of stairs and through the hallways of the first floor until they arrived at the library. "Whew, my arms are aching from carrying you so far!" Rapunzel complained, seating Bluetresses on one of the comfortable chairs.
"Yeah, thanks for rescuing me," said Bluetresses, sounding completely ungrateful. She could speak because the cloth gag had come loose during the transport. "That Wolfy caught me by surprise and kept me from going out to that important thing I told you about. Hey, what're you doing‽ You're supposed to untie me, not wrap more ropes around me!"
Rapunzel was indeed using the ropes she had taken from The Wolf to bind Bluetresses further, restraining her to the chair. "That's to make sure you stay rescued!" she announced, replacing Bluetresses' gag and knotting it firmly. "Right, now to see about Wolfy!"
Bluetresses groaned, realizing there was no further use in pretense, but what could she do? She pressed her bare feet onto the thick carpeting and tried to stand, but the large chair was much too heavy. She raised it a couple inches, but it fell back again. "Even if I could lift it, I can't carry it anywhere in my condition," she thought sadly. "I have to get loose of these ropes, but, ugh, they sure are tied tight!"
Rapunzel, meanwhile, raced back through the corridors and up the two flights of stairs, and then put out a hand to steady herself as she tried to catch her breath. "Whew, that took a lot out of me! However, I wasn't about to share Wolfy with Bluetresses, not after she played that mean trick on me! Right, now back through the blue door! Hmm, that's strange, it's closed again. I wonder why? Oh, well it's not important; all that matters is that this time I'll have Wolfy to myself… if he's still in there! Oh, I hope he is!"
…..
Happily enough, The Wolf was indeed still in the room, and he even held rope in his paw, but to Rapunzel's dismay, he was not alone. "Red Riding Hood!" she exclaimed.
Although Red Riding Hood was a completely grown-up woman, she still generally wore her famous red cloak wherever she went. It lay near her now, on the wooden floor by Bluetresses' abandoned trench coat. She wore a red and black corset top with a matching velvet skirt. And, just like Bluetresses, she was bound and gagged.
"How did you get in here?" demanded Rapunzel, a snowstorm of thoughts swirling in her head as she tried to make sense of the situation. "Is she a guest here too? It seems strange Bluetresses didn't tell me there was someone else staying here, but I guess it's possible. I've only been here a short while, so I suppose the two of us could have been knocking around without my seeing her. Or maybe she simply knew Wolfy was here and came in? I suppose it would be easy enough, with those big windows on the ground floor that swing open so conveniently."
"Hi, baby, glad you made it back," The Wolf greeted. He had been busy tying a particularly complex knot, so he hadn't spoken right away. "Are you here to rescue someone else?"
"Yes!" Rapunzel exclaimed. "I'll save you, Red, from Wolfy's evil schemes!"
Red Riding Hood wriggled her body as Rapunzel lifted her, trying to say she didn't want any rescuing, but, because of the gag, couldn't make herself understood.
Rapunzel carried her to the library and deposited her in the chair next to Bluetresses. "Brought you some company," she said shortly, not having much energy for talking. She briskly added ropes to keep Red Riding Hood seated, and then examined Bluetresses' bonds.
"Starting to get loose, are you?' she asked. "We can't have that! Here, let me tighten these for you!"
Bluetresses protested loudly but incoherently as Rapunzel finished her work. "I'd better dash upstairs before anyone else shows up!"
Rapunzel's words were more spirited than her actions, however. She treaded slowly through the hallways and climbed the stairs laboriously, pausing often. She finally made it to the top, and grimaced at the blue door, closed once again.
"Got someone else for you to rescue, baby!" The Wolf announced as soon as she entered.
The "someone else" was Goldilocks. Rapunzel sighed, spotting the purple, military-style wool coat Goldilocks had seemingly worn to cover her alluring yellow and white frock. Rapunzel staggered a bit as she tried to lift this newest damsel.
"Here, let me give you a paw, baby," The Wolf offered politely, helping her raise Goldilocks.
"Um, thanks, Wolfy," said Rapunzel. "I'll get her to safety, and then I'll finally see about you!"
"I look forward to it, baby," he replied pleasantly.
"More likely I'll 'rescue' someone else," grumbled Rapunzel when she had finally placed Goldilocks in the library. She collapsed into an available chair. "Who will he have up there this time? Cinderella, I suppose, or maybe Snow White? And tied up with ropes that should be binding me!" She tried imagining what outfits they might have chosen to attract The Wolf's attention, and looked down at her soft blouse and comfortable trousers. "Nice for lounging around in, but not exactly eye-catching," she thought. "I wasn't expecting anything like this for the weekend! But, at least I've got longer hair than any of them," she concluded smugly.
The three captive damsels shifted in their chairs, exploring means of escape as Rapunzel continued her thoughts. "I really ought to go up and see what's going on, but I'm just too tired to move. I thought I could arrange things so I could have Wolfy all to myself, but now it looks like I won't have a chance for him to tie me up at all!"
She sighed loudly enough to make sure everyone could hear her, but the looks she received in return contained no sympathy whatsoever.
…..
"Hey, baby!" said The Wolf, suddenly sticking his head into the library, startling Rapunzel and causing Bluetresses, Red Riding Hood, and Goldilocks to start mewing loudly to get his attention. "I thought you looked a bit worn out back there, so I'm taking care of the next rescue myself. Hope you don't mind."
"Um, no, not at all," said Rapunzel, feeling a bit bewildered. How had The Wolf known where to find her? "Just put whoever she is in one of these chairs, would you?"
"Sure, baby," agreed The Wolf, walking in slowly. He cradled his bound and gagged captive in his furry arms, a blonde wearing a black bodice and a green skirt with a small, white apron attached in what apparently was meant to be a naughty Bavarian barmaid's costume.
"Oh, it's Gretel!" exclaimed Rapunzel, finally recognizing the German-American damsel when she turned her head.
"I'll tie her seated, so she'll match with the others," offered The Wolf.
"Yeah, would you?" asked Rapunzel. "I'd do it myself, only I can't get out of my chair, although unlike everyone else, it's not because I'm tied to it."
"We'll fix that," decided The Wolf. "Luckily, I brought plenty of rope down with me."
"That is lucky," agreed Rapunzel.
The Wolf needed less than a minute to restrain Gretel to her chair, and soon Rapunzel was bound and gagged as well. "All set, baby!" he announced.
"Mpfff," thanked Rapunzel. "Finally, Wolfy tied me up!" she thought excitedly. She looked guiltily at the other damsels in the room. Why had she been so eager to have The Wolf all to herself? "It was because Bluetresses started it, that's why!" she reminded herself. "Still, she did make it very clear to me exactly where the forbidden room was, so maybe… maybe it's time to forget all that, and just enjoy this unexpected adventure with my friends!"