A/N: Hello.
Disclaimer(s): Rurouni Kenshin is the property of Nobuhiro Watsuki and his affiliates.
The story of Rapunzel is not mine.
I silently emerged from beneath the water and peered over the surface of the lake intent on locating the palace guards searching around the shoreline. I am somewhat relieved to note that they have yet to venture very far into the lake itself. I turn my attention away from them for now and consider the few options that are left to me in this situation.
It is true that this lake is very large and that I would probably be the first to arrive at the other side of it if I were to continue swimming in that direction, but I am concerned about the softness of the ground surrounding the lake. I would undoubtedly leave many footprints if I were to attempt to leave the area that way and I am unfamiliar with the woodlands of this region, but if I linger in the water for very much longer I will eventually be captured.
On the right there is a pier and on the left there is a thick covering of reeds silently overwhelming the other types of foliage, but I have seen swans upon this lake before and I suspect that they dwell within the dense greenery. If I were to head that way their calls of challenge would certainly rally the guards to my location immediately, but the pier…the pier has potential. It is true that it is one of the first places that a person would check when looking for a fugitive, but that also makes it more likely to be skimmed over in the later stages of an organized search.
In order to execute the plan that is forming within the depths of my mind I must time this operation with unerring accuracy, braid my unbound hair…and strip of course.