The Promise

Once upon a time there lived a girl named Rapunzel who lived with her rich grandmother in a penthouse apartment in the modern day city of Corona. Her grandmother, Greta Gothel King, had sole custody of her 17 year old granddaughter after her parents died in a terrible car accident when she was just a baby.

It was at that time, the lawyers called Greta inside for a reading of the will. It stated that Rapunzel would not only inherit all her parent's money and the penthouse apartment, but Greta had to promise to keep Rapunzel safe from harm.

Well, at least up until her 18th birthday, when Gothel would finally be released from her promise. Rapunzel was able to do as she pleased at that point, there were no ties anymore. At that time, Rapunzel was to be made aware of her inheritance and basically, was able to with the money and the penthouse as she pleased. In other words, Greta could be thrown out of the apartment and lose everything. The only time that she would be able to stay is if Rapunzel shared her inheritance with her, which the will provided for as well. It was always thought that their daughter would share her wealth with her grandmother. After all, the woman raised her.

But there was something else that Greta had to do and that to make sure she kept Rapunzel away from any attachments of any kind, whether it was an engagement, marriage or even another roommate. There were to be none of those or else Greta wouldn't receive her half. And so she kept the girl in isolation.

Except the only thing that Rapunzel ever wanted was freedom; the freedom to leave her tower and see the outside world that she had heard and read so much about. The tutors came and went, along with the lavish presents she received on her birthdays, but still Rapunzel was unhappy.

Every chance she got, she would sit outside on the terrace of the penthouse with her schnauzer, Pascal, that she received for her 15th birthday. Greta only allowed it because Rapunzel had asked repeatedly for a little companion to share her days and nights with. She watched her granddaughter grow into a beautiful woman and dreaded the day that was coming up for her 18th birthday was a week away. She would have to be told about the riches she would inherit.

What Greta hated to give up was a diamond tiara, one that had been in her family for years. The tiara was legend in the King family, one that had belonged to a Coronian princess so long ago. The rumor was that there were two of them, one of them made of zirconium, the other real. No one actually knew which one was which, not even Greta, to her great dismay. The two tiaras would also go to Rapunzel as part of the inheritance.

Unless of course Rapunzel chose to leave them in the hands of her grandmother.

Just one more week and as long as Greta kept her away from the world, she was going to get her half of the inheritance. She was so sure that she was will to bet everything on the fact that Rapunzel would choose her over anyone. As long as she kept Rapunzel away from the world, things would be fine. And she counted on that every day especially as her birthday drew closer.

Things would be fine until she received a phone call that her brother back in Germany had died and she would have to make the long trip alone to take care of the arrangements. It would take almost two weeks to get everything in order, but she had to live up to her agreement in the will or lose everything.

Rapunzel wasn't going anywhere; Greta would make sure of that. Even if she had to lock her in, she would do whatever she had to make sure she got that money.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Eugene Fitzherbert stared inside the penthouse apartment. He was with his cousins, Eddie and Elliot Stabbington, this time posing as window washers.

"This is all gonna be mine someday, guys," Eugene smiled. "Wait and see."

Eddie, the one with the sideburns, smiled. "We're counting on that exact thing, cuz, right Elliot?"

Elliot, who had lost his eye in a car accident, smiled. "You get in and come out with the tiara. All you have to do is wine and dine her, romance her and worm your way into her heart. We split the loot and move on to bigger and better things."

"I guess it's a good thing that the old lady is going away. She guards that girl as if she were a princess."

Eugene continued to stare into the living room. "She's been keeping that girl under lock and key for years. It's going to be hard getting to know someone who you don't know. "

Eddie chuckled. "Oh come off, Eugene. You'd think that she was the first woman you swindled out of a fortune and I'm sure it won't be the last. All you have to do is use that smolder of yours and she'll belong to you in a second."

Eugene smiled. "Seems to work with every woman I've ever met. She's been kept in this apartment all her life, guys. She's never been out in the world. She'll be an easy target, you wait and see. It's a piece of cake, nothing to worry about."

"Well," Elliot smiled. "You always pulled this stuff with our mother. I suppose you're lucky my parents brought you up, Eugene."

"Come on," Eugene said, "they only did it as a favor to my parents. That's the one thing that Rapunzel and I have in comm…."

He stopped in mid-sentence. Rapunzel came out with her grandmother and it looked as if they were arguing with one another. He was supposed to be listening, but he couldn't get over the way Rapunzel looked. Her short dark hair; unevenly cut and parted on the side. She had a cute pug nose with freckles sprinkled across the top. But the thing that caught Eugene by surprise was those large green eyes of hers. They were as green as the Coronian Sea and they formed liquid pools that he could get lost in.

"She's beautiful," Eugene whispered, "I didn't think that she'd be so beautiful."

"When is she leaving?" Eddie asked, but Eugene didn't answer or was it that he couldn't answer.

"Come on, guys," Eugene said, reluctantly turning away from the window. "Let's get out of here. I've got to prepare."