"IN THE FORREST PRIMEVAL
A SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL
TWO TOWERS LIKE TWIN HEADS
ONE FOR THE PURE
ONE FOR THE WICKED
TRY TO ESCAPE YOU'LL ALWAYS FAIL
THE ONLY WAY OUT IS
THROUGH A FAIRYTALE"
It was the night of the taking. The villagers fear was palpable as they rushed through centuries worth of preparations. Muddying and shearing of the hair of the good ones, and telling them to behave as badly as possible, and swathing the bad ones in bright colors, and begging them to behave their best. The rest were locked in their homes for the day, given ordinary toys to play with, and ordinary meals to eat.
From a shadowy window, 10 year old Asia watched. Her sister, Rapunzel, sat on the scratchy brown bed they shared. Her face was stained with tears, and she was trying hard not to cry again. Asia could see her hands turning pale because of her grip on the covers, and she was biting her lip in that special way people do when their beyond frightened. She had good reason. She was 13, within the age of the taking. And worse, she was the nicest, kindest, most thoughtful person in their village, Gavaldon.
Her parents had already shorn of her waist length hair, the color of sunlight, and mudded her face, like the protocol of the village said they should. But nothing they could could change her spirit. Asia had watched Rupunzel day after day as she fed the large, homeless population of Gavaldon, sacrificed all her afternoons to help take care of their grandmother, and helped keep their family together. Even at her young age, Asia could see that the probability that her sister would be taken was extremely high.
As the last light of day faded to dark, a disfigured shadow slipped out of the vast woods. It swirled through alleyways, up walls, and over roofs. It swiveled, spotting the house it was searching for. A devious, fanged smile crept it's way onto the shadow's face.
Asia saw the shadow slip through the window, and creep towards Rapunzel's small, hard bed. Asia shrieked a warning, but it was to late. The shadow grabbed Rapunzel's small, soft foot, and yanked her out of her bed, across the floor, out the window, out of Asia's grasp-
Asia's fingers locked with Rapunzel's, and together, they were dragged across town. Rapunzal was screaming for Asia to let go, to save herself. She responded by grabbing Rupunzel's other hand. The shadow, annoyed by her presence, attempted to shake her out of Rupunzel's arms. Asia was slammed into buildings , crushed into the ground, even submerged in a lake, but her grip never failed.
Finally, just as they were nearing the woods, the now furious shadow drew out an iron claw. Time slowed down as it swung. Asia's eyes widened as it drew closer, closer-
And sliced three huge gashes into her face. She lost her grip, and was slammed into the first trees of the woods. She slid to the ground with a sickening thud. The last thing she saw before the pain overwhelmed her was her sister, her dear sister, being dragged, screaming, into the dark, foreboding woods. She slumped her head to the ground in defeat.