IV. Tower Of Stone, Heart Of Gold
Seventeen long years passed.
The soldiers went to Oak Town in search of Sir Jose Porla, but when they arrived to what used to be Phantom Lord Castle they discovered that the building had been uprooted from the ground, and there was nothing left but a crater. They searched high and low in the country of Fiore, with no results. They finally concluded that he'd taken Princess Lucy and sailed to one of the many smaller islands surrounding Fiore, which they had no jurisdiction over. In the end, Jose just became another face on the Most Wanted List.
Porlyusica eventually gained back most of her magical power, which she used to free Virgo of her bewitchment so that the dedicated nurse could take care of Prince Loke. Then she returned to her house in the forest, never contacting the royal family again.
Searches for Princess Lucy continued strongly throughout the country, but eventually died down when they began to see that they would never find her. The queen grew more and more distraught every time she heard that there was a sighting of the princess or her abductor; eventually King Heartphilia prohibited the saying of Lucy's name. She was to be addressed only as Rapunzel within the walls of the castle, unbeknownst to the queen.
Layla, though she loved Loke with all of her heart, never did get over the loss of Lucy. When she discovered the truth behind her capture, it formed a permanent wedge between her and her husband. The king immersed himself in his work, hardly even speaking to his family.
Ten years later, Layla died.
The king worked even more ferociously, leaving ten-year-old Loke under the supervision of Virgo, who, gradually, returned to her human form. King Heartphilia grew ill-tempered and miserly, and Fiore began to speak out against him. When Prince Loke became fifteen, the age that he was eligible to take the throne, he resigned his rights to be heir and turned his back on his father. It ruined King Heartphilia; the Justine family, cousin to the king and his only living relatives, took the throne.
Of course, Lucy knew nothing about this. She knew not that she was a princess, nor that she had a twin brother, or that she had been kidnapped at all.
Jose had been working quite tirelessly since his grand abduction of the princess. Phantom Lord Castle had been relocated and resided, quite like Porlyusica's home, in the East Forest. He enchanted it so that only his comrades would be able to find it, and he kept Lucy there until she was old enough to think of running away. He grew worried then, when she asked about what lie outside the forest. Lucy had such an uncanny resemblance to her mother that whoever saw her would know immediately who she was.
So he constructed a tower, seven stories high without stairs or doors, only a window at the very top with a hook. He stowed Lucy away up there, explaining that she was too precious for other people to see. He told her that if someone saw her, she was so beautiful they'd want to take her away. Then he cast a spell upon her hair so that it grew long enough to brush the ground when Lucy stuck her head out of the window and became as strong as rope.
Lucy was not happy with this arrangement, but she was obedient enough for her caretaker. She passed her days with reading and writing, as well as brushing and braiding her long, golden hair. Her only companion was a Canis Major dog that she'd named Plue; the same dog that Layla had named Nikora, who had somehow hitched a ride on Aria's back whenever they made their exit. She talked to Plue when she was lonely, which was often.
That bright July morning was sultry and hot, much to Lucy's displeasure. Her golden hair was heavy on her neck like a thick blanket. She spent the morning braiding it before Jose got there, but even then it was much too long and heavy to pin up on the top of her head.
"I have half a mind to chop it all off, Plue," she complained, flopping down on her luxurious bed. Though the tower was isolated, it wasn't at all shabby. Jose spared no expense when it came to Lucy's comfort; she was sure that it was because he thought she would run away otherwise.
Plue wobbled around the room, panting in the heat and oblivious to the fact that Lucy'd said the same exact thing yesterday, and the day before that. The only time that Lucy was ever grateful for her full head of golden hair was when winter rolled around and the tower was frigid, as she had no fireplace.
"I don't understand why I can't just live in the castle with Jose," she continued, blowing the damp strands of hair from her face. "At least there he has air conditioning and a fire in the winter. It's not like he gets visitors anyway, so no one is going to see me, right?"
Plue didn't reply; he flopped down on the floor, unconscious.
Lucy sighed tragically, throwing an arm over her eyes. "My exquisite beauty is a curse, Plue. But it's one that I must live with."
Suddenly, she heard Jose's voice wafting from the ground.
"Let down your hair, so that I may climb that golden stair!"
Lucy grumbled and got out of bed, winding her long braid around her arm. She threw open the shutters and fastened her braid on the hook, not daring to look down. Though Lucy had no particular fear of heights, seven stories was still a long way to fall. She let the braid go and felt Jose's weight on her head as he climbed up. Gritting her teeth, she waited until he finally was inside. Why did he have to climb up this way?
Jose scrambled inside like an over-sized spider, straightening his jacket. Lucy pulled her hair back into the tower, watching it coil around their feet.
"How are you this morning?" Jose said cheerfully, grinning at Lucy as he made his way over to the chair next to Lucy's pile of books. He flopped down and put his feet up on them; Lucy winced involuntarily.
"Fine," she said, grabbing her hair and dragging it along the floor so that she could sit down on her bed. "Why are you in such a good mood this morning?"
"Because, I've finally done it!" Jose said, a light sparking in his eye. "Soon, you will be able to leave this tower for good. Isn't that exciting?"
Lucy smiled. "That's great! What did you do? When can I leave?"
"Now, that's no concern to you; we'll just say you can leave soon, hm? I figured I'd come and tell you right away. But I can't stay long today," Jose sighed, "I'm a very busy man. Perhaps I'll come tomorrow to make up for it."
"Okay," said Lucy.
"Here's some food, I figured you were low," Jose continued, handing her a box full of delicacies that his kitchen had cooked up. "Wouldn't want you to starve, would we?"
"No," Lucy said uncomfortably, setting the food down. Jose stepped over Plue carelessly; Lucy quickly took some water from the box and filled up a bowl, setting it in front of the dog. He roused himself and feebly took it in his hands, tipping his head back.
"Alright, lower me down then," Jose ordered, waiting impatiently by the window. "The quicker I get back to work the quicker you can get out of here."
Lucy held back a sigh as she dragged her hair back over to the window and tied it around the hook, letting it drop to the ground. If she'd known Jose was going to leave after such a short visit, she wouldn't have even untied it.
Jose grabbed her hair and lithely dropped down, kicking off of the tower walls. Lucy reigned her hair back in when she felt him let go, stiffling the sad feeling bubbling into her chest. Though Jose wasn't great company, he was still a person to talk to. The prospect of sitting in her tower for the rest of the day doing nothing but brushing her hair was melancholy at it's finest.
But when she looked in the food box, she found that Jose had left her a rare treat - a new novel to read. With the outlook of her day suddenly much better, she sat down on the chair that Jose had just vacated and cracked the book open to the first page, her loneliness momentarily forgotten.
