Rapunzel was dragged into the dressing room, where she quietly stood, allowing her maids to unlace and remove her dress.
She was married now, she thought as she dazedly followed her maids, who were in a flurry, gushing about the small details that Rapunzel hadn't noticed. She nodded every once in a while to be polite, but her heart wasn't in the excitement.
Rapunzel of Corona was now Rapunzel of Windelheim.
It had happened. How had it happened? The plan was to marry someone sweet, levelheaded and sincere around 30, and live out the rest of her life crazy in love and constantly doing crazy things with her husband. Husband. The word sounded so foreign in her mind. She'd never even had a boyfriend. She'd kissed a certain servant boy when she was thirteen, but nothing had happened, they'd just blushed whenever they saw each other next until Asyrion figured it out and sent the boy's family to one of the outer provinces of Corona. He'd told Rapunzel he'd done it because the boy could be a threat to the throne. "I'm sorry, but we can't have a peasant ruling the country." She'd thrown her teddy bear at him, firm in that he wasn't and would never be a "threat to the throne" in a typical denial of a thirteen-year-old's crush.
He could've been, thought Rapunzel.
But now that boy was probably somewhere else, thinking about someone else. The thought didn't sadden her—she didn't even know his name. But the life she could've had taunted her.
Quit it, she told her brain irritably, but the thought persisted in the corners of her mind.
She went back into the dressing room, and let out a huge sigh that strained against her corset, so that only about half of it escaped her diaphragm. "Something wrong?" asked one of her maids.
"No, I'm okay." Anyone with eyes could see that she wasn't, but the maid politely let it drop. Silence reigned in the dressing room.
When a maid held up a bright lilac dress to help her into, Rapunzel declined it for a dark gray one to match her mood. It caught the air as she walked, creating a floating effect . Ghosts float, she caught herself thinking.
Their honeymoon had been set for a total of two weeks, the first in Windelheim and the second in Corona. Then they would live in Corona with an annual month-long trip to Windelheim.
Rapunzel floated to her room as if in a trance, the significance of the wedding weighing on her mind. Her green eyes were unfocused until she reached her door, and then she forced herself to open the door.
After all, this was her last night sleeping alone. She might as well enjoy it.
She began to pack, trying to focus on menial tasks to keep her mind of off tomorrow. Her hands moved of their own accord, placing brand-new boots and jackets in her oversized suitcase. The Windelheim army was scheduled to escort her and Jack to Windelheim starting tomorrow morning.
It was too soon. Too soon to leave her parents and her home, too soon to be married, too soon to have to act like an adult. All of the other princesses Rapunzel had met longed to grow up, get married, and be free of their parents as soon as possible. She'd nodded along as the other girls talked, but what she really wanted was a life full of fun and laughter, not responsibilities and romance.
Before long her bag was full, and there wasn't much to do to distract her mind. She fed Pascal and went to dinner, but only picked at the salmon fillet that she knew was undoubtedly delicious. Finally she simply decided to go to bed.
She tossed and turned for three hours, until her body's exhaustion forced her tumultuous mind to rest.
She awoke to a sweaty bed and a drooled-on pillow.
Did I make out with a pillow in my sleep? Yep, I probably did. She didn't remember her dream very well, just a few snippets of Jack and falling.
She looked at the pillow in the early morning light, and thought. Deeply. Not like the foggy thoughts she'd been having all week, but with a clear head.
Rapunzel liked Jack. Plain and simple.
So why not tell him?
Gothel's plan rose to the front of her mind, but she knew that wasn't all of the reason. Fear was part of it, but not the majority. The real reason she was holding back was
Pride, she realized. She'd already acted like she hated him, because she had, and going back on that expectation she'd set would look bad. It could also be misinterpreted as her playing coy, and that was not something she wanted to be labeled as.
She balled up her sheets and threw them down the laundry chute (good riddance) and let her feet hit the carpet. She sat on her bed, thinking. This is probably the last time I'll see it. She would miss her bed. It was a nice bed. She decided a formal goodbye would be too much for it. She leaned back and laid on it one last time. "Bye," she said quietly.
And the carpet. Probably the last time she'd feel it, too. She wiggled her toes, sinking her feet into the soft nap. Okay, now you're being sappy, Rapunzel, she told herself. But she couldn't help already feeling a little nostalgic. The next time she saw Corona, she'd be sleeping in a suite with Jack.
It's all for the people, Rapunzel. She repeated the thought to herself so that it was firmly secure in her memory. Then, she called her maids in, and they helped her get into her favorite purple dress, a white rabbit-fur hat and boots. Resolutely, she walked out of her door, a few manservants following her with her suitcase.
She directed the servants to the carriage that was to carry her belongings, and then went to say her goodbyes. First, she paid her mother's room a visit. "I'll miss you so much, Mother." Her tears soaked into the shoulder of her mom's dress, and she let her mascara run.
"Maybe if I look like this, Jack won't want me anymore." She uttered a choking laugh, but it was bitter, devoid of happiness.
Her mother smiled, but it was one of those I'm-not-really-happy-but-I'm-trying- to-make-you-feel-better smiles that only broke Rapunzel's heart further. Her mother had always put Rapunzel first, and this was the first occasion that she was unable to. Even so, her mother was still trying to put on a happy face, although none of the events that had transpired in the past few days could be labeled as "happy."
Next was her father. They didn't say anything to each other, at first. Nothing needed to be said. She wrapped her arms around him, and let her small frame be encompassed by his thick one.
"Love you Daddy."
"Love you too." They squeezed each other tight, and Rapunzel wished she could never let go. Seriously. She pleaded the universe to let her stay like that forever. She promised the universe that she would be a better person, even if she was stuck to her dad for the rest of her life. Please…?
The universe happened to be indifferent to her appeals, and she knew she had to leave for the boat that would take her to Windelheim. She reluctantly let go of him and drew back, and the hurt in his eyes almost made her break down again right then and there. She slowly walked out of the door to her parents' room, feeling their wistful gazes on her back.
Too soon, she was on a pretty chestnut mare from Corona's stables named and riding out to meet the party that would be "escorting" her to the Alcestis, the Windelheim ship. She rode out at a serene walk, soaking in the view of Corona. She heard a faint sound of galloping hoofbeats behind her. Probably some careless squire messing around. She rolled her eyes. Silly boys.
But the thundering sound was getting closer. Rapunzel's mare tossed her head and pranced, eager to go. Rapunzel frowned. The hoofbeats sounded literally right behind her. She turned, opening her mouth to scold the squire.
And her eyes found blue ones. Time froze for a second as she recognized the familiar white hair and pale skin. His hand darted above her head, and gained purchase on something. My hat. As soon as she realized what he was doing, he was three meters away, waving her hat in the air. He slowed his horse to a trot. "Give it back!" Rapunzel yelled at him.
"Come and get it," Jack taunted, stopping his horse to tempt her closer.
At first he thought the gibe had worked—Rapunzel seemed to tense up and looked like she was going to gallop after him. But then she seemed to think better of it, and relaxed her body, sitting up straight in the saddle and looking down her nose at him. "That wouldn't be proper," she said with all of the snobbery she could muster. Jack sighed and rolled his eyes.
"C'mon, Punz, it's called fun. You should try having it some of the time." He turned around, seemingly giving up.
Rapunzel nudged her horse into a faster walk, praying her saddle was not the squeaky saddle and that her horse didn't decide to neigh or snort. She snuck closer, closer…..almost there… she leaned out to grab the hat off Jack's head. Her fingers closed in on the rabbit fur. Got it. She whisked the hat off his head, and wheeled her mare around, spurring the horse into a gallop. She grinned. "We got 'im," she told the mare.
She let herself enjoy her victory for a couple strides, and then turned to look behind her. Jack was closing, but she wasn't really worried. Her mare had been a racehorse once upon a time, and she was in fine condition, as was the expectation of a horse in the royal stables.
She cruised along at a slow canter, baiting Jack to catch up with her, listening to Jack's horse gain on her. Just as he drew close to her mare's streaming tail, she yanked the reins to the left, and her horse wheeled a U-turn and sped towards the port where the escort ship was. Jack's dappled gray pulled up beside her, confident he's win this one. She looked at him, gave him a demure smile, and touched her heels to the mare's sides.
The chestnut shot ahead, making Jack's horse look like he was standing still. Rapunzel's braid whipped in the wind, and hooves churned dirt so fast that the mare's legs blurred. Rapunzel leaned up on the mare's neck, her seat out of the saddle. She laughed, and the wind tore the breath away from her lips.
This, now this was fun.
