Chapter Twenty Nine Azalea's Point of View
Azalea's head whirled around to her and she gazed at the young woman. Who was she? Her brown hair and bright blue eyes were familiar.
"What are you doing in here?" She asked again, looking puzzled and irritated when Azalea said nothing. "They're waiting for you."
"For what?" Azalea asked, her gaze going to her dresser. She felt the strangest urge to change clothes- though she doubted her clothes were here, yet she somehow knew they were- and burn the ones she had on.
"Azalea, stop it." The woman snapped.
Shock made Avalyn's pressure on the cage wobble, and the bars turned to clay in her hands. Azalea recognized the woman in seconds.
"Stop what, Fernidia?" Azalea wanted to push Avalyn away, who moved to stop Azalea from reaching the door.
"Stop pretending that you don't know us. How are you here? Why are you here? Most people who fake their own death start over, not come back. Why did you say yes to Nathan when you'd pretend to die-"
"Why the hell would I do that?" Azalea demanded in outrage. "I love him!"
"Then why aren't you here?" Fernidia yelled back, and both Azalea and Avalyn were stunned when tears fell from Fernidia's eyes. They stopped their struggle and could only watch.
"Do you know what we've been through since you died? The first few days, all Nathan and Alex did was sit at the Dining Hall and wait for you to come home. They wouldn't eat or sleep. Nathan hardly talked, and it wasn't until recently that he's started speaking again. If my aunt hadn't talked to them, they would have been a lot worse. Which is saying something because Nathan tried to kill himself!"
Azalea scrambled to the door, rushing past Avalyn. Avalyn huffed in anger and Azalea screamed in agony when the door began to move away from her. Something wrapped around Azalea's leg and she fell down; she looked down to see chains.
"You had us worrying about you for hours-"
"I know that!" Azalea wailed, hurt by Fernidia's words. The chains began to move backwards, dragging Azalea away from the door. Azalea clawed at the floor desperately. If only she could tell Fernidia she was still here-
"Then were the hell were you that night? We all waited for you to come home and you never did."
No, Avalyn! Azalea shrieked.
You can't escape. Avalyn said firmly, though her words were heavy. I can't let you.
"You didn't come home, and then the next day, you're dead." Fernidia moaned. "I didn't get to say 'goodbye' to you."
Hadn't Azalea said the same words to her mother's grave once?
"Do you know how that feels?" Fernidia demanded.
Images of her mother hit her mind and the chains tightened as they pulled Azalea back to the cage.
"Y-Yes."
"Then why did you do this to us? To me, to Rapunzel, to Nathan?" Fernidia's eyes were wild with pent-up grief.
"To your father?"
Azalea stopped struggling. The need to fight was gone in the same whoosh that took her breath away.
Avalyn was by Azalea's side in a flash. She grabbed Azalea off of the ground with gentle arms.
Azalea's face was wet with tears.
She's right.
Azal-
Look at what I did to them.
Azalea was crying gut-wrenching sobs. Look what I did to them!
Avalyn's arms were wrapped around Azalea suddenly. Azal-
Fernidia will say what she will say. Azalea sniffled. She's right regardless. I hurt them, Avalyn.
Azal-
Put me back in the cage.
Azalea felt her arms going around Avalyn. Please.
"Why did you do this to us?" Fernidia's words rang in Azalea's ears.
Azalea went numb. She blinked her eyes closed for a moment, and when they opened, Avalyn's arms were gone and she was back in the cage.
She fell against the bars behind her, her blank eyes leaking tears.
"To Nathan?" Fernidia had demanded.
The crooked bars in front of her went straight again.
Seal it. Azalea managed to ask.
Chains wrapped around the cage tightly.
"To Rapunzel?"
Azalea felt her heart rip in half.
"To your father?"
The candle flickered, and for a moment, it went out.
Rapunzel's Point of View
Everyone but David, Candace, and Maya were in the room.
I looked at the tearstains on Fernidia's face and I was puzzled. Then my focus, like everyone else's, shifted to Azalea. She sat down on the chair in the middle of the room. Her greenish gray gaze moved around.
"Azalea?" My father asked. He, Guy, Dwayne, and Michael were doing the interrogating.
Azalea shook her head.
"Avalyn?" My Father asked, perplexed.
She shook her head again.
"What do we call you?" Guy asked softly.
"Azalyn."
Everyone but Azalea looked at Nathan for his reaction. Nothing changed in his expression but his jaw clenched.
"Do you know him?" Dwayne pointed to his twin and I realized that Jacob was actually in the room. He was tied down of course, but I didn't feel entirely safe. I think I trembled because Eugene came up behind me and grabbed my hand.
Azalea looked at Jacob and nothing wobbled in her voice when she said, "I recognize him but nothing else."
Jacob wolf-whistled. "Already? Damn."
Guy glared at Jacob, who shrugged. "Just because I'm beaten enough to be in too much pain to talk doesn't mean I won't try to."
Too much pain? I looked at the purple bruises covering his face and gasped.
"What happened to him?" I looked at Eugene when I demanded an explanation in a whisper.
Eugene and Dwayne looked mildly sheepish. "We might have lost our patience." Eugene glanced down.
"Two or three times." Dwayne mumbled.
"And we might have beat him for the hell of it," Eugene added, his face reddening.
"Five or six times." Dwayne looked out the window, away from me, his face also red.
"And Corona might have helped." Eugene chipped in.
"Who?" I asked after a pause as I absorbed this information.
Jonathan cleared his throat and Will blushed.
"Who else?"
Kent and Jocelyn turned a delicate shade of pink. "Kent gave me a club," Jocelyn explained when I gave her a shocked glance.
"Who else?"
Oliver, Alex, Jonathan, Guy, Liam, Sage, and the Dawson Brothers raised their hands.
"Sage?" I gasped.
"I threw rocks." Sage hiccupped.
Anybody else?" I asked when they put their hands back down.
"Every man in Corona." My father said mildly, and he didn't look at me when he spoke.
Oh my. . . He helped too?
"Why?" I demanded.
"We did it for Auntie." Sage opened his mouth before anyone could speak. "He hurt Auntie and because I love Auntie, I hurt him back."
Olivia choked and grabbed at her chest, her blue eyes dewing up. "My heart just broke." She sniffled.
I turned to Azalea to see her reaction to the exchange and was confused when a blank yet somehow concentrated look shone on her face.
"Azalyn?" Michael grabbed her attention. Her eyes snapped to him, and he asked her to stand up.
"What am I doing?" She eyed him warily.
"Go in front of Jacob and stare at him."
"Don't you mean Fernando?" She asked, and then her hand went to her mouth.
"Guess it's too soon." I spoke out loud and Azalea looked at me.
Which one of us should talk?
"Does it matter?"
Did you really just say that?
"I'm not getting out, so yes."
Everyone was staring at me, but I couldn't help it.
Azalea looked at Michael.
"I don't want to do it, Avalyn."
You don't have to.
"Punzie?" Azalea looked at me, and then light-headedness rolled over me.
"Quit that." I mumbled.
"Do I have to?" Azalea looked at Michael again.
Michael nodded tensely, his eyes going from Azalea to me. "Do it."
"Okay." Azalea nearly pouted. She walked in front of Jacob and crouched in front of him.
Jacob grinned. "Hey, beautiful."
"Hey, bastard." Azalea grinned.
"Nice one." I marveled, grinning.
"Remember me?"
"Little bit." Azalea admitted, and I saw Michael grabbed a vase.
"Not this again." Liam grabbed Nathan's arm. "You're going to be mad as hell in about ten seconds."
"Touch his hand." Michael commanded and Azalea didn't look behind her. She touched Jacob's un-bruised hands.
"Cold?" Jacob asked.
"I'm tired of being asked that." Azalea grumbled.
"Azalea?" I asked in hope, seeing a bit of Azalea's personality coming out. The light-headedness was strong as ever.
"Azalyn." Azalea looked at me.
"Damn it, I was close." I groaned without my conscious permission.
"Hey, Azalyn?" Jacob blinked when he saw Michael nearing Azalea with soft footsteps.
"What is it?" Azalea blinked, one of her hands going to her dark hair.
"How do you free a caged bird?"
"You kill the person who has the key." Azalea rolled her eyes.
"Mh-hm." Jacob fixed her with a certain look.
Azalea's face went blank.
"You're going to prison." Azalea said matter-of-factly.
Jacob nodded. "Right."
"Is Dwayne this confusing?" Azalea muttered.
"Azalea?"
"Yes?"
"I'd say 'duck', but you like fried goose, so never mind." Jacob snickered and his fingers stroked Azalea's wrist.
Azalea blinked.
"Michael, can I let go?"
"One second." Michael was right behind her.
Liam and Nathan exchanged glances, and Nathan held his breath.
The bottle crashed against her head, and I nearly fainted. I squeezed Eugene's hand in an effort to keep me grounded. I was surprised when Azalea nearly fell to the floor. She squeezed Jacob's hand to steady her.
Her free hand went to her head.
"Bloody hell, that hurt like a-" she looked around and spotted Sage, "an apple."
"Azalea?" Michael asked, his eyes lighting up.
"Men just love to hit me with bottles, eh?" She glared at the wall.
She froze.
"Wait." Azalea gulped.
"What?" Nathan's face started glowing.
"This isn't Azalea."
"What the hell makes you say that?" Alex demanded angrily.
"Azalea's hurt." Azalea said.
"What does that mean?" I asked softly.
Azalea looked at me.
"She blew the candle out."
