Ren was out on patrol enjoying the beautiful weather. The river he followed on his left reminded him of the last time he traveled to this area. It was when he was 10. He often snuck out of the castle at that age. He would grab a horse from the stable and disappear for a few days. His mother was always in tears upon his return. While his father would later ask about anything interesting he found.
The horse was thirsty so Ren dismounted, led it to a brook, and let it drink its fill. It was so sunny out he decided to lay on the bank for a few minutes soaking up the rays. As he lay there, his thoughts drifted back to his childhood days in these woods.
There was one thing he never told his father about. He met a girl a few years younger than him. Well, sort of met her. She lived in a tall tower and wasn't allowed outside to play with him. The window she would talk to him from was high up. As a kid, it seemed like the window was up in the sky. Ren wondered how high it was in reality. Most likely it was just on the second floor. It was still odd to only have one window in a dwelling.
The height of the window didn't matter to Ren and his little friend. They were still able to talk about their lives and play verbal games. He always had fun performing acrobatics for her. She seemed to especially get a kick out of him jumping around. Her laughter always felt soothing.
He needed the soothing back then. He was struggling to create his own identity as a prince. Everyone only ever saw his father in him, never Ren. That's why he would sneak out of the castle. Out of castle grounds, he felt free. Slowly, he started to find himself.
The trips to visit the girl in the tower stopped when his father sent him away to another kingdom for his knight education. It was customary for princes to train in allied kingdoms to strengthen the bonds between the kingdoms as well as (hopefully) create better future rulers.
Ren only recently finished his training and returned. He was 20 now. Through the last ten years, he lived in a few different kingdoms learning their customs and politics. He couldn't imagine taking the throne without that experience.
But now he was back home patrolling his lands, getting reacquainted with them. His horse, Max, nuzzled him with a wet snout once he finished drinking. "Hey! That's cold," he told his horse. Max was presented to him on his arrival home. He was a trained warhorse with a soft spot for scritches and apples.
Ren stroked him between the eyes enjoying a few more moments laying down. Unfortunately, he couldn't stay here forever. He had to move on. "Let's go, Max," he said getting up. Ren mounted the warhorse and continued his journey.
As the day progressed, he couldn't stop thinking about his childhood friend. Is it possible she's still in the tower? Thinking back on it, it was a strange situation. The girl, Kyoko, made him promise not to tell anyone about her and never left her tower. Apparently, her mother would travel to gather supplies for them. That was the only time they could play.
Kyoko devised a secret sign to let him know if they could play. She would hang a blue ribbon on the pole above her window when her mother was gone. If the ribbon was any other color, she couldn't play. For some reason, if her mother found out she had a friend, she would get in trouble. That can't be right. I must have misunderstood something. Why wouldn't a child be able to have a friend? No parent would expect such a thing. Friends were healthy.
Ren shook his head as he continued along the path. There was definitely something he wasn't understanding as a child. He couldn't be remembering things correctly. It would be nice to see her again. It wouldn't be too far a detour from the path to see what's there.
He hurried Max along and led him to a side trail that went behind overhanging vines. The vines hid the path from view. He only found it as a child because he tripped over a rock and fell through. Once on the trail, the vegetation was dense and difficult to get through with a horse. But Max carefully took his steps and managed to get through. Before too long, Ren was in the field that was home to the tower. A brook flowed in the far left. Beautiful flowers were scattered everywhere. It was every bit as amazing as he remembered it. In the center stood the tower of his memory. Even as an adult, it seemed rather tall.
Max trotted forward cheerfully glad for the open space. Ren kept his eye on the window as they got closer. It really was high up, at least 4 stories. Why on earth would the only window be that high? Eventually, he noticed a ribbon flying above. It was blue. No way. Is she really still here?
Ren wasn't sure what to think. He wanted to see her again but it had been so long. Does she remember me? He couldn't help but wonder. Only one way to find out.
"Kyoko!" He called to the window from his horse. "Kyoko, are you still up there?" He waited anxiously for any type of response.
Kyoko lived her whole life in this tower. Currently, she was looking out the window at the grass and flowers below. Not once had she ever felt the grass on her feet. She dreamed about it every day, but it was never a reality. Her mother forbid her from leaving the tower. The first floor of her tower contained the window which was several stories above ground. It had a bed where her mother slept when she was home with a kitchen area and bookshelf. A staircase along the wall opposite to the window led up to her bedroom.
Those two rooms were the only things she'd ever known. She wished she could interact with others. Through a boy she secretly played with as a child, she knew her way of life was strange. The boy told her of homes on the ground where you could just walk out the door and feel the sand between your toes. A lot of people lived where he did. He said they used something called cobblestone to keep the roads stable year-round. Houses were lined up next to each other. Some buildings were businesses like bakeries.
Kyoko sighed imagining the smells that must come from it. She did her own cooking and made good meals. But a place dedicated to dessert sounded like heaven. She wished she could check it out. But all she could do was sit here and look out her window daydreaming. Her mother was supposed to be back tomorrow.
She fingered the blue ribbon hanging from the pole above her window. It was the sign she put up as a child to let her friend know they could play. Even after he told her he was leaving the area, she kept putting it up in hopes he might return one day. It had been so long she no longer hoped. Putting the ribbon up when her mother was out was just habit now. She enjoyed seeing the color blow in the wind. It was soothing to watch.
Kyoko hopped down from sitting at the window and looked at her long blonde hair. It needed a brushing. Her mother never let her cut it telling her she would lose her power if she did. She picked up her brush and started running it through her hair as she thought about what it represented.
For some reason, Kyoko was born with a strong supernatural connection. Her mother, Rena, could see what ordinary people couldn't. Kyoko generated little angel versions of herself invisible to anyone but her mom. When Rena was in the mood to do so, she was able to grab one of the angels and show them to Kyoko using her own powers. It was always an unsettling experience to see a mini version of herself. She preferred her mother not to do that.
These little angels were enormously helpful. Kyoko was able to have shelves far higher up than she could reach on her own because her angels would grab items off the shelf and bring them down to her. To anyone without a psychic ability, it looked like telekinesis, but she had no such gift. It was just her little angles helping her out. They also helped with chores which made those go quicker.
She had an angel for every hair on her head, but she only had enough power to manifest about 15 at a time. On her 18th birthday, her mother would perform a ritual that would give her full access to her gift. Afterward, she would be able to manifest all of her angels. But her gift was fragile.
If a piece of hair was cut, the angel died. Rena was afraid that if all of Kyoko's hair was cut, she would die along with all the little angels. So they let her hair grow as it pleased. It was 20 feet long at this point. It was a pain to brush and take care of. Thankfully, her angels helped out by making sure it didn't snag on anything. Without her angels, trying to do anything would be impossible.
Her mother refused to let her leave the tower because of the strength of her powers. The world outside her tower was evil and would hurt her. It wouldn't take much pain to turn her angels into demons. If all her angels turned into demons, she would be changed forever. Kyoko didn't want to know what that would look like. She pictured herself as stomping around the world angry with her hair twirling around her from the wind created by the demons going haywire attacking anything in sight. She shuddered at the thought.
Staying in her safe tower was the best thing. No one could hurt her and she couldn't hurt anyone. She sighed as she continued to brush her long hair and looked out the window.
"Kyoko," she heard suddenly through the window. Her head shot up in fear as her hands froze in their task. "Kyoko, are you still up there?" Her heart beat rapidly at the sound of the man's voice. Who? How? She couldn't form a coherent thought as panic swelled up inside her.
She looked around the room for something she could use to defend herself should the man come up here. A frying pan caught her eye. She raced to grab it and rushed to the window angling herself in such a manner that she could see out and to the ground but she couldn't be seen. Her mother and her practiced this tactic in case someone ever came by. If the tower was found, Kyoko needed to describe to her mother the person in detail so she could determine if the person was a threat.
Up until now, the only person who ever found her was Ren. Her heart raced as she looked down and out through the window. She saw a man sitting astride what she knew to be a horse from her books. His hair was brown. Can't be Ren. He was blonde.
With no response coming from her, the man turned his horse, looked around the field once more, and started to head back to the entrance of her field. What if he tells someone what he found and comes back with more people? Kyoko wasn't sure what to do. She looked down at the frying pan in her hand and got an idea.
Now that he was looking away from her, she could stand in the window clearly. She lifted the frying pan above her head, aimed, willing her angels to make sure her shot hit, and flung the frying pan at his head. It spun through the air as it went after him and hit him squarely on the head.
She watched as his body flopped to the ground off the back of the horse. The horse saw its rider fall and started panicking, nuzzling him in attempt to wake him.
Kyoko flung her hair around the pole above her window and stepped up on to the ledge. I can do this. I can do this. I'm not leaving the clearing, just going down to the grass and tying him up so he can't go tell anyone else where I am. Once mother gets home tomorrow, she'll know what to do with him.
With a deep breath, Kyoko lunged off her window sill and slid down her hair all the way to just above the ground. She stuck out her foot to touch the grass with her big toe. She giggled as it tickled her. The sensation gave her the courage to touch the grass with the rest of her foot and step down. Her other foot followed. She took a moment to marvel at how the dirt gave under her feet. She could scrunch up her toes and the dirt would scrunch with it. Another giggle escaped her lips as she marveled at the new sensation.
The horse neighing pulled her away from her newfound joy causing her to look up. The man she hit was still laying on the ground. The horse was standing over him protectively. It must have realized the frying pan came from her.
"Woah, there," she said to it as she slowly approached with her arms out in front of her. She had no idea how to calm a horse. Maybe my angels can do something to help? Kyoko wanted the animal to relax and understand she wouldn't hurt it.
After a few moments, it calmed down and was willing to let her approach. It was inconvenient not to be able to see her own angels, but she learned over the years that all she had to do was think something and they would obey.
Kyoko approached the man lying on the ground unconscious. He didn't look dangerous. His features were fair looking. She noticed a little bit of blood on the back of his head from when the frying pan hit him. I should probably treat that. Kyoko looked back up at her tower then down at the man. If she was quick, she could get some cloth and clean water to clean up his head and then bandage it.
Ren started to gain awareness as he felt fingers stroking through his hair. The sensation felt good until he realized no one should be stroking his hair. He bolted upright and looked at who was stroking him. It was a young woman. From the angle he got up at he guessed his head was in her lap while she was stroking it. His mind was having a hard time figuring out how he got into his current position.
The girl for her part look terrified. She reached next to her and grabbed a frying pan while jumping to her feet. She held it out to him in a threatening manner as if it were a sword. At that moment, Ren felt a sting on the back of his head. He reached up with his hand and felt the cloth wrapped around his head as well as the wetness in his hair from being washed. He looked over at her incredulously. "Did you hit me with a frying pan?"
"W-Who are you and why are you here?" She said in reply, still clearly scared. As he looked at her, he realized her hair was ridiculously long. It went all the way down to her feet and was coiled up behind her in a big pile. How long is it? He wondered to himself momentarily forgetting she was threatening him with a frying pan.
"Tell me!" She demanded bringing his attention back to her face. Ren felt another bolt of shock as he recognized her face. She was older for sure, but it was still her.
"Kyoko?" He said questioningly to her.
"How do you know my name?" She yelled at him enunciating her words with a swing of the frying pan.
"It's me, Ren," he said trying to get her to calm down. He couldn't believe she was still here after all those years. He felt his belt for his sword so he could use it to disarm her, but it wasn't there. It was a distance from them along with Max and the rest of his stuff. "Max! You let her disarm me?" He yelled at his horse who was happily watching events unfold while eating apples. "What a great warhorse you are," Ren muttered under his breath as he turned his attention back to Kyoko. She was carefully studying his face.
"How can you be Ren?" She asked him slightly lowering her frying pan. "Ren is blonde like me."
"I'm a dirty blonde," he explained taking a cautious step towards her. "My hair was a light dirty blonde as a child and has darkened over the years to look browner." He took another step as she processed what he said.
"But-but, Ren left," she said looking down trying to understand. Ren took advantage of her lack of attention on him and lunged forward. He ripped the frying pan from her hand and threw it a safe distance away while pulling her close to him wrapping his other arm around her waist.
"Kyoko, why did you hit me with a frying pan?" He asked her looking down at her head while he wrapped his second arm around her, securely pinning her to him. She looked up at him with curiosity in her eyes.
"Is it really you, Ren?" Now that she wasn't looking at him with fear in her eyes, he was mesmerized by her eyes. They were beautiful. As a child, he never had the opportunity to see her up close. He always thought of her as pretty. But holding her now, he realized she was the most stunning thing he'd ever seen.
"Of course it's me, isn't that blue ribbon above your window to tell me it's safe to visit you?" He asked her knowing it would prove his identity to her.
Her eyes widened at his response. "It really is you," she whispered. Suddenly, she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a very tight squeeze as she buried her face in his chest. "I missed you," she told him as she hugged him.
"Uh-huh," he gasped trying to breathe. She was stronger than she looked. "Kyoko," he said moving his arms from around her waist to put his hands on her shoulders. "Kyoko, I can't breathe." He exerted pressure to push her away from him to make his point.
"Oh, sorry," she said letting go. "I was just so excited to see you. Are you excited to see me?" She said clasping her arms around her back, tilting her head up at him.
Ren couldn't help but stare a moment at how adorable she was before answering. "Of course, I didn't expect you to be here still to be honest," he told her.
"Oh, well I've never left," she said moving to run her fingers through her hair in the nervous habit he remembered her having as a child. "In fact," she continued shyly, "this is my first time on the ground." She looked up at him sheepishly as she told him that news.
"You've never stepped on the ground before now?" He asked her trying to understand what she was saying.
"No," she giggled. "But it's so amazing!" She took off in a run away from him with her arms all the way out. Ren smiled as he watched her take off then saw her hair uncoiling as it took off with her. Seriously, how long is it?
This was supposed to be a oneshot and has turned into having chapters. I plan to keep it under 5 chapters. It's meant to be fun and entertaining, not a major production.
My goal is to update once a week until it's finished, but I might not be able to stick to that. UtR updates once a week and that'll be my priority. If it comes down between the two stories, I'll choose UtR.
This story is written by request of Gleamqueen. I hope it's up to your standards.
PSA: Do not hit people with frying pans. You can kill someone that way. This is fiction so no one was seriously harmed in the scene.
Thanks for reading and any comments you leave!
-Besma0003