Rapunzel Maxwell
Once upon a time, there was a longhaired lad named Duo. Duo was orphaned very young, but fortunately, his kindly (though somewhat wacked) scientist uncle G took him in, along with his pet dragon, Deathscythe. They lived in a cozy cottage in the beautiful and peaceful kingdom of Cinq. They were very happy.
However, one day, wicked forces from the unhappy land of OZ (pre-Dorothy and Toto) attacked and took over the peaceful land. G was taken away and locked up in prison! He told Duo to run away and find a safe place to hide, but Duo refused to leave his uncle's side.
[G from prison: Whatever happened to "I may run and I may hide, but I never lie"? I said run, darn it, run!!! Stubborn kid never listened anyway. . .]
Duo would have been thrown in the same prison as his uncle, but a particularly evil high ranking official, the witch Dorothy Catalonia, noticed him as he attempted to make a deal with his captors. Realizing his purity and goodness, the witch knew that if were to grow up free he would be a formidable foe. She did not trust the regular prison to keep him secured, so she took Duo and his dragon to her personal castle in the land of OZ. She chained Deathscythe to the stone wall and force-fed him icky herbs to quench his fire breath. After his fire had died, she attached a tray to his back and trained him to serve tea to her guests. (He was still a relatively small dragon). As for Duo, the witch locked him in a high tower with three-foot thick granite walls and only two small, barred windows- one overlooking the forest, and the other in the door, by which he was fed.
The witch was not a very trusting person, so she never allowed any of her servants to even see Duo. She feared his good natured personality would rub off and cause them to want to free him. So, she fired most of her staff, keeping only a few to run errands.
Duo quickly decided that he did not like being locked up one bit. After about half a second of confinement, he grabbed the bars on the door window and began to kick at the wooden panels and scream. The witch would have none of that and began to throw rocks at the bars, nearly hitting the young boy's nose.
"Hey, if you wanted me to be quiet, you could have just said so. . ." he muttered.
"I did, you brat! But you couldn't hear me over your screaming!"
"Oh." He shrugged.
On the second day of his imprisonment, Duo decided he had better find some entertainment. It might be a while before he figured out a way to escape.
"Oh, darling, you know I love you, but there's my wife, and my ex-wives. . . and the memory of my first love who died tragically because of the hurricane/car wreck/mysterious incurable disease, and then there's all my children. . ."
[THUD!!!]
A loud noise disturbed the witch's viewing of her favorite soap opera. She ignored it.
"So, you won't leave her?"
"How can I? Everything is in her name. . . the cars, the house, the Spongebob gift set. . ."
"I thought you said you loved me!"
[THUD!!!]
"What on Earth?" the witch exclaimed. The noise hadn't come from the furnace had it?
"Grr. . . I shouldn't have fired the repairman," she muttered.
"We'll be back to 'All My Undiagnosed Issues' in just a moment," a sultry voice from the TV uttered.
[THUD!!!]
The witch suddenly realized the sound was coming from the tower!
"Duo!" she exclaimed, and sped up the stairs.
"WHAT are you doing, you noisy child?"
"Bouncing off the walls."
"Well, I know that! But what are you doing that's causing such a racket?"
"This," Duo said simply. He backed away from one of the walls, then ran towards it, up it, and flipped over, landing safely on his feet with a loud THUD.
"You have too much energy. I am trying to watch my favorite show, and you're disturbing it! If you do that again, I will come back up here and torture you!"
"I thought that's what you were doing by making me listen to that awful show. You know, I'm really too young to be hearing those things. Do you think you could turn the volume down a bit?"
"NO!" the witch yelled and, regaining her composure, daintily descended the stairs- until she tripped on her long skirt and fell the rest of the way, sending Duo into hysterics that continued unpredictably on and off for the next week.
Later that month, witch Dorothy had a small garden party at her castle on a patio far from the tower in which the imprisoned Duo burped the alphabet. While releasing some of her pent up anger, Dorothy hit the badminton birdie into the forest which grew alongside the tower but just far away enough so that the massive roots would not disturb the foundation. Her suitor of the moment ran off to retrieve it. Duo, after burping continuously, needed a bit of air, so he squished his face up as far as it would go between two bars of the outside window. When the man came to get the birdie, Duo was a bit excited. He hadn't seen another living soul (with the exception of his scary, blonde captor) in a month and it was really starting to get to him. He was about to shout a hello, when he had a better idea. He ran to a corner of the circular tower and picked up the broken handle of his hairbrush. After trying to juggle too many objects, he had finally managed to break one. His juggling would have been a success, had the rat not gotten it into his head to bite Duo.
When the badminton playing man leaned over to pick up the birdie, Duo twisted and squeezed himself halfway between two bars that were slightly further apart than the others, took aim, and dropped.
"Airmail!" Duo called.
"Ow!" the man exclaimed. By the time he looked up, Duo had pulled himself enough away from the edge of the ledge that the man could not see him. However, in doing so, Duo had managed to become stuck in the bars.
"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. . ."
That evening, as Duo rubbed his sore ribs, a thunderous sound came from the stairway.
"That you, tall and hairy?" Duo called.
"Duo, where may I ask, did you get this?" Dorothy asked, sticking the brush handle just enough thru the bars for Duo to see.
"It came from my brush," he answered.
"I see. Well, next time you break something, please tell me, all right? I won't have you harming my guests! Especially the rich and powerful ones with lots of toys!"
"Gotcha."
Late that night, after Duo had been fed his corn and water, a whimpering moan came from the top of the tower.
"Dor-uh-thy," Duo called and moaned some more. The witch made her way upstairs.
"What is it?" she snapped.
"I- broke something else."
"Let me have it. I don't want you beaning any more of my friends at parties."
"It's. . . ugh, not something I can. . . oof, give to you."
"Well, for heaven's sake, what is it?" she barked.
"My stomach."
"Your stomach. How in the world did you manage to break your stomach?" she asked, her patience all but down the drain.
"I broke it when I ate your food. . ." Duo said.
"Why, you ungrateful little wretch!" she bellowed, barely audible over the sound of his laughter. "You're lucky I even feed you!"
"Oh, ha ha, that brings me to a question I've been meaning to ask you, crazy lady. [snicker] Why do you feed me?" Dorothy folded her arms, and in the snottiest voice imaginable, said,
"You'll find out later."
"How much later?"
"When you're older. Much older," she said condescendingly.
"Well Dorothy, I didn't know you felt that way about me," Duo teased.
"Ew- you little. . . pervert! That is not at all what I meant! You know that. Where little country boys get such ideas, I'll never know. You're all despicably dirty. . . and if this door weren't in the way, I'd give you a good beating!"
"Ha, don't get me started on that one. And since we're talking like this, may I call you Dot?"
"No. Where in the world do you get these low thoughts?" she asked rudely.
"Hey, it ain't my fault, lady. I'm not being raised properly. With all those for-adults-only shows you've got on all afternoon, whaddaya expect?"
"Raised properly? If I cared enough, I could raise you ten times better than that old coot you lived with."
"Don't say anything about my uncle!" Duo yelled.
"Your uncle was a crazy old man who was locked up for everybody's good, including his own."
"That's not true!" Duo screamed as he banged his fists against the wooden door. "He's a better person than you'll ever be, you witch! What do you know about people, anyway? About integrity or kindness or love? You're not even human!"
"Shut up, brat!"
"You're a nasty, ugly witch, and you're only going to get uglier and then no man will ever come play badminton with you unless he's blind!"
"I said, shut up!" Dorothy commanded, reaching thru the bars and taking a firm hold on his bangs and lifting him off the ground.
"OW!" Duo howled and twisted her wrist uncomfortably, causing her to loosen her grip and him to fall flat on his rear.
"Stupid brat," Dorothy muttered, massaging her bony wrist. "You'll be lucky if you eat again this month!" Duo continued banging on the door long after she had left. He finally gave up and sat with his back against the door, biting his lower lip until it bled.
Once upon a time, there was a longhaired lad named Duo. Duo was orphaned very young, but fortunately, his kindly (though somewhat wacked) scientist uncle G took him in, along with his pet dragon, Deathscythe. They lived in a cozy cottage in the beautiful and peaceful kingdom of Cinq. They were very happy.
However, one day, wicked forces from the unhappy land of OZ (pre-Dorothy and Toto) attacked and took over the peaceful land. G was taken away and locked up in prison! He told Duo to run away and find a safe place to hide, but Duo refused to leave his uncle's side.
[G from prison: Whatever happened to "I may run and I may hide, but I never lie"? I said run, darn it, run!!! Stubborn kid never listened anyway. . .]
Duo would have been thrown in the same prison as his uncle, but a particularly evil high ranking official, the witch Dorothy Catalonia, noticed him as he attempted to make a deal with his captors. Realizing his purity and goodness, the witch knew that if were to grow up free he would be a formidable foe. She did not trust the regular prison to keep him secured, so she took Duo and his dragon to her personal castle in the land of OZ. She chained Deathscythe to the stone wall and force-fed him icky herbs to quench his fire breath. After his fire had died, she attached a tray to his back and trained him to serve tea to her guests. (He was still a relatively small dragon). As for Duo, the witch locked him in a high tower with three-foot thick granite walls and only two small, barred windows- one overlooking the forest, and the other in the door, by which he was fed.
The witch was not a very trusting person, so she never allowed any of her servants to even see Duo. She feared his good natured personality would rub off and cause them to want to free him. So, she fired most of her staff, keeping only a few to run errands.
Duo quickly decided that he did not like being locked up one bit. After about half a second of confinement, he grabbed the bars on the door window and began to kick at the wooden panels and scream. The witch would have none of that and began to throw rocks at the bars, nearly hitting the young boy's nose.
"Hey, if you wanted me to be quiet, you could have just said so. . ." he muttered.
"I did, you brat! But you couldn't hear me over your screaming!"
"Oh." He shrugged.
On the second day of his imprisonment, Duo decided he had better find some entertainment. It might be a while before he figured out a way to escape.
"Oh, darling, you know I love you, but there's my wife, and my ex-wives. . . and the memory of my first love who died tragically because of the hurricane/car wreck/mysterious incurable disease, and then there's all my children. . ."
[THUD!!!]
A loud noise disturbed the witch's viewing of her favorite soap opera. She ignored it.
"So, you won't leave her?"
"How can I? Everything is in her name. . . the cars, the house, the Spongebob gift set. . ."
"I thought you said you loved me!"
[THUD!!!]
"What on Earth?" the witch exclaimed. The noise hadn't come from the furnace had it?
"Grr. . . I shouldn't have fired the repairman," she muttered.
"We'll be back to 'All My Undiagnosed Issues' in just a moment," a sultry voice from the TV uttered.
[THUD!!!]
The witch suddenly realized the sound was coming from the tower!
"Duo!" she exclaimed, and sped up the stairs.
"WHAT are you doing, you noisy child?"
"Bouncing off the walls."
"Well, I know that! But what are you doing that's causing such a racket?"
"This," Duo said simply. He backed away from one of the walls, then ran towards it, up it, and flipped over, landing safely on his feet with a loud THUD.
"You have too much energy. I am trying to watch my favorite show, and you're disturbing it! If you do that again, I will come back up here and torture you!"
"I thought that's what you were doing by making me listen to that awful show. You know, I'm really too young to be hearing those things. Do you think you could turn the volume down a bit?"
"NO!" the witch yelled and, regaining her composure, daintily descended the stairs- until she tripped on her long skirt and fell the rest of the way, sending Duo into hysterics that continued unpredictably on and off for the next week.
Later that month, witch Dorothy had a small garden party at her castle on a patio far from the tower in which the imprisoned Duo burped the alphabet. While releasing some of her pent up anger, Dorothy hit the badminton birdie into the forest which grew alongside the tower but just far away enough so that the massive roots would not disturb the foundation. Her suitor of the moment ran off to retrieve it. Duo, after burping continuously, needed a bit of air, so he squished his face up as far as it would go between two bars of the outside window. When the man came to get the birdie, Duo was a bit excited. He hadn't seen another living soul (with the exception of his scary, blonde captor) in a month and it was really starting to get to him. He was about to shout a hello, when he had a better idea. He ran to a corner of the circular tower and picked up the broken handle of his hairbrush. After trying to juggle too many objects, he had finally managed to break one. His juggling would have been a success, had the rat not gotten it into his head to bite Duo.
When the badminton playing man leaned over to pick up the birdie, Duo twisted and squeezed himself halfway between two bars that were slightly further apart than the others, took aim, and dropped.
"Airmail!" Duo called.
"Ow!" the man exclaimed. By the time he looked up, Duo had pulled himself enough away from the edge of the ledge that the man could not see him. However, in doing so, Duo had managed to become stuck in the bars.
"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. . ."
That evening, as Duo rubbed his sore ribs, a thunderous sound came from the stairway.
"That you, tall and hairy?" Duo called.
"Duo, where may I ask, did you get this?" Dorothy asked, sticking the brush handle just enough thru the bars for Duo to see.
"It came from my brush," he answered.
"I see. Well, next time you break something, please tell me, all right? I won't have you harming my guests! Especially the rich and powerful ones with lots of toys!"
"Gotcha."
Late that night, after Duo had been fed his corn and water, a whimpering moan came from the top of the tower.
"Dor-uh-thy," Duo called and moaned some more. The witch made her way upstairs.
"What is it?" she snapped.
"I- broke something else."
"Let me have it. I don't want you beaning any more of my friends at parties."
"It's. . . ugh, not something I can. . . oof, give to you."
"Well, for heaven's sake, what is it?" she barked.
"My stomach."
"Your stomach. How in the world did you manage to break your stomach?" she asked, her patience all but down the drain.
"I broke it when I ate your food. . ." Duo said.
"Why, you ungrateful little wretch!" she bellowed, barely audible over the sound of his laughter. "You're lucky I even feed you!"
"Oh, ha ha, that brings me to a question I've been meaning to ask you, crazy lady. [snicker] Why do you feed me?" Dorothy folded her arms, and in the snottiest voice imaginable, said,
"You'll find out later."
"How much later?"
"When you're older. Much older," she said condescendingly.
"Well Dorothy, I didn't know you felt that way about me," Duo teased.
"Ew- you little. . . pervert! That is not at all what I meant! You know that. Where little country boys get such ideas, I'll never know. You're all despicably dirty. . . and if this door weren't in the way, I'd give you a good beating!"
"Ha, don't get me started on that one. And since we're talking like this, may I call you Dot?"
"No. Where in the world do you get these low thoughts?" she asked rudely.
"Hey, it ain't my fault, lady. I'm not being raised properly. With all those for-adults-only shows you've got on all afternoon, whaddaya expect?"
"Raised properly? If I cared enough, I could raise you ten times better than that old coot you lived with."
"Don't say anything about my uncle!" Duo yelled.
"Your uncle was a crazy old man who was locked up for everybody's good, including his own."
"That's not true!" Duo screamed as he banged his fists against the wooden door. "He's a better person than you'll ever be, you witch! What do you know about people, anyway? About integrity or kindness or love? You're not even human!"
"Shut up, brat!"
"You're a nasty, ugly witch, and you're only going to get uglier and then no man will ever come play badminton with you unless he's blind!"
"I said, shut up!" Dorothy commanded, reaching thru the bars and taking a firm hold on his bangs and lifting him off the ground.
"OW!" Duo howled and twisted her wrist uncomfortably, causing her to loosen her grip and him to fall flat on his rear.
"Stupid brat," Dorothy muttered, massaging her bony wrist. "You'll be lucky if you eat again this month!" Duo continued banging on the door long after she had left. He finally gave up and sat with his back against the door, biting his lower lip until it bled.