Chapter 18
10 years ago
"Good night, sweetheart," Fredric leans down to plant a kiss on his eight-year-old daughter's forehead.
"We love you," Arianna stands by her husband's side, tugging on the covers one last time to ensure Rapunzel is warm enough.
"Good night," yawns the young princess from her bed, eyes half-lidded.
The king and queen smile down at her lovingly, before looking to each other. They quietly leave the princess' bedroom, with Frederic softly pulling the door closed behind them.
Almost immediately after Rapunzel hears the door click closed, she opens one mischievous eye. She peeks toward the door to make sure they are gone, then excitedly flicks the covers off once she realizes she is alone.
She leans over the edge of the bed, hastily retrieving something from underneath it. Then she climbs to the other end of the large mattress to grab the still-lit lantern from her bedside table.
Lying on her stomach, she pulls the covers completely over herself so she can no longer be seen from the outside. She places the lantern next to her face, allowing it to prop up the blanket over her head. The single flickering flame provides just enough light beneath the darkness of the covers.
Excitedly, Rapunzel opens the book she had retrieved from underneath her bedframe, and begins to read.
Its pages are brittle and discoloured. The brown leather cover is worn with a faded golden trim around the edges, but she likes the rough feeling of it against her fingers.
She scans the pictures with intrigue, completely fascinated. She falls deeper with each page turn, losing herself within the words.
After a while of reading in silence, Rapunzel hears her bedroom door creak open, followed by a hushed voice.
"Pssst."
The princess peeks her head out from underneath the blanket, her messy golden hair still covered by it.
In front of her, at the end of the room, is a young Cassandra poking her face through the large doorway. Her feet are bare and she's wearing a white nightgown that reaches her ankles. Her black hair is disheveled as usual, stray curls covering her round, pink cheeks.
"Whaat?" Rapunzel whispers back to her.
"Do you wanna hang out with me?" Cassandra asks in a small voice.
"You're not supposed to be in here," reminds the princess. "Our parents said we have to stay in our rooms after nine."
"I know, but… I couldn't sleep," Cass rubs her arm, staring shamefully at the ground.
Rapunzel sighs. "Okay, fine," she decides, "but we have to be quiet."
Just like that, a huge, beaming smile appears on Cassandra's face. She softly closes the door behind herself, careful not to wake anyone up, then races toward Rapunzel across the room.
She leaps onto the mattress, climbing up onto it on all fours. Practically sucked in by all the pillows and blankets, Cass crawls underneath the covers and lays on her stomach next to Rapunzel.
They pull the blanket over their heads, now both encased in darkness. The flame of the lantern casts shadows against their faces and the walls of their makeshift fort.
"What are you reading?" asks Cassandra excitedly. She grabs the book in Rapunzel's hands and flips it over so she can see the front cover. She squints at it in concentration, sounding out each word slowly. "The Tale of… Flynnigan… Rider?" she reads, wondering if she'd pronounced it correctly. "Hm. Sounds boring."
"It is not!" Rapunzel yanks it back, opening it again to the page she had been reading previously. "How would you know? You haven't even read it."
"Because it's a stupid name, duhh," says Cass. She leans over Rapunzel's shoulder to peek at it again. "Who is he anyway?"
"Um, only the greatest adventurer who ever lived!" Rapunzel announces as if it were obvious.
"Does he have a sword?"
"Yes."
Cass aggressively kicks the blanket off herself. "Does he rescue damsels in distress and fight off fire breathing dragons?" She plops over onto her back and spreads out her limbs, suddenly realizing how hot it is under there.
"Probably!" Rapunzel tugs the covers back over her own legs, since Cass had completely pulled it off her.
"Well, in that case… I bet he's real dreamy..." Cassandra leans toward the other girl teasingly, puckering her lips and making kissing noises.
"Ew! Stop!" Rapunzel shoves a hand in Cass' face, pushing her away. "That's gross," she laughs.
Cassandra allows herself to fall back onto the mattress, only continuing to cackle at the princess' reaction.
Rapunzel rolls over too, closing the book and holding it tightly to her chest.
They lay next to each other on their backs while staring up at the intricate patterns of the high ceiling. Eventually, their giggles die down and they attempt to catch their breaths.
"Do you think… maybe I could be an adventurer like Flynnigan?" Rapunzel thinks out loud after a while, her tone suddenly serious.
"Pffft. You? No way!"
"Why not?!" Offended, Rapunzel pushes herself to a sitting position.
Cassandra rolls off the side of the bed and springs to her feet. "Because you're the princess! Me, on the other hand…" She darts for the fireplace on the other side of the room, grabbing a rusty poker from the metal holder. She raises it above herself triumphantly. "I could be the greatest fighter this world has ever seen!"
Rapunzel climbs down off the bed after her. "Hey! Not fair!" She runs over and grabs another fire poker from the same stand, hers a slightly different shape.
Cassandra jumps up on the mattress, standing in the middle of it and pointing her pretend sword toward the sky. "Avast, ye maties!"
"He's not a pirate!" Rapunzel peers up at her from the ground.
"No, but I am." Cass aims her sword down at Rapunzel challengingly, "En guarde, adventurer! Or prepare to meet your demise!"
Rapunzel jumps up onto the bed too, giggling. They slam their swords against each other's playfully, before Cass jumps down again and bolts across the room.
Rapunzel chases her in circles, both girls laughing as they continue to block each other's swings. The pokers are so heavy that they have to use both hands, and it requires a lot of effort for them to even swing it once. Though, it doesn't slow their determination to each earn the title of the world's best fighter ever.
Just as Cassandra goes to hide behind the silk curtain covering one of the windows, the princess swings her sword after her, and it ends up getting caught in the purple fabric draped along the wall.
There's a startling thud overhead, stopping them both from running.
When they peer upward, they notice the end of the curtain rod had fallen off its hook, causing the curtain to slope down and hang off one side.
They freeze, stunned at what they had just managed to do. The room is silent now, all sense of laughter completely diminished. With their jaws agape and eyes wide, Rapunzel and Cass both turn their heads to look at each other.
"Oops," squeaks Rapunzel.
Suddenly, the doors to Rapunzel's bedroom bursts open.
"Girls!" Queen Arianna strides into the room, lavender nightgown trailing elegantly behind herself. "What on earth are you two doing? You should be asleep!"
Cassandra immediately lowers her head in shame, hiding the poker behind her back. "We were just playing." She looks down at her bare feet. "I couldn't sleep."
"We're sorry, mom," apologizes Rapunzel in a small voice, looking equally as guilty. "We didn't mean to wake you."
"Yeah, we're really sorry."
Arianna only glowers down at them in a tense silence.
After a moment, the woman's expression softens, and her shoulders relax. She sighs audibly, closing her eyes. When she speaks again, her voice is gentle. "Oh, it's all right."
Rapunzel takes a step toward her mother, peering up at the woman from beneath her thick eyelashes. "Please, can Cassandra sleep in my room tonight? Pleaaase? We were just having so much fun."
Arianna crosses her arms, studying the two pairs of wide eyes and heartbreaking frowns just staring up at her expectantly.
She purses her lips, finding herself unable to say no to such adorable pouting faces.
"Well… maybe just for tonight," Arianna decides, before pointing a stern finger at them. "But no more sword fighting. I'll have somebody come and fix this tomorrow." She observes the broken curtain hanging above them, rubbing her forehead stressfully. She begins to leave, before facing the girls once more. "Ten more minutes and then it's bedtime. And please, keep it down. I don't want to have to come in here again."
"We will, mom," Rapunzel promises.
"We will," Cass echoes her.
Arianna stops in the doorway, turning over her shoulder. She grins gently at them as she says for hopefully the final time that night, "Good night, girls."
With that, the queen closes the door, and leaves the two in silence.
Rapunzel and Cass stare at the door long after she's gone, their hearts still pounding after the fright they'd just had.
Forcefully pressing their lips together, they slowly turn their heads to face one another.
When they meet eyes, they burst into laughter.