Page 14 of Down from the Tower

Midas is a bore to watch. His harpy of a wife is even less entertaining. I don’t particularly care where Queen Dorah hails from, I simply care that she is so wretched to her daughter. She only visits to talk down to her, something I’ve decided to stop listening to because it’s ridiculous things like manners, how to sit drinking some required tea, and other useless drivel that seems to do nothing but pass the time.

I bet Legs could tell me what’s in that damn tea if I stole some of the leaves. But that’s entirely too much effort for something I don’t care about.

However, the King and Queen finally do something interesting, and when I enter their rooms again through the Queen’s side, I realize they are both missing. It only takes walking through the maze of connected rooms for a few moments to find what’s different.

There’s a cabinet open on the far side of one of the connecting rooms, or I believed it was a cabinet until right now. It’s a bit like an in-between space, since each has their own bedroom and personal chapters. The communal space offers a table and smaller bed, and is so immaculately clean I wouldn’t be surprised if the last time they cared to use this room was before Rapunzel was born.

While I might not be visible to the naked eye, the things I do are. If I open drawers or move things around, it’ll be noticed. So I’m just discreetly walking through for the moment, observing without touching unless I find something good. I can dig through whatever I want when the royals aren’t present.

Approaching the hidden space, I hear their voices drifting up from a short hall. There’s a corner several paces ahead that I walk towards, and when I glance around I note both Midas and Dorah are standing in what appears to be a separate room hidden by the cabinet. As long as I have my shadows they will be none the wiser to my presence.

“The guards are dismissed for the evening,” Dorah breathes.

The royal couple stands in what appears to be a very old bedroom, what might be a crib covered in a very old, dusty satin sheet and rows and rows of baby toys sitting neatly around the room, with books resting on a shelf against the far wall.

A sense of dread settles over me. If this is Rapunzel’s nursery it’s oddly preserved for a girl they barely care for.

“Of course they are,” Midas snaps, tugging at the clasp at his neck. I’ve noticed he never seems to change anywhere but the bath, and I’m not so interested in the man that I’d follow him in there. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen gold embedded in the skin he hides. “I wouldn’t open the door otherwise.”

Midas is a strange man. His left hand is gold, and he appears to be right dominant. I don’t know if that’s real or a byproduct of turning every single thing he touches to gold. There’s flakes of gold by his wrist and lower arm, but he dresses in clothing that clasps high at the neck both day and night, as though he needs to keep his skin hidden. Who knows what the man looked like before obtaining his golden hand, but his eyes are like melted gold, the iris a little bigger than normal and reflecting that golden look. His hair is a lighter gold, streaked through with a few grays and whites that reflect an age he doesn’t show.

Dorah scowls, brushing back her hair. “I despise meeting here, Midas.”

“This is the only room guaranteed to not have anyone listening in.”

I smile to myself. If the King only knew.

With a sigh, Dorah peers around the room. Her eyes lock on the crib, and looking around I realize that there’s a second one pushed against the wall, draped in almost the exact same sheet. She grunts, repeating herself in a lower voice. “I hate coming in here.”

Midas shrugs out of the tunic he’s wearing, and my eyes widen as I catch sight of his skin. He completely ignores his wife, laying the shirt over an old rocking chair.

He’s muscular for a man his age, with skin that’s embedded in gold. Not like the poor souls I’ve seen forever frozen around this castle. More like golden flakes, like his skin is just touched by gold instead of covered in it.

His golden hand moves more stiff than his regular one, a fact that his clothes seem to hide. “I don’t like the reminder either, my Queen.”

I frown. This looks like a baby room. I figured it was Rapunzel’s before she was locked in the tower. The two cribs are curious though. Of all the whispers surrounding Tressa, more than one heir to the throne isn’t one of them.

“Is she still asking for answers,” Dorah gripes, digging her nails into her upper arms. “Tell her we don’t know where Rosen is. She isn’t so dumb as to try and come back here. She’d have to cross all of Mystica”

Now things are getting interesting. There’s no record of a Rosen anywhere, only a Rapunzel.

Midas groans, dragging his normal hand through his hair. “Rosen isn’t our concern anymore. She died just after birth, remember?”

There’s a harshness to his words, like he’s reminding the Queen of what she’s expected to believe. Dorah purses her lips, eyes narrowing just a hair. There’s something akin to disgust in her gaze. “I remember.”

“So there’s nothing to report back to the Queen. We don’t know where Rosen is, or why she was so different from Rapunzel.”

Different?

“Is she going to try and seize the city,” Dorah continues, pursing her lips. Now I’m not sure who we’re talking about. “She’s threatened that before if we ever strike against her.”

“The walls will keep an army out. An attack by sea could work, but the shallows make it hard to navigate without wrecking on the rocks. Even Arthur’s crew struggles to not sink their ships when they stop in port. It would be a great feat to breach us that way. The wall is strong, and it will protect us from an intrusion. The last of the spell went into it.”

Things make less and less sense the more Midas talks. This place is built on too many secrets and not enough answers.

“If someone wanted to join forces with the merfolk-”

“We know the merfolk will never side with Mystica.” He pinches his nose, looking deep in thought for a moment before lifting his head. “Rapunzel’s tea is ready?”

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