Page 115 of Down from the Tower

Or maybe we’ve always been this way, two halves chasing the desire to be one whole. Because I’ve never seen something as beautiful as the golden haired princess, slicked in dried and fresh blood, hefting the weight of my scythe to attack the Queen again.

And like the coward she is, the Queen uses her magic to strike the blade. It throws Rapunzel off balance and she staggers as the Queen jumps up, lifting her hand to her face.

It comes away red. Rapunzel actually cut her.

I throw shadows in her direction, and the Queen snarls as they push her back. I shadow hop to her side, helping Rapunzel heft the blade, and together we hold it facing the Queen.

When she smiles, her teeth are stained as red as her eyes. Glancing blow or not, it’s affecting her.

Another great roar of pain echoes all around us, and I feel Midas’ soul pulling me towards him. The Golden Magic is fading, because the wielder is dying. I’m impressed he’s lasted this long, and it must be in part due to his Golden Touch.

“Princess has some use after all,” the Queen jokes, shaking her head at the two of us. “But you are in my way, Golden Princess, so your time has to be up! I’ll have to wait to enjoy hanging your corpses from my tower. Such a shame! So pretty you would be, blowing in the breeze.”

She blows us a kiss, and the hearts that form on her palm are edged in blades and fly towards us. Using both hands, I swirl shadows into a shield and shove it in front of us just before the hearts can strike.

From behind the barrier the Queen laughs, and I know things are coming to an end. More of the spiked hearts fly across the clearing, and I only have so much magic left to call upon.

“Until next time,” she screams, and I dissolve the shield enough for us to see. On the other side she’s standing on the fountain's edge, giving us a bloody smile. “I’ll bring down every tower! Tick tock!!” Her manic laughter ceases when the fountain shakes, before gold sparks along the base. It’s weak, but it creates a crack at the bottom.

A crack.

“What have you done,” she growls, her voice dangerously low. Where he lies, Midas managed to roll over enough to press his trembling hand to the fountain, sending the last of his magic into the stone and snapping it. It’s too much for the old rocks to handle, and that crack sends the gold tinted water leaking from the bottom. She stiffens, torn between getting into the emptying fountain and going to strike Midas instead.

He speaks in a voice I can barely hear, digging my fingers into Rapunzel’s arm once more to keep her there. This time she doesn’t fight against me, instead listening to her father’s choked words. “N - now, we’re both fucked.”

He gasps for breath, and the lifeline he’s clinging to stretches tight. Rapunzel’s eyes are filled with resignation as she watches her father take his dying breaths.

The Queen throws herself into the water as it happens, soaking her skirts. In the next breath Midas takes his last, and she’s already undoing the process of appearing in the water. Her body melts and fades, going back to her domain. Other than our labored breaths, for a moment it’s blissfully silent.

And then the wall explodes.

Part 4:

Beyond the Wall

30 Zarev

Rapunzel tries to tuck herself into me, but the force of the explosion sends us to the ground. I tear the blade out of her grip and throw it into the shadows before it can cut her in the fall. We crash into the ground, her hair covering us and my shadows following suit.

There’s a great roar following the explosion and a strong wind crashes against the barrier. I hug her to me, grateful that despite meeting the Mad Queen, we’ve somehow escaped with our lives.

But we still have to get out of Tressa.

When the outside settles, I lift my head. Her hair is everywhere, softly glowing, and beneath our covered canopy, she presses her hand to my chest. I had forgotten that my shirt tore, and the muddy mess Legs threw on me chipped away. Rapunzel’s touch is soft, and she looks up at me beneath the golden glow. There’s warmth as her hand starts to glow as well, her arm shaking, but it only takes a moment to fix the cuts and scrapes.

Her eyes flutter when she’s finished, utterly exhausted, and I wrap her in my arms. Her voice is weak when she manages to speak. “The gold in your chest is gone. D-did it happen when my father died?”

“Before,” I mutter. “Legs threw that muddy mess on me before I left the Red Woods. Whatever it was worked. Even when Midas used his magic, I didn’t feel pain or the pull of his power. I was cured before he died.”

She nods against me, tilting up her head to gaze into my eyes. Her blue orbs are heavy, half closed lids making her look so sleepy as we lay there. “I’m glad… you came to find me.”

I run a finger over her lips, gently tugging at her bottom one. “You’re my life, Princess. If you had to die, I’d be there with you to the bitter end.”

I read the surprise that flashes in her gaze. “I had no plans to die.”

“Things change,” I remind her, leaning in. “Remember, you slept with Death. The afterlife could come for you just as easily.”

Rapunzel shrugs in my grip, leaning forward to press her lips against mine. I kiss her back for just a moment, our tongues dancing together, before I register the silence around us.

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