Page 100 of Down from the Tower

“You have no magic,” I remind her, fisting my hands. “You aren’t the golden anything, because you have no power other than a sharp tongue and manipulation tactics. You’re from lands far away and other than being a fun bartering chip, you have no power in court. That’s a pain you passed onto me. My whole life, you treated me as a pawn.”

I’ve never looked at my mother this way before. She was always cold towards me, just like Midas, but she didn’t threaten me. Midas may have beaten me occasionally but all she had were snippy words and control of my tower. She could place bars, locks, and guards but she couldn’t ever get into my head. She treated me like a prisoner, never her daughter, leaving me to know only loneliness.

Even now, I can see she’s not on my side. She never will be and as her fierce eyes glare into mine, I know that her means to an end are self serving. Unless there’s a reason to tell the truth, she never will. These secrets that Legs helped me discover were never meant to be found, especially not by me.

“We care for you,” she snaps. “We love you. And what we let you use your gifts for gives you an outlet. Untapped power can be dangerous. We were looking out for you.”

“By locking me away?” I breathe. “And lying to me about everything in my life?”

“Children need to be protected,” she reasons. “You have powerful magic. If you weren’t carefully guarded, something could’ve happened! Look what that monster did when he snuck over the wall. He killed Modred and stole you from the castle.”

My brows pinch together, glancing down at my hands. “I killed Modred, Mother. I melted his face off. Don’t pretend that you forgot when you were standing right there.”

“No,” she growls, shaking a finger at me. “You didn’t. You were coerced by that monstrous shadow man. A Reaper.” She spits the name like a personal insult, and I’m surprised she knows the right name. “Midas recognized him right away, like the loveless monster that once bedded the Mad Queen? I’m sure you heard all about her while gallivanting around Mystica like some wayward child and not a true princess.”

Loveless monster… she can’t mean the shadow man Zarev mentioned, could she? I would hope none of the Reapers slept with someone so… vile. If that’s even what the shadow man is.

“I heard plenty,” I counter, stepping further into the room. It’s entirely made of stone, with a few scattered torches and random items piled against the wall. There’s a thick blanket tossed over something in the middle of the room and I can’t help eyeing it as I move. “Like rumors that the Queen of Tressa was having twins.”

She sneers. “Listening to the gossip of commoners?”

“I’m listening to people who didn’t shield me from the truth,” I tell her, shaking my head. My scalp is getting warm, and if my emotions cause my magic to get out of hand this is going to turn into a nightmare fast. “You know what I noticed when I was gone? I unlocked new power. My hair? It’s thick as rope and twice as strong. It’s deadly. And I can heal, Mother, did you know that? No idiotic rhyme or words to speak, no ritual. I just will the magic forward and it follows my command. Isn’t that curious, Mother?”

Baring her teeth at me, she takes three steps forward before backing up a bit. I still have my hair coiled around my arm, and she’s looking at the weighted hair with newfound apprehension. “Your mind is confused. A bit of tea and time at home will do you wonders.”

“While spirits storm the kingdom?” I scoff. “What are they looking for?”

“Oh, you said you have all the answers,” she mocks, crossing her arms. “You’re such a big girl, so grown up, completely capable without Mommy and Daddy. You should know the answer.”

My skin pricks at her words.

“You’ve always been the resilient one, Rapunzel,” she hisses, twisting to the side. As I watch, she begins to circle me, and I copy her movements. “Strong. Determined. The magic burns too brightly for you. We knew you would need some assistance to stay in line.”

“In line,” I mutter, narrowing my eyes. “You wanted to use me and nothing more.”

She clucks her tongue as we move and when I think she’s turned us so she can escape, she surprises me by continuing to pace me. I realize that she truly doesn’t see me as a threat. “Rapunzel, you’ve learned all your information from the wrong sources. Why not ask Mommy?”

“Because you will never tell the truth.”

“You know, I always thought you’d be more appreciative of what we gave you,” she snips, obviously beginning to tire of our little game. “We were blessed with a family and wanted the best for you. So your King infused his Golden Touch with the petals of the Phoenix Rose, which can withstand anything, even gold. You drank it reluctantly, but it worked. The magic is a part of you.”

I stop walking. “You… gave me tea so I could drink that plant?”

“So you could drink the gold as an infant,” she replies easily. “We tried with Rosen, but breastmilk or tea leaves didn’t work. The gold zipped through her poor little body. We held off giving you Midas’ gift until we found a way to curb the power.”

I shake my head, shifting back on my heels. “I don’t understand. Who is Rosen?”

Dorah purses her lips, glancing away and back again. “She’s your twin. The one that died from the Golden Touch.”

I stare at her, trying to hear the words she’s saying, but nothing makes sense. “A… twin?”

“That’s what you came in here screaming about, isn’t it?” Dorah snaps. “I did carry two children. Both born alive. Rosen a few minutes before you. That was the moment I decided I would never bear children again. Two was plenty for the Kingdom. But her weak little body couldn’t handle the gift, even when all he did was touch her hair. There was almost no gold in the drink. She was weak and couldn’t handle it. Natural selection took care of the rest.”

I grip my hair, my hands warming. “She was your daughter. My… my sister.”

Dorah shrugs, and I can see in her eyes that there’s no regret, no love lost. “She was weak. The Mad Queen visited not long after that, trying to strike a deal. We were going to bury her soon, but she asked for the body. We let her have it.”

I gasp, grasping the front of my dress over my heart. For a moment, hearing about her horrifically short life, I thought maybe I could find the grave, see this sister I should’ve had who died too soon.

---