Page 13 of Rapunzel's Gambit (All That Glitters)

“Oh really? What does caring for your hoard entail, exactly?”

Pollox’s eyes sparkled mischievously and he let out a blast of fire. The flame ignited coals in a long stone shelf set into the perimeter of the cave, so the entire chamber was suddenly illuminated with a dancing, flickering light. “That depends. Are you a part of my hoard, or are you not?”

I looked around the cavern, which was mostly empty other than a hot mineral spring, an unassuming wardrobe, and a simple wooden table. “I’ll be part of your hoard only as long as you promise that you’ll be part of mine,” I told him, still unsure of exactly what I was agreeing to. It seemed only fair that he be bound by whatever conditions he placed on me.

“I can agree to those terms. Shall I show you to your room, then?”

Wondering what sort of room a dragon would be able to provide a human guest, I nodded. Several passageways led out of the cavernous main room; perhaps a furnished human-sized room was hiding in the back.

“Open the wardrobe,” he ordered, inclining his massive head toward a wardrobe with shabby paint standing near the back of the cave, wedged between two large stalagmites next to the mineral spring. The hot spring looked more inviting than the wardrobe. If I could soak in the spring, I might have a fraction of time in which my extremities weren’t freezing.

“Is my room the wardrobe? If so, I may need to rescind my agreement to be a part of your hoard. You can’t just keep me in a cabinet like some lucky charm.” At least I’d gotten over the immediate shock of meeting a dragon for the first time.

“Just open the door.”

Obediently, I pulled on one of the large wardrobe’s door handles. It was entirely empty. Sure he was having me on, I rolled my eyes at Pollox. “Looks a little small for a bedroom. Am I supposed to sleep standing up?”

“Get in.”

I stepped inside to show how cramped it was. The wardrobe was large enough for me to stand in without crouching, but by extending my arms, I was still able to touch both sides at once. “I don’t think this will work, Pollox,” I told him. “Just because I’m part of your hoard doesn’t mean you can?—”

Pollox whipped his tail so the wardrobe door closed on my face.

“Hey!” I protested. Before I could open the door again, an unpleasant sensation tugged at my abdomen and I shouted in alarm. It felt as though my insides had been plunged into an ice bath, churned around, then run over by a carriage before being shoved back where they belonged. A brief but intense stab of pain followed that made me throw myself against the door, gasping for breath, and shoved until it spilled me out.

Instead of falling on the cold cavern ground, I landed on a plush rug in a brightly lit and well-furnished room, complete with a large four-poster bed, vanity, bookcases, and a wide balcony. I pressed my hands against my body, ensuring that every part of me was still there and that I wasn’t dreaming.

“What?” I said to myself, staring back at the innocent-looking wardrobe. One of the drawers at the bottom opened slightly and closed again, almost like the furniture was mocking me. Other than the unsettling feeling from when I’d been transported here, there was nothing that led me to believe I’d been harmed in any way.

“Pollox?” I called, first into the wardrobe, then to the room at large. Crossing to the balcony, I stared out at the landscape beyond.

Forests covered the hills, and if I squinted, I could just make out the castle, a tiny speck in the distance. Mountains rose to the side halfway between here and the castle, and in the sky, Pollox was soaring toward me from the mountain, giant wings beating the air.

I walked along the balcony, which wrapped all the way around the circular tower. Looking down made me slightly dizzy when I was at such a great height, so I went back inside, searching for the stairs to descend. There was a trapdoor leading to the roof, but no matter where I looked, it was impossible to find a way down to the ground level. It was as though this was the only level, suspended forty feet in the air.

“If the only way out is through you, I’ll be highly displeased,” I told the silent wardrobe, which waved one of its doors at me. “Oh, you think that’s funny, do you?”

Still aware of the vertigo that would befall me if I went outside, I turned my attention to the room’s interior. My fingers met rich velvet as they skimmed the bed’s heavy comforter, just as luxurious as anything I’d left back at the palace, possibly even grander. Translucent curtains were fastened to the four bed posts with golden ropes, and the pillows proved to be plump and full of swan’s down. A gossamer rope ladder descended from a trapdoor leading to the roof, and I swung on it for a few moments, marveling at how beautiful everything was, not at all what I imagined a dragon would have. There wasn’t a speck of dust anywhere. It was this last observation that tugged at my curiosity most. There was no possible way that a massive dragon would manage to keep an abandoned tower room in such neat condition. He wasn’t even able to enter, let alone clean. The open air of the balcony would undoubtedly let in dust and dirt, yet this bedroom was cleaner than anything back home.

The rugs that covered the stone floor were spongy and soft, and I stripped off my shoes and stockings to allow my toes to dig into the depths of the carpets, all a rich scarlet color. I hopped from one rug to the other, marveling that my feet wouldn’t have to touch the floor. I knew from extensive experience that any stone floor was icy cold against my feet, even in the summertime. My body would instantly drain of all warmth every time my bare skin touched the hard floor at home, which was why I had always insisted on wearing multiple layers of stockings, a fact that my maids found wildly amusing. But these rugs felt like they’d been out in the sun on a balmy summer day, soaking up heat. It was a boon to rest my feet on those instead of the bare stone.

A rhythmicwhooshingwas heard as the wind picked up and swirled loose papers around the room, followed by the dreadful scraping of claws against stone. The entire tower shuddered as Pollox landed on the roof, and I clutched at one of the bed’s posters to steady myself. Bits of dust and loose mortar rained down, and a dark shadow fell over the window.

“Rapunzel? Are you there?” Pollox’s deep, thunderous voice vibrated my chest. His tail swung past the window, like some giant, spiked metronome, and I dared not step foot out where the tail might inadvertently knock me over the edge of the balcony.

“You could have warned me about that little magic disappearing act,” I called up to him, still watching the tail swing hypnotically past.

“You wouldn’t have gotten in if I had.” Pollox’s entire body was far too large and bulky to fit in the room, but he extended his head through the open balcony doors, his long neck looking like an unusually thick python as he watched me explore the room. His head generated that delicious heat that I craved so much, warming me up so it felt like I was curled up in front of a roaring fire. “Do you like it?”

I studied the room intently. “Yes, I do,” I decided. “Other than the wardrobe, that is.”

Pollox’s sawing laugh echoed around the room and the wardrobe opened and shut one of its drawers in annoyance. “Would you rather ride dragonback next time?”

I put my hand on my hips. “I would at least like to be given the choice. If you are part ofmyhoard, that is one of my rules. Always give me choices.”

“Very well. Next time, do you want to ride dragonback, or use the wardrobe?”

“I’ll ride next time. That wardrobe is out to get me.”

---