Page 41 of Rapunzel's Gambit (All That Glitters)

I rolled my head around to look at him. “Why not? It’s still working.”

“I don’t like you getting physical with them.”

“It doesn’t mean anything. They are all just after my dowry and the power that comes from marrying my title. Money and power, that’s all they want.” Not Griffin, of course, but all the others.

Pollox’s sawing laugh rumbled around the cavern and echoed down the stone passageway. “That seems rather hypocritical for you to say, as you came to me looking for a share of treasure and protection during your heists.”

I prodded his side. “Hey! That was a purely platonic proposal. I didn’t ever pretend to be in love with you like I’ve done with them. At least there’s that.”

“That’s true,” conceded Pollox. “You’ve never expressed that sort of interest in me.”

“I’d much rather marry you than one of those shallow princes any day.” The casual statement rolled off my tongue even before it registered how absurd it sounded, and a humorous image played in my mind of me walking sedately down the aisle in a long white dress, clutching a bouquet of red and yellow fire lilies, with a gargantuan dragon waiting for me beside the minister with his long, spiked tail curled around the audience sitting in chairs. I smiled to myself and idly began stacking up gold coins from a nearby stack.

“Do you promise?”

I grinned at our new inside joke. “I promise.”

“Do you truly think your father would rather see you unhappily married than happily teamed up with a dragon?”

My small golden tower toppled, and a tinkle of coins rolling across the stone floor jingled through the air. “I actually don’t know,” I confessed quietly, a heavy solemness pressing on my heart. “Since he began ruling, my father never paid attention to me unless I was misbehaving.”

“Why do you say that?”

I dug my hands into the pile of golden coins, feeling the cold weight press against my skin as I worked my jaw back and forth. “We used to have a lot of fun when I was young. We would tell each other jokes and play games. But once he took the throne, he changed. He started ignoring me. I tried to be good at first. I really did. I knew he would be busier with managing a kingdom, so I would do my lessons and perform my best with my harp and everything to try and earn his praise and attention. But it seemed that the more I tried, the less interest he took in me and the more time he spent drinking with his friends—nobility who were odious at best. No matter what I did, he didn’t care.”

Pollox listened intently, studying me with his unblinking eyes.

“One day, I was practicing my harp in one of the lower rooms and saw a trapdoor built into the ceiling above me. It had a rope attached to it that was hooked onto the wall.” I smiled wistfully. “I was curious, and I pulled it just as Father and one of his friends were walking on the floor above.”

Pollox let out a snort that shot a shower of sparks from his nostrils across the cave, settling on some of the treasure so that it looked alive in all its glittering glory. “I take it your Father assumed you planned it on purpose?”

“He did.” The memory of the duke’s frantically pedaling legs descending through the trapdoor as he let out a high-pitched squeal of terror would always be one of the most amusing of my life, and it never failed to bring a smile to my face. “The funny thing is that even though his friend was livid, Father almost seemed proud of me then. For days afterward, he asked me over and over how I had planned the timing so perfectly. It was easier to lie than to tell him the truth—that it had been an accident. He was so impressed with my supposed brilliance, he even told his advisors that I would have a great future as a military strategist. So I began planning a real prank and after I pulled it off, I just never stopped. I keep hoping that somewhere under his cold greed, the man I used to know is still there.”

I found that it was much, much easier to stare at the gold than to face Pollox. I felt the heat of his wing drape over me and come to rest around my shoulders. Closing my eyes to keep the tears at bay, I managed to say, “I suppose that’s why I was so hesitant to marry any of the men my father recommended. Even though I want to make him proud, I don’t trust his judgement anymore, and I don’t think he cares for me at all now. You’ll notice he’s never once showed up here to see if I’m all right. It’s been months. I know he’s busy, but…I’m still his daughter.”

Finding it much easier to keep my voice from shaking, I focused on throwing coins to land in a sack a short distance away. “Pathetic, isn’t it? Knowing how much I still crave my father’s attention when I know he makes poor choices and he doesn’t love me in return. It’s no wonder our people hate him.” I picked up a fat coin and stared at the engraved coat of arms pressed into it, as if determined to memorize the pattern. “I shouldn’t care if he’s proud of me or not. I’m not proud of him. I’m ashamed of what he’s become.”

Pollox’s giant snout gently grazed my cheek. “For what it’s worth,” he rumbled, “I’m proud of you. You are one of the few humans I can actually tolerate, and that is a feat worth celebrating. I’m glad you felt safe confiding in me.”

The steady drip of water falling from the stalactite’s point into the pool at the rear of the chamber was the only sound for several minutes as I sat, drawing comfort from Pollox’s presence. I’d never spoken of the true motives for my chaotic behavior to anyone before, and having done so felt like a tether hooking my soul to Pollox’s, binding them together. The vulnerability felt foreign, but in a reassuring, consoling way. How ironic that the one I trusted the most had been deemed the least trustworthy creature in all the kingdom?

“Have you shared such things with any of the men who’ve been to the tower before?” Pollox asked, his hot breath swirling around me and warming my constantly cold fingers.

I let out a short bark of laughter. “Never. I can’t let them know I actually have a conscience. Heaven forbid one of them try to use it to manipulate me.”

“Would that be so bad? Do you want to be alone your whole life?” Pollox shifted his weight, curling tighter into a ball just like a cat. I nestled into a comfortable spot behind his wing joint.

“I suppose not. But I can’t imagine a future with them.” If only Griffin were higher-ranking.

“How will you find a match if you push everyone away and refuse to let them see you for who you are? They would like you if they got to know you; I do.”

“Yes, but the difference is that I actually like being around you.” Again, Griffin’s face resurfaced, and this time, I let that vision hover in my mind’s eye. He wasn’t a prince or a knight, but he was humble and honorable, was intelligent and still treated me with respect even though I knew the servants talked and would have passed multiple horror stories about me to him. I just needed to find someone like him to marry.

Pollox’s wing around me just as good as any hug. “I like being around you too. You’re the most treasured part of my hoard. Don’t be so scared of commitment. One day, you’ll want to get married.”

I closed my eyes. “Not any time soon. It’s easier to be feared than liked, and besides, I just promised to marryyouone day.”

A few sparks danced up to the ceiling as Pollox let out a chuckle. “Spoken like a truly feral princess, ready to wed a dragon.”

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