Page 11 of Zel
Ulrich wondered who Rapunzel had grown up to be, but no matter who the child, now an adult, proved to have become, Ulrich would not waver from his plan. However much that plan might need adjusting over the coming days, he would succeed. He was certain of it.
The promise of that, as Ulrich looked out of his tower window toward the villages and city and castle in the distance outside the wood, was enough to make him smile and long for the morn.
Two
ZEL
The mirror in Zel’s parents’ bedroom was one of the more lavish things they owned, though they had not purchased it. It was one of the few items his parents had stolen that had not been taken by the guild. Certain things could be kept for a job well done, and the nearly full-length mirror with its hand-carved wooden frame was something Sophie had requested when she and Gregor wed.
Not really a reward for a job well done, but a promise for a job well done to come. Sophie had stood right where Zel was now in front of that mirror on the day of their wedding, in her wedding dress, with Zel a growing life inside her not yet large enough to show as even a bump.
Zel wore that same dress today.
“You really do look lovely, darling,” Sophie said, coming up behind Zel to kiss his cheek. “Whether you wear this again someday for your real wedding or are in breeches and a waistcoat, you will be equally as radiant.”
As fair as Zel had often been told he was, he had never looked as beautiful as he did today. No one could have mistaken him for a man in the deep pink and black dress, with luminous sleeves trimmed in gold almost the same color as his hair. A touch of green lace adorned the bottom of the bodice, which was also embroidered with a mix of the same pink, green, and gold, and an addition of violet that all came together with Zel’s violet cloak fastened at his neck.
Rather than a bonnet, Zel and his mother had affixed fresh flowers to a headpiece that was near enough to a crown. The cloak, when pulled around him, would hide that he wore Rudy’s emerald pendant, but for now, it gleamed beautifully as a centerpiece on Zel’s chest. His hair was more intricately braided than usual, though it still hung past his knees, even with countless layers to his plaits.
“Ah, but trim that bit there, will you?” Sophie indicated an uneven strand of Zel’s fringe. She handed him a pair of shears, and he clipped the strand to better frame his face.
Perhaps, a month from now, Zel would finally slice it all off. But likely not. He no longer wanted that. He loved his hair. He loved the way he looked in the mirror this morn, garbed in his mother’s wedding dress. He just hated the reason.
Zel handed the shears back to Sophie and pulled his bundle of braids over his shoulder to stroke it. It was his, and even if its splendor was from the eating of magical lettuce, he refused to let any part of him be taken away. This pact would end with him gaining, not losing, even if he didn’t yet know everything he wanted.
“Are you ready, Rapunzel?” Sophie asked.
Zel fought the usual cringe at the use of his full name. After this was over, he would finally correct them. “I have to be. But may I see Rudy before we go?” He turned from the mirror to face her. “Besides you and Father, he is the only one I will miss if I never return.”
“Do not think like that.” Sophie brushed Zel’s cheek with her thumb and then ran her fingers down his braids as well. “Repeat your mantra, one last time. You will succeed.”
“I will succeed.”
“You are ready for this.”
“I am ready for this.”
“You are fierce and beautiful and capable.”
“I am fierce and beautiful and capable.”
“Now let’s find Rudy. But this time, no letting him into your corset.”
Zel laughed. “Mother.”
“I am afraid there isn’t time for last-minute visits,” Gregor’s voice came from the hall. As he stepped into the room, he gasped and held a hand to his chest. “Oh, Rapunzel. You are a vision. As beautiful as your mother was those twenty winters ago.”
“Don’t lie, Gregor,” Sophie said. “Rapunzel is prettier.”
“If so,” Gregor countered, coming close enough to take one of each of their hands, “it is only because together it was inevitable we would create a child who is the fairest in all the lands.” He kissed first Zel’s hand and then Sophie’s.
“Flatterer,” Sophie said.
“I am sure there is at least one person in the kingdom who is fairer than me,” Zel said. “But wait. No time? I can’t see Rudy?”
Gregor’s smile fell. “Before we depart, Lothar demands an audience.”
***
