Rescuing Rapunzel

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

by the Grimm Brothers

Her husband was alarmed, and asked, "What ails you, dear wife?"

"Ah," she replied, "if I can't eat some of the rampion, which is in the garden behind our house, I shall die."

The man, who loved her, thought, sooner than let your wife die, bring her some of the rampion yourself, let it cost what it will. At twilight, he clambered down over the wall into the garden of the enchantress, hastily clutched a handful of rampion, and took it to his wife. She at once made herself a salad of it, and ate it greedily. It tasted so good to her - so very good, that the next day she longed for it three times as much as before. If he was to have any rest, her husband must once more descend into the garden. In the gloom of evening, therefore, he let himself down again. But when he had clambered down the wall he was terribly afraid, for he saw the enchantress standing before him.

"How can you dare," said she with angry look, "descend into my garden and steal my rampion like a thief? You shall suffer for it."

Still in the Tower

Rapunzel...

I knew I should be grateful for my safety inside my room, but often times I grew frantic being cooped up. Once a week I was let out of the tower to roam the gardens outside. For that limited time, I attempted to take as many deep breaths as I could of the fresh air and bask in the glowing sun. All too soon, I knew I would have to return to my confinement and count the minutes away until the next time I could be released.

My only contact with other people was with the handful of gardeners and caretakers of the home. They were given strict instruction not to converse with me, but thankfully a couple of them at least gave me a kind smile when I passed them by.

In addition to my small company, there were two children who probably lived nearby – maybe aged 11 or 12. Oftentimes they would sneak into the gardens to watch the mystery girl from the tower. Each time I saw them, the boy grew a little braver and crept closer while the girl stayed behind the furthest tree next to the pond. One time I tried to call to the boy, but his shock forced him to retreat back to the tree and hide with his friend.

No one realized that I knew about the two children. If so, I was confident the boy and girl would be scolded and I would never see them again. My attempts to acknowledge them were always discreet – I didn't want to lose my chance of having somewhat of a normal relationship with these kids. Each week, I eagerly anticipated our secret exchanges.

When I was back in my room, I continued to practice my dance routines. Lately I had been working on a ballet I used to do with my cousin, Snow White. The dance the two of us had learned was a short routine we liked to perform for our parents before they had to go to a celebration ball in the castle. Even though we both were too young to attend the official ball, we felt like we were partly participating by our own performance of sorts.

Through the years in the tower, that small dance had evolved into a full-fledged performance. I inserted more steps to the essential outline of the routine, and then I continued to add until the dance was more like a play of some sort. It was titled Winter's Snow and dedicated to my cousin of course. I often wondered if I would ever get the chance to show her the dance.

My cousin, Snow, was the person I missed the most. Of course I missed my parents terribly, but Snow was the person I spent most of my time with. I honestly couldn't recall one memory without her in it. We were always together, through thick and thin.

Often times she told me she wanted to be like me, where all I ever wanted was to be like her. She was always so brave, and I held back – afraid of making a mistake. To add to her lively personality, she was beautiful. Her unique black hair was the envy of many girls our age.

At 6 years old, many boys who lived in the castle would flirt with her. She denied any of their attention though, partly because she didn't believe they were interested. Playing hard to get and being completely naïve probably made the boys like her even more.

I, on the other hand, enjoyed watching from the side lines. I knew my cousin was amazing, even if she didn't believe it. Someday, she would grow up and realize how much potential she really had.

We were both 16 now, and I hoped Snow had grasped on to that valuable truth by now. I expected her to be enjoying her fruitful life of happiness.

I was optimistic I would see her again, but until then, I had to believe she was doing good and completely happy without me. There was even the possibility she had found a boy to love. My heart ached knowing I wouldn't get to share that excitement of first love with her.

Missing crucial life experiences with my family was one of the hardest things about being locked up and alone. Singing a birthday song to an imaginary birthday cake, not just for me, was an annual heartache I never got used to.

When times were the hardest and dancing wasn't even enough to soothe my ache, I would cry into my pillow and sometimes scream into my blanket. It was hard to be strong all of the time. Sometimes a girl needed her mom to hold her in her lap, rub her back, and say everything was going to be alright. I missed having that, and instead I lay emotionless on my bed.

To get by, I would try to focus on just one day. If I gave my energy in looking at the endless amount of days I may end up staying in the tower, I grew discouraged and was unable to see any conclusion to my predicament. But, if I just looked at getting through one day, I could see the direct outcome – it was feasible and attainable.

Having something to look forward to also aided me in what I could concentrate on. So, working on a plan to contact the two children who always snuck into the gardens was something I was able prepare for.

I was searching for an idea that would not startle them and at the same time not draw any attention to myself. I knew my strategy had to be carefully planned out, which also absorbed some of my idle time. Bonus.

Writing them a note was one idea I had. It was discreet, but I worried the children didn't know how to read. Not many people who lived in the outskirts of the kingdom were educated. My father, the king, often talked about the importance of teaching every able person to read and how that would benefit our kingdom as a whole. As far as I knew, nothing had changed yet with the education system.

Besides, even if I left a note for the children, I needed to devise a way to inconspicuously deposit it somewhere they would see it and also be able to retrieve it. So, I continued to brainstorm other options.

Hopefully I'd be ready by the next time I was allowed to leave the tower. I came to expect the treat of being liberated on Saturdays, but it wasn't always the case. Now and then, things came up and I had to wait until Sunday or even Monday.

Wheneverit is, I'll be ready. I couldn't wait to make new friends with those kids. Evenif I got in trouble for my efforts, it would be worth it. I was tired of beingalone.