Tangled [Hariana]

Chapter 2

Opening the tower's shutters, Ariana leaned out over the windowsill, breathing in the fresh morning air. It seemed to smell better out there than inside the tower, and the air always felt cooler and fresher at the window. From a potted strawberry plant next to her, a tiny green chameleon named Pascal came out to greet her. Pascal was Ariana's only friend, and he looked up at her happily, blinking his big eyes. He could turn almost any color. Now, sensing her mood, he turned a bright yellow.

Pascal knew, as always, exactly what was best for Ariana. She wanted to go outside! Pascal skittered over to the windowsill and gestured for her to come out of the tower with him. But Ariana shook her head. She couldn't go out.

She needed Lana Parrilla's permission. Pascal slumped a bit.

"Oh, come on, Pascal," she said cheerfully to the little chameleon as she motioned to him to come back inside the tower. "It's not that bad."

She used her golden hair to pull a lever. Thick wooden shutters that covered the windows over her head at the tower's peak burst open.

The tower was flooded with sunlight, glittering specks of dust filling the air. Their day was about to begin–the day she would ask Lana to take her to see the sparkling lights!

Ariana:

7 AM, the usual morning lineup
Start on the chores and sweep 'til the floor's all clean
Polish and wax, do laundry and mop and shine up
Sweep again and by then it's like 7:15
And so I'll read a book, or maybe two or three
I'll add a few new paintings to my gallery
I'll play guitar and knit and cook and basically
Just wonder, when will my life begin?

The tower made a small living space–it was tall but narrow. On the main level, there was a small kitchen, along with a living room that had a giant fireplace. The window through which Lana Parrilla entered and exited the tower was off to one side. Lana Parrilla slept in a bedroom on their cozy level of the tower.

Ariana:

Then after lunch, it's puzzles and darts and baking
Papier-mâché, a bit of ballet and chess
Pottery and ventriloquy, candle making
Then I'll stretch, maybe sketch
Take a climb, sew a dress
And I'll reread the books if I have time to spare
I'll paint the walls some more, I'm sure there's room somewhere
And then I'll brush and brush and brush and brush my hair
Stuck in the same place I've always been
And I'll keep wonderin' and wonderin'
And wonderin' and wonderin'
When will my life begin?

Up a set of winding wooden stairs was a small loft where Ariana slept. Here she also had a box of paints, a guitar, and a little bed for Pascal.

Ariana kept herself busy every day. But today Pascal felt her excitement as she rushed through her chores, cleaning, sweeping, dusting the furniture, waxing the floors made of thick golden wood and shining stone, and washing her single, pale purple dress. Then she sat down to play her guitar. She was self-taught, of course, but the melodies that floated from the strings were beautiful.

She had a few puzzles that she put together and took apart regularly. When she started feeling a bit pent up, she often turned to her darts. She had quite good aim and placed her targets in every nook and cranny to challenge herself with increasing levels of difficulty. Someday, she might just create a dart that could fly across the valley and hit one of the far walls of the cliffs. But one day was a long way off. In the meantime, Ariana also loved to read! She had exactly three books, all completely memorized—one on culinary arts, which helped her with her cooking, one about geology, and the third about botany. Her favorite was the botany book. It had the best colors and explained about things that grew outside.

Pascal tried to be patient as Ariana did the same things over and over again, but sometimes he couldn't help rolling his eyes. It was boring!—especially when she had to brush her hair for hours on end.

This morning, when she was finally done with all her chores, her guitar, her puzzles and books, her hair . . . Ariana smiled at Pascal. As usual, she had saved the best for last: painting!

It was her passion. The tower's walls were covered with her art. Tossing a length of golden hair over one of the rafters, she hoisted herself up toward her favorite mural.

But today, as she pulled back the red curtain that covered the painting, she looked at it differently. The image was a replica of the view from her window—a night scene showing the glowing lights rising into the sky.

Pulling out her paints, she spotting a small blank space that she wanted to fill. When she finished, she had added a small picture of herself ready to enter the forest beyond the tunnel—to see the world outside her little valley.

Ariana:

Tomorrow night, lights will appear
Just like they do on my birthday each year
What is it like out there where they glow?
Now that I'm older, Mother might just let me go

Suddenly, Ariana heard her mother's voice. "Ariana!" Lana Parrilla called from outside the tower. "Ariana! Let down your hair!"

Ariana gasped. The moment had finally arrived! She took a deep breath and turned to Pascal, who gave her a brave little smile.