Frosted (Frosted #1 | Jackunzel)

{ Chapter Eighteen }

"What? Like the Thumbsucker or Pauline and the Matches?"

"No," Rapunzel answered, though she'd no idea what stories he was referring to. "Like the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus, the gift giver."

"Oh. Of course."

"Have you ever believed in them?"

Flynn shifted, as if bored with her questions. "When I was kid, maybe."

"So, why not now?" Rapunzel challenged.

She felt the shrug as much as she saw it. "I don't know. Because I'm old enough to realize it's all mumbo-jumbo stories parents tell their kids to hush them up. Like the Thumbsucker—I've been terrified of scissors ever since! Imagine how fun that is to explain to barbers when I go in to get a trim."

Rapunzel shook her head, thinking of a fluttering fairy and cold, comforting hands on her scalp. "Magic doesn't deserve to leave alongside your childhood. I can't imagine a bleaker way of life. Belief is one of the most vital traits a human can possess! It's what gets you moving, gets you thriving and relishing everything life has to offer! Who's to say the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus aren't real? Or Sandman and Jack Frost? Has anyone ever proven to you they weren't? It's not silly to believe—it's beautiful and charming. It's correct, because they do exist, regardless of anyone's blatant dismissal."

"Alright, alright!" Flynn moved, most likely lifting his hands in defeat. Rapunzel was too small to check. "I didn't mean to ruffle your feathers, blondie. I'm just saying, the only girl I caught sneaking a tooth from underneath my pillow was my mother, and that doesn't exactly scream magic."

Rapunzel frowned. "But it does scream love," she said.

Flynn said no more after that, and neither did Rapunzel. Her cheek returned to its press along his back as thoughts engulfed her once more. Why hadn't she ever seen the tooth fairies either? Had they been too busy to come to her tower, or to the island altogether? Even fairies get tired, Rapunzel thought. And then came the wonders of Jack—where was he? Nearby? Far? Getting eaten by the plague?

Had he left her for good?

No. Rapunzel could feel his presence, watchful and isolated. When Baby Tooth lifted from her seat upon her shoulder, Rapunzel asked her to find Jack and keep him company for the remainder of the long day.

With only a few stops to relieve themselves and stretch their limbs, she, Flynn and Maximus rode hard until nightfall. It was only when the sun had nearly finished its descent over the horizon that they decided it would be best for them all to settle down for the night to replenish their energies.

"So, what's with the frying pan?" Flynn asked as he worked to get their fire started. Rapunzel had been worried she'd have to pull out her hair trick again and reveal her own powers to him, but apparently he'd been wise enough to carry his own flint around with him. Exhaustion still roiled through her when she thought of the flame igniting beneath her hair. The action had taken more out of her than she could have ever imagined.

She looked down at the pan propped beside her on the log Flynn was sitting on. "It's useful, and I like it," she shrugged, stretching her legs out over the prickling dry grass. It was a mystery to her how Flynn could stand sitting on a hard log—her entire body ached from the horse ride, the worse of it being focused in her hips and legs.

Flynn poked at the fire with a stick he'd plucked from somewhere off, sending a cluster of blaze up to the sky. Like a blizzard of snow, but made of scalding heat. "Goodnight, Cress," Flynn finally said. It took a moment for Rapunzel to remember the false name she'd given him upon their meeting. A gripping guilt filled her, suddenly, but she said nothing of it. Instead, she let her eyes trail the campsite. There, at the edge of the wood. She caught a sliver of pure white in the darkness that vanished in seconds, one easily missed if she'd have only blinked at the wrong time. Rapunzel reached for her satchel.