Captive (A Rapunzel Retelling) Book 4 of the Fairytale Book Series

Chapter Four

Adam had been trekking the woods for hours, and still no sign of Dick.
The stupid horse obviously didn't want to be found. Lord knew what trouble he could get into in this tangled wood.
The trees were clustered tightly together and seemed to go on endlessly. Their leaves overhead blocked out the morning rays so everything was covered in scattered shadow. The forest floor consisted of thick piles of dead leaves, bits of tree bark, and loose branches. This made it very hard for Adam to walk without stumbling over something. He groaned under his breath as he pushed back another branch that met his eye level.He'd been pushing past branches and getting his clothes snagged on by thorn bushes, and it didn't seem to make any difference in his search for Dickkofig.
Why did that stupid horse have to get himself lost in here? Adam trudged through a pile of messy leaves and branches as high as his knees, hoping there were no dangerous animals nesting inside. If he died in this wood from a snake bite or got his leg chomped off by some wolf... Adam sighed as he made it out of the pile without any issue, the exception that only his pant legs got a little dirty. Well, dirtier. He still hadn't washed himself from wrestling with Wilhelm earlier, so he was probably going to be a dirt covered monster when he returned to the stables with Dick. If he could find him.
The trees started to get farther apart now, making it easier to navigate, and there was more light filtering in, too. This would hopefully make it bit easier to locate Dick.
Adam stopped for a moment to look around, searching the ground for horse dung or hoof tracks. (Not that he wanted to find the latter, but it would help.) But so far, nothing.
Adam kept walking, every so often scanning the ground or peering around the trees. It was rather ironic, really, that Adam was back in this forest looking for something. The last time he'd been in here, nearly ten years ago, was when the king had led a search party to look for his missing daughter. Adam sighed regretfully at the memory. The night the castle had been attacked by rebel men--no more than peasants with pitchforks, really--was the same night Princess Zipporah was found out to be gone from the castle. No one knew what had become of her. One maid had said she'd seen the princess coming out of her bedroom to check out the scene of the men storming the castle, but there weren't any other witnesses. When the king interrogated the rogues after arresting them, they said they didn't see any princess.
Needless to say, the king and queen were overcome with worry. They had the entire castle searched, but it was inevitable. The princess was gone.
Adam was at home sick the night Zipporah disappeared, and when he heard from his mother the following day about what had taken place at the castle, he was livid.
"Missing? Gone? She's gone?! How? Where? What happened to her? We have to find her!" Adam had paced back and forth, frantic, running his fingers through his hair.
"Calm down, Adam. There is no need to get excited," Margatha tried soothing him.
"Mother, the princess is missing! There is every need to get excited! Who knows what's happened to her. She could be in grave danger, she could be..." Adam shook his head, his pacing quickening.
"Adam, take a moment to breathe and listen. The king is leading a large search party to find her. You can go with him if you are so worried and want to help."
Adam immediately stopped his pacing. Without another word, he bolted up the stairs to his room, packed whatever he could fit into his satchel, then ran out of the house and headed straight for the castle. A large crowd of men, villagers and soldiers alike, were outside the courtyard, clustered around the king who was sitting atop his great black stallion with his hands tightly grasping the reins.
"My good men, I have gathered you all here for your assistance in finding my precious daughter, Zipporah. We will split up into six groups--one to take the east, one west, north and south, one to take to the mountains, and another to the borders. We will not rest until my daughter is found and recovered safely home. I will assign you to your group according to your abilities, then you will each take a horse and be off in an hour." He added with a firm bellow, his expression dark, "Anyone who finds the scoundrel who took my daughter has my permission to slaughter him where he stands."
After all the men were assigned, the king chose Adam to accompany him and his group to go west, since that was the direction the rebel men had come from. Adam felt important to accompany the king and his men on such a dangerous quest, and it would be a successful one indeed once they found Zipporah and brought her home.
The princess, however, was never brought home.
Several months of searching led to no result. No matter how long or how far they travelled, there had been no sign of Zipporah anywhere. The king was the most determined to bring her back, but as time passed, even he had doubts that his daughter would ever be found. Finally, after a year, it was declared that Zipporah was gone forever. Never had Adam seen so much mourning in all his life. The entire castle, the village, and most of Grunewald was taken over by grief over the loss of the princess.
And that was why Adam was here. Even though Dick was the most bothersome, the most aggravating, the most insufferable horse he'd ever worked with, Adam couldn't lose him now. The king had gotten Dick not long after Zipporah had gone missing. Adam would not want to be the cause of more loss for King Johannes by allowing one of his horses to come to harm. So, with a heavy sigh, and another step around a thick tree root, Adam trudged on through the forest, determined and becoming dirtier by the minute.
After walking a few more feet, Adam decided he need to rest. A large stump sat in the middle of a clearing up ahead. Adam slumped down onto it, pressing his hands onto his thighs and taking even breaths. He looked around him, groaning from the pains in his legs and back.
It had to have been three hours by now since he left the castle, and he still hadn't recovered Dick yet. To add to this defeat, Adam was sure he was probably lost. This forest was so dense and clustered with trees that they all looked the same in every direction, so there was no way to tell which way he'd come from or how to get back to it. Adam hung his head in hands.
Why, God, why me? Why did that stupid stallion have to run off, making me go chase after him? I can't lose him, I cannot fail my king. Please, help me find him so we can both go home.
A soft breeze ruffled his hair and cooled the back of his sweaty neck. This relieved Adam, though only just a little. He groaned from his back pain, and groaned again.
Then, he heard an unusual sound rise above the rustling of the leaves.
At first, he thought he was just hearing things, but as the sound got louder, Adam knew he was definitely hearing someone singing. Who could be singing in the middle of these woods? Adam rose from his stump and looked all around him, his worries about Dick gone. Now he felt compelled to find the owner of the voice that was singing, and so beautifully, too.
He turned his head in either direction, trying to determine which side sounded closer. It was coming from up ahead, going northeast. Without another moment of hesitation, Adam started forward, allowing the beautiful voice to guide him towards wherever and whomever it would lead him to. The sounds of his feet shuffling through the leaves on the forest floor were the only other sounds Adam listened to while he walked. He didn't know why but he felt bound to listen to the singing and follow it, like he was a sailor being enchanted by a siren at sea. He pushed past branches and thickets, trying his best to see ahead of him, and find the maiden who was singing.
Yes, as he got closer and the singing got louder, he was sure the beautiful voice belonged to a maiden.
What would a maiden be doing singing in the furthest part of the forest? Was she with someone, or alone? Was she lost like he was? Maybe when he found her, he could ask the maiden if she'd seen Dick anywhere and she might help Adam look for him.
The farther he travelled, the more frustrated he became. Finding the singing maiden was even more frustrating than searching for Dick, something Adam wouldn't have thought was possible until now. A few more feet, and after pushing aside a thick leafy branch from his path, Adam looked ahead at something he'd never expected to see.
"Dick!"
The horse's large grey rump stuck out from a cluster of leafy shrubs and a curtain of moss hanging from a tree. Adam never thought he'd be so relieved to see that behind in all of his life.
Adam slowly approached Dick, careful to not make any sudden noises that would cause the horse to run off again. He tiptoed through the leaves, avoiding any dead branches that could snap beneath his feet, then made his way over to the horse's side. Adam ducked under the curtain of moss and silently pushed past the thick shrubs to get to Dick's left flank. The horse still hadn't noticed him. Dick's face was unmoving, almost relaxed, and his ears were facing forward, twitching to the side every so often. Adam raised a brow. He'd never seen the horse look like this before--so calm and silent. He seemed almost...tame.
Dick, tame? Ha. But it was true. Dick was as motionless as if he were a horse statue instead of a real one.
Adam tried to lead Dick away, but he wouldn't move. What had gotten into him? He tried again, but Dick refused to budge. Adam hoped he wasn't hurt or sick, if he was, Adam would be in great trouble. He checked Dick for any sign of harm, he found none. It made no sense. Great, now how was he going to get this stubborn horse back to the castle if he refused to move?
Suddenly, he heard something. It rose and rose until it sounded like it was right beside Adam and Dick. The beautiful singing voice, the maiden. He'd almost forgotten her after finding Dick. Adam looked forward, realizing why the grey stallion was so captivated. Just ahead of them, less than several feet away, stood a tall stone tower. Adam gaped.
Where had it come from?
The tower was cylindrical, it was built with a golden-gray colored granite, and about forty to fifty feet high with a conical red tile roof and a chimney. There was also an arched window with shutters on each side of it.
Adam wondered where this tower came from and how long it had been here. He didn't remember seeing it when he and the king had been searching for the princess years ago, but then again...he didn't remember seeing this mossy tree either. Had the tower always been here? It hardly mattered, Adam supposed, since it was here, right here in the deepest part of the forest. The singing seemed to be coming from it. Perhaps the maiden who belonged to the voice lived up there.
Adam inched a bit closer; Dick followed him. Adam's eyes blinked back at the horse. How odd. Dick never followed him. Shrugging, Adam turned back to the tower and tiptoed closer, hiding behind a tree. Not that the maiden would be able to see him from this far below, but he couldn't be too careful. He pressed himself against the bark, parted a branch, and then looked up towards the window. His heartbeat quickened as he caught sight of the maiden. She was lovely. He couldn't see much of her face because she was so high above him in the tower's window, but based on what he was able to see, she was beautiful indeed. A face as pale as marble was framed with beautiful dark blonde hair that fell around her face and behind her shoulders and he could see the outline of her hands that moved in a way similar to sewing. Her voice matched her appearance in exquisiteness very well.

God, my Father,
God, my shepherd,
For you came to earth to save thee
Shed your blood for all on earth
Who strayed too far away from ye
You will never abandon us
Nor let us come to harm
For you shall always be our King
You shine with your crown of gold
Yet you are worth much more
You are indeed worthy of my sing-ing