27 January 2024
Rapunzel had only been in the library an hour or so when the Tower notified her that someone was outside. It was very odd; had Mother forgotten something?
It was not Mother she found, though, when she poked her head out the window of the receiving room. Instead, it was a couple of boys; one was blonde and fairly short, while the other was tall and quite stocky, with sandy brown hair. The blonde one called up, “Excuse me! Sorry to bother you, but is your name Aurora?”
Rather than reply, Rapunzel pulled her head back and slammed the window shut, before she curled into a ball in a corner of the room. Aurora. That was her real name, right? Which means that boy was probably…
“My brother!?” Rapunzel squeaked. She looked back up at the window and realized she’d basically just slammed the door on a prince, even if he was a relative.
It took another ten to fifteen minutes to work up the courage to crack the window back open and peek outside. Just then, a metal hook struck the wall near the window. It was connected to a rope, leading down to the bigger boy, where the blonde boy encouraged him.
Mustering all her determination, she (sort of) shouted, “Please don’t throw things at the Tower! You might damage something!”
The two boys paused and looked at each other. The prince called back, “What did you say?”
Rapunzel repeated herself, at least a smidgeon louder, but the two boys just turned to each other and shrugged. She didn’t know what to do. They couldn’t hear her. She could step outside, but that was… scary. Not to mention the mess her hair would cause. On the other hand, if Rapunzel let them in, that would upset Mother, right?
But what if they left before Mother came back? That could could even be her excuse to make them leave if they tried to stay too long. Right? Rapunzel could do that.
Nodding to herself, Rapunzel flipped the lever to let her hair down. The boys looked up in surprise, but the prince quickly started to climb up, with the other not far behind. Unfortunately for Rapunzel, they were already halfway up before she realized she’d have to actually talk to them. For a whole conversation. It was a small miracle she hadn’t started hyperventilating by the time they made it inside.