7 May 2024

I worry that I’m making Isaac too judgmental. He is supposed to be flawed, but I need to balance that; not sure. Probably relies on the rest of the narrative before I’ll know for sure—if that’s even something you CAN ever know for sure.

Next to Isaac, Phillip gawked at the Tower, and the way its hallways stretched well beyond the space it should have had. Isaac couldn’t muster the excitement. Even in the most magical place on the grandest adventure he’d likely ever get to go on. Isaac could only stare at the girl leading them onward.

This was Aurora? Really? This cowardly, frail slip of a girl was supposed to be his long-lost sister?

Over and over, Isaac tried to deny it, tried to find some other possible explanation. But each new theory was more outlandish than the last, and the more he thought about it, the more his dreams of adventure seemed to fall apart around him.

After around fifteen minutes, Aurora–rather, Rapunzel–led them to what at first seemed like a dead end. Then she knocked on the wall, and it opened to reveal one of the finest paint studios he’d laid eyes on.