mother knows best

[powershines]

Rapunzel doesn't sleep well, and she does wind up wrapped up in her hair overnight like a golden-cocooned butterfly. She's still dozing fitfully when the sun comes up.

Comments

[powershines]

Rapunzel jerks her hair away from both men.

"Let's - let's just go," she murmurs to Rolan. "We can tell somebody where to find them later?"

[hisowninvention]

"Yeah. Let's. I'll get your crown."

He fetches his bag. It only takes a quick scramble down the little slope and back up.

[alicornucopia]

"What the hell?!" exclaims the live one, thrashing in his ropes but not making much progress.

[powershines]

Rapunzel follows Rolan once he's got the bag. Her hair is gathered up in her arms.

[hisowninvention]

Off they go.

"I'm feeling less like wasting time with boats," he says. "If she warned the Royal Guard, fine, they can arrest me. But the next stream we pass on the way, I'm stopping to have a wash."

[powershines]

"If - if they arrest you I'll be in the city all by myself. Mother could drag me back without even getting help, if she found me before I figured out how to get to see the king and queen."

[hisowninvention]

"How you get to see the king and queen is, you tell the Royal Guard your name is Claribel and you want to see the Queen. Or you go to the palace - it's right on top of the hill, you can't possibly miss it - and keep telling people that until someone believes you. The Guard and the people who work in the palace are all more likely than your average citizen to be familiar with what the Queen looks like. And if Gothel tries to drag you back, anyone nearby is more likely to help you than her, if you obviously don't want to go. I'm not saying I'm looking forward to being arrested - it'll make everything harder for you, and I won't be having much fun either - but it doesn't have to stop us in our tracks."

[powershines]

"I-if you say so but I don't know how to talk to people and what if the guards hurt you and I can't fix it or if they - they say 'Claribel' and I don't turn around because I'm used to 'Rapunzel' and they think - I don't want you to get arrested."

[hisowninvention]

"I don't want to get arrested either. I will try not to get arrested. But the reason we were going for the boats was to avoid exactly the thing that just happened, and she'll only have more time to warn the Royal Guard about me if we go looking for one. And - I don't know - I want you to see the king and queen as fast as possible so there's less time for more of that," he gestures vaguely back the way they came, "to happen in. I don't know if that's strictly reasonable but it's how I feel."

[powershines]

"Okay. Bridge."

[hisowninvention]

"Bridge," he agrees.

They reach a stream. He stops to have a wash, as planned, which involves rinsing the blood off his face and hands and then pulling a folded shirt out of his bag to change into. There. Now he doesn't have any more blood on him anywhere. The slightly splattered shirt gets rolled up with the slightly splattered parts on the inside and then stuffed in the bag.

[powershines]

Rapunzel doesn't comment.

Or watch while he's changing shirts.

[hisowninvention]

He seems to feel slightly better afterward. 'Slightly better' still doesn't mean 'good', however.

[powershines]

Yeah, she's not thrilled either.

Walk. Walk. Walk.

[hisowninvention]

Walk, walk, walk.



And there's the bridge, visible as they emerge from the forest.

It's very pretty. So is the island city on the other end, and the glimmering lake in between.

[powershines]

Rapunzel is, for just a moment, startled out of her low mood by the sheer beauty and unfamiliarity of the city.

[hisowninvention]

Rolan smiles a little.

"I really love this place," he murmurs.

[powershines]

"It's beautiful," breathes Rapunzel.

[hisowninvention]

"I'm glad you like it."

[powershines]

Rapunzel walks a bit closer to him as they approach the bridge, almost as though she'd like to be hugging his arm, but she doesn't ask.

[hisowninvention]

Well, they can just walk close together, then.

No one bothers them on the bridge.

[powershines]

Rapunzel is clearly still unnerved by large groups of people, but she keeps walking and sticks close by Rolan.

[hisowninvention]

After the initial crowd around the city side of the bridge, he leads her up the hill on a route that avoids busy areas.



They're crossing a small square with a little fountain in the centre when a little girl, one of a group of five, spots Rapunzel. She stares with big round eyes and tugs on her friend's sleeve, and then all of them are staring in amazement, and the first one runs up and says shyly, "Miss you have so much hair!"

Rolan can't help grinning.

[powershines]

"Yeah. I have a lot of hair."

[hisowninvention]

"It's so pretty, miss!" says the little girl. "Do you braid it? I just did mine!" She proudly displays her two small braids, one on either side, each of which comes down just past the local shoulder.

Rolan continues to grin.