A young man was perched perfectly within a tree, hidden from view from anyone else in sight. He spotted a large tower with his monocular when he surveyed the luscious green landscape. The tower was old, perhaps made centuries ago and was falling apart from the look of the outside.
He snickered to himself as he removed his monocular with a confident, smug look. "Whoever hath thought of such a security for this tower knows not who they are dealing with! I am a master thief after all, nothing is no match for I, the devilishly handsome, Bandit King!" he declared conceitedly to himself until a small brown and white patterned ferret crawled up his body through his red trench coat and bit him on the ear. "Ow!" he exclaimed when he eyed the ferret that hopped on his head, arms folded as it growled. The boy laughed before he smiled, "I apologize, Arco. I mean this tower is no match for the both of us of course! We are a team after all, my friend!" Arco nodded with a grin and together they descended down from their spot and made their way closer to the tower.
Meanwhile inside the dark, ancient and nearly barren tower; there within the single window of the fortification was a young woman. She looked out to see the world though not in its full view. The world she knew was this tower and the expanse around it that consisted of the trees that changed colors with the seasons, the water on the horizon which was perpetually a murky blue, and the sky that showed her the colors of red; orange; blue; and even purple with the rise and setting of the sun. Her eyes were bluer than the water of the lake outside the forest's edge and her hair was more yellow than the sun itself. In fact her hair was essentially golden and shined radiantly in the light that sneaked in through the window and danced along every single strand of her hair that stretched...and stretched...and stretched for what seems like forever. Her hair had grown out so long as she never cut it since birth.
In this large tower the girl's hair curved around the spiral stair case form the top floor to the bottom and often she would find herself having to carry her hair in a large basket to move around efficiently. Her hair was literally a drag to her and she does not even want to think about her splendid 24 hour hair day to wash and care for it as her grandmother always told her to do. Fortunately today was not one of those days which actually seem to be the highlight of her time. As the young woman named Rapunzel has lived her entire life in this tower all alone. Every day she attempts to make a game out of life so she does not die from boredom. She runs around and around the tower to beat her best time of making it back and forth, yet she always trips on her hair. She tries to sing and dance, but with no audience to listen to her or watch. There are only two things that brings her joy in her life: that is reading books and discovering new adventures within them and the occasional visit from her grandmother who is always gone much too soon after she performs a spell on Rapunzel's hair.
Now Rapunzel was not particularly in the mood to do anything. She just wanted to sit here and look out to the world, hoping something... anything would happen to mix up this life she has lived. She is a bird within her cage, and yet freedom is always within her finger tips as she just has to stretch out hand out the wind and only a part of her is free, only a single aspect of her is free she thought. But grandmother forbids that Rapunzel leaves the tower under any condition. Not even to see her own parents that Rapunzel could not remember since she saw them only when she was just a baby. Grandmother says the outside world is too dangerous for Rapunzel and she must stay in the tower for her own well-being. Though Rapunzel wished to question her grandmother on what is so dangerous out there in the world; she never did and only nods to her whenever Rapunzel brings it up.
So Rapunzel sat in her window, looking out the forest below. Hoping that by chance a bear or some animal may come by and she can watch it in its natural routine for entertainment. It was then she spotted "something" walking up to the tower. What was it? What was that thing that walked on two legs, swung its arms with a sense of pride, and looked almost as if it was a human... "A person!" she gasped as she covered her mouth and hid herself from view. She did not wish to be seen since she could not tell what she should do in such a novel experience. She felt that perhaps she should say something, but what words could she possibly use to communicate?
She slowly poked her head out just enough for her eyes to see the person in full view. The person had black scruffy hair, light brown skin, a red-brown trench coat, brown leather boots and baggy leather pants, and oddly enough wore a very long red scarf around his neck on this warm summer’s day. Rapunzel was pulling from her memory of clothing from the books she read and at first thought the person had to be a pirate! Yes, but where is the person's hook and peg leg? Not a pirate? Was this person a merchant? Was he trying to sell someone beans? It was then the voice called out to the tower and made Rapunzel jump.
"Hello? Hello?" the deep voice said in a tone completely foreign to Rapunzel's ears. She thought all humans sounded like her, feminine and soft just like her and Grandmother. "HELL-O!" the voice yelled, making Rapunzel cover her sensitive ears.
"What do I do?" Rapunzel asked herself in her mind. "Do I say something? But Grandmother would not approve of such a thing... But what if the person needs help? What do I do then? What if that person could...for me...? No... Never... But...?" Rapunzel felt she could not debate this anymore. She spent her whole life inside of walls, and she wanted to take any experience she could before the fragmented, short moments of life fly on by. She took to the window of this great tower and looked down at the person below who caught a glimpse of the beauty of the woman he saw in the tower. Their eyes met with the other for a few seconds and then a minute and perhaps a long moment. The wind blew from the forest below and caught a draft up to Rapunzel; her hair flowing slightly in the breeze as her wanderlust filled eyes stared at the person below.
The young lad was so awestruck by the woman's beauty that Arco had to beat his head to knock some sense back into him. "Ow, Arco!" The boy said as he fiercely grabbed the ferret and glared at it. "I am not getting distracted from our quest, it is just when a man meets a woman as beautiful as that. You have to play a different tune, one that is..." he looked up to the woman again who turned her head slightly in awe as she continued to observe him. "More gentle for an alluring flower such as that! Me-ow!" Arco stared blankly at him. "Ugh, what I mean is that now that we know that a young woman lives here. We can just scurry on all up into the tower and easily take whatever goods lies within... And maybe her heart and body if such a young maiden would allow me to... By her consent of course." The boy was almost swooning himself on his own delusions as Arco's eyes went wide as he shook his head no, saying it's a bad idea but the boy ignored him and walked up to the tower.
The boy called up to the woman in the tower, "Hello there! Someone is there, yes? Greetings, my fair maiden! I am merely...a lost traveler that has come to these parts after many a days of travel. I have come from far and wide, an adventurer I be. But it matters not who am I but who are you my shining light that heals my sore eyes?" Arco gagged himself from hearing those lines. “Shut it, Arco,” he mumbled to his friend as Rapunzel was shy but called back in a similar tone to the boy.
“I- I am Rapunzel! I live here in this tower,” she called back. “You say you are a traveler? By what name do I call you?”
The boy was about to answer her until he thought it over for a moment. The truth was he was no mere traveler, but an infamous thief that he felt he was sure to be known by his real name. So he chose another name for himself to conceal his identity, though in not such a clearly obvious way to Rapunzel. “Indeed I am!” he answered. “My name is Rogue!”
Arco hit himself in the face, thinking he might as well have just said, "I am a thief!"
“Then, Rogue the traveler, do you have…tales and stories of the world beyond? Since you are a traveler you must have some, correct?” she asked, eagerly.
Rogue shrugged. “I could tell you many tales about the world that lies far beyond this tower…”
“Truly?” She yelled back with such enthusiasm and joy that almost shocked the boy. “Could you really tell me such things? Tell me stories of adventure and tales of romance and mystery? You can tell me all about the world you have been able to see? Like…dragons!”
“Dragons!?”
“Or even Hydras, Phoenixes, Pirates, Wizards, magic, duels, dwarves, elves, or even- Even those cute little things that walk on four legs and are all furry?” Rapunzel asked.
“Umm… Dogs?”
“Yes! Dogs! They are so cute and fluffy! …Or so that is what I have read in books. Are they as they say in the books? Cute and fluffy?” she asked, nodding her head rapidly in anticipation to what Rogue would answer to her.
The boy looked back at Arco who shrugged, thinking this woman is off her knockers. He looked back to Rapunzel. “Certainly, my fair maiden! I will tell you all of those things about dogs and more. I can tell you wonders that you have not even heard about. However, if you do not mind me asking, may you cast down some rope so I am able to get inside the tower? I am unable to climb up such a rugged structure with ease and I rather not fall down in such an attempt.”
Rapunzel thought about this for a moment before she nodded and walked back inside her room. She was thinking to herself about all the wonderful things she is about to hear. She could finally ask someone about the things she had read within her stories and tales. She will finally be able to see the world with her own eyes. She grasped herself in a tight hug, her heart beating rapidly from the mere thought of such a thing. Then she thought how alluring and attractive the boy was to her. Why was he... Ah, he took the breath out of Rapunzel.
However, if grandmother returned… No, Rapunzel thought. She must take this chance despite the consequences that may follow. So she went back to her window and saw the person was still there and took a deep breath before she casted down her hair down the window. The boy stared at this strange rope for a moment before shrugging it off and using it to climb all the way up and inside the tower.
Once inside his eyes instantly gazed themselves on the woman before him who stared at him with such a curious eyes that got close to his face. Their noses were practically touching and she was observing him so closely.
“Is… Is there something in my teeth?” he asked, moving his head back from her a little.
“No…” she said softly. “Should there be? Should I have something in the teeth of mine? Would it be strange if I did?” she huffed, panicking for a moment.
“Not at all! I… I think…?” he said as Rapunzel sighed with relief and continued her observation of the person in front of her. She found this person to be very odd in comparison to her. Arco had crawled from behind Rogue’s head and down his back and snuck around the tower to look for treasure while Rogue distracts the woman; Arco nodded and saluted to Rogue who nodded back to him as Arco dashed away. Along the way Arco tripped over Rapunzel’s long hair and got flustered upon sight of the trail of locks that stretched all the way down this tower. Arco tried to tell Rogue but he was too caught up in Rapunzel’s pace who kept his eyes focused on her eyes and not her hair he had not cared to take notice of.
“You are…odd,” Rapunzel stated, looking him up and down.
“Odd? Me? Worry not, Rapunzel. I assure you I am not strange at all! My friends actually call me… Err… Not strange!” Rogue said, trying his best to keep calm but Rapunzel’s beauty was mesmerizing to him, almost enchanting.
“But… Your… Physique is different from my own?” Rapunzel said as she pressed her hands to her chest and then pressed them to Rogue’s. “You are not squishy and soft! Your chest is hard, smooth, and a bit rough to my touch. Where are your bosoms? Mine are here, but where are your own?” Rapunzel then got really close to Rogue and hugged him, turning Rogue to a statue from Rapunzel’s sudden closeness. He felt her warm body hold onto his own as she tried to literally feel out his body; he smelled her sweet fragrance, and was almost tempted to hold her back for how long it has been since anyone has hugged them. “Hmm… Really warm too. Your back is also rough; you are much bigger and sturdier than I. Though, your rump is as impressive as my own!” Rapunzel declared as she grabbed Rogue’s butt with surprise.
“Woah! Woah, woah, woah, lady!” Rouge said as he jumped back from Rapunzel. “I know my buttocks are impressive. Trust me, I know,” he said with a wink and glint in his smile. “But I am different than you because I am a man and you are a woman. Me male… You female… You understand?”
Rapunzel stared at him blankly, putting a finger to her lips with muddled thoughts.
“Umm… Have you never met a man before?” he asked, looking at her eyes grow sad.
“No…” Rapunzel stated, looking away. “I have only known another woman. My Grandmother. She does not visit me very often. I am alone in this tower… I have been here for all of my life, so I have never been outside of this tower. You are the first other person I have ever met. So I apologize if I am not used to such customs as man or woman…” she said. “However, I know all about men from the stories! Men are like those warriors in shining armor on a trusty steed that save the princesses from a mighty beast, yes? And I know one thing for certain about men…” Rapunzel then reached her hand down to Rogue’s family jewels and grabbed them with all of her might! “Aha! So it is true that men have something that I, as a woman, do not have here! Fascinating! What is this thing, Rogue?”
Rogue was too paralyzed from Rapunzel’s shockingly strong, tight grip on his jewels. “Oh my…Gold… Doubloons…” he let out a high pitched squeal as his eye went big and his hands went down.
Rapunzel was astonished. “Amazing! Men have the ability to make their voices sound similar to my own? How do you do it? Through these?” she wondered as she squeezed even harder making Rogue squeal a very high pitched shriek before he fell over in pain. Rogue was unable to move as he felt his stomach almost throw itself out of his body when he noticed that rope Rapunzel used to pull him up, but it was not a rope! It smelled like her hair… Her hair! Rogue managed to pick himself up and examine the long mane that stretched and stretched.
“What? Is this your…?”
“Hair? Why, yes it is. Is that…also strange? I notice your hair is short like Grandmother’s. Why is that?” Rapunzel asked him, gathering up her long hair that carried all the way from downstairs to stuff it into her big basket to carry some of it around.
Rogue watched in bewilderment as Rapunzel stuffed her hair into this basket. “That is a lot of shampoo and conditioner…” Rogue said as he shook his head in disbelief, unable to understand why a woman has grown her hair to be so long. Rapunzel even dragged Arco back up the tower who struggled to get free from her curls. Rogue reached out and snatched Arco from her hair before Rapunzel stuffed it all into her basket somehow. “Is that basket magical?”
“Indeed, my Grandmother enchanted it to hold my hair for me,” Rapunzel said until she noticed Arco in Rogue’s hands and her face lit up. “A DOGGY!”
“This is a ferret!” Rogue exclaimed. “How is this a dog to you?” Arco looked at Rapunzel whose eyes began to scare him and he cowered behind Rogue’s head. Rapunzel dropped to the floor with Rogue and stared at the small animal.
“Can I… touch it? The furry-et?” she asked, almost appearing a small child. Rogue could not resist her innocent charms. She was like a bright light, untainted by the darkness around her despite having supposedly been here her whole life. Was she not alone? Was she not sad? Rogue though back to when he was just an orphan that no one wanted when he was a child. He never could have done what this woman has, surviving all alone with a heart like hers. He had to escape, and become a thief to survive.
“Of course, Rapunzel,” he said with a smile as he slowly handed Arco to her. “Just… PLEASE… Do not squeeze him. You are a lot stronger than you look. Then again you did lug me up here by yourself... Women sure are frightening," he remarked before looking to Rapunzel. "He’s my friend, and I would like him in one piece. His name is Arco.”
“Ar-co? Arco… What a lovely name like yours, Rogue.” She said as she took Arco into her hands who was still terrified of Rapunzel until she gently patted him on the head. Arco slowly warmed up to her, almost instantly, and she was cuddling him like a newborn. Rogue found Rapunzel to be this very strange woman, yet she was kind and warmhearted. Rogue smiled, never thinking things would have ended up like this. So he looked to Rapunzel and asked her what story she would like to hear first, of course he would make some things up as they went along. Rapunzel put a finger to her lip as she thought before a smile came to her face. “Yours. Arco’s. I want to know all about you Rogue. You, who make my heart pound, and you who have given new meaning to my life.” With her other hand she reached out and held Rogue’s, slightly blushing and Rogue hesitantly took a deep breath before he went on a spree of storytelling. He told of her of his marvelous adventures from the deep sea to the tall, shaky mountains. He went on for hours watching Rapunzel’s face shine with excitement at his adventure, marvel with anticipation for a climax, or dance and jump up and down when the end of the story was so epic. Throughout the stories Rogue and Rapunzel got to know one another better, for all there was to know or what Rogue would share about him.
It was not long until night had fallen upon them and Rogue was thinking that he would have to move on to the next place soon enough. He cannot stay here forever, but then he thought neither should Rapunzel. She had fallen asleep, lying her head gently on his shoulder as they lied against the tower’s wall right under her single window. Arco was asleep in his lap as well, asleep like a log. Rogue smiled and sighed to himself.
“These two… What am I supposed to do with these two?” he murmured.
Rapunzel then mumbled in her sleep, “Thank you… Rogue…Arco… So happy…”
Rogue’s heart twisted itself. He could not leave Rapunzel behind, but what life would she have if she joined a thief? He was a wanted man. She had nothing to do with it. But still… any life is better than this. So he gently caressed her head, his fingers gliding across her hair until her eyes slowly opened and casted themselves up to Rogue.
“Rogue…? Is everything alright? Ah… Did I fall asleep?”
“You did,” Rogue answered. “And I must say your sleeping face is quite majestic, Beauty.”
Rapunzel snickered. “Perhaps… I never had anyone watch me sleep. In the books that is usually the part where a prince awakens the princess with a kiss… Or someone gets brutally murdered and I haunt you for the rest of my life.” She smiled. Rogue’s eyes went wide.
“I am earnestly going to purchase you some new books,” Rogue said, shaking his head.
Rapunzel looked confused. “How will you do such a thing? Will you leave and come back here for me?” Rapunzel stared into Rogue’s eyes, her hand tightening around his as she thought about Rogue leaving her would be the saddest thing in the whole world. Rogue felt her despair, and held her hand.
“No,” he told her. “You and I shall be leaving. I cannot leave you, Rapunzel. Not after the time we hath spent together. For all of my life I have been alone, just like you. I have no family to speak of, and neither do you. We both understand what it means to be alone, except you… You definitely had it worse, and I believe you deserve no such thing. I am taking you from this tower and frankly your Grandmother be damned! Everyone deserves a chance to live their life, free of walls, whether it be their own heart…” Rogue said as he touched his chest. “Or a tower of solitude itself. Come with me, Rapunzel! Come with me and you will get to see all those stories you always wished to see. You will get to see those dogs…those animals…and knowing my luck you will probably see some things you should not, but ehh… Luck of the draw I suppose. And… what I am ultimately trying to say is that I… I… I… Lo-”
“Love me!?” Rapunzel yelled, staring at him. “Like how I have grown to love you? Oh, is this love? I do not even know. All I know is I wish to be with you… Even if it is forbidden. I want to be able to be with you…for the rest of my life!”
“Woah,” Rogue said, taken aback by her. “I did not use the ‘L’ word!”
“But… You almost did. You were going to say it! I know you were!””
“Nope,” Rogue said stubbornly. “I was going to say I long…for…yo- You know what. Let’s move on, come. We got our whole lives ahead of us to worry about some little word.” Rogue got up and began using Rapunzel’s hair to latch onto the window so they can get down safely while he tried to ignore Rapunzel.
“T-that is not fair!” she yelled again. “I want to hear you say it! I just confessed to you, so tell me!” Rapunzel tackled Rogue and tried to force him to say what she wanted to hear. Rogue had to scrape the ground to break free and he ended up trying to flee from her as they ran around in a circle with Rapunzel chasing after Rogue. Arco had woken up and saw the scene in front of him, thought about it for a moment, and shook his head before going back to sleep. Unfortunately, Rogue’s luck had reached even Rapunzel and the two ended up getting wrapped up in her hair and somehow falling out the window themselves. Thankfully Rogue had attached her hair to the top and they were saved just before crashing to the ground. Now they were just hanging there and looking at the other before they both busted out in laughter.
“Seems like a marvelous start to our adventure together,” Rapunzel stated.
Rogue shook his head. “This is not a good sign for our lives.”
Rapunzel giggled. “I think it is all perfect. Now I get to be close to you like this for the rest of my life, and that means much more to me than any dog.”
Rogue smiled. “You are right, Rapunzel. Now you and I just have to figure out how to get down from here so the two of us can can start that life together.” It was then Arco climbed down the rope of hair to Rogue and hit him on his head. “I mean… All three of us will figure it out. Now Rapunzel, my Rapunzel, let us try to figure out how to let down your hair, shall we?”
Rapunzel smiled big. ‘Yes!”
Afterwards they went on to live the rest of their lives together, running from bandits, escaping the law, and going on adventures all around the world. Falling in love...and trouble. But it is the life they have chosen for better or for worse. A life without walls...702Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjvdXT8JpTL
702Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcHspbN80PT
THE END
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