4
WREN
Sixteen Years Old
Four years.
I’ve been coming to the tower for four years.
In the beginning, it was easy to sneak away from Leeds before the intrusion of responsibilities. Now? With my schooling complete, I hunt with my father. He pushes me harder, with each trip into the surrounding areas strengthening me. They make me sharper. Better. During our last outing, I felled a full-grown stag with a single arrow to the heart. My father was never prouder. It wasn’t my first kill, but it was indeed my most impressive.
No, my first kill inadvertently led me to Rapunzel. How I bragged to my friends that I was a great hunter because I caught a coyote. My boast prompted them to dare me to venture into Blithe Forest. Unable to back down from the challenge, I walked farther than ever I had.
Until I reached the Merrie River, where I spied the witch on the opposite side of the bank.
And then I found myself in the glade—and the rest, as the storytellers say, is history.
By the time I made it back to Leeds, my mother was worried sick since I’d been gone so long. My father arrived home soon after. He punished me right good for scaring her. Made me do double my chores for the entire week, but it was worth it because I met Rapunzel.
Rapunzel, with her golden hair, pale skin, and sad smile.
Rapunzel, with her secrets.
But I have a secret as well.
Percy Kincaid believes I’ll replace him as King John’s favorite. That I’ll follow in his footsteps and become a royal huntsman. My father is wrong. Although I intend to become a master archer, I’ll use my skills to get Rapunzel out of this tower and take us far away from here.
Far enough that Sybil’s magic can never reach us.
“You’re quiet today, Wren.” Rapunzel sits straddling the ledge, her right leg dangling out the window.
My nerves can’t take it and I have to turn away. If anything were to happen to her…
There would be no me without Rapunzel.
But it’s impossible to keep my gaze off her for long. It drifts back on its own accord, and as always, I notice how she’s grown over the years. Her body has developed, her delicate curves filling out her green tunic. And damn it if her skirt hadn’t ridden up her thigh. My body, also matured, reacts to the sight of her shapely leg and bare foot swinging back and forth. She’s sat this way many times before, but it’s only these last couple of months that it’s become unbearable to see this much of her flesh.
I stiffen and shift on the ground, resisting the need to adjust my cock to a more comfortable position within the crotch of my brown breeches. “I could say the same of you.”
She heaves out a sigh loud enough to reach me. “I’m simply enjoying the day.”
“How long do we have?”
Rapunzel stares beyond me, out toward the forest behind me. “Sybil won’t return for hours.”
With my legs crooked, I rest my arms across my knees and pray Rapunzel can’t see her effect on me. “Where’d she go this time?”
“Not sure.”
She’s lying.
After all this time, I know Rapunzel’s tells.
Even now, she still protects her secrets.
Once I free her from the tower, I’ll shatter every remaining barrier between us. Finally earn her trust. Until then, I’ll leave her to whatever mysteries she believes she needs to keep.
“Did you forget what today is?” I ask with atsk.
