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Rapanzel
Ash and silt blanket the ledge that she stands on. Clad in a worn, brown tunic, the girl wipes back her cowl, and exposes her brooding, blue eyes and long, dirty blonde hair – dirty blonde, because of the dust and ash coating her whole body. Her feet are locked in calf high boots, straps haphazardly keeping the shoes together, trapping rough, gray pants under the flaps. Rapanzel coughs, disturbing the accumulated silt on her shoulders. She notches her walking staff into her elbow, leaning heavily into the solid stick while she fiddles with her crusty gloves. Ripping her left one off, she grabs her canteen, and throws her head back for a drink – and shakes the container vigorously. Nothing. In discouragement, Rapanzel drops it, the canteen plops down into the soil with a poof of dust. Her head hangs, blonde locks hanging dejectedly along her face. Her lips part silently, and she licks her dry lips uselessly. “Never should have trusted that old buzzard”. Muttering, the girl picks her head up, and resolutely pulls her glove back on. Once a picture of despair, her expression is far from anything resembling defeat. With a steely grimace, she sets to walking again, more so climbing, up the steep slope. Gingerly, Rapanzel approaches the side of the ledge and looks down. From here, the land is splayed out before her. The land, in all it’s desolate emptiness. Blackened trees stick out of ashes, and hills carry aloft the silt in gray waves. The ground ripples, not in life, but burnt foliage. Most prominent of this scene, however, are the massive, dark spires. Unnatural towers, tall and imposing, spikes pointing to the cloudy, dirty skies; their origin was completely unknown. Shaped like possible buildings, nothing was ever seen leaving or entering the spires. All they did, was suck away the vitality of the surrounding land. Rapanzel turns away, and gazes up the mountain. The path winds around a rocky outcropping, and in a few more steps, she peeks around it. A exhausting length spans before her, farther in the mountainous region. The girl does not hesitate, and her steps carry on.
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Days later, Rapanzel stops before a narrow nook into the mountain. Where she was dirty before, now she is nearly caked. Her strong shoulders shudder in weariness. The girl slumps against the rocky wall, dimly staring at the path before her: a forlorn little trail, which seems to fizzle away into the mountain. Once again, she drops her canteen. The canteen which she had fortunately kept, because the lucky trickle of water found along a rock face. But now, it seems useless. This whole journey, uneventful, but boring and grueling, led to this shallow little place. A grueling journey, possibly soon to be a deadly journey. Rapanzel’s growl comes out as a pitiful groan, and she stumbles forward. Maybe to complete the circuit, fully reach the end of the line for the hell of it. A few faltering steps further, and Rapanzel reaches the end of the nook. She sighs in resignation, and glances up at the mocking stone wall awaiting her. Rapanzel stops, her dim, blue eyes now widening in shock, her breath catching. Before her, a massive keyhole is set into the mountain, big enough for three of her to enter abreast. Clearly, there was nothing here before. But this gigantic keyhole, ringed with turquoise and pink pearl, was undeniable. Exhausted, haggard, and shaken, Rapanzel gulps. The keyhole was beautiful beyond belief, a gem in this pig’s snout of a land. However, the darkness beyond the opening was frightening; what laid back there, the girl could not imagine. Only… The path had not ended yet. Her mission was yet uncompleted. With careful, cautious strides, Rapanzel timidly enters the keyhole, into black. As the girl passes the threshold, something softly rumbles, then begins ticking.
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Inside, a long trek through a stone hall awaits the girl; Rapanzel’s patience begins wearing thin, nearly over her caution. The hall continues on and on, teasing her exhaustion and resolve. She grunts, striding forward, her staff hitting the ground in heavy, echoing slaps. With a roll of her eyes, she finally sights the end, and her pace quickens.
Rapanzel steps into the most brilliantly, luscious space she has ever seen. A cavernous cave inside the mountain, had been carved into a majestic, spherical room, all centered around steps leading down to a single pool. Within the small pool, an empty basin sat forlornly. Across from where Rapanzel entered, a nook gracefully curved into the wall, housing a simple yet exquisite and large throne. A vaulted ceiling above, somehow let golden light into the vast expanse. However, the most incredible aspect of the place, was the vines and flowers that splendidly cascaded down the walls, spilling softly to the floor and creeping along. Rapanzel eagerly takes a few steps forward, then stops abruptly, tensing. The room appeared empty, yet the unnatural growth everywhere suggested a presence.
Her suspicions are interrupted by a single drip of water. Her eyes snap to the basin in the center of the room. The pool around it, ripples smoothly across. Glancing around rapidly, Rapanzel does not notice any danger or other movement; her gaze slowly returns to the basin. The emptiness of the bowl, surrounded by pure, tempting water, draws the girl forward. She takes each shallow step down, one at a time, eyes on the basin and the pool. Frowning, Rapanzel’s lips tremble nervously, not just in fear, but excitement. The water continues to ripple outwards, despite no external disturbance. Each closer step, is slower and slower, but finally, she stands in front of the basin, her toes near the edge of the water. Her stance is wary, but her body leans forward curiously, to peer closer at the rare, unusual water.
Rapanzel yelps in fear as she is suddenly hoisted up backwards, several feet into the air. Something incredibly strong has locked around her waist and chest, squeezing her back into a solid but smooth surface. Her fear bubbles over, and the girl viciously struggles, yelling out a few choice words and threats. However, the grip does not relent, but shakes her back and forth – softly. Her cowl falls off her neck, and she can feel something breathing on her neck. The girl keeps kicking her legs, occasionally hitting something behind her, but barely; her arms are trapped. Yet the more Rapanzel resists, her fear begins to turn to confusion. She is not blacking out. Whatever is squeezing her, has the strength to suffocate her, but seems to be keeping her in a firm but… Affectionate embrace. Another conspicuously odd detail, is the flowery, absolutely sweet scent floating through the air. As more seconds pass, Rapanzel feels her skin tickling – An extremely pleasant sensation of being held gently and wrapped in a silk blanket, like a swaddled baby. This sensation, eats away at her fighting spirit. All the girl can acknowledge, is that she is falling back into beautiful calm and bliss. She tries to defy this foreign aura, kicking and flexing her arms weakly, but the last things that completely compounds her bewilderment, is a mischievous, lilting chuckle.
“Oh Rapanzel, it’s been such long time since I have seen you, flower.”
Bloom Rose
Despite the kind, alluring voice, and the pressure wrapped around her which is obviously non threatening, Rapanzel continues to thrash.
“Let me down now!” She aims a kick at what should be a knee, but her heavy boot only glances off. Almost in horror, the girl has realized that what she is trapped in, is a hug. A hug that easily constrains her like she is a rag doll. She kicks again at the knee, her arms entirely useless against the arms that hold her.
“If I let you down now, you’d hurt yourself! Plus, I’m not finished my hug yet.” With another affection shake from her captive, Rapanzel’s legs wiggle side to side, listless in the air. A head presses against the back of hers, and a soft sigh escapes, cool breeze tickling the back of her neck. Rapanzel groans in distress, before feeling the pressure lessening – the arms are letting her down. When the last bit of force is slowly released, the girl leaps forward, propelling her body off her captor. However, the huggernaut behind her is fast as well. Rapanzel’s shoulders are grabbed instantly, but gently, and now, she suspends powerlessly over the floor, being held merely by her shoulders. The girl lets out a sharp scream of frustration, never having been this helpless her entire life. Her eyes blaze, still not able to see her attacker.
“Oh dear, you are really feisty!” The voice is teasing but, doesn’t mock. Maybe it is taking a little bit of mischief from this, but any malice that can come with capturing a human being, does not show in the voice. Rapanzel sighs, her whole body shuddering. A concerned tutting comes from behind her, where she feels herself being drawn back in. Her captor begins to turn her around, fingers crawling over her shoulders, still somehow holding her in the hair, and the girl lifts her head hesitatingly to face her doom.
A woman stares back, and Rapanzel’s body stiffens and her eyes widen. The most radiant face she has ever seen, grins back at her surprise, a coy smile playing over the woman’s lips. Her skin emanates it’s own light; a warm, sultry, healing light, healthy and inspiring. Her eyes, piercing blue, the kind so intense that Rapanzel wants to dodge their gaze but can’t, stuck staring back into bottomless depths, feeling the irresistible urge to fall in. And the woman’s hair – Brilliantly pink waves curling down her slender shoulders, falling gracefully along her face. Perfect hair, that Rapanzel would not dare touch, especially now; the pink seems to shimmer, magnifying those blue eyes. The lady wore some sort of light armor that smoothly contoured her entire body, but Rapanzel could not take focus off the beautiful face. Giggling, the woman smirks at the girl’s aghast state, then whips her in for another hug, this time facing forward. Rapanzel’s eyes bulge as she is swept in.
“No no no-” Her words are lost as she is smothered into a blissful, tight hug. Rapanzel tries to push out with her arms, but again, the woman is too strong. Her face is crammed into a gentle shoulder, her eyes peeking out above, and her back and bosom is clamped into the woman’s chest, passionately and joyously. Now comes the most embarrassing and ridiculous part. The woman starts swinging and dancing in a circle, laughing and hugging Rapanzel closer.
“Rapanzel, Rapanzel, I’ve missed you, I’ve missed you!” The girl’s legs swing out as the lady happily purrs above her head. Her breath is squeezed out as she is twirled in a circle, and a small squeal is pushed out of her mouth. Finally, Rapanzel musters her biggest bout of strength, and pushes. She springs free from the lady, though as she flies away, she spots a sly smile on her captor, suggesting she had lessened her grip purposely.
Rapanzel’s feet hit the ground, and she stumbles backwards. Barely able to stay up, she narrowly avoids the pool and basin behind her, instead skidding to the side and to a stop. Panting, holding out her staff that had been clamped uselessly into the hug, Rapanzel whips her head up, trying to glare at her opponent. All the lady does, is stand with her arms brazenly akimbo, with a cocky smile that blazes out too much confidence for a human. Sizing her up, to what should have been obvious by the mighty hug, Rapanzel notices that the woman is significantly taller than a human. A few more recovering breaths, and the girl manages to grind out a few sentences.
“Who. The Hell. Are you?” She coughs. “And how do you know my name?”
Rapanzel steelily stares at the woman, who never falters in her grin. Waving her hair out of her face, the lady tilts her hips to one side, her eyes still sparkling at the girl.
“Alright, Rapanzel. I’ll tell you. My name, is Bloom Rose. And I was your parent’s Goddess. Also, once upon a time, the Goddess of this land.”
Bloom Rose watches the girl carefully. Rapanzel, merely just blinks, rather taken back by the clear and concise explanation. Meanwhile, the Goddess walks around her, and heads to the throne on the other side of the pool. As if drawn by some other force, Rapanzel follows, observing the brilliant Goddess luxuriously sit in the throne. Questions froth at the tip of her tongue, but she is compelled to let Bloom Rose finish, as if just by unavoidable respect of the Goddess.
“Your parents, were a wonderful man and woman. Your mother, strong and compassionate, and your father, observant and dedicated, made quite a couple. And they were dedicated – to me, to the land, which is mine. When all your people started ignoring me and squandering their life’s, they kept coming to my temple. Because of two people, the land enjoyed copious blessings longer than it deserved.”
Bloom Rose gazes down at Rapanzel, a wistful, sad smile on her face. “You may have been too young to remember me. They brought you along; I always knew you were something important. A child raised under faith, goodwill, and perseverance, blessed by unwavering parents. Now…” Bloom Rose sets her eyebrows in a challenging fashion. “You may address me with all your pent up anger and questions.”
Rapanzel seems to snap from a trance. Huffing, she stands straight out, her chest puffing out and her face indignant. The Goddess watches with a slightly amused twitch on her lips.
“Okay, first, I don’t remember you somehow, but I can’t deny that you are a Goddess.” The girl momentarily blushes, which seems to infuriate her more. “Thus so! Why did you abandon us, our land, me?” She gulps, not meaning to add herself to the equation. “Why did you allow this plague or whatever it is, the spires, to occupy our land? Did you – Did you cause them? And finally – ” Rapanzel takes a step closer to the majestic Goddess, her arm thudding the staff into the ground in a powerful posture “ – Where is the sword that can defeat the spires, that the old man foretold?”
Bloom Rose, at this moment, in a bewildering turn, almost turns red, before a hearty laugh cracks from between her lips. She leans forward, looking sweetly at the girl. “Rapanzel, you look so adorable in that stance. But I am sorry to inform you that – ” She lets out another barely contained laugh “ – The old man was merely an illusion. Really, I came here looking for you, and he was bait in the trap, the trap to catch my amazingly heroic Rapanzel.”
The Goddess continues to smile teasingly, while Rapanzel’s face has turned into a pale white, flabbergasted board. Rising, Bloom Rose descends the stairs to the girl, stepping around and holding her still shoulder. “Though I may be acting horribly insensitive to your emotions, Rapanzel, I came back for you. Just you. As for the land, they forgot me, denied me. I am not a Goddess to force people to me, but I am neither weak enough to grovel after a disrespectful people. So I left, to attend to my many other important duties. The spires, are unrelated to their betrayal of me. A coincidence, of something else. A broken heart, shattered, piercing up from under the land itself, existing all over the universe.” She is silent for a brief moment, squeezing Rapanzel’s shoulder who is also silent. “I did not feel good leaving you alone after your parent’s deaths, but I knew at least you would be safe with your extended family. I knew your parents would impart outstanding qualities to you. A few, which I have already seen. Like, not teasing you anymore, your courage, perseverance, and heroism. Trekking up a mountain for days on the suspicious words of an old man?” Bloom Rose still cannot stop herself from chuckling. “That is completely admirable. That is why, after thinking it would not be good for you to be dragged along with me everywhere I go, I have come up with a compromise!” She pats Rapanzel’s head softly, prompting the girl to turn around suspiciously. “What?”
Bloom Rose’s vibrant blues pierce into Rapanzel’s brooding blues, and the girl nearly gasps at the intense connection. An almost wicked, but really just gleeful grin glows over the Goddess’s face. “Instead, I came to the genius conclusion, that you dear Rapanzel, must be my champion! There is no other way!”
Rapanzel jumps back, stuttering in sheer surprise. “What?! No, I mean – Why? I have things to do here, responsibilities…” She walks backwards, trying not to stumble backwards, as Bloom Rose struts after her, lips still sporting a determined, unstoppable grin. Rapanzel gulps, her eyes wide. “Do I… Do I even get a choice?”
Bloom Rose bounds forward, catching the girl under her arm and tugging her along. Her sparkling laughter echoes throughout the massive room. “Nope! You’re my heroine now! Come along, we have to get you cleaned up!”
Rapanzel is dragged away with a stricken face, but subtly, a tiny ray of hope streaks across her eyes.