"Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair."
She would never hear those words again, and it brought a mixture of emotions with the realization. Lying there, on the cold forest floor in a snowdrift, Rapunzel stared up at the sky with her braid curled around and under her like an enormous snake. She had thought of jumping out of the window many times before, if only to rid herself of the mundane routines of her everyday life and solitary confinement. There had been no other escape from her prison walls. No one ever came into these woods; knowing that the enchantress that haunted these woods may curse them.
Now she had finally jumped out of her tower, landing on her back in a snowdrift. She had thought the fall would kill her. The fall had surprisingly left her alive and at most with an incredibly sore back, but her hair, her wonderful, glorious hair, was much too heavy for her body to lift. She had no way to cut her burden off, nor could she even crawl. She would die of the chill sooner or later; shivering in her gown and thin human skin. It was either that, or a hungry animal would take her for an easy meal. She preferred the chill and thusly hoped it would come soon when she heard the faint roar of a bear.
Small, almost insignificant snowflakes drifted down, spiraling as they went to land on her still body. Rapunzel could no longer feel her fingers or toes. She prayed death would come soon when she saw a perching owl twirl its head down to look at her curiously from its high perch.
A small huff caught her attention. Her breath stilled in her throat when she turned her neck to face the sound. A Wolf sat near her and it merely stared at her down its snout. The chill has come too late, Rapunzel thought, as she looked at the Wolf whose eyes had not left her. "Hello," the Wolf said pleasantly, though the voice that issued out was rough since human-speak was not firstly natural, and the voice identified it as male. "Why, might I ask, are you lying on the ground and not safe up in your tower?"
Rapunzel worked her throat, but found she couldn't speak. The Wolf cocked his head before he leaned in close to her face, "Did you perhaps take a fall?" he questioned and Rapunzel heard the mocking tone his voice held. He looked up at the tower. "Such a long way down," he muttered aloud. "Or maybe," he mused, then looked down at her again, "You simply…tipped out?" he watched her watch him in fear. "The enchantress will be disappointed that you chose death over a life of pampered luxury."
"It was a prison," Rapunzel spat out.
The Wolf grinned at her, exposing sharp white teeth. "Luxury without freedom is worse than death, Rapunzel."
She blinked at him, "How do you know my name?"
The Wolf pressed his nose to her cheek and she flinched away, but he insistently pressed his nose to her. He inhaled deeply before speaking, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair." He looked her right in the eyes, "If I had promised your freedom, would you have let your hair down for me?"
Her eyes widened, "Yes," she said, breathless. "But I've gained my own freedom now."
The Wolf looked down at her hair curiously, pawing at it. "Have you? Your prison is gone, but your shackles remain just as real and solid."
Rapunzel looked at her hair. "You can't move with it, can you, fair Rapunzel?" the Wolf asked and his voice seemed smoother now. Rapunzel didn't notice the slyness in it, but only the better quality of it.
"No I can't, it drags me to remain wherever I am." She murmured, cursing her parents and the enchantress who so lovingly locked her away from the world.
The Wolf shifted so that he lay next to her; his thick coat warm against her freezing skin. His head found the crook of her shoulder and he lay there quite contentedly despite Rapunzel's cringe. "Should you ask for it, I will grant you your freedom."
Rapunzel looked to him, while trying to pull away from his heavy body. "Should I ask it, what will you ask for in return?"
The Wolf seemed to contemplate this, "I will ask that you never leave these woods. You will remain here for the rest of your days."
Rapunzel frowned, "And how would I gain a husband?"
The Wolf shrugged a furred shoulder, "If he would be such a good husband, he will follow you and join you in these woods."
Her lips thinned, "How would I find one?"
The Wolf grinned at her crookedly, "Many huntsmen, woodcutters and soldiers tramp through this place. Surely finding one wouldn't be an issue."
Rapunzel eyed the Wolf. "Where would I live?" she asked, suspicious of the Wolf.
"There is an abandoned cottage not far from here, you could live there."
Rapunzel thought of this: of her frozen feet and hands, her chilling body, the weight of the world carried in her hair, her so close but just out of reach freedom and the Wolf. What his intentions were, Rapunzel could not guess. "Wolf, do you lie to me? Do you lie right now?"
"Never," he purred in her ear – too close to her throat.
Rapunzel thought of an almost handsome woodsman husband with two children sitting in front of a fire. Her imaginary family. She licked her lips though it did no use. She had no moisture left. "I want my freedom Wolf, but on your word, on your very most sacred word, I want you to swear that you have not lied about anything."
The Wolf buried his nose in the hollow of her throat and his tongue swiped over it in a wet rasp. Rapunzel jerked at the sudden movement. "I give you my word, Rapunzel that I lie about nothing. Close your eyes for a moment and I'll rid you of your burden."
Rapunzel eyed him before doing as she was bid.
With a sudden snarl and a heavy jerk, her lovely, gorgeous, accursed hair went snicker-snack under the Wolf's fangs. The braid snapped off like leather under a knife and it fell limp at her side. "Open your eyes."
She did and she looked for her braid, until she came upon it lying at her side like a dead snake. Rapunzel gripped the Wolf's fur and sat herself up. Her back ached incredibly but she could move now.
She smiled a little, combing her fingers through her now shorter hair. The weight of the hair was gone – she could now move freely. She may have traded a prison for another prison – but at least in this one, she would be able to move and mingle a bit. She wouldn't be locked away in a far away tower from other people. She would be able to walk and feel grass on her feet, the bark of trees or the wind in her hair.
Her smile widened and showed hints of her teeth. She did not notice the Wolf and how he gazed upon her or of the careful calculations that hid behind his eyes.
The Wolf watched her a moment longer before standing on all fours and he smiled at her in a most wretched manner.
hope everyone you read it liked it, or at least thought it was worth critiquing. read and review if you liked it