We ran down the steps together, to Mathena. We did not act like a king and soon-to-be queen, that day and all those first days to follow. We ran down the steps like children, and he pulled me into his arms and swung me around, my dress flying, my hair swirling around us, gathering grass and flowers, and even bits of horsehair as it swiped the waiting animal.
“Mathena!” I called out, and she appeared instantly, from the back of the house, her dark dress stained with mud and earth.
“We are to be married!” I said.
She looked at me and smiled. “What wonderful news.” She bowed down in front of us. “It is a great, great day for all of us.”
I unlatched myself from him, and rushed over to her, wrapping my arms around her. Brune flew out just then, landing on Mathena’s shoulder, and I somehow managed to kiss the bird, too, who looked at me with disgust as she let out a horrified squawk.
It hit me in that moment that I would really be leaving—leaving the forest and Mathena and starting a brand-new life without them.
“Let me have a few days,” I said, turning to the king. “I need a few days to prepare myself.”
“I will have your chambers prepared for you, ladies ready to serve you. Are you sure you will not disappear again?”
“I promise I will not,” I said.
“I’ll send my men to get you, and then we’ll be married.”
“Yes,” I said again. “Yes.”
He slipped his arms around me, nuzzled my neck.
“We will be so happy,” he said. “We will have many children. Among them, a king.”
A sliver of pain moved through my happiness, but I did not let him see. I vowed, right then, that he never would.
Mathena and I watched him leave, disappearing into the trees, and then we were alone, as if a storm had passed through the forest, leaving an entirely new world in its wake.
We walked silently into the house, and sat on the couch, before the low fire. She put on a pot of stew to cook and sat next to me. Brune took her place on the mantel, tucking in her head.
“I can’t believe it,” I said. “I can’t believe you knew this would happen!”
“And now you will be queen. This is what I’ve always wanted for you.”
I shook my head. “Madness,” I said. “Pure madness to think I could marry a king, and now it is happening.”
“Your life will be very different from now on.”
“I should think so!” I said, laughing from pure giddiness.
“Just remember that you will not be surrounded by friends there. Even though you will have a husband who loves you, and as his queen you will have great power. You must be careful.”
“Be careful of what?”
“Of what happened to me before, when I was at court.”
“What do you mean?”
“Things changed when I was there, Rapunzel. I’ve told you how King Louis changed, how people’s hearts changed and it seemed no one believed in magic anymore. At least, not openly. And they began calling me a witch. I’ve always told you, it’s a dangerous word. Especially to priests and those who take the church and its teachings too much to heart. They believe that witches worship the devil. If they get it in their minds and hearts, they can blame everything bad on you.”
“But,” I said, “we
She shook her head. “We are healers. We are daughters of Artemis.”
“Mathena. You changed a man into a stag.”
Her face flared. “You must never speak of such things. Not there. Take the spell book, Rapunzel, but hide it! And do not ever say that word around them, and do not practice where they can see. Josef is young like you, and he does not remember. Others will. Even if you are their queen.”
“Even if he could remember, he would not care,” I said. “I am sure of it.”
“He is young and spoiled,” she said. “And you may be right. But others have much influence, around him.”
I nodded. “I will be careful.”
She reached up and brushed the hair out of my face, then traced the length of it as far as she could. “This hair of yours,” she said. “Look at it. What a gift you have. It gives you great beauty, and insight into everyone around you. Your beauty is your power, you know. You must watch over it carefully.”
I smiled. My hair stretched from the couch and through the open door, where it shone from the grass. Loup was curled up and sleeping in it, faint images of mice and birds streaming up to me from her warm body.
“I will miss it here,” I said. “I will miss you.”
“This is what you’ve always wanted,” she said, “to marry Josef. And what I’ve always wanted for you, to be queen. Use your power well, Rapunzel. Protect it.”
An emotion passed over her face that I couldn’t quite understand. I knew there was more, maybe much more that she was not telling. But I was used to her being full of secrets.
“I will,” I said.
“And remember, he has a daughter now, and she is his heir.”
I flinched. “I will give him more children,” I said, ignoring the familiar ache inside me. “I had a son before. I will have one again.”
The next day, we performed a ceremony at dusk, in the river, cleansing me of all my past sorrows. We were naked, the trees all around us. My hair streamed down the river like a golden raft. Mathena raised her arms and called to the four winds to ask for their protection and their power, sprinkled water onto my face and shoulders. We held hands, facing each other, and gave thanks for the earth’s bounty.
After, once we’d dried ourselves and dressed, we had our supper outside by the garden, in the warm evening. The moon was rising. Earlier Mathena had prepared a whole roast pheasant that Brune had killed just for the occasion, and we ate it alongside cakes filled with figs and mint.
The food was delicious, and I savored each bite. Brune stood on my shoulder and I fed her whole hunks of pheasant, while Mathena fed Loup, who sat on the grass next to her, her little body rumbling with pleasure. My hair blanketed the ground. We drank wine Mathena had made herself. This was all the family I had ever known, this woman, these creatures.
“I have something for you,” Mathena said. “For your new life.”
I did not know what to say. I was not used to gifts.
She went into the house for a moment. Brune, as usual, followed after her. I reached out to pet Loup, and the moon bathed us in light.
I looked up at the tower, the stones sparkling in the moonlight. From the ground, it looked endless, as if you could climb it straight to the heavens. The sky was filled with thousands of stars, and trees swayed overhead, filled with sleeping beasts.
She reappeared from the house, with a long, flat package in her arms.
Stepping back in the circle, she sat down, cross-legged, and handed it to me.
“This will help you,” she said. “It’s my wedding gift to you.”
“You will not come to my wedding and give it to me then?”
“No, Rapunzel. You know I cannot leave the garden, but my heart will be with you.”
I nodded, trying to conceal my disappointment, and took the package. I pushed back the cloth. Inside was the mirror that had been hanging from the wall in my tower. I looked up at her, confused.
“It’s a gift to protect your power and beauty, to ensure the king’s love,” she said. “It will show you things. You can ask it any question you like.”
Was she mocking me? Awkwardly, I held it up with both hands, saw my own face staring back.
“Help me how?”
