The ground dipped lower. Rocky cliffs interspersed the trees.
Up ahead, a clearing opened. A sheer wall of rocks overshadowed the clearing, giving a little protection from the wind.
“We’ll camp here,” Raj said, stopping his horse and dismounting. I did the same. Thinking of everything that needed to be done helped keep my mind off spending the night in the forest. We stayed busy with unsaddling the horses, giving them water and a scanty scoop of oats, scavenging for firewood, building a fire, and preparing the soup.
By the time we sat in front of a crackling fire, a boiling pot of thick stew atop the coals, and the heavenly scent of boiled vegetables filling the air, I finally felt as if I could let down my guard—at least a little. Nothing had attacked us yet. Maybe we were safe.
I stretched my hands toward the fire, reveling in its warmth. Raj ladled two bowls of soup and we ate quietly. The broth was thick, as we didn’t have much water to spare, but the carrots and potatoes were soft and melted in my mouth. I thought of Rapunzel as I ate. If the high sorcerer’s squadrons had discovered I was missing, it meant they must’ve entered the tower. Had they harmed her?
She was the high sorcerer’s daughter. They would’ve been fools to touch her. Still, I worried. I even worried about Jester, although the cat could take care of himself. He never ceased to amaze me at the amounts of lizards and birds he brought into our tower. Still, I worried about him.
“What are you thinking about?” Raj asked me.
“I’m worried about Rapunzel. If we don’t get the shears and return to her, or if we’re killed and never return…” I couldn’t finish. Thinking of Rapunzel living forever in that tower was a depressing thought. “I’m also worried about the cat,” I added. “It’s silly, I know.”
“It’s not silly. I worry about the prince as well. But it does no good to ponder on those thoughts. We must believe we will succeed. We must imagine how it will be to have the high sorcerer overthrown, Prince Merek as our new ruler. Rapunzel as our queen. Maybe then we can live the lives we want.”
“What life do you want?”
He smiled, a thin stretching of his lips that didn’t touch his eyes. “What I want I will never have. I want to live with my family in the Outerlands. I want to make my father proud and carry on his name—marry an Outlander and raise a family, but I want to be a knight as well. I will never have both.”
The fire popped sparks that burned bright, and then faded. I pondered Raj’s words. Why did it bother me that he wanted to marry an Outlander? It shouldn’t have mattered. But I wasn’t an Outlander. And somehow, that seemed important.
“What about you?” Raj asked. “What will you do if you’re freed from the tower?”
I didn’t know what to say. I’d never pondered it before, because I never thought it was a possibility. “I’m not sure. My mother worked selling herbs and plants from her garden, but I’ve always been lousy at growing things. I’m not sure what’s out there for me. To be honest, there aren’t many options for someone like me. I guess I would go back to Willow Wood. It’s the closest thing to home I know. I had some success selling potions and herbs. I could make a decent living, I think. Plus, I’d have Jester for company. It wouldn’t be so bad.”
“But haven’t you ever wanted anything more?”
“Like what?”
“Adventure. Making the world a better place. That sort of thing.”
“I’m already doing that, aren’t I? To be honest, it’s a dangerous way to live. I’m not sure I want to continue with it for the rest of my life.”
I had other dreams as well, ones I felt were too personal to share with him. I wanted what I’d seen other women in the village have. Someday I wanted a family of my own. My father died when I was young, and my mother had made foolish decisions that eventually got her killed. I felt cheated at never having a real family, and one day, if I lived long enough, I wanted to give my own children a better life.
As the fire dwindled, Raj and I rolled out our sleeping packs, although I didn’t know how I would get any sleep in a place like this. The frogs continued their incessant croaking as I laid down, pulling the blanket over me, small sticks poking my back through the thin layer of the woven mat.
Raj had offered to take the first watch. He sat hunched near the fire, his sword resting across his lap. The flames illuminated his profile—the flat plane of his forehead, the wide bridge of his nose, his full lips, and strong jaw. It wouldn’t be hard for him to find an Outlander wife. He was honorable—almost to a fault—and he was pleasant to be around. I also had to admit that he wasn’t bad to look at, either. Any Outlander girl would be lucky to have him as a husband. I almost wished I were an Outlander, just for that.
But I wasn’t. And although he’d complimented my bravery and said I had lovely hair, I couldn’t imagine him ever wanting me for a wife. I was a witch, after all. He feared witches.
I closed my eyes, not wanting to look at him any longer, feeling the tiniest bit of loneliness as I did. I hadn’t admitted it to Raj, but if things were to work out the way we planned—with Rapunzel restored and Prince Merek as king—then I would have nothing left. Rapunzel was the only person I knew and cared for. After she went away to live as queen in a faraway castle, I would be nothing.
But it was selfish for me to think that way. I couldn’t allow Rapunzel to continue how she was
