28 Rapunzel
If Zarev is telling me the Mad Queen is in the clearing ahead, I want to see for myself. It would explain the terrifying pressure in the air, the feel of evil incarnate like a bad taste on my tongue, But his grip is unrelenting and I glare at him as I try to catch the words of the speaker in the clearing. They’ve gotten quieter again, and I seriously doubt someone with the title Mad in their name tends to get quiet when ranting.
After the tale he told me about becoming a Reaper, I can understand his hesitation to continue forward, but I need to know what’s happening and if someone usurped my right to kill the King. I’m certain that if the Mad Queen was here, she wouldn’t leave my father alive.
Staring through the trees an overwhelming sense of dread settles in but the feeling doesn’t belong to me. I press a hand to my chest as I stare out at the scene in front of us like it’s being forced upon me. Maybe it’s magic, or maybe it's just the terror in the air.
I want to be clever about this, I need to use my head and not my rage. Dorah’s death was a bloodbath, and her spirit was almost as unhelpful in death as she was in life. I get the feeling if I push Midas too hard and too quickly, he’ll shut down forever. Midas has to die. There’s no way to right so many wrongs without his end. But the Mad Queen arriving in Tressa? That’s a completely different problem. If I let my emotions get in the way, it will cloud my judgment for what must be done. I don’t need some lunatic queen here to complicate matters.
I shove away from Zarev, managing to remain in the shadow’s comforting embrace, and push forward to the trees. I don’t step into the clearing, well aware that I need to not be rash; I want to see what’s happening before jumping into the fray.
The voices are still quiet, and I realize that Midas, Theo, and Cyrus all stand, their gazes fixed on a large, ornate fountain. Even through the trees I can tell it’s massive, the sides all disappearing into the trees and I can’t make out the back.
The thing is huge. Beautiful even, with a reflective surface that’s spiraling in the middle. How have I missed this until now?
I realize suddenly that there’s no one else here. No Mad Queen like I was expecting. Zarev is tense beside me as I watch the swirling water turn dark as night, the foreboding sense turns to utter terror. Once again, I’m feeling someone else’s emotion like I’m a vessel and their fear is being poured into me. It makes me want to turn and run, leave this place and these feelings far behind. Zarev’s hand tightens on my arm and I believe he feels it, too.
From the water, a figure takes form. The water lifts, turning black and red as it does, and my mouth falls open as a woman slowly appears.
The Mad Queen. It must be. That all consuming feeling, the voices that whispered her name, all of it took place as she was arriving. And now that she’s here, I can’t tear my gaze away.
She’s manic looking, but somehow still beautiful. This woman is different from the one I remember from years past, but when she flashes a vicious smile, I recognize the jeweled red hearts embellished on her teeth. Her skin seems to be pale but her lips are painted black. As she steps down from the water I see she’s wearing a long coat that cascades down her back and is lined with what appears to be fur. Tight trousers cling to strong legs and even her shoes exude power, tall heels that seem to be balanced on carved hearts.
But it’s her hair that’s the strangest. Deep and dark, the color of ink, it’s pulled into an intricate updo, around a crown that appears to be made of a mixture of flower stems and small bones, woven together into a headpiece like none I’ve ever seen. At the center is a blood red heart that I swear pulses and moves. When she offers a smile that shows off her perfectly white teeth, I imagine there’s madness in her eyes.
I fidget, fighting the urge to force myself closer. I’m both terrified and curious about this woman, and I kind of want to see her manic attitude for myself.
She seems to take a deep breath, and from the spiraling water behind her, four men emerge. They are all tall wearing dark red cloaks, twin swords crossing their backs, and carvings on their foreheads.
I look again at Zarev, who frowns. They have playing card insignias on their foreheads, carved deep into their skin: diamonds, spades, clovers and hearts.
Just like the Reapers.
Throwing her head back she cackles in obvious glee, her mad laughter echoing through the clearing. Her spine keeps bending, bending, bending , until her head is down past her waist, her eyes seeming to dart all over the place as she holds her position, hands held wide as a sinister smile spreads across her lips.
“Ah,” the Queen breathes, looking around the gathering. She takes a breath in that impossible bend, leaning her neck back so I can imagine her hair brushing her butt unnaturally. Then she throws herself into motion, rocking back upright as though she didn’t nearly snap her spine so she could laugh at everyone maniacally.
Back in his feline form my cat says nothing, sitting near a tree on the far side of the clearing. He's too far off to try and read his eyes, but the small, feline head tilts to one side as he observes. When she speaks again, her eerie voice filling the clearing, she snags my full attention once more. “The taste of Death is rich in the air.”
Theo, typically proud, is now genuflecting deeply, his head bowed to the ground. Midas reacts in an opposite manner, standing tall and maintaining eye contact. “My Queen.”
She huffs, glaring down her nose at him as she stamps her foot. It seems such a childish reaction, something a Queen wouldn't do, I almost think I made it up. When she does it a second time I realize it’s real.
Instead of recognizing Midas, the Mad Queen turns her gaze to the man on the ground. Theo doesn’t lift his head, which is probably a wise choice. “Rabbit. I see you still have no concept of time anymore.”
He whimpers on the ground, and she shakes her head and looks past him before clapping her hands, looking oddly joyful. “And Cyrus! Still a pussy I see.”
My cat hisses back, causing her to laugh. “The two of you, you’ve been such bad boys! I’ll deal with you in just a moment.”
The Queen’s eyes skate over the clearing, and for a moment they pause where we are hiding before moving on. Zarev lets out an audible breath.
Finally her gaze turns to Midas, who makes the most noise of everyone in the clearing. Despite being the King, he’s reduced to a beggar at this moment, his tunic soaked and hands wet as he uses both his cursed and his normal hand to scoop handfuls of water into his mouth, the excess dribbling out to soak his beard.
He doesn’t stop, despite the people that rose from the fountain. His golden crown sits at an angle on his head and the grays in his golden hair appear more prominent than ever before. Never in my life have I seen my father like this. He’s usually regal and refined, keeping his nose turned up to most everyone and refusing to ever look a fool. When Arthur would come to port, he always ensured everyone put on the best front they could to make Tressa seem like an untouched gem.
There doesn't appear to be a shred of the cruel king left. He’s drinking from the fountain like a madman, and his standards are nowhere to be found.
“Midas!” She booms, jumping up and down as she cries out his name. I’m surprised how loud her voice gets, flinching at the tone. Zarev tenses, and I almost worry that he’s going to drag us to safety before we learn anything at all. “Oh, Midas!”
My father still refuses to stop, continuing to drink from his hands. There’s a frenzied air to his movements, like drinking the water is a compulsion, and he continues to ignore her.
The Mad Queen scoffs. “Arthur did say that you’re out of touch these days. The Golden King in his Golden Age! How about this: I’ll give you a golden grave!”
Midas pauses long enough to try and catch his breath, and when his eyes turn to her I swear his expression speaks of nothing but true terror. “Arthur is a traitor.”
“Oh, you finally realized that, did you,” she coos, beginning to pace around the space. I expect her to treat this meeting like my father would, cordial and cold until she gets what she wants, controlling the whole exchange. “All heads roll in favor of the Queen! Arthur wants to keep his head on his scrawny neck so, off with the Golden King’s head!”
Every time I think the Queen is going to say something reasonable and normal, she spins it on its head. Her way of talking is bizarre, but I can’t stop listening either.
Midas’ hands shake, but he doesn’t return to drinking. “You think you can best me? I have the power of an unbreakable element on my side. You have no power here.”
The Queen snorts, turning to raise her brows at him. “I don’t, do I? Is that the reason I can enter through the looking glass so easily, despite you trying to cover the connection all these years?” She jumps on those tall heels, her balance never faltering as she continues to move around the clearing. “Oh no! You have an unbreakable element! It’s almost like I can control your heart…”
Her voice trails off as she shakes a finger, and Zarev shifts forward as he hisses a breath. It’s like he’s waiting to see something, but the Queen doesn’t actually show anything in her hands. My rage simmers just below the surface, but like my Reaper I hesitate to do anything.
If Zarev fears the Mad Queen, he also appears just as curious as I am about her, and I can’t help wondering if it’s insanity or evil that keeps him fixated. Since she killed him, I expect fear, but my Reaper doesn’t even flinch as he stares, his grip remaining firm on my arm to keep me from rushing into the clearing.
Midas snarls, fisting his hands as I look over again. “I have done everything to keep my Kingdom free of your reign.”
“Like poisoning the water? That’s creative, Midas, I’ll give you that. But adding bits of gold to the water that nourishes your people? It’s so morbid I’m surprised I didn’t think of that! Sucking your people dry for your own needs is such a Wonderland thing to do! I’m almost proud of you, Golden King.”
She laughs, throwing her head back as she continues to pace around the clearing, and it’s enough to send Theo’s cowardly self back to the ground, his whole form trying to disappear into the earth as he cowers. The four men who traveled through with her take up positions around the clearing, and Cyrus darts away before the one with a diamond reaches him. The man doesn’t move to follow, but another with the clover stands beside Theo and kicks him in the side.
The Queen doesn’t even acknowledge the attack. “It really is twisted, dear Midas. Killing all the citizens of your kingdom just to give yourself more power and a feeble chance to live? That’s cruel.”
He bares his teeth, and her words bang around in my head. There can’t possibly be truth to them. My father is insane, but killing everyone is Tressa is simply impossible.
“It will be worth the sacrifice.”
“To watch them die?” she asks, flashing him a grin. “Selfish choices feel the best, don’t they? The magic surge is everything, Midas! Everything! Souls make the sweetest treat when you steal them, hmm?”
Growling, Midas stands. My father’s never looked weak before, but with a wet shirt and his crown crooked on his head he looks pathetic against the large-as-life queen standing opposite him. “I do what I must to protect my family.”
“Family,” she mocks, cocking her head. “The family you pieced together? One living princess with hair so gold that is chasing a Reaper of old! Oh, Midas. Your family is as broken as your mind.”
“Rapunzel knows her place,” he says confidently, and I bristle at the certainty in his words. “She will come home once she sees that Tressa reigns supreme. She might be wandering, but soon we will all be together again.”
The Queen laughs again, clapping her hands like she’s delighted. “Supreme in what, exactly? You can’t rule a kingdom of the dead.”
“The people who lived here will be remembered for their sacrifice,” he continues again, and ice washes over me as I realize he isn’t fighting her claims that the kingdom no longer has any living. He draws his golden sword, holding it out towards the Queen and all four of her guards take a step forward. “From the ashes of war we will rise again.”
“You never rose,” she snarls, that dark humor suddenly disappearing. “You only gained your golden hand because of me. I told you where to wander. I told you to look for the god Dionysus and gain his favor. Without me, there is no you. It’s all because of me! My mind, my secret of gold, my collection of souls!”
Midas frowns, remaining close to the water. The fountain is calm again, and as I study it I realize there’s a stream that tapers off and disappears down the hill, probably running all the way through to the wells and streets down in the village. “I gained my power through my own will. I went in search of the Fountain of Youth and found so much more.”
She begins to laugh once again. “Power you will never truly control. What was that, Kingling? You needed help only the Queen of Hearts could offer?”
“The Queen of Hearts is dead,” Midas mutters quietly, staring in terror at her. Zarev’s grip is tight on my arm as he speaks, and I’m starting to think he’s not just holding me back, but perhaps himself as well.
But the Mad Queen shakes her head at Midas, oblivious to everything else around them. “I know! Isn’t it great? That stupid, weak Queen is gone.” She runs her hands down her body, caressing her breasts and gripping her own hips like she’s showing off to the men in the clearing. “The Mad Queen is so much better! Don’t you think, Kingling? I mean, it was so kind of me to give you some help in exchange for your daughter. The Queen of Hearts could never do something like that.”
Blind rage suddenly overwhelms all else. Taking out my pain on Dorah wasn’t enough. I need to make someone else pay for not only stealing my sister's life, but the life we could’ve had together.
Zarev crushes me to his chest when I try to rush into the clearing, and I’m debating throwing us around until the shadows slip away. But being at a disadvantage in front of the Mad Queen is suicide, so I still myself, forcing myself to wait for my chance.
There’s no way I can let Midas and the Queen leave here. For all the lives they’ve stolen, they deserve to give their own.
Midas swallows, stepping forward. “Rosen was gone from us when you came to collect. Her soul vacated her body.”
“You did seem to think that, didn’t you?” the Queen taunts, and the harsh set in Midas’ shoulders droops a little. “She did look so very, very dead when I carried her little body away. But you know what breathes life into the dying? Evil.”
Her laugh is poisonous this time, but before Midas can move she lifts her hands, dark swirls of red circling her palms. “Evil takes root when the good is gone. Killing an infant? Another thing that’s so very Wonderland! I love when your wicked side shows, Midas.”
“You know nothing!”
“When will you realize that it’s the other way around, Kingling? You hid behind your golden wall built on evil and lies, and I shared my cruelty with all of Mystica.”
She twirls, looking all around her. The four guards stand stoically, but Theo finally lifts his head. She makes a clucking noise, staring down at him when she speaks again. “Though it doesn’t seem to do much for the help, does it? I sell you a timekeeper and all he does is waste minutes.”
Theo jumps, half rising to his feet. He freezes with one leg still kneeling when her hands twist in his direction. “I - it wasn’t my fault, my Queen. Rapunzel can manipulate time and age. It messed with my timepiece.”
A frown pulls at my lips. No, I don’t affect time. I heal and restore youth, but it doesn’t change how long it takes time to pass.
But my eyes drift towards the fountain, almost missing the enraged look in the Queen’s eyes as she glares down at Theo. I can heal, but that has to be because of the Phoenix Rose, and Midas…
The lines blur. Things are starting to not make sense again.
Theo scrambles around, drawing my attention as he digs through his pockets, finally producing what looks to be an oversized pocket watch. Both hands on the watch point upwards, on the twelve, and his whole body shakes as he stares.
The Queen makes a tutting noise as she approaches. “Oh, it looks like you’ve run out of time, rabbit. You were supposed to keep the princess from breaking her patterns. You couldn’t even manage that. At least the rabbit I dispatched to Swan Lake is doing a better job. You had the easier job, with a princess locked in the tower.”
She stomps her feet near his head, and he flinches with every move. “Come now rabbit, out of time, out of time! Tick tock goes the clock! And your tick tock is out of time.”
Theo lets out a sob, and a moment later a red sword appears. It materializes from nothing in the Queen’s hand, the bloodlust in her eyes burning as bright as the reds from her blown blood vessels. Without a word, she brings the red, glass-like sword sword sweeping down toward the guard and his head falls to the ground, rolling to rest at his side. His eyes are open, seemingly staring straight at me.
I let out a scream, but thankfully the shadows help to keep the sound in so the Mad Queen hears nothing of my fear. Zarev clings tighter to me, and I think it’s for both of our sakes.
The Queen laughs hysterically, jumping in the tall heels like she’s doing a jig. The flowing ends of her coat spin with her, and she throws her hands out as the red sword disappears into nothing, just like the shadows Zarev wields.
“And to what do we say men, when the dead meet their end?” she cries.
Five voices speak in unison, the Queen joining with the four guards. “Off with their heads!”
Midas screams, charging at the Queen as Theo’s body slumps over. Her lips split in a lecherous grin as she easily dodges his sword. The gold tip misses by inches as she jumps backward, the red energy that hangs off her fingertips.
“Too slow, old man!” she taunts, jumping to one side. None of the guards seem worried, nor do they move to assist their Queen, as though they know she will prevail. “Your skills are failing you, just as they failed your daughter.”
He snarls, leaping towards her again. One hand lifts, sending golden arrows whizzing towards her. It’s almost an exact replica of the trick my father used on Zarev, except the Queen vaporizes the gold with her red magic. I don’t know what magic she’s using, but it can’t be good.
She slashes out at him, the red energy slamming into his chest and opening a deep wound. Bleeding and off-balance, Midas cries out, and I swear in the distance I can hear the souls screaming too.
That’s odd, since the wall is a good distance away and it’s been a little while since I heard the agonizing screams. Tressa was eerily silent until we heard the Queen’s voice.
“If only you were the King you pretend to be,” she taunts, jumping at him again. “You wouldn’t need favors from everyone. You could fight Arthur. You could stand against me. But, oh no, you always choose a trickster's way out!”
Proving her point, Midas does exactly that. As his skin starts to turn a golden hue, he throws himself at her, catching the Mad Queen by surprise as the gold collides into her.
She screams, and finally the four silent men jump into action. Each grabs at their swords, the weapons seeming to bleed red like her magic, and together they charge.
Yet, despite all of the hate I have in me towards my father, watching someone else take his life just isn’t right. The only person who deserves to serve him Death is me. Without warning, I lunge forward, dragging Zarev with me, and we slam into the grass. I try to free myself from Zarev, from the shadows but they both refuse to let me go.
I can’t stop what’s next, no matter how desperately I want to.
The four guards move in tandem, like pieces of the same puzzle. They lunge as the Queen rightens herself, her lip split and dribbling blood from Midas’ attempt, and he is slow to react as he fights to push the gold back from stiffening his body.
As he straightens, there’s rage burning in his eyes. But the murderous look is cut short as four separate swords pierce his skin, sliding in at different angles to create a design across his torso.
Silence seizes the land. All I can do is lie there half beneath Zarev, his body crushing mine into the grass, as the four guards come to a standstill, my father’s body suspended between them as blood seeps through his clothes. It comes fast, drenching the cloth and his upper body in a matter of seconds as he chokes, eyes going wide.
The Queen chuckles, leaning in. The glow of death reflects in her gaze, giving her a morbidly gleeful look for someone so terrifying. “You’re quiet, Kingling. Your will is stronger than your daughter’s. Tossing her over the Field of Thorns is the best decision I made that day.”
Her words startle Zarev, and it’s enough for me to wiggle free. He isn’t fast enough to catch me, and the shadows vanish as I step from his protective shield.
Every head pivots towards me as I break into the clearing, and this is exactly what I told myself not to do. Midas looks briefly surprised that I am here, but his life is fading quickly from his eyes. There is too much between us, and I don’t know if I have it in me anymore to save my father from Death by another’s hand.
The Queen’s eyes widen with interest, and half a moment later I feel Zarev’s possessive presence at my back. She grins as she stares at us, clasping her hands together.
“Oh, look! Look there! How poetic. The girl of Life and the man of Death, come together to meet their final end.”