Adalyn lay on the soft red couch, unable to sleep. The couch was comfortable, but it lacked the comforts of home. Adalyn had never thought of herself as materialistic, but she found herself missing her four poster bed, with its imported silk sheets and embroidered coverlet. She even found comfort in the gowns Rapunzel gave her, as heavy and itchy as they were. The embroidery and the silks and satins Adalyn despised in the castle now held her like an anchor to her entire world, the world she was taken from, and she never realized how much she would miss it until it was gone. So Adalyn only squirmed a little bit when Rapunzel tightened the corset. Of course, getting ready included dressing Adalyn's hair, and every time the ivory handled brush stopped at her chin, Adalyn winced. She would never get used to that. Aurialla said it had something to do with looking like a peasant. Why that was relevant, Adalyn had no clue. Adalyn shuddered. She hated that Aurialla woman. Adalyn couldn’t believe it, how she used her magic to sneak into the crown princesses castle chamber and stole the girl from right out from under her nursemaid’s nose, and after stealing baby Rapunzel fifteen years ago. Adalyn grew up with the stories of her lost sister, hearing over and over again from her nursemaid, Elanora, how crown princess Rapunzel had been stolen at her christening by the enchanting Lady Aurialla, teller of Gilmore.
"You're the crown princess now." Elanora would remind Adalyn. "And your royal parents will never make that mistake again."
Apparently they didn’t need to make the same mistake for Aurialla to have Adalyn the Gilmore witch was too crafty for that. Kidnapping would do. And not even an elaborate kidnapping, she just sneaked in, using magic of course, and stole Adalyn right out of her bed. A twelve year old girl! Adalyn never believed that the prophesy was true. It seemed to her that magic would have done the trick. A convincing prophesy couldn't be that hard for someone as good at magic as she was, and Aurialla was good at it. Adalyn hated all the magic. The incantation that kept her from speaking hurt, and she was still shaking the multicolored residue from the spell off her body. The only thing that hurt worse than the initial spell was when she tried to tell Rapunzel the truth. The words stopped in her throat and choked her, and a fiery pain rushed through her body. It was so intense that Adalyn knew if she wasn't quiet, she would die. After that, she hinted at things as much as the spell would let her, but Rapunzel was terribly dense. She seemed stupid for a girl of fifteen. Of course, she lived her whole life without lessons.
Maybe this won't be so bad thought Adalyn, remembering her strong hate for daily lessons with the boring Mr. Alkin and poise and conversation with the aloof lady Marentil. Besides, Aurialla must really love Hazel if she went through all this trouble just to keep her...
Adalyn snapped out of it. What an enchantment, if it could use Adalyn's own memories and logic against her, and did she just say Hazel?
I need to be more careful she thought. If Aurialla was powerful enough to do that, than Adalyn did not want to test her wrath. Sorceress’s limits were a dangerous thing to test, as much as Adalyn wanted to. She had always been a defiant child, which was why she had guessed that Rapunzel was still the favorite child of the aging Queen Amaria and King Wilhelm. Rapunzel also got Byren. Byren, who had had come here and been denied, and wasn’t about to give up. Adalyn sighed. Byren was so tall and handsome. His brown hair fell over his forehead just so. He wasn't lanky, but not too broad. His eyes were the exact color of cut emeralds. He had a tendency to jealous and hot-tempered, but not around Adalyn. The one thing Adalyn never got was why Byren still loved Rapunzel, when he only laid eyes on her perfect face once, fifteen years ago. Once again, Adalyn had to force herself out of an impossible fantasy. Byren Sanatera was engaged to her sister. The sister Adalyn had found.
Maybe if I returned Rapunzel, the entire kingdom would be eternally grateful and Mother and Father would marry me to Darius Sanatera, instead of sending me to a convent. she automatically felt ashamed for all the times she wished Rapunzel would never come back, so Adalyn could marry Darius, Byren’s younger brother and the one Adalyn was promised to, and escape the second daughters fate, the convent. Of course, the idea of ruling had always terrified Adalyn, and Darius wasn't exactly king material. Now, Adalyn wouldn't have to rule. She just hoped she wouldn't have to forsake love and be a nun, like a peasant daughter with no money to spare on a dowry. This was assuming Rapunzel and Adalyn would ever escape this cursed tower, which Adalyn had no absolutes about. Maybe Darius will save us Adalyn thought with a laugh. The younger Sanatera was handsome, though not as much as his brother and he wasn’t the type who could save two princesses from an enchanted tower in the middle of the woods. Close cropped blonde hair and brown eyes on Darius' part made the brothers opposites in appearance, but they were so alike in every other way except one. Darius had shown an interest in Adalyn. Unlike his brother who barely noticed the young princess' existence. Darius had often asked to dance at the balls, and if Adalyn accepted, it was reluctant, usually due to prodding from her mother for she preferred to pine for his older brother. Thinking back, Adalyn probably should have accepted more, now that her sister, Byren's fiancée, was found, and sure to marry him. Adalyn sighed, it wasn't her choice, and never had been. She had only been fooling herself. To riled to sleep, Adalyn pushed off the heavy goose-feather cover and wandered in the library in her nightgown. It was a scandalous thought in the castle, where a young boy could be wandering. But here, in this horrible tower, Adalyn doubted that any young dukes or visiting princes would see her, and the supposedly invisible servants posed no threats. The thought of invisible servants seemed farfetched, even in this magic tower. Adalyn picked up the first thing she saw, which happened to be a yellowed paper, and opened it. It was a wanted poster, for Aurialla. Adalyn wondered if the ransom would rise now that two crown princesses had been kidnapped. She setting down the paper, Adalyn wandered out of the library and into Rapunzel's room. It was a lot like the room prepared for her at home, though much smaller and more circular. Adalyn jumped a little bit and started to laugh.The perfect princess snored! Covering her mouth so she wouldn't wake Rapunzel, Adalyn inched back to the library and covered herself in the silk sheets and heavy cover. This tower has such a draft, most likely due to the always open window. Hadn't they heard of shutters in this place? Adalyn sighed. She hated this tower. She missed her home, family, Byren, and to her surprise, Darius. But as much as she hated this place, she had a hard time hating Rapunzel. She was dense and ditzy and socially awkward, which Adalyn could not stand, but she also needed a friend. All she had was that cat and Aurialla, and Adalyn thought it would be plain cruel to leave her with that. So she decided she would just suck it up and try to make friends with her long lost sister. She would be her friend, or at least someone to teach her about society. Rapunzel had no idea about the world except what she got from her books, and books were rarely the truth. This girl needed reality, and Adalyn was going to be the one to give it to her.
