Winter Moon (Jelsa)

Chapter 14: Rapunzel

Rapunzel hated cults more and more by the minute. First, there was the Dark Moon. Then, there was the Broken Light, which Moana was apparently part of. It was getting stranger by the minute as well.

"Your name is Rapunzel, is it not?" the Father asked. His tone was amiable, a tad disinterested, even.

Rapunzel wasn't sure what to make of the Father. Moana worshipped him like there was no tomorrow, but Rapunzel was a little more wary of this so-called cult leader.

"What's your name?" Rapunzel demanded, not really expecting him to answer.

To her surprise, he did. "I am the Father."

"Oh," Rapunzel said. 

"Have you always know that you were the princess of Corona?" the Father continued, taking a seat in a chair a few feet opposite Rapunzel. 

Rapunzel figured that lying wouldn't get her anywhere, but she didn't want to give him a straight answer either. At last, she settled for, "So what if I have?"

"I can see that you have," the Father easily avoided her question. 

"What is it that you want from me?" Rapunzel parried.

"Me? I want nothing. The Broken Light demands justice, however."

"So what are you going to do to get your justice? Sell me? Kill me? Torture me? I had no idea Corona was slaughtering fishing villages in the Second Kingdom."

"Moana must have told you. She is a good person."

"She was a good person. You've made her into a monster."

"The Broken Light made her into someone better. We gave her purpose and saved her life."

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Rapunzel gritted her teeth and forced herself to stay calm. "You're not going to burn me at the stake, are you?"

"Who do you think I am? This is not the Dark Moon. We want to offer you a way of repent. We want you to redeem your kingdom."

"I thought you wanted me dead."

"Not dead."

"But Moana—"

"What Moana wants isn't necessarily what the Broken Light needs."

So Moana was simply means to an end.

This is crazy, Rapunzel thought. I have to get out of here. I have to get information about this cult to the Elites.

"What exactly does that entail?" she ventured at last.

The Father smiled, as if he had made some sort of progress. "I am offering for you to become a Sister. Just as Moana is. I am offering you a part in the glorious cause of bringing true light to this land."

"And if I refuse?"

"Then you will be thrown to the wolves."

Rapunzel weighed her options. Joining a slightly sadistic cult that her classmate was a part of, or being thrown to the wolves. As far as she could tell, only one of those led to her survival. 

"Which god do you serve?" Rapunzel blurted. "I assume you are a cult."

"We are a family," the Father answered. "And we serve the only true god. Pitch Black. We are the Dark Moon's more peaceful counterparts."

Fiddlesticks. Mentally, Rapunzel forced herself to count to three.

"Okay. I'll join. I'll be a part of this."

If the Father was surprised at her quick compliance, he didn't let on. Rapunzel wasn't stupid. She knew resisting would only place her in a worse situation. She could think of this as an opportunity to gather information. Spy on them.

"Wonderful." The Father's eyes lit up with that fanatic light, and Rapunzel wondered if she had made a huge mistake.

The Father reached into the pocket of his robes, modest attire, meant for a pious monk. He removed a snake. It was relatively tiny, perhaps the length of Rapunzel's forearm, but it was definitely a snake. Its scales were obsidian black, and its forked tongue slithered out from its mouth. 

Rapunzel gulped.

"If you remain loyal to the cause, then you have nothing to worry about," the Father smiled.

Rapunzel thrashed in her binding, but it was to no avail. She could only watch in horror, and the Father placed the snake on her wrist, which was pinned to the arm of the chair, by thick metal chains.

Frozen in horror, Rapunzel felt the sharp sting of fangs, as they sank into her arm. And then a burning sensation.

The snake was burrowing into her skin.

Rapunzel screamed.

~ ~ ~

There was no mark, no scar where the snake had pierced her. Only the ghost of pain. 

The Father had let her go. After the snake had vanished underneath her skin, the Father had merely unchained her. Rapunzel hadn't even thought of fighting. She had just ran. Miraculously, to the exit. 

Rapunzel staggered along, on unsteady feet to the Cistern, where the door had promptly swung open.

"Something strong," Rapunzel mumbled, taking a seat at the bar. She didn't care that the barmaid was giving her a strange look. She didn't care that she looked too young to be drinking. She refused to believe a snake was inside her. 

Dubiously, the maid poured her a finger of amber liquid, which Rapunzel immediately downed. The alcohol burned through her.

"Another," Rapunzel said, passing the maid a few coins from her pocket.

Obediently, the barmaid poured another glass.

"Rapunzel?" an incredulous female voice exclaimed.

Rapunzel turned to see Merida take a seat on the stool next to her. The sight of her curly red hair was better than any bracing drink.

"You've been missing for hours! And now you turn up, drinking at the Cistern. What the hell is going on?" Merida demanded, giving Rapunzel a hug.

Rapunzel opened her mouth to tell her best friend everything. She hesitated.

If you remain loyal to the cause, you have nothing to worry about.

Rapunzel swallowed hard, regretting the words as they left her mouth. "Nothing, Merida. Nothing's wrong. I just took a little me-time. That's all."

A/N:

Hi everyone! I just wanted to take a moment to thank you all for your votes, comments, and reads. I know I'm not the best writer, but thank you for sticking with me. If you have any feedback or requests for certain pairings or scenes, I would love to hear them.

See you next chapter!