A Tiger Called Rapunzel ✓ || TaeGyu || HYBEPride 2021

Big Trouble In A Little Tower

It took two more days, but Heulin finally returned home, riding through the sky on Mae's back. There was a smile on her face, most likely from a new paramour who had no clue about her life back in the Naeil Kingdom. And Cholongkkoch didn't know this, but she knew when her Mama was happy, there was a chance she would be gone for a long time. This was good news for her, especially if she was going to be traveling to this Tiger Festival without her Mama finding out.

Heulin brought back supplies, and they stored some of the food in the icebox, keeping the canned vegetables on the counter where they would not go bad. Then, they enjoyed some tarts together that Heulin had bought from very far away. Cholongkkoch never understood why her mother would leave her for so long, but she always liked it when she returned, because she would be reminded of how much she was loved. Nobody else would love Cholongkkoch like her mother loved her. Nobody at all.

It made Cholongkkoch feel bad, thinking about going to the Tiger Festival without her mother, probably against her mother's wishes. But she knew if she asked, it would never go over well.

They were cleaning the dishes when her mother went upstairs to check on things and make sure the house was clean. Mae watched over Cholongkkoch's shoulders while she cleaned, making sure she was doing it right. After all, Cholongkkoch wasn't good at anything at all, especially not good at cleaning dishes. She would drop them, or miss a spot, and when she did it wrong, she needed corrected. She scrubbed each plate three times with the water her Mama had brought from outside, then put it back in the pan so it could be used tomorrow as well.

"Sweetheart?"

Cholongkkoch skipped up the stairs and to where her mother was standing -- and stopped. Her mother was holding the map scroll that Taehyun had brought her. "What is this?"

She couldn't deny it. "It's a map."

"And where did you get this map?"

"From the library." It was a blatant lie, but she couldn't tell her mother exactly where she had gotten it. Not if she wanted to see Taehyun again.

"So you brought it home from the library hoping I would not see it?" Heulin opened the map to see where Taehyun had marked where their house was. "And you drew on it? What will Seokjin think of this now? You careless, silly little girl."

"I was -- I was thinking, on days when you weren't here, I could go to Shinkisoku by myself to get supplies and to go to the library --"

"Aww, sweetheart. You mean so well, but you know it's going to go badly. You know what happens if you step outside the tower."

"Strange men will attack me," Cholongkkoch said. "Or bears will get me. Or I will trip and fall into the river. That's why I need you to go with me."

"Exactly." Heulin patted Cholongkkoch on the head. "If something happened to you, sweetheart, I would be heartbroken. And you don't want to break Mama's heart, now, do you?"

"No." Cholongkkoch felt the tears brimming up. "It's just that --"

"You can't even wash dishes correctly. How would you ever think that you could make it to Shinkisoku by yourself? Trust me, darling, I'm better suited for that kind of work. You can't live without me. Mama knows best." Heulin walked down the stairs to the kitchen. "Isn't that right, Mae?"

Mae bowed her head, speaking telepathically. "It is true, My Liege. I owe my loyalty to you, eternally, and your daughter should do the same. That is the role of a caring daughter."

Cholongkkoch stared at her feet. "Mama...can you cut the ends of my hair again? It's feeling a little long." She didn't actually need a haircut, but she would do anything to get her mother to stop talking about her like this. Even if it meant her mother pulling on her hair and making her oddly uncomfortable.

"Of course, my dear." And Heulin took the map to the boiling pot and put it in the fire underneath.

Cholongkkoch's mouth went open. "Why -- that was --"

"Oh, I'm sure Seokjin will understand. In fact, if he's going to be giving out maps to my dear child, I'm not sure we should be going back to the library any time soon."

Cholongkkoch kept her mouth shut. She really didn't want her mother to talk to Seokjin and find out that the map didn't belong to the library. But she complied, and she sat on her favorite stool while her mother doted on her hair for hours. Kai sat near her feet, staying still so Cholongkkoch knew that she wasn't alone. Then, her mother went to sleep downstairs while Cholongkkoch went upstairs to her lofted room.

"Why did she do that?" Cholongkkoch asked Kai, knowing they couldn't talk openly about it until her mother left again.

"I don't know," Kai said with a whisper.

There was a pause, and then, "I wish they were here."

"They?"

"Kai, shh. I wish that..." She wanted to say it. It was on the tip of her tongue. She wished that Taehyun was here, that he could convince her mother that she could go to the Tiger Festival, that they could travel together and she would be just fine. She closed her eyes, letting herself imagine what it might be like. They would travel together to the festival, and she would cut her hair shorter than it was now, and maybe Taehyun would let her wear some of his clothes. And then, she would meet his family, his loving wife and maybe his children if he had any. And maybe she could be adopted in his family instead, and leave her mother behind.

And Kai...she hoped that he would accept Kai. Taehyun technically hadn't met Kai yet. Mama had always said that, if anybody met Kai, then they would be nasty towards Kai. Nobody in the Kingdom used magic anymore, and this was the reason both Cholongkkoch and her mama hid away from the world. They couldn't find out about Mae or Kai. But Cholongkkoch hoped that Taehyun and his wife and his kids would keep Kai safe and away from everybody else.

She could see Taehyun's smile now, welcoming her into the family. She wondered what his wife looked like. She was probably beautiful. And she could take care of his kids. It sounded so romantic, and the thought made her so happy that she fell asleep.