The Urban Princesses: Rapunzel

Chapter 12

Rachel's POV

Earl paid the boat renter and he showed us to a small rowboat tied to a dock. Earl frowned.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I actually have to row."

I laughed. "I'll help you. Come on."

He stepped into the boat and it rocked on the choppy water. He held out a hand for me and I took it, falling in on him. He caught me before I went overboard.

"S-Sorry." I stuttered as I pulled away from him. I could feel my cheeks getting warm. Being close to him gave me butterflies.

I plopped down on the wooden bench and he sat down on the bench across from me and grabbed the paddles. He started pushed the oars back and forth and I watched his muscles swell under his shirt. I swung my braid over my shoulder and twirled it between my fingers. Pascal took his place on my shoulder and I patted his small head. I watched as Max laid on the dock, whimpering as we progressed farther onto the lake.

In five minutes, we were in the middle of the water and Earl stopped rowing. The sun's last rays struck the waves, giving them a golden shimmering glow.

Earl looked at his watch. "So there is probably about fifteen minutes until the ceremony starts, another twenty before the fireworks, so we can just sit here."

"Ceremony?"

"Yeah, for the kidnapped girl."

I looked at him, dumbfounded.

"A few years ago, this crazy rich millionaire's wife got pregnant." I could tell he was glad to have something to talk about. "And then she got sick, real sick, like die tomorrow sick. So some amazing doctor came in and cured her sickness. She had the baby and all was well. But then, some person came in the middle of the night and the next morning, the child was gone. They were devastated, promised to never have another kid again. But, they weren't forgetting their lost daughter. So every year, they hold a little ceremony for her lost soul and set off fireworks in honor of her."

It was a sad story. I wiped away a tear that rolled down my cheek.

"Is she dead?"

He shrugged. "Never found. Not a body. Not a hint on who took her. The parents gave up looking a few years ago. Figured her kidnapper killed her. But they were surprised there wasn't a ransom. She would be your age now."

I can't imagine what the parents were going through.

We sat for another five minutes in silence, silently mourning the lost girl.

"So....." Flynn tried to use up time.

"The ceremony should be starting soon." Well obviously.

"Yeah." He licked his lips.

Another thirty seconds passed.

A question bugged my mind. "What if they aren't what I thought they would be?"

He looked up. "What?"

"What if this whole journey was for nothing? What if they are just the lights in the sky? What if they aren't what they are cracked up to be?"

"You have come all this way, don't give up now."

I trailed my hand along the cool water, littles ripples spread at the touch of my fingers. I wiped my wet hands on my shorts and folded them neatly in my lap.

That's when I heard a loud boom.