Crown Princess Leonore, heir to the queendom of Dranath, likes women, obviously. The Queen Mother Carmilla marries her off to Sir Gabriel, obviously.
So when she finds out Sir Gabriel is a woman...
Dranath; queendom of mystique, bordered by jealous...
Even at a whisper, the words rang in the still evening air. Leonore stared up at her cat from beneath her window. The black feline stared back, gaze as empty as only a cat's could be.
"Knock the ladder down, you asshole!"
Rapunzel wasn't really a cat. She was a familiar who took the shape of a cat, which warranted that she should be a bit more intelligent than your garden variety cat. Presently, Rapunzel lifted a paw to her mouth and started licking it.
"I don't keep you around for this," hissed Leonore. She was at a precarious position here—the downward slope of the roof shingles beneath her feet threatened to slide her off, the night patrol might look up at any moment and she would be caught. Impatient, she jumped at the brick wall and started climbing.
It was slow going—the brick might have been old and presented many holds in which she may slide a hand or foot in, but she didn't often drag her entire body weight to scale a wall like the occasional house lizard that scuttled across her ceiling.
Midway through the struggle, something knocked down on her head and she nearly lost her grip and fell. Suspended from over the windowsill was a rope ladder—Rapunzel had finally decided to be agreeable.
Leonore reached for it and maneuvered her body up along the rope. It was hard, but not as difficult as the brick wall attempt. When she reached the top, she hauled herself into the room and pulled the rope in.
The room was empty and dark, predictably. The massive bed was artfully ruffled, and a lump in the middle lay as silent as a sleeping babe. Leonore scratched at her familiar's head before pulling away the blankets and sweeping the pillows that had been there to the side.
Someone pounded from the outside of the big doors. Leonore jumped into action and harried around blind, looking for a nightgown. She slipped into it just as the doors creaked open.
"Princess," said the voice. "Have you not slept well?"
Leonore had only managed to get as far as sitting down on the bed, and was now determined to play it off. "I'm fine, Frances. Just a night terror."
Frances had one hand on the door, the other holding a dish with a candle on it. Another face loomed over her shoulder, saying, "Your Highness?"
"Go back to bed, Teresa," said Leonore. "I'll be back to sleep myself."
Teresa and Frances shot each other tired looks, and Teresa shuffled away. Frances turned to leave, and paused. Over her shoulder, she said, "You don't wear boots to sleep, Leo."
As the door shut, Leonore looked down at her boot-clad feet and sighed. In the twilight, she kicked them off just as Rapunzel came to nuzzle at her shins. She picked her up.
"Buddy. We talked about this. You knock down the rope ladder when I say the code phrase, yeah?"
Rapunzel said mrreow, and Leonore kissed the top of her head. "There's always next time, baby girl."
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