The Maze Princess [The Maze Runner]

3

The next day around noon, Rapunzel was working in the Gardens with Merida.

"So has anyone ever tried climbing up the walls by the ivy?" asked Rapunzel.

Merida continued digging a hole for tomato seeds as she responded. "Tried that. The ivy doesn't go all the way to the top."

"Well how about the Box, ever send a girl down there and see where it-"

"Tried it. The Box doesn't go back down with somebody in it."

"Well maybe if we-"

"We tried it, alright?" Merida forcefully stuck her shovel in the ground and gave Rapunzel a stare. "Anything you come up with, we already tried."

Aurora, the Keeper of the Gardens, was working beside Rapunzel and tapped her arm. Aurora had a soft voice but her words were demanding. "You want to be helpful, Newbie? You're in charge of retrieving more fertilizer."

Aurora tossed her a bucket with a scooper that Rapunzel caught in surprise. Rapunzel glanced at Merida and Merida motioned with her shovel in the direction of the Deadheads.

Without complaint, Rapunzel stood up and loped to the Deadheads. As the ground leaves of the forest crumpled underneath her feet, she sighed and started talking to herself. "Be helpful, Rapunzel. Just get the fertilizer . . ."

Deep within the lush part of the Deadheads, she found a mound of fresh dirt and knelt down to gather it as fertilizer. Abruptly, the sound of leaves crackling brushed in the distance.

Rapunzel looked up. There was no one in sight.

She went back to the fertilizer. The crackling of leaves sounding again, yet this time it had gotten closer.

Rapunzel slowly got up. She circled around to make sure no one was creeping up on her.

Well, she was mistaken.

There was a Gladess wandering about fifteen feet away from her. Rapunzel sighed in relief. "Oh, it's just you," she said, "You're Vanessa, right? I don't think we've met . . ."

Suddenly it dawned upon Rapunzel that this Vanessa girl didn't look right. Rapunzel took a good look at her, and quickly concluded that Vanessa definitely looked off. Her skin was naturally pale as Rapunzel had noticed before, but this time, it seemed to be a pale greenish color. There also were cuts and scabs on Vanessa's legs that looked fresh and new, and Vanessa's face suddenly looked sickly and threatening.

"Uhh, are you okay?" Rapunzel asked quietly, stepping slightly closer.

Vanessa was shaking. Rapunzel could hear her breathing loudly. She sounded like she was going to have a breakdown at any moment.

Of course, it happened. In a sudden moment, Vanessa charged at Rapunzel and knocked them both to the ground. Rapunzel yelped. Vanessa clutched Rapunzel's wrists into the dirt. "You! This is all your fault! You're bad! Bad, bad, bad!"

"Get off of me!" Rapunzel cried for help, repeatedly slapping at Vanessa with no intention of stopping. They met eyes; Vanessa's were red and menacing and had a crazy, almost delusional, look in them.

"I SAW YOU!" Vanessa hollered angrily.

Rapunzel jabbed her knee upward and kicked Vanessa 'down there'. Vanessa fell off of her and Rapunzel scrambled onto her feet in a flash - she sprinted toward the Glade with Vanessa directly on her tail.

"HELP! HELP ME!" Rapunzel screamed desperately. Once she made it to the clearing, there were eyes on her from all directions of the Glade. When Vanessa lunged at Rapunzel and sent them tumbling down the hill, they both got tangled in Rapunzel's long locks, and Gladesses everywhere ran toward them.