Iron

4*

Aune woke with a feeling of resent. Resent that she had been left in this tower, resent that she had never been given this book before. She was angry, angry enough to lose her head. Not knowing what lay outside had become too much for her. Aune needed rope, enough for her to lower herself out. But the simple fact was that there was no rope, or in Rapunzel's case, hair. She searched every corner, scoured every place in the room, but there was nothing but a few girdle cords and ribbons. Then Aune realized that there were no windows except on the ceiling. Frustrated, she looked up at them, trying to find a latch or anything that could open them.

She began to laugh at herself. Why would a window open? What was the point of doing do? Of course the window wouldn't open! But even as she thought this, a memory creeped into her head, the way memories always do when you need them most, silent and undetected until they were there.

She was three, or maybe even two, but it was summer, and the heat was stifling. Anna delivered breakfast and stood gasping in the heat. She drew a cool bath for Aune, but Aune was still burning. Anna went into the library, trying to find a way to cool down the tower. Aune watched, fascinated as Anna found a stick and, standing on a table, propped open the window.

Aune leapt up, staring at the bookcases in front of her. As she reached for a shelf to pull herself up, she heard Nephele's footsteps approaching. She cursed herself for not paying attention to the time and returned to her sitting room.

Nephele entered hurriedly, set the food down, bid Aune good morning, and left as hastily as she had come. Aune sat and picked at her food, hungry only for freedom. She was as ready as she would ever be. Climbing up on the library table, she couldn't quite reach the window. She disappeared, only to return a moment later with a chair which she set on the table. This time, she could reach it.

She gave it a shove and it bounced upward, then came back down with a crash. Aune waited with bated breath to see if anyone had heard it. But after a few moments of silence, she tried again, this time pulling herself up, high enough to see out. The world was huge! She could see houses and houses and people flooding the streets, although they appeared to be ants at this distance. In the distance there was a large swath of deep green. So that was what a forest looked like! A stone wall surrounded the castle, with stone towers periodically dotting the wall.

Then she turned her attention to the stones of the tower. They stuck out, not enough to make a foothold, but Aune didn't know that. She shifted out of the window and lowered herself until she was hanging by her hands only. Her feet scrabbled wildly to find a foothold. Then, by pure luck, her foot slid into a hole. It was a large hole, large enough for both her feet. It must have been the hole near the hidden book. She reached down to grab another stone and lowered herself even further. Her fingers were slipping ever so slowly, and she seized the hole where her feet had been before.

Suddenly there was a shout below her. Her sweaty fingers slipped and she plummeted into space. Aune screamed with terror, trying to stop, trying to grasp onto anything.

Then there was a muffled whump and she gasped, drawing the air back into her lungs. She was sitting on a pile of straw, hurting, but alive.

"What're ya doin'?" The same voice that had shouted earlier spoke up behind her. Aune scrambled around until she was facing the person. It was a short boy, the kind Aune imagined to be a stable boy. His hair was short and matted, as if it had never been brushed. Large, yellowed teeth protruded from his upper lip. He leered at Aune. "Why're ya here?"

Aune stared back, heart pounding. She couldn't tell him anything.

"Are ya dumb?"

"What do you mean?"