tangled (mileven au)

prologue

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The clock on the wall ticked away, seconds passing by as Eleanor flipped to the next page of the book resting in her hands.

She was trying her very best to get lost within the world of such a perfect fairytale, but she'd read this one far too many times to even pretend that she had any interest in it.

A few more minutes went by, before she finally gave up and slammed the book shut, the sudden movement stirring up dust from the old, worn out pages.

Eleanor was tired of reading, so beyond tired.

She felt as if she's read these stories a hundred times now. Each one the same, telling of a prince swooping in to save the princess, resulting in the two falling in love and living happily ever after.

Despite how annoyingly predictable she found each one to be, Eleanor wanted that for herself, to one day be saved from her dull life and given the chance to live one much more thrilling. She wanted her happily ever after.

She wasn't naive though. She knew that would never happen. It could never happen. The outside world was far too dangerous for a girl like her, so she would just have to stick to reading the same old story books stacked up on the shelf.

It's not like there was much else to do in the cabin she was practically a prisoner to. Of course, she knew being safely locked up in there was for her own protection, but that didn't make the boredom she felt any less excruciating.

Her days typically went the exact same— wake up, eat breakfast, complete her chores, paint a little, read a little, have lunch, paint a little more, read a little more, then wait patiently for Papa to arrive back home.

Papa was usually away for most of the day, his work always keeping him busy, leaving Eleanor by herself, all alone for hours.

Sometimes she didn't mind it, sometimes she did.

While she enjoyed the freedom to do what she wanted, she often found herself wondering when her life would truly begin. Being stuck inside this small wooden cabin each and every day was not a life she wanted to live. She didn't want to stay hidden away from the world, never getting to experience what all was out there.

She wanted to leave. She wanted to get as far away from here as she could and do things that everyone else was lucky enough to do.

She wanted to do things that she saw the teenagers in the movies do, the things that seemed to be a whole lot of fun, definitely more fun than reading books and painting every single day.

Eleanor could only hope that one day she would get to do those things. She craved to do those things, to feel something other than the confusion and loneliness she'd been feeling her whole life.

Just as she began to get lost in the daydreams that often find their way into her head, daydreams of a life far more exciting than this one, a heavy knock on the door caught her attention.

It was a secret knock that only one person knew, letting her know that it was safe to open the door.

"Eleanor, it's your Papa. Open up, please!

She quickly scanned the room, deciding on tidying up the small space before she let him in. Papa didn't like it when she made a mess, so it was really for her own good.

"I'm not getting any younger out here!"

She finished straightening up the couch pillows, before finally glancing back at the front door. Each lock slid open after one sharp tilt of her head, Eleanor managing to do all that with ease, as if it were completely normal.

It wasn't normal though, neither was she, if you couldn't tell by the use of only her mind to open up the door.

Eleanor had a gift, a gift that no one else in the world seemed to possess. She was able to move things with her mind, whether it be the locks securing the doors to her home or a train car, weighing who knows how many tons. She was also able to step into other realms and occasionally start a fire, but that couldn't be done as easily. She didn't have much knowledge on those aspects of her gift, so it often caused her to grow terribly weak.

These unique abilities of hers were the very reason she's locked away in a cabin in the first place. Her Papa insists that she and her powers must be kept a secret from the world. The only other people who were to know about them were his friends at the laboratory he worked at.

Eleanor had been brought along with him to visit the place and help them with some of their projects many times throughout her life. That's actually the only time she's ever allowed out of the cabin, but even then, he wouldn't dare let her look out the windows. He would blindfold her, then shove her down to lie in the floorboard of the car.

She didn't enjoy it, but like always, he insisted it was for her safety.

She didn't really know much about what Papa did for a living or why he demanded each time they were there, that she do exactly what was expected of her, no questions asked.

Sometimes she still asks questions though.

Sometimes she whines about having to do something specifically asked of her.

Neither of those things end up making Papa very happy, always resulting in him yelling at her, threatening to keep her locked away even longer.

Papa isn't really too nice of a man sometimes...

"Eleanor, you halfwitted child, did you hear what I said?" His booming voice rang through her ears, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"What?"

The man sighed, placing a heavy hand on her shoulder. "I said, it must be exhausting having to unlock that door every day."

"No? It's not, not at all!" She replied, confusion written all over her face. He knew her opening that door didn't exhaust her one bit.

"Then why does it always take you so long, huh?" He snapped backed, his spiteful words bringing a look of shame to her face.

"I'm sorry." Her quiet voice spoke, her face falling to stare down at the floor beneath her. She slowly made her way over to the couch, plopping down on it and waiting for him to join her.

Eleanor didn't want to be in the man's presence any longer, those few minutes had already been enough for her.

She knew he'd only yell at her if she tried escaping to her room, so she had no choice but to stay put, silently wishing this day would end already.

It seemed pointless to yearn for tomorrow, though. She knew it would only be another day just like the rest, waiting for something, anything to change.

_
AN;
a little bit of a boring start but her life is kinda boring so it fits. next chapter should be out soon!