Free Rapunzel, the One With All the Hair by Wendy Mass

listening to me?”
    The forest vanishes and I’m back in front of the fire. Elkin is smirking. He’d better be careful or his face will have a permanent smirk and then his soon-to-be wife will not like him (although chances are high that she won’t, anyway). “Er, yes, Father,” I say, glaring at Elkin.
    â€œNow, due to your recent head-bobbing injury —”
    Elkin chuckles and Father does not reprimand him. Nice to stand up for one’s own son! His ONLY son and heir, I might add. Although if I fail to vanquish the troll and the troll vanquishes me instead, perhaps Father will decide to adopt Elkin. The horror of it!
    â€œAs I was saying, due to your, er, accident , you missed practicing with the royal archers yesterday. Elkin did very well and hit all his targets. He is being given a chance to prove he can indeed be a good influence on you, and he will be your guide in the hunt. I want you to stick closely by him. The rest of us will be too busy to watch over you.”
    Father’s words sink in. My plans are ruined! I cannot let this happen. I jump to my feet in protest. “I’ll be fine on myown, Father. You know I am a strong rider. Elkin doesn’t need me to shadow him. I would just be in his way.”
    Elkin adds, “Truly he would, uncle. I cannot wait to bag my supper, and what if Benjamin scares the animal off?”
    Father shakes his head. “On a young man’s first hunt, it is traditional for an older brother or cousin to ride with a younger. In this case, Elkin, you are the elder, so you two shall ride together. I will hear no more about it.”
    I look pleadingly at Mum. She is engrossed in her sewing and shows no signs of even following the conversation. I slump back into my seat and stare at the fire. I refuse even to glance at Elkin, who I can tell is pouting in that special way of his where he sticks out his lower lip and turns down the corners of his mouth.
    â€œBurn burn burn!” Annabelle squeals gleefully and tosses the last of her dolls into the flames. Mum finally notices what Annabelle has been doing for the past half hour and lunges out of her chair. The dress slips to the floor and the tiny gems fly off her lap and scatter. They appear very bright against the white stone. We all watch in horror as Mum actually reaches her hand into the fire and snatches out the closest doll.
    The sleeve of her gown is in flames! She gasps and drops the doll, which unfortunately falls right back into the fire. Annabelle begins to wail and grabs at Mum’s skirts. Father reaches Mum first and plunges her arm into the pitcher ofwater that one of the servants had placed on his desk only moments ago. When she pulls it out, her sleeve is in tatters, but her hand is only slightly pink.
    Father wraps his big arms around her and leads her from the room. Annabelle follows, wailing as she goes. In silence, Elkin and I bend down to pick up the gems that have settled into tiny crevices in the floor. We stuff them back into Mum’s sewing basket along with the robe. Finally Elkin turns to me and says, “I am not fond of this arrangement any more than you are. I was looking forward to being on my own in the forest.”
    â€œSo was I.” That is an understatement.
    â€œIf you prove your skill and come home with supper slung over your back,” he says, “I am sure you will no longer need a guide.”
    I mumble something that is a cross between “not likely” and “good night” and set out to find Andrew. We have a plan to revise.
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    LATER
    â€œOh, this is bad,” Andrew says, pacing the floor of my bedchamber. He is swinging a twenty-pound anvil with each arm as he walks, building up his strength for his squire test. His muscles are already quite large, but he says the competition is stiff and every muscle counts.
    â€œI suppose the treasure will have to wait till I am allowed to go on the hunt without needing to