Free Rescuing Rapunzel by Candice Gilmer Page A

never,” I replied.
    “You were born here?”
    I shook my head. “I have no memory of anything before the tower. Mother said I was born on the side of a road during a spring storm and she brought me here eighteen years ago.”
    “When is your birthday?”
    “In sixteen days,” I replied, smiling, already a bit excited for my birthday.  
    Sometimes it came and went with nothing, but every year, I clung to the hope that Mother would give me something. Aside from Nick’s stones, I had never received another gift beyond what I needed to survive. Which made his gift that much more special.
    “I shall have to remember to bring you a gift,” Nick replied. “Speaking of gifts.” He reached behind him, producing a small parcel, like the one that had dangled from the arrow. “This is for you.”
    I stood, intent on accepting his offering, but could not find the steps to move toward him and take the gift. I knew not why, but I could not move forward.
    As if he understood my hesitation, he took a step to his right, and placed the package on my bed.
    “You may open it when you are ready.” He moved back to the window, putting his hand on the braid, then glanced outside. “I will be going now.”
    I nodded, clenching the braid that hung over my shoulder as I stepped toward the window. “As you like.”
    He watched the hair fall for a moment, before turning to look at me again. “I would like to come back. May I?”
    “Yes,” I said, before I even realized I had uttered the word.
    With a smile on his face, he climbed out the window, twisting to the side so he could fit, then started his descent.
    I braced against the windowsill, my back stiff and straight as he climbed down, yet I kept turning to look at the parcel on my bed.
    When the weight disappeared, I released the window and turned to the bed, my fingers trembling once more. I ripped apart the parcel.
    Inside were three beautiful bright blooms. One pink, one blue and one violet.
    And a note.
     
    For your beautiful hair,
    Yours,
    Nick
     
    I stared at them, twirling each one in my fingers. The bright petals were so beautiful, I had never seen anything like them. I took the pink one first, tucking it behind my ear. The other two, I tucked into the braids around my face.
    A groan echoed–the door being opened.
    I ran back to the window. “Nick!”
    He was just walking through the door and he froze, turning back to me.
    “Thank you!” I yelled, louder than I ever had before.
    He cupped his hand next to his mouth. “You are welcome!”
     

 
    Chapter 16
     
    “Here we go,” Nick said, standing on the exterior wall of Rapunzel’s tower. He held his bow aloft and took aim at her windowsill. Inhaling a breath, he let the arrow fly. It hit to the right of the window, clattering against the stone, and tumbled into the garden.
    Nick spat out a curse and sat on the wall, ready to drop into the garden.
    “I think you missed,” a lovely female voice said.  
    Rapunzel stood in the window, the flowers he had given her two days ago still in her hair.
    “Hello,” he said, smiling at her.
    “Hello.” The sunshine bounced off her, making her look just as angelic as the first time he had seen her. The bruising on her face was now a distant memory. “Shooting more arrows at me today?”
    “I am. Attempting to, in any case.” He shouldered his bow and glanced at the ground. Not terribly far. He should easily be able to jump down from his seated position.
    “You might need more practice,” she said, leaning forward on her elbows and resting her chin on her hands.
    He should climb down and get his arrow, but he could not take his eyes off her. His heart thundered in his chest for he could not get over the sunshine that seemed to glisten in her eyes.
    “Archery is not my strongest skill.” Embarrassment made him look away, panning over the gardens below though he barely saw what grew there.
    “How did you get the first one up here?”
    This did make him look back at