Tales From the Tower by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fairy tale, Fairytale, fantasy anthology, SF anthology, Rapunzel, Prisoners, escape
Publisher: Ye Olde Dragon Books
Published: 2022-05-01T00:00:00+00:00

THAT NIGHT, HE HUDDLED under a thin blanket. A ragged curtain hung down the middle of the room, separating him from the women. The window shutters were bolted, but a breeze seeped between the cracks, carrying with it the Singers’ high, whispering voices as they wandered the plain below.

He lay shivering, fighting his exhaustion. Not quite able to sleep with a murderous woman on the other side of a tattered, over-large rag.

The curtain fluttered.

He wiped sweaty palms against his trousers. Had he summoned the beast?

A teal-haired head poked through, gleaming in the light of the lantern he kept by his bedroll. Kaya pushed the curtain aside.

“You still awake?” Seeing that he was, she slipped onto his side of the chamber, the curtain falling closed behind her.

He sat up, wrapping the blanket around himself. “What about Lavina?”

“She’s a deep sleeper.” Kaya rubbed her puffy, purple-rimmed eyes. “Tires herself out during the day. Sleeps like a log at night.”

“She really was going to kill me, wasn’t she?” he murmured. It wouldn’t have been the first time a stranger turned against him, but he’d always thought there was an unspoken code amongst those who sought refuge in the Safe Towers.

Kaya dropped next to him, wrapping her arms around her knees. “Lavina isn’t one to be crossed. She loves—and hates—fiercely.” Her lips trembled. “She’s kept me safe for a long time. From everyone.” She plucked at a loose strand of embroidery on her skirts. “You’re the first one who’s stayed in this tower in, oh... seven years.”

Zeke felt like he’d been sprung on by seven Singers at once. “Seven years?” he hissed. “You’ve been locked up in here for seven years? What about Kiltra?” He tore the letter from his pocket, holding it out to her. Surely Lavina would jump at the chance at a better life, a truly safe place—an entire continent rather than a tiny island that was being slowly consumed.

But Kaya didn’t touch the piece of paper. Her shoulders seemed to droop, and silver crept into her skin. Her fingers leapt to her ear, pinching at her piercings. “We’ve tried to get to Kiltra.” She blinked rapidly. “We were rapunzel farmers, though none of us liked to eat it ourselves. Lavina was our neighbour, like a second mother to me.” She hiccupped, laughing softly. Tears shimmered in her eyes. “When the blight broke out, we tried to get to Kiltra, to escape. But some of our companions...” She sucked in a deep breath. “They traded my parents to the Singers in exchange for safe passage.” She swiped her sleeve over her nose.

Zeke’s stomach twisted. A picture of his own parents crept into his mind: their smiles spattered with blood; their teeth sharp and flashing; their fingers curved into claws. Their bodies contorted, their minds overtaken by a single desire: hunger. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered.

She nodded, staring at the barred window. “Lavina whisked me back here to my family’s ancestral tower, and we’ve never left except to gather food and harvest our rapunzel supply.

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