Rapunzel waits, head cocked, until the footsteps in the hall fade. Then she picks up her paintbrush again, eyes narrowed, and says, “Pascal, you can come out now.”
And as she dips the brush in a dollop of midnight-blue paint, Eugene knows one thing for sure: Even if the queen thinks everything will be fine, it’s certainly far from over.
Three
Rapunzel
Really, Rapunzel thinks, it could be worse.
For example, this could all be happening in the dead of winter, when the sun would have already set hours ago. Years of late-night sketching by the light of a secret candle mean she can tell the royal library’s lamps would be direly insufficient for her search. Instead, even though it’s well after dinner, the low summer sun gilds the sea, lighting the shelves and their contents with a reflected amber glow more than equal to the task.
Rapunzel survived a pub full of brigands, nearly drowning in a dam collapse, and eighteen years in Gothel’s tower. She’s pretty sure she can survive a birthday party. But if MinisterCressien doesn’t think she’s ready to go to Astera, then she’ll just have tomakeherself ready.
There’s just one problem: The library is not cooperating.
Brandleton’s History of the Northern Kingdoms.Maybe this one? She pulls the book down and skims the table of contents. Nothing specific to Astera, but…Rapunzel flips to a section on island kingdoms, skims, finds one line:
As for the archipelago of Astera, due to their strict isolationist policies, little is known about this kingdom’s past.
Pascalbrrs on her shoulder.
“Not this one either,” she says with a sigh, and slides the book back into the gap left on the shelf. She hasn’t found a single volume yet with any more information than this, if it even mentions Astera at all.
It could be worse, Rapunzel tells herself. She could be without access to the royal library entirely.
Pascal suddenly scuttles down her sleeve and into her pocket. A moment later, a librarian passes the end of the row of shelves, double-takes, and bobs a curtsy. “Your Highness! Can I help you find anything?”
“Oh no, don’t worry about it,” Rapunzel says in a rush. “Just looking! Haha!”
Before the librarian can offer again, she hurries away from the history section. Rapunzel is sure the librarian is very good at her job and might actually possess a trove of Asteran lore; she knows it makes very little sense, but for reasons completely beyond her, the idea of asking for help makes Rapunzel want to march into the sea.
Lore.There could be something in the legends and folklore section, at least about beliefs? Something about Asteran culture? Rapunzel spends another ten minutes scouring those shelves…but comes up empty-handed once more. When she tries the law section, she finds only a stray note in a tome of international legal codes about the limited documentation of Asteran regulations. She tries naval history—they have boats, right? (Of course they do; how else could Councilor Teophine have gotten here?)—and agriculture and, in desperation, a compendium of international recipes.
Nothing.
Itstillcould be worse, Rapunzel internally insists. She could be in the tower, with a grand total of three books for reference.
But at least you knew those books by heart,a mutinous voice returns to remind her.
“Please let me know if you need anything, Your Highness.” The librarian hums a drive-by hint, pushing a notably empty cart past the aisle.
Rapunzel contemplates the walking distance to the sea beyond the windows for a moment, decides it’s too far, and caves. “Actually, yes. Do you know where I can findanythingabout Astera?”
A few minutes later, the librarian is pullingSystems of Government of the Modern Agefrom a shelf in the political arts section. “It’s not a lot,” she warns. “More than the rest of our collection, but that’s not saying much.” She hands it to Rapunzel. “May I ask, Your Highness…is this about the invitation last night?”
“My mother doesn’t want me to go,” Rapunzel says, trying not to let her glumness show.
The librarian’s shoulders droop. “That’s too bad. There must be so much for outsiders to learn there. Not that I’m questioning Her Majesty, of course. I wouldn’t let my daughter go alone either.”
Rapunzel’s smile feels a little tight. “Of course. Thank you for your help.”
She retreats to a nearby table and, once the librarian is out of sight, sets Pascal on the oak planks, then takes a seat and cracks open the dusty tome. The section the librarian promised is also just as brief as she warned, and it starts like most of the other books:
Little is known about the current regime in Astera.
Judging by the book’s brittle leather, that regime was decades ago. Rapunzel’s mouth twists, but she keeps going.
As of this writing, limited import trading is allowed on the main island by day under the watch of the guard, but every foreigner must return to Merchant’s Crescent at sunset or remain on Astera as a permanent resident. Similarly, Asteran citizens are forbidden from leaving the archipelago, and surprisingly few attempt to do so. This makes gathering and confirming information about their society difficult, and the rulers at present seem inclined to further restrictions.
