Sapphic Fairy Tales 08: Rapunzel

Time moves over and around and through us all our lives. The river flows forever forwards, sometimes bending, sometimes stretching or contracting, but always moving onwards. We have traced its passage with the turn of the seasons, the movement of the stars and planets, and with machines which keep it locked in hours, minutes and seconds. We are experts in measuring the passage of time, breaking it down into smaller and more easily managed chunks.

But there are those that have subverted the stream of time, dipping in and out of the flow as they so choose, like a fish swimming upriver by leaping up waterfalls. Accounts of these travellers are few and far between. These people who traverse the skein of reality are often strange and detached, removed as they are from the usual cares and concerns of mortals. Such is the fate of those that subvert fate itself, for once you swim upriver, you have to keep swimming or be washed away towards your destiny.

- - -

Deep in the woods beyond the borders of the village, out beyond where even the hunter paths ran out, there stood a hill. The top of this hill, which was wide and flat, was clear of trees and brush so that its grass-covered crown peaked above the forest like the bald head of an elderly man. Around the circumference of the top there ran a wide circle of strange blue stones, standing no taller than the height of a man, their northern sides speckled with moss and lichen.

Very few people ever visited the strange hill in the middle of nowhere. It was said that pixies, goblins and other fey folk danced amongst the stones on a full moon, and that they would kill or kidnap any who disturbed them in their rituals. Other folk claimed that the hill was actually the mighty burial mound of an ancient king of the giants, and that the stones on the peak were the tips of his crown still peeking up through the grass. And there was one more legend of the hill. It was said that once in a lifetime, when the long haired star appeared in the sky, then a tower would appear atop the hill, only to disappear again a week later with the fading of the comet.

Nobody knew where the tower came from or where it went, and only a few old-timers of the village had ever claimed to have seen it themselves. These old-folk's tales were often ignored as so much superstition and exaggeration, after all nobody went that far into the woods, especially at night, and certainly not just to glimpse some mystical tower. But there was one person for whom the legends of the tower rang true, in whose ears the fanciful stories of a mystical disappearing tower found a kernel of truth.

Her name was Doctor Eugenia Fitzherbert and she had come to this lonely little village in the backwaters of the kingdom to find answers. For years she had studied the myths and legends of such events. She had hunted through countless archives and delved into the deepest recesses of libraries hidden in high cold towers, searching for truth. Were these mysterious appearances and disappearances the residue of the mythical Fair Folk of stories and legends? Or maybe ghostly apparitions, echoes of times long gone come back to haunt the present day? Her personal pet theory was that they were visitations by other-wordly or perhaps ethereal beings from beyond the material world, come to visit and study this one. Her compendium detailing the many instances of such mythical appearances had won her high esteem amongst her colleagues.

But one thing had bothered the young doctor. For all her knowledge and learning of these strange disappearing buildings, castles, ships and people, she had never once encountered such an event. She wanted to see such a thing for herself, witness it in person and perhaps, if such a thing were at all possible, meet with and talk with these beings which appeared only once in a blue moon. She found herself fascinated by the accounts of these often beautiful but also bizarre creatures.

There were tales of men appearing in a flash of light riding a metal horseless carriage, and disappearing once more leaving streaks of burning fire in the wheel ruts. Or a single blue box and its variety of inhabitants bringing misfortune and strife wherever it arrived. And even one bizarre story of a large tub of bubbling warm water which came and disappeared without a trace. Eugenia had searched for weeks for a record of a regularly occurring appearance that she could witness herself and after many nights of near-sleepless research she had found one. The legend of the mysterious tower on the hill which arrived with the appearance of the long-haired comet in the skies above.

And so this trip to the hill in the forest was to be her last chance to encounter such an event for herself, she had nearly run out of funding for her post-doctoral research, and it was here or bust. By luck, fortune was with her that night. The once-in-a-lifetime event where the long-haired star appeared in the sky was due to occur in less than two hours. This was why she was hurriedly trudging her way through the woods in the back-end of nowhere, her way lit only by the meagre light of a small lantern on the end of her walking stick.

Thankfully all of the walking she had done during her search over the past few years had kept her fit and healthy, and at twenty eight years old she was still in the prime of life. She wore her old and much-patched robes from the university, a simple blue smock tied around her waist with a length of dark cloth. Her light brown hair was kept back behind her head in a simple ponytail, protected from the elements by the gold-trimmed cloak which she wore over everything else. Her pale green eyes squinted through the gloom from behind an elegant pair of bronze-rimmed spectacles and her thin lips were set in a worried grimace of confusion. Perhaps she had taken a wrong turn somewhere?

Through the pine trees all around her, Eugenia could see the bright twinkling lights of the stars high above. It was a perfect night for stargazing, but thankfully the long-haired star had yet to make its appearance, as she had not reached her destination. But looking up had provided her with her bearing, as off to the west she would make out the low bald shape of the hill, blocking out the starlight through gaps in the trees. Clutching her walking stick more tightly, and fumbling in her backpack for her compass, she set off once more towards the hill.

It took less than an hour for her to finally reach the peak of the low rise, trudging up the low but grass-slick side of the mound to reach the empty crest with its circle of stones. The sky was still empty of long-haired stars, although the moon in its waxing form could be seen clearly above the horizon to the south, and the other stars in the sky blazed like a billion watching eyes.

After taking a moment to catch her breath, Eugenia began to look around. The only thing that her lantern light alighted on immediately was the tall squat form of one of the standing stones at the ridge of the hill. The light of her lantern was more than enough for Eugenia to sit with her back to one of the stones and scribble some preliminary notes in her notebook.

As she worked by the light of her candle, Eugenia failed to notice that high above her, the sky was slowly rent by the single silhouette of a pale silvery scar high above the eastern horizon, blazing silently from north to south across the cosmos. At the same time, a shape began to emerge from the darkness, pale and ghost-like to begin with, but taking on more form with each passing moment.

Un-noticed even by Eugenia sitting not fifteen feet away, the ethereal tower emerged out of nothing until its solid and very real form finally passed into existence at the dead centre of the circle of stones at the top of the hill. Its walls were perfectly carved, fitting together with not a crack for mortar. Carved in a long flowing spiral up its length was a beautiful relief depicting numerous tall and elegant figures gazing upwards at stars above them. The peak of the tower appeared to be shaped into a wide circular dome, with one long aperture on the side facing directly towards the shining star blazing over the heavens to the east.

When Eugenia finally looked up from her scribbled notes, she gasped in surprise as she beheld the tower at last. She blinked several times to make sure she wasn't dreaming and then leapt to her feet, scattering notebook and quill everywhere. She ran forwards and her hand touched the very real stone of the mysterious tower that had appeared before her, solid and cold under her palm. Her heart was in her mouth. This was it, she had found one! She stood and looked up at the magnificent edifice above her, jaw open and brain whining like a rodent on a wheel.

Eugenia's eyes focused in on the carving in front of her, which depicted a tall lithe individual dressed in a long flowing robe, their face tilted upwards to stare at a constellation above them. Inscribed around the base of the image were words, and Eugenia recognised them from her studies as words written in the Elder Tongue. The forgotten language carved onto many other strange ruins and monoliths across the land. Although its origins were mysterious, Eugenia had found and studied enough of it during her research to be able to sound out at least some of the words carved before her. Her fingertips traced across the inscribed letters in the stone before her, her tongue forming the words in her head before she spoke them out loud,

'Ra Pun Zel, Ra Pun Zel. Gadewch i lawr eich gwallt!'

The words were harsh and unfamiliar in her mouth, and she was still not entirely sure of their meaning, but the first repeated three words were definitely a name. Ra meaning wise-one or seer. Pun meaning watcher. And Zel, meaning sky or heavens. This tower was clearly the dwelling of a 'Wise-One who Watches the Sky.' And what a perfect night for them to do so, bright and clear with the long tailed star still blazing silent and silvery across the firmament.

Eugenia knew that she had to meet this person. This was a chance that she would probably never have again, no other opportunity to meet one of these mysterious travellers themselves, in the flesh. But how to get inside this strange tower? A quick circuit of the base revealed no doorway, hatch or passage which led inside, and the only entrance seemed to be a single window, high up on the perfectly smooth tower, just below the base of the dome-shaped roof.

Far above, Eugenia heard something move and she looked up to see that the small window had just opened. Perhaps the occupant had heard her read out the inscription on the base of the tower? Falling out of the window there came a long glittering golden thread of some strange material, which almost seemed to glow in the moonlight from above. When the long length of material had reached down to where Eugenia stood, she was able to reach out and touch it gingerly, its long yellowy threads parting between her fingers. It looked like hair, but as long as a woven rope, golden bright and silky soft in her hand.

She grasped her hand around the width of the entire lock and gave an experimental tug, the golden braid held firm and strong in her hand. With no other doors or entrances, this must be the way in and out of the tower, by climbing this magnificent length of golden locks. Setting her jaw with as much as much courage as she could muster, Eugenia took a firm grasp with both hands and began to pull herself arm over arm up the side of the tower, bracing herself with her feet against the smooth stone wall as she did so. Inch by inch, foot by foot she climbed, never once daring to look down as the small window at the top of the tower grew closer and closer.

Finally her hands grasped the cold stone lintel of the windowsill and she heaved herself upwards over the edge panting, her muscles screaming in protest while she collapsed on the floor. As she opened her eyes and raised her head to look around at her new surroundings, her breath was taken away again. The walls and ceiling of the large domed chamber that she found herself in were completely covered in a series of beautiful and intricate painted carvings. The whole scene was that of the night sky above, the circular horizon all around painted the deep purple-orange-yellow of a rising dawn. Higher up the colour faded to the deep stygian blue and black of the night sky, speckled with thousands and thousands of brilliant sparkling diamond stars set into the plaster. Some of these stars were linked by long thin lines of gold trim which Eugenia recognised as the constellations.

The whole scene was so dazzlingly beautiful that it took Eugenia a moment to notice the other occupants of the wide open room. Lining the walls were numerous items of furniture including a small stove and oven, a series of benches and bookshelves and a wide open bed lined by cupboards and drawers. This was clearly the living quarters of someone. But at the centre of the room, suspended from the ceiling by a complex series of cogs and brackets, was a massive telescope, currently pointed directly eastwards towards the long-haired comet blazing across the sky above.

At the base of the telescope there was a single large chair, and sitting in this chair, their eyes pressed firmly to the oculus of the telescope, was a woman. Eugenia's eyes went wide as she beheld the individual seated before her, apparently completely unaware of her presence. This was because, flowing from her head was a mighty long mane of perfect golden hair which hung over the back of the chair she was seated on, across the floor and out of the window that Eugenia had just clambered through. The young doctor felt suddenly as if she had sullied something beautiful by climbing the aureate locks with her bare hands when she looked down at the perfect strands of blond hair which flowed past her out of the window.

For a moment or two Eugenia didn't know what to do. This was the moment that she had been anticipating for years, a meeting with one who travelled between worlds themselves. But now she didn't know what to do or to say. The woman whose tower she had blundered into had yet to even acknowledge her presence and seemed focused and intent on what she saw through the enormous telescope. She was about to open her mouth and step forwards to introduce herself, self-conscious all the while of how feeble her words of greeting would sound to such a person, when the woman in the chair held up her hand, a single finger extended in a 'wait one moment' motion.

Eugenia stood stunned and closed her mouth once more, watching as the woman, who she assumed was Ra Pun Zel herself, sat back from the telescope and scribbled something down in a small notebook at her side before she finally stood up and turned to face her new guest. She was tall, standing probably six feet to Eugenia's five. She appeared young and wore a simple set of blue robes, the hem of which was beautifully embroidered with golden trims. It hugged her slender form and hung loose off her shoulders revealing the pale almost ethereal skin beneath. Her face was high and noble with a petite nose and mouth and her pale blond eyebrows currently cocked in a bemused expression. Her eyes were fascinating, like twin reflections of a blue moon which sparkled with the light of a thousand stars.

'Hello. Good evening, welcome to my tower. Sorry about the hair, I don't currently have a rope, erm who are you?'

The voice of Ra Pun Zel was soft and light, friendly, but with a strange quality as if filled with many more years of wisdom than her youthful appearance would suggest.

'My... My name is Doctor Eugenia Fitzherbert... Am I speaking with great Ra Pun Zel?'

Eugenia replied, trying to keep the awe-struck shaking out of her voice. She held out her hand in the traditional human greeting, one which she hoped the person before her would recognise. For a moment the tall woman merely looked down at her, before she too stretched out her hand with its long delicate fingers and pressed her palm against Eugenia's. The skin was soft and smooth and warm and very real-feeling, Whoever this Ra Pun Zel was she was certainly no apparition or spectre.

'It's not often that I get visitors to my tower,' Ra Pun Zel continued as she turned back towards her telescope. 'Very few can ever find it, and even fewer can read the password that is so helpfully inscribed on the base. Do people not speak the Elder Tongue any more?'

'Erm... no, not most people. Not for the past thousand years or so. You... You're more than a thousand years old?'

Eugenia realised the impertinence of the question to a person she just met as soon as she had said it and blushed with embarrassment. But thankfully Ra Pun Zel merely laughed as she sat back on her seat before her telescope and adjusted some of the complex looking levers and knobs on its side.

'Hah! To be honest Dr Fitzherbert, I stopped counting after the first two-hundred years or so. Time and chronology don't really really have much of a hold on you when you travel around and through it as much as I do.'

The casual statement made Eugenia's head reel. This woman was saying that she travelled through time? If so perhaps all of the appearances and disappearances that she had studied from across history had not been creatures from other worlds visiting this one, but creatures from other times?!

'You... You travel in time?!' She gasped, amazed and dumbfounded by the implications.

'Sure...' Ra Pun Zel replied casually as she looked back through her telescope. 'But only as a means to an end. And it can be a bit of a pain to be honest, because there are some things that time just won't ignore, like the hair growth for example. You travel forward a century or two and all of a sudden you've got hair as long as a tapestry. I've honestly given up trying to get it cut regularly. But I'm mostly interested in celestial events like this one tonight with the comet. The last time I was here it was bloody raining so I had to skip forward a bit until I finally found a time with good enough weather. And I'm glad I did, because I also got to meet you, Doctor, it's always nice to have company.'

'Please... Eugenia is fine...' Eugenia replied, her mind still reeling at what she was experiencing.

'Eugenia, okay. Oh and I'm Ra Pun Zel, sorry I forgot to mention that. But you can call me Rapunzel if you prefer, all together, it's easier to say that way.'

'Rapunzel, okay... Erm, I have so many questions!'

Rapunzel turned with a wide smile and seemed to completely forget the telescope beside her.

'Oooh questions. I love questions! I can't always answer all of them, don't ask me for next week's lottery numbers for example, not that you'd know what that means anyway, but yes lots of other things. And it's so nice to talk to someone new now and then, especially someone as lovely and eager to learn as yourself!'

Rapunzel's energy was enthusiastic and slightly manic, as if they had forgotten how to talk to people and was only now getting back into the swing of it by speaking fast and all at once. Eugenia found herself blushing slightly at the attention that the strange woman was directing so unilaterally towards her, as if she was the only interesting thing in a room full of so many wonders. And it was nice to be called lovely as well, something she had not experienced many times in her long years of solitary scholarship at the university. She found herself unable to look away from Rapunzel's bright, sparkling and intelligent eyes.

- - -

The next few hours were spent with the two women talking back and forth, endlessly asking questions of each other in an increasingly excited and enthusiastic way until they were nearly communicating without words. Eugenia asked about Rapunzel's travels, the places and times that she had visited, how her tower moved, why she loved to watch the stars so much, and everything about her extraordinary life. In return Rapunzel peppered Eugenia with questions about the world that she lived in, as she never spent much time at all in one time or place she was fascinated by the world that she was briefly passing through. And she asked more and more about Eugenia herself, her favourite foods, which books she liked, if she liked to dance. Her enthusiasm was almost childishly refreshing after years surrounded by dogma-obsessed academics and Eugenia found her presence revitalising.