(closed Tangled AU starter for @piuslux!)
Balacruf, no. Kiev Moc, a maybe but had turned out to be a no. Vortigern, no, and Alvin had barely escaped from there by the skin of his teeth, stealing a boat before the soldiers had managed to spot him.
He had at least collected some extra maps for his trouble, which he’d managed to read once he’d left the innocent boat well down-river and out of soldier range. The most intriguing of them had led him down a narrow crevasse and into a pocket-sized canyon that had been simply marked with a symbol for a ruin. Ruins were always a good place to hunt between jobs; he certainly hadn’t found what he was looking for anywhere in “civilization.”
Only this wasn’t a ruin. Or if it was, it felt too well-preserved. He craned his neck up to view the tower, squinting against the setting sun.
“What do you wanna bet a dragon lives here?” he muttered to himself. Thankfully, there were no signs of dragon inhabitants as he skirted the edge of the canyon, surveying potential approaches.
Who on earth built a tower with no doors? he wondered, his steps slowing as he sidled closer. That didn’t make logical sense. There had to be one besides the windows near the top of the tower. Even if it had been part of a castle (unlikely, he reasoned, given the confines of the canyon), there still had to be a way for the previous inhabitants to get in and out. He just hadn’t spotted it yet.
Despite the solitary environment, something in his gut warned him to be careful. He darted from bush to bush to the giant clump of underbrush on the far side of the tower.
There it was. A classic basement door, heavily concealed by brush — ow! sharp, pointy brush — and enough of a fall of stones that he began to revise his estimations on whether or not the place had been abandoned. At least none of them were a match for the combination of his strength and a long enough branch to use as a lever. He set to work, hoping that he’d manage to break in before nightfall, not relishing the idea of spending the night trapped in the canyon.
Colette pouted a little as she looked out her window. Her father wasn’t around, so she didn’t particularly check the emotions showing on her face. She was, however, disappointed. She didn’t consider herself a particularly rebellious daughter and she never asked her father for anything if she could help it.
But this was the thing she wanted most of all. She knew the world was dangerous, but he seemed to go out just fine. And she would be with them. It would only be a day and then they could come back and live their lives happily together!
The girl sighed and looked up at the birds in the sky. Colette imagined how the sky would look when filled with the beautiful glowing lights tomorrow night on her birthday. Turning back to look inside, she blinked slowly as she looked at her long, long hair. She frowned and sighed. Colette knew she couldn’t go outside. It was for her own good. She had a gift...her hair was special. If someone spotted her....
The girl stood and went upstairs to her room. Maybe she could at least get a pet so she wouldn’t be so lonely. For some reason, she had just thought this birthday would be different...special. Laying down on her bed, she thought that she had a loud “bang”. Sitting up, the girl listened for a little while longer. Chalking it up to something beyond the canyon, Colette laid her head on her pillow to relax and maybe nap a short time.
