“Promise me you'll never cut your beautiful hair.” Henry stroked my cheek as his eyes lingered on my hair. “I love you and that love includes every strand of your long hair.”
Of course I promised. Anything for Henry.
Henry asked Father for my hand in marriage. Father gave his blessing, but Henry's parents—the King and Queen—did not. It didn't matter that my parents were among the richest people in town. Father was, and always would be, a merchant. A working man. Successful though he was, I was a merchant's daughter and beneath Henry's royal position. That's what mattered to Henry's parents.
We made our plans to be together and leave our town far behind. Henry had his own source of income and didn't care for his inheritance, or his title, and neither did I. Money could never take the place of true love. We were going to be together, regardless of what anyone thought. My parents had given their blessing and wished us all the happiness in the world. That was enough for us.
We planned to make our departure on the night of my eighteenth birthday. It was going to be a full moon and the light would help me find my way to the stream. Henry's parents didn’t know of our plan, so we had to leave at night. Henry was going to bring two extra horses, one for me to ride and the other to carry our belongings. We were going to be together forever. I was the happiest girl alive.
I turned eighteen years old the next day.
That was nearly 250 years ago.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
In the year of 1763, Mr. Jenkins, I set the valise and small satchel I had been carrying on a large rock next to the stream, and waited for Henry to arrive.
My heart pounded from excitement. The occasional fluttering of birds and crickets comforted me, knowing I wasn't truly alone. I was going to be Henry's wife and we were going to have children and live happily ever after. In the distance I heard the hooves of several horses and knew it must be Henry. I was right.
Letting the horses free for a drink, he came to me.I could see his broad smile and the happiness in his eyes. He held my hands close to his chest and he gazed into my eyes, not saying a word. In that moment, I could see our future together. It was bright and brought the promise of only great things.
“Before we leave, I need to ask you a question,” Henry said. “I know I've asked before, but I want to do it properly, if you don't mind.” He knelt down on one knee, and then drew something from his pocket. I knew what was coming, of course. What young lady wouldn’t know? But my breath caught in my chest nonetheless.
Holding my left hand he asked, “Rapunzel, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife and making me the happiest man on this earth?” As he said those final words, he slid a ring decorated with jewels onto my finger and looked up, still holding my hand, patiently awaiting my answer.
“Yes, I'll marry you, Henry. Yes!” I loved Henry and he loved me. We were meant to be together forever. I had never been as happy as I was at that moment.
Henry stood up and our eyes met. I saw only the deep longing in his sweet eyes as he leaned in toward me. I parted my lips to speak, too nervous to let the silence go on, but the gentle crushing of his lips against mine silenced me. I closed my eyes and the sounds of the forest disappeared.
I was weightless. It was the most wonderful feeling in the world. I never expected our first kiss to be so powerful, so full of emotion, or so full of love. In all these long years, I have never forgotten the details of that kiss.
Henry slowly pulled away, still cupping my face to whisper, “A happy life is having you as my wife. If I die today, I'll die a happy man.” How could I not have smiled at that? “Nothing could take this feeling from me, not now, not ever. I'll always remember this moment for as long as I live.” As if that wasn't enough to make me melt away, he added, “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” I whispered back. “This is the best day of my life.” I smiled again. It was the best eighteenth birthday a girl could ever want.
“Shall we leave then?” he asked me.
I was so happy. I nodded and slid my hand into his. The sooner we left that place, putting distance between Henry's parents and us, the better off we'd be. We loved each other. Why would they ever want to keep us apart?
Henry bent down and picked up my bag. “Are you sure about this? Leaving this way?”
“Yes, I'm positive,” I said. With my answer, Henry's concern disappeared and widened into a smile across his face. We were finally leaving. We would begin our lives together as husband and wife…blissfully happy. I was positive it was our destiny.
If only, oh, if only it could have been that easy.
A loud cackle from a woman erupted near the edge of the forest. I narrowed my eyes and scanned the area. I saw only the dark shadows of the creatures that had taken flight or scurried away in fright.