Chapter Text
Eighteen years.
Eighteen years she had been stuck in that tower before Eugene - or, as he had called himself, Flynn - had showed up to turn her life around and set her free. Show her the things that she had been missing, knowingly missing out on.
Yet, she had not been alone for all those years. No, she had not been lonely for all of them.
If she had, she could have sworn she would have wilted and died, like a flower without water and sunshine. Until two years prior to Flynn's entrance into her life, there was little reason for her to leave the tower. No matter what Gothel said, not all men were evil, and it had been the man she had met first in those years prior that had shown her not to fear. He had been the reason why she showed far more confidence with the smug-idiot-turned-loving-husband.
Now as she glanced out from the balcony into the night sky filled with thousands, if not millions of flickering lights - stars - she could only sigh at the faint memory, leaning her head against the stone railing.
Eight years.
That was how long she had been alive.
Alone.
Wanting nothing more than to touch the grass outside and explore the area around her tower. There was little she could do here, even with all the books stacked around the room, on the shelves. They were clearly Mother Gothel's for she could read none of them. Never had it crossed the woman's mind to teach, to turn her into a literate young girl. Only later would she realise that this was very purposefully done.
To isolate her and further force dependence within Rapunzel on the witch who stole her from her crib.
For now, she had no idea and could only stare at all the things that she could do nothing with longingly. At best, she could cook. That Mother Gothel did think to teach her; that and cleaning, brushing her hair, washing. Everything she deemed necessary.
"Dear, you know what I have to say about those books.
They are man's work. Useless. Oblivious. They'll rot more of your wit then they will bless you with.
Besides. They are all just stories. Lies. Befitting of thieving, stealing, cruel and evil men that will at first chance steal you. Cut your hair. Hurt you. Kill you. Maybe even eat you."
The little girl shivered at the memory, but even so it did not deter her from walking up to the window, her golden hair already dragging behind her, to look out of it. To peer at the outside world, so beautiful and serene. Peaceful. Whatever might have lain behind the rocky cliffs that concealed her tower from the outside world, it was not here. It could not come here. There was no danger here. Still, asking her mother to be let out, resulted in nothing but failure. Her eyes grew wide, the way they always did when she took in the brilliance of the stars in the night, against the dark blue backdrop.
It was stunning.
She wondered if her own life would ever be that magical - ironic, given she had magic hair, but having grown up with them, they seemed fairly normal, given she had only seen the hair of one other person - but as she was about to lose herself in her thoughts the way she did most nights, something shifted behind her. Shadows seemed to grow around her, prompting her to slowly turn around, instinctively tense.
Her gaze landed on a very tall, broad shouldered figure, and immediately she recognised the danger she had been warned from.
Pointy teeth.
Broad shoulders.
Sharp nails and long, gaunt fingers.
Dressed in black, and practically melting into the shadows in which he now stood, he looked like a truly menacing sight to one little girl. This was a man. A threat. The evil creature that her mother had warned her about.
Though... she could not recall her mother telling her they had grey skin. Perhaps it slipped her mind.
'He'll eat me...' She whimpered inwardly, as she was reminded of Gothel's words. A bitter chuckle came from the man. Taking a step back, Rapunzel found herself by the window of the tower, leaning against the ledge. Even that laugh sounded evil.
"Eat you?" he asked in a much deeper voice than she was accustomed to, narrowing his golden-silver eyes at her, as if looking through her soul. Looking right through her mind, as if he could read it like a book. Now, that did seem peculiar to Rapunzel, for she could not even read a book, never mind someone's thoughts. Back then, she did not spare much of a thought about it though, as she trembled, unable to do anything. Back in those days, she never did keep a frying pan on hand at all times. It was therefore a tad trickier to incapacitate the creature and escape his grasp. Instead, she was cornered, stuck. Completely at his mercy. "Now, pray tell, why ever would I do that...?"
'He's a man. He's dangerous. Mother said so. Maybe it'll hurt less to be eaten if I close my eyes...?'
For a moment, the male in front of her blinked, as if confused by her own thoughts. "Your mother is either a fool, child," he commented, as he took a step closer, "or quite brilliant for scaring you into complete submission, without question."
It did not sound as though she were "brilliant" - as he'd put it - judging by his tone tone of voice.
"Unfortunately for her, I find it rather offensive to be considered such a lowly creature," his lips curled into a faint sneer. That expression vanished fast, into a different sort of displeasure as he watched her shake for a while. In truth, Rapunzel was only moments from pissing herself in fear, white as a sheet. And he'd barely done anything. Not even a baby had been that terrified of his simple presence in a room.
Of course, he knew why that really was. As did she.
"I do not eat humans, like yourself," he clarified, in a softer tone now, as if guilt-tripped into a little nicety. Rapunzel never would know what really convinced him to take a little pity on her. "Most people - men included - find that wrong, cruel, bad. Nor will I cut your hair off - I have no need for it - kidnap you (well past that phase), enslave you, sell you off for money, or any of that silly nonsense that woman placed into your mind."
"N-nonsense...?" she repeated after him in a small voice.
The raven haired man shook his head. Maybe he simply did not want to interfere with her fate, and her older self could even understand why he wouldn't want to piss off Mother Gothel, but either way, he did not explain that.
"Good night child," he suddenly exclaimed, turning away from her. "I have no business with you. There are no nightmares one can spread to a human offspring that is not asleep. Or perhaps, yes, but not the sort I deal."
The shaking stopped and she found herself relaxing a little when he turned away. Perhaps her mother was wrong? The blond frowned, suddenly feeling rather lonely. He had only come here for such a short time - and as it turned out, meant no real harm to her - and now he was leaving? Taking a hesitant step forward, her curiosity and desire to find someone who would not leave her stranded in solitude overtook her.
Briefly, the male turned to face her once more, confused, but then he turned away.
"Stay..." she whispered, a whimper following.
He paused in his step, as if contemplating her wish. "Perhaps another night." And then he disappeared in the shadows, leaving her wondering if this were some dream.
The following day, Gothel came back.
Excitement bubbled up inside of the girl as she could not wait to prove her "parent" wrong. Walking up to her mother, she attempted to seek a little comfort before her announcement, but like with any other attempt, she was left empty handed. She should have known then, when her own guardian refused to hug her, that something was wrong. But this was the only life she knew and she wondered how she ever came to the idea that she desired a hug in the first place.
In later years, Gothel would warm up to the idea... seemingly. Though, it turned out to only be to gain an adolescent Rapunzel's trust.
"Mother," she exclaimed, grinning. "You wouldn't believe what I saw!"
"Oh, you would believe even less once you heard what I had seen," the curly haired woman responded with a smirk that intrigued the girl, but also told her that they wouldn't be getting to a conversation about her own day (or rather, night) any time soon.
The night her first man re-visited her was several nights after that initial night, leaving her wondering if perhaps it might not have been a dream after all.
It was him though. The real him. That night she had decided to prove it to herself, by running up to him, pushing away all fear and nervousness she might have still received aside to embrace him. "You returned..."
He did not push her away, or step back. Instead, he let out a stiff, "I did..." as he looked down at her, clearly unaccustomed to the gesture. Rapunzel wouldn't say he was completely opposed to it though. His response wasn't the same as Gothel's. She pulled away all the same though, having not gotten quite the response she wanted and noting that he was still rather uncomfortable. "And I can see you are awake again."
Rapunzel winced, already knowing this meant he would leave. "I could go to sleep if you wanted to!"
Weird as that sounded, it cracked a small laugh out of him. "That wouldn't work. Besides, you clearly did not wait for me out of a desire for me to give you a nightmare," he drawled out. Well, he wasn't wrong. "I would imagine then, that it would be fairly counterproductive for the both of us, since you would likely be unable to sleep and I wouldn't be able to provide you with much company then."
"Does... that mean you'll stay?"
He shook his head, growing serious again. "No," he responded, a bit too fast. At the nearest opportunity, he took a step back.
Had she done something wrong?"
Whimpering and squirming in her bed, she kicked off the duvet in her terror. The dreams of men chasing her through forests, grabbing at her legs, pulling at her hair, biting and scratching made her cry out loud enough to wake herself. Shaking, she woke up.
It had been a month since that last meeting.
He never did show up again in that month, save maybe to give her nightmares and only stick around whilst she had them. But her mother had given her a recap on the dangers of the outside world the day prior. Now she had woken up far too soon, far too afraid, and almost back to square one. Her eyes couldn't make out anything in the pitch black room whilst her vision was still adjusting to the lack of light.
However, the golden-silver eyes that stuck out of the darkness like stars or fireflies immediately caught her attention. She tensed, and then breathed out quietly at the familiarity of those eyes. He wouldn't eat her. If he would have, he would have done it a long time ago.
"Did... you give me that nightmare...?" she asked in a small voice. He had mentioned that he dabbled in bad dreams, after all.
There was a slow nod from him. "That will be my only business with you. Now, if you will excuse me..." he turned away.
"But why...?"
Why, why, why? They always asked why. Rapunzel had plenty of questions, but it seemed as though so did the other children he spread nightmares to. He seemed fairly exhausted by her question after all. Sighing, he answer anyway, carefully choosing his words. "Because... I need to. It is my job. It is a part of me. I need to spread fear. Or would you rather I made those creatures real, in order to sate my own hunger, child?"
He had a point. She shook her head, looking down at her bare feet, before wrapping her arms around herself, as the fabric of her clothes was much too thin and at night time, it was much too cold to be out of bed.
Frowning, he turned to her. "Do you not have anything warmer?" he noticed the shivering.
When she shook her head again, he sighed and disappeared into the shadows once more. Again, the loneliness hit her and it made the cold only that much more unbearable. Not being able to craft warmer clothes and with her mother only showing up occasionally with food, water and hygiene supplies (presumably because she did not want to hold her daughter's smelly, dirty hair), she was often left freezing even with the duvet and the bed, on a night as cold as this. The next few days would usually be spent recuperating from that night.
When her new acquaintance reappeared however, with some garment in his hands, she realised she might not have to go through that. The garment was woollen, and thick, but soft and warm, and fit around her shoulders and arms. She took it from him and put it on, murmuring a small thank you, whilst she snuggled into the cloth. As she looked up from the cloth again, he was gone.
Rapunzel did not have to hide the short cloak that he had given her. Her mother had turned out oblivious, and having not brought up the man's existence, there was never the occasion where it would come up.
The girl became curious though, of how it was so soft, so warm and how it was made. Noticing a book on the shelves with diagrams of cloth and dresses, she wondered if the book also contained how to make the piece of attire she had kept. In the end, there didn't seem to be that, but there were many other clothes she could make. Perhaps she could talk Gothel into getting her some cloth for the clothes. Unfortunately, without being able to read the numbers or written instructions, the pictures weren't all that useful and she had no ideas about the fabrics used.
Not that the woman would teach her. It had been worth an attempt though.
"Do you know how to read...?" she asked one night, catching the man out again, this time sneaking up on him when he had teleported into her sleeping quarters, only to find she wasn't there.
He spun around, shocked, surprised and even maybe a little scared. She laughed a little at that, finding his expression amusing.
"And do you not know?" he inquired, when he finally loosened up a little, his shoulders dropping and his facial expression visibly relaxing. The girl shook her head, prompting yet another of many frowns that he would give her from now on for each of the things that he believed she ought to have know how to do by now.
Ought to have known. Only, her teacher was not the sort of person that wanted her to know.
"Maybe you could teach me?" she asked with a pleading gaze. "Please?"
For a moment, it looked like he was about to say no. He certainly opened his mouth with the intention of saying that word, but instead...
"Alright," he gave in.
They started with the short books, with simpler words. Cook books seemed to have surprisingly simple language in them, and so he started teaching her the letters of the alphabet by the different names of the different foods. Knowing each food already, it made learning the words simpler and from there, the reading began.
He would encourage her to read out loud - correcting her pronunciation occasionally - and when finally it seemed she could read a paragraph alone without any help, he let the training go for the night.
The next time, he had taken paper with him, teaching her to write. Since mother was out, there was no need to hide the parchment, as she would be out for quite some time.
The little blond girl would sit by him, trying to trace his fainter (and neater) writing, with her spider-like, wonky scrawl, still learning. One letter after another, she slowly practised by candle light. And when the candles had run out, she would use her hair to light up the room, determined to learn.
There was a look of admiration on the man's face when he watched her, as if perhaps he was taken by her willingness to learn... and that made her feel a little fuzzy and warm on the inside.
"Perhaps it is time to end for the night," he commented, frowning.
She protested, of course, but as he took a step back, she knew there was no persuading him. "You have learned plenty for now, and as a human, you need to sleep."
Tilting her head at that, she wondered what he had meant by calling her a human - almost as if he weren't one. Not that she could have known of course. He was only the third person she had ever met (that she could remember) and she had no idea of the different creatures that existed - ones that may have looked somewhat human at first glance, but were clearly anything but. Magic and belief evaded her, but magic was so much a part of her, that she could see spirits despite never believing in them.
"Will you go to sleep too?"
He shook his head at that. "I have work to do, especially since I was not able to complete that work with yourself..."
"Then I won't sleep either..." she insisted, but even as she said this, a yawn drew out of her and her eyes slowly closed. That had not sounded very convincing, and even she knew that.
The man never did tell her his name. Nor did he tell her why he would not sleep, if he slept in the day, or how he came to have grey skin, golden-silver eyes, and hair that stuck out at such an odd angle. Or those very sharp teeth. He never explained to her how he could simply disappear the moment he stepped into a shady or dark spot.
He did explain to her the spelling of words, show her the pronunciation of them, how to write and how to read them. What each word meant and how it could be used in a figurative and literal manner.
Not that he would be there every night, but whenever he decided that he would teach her, he would come early in the night, otherwise sticking around until she was asleep to give her a dose of nightmares. But even those seemed to slowly fade out into little more than bad dreams as his attempts lacked the same determination to scare behind them. Rapunzel had noticed that, seeing her dreams plagued more with angry horses and minor insults, as opposed to monsters and beasts. Almost like it was his way of apologising for those other, much more terrifying nightmare.
Apology accepted.
Over the next few years, he never really did apologise verbally. He did teach her other things though - like how to defend oneself if the nearest weapon they had, or draw and paint. Sometimes, he would even look at her as if he was impressed, as though she had surpassed his own skill, but he never really did say whether she had or hadn't.
Thankfully, Gothel never did get any hints on her night time visitor and being around so little meant Rapunzel could hone her skills during the day time. She would paint pictures all over the room, which only occasionally provoked a couple questions, but since she had covered most of her artistic pieces up, the other woman never discovered the true extent of her abilities and never came to care enough to realise how odd it was for a girl who never had a tutor to mentor her to have this much skill.
One thing her new friend - or at least, she assumed him a friend, since he was the closest thing to what friends were in books - did not teach her how to do, was singing. He never sang and she had no idea where she had picked up on her ability to sing, since despite the fact that Gothel seemed to know how to sing (sort of), she had never bothered to teach her. And whether or not her friend could sing, he never sang around her.
"Do you know what it's like outside, Shadow?" thirteen year old Rapunzel asked one night, sitting on her bed, as the man returned, pausing in his step when he realised she was up this late. Later than usual.
Tonight, he had clearly been around to give her a bad dream or two, not to talk and hadn't suspected she would turn into a night owl.
Frowning, he cocked his head to the side. "Shadow?"
Rapunzel let out a small laugh, rubbing the back of her neck. "Mhm... I mean, you do that whole disappear-reappear thing with shadows and you never told me your real name - even though you have known mine for, like, years now - so... I just thought Shadow would be a good nickname for you," she explained, somewhat embarrassed. Maybe that wasn't the best idea she ever had, but it did seem like the most fitting name. Of all the names she could think of, anyway. She only ever learned about the different names people gave each other from books.
Somehow, Mr. Darcy, or Eric, or Pip didn't sound quite right for this guy.
"Ah... right," he nodded, hopefully accepting his new name, but it was hard to tell. "Well, it is... big. Very expansive..." he began hesitantly, as if wondering if this was a good idea.
"There are people of all sorts of colours of skin, hair, eyes..."
"Anyone with hair like mine?" Rapunzel asked.
"Blond? Yes, there are blonds out there too," he chuckled.
The adolescent shook her head. "No, I mean... you know... magical, healing, glowing in the dark sort of hair..."
He frowned. "Not that I know of. Though, there are other beings with other... quirks."
Her heart sank a little. The idea of no one else being like her made her feeling like little more than an outcast. If she did manage to eventually get out of this tower, what if they hated her because of her weird hair? "Would people really hurt me to get to my hair? Is that all they would want if they knew...?"
To this, Shadow only shrugged. "It depends on the person. They will definitely be surprised. Whether they will hurt you... it depends on the individual."
Rapunzel sighed. "So... mother Gothel was right."
The man before her shifted and it was almost like he was going to say something, but as he opened his mouth to speak, he promptly closed it. "What she wants, is to keep you away from men..."
"Keep me safe, you mean?"
He bit his lip and averted his gaze. Was that a yes? Or a no? "In her own way, yes."
There was something off about the way he said it, but clearly he did not want to dwell on his own words.
"How about you show me the improvements you have made?" he changed the topic, gesturing around the room. Rapunzel took it as a clear sign not to prod, worried that he might leave if she pushed him too far. Someday she would know the truth.
The two were settled on a chair, with Rapunzel choosing to take up Shadow's lap, since it felt warmer being closer to him. After all, night had fallen and this was one of those colder nights. Despite how cool his skin looked, it was warm and felt human, as was the rest of him.
"Could you maybe read the rest of the book...?" the fifteen year old pleaded, looking up at him with large, blue and green eyes.
"I thought we agreed that practising reading out loud will do you good," the male insisted, shifting a little, "and wouldn't there be more space for you on the bed?" he added.
Was she heavy? Was he uncomfortable? She frowned. "Yes, but... I like it when you read," she tried, leaning into him and hoping that it wasn't because she was too heavy. "Besides, you're surprisingly warm. And I'm feeling surprisingly cold. This is a solution to that problem." Burying the back of her head against his chest, she sighed.
He sighed, giving in. "Fine. Just this one chapter."
Only, one chapter - with a little persuasion - soon turned into two, then three, then six and then the whole book. Before he knew it, the sun was already rising and Rapunzel was feeling drowsy, far too comfortable against him. His voice made her stomach flutter - in a pleasant way - and her body warm, until the cold no longer bothered her. It was strange to feel that way towards a friend, but... she had no idea what else it could be. The only other thing the closeness they came to share reminded her of were those stories she read, where a prince, or a lord, or a knight would save a princess, or some sort of lady. Marry her. Kiss her. Other things that made her turn a little red in the face, prompting Shadow to look at her in confusion.
"Are you alright?" He seemed absolutely oblivious.
As for herself, she wasn't sure if she wanted to kiss him or not at this point. They were definitely close enough and well... she wouldn't mind getting any closer. But, would he want to kiss her? Or would it ruin this thing between them?
Nodding slowly, she looked away. "Oh... yes. I'm fine. Perfectly fine."
"You should got to bed. It is already morning and you have yet to get any sleep," he reminded her, moving his hands around her waist.
Nervously, she nodded again, assuming, hoping that maybe this could mean he liked her more. Maybe he would use the opportunity to pull her closer still and...
Instead, he lifted her from his lap and carried her over to the bed, laying her down. She couldn't help but feel disappointed, but even so there was still hope. That hope was starting to fade though as he disappeared. It would be almost a year from then, before he would come back, on her sixteenth birthday.
Finally, he came back. Looking different. More tired than usual.
Then again, she had changed too. He was strangely apologetic too, and had reached out to her, holding a box with holes bored into it. This made her curious, but she soon understood why as she opened up the box...
To reveal a small, green-scaled lizard.
"Oh my-!" her eyes widened, a grin spreading across her face. She reached out to the lizard, frowning a little when it backed up against the edge of the cardboard box.
"Careful there..." Shadow laughed nervously. "He is not used to company. You might want to calm yourself a little before you frighten him."
Wincing, she apologised quickly, both to him and the chameleon. "He's beautiful..." she cooed, this time reaching out a little more slowly. The lizard gradually warmed up to her and stretched out his neck, sniffing at her hand, before gently nudging it. "Thank you, Shadow."
Clearing his throat, he nodded. "What will you call him?" he quickly skipped the pleasantries as if he were new to all of this.
Rapunzel chose to think nothing of that either, only wondering where he could have gotten such an exotic looking creature. When she realised that he was still waiting for an answer though, she decided for the first name that came to her mind. "Pascal. He will be called Pascal," she smiled, finding the small reptile had chosen to crawl up her arm and perch on her shoulder. Already she had made a new friend.
She had also forgotten that Shadow had left. She ignored the possibility of him leaving again and this time forever, choosing to instead indulge in that fleeting moment of happiness.
Cradling the chameleon in her hands, Rapunzel sat on the chair in her room, watching Shadow as he leaned against one of the walls. He had one of those looks where he looked as though he were hiding something. Yet, having told her about so much already, especially in the past month or so, about the outside world, about a kingdom of a missing princess, about spirits, about families all across the world...
Stories of his own making and snippets of information about himself...
She could wait a few years longer if that was what it took to hear what he had to say. Besides, even with Pascal around, he was the only person that really talked to her.
So, she instead decided to break the silence. "Do you ever think my mother will let me out? To see the world?" she inquired. They have had similar conversations and from them she could tell that most mothers weren't this overprotective. It would be so wonderful to be like other girls, to be able to go outside and talk to others.
Already she knew that not all men were bad and assumed that her mother was just worried because of a bad experience she had. Shadow had confirmed to her that not everyone was evil. That there were people out there that lived free and happy lives. He never did comment on what he thought of her mother though. And whenever she complained about her mother not letting her out, he listened. He never seemed to encourage a rebellion though, or offer a solution.
"One day, maybe she will..." he finally responded.
One day, a million years from now.
"Couldn't you take me outside? She wouldn't have to know..."
Shadow sighed, shaking his head. "I promise that you will see the outside world. You will be in the outside world."
It was later that she had realised he never included himself in all that. Never said "I promise I will show you the world." Only promised that she would be free one day. And she was. Not because of him no.
When they parted that night, he seemed almost... mournful. Embracing him, she looked up and into his eyes. "Come back soon," she whispered, as she slowly unwrapped her arms from around him and took a hesitant step back, letting him go.
Maybe she shouldn't have done that. Simply let him go.
Maybe if she gave him a reason to stay... he would have come back.
The princess and her eventual saviour never did share much in common. Besides their love for a good adventure, they never had any similar hobbies or dreams. Even the fact that her real mother and father ended up adoring her husband, there was always a hole in her chest. Something was missing in her life. Someone.
Maybe if she had kissed him that night - as ridiculous as it sounded, considering that she wasn't much more than a girl, and probably not his type either - then Shadow would have stayed. She had to wonder if perhaps he would have taken her from that tower himself. They could have been together now, elsewhere. She and Pascal and Shadow.
Reading by the fireplace, with burning wood crackling in the background and listening to his voice.
It was hard not to miss the person who had been your only real companion for so long.
Of course, there were days when everything was fine. When she would laugh with Flynn and Max and Pascal. Braid the hair of her new female friends and have her's own braided. Learn how to be a queen when the time came. Sure, some of the etiquette was boring, but there were fun things to being a princess. Like learning to dance, to talk - the tone in which she was to speak, so posh and fancy, was hilarious, for instance - walk and hold herself like a noble.
Then there would be days when she would accidentally stumble across the kitchen at the worst possible time, smelling the scent of vanilla. It brought back a feeling of melancholy. Or when she walked through the library, seeing the different books - especially those she had read before, in the tower, turning her expression subconsciously sorrowful.
Her parents would blame it on the witch, Gothel. Assume it was her imprisonment in the tower that made it so painful to look at the books.
They knew nothing.
It was probably best that it stayed that way.
Tears welled up in her eyes.
In the years since she had last seen him, she had lost and then later regained her magic hair. She had freed herself once and for all from the manipulative Gothel. Never once had she told either her abductor, or the man she had married about Shadow, however.
How could she have explained it to either of them? Besides... she was mostly over the man.
Mostly.
Except for nights like these, that spread goosebumps up her bare arms and reminded her of his kinder side. The one that came out more as she grew older and as they grew closer. It was hard to forget that side of him.
"You still think of her, don't you?" Flynn interrupted, walking in on her and stepping beside her. He leaned against the balcony. Reaching out a hand, he brushed away a strand of hair from her face. "You know you're safe her, don't you? She is gone. She'll never imprison you again. Never hurt you, or manipulate you..."
She nodded, meekly. "I know," she whispered, before giving a half-hearted, "I love you..."
You see, you don't have to love someone romantically, to grieve for them. You do not have to love someone like princesses do their saviours in fairy tales to kiss them, to marry them, or even for your love for them to be true. Genuine.
Still, it wasn't the same love as Flynn felt for her. Something that she had realised over the time they had spent together was, that despite never intending it, she had made a mistake. She mixed up romance with friendship and led him on. She still was, as it was too late. There was no way she was hurting him with the truth now. She'd chosen him.
It didn't turn out to be such a bad choice either.
If she needed to escape the consequences of her choice, there was always another option. To read a book, or two, or maybe three. Settle down in a chair and lean back. Pretend that it wasn't a simple inanimate object that was holding her, but a person. She could simply close her eyes and imagine.
'Shadow...'