Towerwood: A Modern Rapunzel Retelling


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
 
 Copyright © 2023 by Kate Callaghan
 
 First Published 2017
 
 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review.
 
 Revised Edition 2023
 
 Edited By: Emma O’ Connell
 Formatted By: Enchanted Ink Publishing
 Cover By: GermanCreative
 
 ISBN: 978-1-7397537-5-7
 
 www.callaghanwriter.com
 
 Towerwood is a novella of 30,000+ words. This book is a stand-alone, but it is part of the Hellish Fairytale Universe. This story does connect to a future full-length novel.
 Topics you might find upsetting: captivity, physical harm, and illness. Mentions of fertility issues and suicide.
 
 
 
 chapter one
 chapter two
 chapter three
 chapter four
 chapter five
 chapter six
 chapter seven
 chapter eight
 chapter nine
 chapter ten
 chapter eleven
 chapter twelve
 chapter thirteen
 chapter fourteen
 chapter fifteen
 Other Completed Works by The Author
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
 ABOUT THE AUTHOR
 
 
 chapter one
 Spring 2017
 “HOW’S MUM DOING this morning?”
 The beeping machines and the light blue hospital sheets were becoming all too familiar to Zel. She couldn’t wait for the day when she would see her mum in her own clothes again.
 “No change. They were hoping to try and take her out of the coma this week, but the doctors want to give her a bit longer. She has just passed the six-month mark in her pregnancy, so they think the more stable the pregnancy, the more likely she is to wake up,” Nurse Julia said, looking up from the chart, pity in her eyes.
 “Maybe next week,” Zel said brightly. She placed a hand on her mum’s swollen tummy—it was the only thing that seemed to change during the time she had been visiting—and whispered her goodbyes to her unborn siblings. Maybe next week… it was what she had said last week, and the week before.
 For three months, every day before school Zel had stopped by the hospital to check on her mum and refresh the flowers on her bedside table. She would have given up her college scholarship if it meant ending the wait. She desperately wanted to hear her mum’s voice, soft and calming, like a lullaby, to see her hazel eyes that matched her own. But…
 Maybe next week.
 
 ZEL WALKED THROUGH the quiet school carpark, which was only five minutes away from the hospital. If she hadn’t had exams, she would have been able to see her mum at night as well, but she had to keep up with her studies if she wanted to keep her scholarship. When her mum did wake up, Zel didn’t want her to think that her illness had caused her daughter’s life to fall apart. No—Zel was determined to keep going. When she woke up, everything would slip back to exactly the way it had been before.
 Her phone vibrated in her pocket, distracting her from the dull grey morning.
 
 FINN: LIBRARY! THINK I FOUND SOMETHING!
 ZEL: WHICH STACK?
 FINN: 404 - THEOLOGY AND MYTHOLOGY
 
 Zel groaned. Ever since her mum had collapsed in the kitchen three months ago, her best friend Finn had been on a mission to find out why. The doctors had been unable to provide answers; they thought the pregnancy might have been too hard on her body. The only thing they could think to do was induce a coma. However, when the doctors had tried to bring her mum out of it, it didn’t work. For some reason, Finn was absolutely convinced she could help. Zel suspected her best friend was only trying to keep her hopeful.
 The hallways of Grenville Preparatory School were mostly empty so early in the morning; only those who were into sports, which Zel was not, or those who wanted to cram in extra study hours, were lingering. The school was rather old and creepy at this hour, but considering that it had been built back in the 1800s when the town was founded, a bit of eeriness was to be expected.
 The library door creaked, as it always did when anyone dared to enter the silent dungeon ruled over by the insufferable Ms Martin. A pin could drop, and she would command it to be quiet. To Zel’s relief, Ms Martin seemed far more interested in the book she was reading to notice her slipping past her desk. Thank God for swashbuckling men and damsels in distress.
 401, 402, 403… She didn’t even reach the stack before Finn’s head popped out, making Zel jump. Her hair, which had been ice-white yesterday, was now a deep blue that was almost black. She wasn’t surprised; Finn changed her hair colour more frequently than Zel could keep track of. Her parents wouldn’t allow piercings or tattoos, so Finn had reasoned with them that hair would always grow back. She’d tried to convince Zel to add some coloured streaks to her light blonde locks, but she was afraid the dye would damage her hair. She was always the more cautious of the two, which was why she thought they made such good friends. They balanced each other out.
 “I think I found something to help your mum,” Finn hissed, pulling Zel between the stacks. Books towered over their heads; from the volumes on the floor, Finn had been here a while.
 “What could you have found in theology and myths? I think we should let the doctors handle it,” Zel huffed, turning to leave. Finn pulled her back, and Zel stumbled over a book. “Ms Martin will kill you if she sees you put books on the floor!” Zel glanced nervously across the room, but Ms Martin remained in