Wet and Wild

The tunnel under the Snuggly Duckling was damp, narrow, and pitch black. We ran through the dark, Rapunzel’s hand gripped tightly in mine. She was breathing hard, the adrenaline of the tavern brawl still coursing through her.

"I can't see anything!" she whispered, her voice echoing off the wet stone walls.

"I can," I assured her. My eyes adjusted to the dark instantly. "Keep moving. Don't let go."

"Never," she promised, squeezing my fingers.

We emerged into the blinding sunlight of a box canyon. A massive wooden dam held back a reservoir of water above us. The path was blocked by guards swarming the perimeter.

"Dead end!" Rapunzel panicked, looking around. "They're everywhere!"

"Not a dead end," I said, looking at the structural integrity of the dam. "A distraction."

I let go of her hand. "Strike Raid!" I threw The Solar Zenith. The Keyblade spun through the air, glowing like a buzzsaw. It didn't hit the guards; it hit the main support beam of the dam.

CRACK.

The wood splintered. A groan of stressing timber filled the canyon. "Run!" I shouted, grabbing her waist.

We scrambled up a side path into a small cave just as the dam burst. Millions of gallons of water crashed down, sweeping away the guards (who flailed safely downstream) and flooding the canyon floor. But the water rose fast. Too fast. It surged into the cave we were hiding in.

"It's rising!" Rapunzel screamed as the water hit her ankles, then her knees. "We're trapped!"

The cave was filling up. The exit was blocked by a wall of falling rocks dislodged by the water pressure. The water level rose to our chests.

"It’s pitch black!" Rapunzel cried, paddling frantically. "I can't see! Ray!"

"I'm here," I said. I was treading water easily, calm amidst the chaos. "Rapunzel, listen to me. Your hair."

"My hair?" she spluttered, spitting out water.

"It glows," I reminded her. "Sing."

"I... I can't! I'm scared!"

"Sing!" I commanded, my voice cutting through her panic. "Do it now!"

She took a deep breath, submerged to her chin. "Flower gleam and glow..."

Her hair ignited. A brilliant, golden light exploded underwater, illuminating the murky depths of the flooding cave. It revealed a pile of loose rocks at the bottom of the cave floor, a weak point where the current was flowing out.

"There," I pointed. "We have to swim down. Through the hole."

"I... I've never swum before!"

"Then hold your breath and hold onto me."

I grabbed her. We dove. The water was cold and heavy. Rapunzel clung to me like a limpet, her legs wrapped around my waist, her arms around my neck. Her hair trailed behind us like a glowing comet.

I kicked hard. I pulled the rocks aside with enhanced strength. I shoved us through the opening. We tumbled out into the river below, swept along by the current.

We washed ashore on a sandy bank a mile downstream. I dragged Rapunzel out of the water. She was coughing, sputtering, and shivering violently.

"We... cough... we made it," she gasped, rolling onto her back in the sand.

I stood over her. She was a vision. The purple dress was soaked through, clinging to her skin like a second layer of dermis. The heavy fabric had become translucent. I could see the outline of her nipples, hard from the cold water, pressing against the wet bodice. I could see the curve of her hips, the darker triangle of her panties.

Her hair was a wet, heavy golden rope, tangled around her legs and my boots. And her pretty, bare feet I had protected in the tavern, were now covered in wet sand, glistening in the sun.

"You're freezing," I noted.

"I... I am," she chattered, wrapping her arms around herself. "It’s c-cold."

"We need to get you warm," I said. "And dry."

I looked at a nearby alcove of rocks, sheltered from the wind. "Come here, Rapunzel."

She tried to stand, but her heavy, wet dress and hair weighed her down. She stumbled. I caught her. Her wet body slapped against mine. She was ice cold, but the heat radiating from me was intense.

"You're so warm," she moaned, snuggling into my chest, soaking my shirt.

"Body heat," I said, lifting her into my arms. "It’s the best way to prevent hypothermia. We need to share it."

I carried her into the alcove. "We need to get these wet clothes off," I told her, my voice dropping to that clinical, authoritative tone she trusted so much. "Or you'll get sick. And I can't have my partner getting sick."

Rapunzel looked up at me, shivering, her green eyes wide and ****. "Okay," she whispered. "Please... warm me up."