“Your Highness, no,” the witch began. “Please listen. She—”
The prince held up a hand, silencing her. “Let her speak.”
“I killed him, Your Highness,” Rapunzel said.
“Did you, now? And you are?”
“Rapunzel.”
“Rapunzel? With hair of teeth and claw?”
“I … Is that what they call me?”
“You are but a legend, a whispered story. I—” He broke off, his gaze drawn to the woods where the younger prince was buried. “My brother spoke of you.”
“I am very real, Your Highness, and I have killed your brother.”
“You confess to murder, then?”
“In self-defense, but yes, I do.”
The prince fell silent. The soldiers behind him shifted in their saddles. The one who managed the dog corralled and leashed the beast. Then, with a single, deliberate motion, the prince removed the black leather mask to reveal
