The sun had begun to set when a snowy bird of prey flew towards me and my companion faster than the eye could follow, coming from the general direction of the tower. I let out my arm, in wonder, as this animal descended towards me, a black ribbon tied around its neck telling of its domestication.

The hunter slowed to a stop when the falcon, which is what I saw it to be, perched on my forearm, being surprisingly careful not to cut the exposed skin. I saw the cylinder tied to his foot, which he stuck out for my benefit, and relieved him of his precious cargo, holding the familiar ribbon in hand as I pulled the paper out of its casing. I read it aloud to satisfy the curiosity of my companion.

"Dearest friend,

Your disappearance caused me some slight alarm, upon waking from my daylight slumber. I do hope you are well, not only for your sake but for my own. I have employed this falcon to bring your response back to me, as I wish to be assured of your continued life. 

Yours truly,

Rapunzel"

I was a little guilty to find that my apprentice had awakened to find me gone, and I turned the paper over to where it was blank and asked if the man had a pen or piece of charcoal, something to write a response with. He searched for a while in the saddlebags and came up with a pathetic hunk of coal, which I thanked him for.

When I had returned the letter to its spot and attached it back to the foot of the falcon, who had decided to sit on the shoulder of the hunter and nibble his ear while I busied myself with the ribbon, the bird flew off back towards the tower, and we went on our way again.

"So, who was that?" 

I looked away from the scenery to the back of the rider's head. He had said it almost as though he didn't really care, but he seemed genuinely curious despite. I suppose he saw that I was just as surprised as he was when the beast appeared and wanted to hear a little about the sender, perhaps to determine why I had reacted so.

"She's my...apprentice and daughter," I decided, testing the way the latter title sounded. Daughter. How lovely.

He grunted his acknowledgment of my answer, and we continued for a minute in our silence before he asked something else, bringing a smile to my lips.

"So why were you startled to see her bird?" I knew it.

"Because we don't have a messenger bird," I said with a chuckle. He seemed a little confused, and I realized I might have made a mistake as he tried to piece together how in the world the animal knew to come to the maiden and not the man.

"Was it a friend's bird?" he asked suddenly with confidence, sure that his solution to the puzzle was the right one. "That's why he recognized you, right?"

"Yeah," I said, in an unconvincing manner. One might even say I was being sarcastic. "It was a friend's bird..."

My tone of voice seemed to make him confused once more, but he said nothing else, and we continued on our journey. 

It was twilight when we saw the outline of the large fishing town, yellow, welcoming lights shining through the windows. Friendly and warm fires could be seen in the center of the village, and merriment rang out with joyous tones. Laughter unlike that of those rough, uncultured men cut through the air like happy bells tolling for the start of a new life, but they might as well have been singing out the mourning notes of death as apprehension rose up my throat, trying to suffocate me.

I looked at the pleasant village the way a condemned man might the gallows.