she stood on the balcony of her lonely tower wondering if her hair was long enough to allow her prince to climb up and save her

she did the calculations of tensile strength compared to the mass of a heavily armored body

if she braided it the whole would be stronger and less likely to break

as she sat with her face scrunched up doing the calculations she smiled in success

it would work

so the next day she stood on the same balcony with her hair coiled beside her

she began to sing softly, aware of her range and throaty voice

her beautiful song echoed down through the trees, off of the gently rolling hills and across the land calling out to her would be rescuer

she just had to wait, bide her time and her prince would come

halfway through the second verse she heard the thundering hooves and knew her message had been received

he was glorious astride the white charger, armor glistening with no sign of tarnish

he called to her, this maiden fair trapped atop this tower with no entry

she related her tale of the evil step mother jealous of her beauty that devised this inescapable tomb

his eyes teared at the sad story, his pure heart outraged at her despair and he vowed to free her and together they would seek vengance upon the foul beast

she smiled demurely and offered to lower her braid of hair like fine spun gold so that he may climb to her and receive a kiss

and so she did and braced herself as his corded muscles strained and he made his way to save her

it was less than pleasant, by her calculations he was nearly two hundred and fifty pounds of lumbering mass and she felt her head ache from the strain

but when he cleared the railing and removed his helmet and shook out his long locks of brown that framed his not unattractive face she smiled and her heart leapt with glee

he moved towards her, tears flowing freely down his face as he beheld the face of his one true love and fell to one knee to kiss the damsel’s hand

she smiled and allowed him the favor of her hand and his lips chastely touched upon her flesh, and her hair coiled and wrapped firmly upon him

she laughed at his struggles and relieved him of his knife and sword, succinctly slitting his throat as her long locks absorbed the flowing life blood

she drained him of every last drop and placed his body next to the others stacked neatly just inside her room at the top of the ivory tower

how typical the fools react to the sight of beautiful maiden, quick to act upon her mere suggestion to climb up to her instead of suggesting she use the same hair to climb down

she would sleep, sated by the latest meal for the next few days, giving her hair the chance to recuperate from the strain of another successful lure

the knights had grown larger and she needed her strength if she were to find another feast, the children she had been luring were just snacks, but this had truly satisfied

but she had all the time in the world she thought as she brushed out her hair, and there were plenty of willing fools to feed upon