Rapunzel breathed slowly, trying to calm herself. She and Theseus stared at the spot where Will and Ariadne had vanished for quite a while, neither sure what to do next. Finally, Theseus said, "That...probably could have gone better."

"Probably," Rapunzel agreed. She leaned against the wall sullenly. So much for her magic hair protecting them. She'd been completely helpless while Will was abducted behind a rock wall. But then, who could have known Ariadne would have magic?

"What do we do now?" Theseus asked, leaning up beside her against the wall. He brushed his cherry-blond hair back ruefully. "We've slain the Minotaur, but once Minos finds out what I've done, we'll be dead. And Ariadne didn't leave me with her string, so I can't get out of here."

"That's unfortunate," Rapunzel sighed. "We'll have to make a Story door and go to a different Story."

"But what about the Athenians?" he questioned. "If we leave, Minos will murder all of them, Minotaur or no Minotaur."

Rapunzel cursed. She'd forgotten the Athenian prisoners that Theseus had come with. He was right; Minos would kill them. They couldn't leave them behind. It just wouldn't be right. However concerned Rapunzel was about Will, the Athenians would have to come first. "Where are they in here?"

"Uh," Theseus said nervously, "do you know why I need the thread?"

"Let me guess," Rapunzel said, "you have no sense of direction."

Theseus nodded sheepishly. "But even if I had a good sense of direction, Daedalus himself could barely escape from the Labyrinth," he added. "There's a possibility that, in searching for the Athenians, we would end up getting hopelessly lost. Actually, it's more of a certainty."

"Give me your sword," Rapunzel commanded and Theseus unquestioningly handed it over. She pulled up the bottom of her hair and cut off about four inches from the bottom. Several hundred strands of hair fell from her severed locks. "We'll drop these behind us. They should last us a good while."

Theseus picked up some of the hairs, astonished. "By Zeus, you have a lot of hair!" he gawked.

"You just now noticed?" Rapunzel said, shocked by Theseus's lack of attention. The young warrior was too busy staring at her hair to speak. She rolled her eyes a little before tapping his shoulder. "Let's go."

Progress was painfully slow. The dimness of the tunnels made it difficult to see the hair that would mark that they had passed through before, and Rapunzel was in mortal terror that she would miss one of the hairs she had dropped and they would go in a big circle. She hoped they would find a torch at some point, but there was no sign of any light in the darkened corridors.

Theseus kept one hand on his sword, and he'd given Rapunzel Will's, which had been left among the rocks. That would have been some comfort to Rapunzel had she actually known how to use a sword. Nonetheless she carried it with her.

Thankfully, once they'd departed from the Minotaur's corpse, they hadn't seen it again, which meant that at least they weren't going in a massive circle around there. Theseus had a permanent frown on his forehead as they want, obviously seeking familiar landmarks. The frown ceased when he pointed and said, "Look! Torchlight!"

"Well, that will make things easier," Rapunzel admitted. Theseus shook his head.

"That's not the point," he explained. "The prison cells have torches, probably so the prisoners can see the Minotaur before it...err...consumes them."

"Lovely," Rapunzel commented. She dropped another hair before hurrying down the corridor. Theseus was right behind her.

One of the young men in the cells reached out. "My lord Theseus!" he cried. "Praise the gods! You've come to rescue us!"

"If you don't silence that tongue, somebody will have to rescue me," Theseus scolded the youth, and the boy quickly fell silent. "Rapunzel, do you see the keys?"

Rapunzel tugged on the door, and it opened. "Why lock the Minotaur out?" she said when she saw Theseus looking at her oddly. "It would be completely pointless."

The other Athenians opened their doors, and Theseus organized them; seven girls, and six boys. "Well," Theseus said, "we have my countrymen. We should go now."

Rapunzel nodded, closing her eyes to form a Story door. She was surprised to find that the spell wouldn't work. "We might have a problem," she told Theseus in a low voice, pulling him away from the Athenians. "I can't make a door out of here."

"But you said—"

"I know what I said," Rapunzel interrupted. "I was wrong, alright? We need a Plan B."

"I don't have one," Theseus said impatiently. "I've no idea how to get back to the surface, and even if we did, we would have Minos's army to contend with."

"I know how to get back," one of the Athenian girls put in timidly. Apparently Rapunzel hadn't pulled Theseus far enough away from them, she thought ruefully. "But Lord Theseus is right; King Minos will slay us on sight."

"We'll have to take that risk," Rapunzel replied. "If we can get to the surface and find the person who's blocking my Story door, I'll be able to get us out."

"What if it's the Editor who is blocking you? She will not have to be here to do so," Theseus protested.

"It won't be," Rapunzel said, hoping she was right. "And if it is, I'll just go back to Athens with you people and figure something out."

Theseus was still hesitating. He looked at his countrymen uncertainly, as if weighing their options. Then he drew his sword and nodded. "For Athens!"

"One thing," Rapunzel added. "If I go back to Athens with you, would you please remember to put up your white sails? I really don't want to see somebody hurl themselves off the top of a palace roof."

Theseus grimaced. "Agreed," he said, and clasped hands with Rapunzel. "Let's save The Story, shall we?"