16 November 2022
This is the first time it’s come up in the story directly, but even a couple days before this, I was playing with this idea of “fate-spinning” - that the fae directly mess with the threads of fate, and witch powers do the same indirectly. Mostly, I think it came from realizing the rules I’d established for witch powers wouldn’t save Hannah and Frederick, but it also didn’t seem like the kind of story that solely built up to their sacrifice, or ended with them still dead/asleep.
The thing is, “fate-spinning” as a general concept is way too vague, so I was trying to come up with rules. Honestly, I’m still not satisfied with it; if I can re-think my strategy to remove it (and that might be easier than I thought), I probably will, but I needed it to come up with some of the plot points that are now so critical to the story.
I also really enjoyed the bit with Isaac as king. That eyesight of his is going to come in handy, even if, again, I need to get a better grasp on how it works.
It took a moment for that to sink in for Aurora. “Wait. You stole from the fairies themselves? That means you’re probably ridiculously powerful, and have access to faerie sight and stuff, right?”
Maleficent dipped her head. Aurora’s posture relaxed as she said, “Maybe you could teach Isaac some things. After I gave him Gothel’s sight, hes been seeing a lot of things that don’t make sense. He can’t do anything with them, either, so he was ignoring it, but…”
Maleficent looked surprised. “Your brother has Gothel’s sight?”
Aurora nodded. “She blinded him, and I got so mad I took hers in retribution.” She averted her gaze. “It’s… kind of why I left at all. I fully intended to stay there in the Tower.”
Maleficent tapped her lips as she though. “Perhaps I will speak to the boy. Not many mortals get a chance to see the threads of fate; as far as I know, I was the only one until now. It would be interesting to see what he makes of it, and how it will serve him as king.”
“Threads of fate? That’s actually a thing?”
“What else would we be tampering with every time we pull a piece of someone into ourselves? How else could the fairies pull from our futures to bless us now?”
Aurora stood up and began pacing. So it wasn’t just a crackpot theory. Does that mean fate-spinning was possible? Hope began to flicker in her chest. “Maybe, if we used fate itself, do you think we could–”
“No.”
Aurora looked up at Maleficent. She seemed to have grown taller, looming a foot or more over Aurora, and her expression was stern. “The risks of fate-spinning are too great, for both you and your parents.”
“But–”
“You think I did not consider this? That I would not do anything for the sake of the only true friend I’ve had in nearly a century of life? Do you think if I, with the combined magics of twelve fairies and decades of experience, had a way to save her, I would not have already used it?”
Aurora flinched and looked down. “Sorry.”
Maleficent stepped back. She took a deep breath, then said, “No, I must be the one to apologize. You were reaching out for whatever hope you could find. There is nothing wrong with that.”
Aurora nodded. She turned to leave, and gave Maleficent one last look as she headed through the doorway. The witch was impassive, just staring silently down at the glass coffins, her fingers lightly resting on Hannah’s.
Isaac was about ready to chuck the crown into a lake somewhere and run away. And he wasn’t even wearing it yet. He’d had to deal with countesses and bankers, earls and the merchant guild’s representatives. Most either wanted to curry favor with him (even offering daughters or nieces for him to marry, despite the fact that he was still only fourteen), or else call into question the circumstances that surrounded his parents’ coma and his sister’s return.
The man before him, Duke Hareln, was one of the latter. “It is unusual,” he was saying, “that you returned with not only some long lost sister, who had been cursed to die three days ago, but also with the very witch who cursed her to begin with. It’s convenient that neither the king nor the queen are available to verify your story, isn’t it?”
Isaac sighed and rubbed his eyes for the umpteenth time that day. He looked back up at Duke Hareln. Every word the man spoke looked like smoke spewing out of his mouth, and the duke himself seemed covered in shadows.
Then something caught Isaac’s eye, an image in the shadows. He peered a little closer, only to regret it immediately. He pulled back and shuddered. “Does your wife know you’re sleeping with Baroness Riegan, Duke Hareln?”
The duke stopped mid-prattle, and his eyes nearly bugged out of his sockets. “I… have no idea what you are talking about.”
“Hm.” Isaac risked another look, hoping to find something more useful. And hopefully a little less…stimulating. “Oh, that’s interesting. What about the time you cheated the merchant’s guild on the quality of your wine this past year? I’m sure they would love to hear about that.”
The duke’s face went pale, and then transformed into a snarl. He lunged across the table and jabbed his finger in Isaac’s face. “Now see here, you little–”
Isaac simply snapped his fingers. “Guards!”
The guards posted on either side of the door stepped forward and each clamped a hand on Duke Harlen’s shoulders.
“Escort the duke to the dungeons, until we can verify the full extent of his crimes,” Isaac instructed. “And inform Duchess Hareln she is responsible for the estate until further notice.”
The guards saluted and dragged the duke away, ignoring his numerous protests. Isaac rubbed his temples and left the room as well, making a point to head the opposite direction.
After a moment, he decided to head to the room they’d given to Rapunzel. He really needed to get her a room to paint in, too, assuming she hadn’t already just taken one over.
However, when he entered her room, he found it mostly empty. Or rather, anything expensive was still there; all the gowns and dresses had been left in the closet untouched, for example. It was only the things Rapunzel had brought with her that were missing.
I really did not need this right now. Isaac closed his eyes and took a long, deep breath. Then he turned around and asked, “Has anybody seen my sister recently?”
After about half an hour of investigating, he learned that Rapunzel had been spotted heading out of the castle on horseback not long ago. He’d taken a moment to shout various insults and epithets at her from the parapets, just to vent, and then began trying to figure out what to do next.
It was at about that time Maleficent found him. “You asked to speak with me, Prince Isaac?”
“Yes, thank you.” He straightened and gave a bow. “My sister has seen fit to leave the capital without warning. I was wondering if you could shed any light on her destination, or at least what might have motivated her to leave.”
Maleficent frowned. “We did speak at some length not long ago, but nothing we discussed should…” She paused, then her expression grew harsh. “Do you know if Gothel had a library, by chance?”
“I’ve never seen it myself, but Rapunzel has mentioned it several times. Why?”
“Well, I cannot say for certain, and I certainly hope I am wrong. But one of the things that came up in our discussion was the idea of fate-spinning; I fear she may have gone to learn more about it on her own.”
“Fate-spinning?”
“Where a fairy or witch directly takes the threads of a person’s fate and twists them, for whatever reason.”
Isaac grimaced. “So, control a person’s future? Their choices, etc.?”
“Not exactly.” Maleficent thought for a bit, then pointed to a large cobweb. “Take this web, for example.”
“Alright.”
“Fate-spinning is like trying to affect one string in it, whether to pull it out, move it, or whatever else, without disturbing the rest of the web.”
Isaac’s jaw dropped, and Maleficent continued. “Even those of us who can see and manipulate fate cannot force a person to make certain choices; their will is inviolable. Most who have attempted it throughout history have tried to manipulate circumstances; however, as we are all interconnected, it can be hard to predict the results anytime we tug on a string.” She grimaced, and added, “Sometimes even when we don’t touch fate directly, that’s still true. Look at what my meddling has caused here.”
Isaac nodded. “So, while fate-spinning could theoretically break the curse on my parents, it could also cause a war or a plague or something.”
Maleficent nodded. “Or erase them, and you, and who knows who else, entirely out of existence.”
Isaac froze. “Has that happened before?”
Maleficent raised an eyebrow. “Would we know about it if it had?”
Isaac’s face paled. He looked to the northeast, where Rapunzel’s Tower was located. “Can I leave the kingdom in your hands for a few days?”
“I doubt that would go over well. I will, however, offer my assistance to the stewards and officials that would be running it.”
Isaac smiled wryly. “Thank you.” Less than an hour later, he was on the road.
He’d barely traveled two or three hours, however, when he found Rapunzel off the side of the road. She breathed heavily, and Isaac could tell the ache in her chest was back. Her horse had been tethered beside her.
“Just when I thought this couldn’t get any more bone-headed,” Isaac told her, “you find a way to prove me wrong.”
Rapunzel started and looked up at him. “What.”
Isaac just glared at her. “You really thought you could just take off and no one would notice? Like it or not, you are a princess. The long lost princess, at that. People know who you are, now.”
Rapunzel scowled and looked away. Isaac groaned and asked, “You couldn’t have at least asked someone to go with you? As you like to remind everyone, you’re weak and sickly. What did you plan on doing if and when you collapse again!?”
“I, just… I don’t know.”
“Uh huh. And what’s all this about fate-spinning and cobwebs and things? Is that really what you ran off for?”
Rapunzel glared at him. Isaac sighed and said, “Look, Rapunzel–”
“It’s Aurora.”
Isaac blinked. “Huh?”
Rapunzel - Aurora - looked away and rubbed her arms. “You can call me Aurora. It seemed rude not to use the name they gave me after they… well.”
Most recently updated draft of Rapunzel, the Sleeping Beauty (potentially including unposted content)