4 November 2022
This was the day I put together a lot of the building blocks that would eventually become the foundation for my story. This is the day I decided the Tower was alive, similar to the Encanto in Disney’s Encanto, or the TARDIS in Doctor Who. It’s also the day I realized Rapunzel, at first, doesnt’t want to leave. Being a princess doesn’t sound that great, at least to her.
The most interesting discovery, though, was the relationship between Hannah and Maleficent. I hadn’t planned for that. Was actually trying to lean away from it, in the planning phase I do before each chunk of writing (it happened a lot this particular day). And still, Hannah refused to leave without figuring out who Maleficent was on the inside and befriending her, and that impacted the plot of the entire book.
One thing I had not figured out yet, though, was what exactly motivated Gothel and Maleficent. I did figure out their shared backstory later, but here, it’s still just a generic “Maleficent hates fairies”, and a vague idea that maybe Gothel wants Aurora as part of some collection (that’s not why, as it turns out, at least for this story).
You would think that after spending years and years locked up in a tower, Rapunzel might resent her (foster) mother, especially after learning the truth, or at least year for more adventure in her life. For the most part, though, you’d be wrong.
Well, it’s not like Rapunzel had zero resentment towards Mother. She’d figured out years ago that she was the “lost princess Aurora”, and Mother had been the one to spirit her away from her real parents. But she’d found out at the same time about Queen Maleficent's curse and everything else that occurred around that time, so she was willing to give Mother the benefit of the doubt. She’d honestly been too scared of Mother’s response to ask about it, though.
Besides, if she was still part of her real family, she’d be a princess, with all the duties, responsibilities, and expectations that came with that. To Rapunzel, that sounded like much more of a prison than the Tower ever was. Especially when she could open a door here and randomly stumble onto a gorgeous lake, in a room so large she got barely make out the far wall. No, the Tower had all the adventure she needed right there.
On this particular morning, Rapunzel woke up and stretched like usual. “Good morning, Tower!” The Tower waved the bedroom door to return her greeting, and shuffled her bedroom slippers over to her. Rapunzel slipped out of bed into them, and made her way downstairs.
Before she even arrived at the kitchen, she could smell the bacon cooking on the griddle, and a smile lit up her face. Sure enough, when she walked in, the Tower had heated the stove and was cooking up a healthy serving of bacon and eggs.
“Where does Mother get all this pork and chicken, I wonder?” Rapunzel mused aloud. The cabinets clattered in a way Rapunzel recognized as the Tower’s equivalent to a shrug. “Speaking of Mother, is she back yet?”
Before the Tower could reply, a voice from outside called out, “Rapunzel! Rapunzel! Let down your hair!”
“Ah. Coming!” Rapunzel called back. She snagged a piece of bacon and scarfed it while she headed to what she called “the reception room”. There, the Tower had brought over the opposite end of her long, bright red hair, which was kept coiled on a wheel. Rapunzel hooked the wheel into the winch system and released the brake; the wheel spun loose, and dropped the ends of her hair to the ground outside.
Once Mother was ready, she tugged the hair three times, and Rapunzel began to crank her hair back into the Tower, lifting Mother in with it. Today, she had the appearance of a middle-class woman in her early- to mid-forties, and wore a deep, navy blue dress with white sleeves. She seemed especially fond of the color blue; no matter who or what Mother transformed into, it always featured blue prominently.
As Mother stepped inside, Rapunzel asked, “How was your trip?”
Mother smiled at her and patted her head. That irked Rapunzel a bit; she wasn’t a child anymore. But Mother meant well, so Rapuzel didn’t bother to fight it. “It went well enough. I got you a few things.” Out of a bag no bigger than a house cat, she pulled out an array of paints, several large canvases, and a new set of brushes. “I got you a few more books, as well; three or four storybooks, and a couple of histories.”
Rapunzel broke out in a wide smile and hugged Mother. She’d been running low on paint supplies; this was perfect. She decided not to mention she’d secretly read both histories already when she’d broken into the hidden library Mother kept in one of the secret rooms. No need to cause trouble; the novels looked intriguing enough, anyway.
“Thank you, Mother.” She gathered the paints and brushes, leaving the Tower to take care of the canvases and books. “The Tower has breakfast ready in the kitchen; bacon and eggs.” then she skipped off to her painting studio to put her things away.
After Gothel discovers Isaac has been visiting Rapunzel
Gothel’s rage simmered down as the boy flew out the window. She pocketed the boy’s sight for later use and carefully arranged her features into a calming smile. As she turned and looked at Rapunzel, however, she froze.
Rapunzel, her sweet, little girl, the centerpiece of her collection, now floated two to three feet in the air. Her eyes burned with violet light and her nostrils flared, and the very shadows of the room were drawn toward her. Gothel couldn’t help but remember that fateful day, almost sixteen years ago, when that despicable witch has stalked in and cursed this very child. The witch then looked very similar to the way Rapunzel did now.
“Rapunzel?” Gothel asked timidly.
When Rapunzel spoke, her voice echoed, as if it emanated from every wall and doorway in the Tower at once. “How dare you! What right do you have to hurt him?”
“I just… just wanted to keep you safe,” Gothel explained, making a great effort to keep her voice as level and soothing as possible. “He could be dangerous.”
Rapunzel snorted and sneered at her. “Why, because I might find out about the fact he’s actually my brother? Or were you worried he’d come and take me away with him, and ruin your ‘collection’?”
Gothel’s eyes widened, and her mouth slipped open. Rapunzel touched to the floor and slowly began to advance on her, forcing Gothel to back up towards the door. “What, you thought I was a fool? That I wouldn’t find out on my own? Your friend gifted me with cleverness, remember? I know I was born Princess Aurora. I’ve known for years. If that was enough to make me leave, I WOULD HAVE LEFT YEARS AGO!”
Gothel’s back hit the wall of the hallway beyond the door. She tried to reach out to the Tower for help, but she got no response. Then Gothel remembered its purpose; it would do everything to “protect Rapunzel”, even if it was against its creator’s wishes.
“For the record, I’d already told him I wasn’t going home with him,” Rapunzel continued. Her tone softened, and her voice lost its echo. Her eyes still burned, but they turned away from Gothel for a moment. “But it was nice to have someone visit. Someone human, who can actually understand the things I need and the way I think.” She snorted and glared at Gothel. “Not that you’d understand that, would you, Mother? Fairies don’t work like that, do they?”
That was the first time Gothel had heard Rapunzel spit the word “Mother” with such venom. She flinched, bu she tried to argue back. “But with your curse–”
Rapunzel’s eyes flared brighter, and her voice boomed louder than it ever had yet. “And which curse would that be? Maleficent’s curse of death? Or do you mean the one your friends gave me along with their gifts, that will turn me into a wretched, ugly simpleton halfway through my life!? Compared to that, Maleficent’s curse might almost be a blessing!”
Gothel’s eyes went wide and her heart shot with pain. What was this feeling? She didn’t understand. And that witch’s curse was a blessing? Her face contorted and turned sour. What about all Gothel had done for Rapunzel? Where was the girl’s gratitude? “After everything I’ve done to keep you safe–”
“You’ve locked me in a cage like a pet songbird!” Rapunzel roared. “You’ve hidden me away like a secret treasure, to make sure no one can steal it from you! And I was willing to let you. Because it’s comfortable here. I don’t have to face real life. Well, guess what?” She reached her hand towards Gothel’s face. “I’m done hiding.”
She spoke a word in the old faerie language, clenched her fist, and pulled. Gothel screamed as her eyes burned and everything went black. She heard Rapunzel snap her fingers and order, “Stairs.”
To Gothel’s surprise, she heard the scrape of stone on stone as the Tower rearranged itself to comply with Rapunzel’s bidding.
Gothel grew furious at her creation, and her voice lost any trace of composure. “Stop! What are you doing? I built you to protect the girl?”
There was a moment of silence, then Rapunzel answered on the Tower’s behalf. “Didn’t you know? Sometimes the best way to protect something is to let it go free. It was even mentioned in one of those novels you gave me.”
And with that, Gothel was left with only Rapunzel’s fading footsteps and the sound of her own screams.
Roughly 2 Years Later (after Aurora was first taken, btw)
Hannah looked up at Castle Venwald. She’d heard stories as a little girl of the glorious, pristine white walls, even all the way out in Lowenveil, but now they’d all been dyed a deep black. She almost turned the horse around, but after all the effort it had taken to convince Frederick to let her come on this journey, she couldn’t just go back and admit she’d gotten cold feet. She rode up to the castle gate and addressed the guards. “I am Queen Hannah of Lowenveil. I’ve come to request an audience with Queen Maleficent.”
One of the guards saluted and entered the castle. She waited outside on her horse for ten to fifteen minutes, then the guard returned and led her inside. “You can leave your horse here; we’ll take it to the stables and one for it until you are ready to depart.”
Hannah dismounted and thanked him, then followed his directions to the waiting room. Inside the castle was slightly cheerier than the outside, with red carpets and beautiful tapestries, but the lighting was still dim, and Hannah felt incredibly out of place.
She was in the living room for around thirty minutes before Maleficent entered. Venwald’s queen wore an elegant, deep violet dress; while it wasn’t as formal as what she’d worn to Aurora’s baby blessing, somehow it made her all the more imposing. Her crown was stylized to look like two horns sweeping back over her raven hair. “Queen Hannah. This certainly is a surprise, especially considering the circumstances of our last encounter.”
Hannah moved to stand, but Maleficent raised a hand. “Please; stay seated. Especially considering your current condition.”
She pointedly stared at Hannah’s belly. How did she…? No, she was a witch, of course she could tell. Hannah accepted her offer and sat back down.
Maleficent took a seat near her. “So does your husband know yet?”
Hannah looked aside. “I only found out myself a week into the journey.” She smiled sadly. “It’s just as well. It was hard enough to convince Frederick to come as is.”
For a long time, Maleficent just studied Hannah. Hannah couldn’t tell what was going through to other queen’s head, but she straightened her back and returned her gaze. This was not a time to back down, no matter how terrifying or dangerous Maleficent was.
“Why did you come?” Maleficent asked. “Whatever my reasons, I’m well aware of the pain my actions have caused your family.”
“That is one of the reasons, actually,” Hannah replied. “I wanted to hear your reasons. If possible, I want to understand why you did what you did. It may not change things, but I think we have a right to know.”
Maleficent dipped her head. “And the other reasons?”
“I’m sure by now you’ve heard what happened to Aurora after you left?” When Maleficent dipped her head again, Hannah said, “We haven’t been able to find either Gothel or Aurora. Something is going on with the fairies, and other than the fairies themselves, you seem to know the most about them.”
For a moment, Maleficent didn’t reply. She simply took a cup of tea to her lips, and savored the scent for a moment, before she drank and set it down. “Fortunately the two are intertwined. How much do you know about the costs of fairy blessings?”
Most recently updated draft of Rapunzel, the Sleeping Beauty (potentially including unposted content)