5 April 2024

This is quiet a long one; there is a surprisingly large amount to cover with this section of my poem-outline. It’s fun, though!

Temper thy expectations,

Dearest friend of mine.

We know not her wishes

Nor what she may’ve endured.

Wise though thy words,

I cannot my heart restrain.

E’en to see her mor than I once hoped

Look; anon and we arrive.

My queen, all hail. Safe trip, I pray?

Though, alas, it was not so for us.

The prince’s sight is… changed, to say

And the princess will not leave her  room.

Changed, you say?

Did he fall to fairy’s curse?

‘Tis best if I tend to him,

While you thy daughter greet.

Agreed. Then I shall go.

A knock, rejection, but–

I am neither prince nor Phillip.

May I enter?

Panic, shock

Already she stands at my door!?

Long have I longed and dreaded this meeting

But… A smidge of courage, I open the door.

I… I am sorry I’m not more

Not a princess, not bold, not brave

Just… me.

I… I never even tried to leave.

Her words like chimes blow past

None settle. Instead,

She is in my arms, at last.

And there we stay, in silence.

~~~~~

The prince before me, changed indeed.

Mortals were not meant for fairy sight

Only one other I know of, but such is luck

That one is me, and I can guide you.

Well enough, and thank thee, truly.

But what e’en is the point?

All is worthless, ash and dust.

All… all that is… ‘cept thee?

Indeed, even when Death takes me

Never shall I age or rot.

But that is of no import.

Come, there is much work to do.

~~~~~

A wond’rous, glorious week

‘Tis not so bad a way to go

Though regrets remain, I will not lament

My time is up, it seems

The princess collapsed,

And fades so fast!

O great Queen of sorceries,

Is there aught thou canst do?

There is. Indeed, long planned.

But I do not like it.

My friend, my queen, dearest Hannah,

Are you sure this is thy wish?

Never have I been more sure.

Aurora has not even had

An honest chance to live.

Can I, as mother,

Prize my life above my child’s?

Mother, what meanest thou?

What plan have you concocted?

A quiet dread fills my chest

Surely, you cannot mean…?

Dearest Isaac, know I love you,

And I’m proud of who you are.

Whate’er happens, we’ll watch o’er you.

Maleficent, ‘tis time.

Ne’er have I regretted a promise more

And decades since last I shed a tear

Yet I will respect thy wish

Breath for breath, and life for life.

W-what?

I am… awake?

Is this Heaven?

But no, there is the prince, and Phillip, and…

No.

No no no.

Please tell me she did not!

What worth have I, a timid girl,

That a queen would yield her life for me?!

29 November 2022

After I finished the draft on the 28th, it was hard to get motivated to put the same energy into writing, or specifically setting aside the time to write. It was as if subconsciously, I’d given myself permission to pursue other projects or pastimes.

Still, the bit between Hannah’s arrival and reunion with Aurora and her sacrifice always felt too short. So I chose to expand that scene, and give them more time together. It took me the next two days to finish it up. I also forgot Phillip; he’s definitely around somewhere. Maybe he’d stay away to give them more time together; maybe not. It still needs to be addressed regardless.

..request.” She gave Frederick a pointed look, and a quick glance at Rapunzel told him all he needed to know.

He grimaced, but the tension in his shoulders eased up. “Alright.” He dipped his head toward Maleficent. “Welcome to Lowenveil.”

Maleficent returned the bow, but she kept a wary eye on both Frederick and his captain of the guard.

As the tension eased up, the princess asked, “So… what now? I’ve never really been part of a family before. And not to be a stick in the mud, but I don’t have a lot of time…”

The air in the room turned frosty, until Isaac spoke up. “Whatever we do, I think we should do it here. I don’t want to waste the last few days we have with you traveling.”

Hannah nodded. “I want to get to know you. What has your life been like? What are your interests? Things like that.”

A small smile curled at one corner of Rapunzel’s mouth. “I’d like that.”

Over the next three to four days, they did all kinds of things. They played games, most of which were suggested by Isaac, and at mealtimes they took turns cooking together. Rapunzel and Hannah even sat and watched Isaac’s sword training with Frederick. Mostly, however, they just talked telling stories about everything from Rapunzel’s relationship with the Tower to the time Hannah caught Frederick sneaking down to the kitchens for a late night snack, only to join him.

A couple days after Hannah arrived, Frederick and Hannah found out Rapunzel could paint. “We should do a family portrait!” Hannah’s eyes twinkled.

Rapunzel looked away. “I’m, uh… I’m not very good with faces yet.”

Frederick shrugged. “Better than I would be.”

“Are you sure? Wouldn’t it be better to have a professional do it?”

Hannah shook her head. “I’d rather have yours.”

In the end, Rapunzel finally relented, and they found a good location for it. It took a long time; long enough Isaac was getting irritable. But in time Rapunzel finished it and presented it to her family.

“Like I said, I’m really not good with drawing people yet,” she said. And the painting had evidence of that; Frederick’s jaw was a bit too square, and Isaac’s nose wasn’t quite right. Rapunzel, in particular, was less than satisfied with it. The rest of the family, on the other hand, seemed quite impressed, although Isaac had to make the joke, “Definitely a heck of a lot better than whatever the heck it was you showed me in the Tower.”

Rapunzel scowled, and Hannah and Frederick laughed.

That night, Isaac had trouble sleeping, and decided to head outside for a walk. As he passed the room his parents were staying in, though, he heard his mother’s voice. “...The gifts a fairy-blessed child receives must be paid back, correct?” There was a pause, and then she continued, “Does she have to be the one to pay the price?”

Another voice, Maleficent’s, asked, “What are you suggesting?”

Isaac couldn’t help himself; he moved closer and peered through the crack in the door. Maleficent sat on a chair facing Hannah and Frederick. Hannah sat on the bed, while Frederick paced back and forth, an expression of consternation on his face.

Hannah said, “Well, if anyone can pay the price, couldn’t I take that burden for her?”

Isaac barely stopped himself from gasping and revealing himself. Maleficent herself seemed utterly in shock. She turned to Frederick. “And you’re okay with this?”

Frederick stopped. “I… no. Yes? I don’t know.” He ran his fingers through his hair and turned to Hannah. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“I am.”

Frederick sighed, then paused and turned to Maleficent. “Would it be possible for me to split the cost with her?”

Before Maleficent answered, Isaac crept away. He wasn’t sure what to make of it all; he needed to think.

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17 November 2022

Well, here it is. We’re finally caught up, or at least as caught up as I’m going to get. I want to keep that one week buffer to give myself time to type everything in after I’ve written it.

At some point, I realized that after Maleficent’s discussion with Isaac on the dangers of fate-spinning, and considering his own stubbornness, there’s no way he’d agree to help Aurora figure it out. He would, however, be likely to send Phillip instead, and Phillip’s in so far over his head that he’s pretty much willing to roll with whatever.

Phillip smiled. “Aurora it is, then.” He scrunched his eyebrows together. “You do have a plan, though, right? To make sure you don’t vanish everyone?”

[skipping how she convinces him for now]

“Alright, then.” Phillip leaned back. “What do you need me to do?”

Aurora stared up at him in shock.

“Oi, don’t give me that look. You’re my friend, and Isaac sent me to keep an eye on you. Least I could do is help you try, right?”

Tears welled up in Aurora’s eyes, and she laughed. “Come on, then. Let’s go.”

The trip there went a lot faster than the trip back had been. Part of that was because it was just the two of them but part of it also had to do with the fact they better understood Aurora’s limits. Soon they arrived at the forest where the Tower was hidden away, and then the tower itself.

“Would it be better if I waited out here?” Phillip asked. 

Aurora nodded. “I’ll try to be quick. The Tower will let you know if something goes wrong.” She moved to the base of the Tower, which opened up to let her in.

Gothel had shut herself in her room ever since that witch had blinded her. She’d barely been able to eat, though the Tower provided plenty of food for her, and sleep evaded her. Her daughter, her Rapunzel, was like them. Like that woman. The one who’d taken her sisters away.

Gothel could have used the boy’s sight to at least partially heal herself, but she did not. She wanted nothing of his. It must be his fault. He’d changed Rapunzel somehow. Gothel snarled, then forced herself to calm back down.

Rapunzel’s words dug at her heart, but Gothel couldn’t understand them. So she stayed in her room, cycling through all the negative thoughts, until she caught a whiff of something familiar.

Rapunzel had returned to the Tower.

Edited bits to get the following:

“Can I leave the kingdom in your hands for a few days?”

“That would be unwise.” Maleficent shook her head. “Even were I well-regarded in the kingdom, which I am not, this is a critical time in your young reign. You need to prove that you are not a puppet, whether to me or anyone else.”

Isaac grimaced, and clenched his fist as he looked out over the parapet. Was there anyone else he could send?

A moment of inspiration struck him, and he gestured to one of his guards. “Please fetch my my friend, Phillip Charmande.”

Phillip didn’t really understand what Isaac had been talking about. Something about cobwebs, and fate, and his sister. All Phillip knew was that Rapunzel had gotten herself in over her head somehow, and Isaac wanted him to watch out for her.

He’d barely traveled two or three hours when he ran into Rapunzel off the side of the road. She was breathing heavily, and Phillip figured the ache in her chest was back. Her horse had been tethered beside her.

“You know, your brother was worried enough before he thought of how weak you get,” Phillip said. “Wouldn’t it have been better to let him know what you were doing?”

Rapunzel started and looked up at him. “Phillip?”

Phillip grinned at her. “In the flesh!”

“But… How? Why? I didn’t think anyone would notice–”

“That you left?” Phillip looked at her askance. “You do know that you’re a princess right? Even if you don’t want to be. And where you were gone for so long… People notice you now.”

Rapunzel scowled and looked away. Phillip dismounted and walked up to her. “Why didn’t you ask someone to go with you? You collapsed a couple times on the trip back, didn’t you? What if that happened again?”

“I, just… I don’t know.”

“Uh huh. And what’s all this about people disappearing from existence and fate and cobwebs and things?”

Rapunzel sighed. “It’s complicated.”

“Yeah, I got that much.” When she didn’t say anything, Phillip said, “Look, Rapunzel–”

“It’s Aurora.”

Phillip blinked. “Huh?”

Rapunzel - Aurora - looked away and rubbed her arms. “You can call me Aurora. It seemed rude not to use the name my parents gave me after they… well.”

Phillip smiled. “Aurora it is, then.” He scrunched his eyebrows together. “You do have a plan, though, right? To make sure you don’t vanish everyone?”

“Not…exactly.” She looked down the road. “I know Moth - Gothel had some books about fate-spinning in her hidden library. So I was going to find them and see if I could figure anything out.”

“Alright, then.” Phillip leaned back. “What are we waiting for?”

Aurora stared up at him in shock.

“Oi, don’t give me that look…

Back to new stuff

Aurora crept through the Tower. She didn’t know where Gothel was, or if she was even still in the Tower, and she didn’t particularly want to find out. Even in the best-case scenario, Aurora didn’t think that encounter was going to be pleasant. It still felt weird, though, coming back like this. Kind of like coming home from a long vacation, only to discover you weren’t welcome anymore.

She made her way up the stairs to the meadow, and was surprised to find the animals still there. She was pleased to see they were well fed, and Fenrir was far more energetic now that Gothel wasn’t stealing his health to cover Aurora’s.

“Say, Tower,” Aurora said. “Would it be possible to let them out? When I leave, I mean. I don’t want them to stay here alone, and definitely not alone with her.”

The ground rippled in a way Aurora knew meant yes. She smiled and said, “Thank you.”

From there, she made her way through the Tower to the library. She went to a very specific bookshelf in the back left, pushed the switch, and [magical thing to open the door]. The bookshelf swung free, and she entered Gothel’s hidden library.

Aurora looked around at the piles of books and scattered documents everywhere. That was the downside to this place; nothing was organized the way it was in the main library.

Fortunately, Aurora had an idea of where to look. Soon, she was skimming through documents, looking for anything that might be useful. In particular, she looked for any references to fate-spinning or lifting curses.

Whenever she found something that looked promising, she grinned and stuffed it in her satchel. After an hour or so, it was already full to bursting, but Aurora wanted to look for a bit longer, just in case there was anything else she could use.

Then the Tower banged the door open and closed to warn her about something. Aurora jumped, then snuck into the main library and peered around the main bookshelves to the main entrance.

There, Gothel was sniffing the air, turning her head this way and that. Her eyes were milky white, and she kept one hand on a wall or bookshelf as she walked. “Somewhere, somewhere, here,” she said, her voice almost sing-song. “My Rapunzel is here somewhere. The nose knows, and I can smell her.”

Aurora’s breath caught in her throat. Had she ever seen Gothel this bad? She took a deep breath and began to stealth through towards the doors.

Then Gothel paused, and turned straight toward Aurora. If Aurora hadn’t known better, she would have sworn Gothel could see her. Gothel moved to block Aurora’s path to the door. With a snap of her fingers, the bookshelves joined together to keep Aurora from slipping through them and past Gothel.

A horrid grin spread on Gothel’s face, and she began walking down the aisle in Aurora’s direction. “My darling Rapunzel has finally come home! But she’s been a naughty, naughty girl. For she’s gone and become a witch, and even stolen my eyesight away!”

Aurora backed away, slowly at first and then more an more frantically. Soon, she’d backed herself up against the wall, while Gothel slowly advanced on her.

“So what will we do with this naughty girl? What should be done now she’s become a witch?”

Gothel reached a hand out as if to stroke Aurora’s cheek. Aurora barely held back a scream, and desperately reached behind her, hoping for a way out to appear. The Tower obliged, and Aurora turned the new doorknob and practically fell back into the hallway. She slammed the door in Gothel’s face, then raced down the stairs.

Stone clattered on stone when Gothel forced the Tower to open the way for her. “Dear Rapunzel, is my dear Rapunzel trying to run away? Where do you think you can go?” She whistled a tune, and a few steps ahead of Aurora, the floor slammed up into the ceiling, cutting her off. 

Aurora scowled and shouted, “Tower!” To her right, a door appeared, and she rushed through it into the lake room. She began sprinting along the shore; it was only moments, however, before she started to wheeze, and the pain in her chest returned.

Behind her, Gothel slowly pursued her, walking at the same even gait. “Dearest Rapunzel, such a sick little thing. All I wanted was to nurse her and make it better. And yet she blinded me.”

Aurora glanced back and yelped. Gothel’s face had transformed into a bestial snarl, and leathery wings sprouted from her back. The nails on her hands lengthened into claws. “Yet she blinded me! Why, Rapunzel? WHY!?”

She leaped into the air and dove at Aurora. Aurora rolled to the side, narrowly escaping her claws, and kept running. The Tower created a door in the wall closest to her and stretched the room to make it even easier to reach.

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15 November 2022

The final scene, with Aurora and Maleficent bonding after Hannah’s sacrifice, was really cool. I feel like it’s the closest I’ve come to balancing out Maleficent’s unexpectedly gentle side with her truly vicious nature. It’s going to be a while before that comes naturally to writing her, though, I think.

…hide!”

She pulled her wrist free and closed the door behind her. Isaac was half-tempted to open the door and follow her despite the warnings, but decided that prudence might be the better option in this case.

A couple of minutes later, an archway formed in the back part of the studio. This must be the way out Rapunzel mentioned. Isaac climbed in and began making his way down the stairs.

About one floor down, he caught the sound of voices. When he inspected more closely, he found an arrowslit that looked out onto the “reception room”. He pressed his ear against it to try and make out what was being said.

“...course not. I obviously haven’t gone anywhere, and what would I do with a prince?” Rapunzel’s tone reminded Isaac of some of the more experienced stablehands when they had to deal with an agitated horse.

“No, he’s here. I can smell him.” The voice belonged to an older woman Isaac recognized, most likely Gothel.

The Tower blinked lights at him, urging him forward, but Isaac held a finger up to his lips. “Let me listen a little longer.”

Rapunzel’s voice came through again. “Smell him, Mother? Do princes have a special ‘prince’ cologne I don’t know about? Besides, what business would a prince have with me?”

She probably had this handled, though Isaac was surprised; was Gothel unaware Rapunzel had already figured out the truth? Regardless, he’d heard enough, and he started to head down the stairs. He’d only gone a few steps, however, when the wall behind him burst, revealing a middle-aged woman with brown hair in a deep blue dress. She had a frenzied look in her eyes. “Got you! Skulking about in the shadows like a thief, prince?”

Isaac tried to bolt, but he’d only taken a step when some unseen thing wrapped around his legs and sent him sprawling.

“No, Mother, wait! He’s harmless! He’s not here to take me away or anything!” Rapunzel tried to get past Gothel and get between her and Isaac.

The fairy just ignored her attempts, as if she didn’t even notice them. She kept her eyes locked on Isaac. She raised one hand, and while muttering something Isaac couldn’t comprehend, began pulling the hand back toward her.

Isaac screamed, as what felt like thorns began sprouting from inside his eyes and trying to get out. Everything went black, and he clutched at his eyes; to his shock, there was nothing unusual there.

“You will never look on my Rapunzel again,” Gothel said, satisfied. She grabbed him by the lapel with one hand and began dragging him back up the stairs.

“No! Mother, what are you doing!?”

“Please…no…:” Isaac pleaded. “I’m not here to take her away from you.”

“And you won’t.”

Right as she threw him out the window, Rapunzel yelled, “Tower!”

Isaac had a moment of free fall, before his back slammed into something hard and he began to slide down.

Once he reached the bottom, he began to weep, as he clutched his eyes again.

Rapunzel found Isaac at the base of the Tower, curled in a ball and a weeping. Her own heart ached at the sight.

“Hey.”

Isaac snapped his head in her direction. “Who’s there?”

“It’s me. Rapunzel. You can relax.” Rapunzel couldn’t help but feel apologetic, and that came out in her voice.

“What? How did… Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” She reached a hand toward Isaac’s eyes. “I have something for you.”

She touched his eyelids and gave him the sight she’d ripped from Gothel. She still didn’t know what to think about that.

Isaac blinked a few times, then looked up at her. “Rapunzel?”

“Yep. That’s me.”

“Sorry, it’s just…” He looked down at his hands, then at the forest all around them. “This is going to take some getting used to.”

“I bet.” Rapunzel helped him stand. “Now come on. We should get out of here.”

Sometime after Hannah’s sacrifice and arriving in the capital

Aurora sat on a chair, knees hugged tight against her chest. Strange, wasn’t it? So many years of stubbornly insisting that she was Rapunzel, that “Aurora” had nothing to do with her, and now…

Tears flowed down her cheeks as she stared at the still form of her mother. Her real mother. Someone, she didn’t know who, had found beautiful glass coffins to rest them in, along with a beautiful arrangement of flowers around the room. Aurora appreciated that; she wanted to get to know their faces, even if she’d all but lost the chance to get to know them.

She’d been there long enough for her legs to ache by the time Maleficent walked in. For a long moment, the witch just studied her. Finally, she quietly moved up next to Aurora to pay her respects. “They’ve done a lovely job with the arrangement of the room.”

Aurora nodded, and the two waited in silence for a long time. Then Aurora sobbed, “Why? I don’t understand. I’m sick. I’m weak… I didn’t even try to find them, or leave my Tower. Even after I learned the truth. Why would they give up so much for someone like me?”

Maleficent’s face remained impassive. Eventually, she said, “I am told that it’s normal for parents to be willing to lay down their lives for the sake of their children.”

Aurora glanced up at her. “You’re told?”

“I have no children of my own, and, well. My parents ultimately expected me to die for them.” Her eyes narrowed. “Needless to say, things did not turn out the way they expected them to.”

Aurora brushed the tears from her face. “I guess I have it lucky, since my parents actually loved me?” She couldn’t quite keep the bitterness out of her voice.

“Not necessarily.” Maleficent shook her head. “I was merely noting the irony. You are unlucky because you never had a chance to know your parents; I am unlucky because I did know mine.”

In spite of herself, Aurora chuckled. “Maybe bad luck is part of being a witch.”

The barest hint of a smile touched Maleficent’s lips. “Perhaps.” The smile faded, and she looked down at Aurora. “I feel I should apologize. At the end of the day, if I hadn’t cursed you, you would have spent the last sixteen years under their care, rather than hidden away in your Tower.”

Aurora shrugged. “I always thought of your curse as a mercy. Right about now, I’d have core pieces of who I am freshly ripped away from me. Is death any worse than that?” After a moment, she frowned and looked up at Maleficent. “That reminds me, though. What exactly happened between you and Gothel? I know it traumatized her, but that’s all.”

Maleficent folded her hands together. “Did you know that back east, the nations use fairy-blessed children as signs of status? For as long as they are blessed, that is.”

Aurora nodded. “Some of the books she hid away mentioned that.”

“Well, my parents had curried a great deal of favor with the fae, and when I was born, a full contingent of thirteen fairies came to bestow their blessings on me. Gothel was one of those thirteen.”

Aurora’s eyes went wide with horror. “Thirteen? One or two is bad enough, but…”

With a wry smile, Maleficent said, “Yes, my entire life was impacted by fairy magic meddling. No one told me the consequences, of course, until everything ran dry and I was left with nothing. I was lucky to steal a bit of wisdom and intelligence by instinct alone. And once I got beyond that, well… I went and found the fairies that had cursed me and ripped my gifts right back out of them.” A cruel smile appeared on Maleficent’s face. “All except Gothel, who had gifted me empathy and called it kindness. I let her go, in part to warn the fae their era was ending.”

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13 November 2022

Not much to say about this one. Continuing the sacrifice scene from the Sunday before. I’m still not certain how vulnerable I should let Maleficent be; would she allow herself even one tear where people can see? I’d also like to add a bit more of Isaac’s reaction as he realizes he’s in charge now.

Maleficent turned to Frederick. “With your permission?”

Frederick swept Hannah and Aurora into a strong hug. He kissed the top of Aurora’s head, and stared into Hannah’s eyes as he asked Maleficent, “Would it be possible for me to split the cost with her?”

For the first time since she had become “Maleficent”, tears rose to her eyes. And yet, a flicker of hope began to flicker in her chest. “That… could theoretically work. Ordinarily, you would both just die together, but where I was the one to set the initial curse…” She trailed off as she began working on the magical formulas in her head.

“What is it?” Frederick looked hopeful.

“If you are sharing the burden with her, I should by able to weaken my curse enough that you both fall into an deep sleep, rather than kill you outright. Additionally, you both would take half the cost for Aurora’s ‘gifts’.”

A gentle smile formed on his face. “Then I will do it.”

The prince stepped forward. “Then I–”

“No, Isaac.” Hannah stopped him and pulled him into the group hug. “We need you to stay here. Aurora’s finally come home; we can’t just leave her alone, can we?”

“And the kingdom needs a ruler.” Frederick clapped him on the shoulder. “I’m sorry to leave this to you, son. But I know you will do fine.”

Isaac bit his lower lip, but he squared his shoulders and nodded.

Aurora burst into another round of tears. “No. Please don’t do this.”

Frederick responded by squeezing her tighter. “I’m just sorry we couldn’t be there to watch you grow up. Let us do this much for you.”

He nodded to Maleficent, and she began to cast the spell. She wove words from the ancient faerie tongue into the magic as she pulled her curse out of Aurora’s body and split it between Frederick and Hannah, looking like a sickly green light bound the three together. While she was at it, Maleficent messed with the threads of beauty and intelligence tangled around Aurora, and returned her to a natural state, pulling from the royal to make up the difference where necessary.

Soon, the spell finished, and Frederick and Hannah sank to the floor. Only the slight rise and fall of their chests gave any indication they were alive at all.

Maleficent knelt and brushed a lock of hair from Hannah’s face, and a single tear rolled down her cheek. “Farewell, my friend. May you wake up someday.” She stood, and dipped her head to Isaac. “Your Majesty.”

Isaac barely seemed to register her presence even as he acknowledge her greeting. He simply stared at his parents, too overwhelmed to do anything.

Aurora sank to her knees and wept bitterly. Maleficent couldn’t even begin to imagine what was going through the girl’s mind. Whatever else, she knew it was possible, perhaps likely, Aurora would come after her for what had happened here, no matter the promise Maleficent had made with Frederick. Maleficent wasn’t sure she could blame the girl if she did.

Maleficent turned and swept out of the room. As she went through the doorway, she said, “I’ll be in the throne room if you need me.”

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11 November 2022

This, at least up through today (the 21st), is my most prolific day so far this month. Including some edits to earlier entries, I broke 2500 words this day. Probably not that much for the people who can actually hit 50k, but I felt pretty proud of myself.

Most of that was a lot of short spurts, and I was all over the place writing. I have scenes from many different sections of the book. I also did some background work (for example, naming all twelve of Gothel’s “sisters” and the gifts they gave Maleficent, so I could reference that). I might add more commentary throughout.

She headed up the stairs to her paint studio, with the canvases rolling along the banister behind her. She opened the door, and instantly felt more at ease; there was nothing quite like the gentle atmosphere in here to calm her down.

The far wall was covered in a gorgeous sunset over rolling hills; she’d painted most of that over three years ago, and had continued to touch it up or add tweaks since then. To her left, the wall was covered in a sun-dappled forest, while her right depicted an ocean front, both based on illustrations in the books Mother had brought her. Everything was lit brightly by the skylight in the ceiling; even on rainy days, the Tower could emit light of its own to compensate.

The space itself looked cluttered at first glance, with mounds of sketchbooks piled up against the ocean-side wall. But everything had its place, and her workspace was completely free of the clutter; only her tools and her current project were allowed there.

Rapunzel set her things down, and put away the blank canvases and other supplies. She sat at her work station and stretched, then looked at the white canvas before her.

“What should I do today?” She flipped through some of the art books she owned for ideas, but nothing really caught her attention. She could paint another landscape, perhaps the actual view from the window again, but she wanted to do something different today.

Once Rapunzel recognized that, she paused, then glanced over at the piles of sketchbooks. Many of them, she knew, had been filled with her failed attempts to draw people, and faces in particular. Even under the best circumstances, faces were hard, and it’s not like Rapunzel had very many opportunities to see them in person.

She waffled for a moment, then decided to go for it. Even if it didn’t turn out, she’d learn something, right? She flipped to an image of Queen Hannah of Lowenveil. Rapunzel had always been impressed with how kind her face looked; she nodded to herself and began to paint.

It was an hour or two later when the door opened behind her. “Rapunzel? Are you in here? I’ve–”

Mother’s words cut off, and Rapunzel turned to see her frozen in shock, just staring at Rapunzel’s painting. Rapunzel cursed under her breath; the image was recognizable enough, and who knows what that made Mother think.

Nothing for it but to bluff her way through, then. “Ah, hello, Mother! What do you think? I thought she had a kind face, so I decided to start with her.”

“Kind… kind face…” Mother’s eyes shifted off the painting to Rapunael, and started to regain their focus. “Ah, yes, dear, you’ve quite improved.” She looked back to the painting. “Did you know I met her once?”

Oh, yes. Rapunzel knew all about that. She faked a smile and said, “Oh? When was that?”

“Oh, years and years ago. It was the last time…” Mother’s eyes lost focus again, and her gaze moved to the walls. “Oh, Therese! These look loverly, as always.”

Well, shoot. Rapunzel had forgotten; Maleficent had been there when she was taken, too, and if Mother thought Rapunzel was one of her old sisters, things had gotten really bad. Rapunzel stood up and turned Mother away from the room and toward the door. “So you’ve told me. Come on, let’s go sit down for a bit.”

Rapunzel gently led Mother out of the room and shut the door behind her. She still didn’t know the details, but Rapunzel always wondered; what exactly had Maleficent done, way back when, that had scarred a fairy like Mother this much?

It bothered me that I hadn’t finished this scene. Also, I’ll eventually remove any references to Frieda and Phillip flirting; it was writing this it clicked why that was weird.

“...can you?”

Lena frowned and was about to retort, when Frieda exclaimed, “Ooh! Weird magicy bits!”

“What sorts of magic?” Lena moved up next to her. What she saw impressed her; it was surprisingly subtle magic, especially for how complicated it was.

“Did you find something?” The prince came over to see what they were looking at, but couldn’t see a thing. If he could, Lena would’ve been shocked.

Lena answered, “There’s a spell here that covers quite a large area. It diverts people around it, so no one can get close, then lightly touches their memory so they don’t realize anything’s wrong. It’s fresh, too; whoever made it must have just finished resetting it.”

The prince nodded thoughtfully. “That matches my theories well enough. Can you get us through?”

Frieda grabbed the threads of magic and pulled them apart. “Yep! Step right through here; once you’re inside the boundary, it recognizes you as safe.”

The boys stepped in, and Lena was about to follow when she noticed a blue spark from the magic in Frieda’s hands. “Wait. Does this magic feel familiar to you at all?”

Frieda frowned and pulled the threads closer. Then she shrieked and backed away. “Nuh-uh! No way! I’m not getting anywhere near that madwoman again!” Once Lena heard that, she started backing away, too.

The prince turned to the two fairies, a wary expression on his face. “Madwoman? Who are you talking about?”

“It’s that one - Gothel. The baby-snatcher,” Lena muttered. “She’s the reason we wound up imprisoned last time.”

“If I’d known she’d lost it that badly, I never would have asked to join her back in Lowenveil,” Frieda added.

Isaac raised an eyebrow. “You know who I am, right? Who did you think we were looking for?” When neither of the fairies could give him a response, he asked, “Are there more spells deeper in?”

“I don’t know, and honestly, I don’t care,” Lena said. “No matter what you say, I’m not going any closer to that basket case. And you shouldn’t, either; who knows what she’ll think you’re up to, or how she’ll respond.”

“She might turn you into a frog,” Frieda offered.

“Or a chicken.”

“She might blind you!”

“Or steal your youth and turn you into an old man.”

“Or steal all your experiences and turn you back into a wee little babe.”

“Alright, I got the idea,” the prince interjected. “How long has she been crazy like that?”

Both fairies shrugged, but Frieda said, “It’s all wrapped up in that business with Maleficent. Some say she was there, you know, when Maleficent ripped her gifts right out of all twelve of her sisters, and only spared Gothel so she could tell everyone else what happened.”

“Gibbering idiots, now, the lot of them,” Lena said. “And uglier than a boar’s backside.”

The prince looked from one fairy to the eyebrow, with one eyebrow still raised. “So, kind of like what happens to people after all your fairy ‘blessings’ run out? Kind of sounds like turnabout’s fair play, to me.”

Lena opened her mouth to reply, then frowned. Was that what this was like? “Well, if you’re going anyway, good luck. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.”

The prince nodded and turned into the forest. The other boy smiled shyly and waved at Frieda, who waved back with a warm smile, before he followed the prince into the underbrush. Lena gave Frieda a look.

“What? He’s too young now, sure, but he’ll grow up someday.”

Lena rolled her eyes and pulled Frieda away. “Okay, now let’s get out of here before this blows up in our face somehow.”

Isaac gave Phillip a sidelong glance as they walked. “Please tell me you’re not thinking what I think you’re thinking.”

“What?” Phillip protested. “She was fun!”

“And she’s, like, three hundred years old. You’re fourteen.”

Phillip shrugged. “So what?” Then he slumped. “Not like we’ll ever see them again, though.”

“Probably best for all our sakes if we don’t.” Isaac crept forward, when he noticed a middle-aged woman in a blue dress walk out into a large clearing. He immediately pulled Phillip down into the bush an shushed him. They watched as the woman walked to the base of a tower Isaac swore hadn’t been there a moment ago and yelled out, “Rapunzel! Rapunzel! Let down your hair!”

“Why rapunzel?” Phillip muttered. Isaac shushed him.

Both watched in surprise as a long train of bright red hair unfurled from the window thirty feet up, all the way down to the woman, who grabbed on and slowly rose until she could step into the window.

Every time it comes up, the friendship between Hannah and Maleficent startles me. I definitely did not plan this, and I agree it seems unusual. But something about it just clicks for me. Hopefully in the finished, polished story, I’ll be able to convey that to the readers, too.

Queen Maleficent would never admit it, but she had begun looking forward to Queen Hannah’s annual visits. She didn’t know why; the woman insisted on rearranging her decor, and the servants all ignored Maleficent’s wishes to follow Hannah’s instead during her stay. Honestly, Maleficent wasn’t sure at times which of the two of them was actually the queen here.

It seems Hannah herself felt quite accomplished this visit; she’d finally rid the castle of all the drapes, and only replaced the ones in the bedrooms. Even then, she chose pale cotton curtains to use, rather than the dark, heavy things that had been there before. Even Maleficent had to acknowledge the castle was a lot brighter now, both literally and figuratively.

So when Hannah prepared to return home, it was with the greatest sincerity Maleficent said, “Thank you for coming, Hannah. And for everything you have done here.”

Hannah’s eyes went wide, and she beamed. “You know, I do think that is the first time you have ever thanked me, Maleficent!”

Before Maleficent could reply, the doors burst open and an errand boy rushed in. “Urgent message for Queen Hannah!”

Hannah took it, and Maleficent moved to the couch to wait for her. Not far into the message, however, and Hannah gasped and brought a hand to her mouth. Tears welled up in her eyes, and once she’d finished, she began to read the message again from the start.

Concerned, Maleficent stood. “What is it? Is something wrong?”

Hannah shook her head and struggled to find words. “He’s, they… They’ve found her! Isaac, he’s…” The tears spilled out onto her cheeks, and she turned to Maleficent. “Isaac found Aurora!”

Half an hour later, they were at the stables, where Maleficent had cordoned off six of her fastest horses, not including the very fastest. She told the stableboy, “For the next two weeks, these six are not to be ridden or taken out for any reason. Give them extra feed; they may seem lethargic, but they will need the energy.”

Her eyes began to glow with violet light, and she reached out and pulled the speed from those six into the fastest horse, which was being saddled with all Hannah’s things. Maleficent cautioned Hannah, “He will travel seven times faster than normal; while now you can make the trip in two days instead of two weeks, moving that speed comes with its own dangers. Stay low, and hold on tight; tie yourself to the horse if you have to.”

Hannah nodded, then cocked her head. “But you’re coming too, right?”

Maleficent froze. What right did she have to be there? “Even if, when all is said and done, I am the one ultimately responsible for all of this?”

Hannah gave her a warm smile. “All the more reason to come along and see it through to the end, right?”

“...So talk.”

For several long moments, no one said anything. The prince’s friend started to get antsy, and finally he broke the silence and asked, “So, uh, you’ve lived her, in the tower, your whole life?”

“Yes.”

“That, erm, never got boring at all?”

“I keep busy.” Rapunzel’s eyes never left the prince’s.

Another moment passed, and Phillip started backing away. “I’ll, um, I’ll go stand over here. And look at the lake.”

He walked away, and Rapunzel and the prince continued their staring match.

Finally, the prince asked, “You never wondered about your family at all? Who we were, or what we might be like?”

Rapunzel shrugged. “Sure, I was curious. The same way I idly wonder what it might be like to live on the other side of the world. Doesn’t mean I’m going to uproot everything I know and love to go find out.”

“We’ve been looking for you for fifteen years. I’ve heard stories about you, the way you were kidnapped, since the day I was born! Is that all you have to say?”

The inside of Rapunzel’s chest prickled. She folded her arms and looked away. “Well, I’m sorry I’m such a disappointment.”

“No! Damn it, that’s not–” Isaac groaned and ran his hand through his hair. He glanced back up at Rapunzel. “Could you help me to understand? What about this place makes you want to stay?”

“Oh, hey, cool! That table’s moving all by itself!”

Phillip’s voice pulled them both away from their discussion. They looked back at each other, and the tension lingered a moment longer before Rapunzel sighed and nodded to the table. “After tea, maybe?”

She gave them a tour of the parts of the Tower she was familiar with after that. Her art studio. The garden. The star-gazing observatory. She avoided the library, of course; too many ways that could go wrong. She finished in the meadow room, where she kept all the animals Mother brought in.

“Woah. It’s like some kind of weird petting zoo,” Phillip said.

Isaac pulled his coattails away from a young goat looking for something to munch on. “And the fairy keeps all these? What on earth for?”

Rapunzel smiled sadly, then knelt down and began petting Lotte. “I don’t think Mother - Gothel, I mean - planned for them to live this long.”

Isaac’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

Rapunzel didn’t answer for a long time; she just shifted to Fenrir’s side. Tears poole at the base of her eyes as she stroked the weak dog’s head. “He’s pretty sick, isn’t he. Even you two can tell that much.” The two boys nodded. “Do you know why?”

When they shook their heads, Rapunzel looked up and met Isaac’s gaze. “It’s because of me. Mother brings them here and takes their health so I can be ‘normal’.”

Isaac’s eyes went wide, and he looked down at the dog. “Wait, so the curse…?”

Rapunzel nodded. “Fairy gifts last half your natural lifespan; no more, no less. And Maleficent’s curse is set to go off the exact moment I would turn into a horrendous-looking dullard. Which means even if, by some series of miracles, I avoided all of that, I’d still be lucky to live past 32.”

For a long time, neither Isaac nor Phillip said a word.

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Most recently updated draft of Rapunzel, the Sleeping Beauty (potentially including unposted content)

6 November 2022

This is the scene that revealed that titles always lie. Turns out, despite everything building up to that before this, it is not Aurora/Rapunzel who becomes the sleeping beauty, but rather her mother Hannah. And to a certain extent her father, though one of the potential endings actually changes that to just be Hannah.

I wrote this scene, despite taking place quite a ways further in, because I still wanted to focus only on this story this month, but I still wanted to do something more spiritual on Sunday, and this fit in my head.

Maleficent hovered just outside the family group. They hadn’t noticed her yet, which was just as well. Even she didn’t know why she was here, but something about Hannah’s request compelled her to come.

Frederick, the ever-vigilant husband and father, was the first to notice Maleficent, and he immediately leaped forward and drew his sword, sheltering the rest of his family behind him. “You! What more do you want from us?”

Before Maleficent could even form a response, Hannah rose and placed a hand on his shoulder. “It’s alright, love; she’s here at my request.” She pushed sword arm down as she stepped past him and faced Maleficent. With a small curtsy, the queen said, “Thank you for responding to my letter, Queen Maleficent.”

Maleficent bowed her head, then turned to look at the two children. The boy watched her with wariness, his right hand on the sword at his side. Maleficent was surprised to realize he had faerie sight. The girl’s doing, perhaps?

The girl, Aurora, was different. There was none of the hostility or wariness Maleficent would have expected, especially considering she had doomed the young girl to death just after she’d been born. No, Aurora studied her like a puzzle she hadn’t quite figured out yet.

Maleficent turned back to Hannah. “You requested to see me?”

Hannah nodded, then glanced back toward Aurora. “When I went to see you earlier, you said that the gifts a fairy-blessed child receives must be paid back, correct?” When Maleficent dipped her head, Hannah asked, “Does she have to be the one that pays the price?”

Both Maleficent’s and Aurora’s eyes went wide. Maleficent would have chuckled, had the situation been any less serious; this woman never ceased to surprise her. 

However, Aurora’s face turned white, and for the first time Maleficent could see true fear in her eyes. “No! Han– Mom, you can’t! Don’t do this!”

Hannah simply cupped Aurora’s cheek and smiled gently. She turned back to Maleficent. “Can you do it?”

Maleficent glanced at Aurora, who desperately shook her head, then over to Frederick and the boy, who seemed a little bewildered. “I will not unless both you and your husband fully understand what it is you are asking, and I have Frederick’s word that both he and every citizen of this kingdom will not pursue me for doing this.”

Frederick glanced back and forth between the two queens and asked, “Why? What are you asking her to do, Hannah?”

Hannah set her face, then nodded to Maleficent. Maleficent explained, “For sixteen years, you daughter has been blessed with extraordinary beauty and cleverness. Even if she was locked away in a tower during that time, the price for her gifts must be paid. Ordinarily, that would come from Aurora herself in the second half of her life, where she would become ugly and dim-witted. And then there’s the matter of the curse I left on her.” Maleficent was surprised at the bitterness in her own voice at that last part. Was that regret?

“And Mom wants to take all that on herself,” Aurora whispered. “Take my place and pay the cost. And probably die.”

For a long moment, Frederick stared at Aurora, then turned back and stared into Hannah’s eyes. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

Hannah nodded again. Tears poured down Aurora’s face. “No, please! Even if you do this, I won’t live long anyway! I’m sick! I was born weak, and I—”

Hannah cut her off with a hug. “And you are still my daughter. And I love you. And no matter how short your chance at life will be after this, it will be more than you’ve had so far.” She turned and nodded to Maleficent.

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Most recently updated draft of Rapunzel, the Sleeping Beauty (potentially including unposted content)

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?”

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Most recently updated draft of Rapunzel, the Sleeping Beauty (potentially including unposted content)

1 November 2022

Somehow, it seems fitting to start posting my Nanowrimo work just after we get halfway through the month. It’s been good to reflect; I had the barest hints of ideas and worldbuilding when I wrote this, and now it’s expanded into so much more. I just have to remember that doesn’t mean it’s done growing; it still is. I was - am - proud of the first section, from Maleficent’s point of view. A lot has changed since I wrote that, though, so there are definitely tweaks to be made. The last section was mostly just to keep writing something, and has since been scrapped.

I do not expect to hit 50k this year; as of writing this (early evening of the 16th), I only have roughly 14,500 words. I’m still shooting for 40k, though, even if it’s a bit unreasonable.

Maleficent strode through the massive double doors into the ballroom, paying no mind to the guards scurrying this way and that. A quick survey of the room confirmed her suspicions; of the rulers of major nations in the region, all others were already represented, which meant she was the only who had not been invited. That, in itself, was fine; expected even, given recent events. But the sight of the trio of fairies… that infuriated her.

Maleficent managed to contain herself, and plucked the smallest strand of composure from a passing serving girl just to be safe. She went to greet the hosts, and smiled widely, even if that smile never reached her eyes. “Good evening, King Frederick. Queen Hannah.”

Frederick looked rather uncomfortable with her presence, and Maleficent took some small satisfaction in that fact. Hannah, however, positively beamed at her. “Queen Maleficent! I’m so happy to see you.” She took Maleficent’s hand in both of hers. “We heard about your late husband; I’m sorry for your loss. We figured it might be rude to intrude on your time of grief to ask you to come celebrate with us.”

“Yes, quite.” Maleficent withdrew her hand from the other queen’s grasp and pursed her lips; she hadn’t quite figured out what to make of Queen Hannah as of yet. She looked past the royal couple at the baby girl lying in a crib behind them. The three fairies, green, pink, and blue, had gathered around it. “I presume this is the child?”

“Yes. We’ve named her Aurora.” Queen Hannah smiled down at her daughter. “The fairies were just bestowing their gifts; Lena blessed her with beauty, and Frieda with cleverness.” She gestured to the pink and green fairies, who nodded their heads in turn. “Isn’t it marvelous?”

Marvelous? Did she really not know? Were witches so rare in this part of the realm? Maleficent turned to the two fairies just named, and in the ancient language of fae magic demanded of them, “And you did not warn them of the cost? Of what will happen to their beloved child halfway through her time in mortality? Are the fae now so underhanded?”

All three fairies gasped and turned pale, but not from what she’d said. No, they looked at her in horror when they realized she could speak their tongue, and the implications that carried.

Maleficent looked at the baby once more and reached out a hand, only to pull it back. Things were even worse than they appeared; the child was not destined to be long for the world. Such was part of Maleficent’s gift, and her curse; the things she could do let her see the span of a person’s life with just a glance.

She switched back to common tongue and announced, “Then I, too, shall bestow a gift on the child. Before the sun sets on her sixteenth birthday, she will be poisoned, whether by the prick of a finger or th flesh of an apple, and she will die, and be spared the cruelty of this unjust world.” And thus, the very day the child’s gifts would become curses, instead of the child, the cost would be reflected back on the wretched creatures that would so abuse the human race.

The entire hall was stunned silent, until Frederick shouted to the guard, “Seize her!”

Before the guards could take more than a single step, however, Maleficent stole the light and heat from all the torches in the room and released it in a burst around her. With all the dignity she carried as a queen, she strode out of the castle unimpeded, heedless of the mother’s cries that echoed behind her.

Prince Isaac was eight when his family went to go bring his sister back home. He didn’t know the details; most times, he didn’t even remember he had an older sister. She’d been taken by a fairy named Gothel before he was born to keep her safe. Something about a witch’s curse?

It all sounded like a grand adventure. But then Gothel stopped sending letters. Mum and Dad grew worried, and decided to go see her. Isaac asked to come along.

However, when they arrived, all they found was a long-abandoned shack in the woods. No sign of fairies or sisters, or even that anyone had ever lived here at all. The only thing they found was a single letter, and Isaac hadn’t been allowed to read it.

Soon, they went home, and Dad ordered his men to scour the land for even the faintest hint of where Gothel could have gone.

Rapunzel Next->

Most recently updated draft of Rapunzel, the Sleeping Beauty (potentially including unposted content)

29 September 2022

I got the idea for this setting from two locations. The first is a post my brother showed me a while back off of Tumblr; it described Iphigenia (one of Agamemnon’s daughters who was sacrificed to the gods for victory in the era of the Illiad) as a potential goddess of war - not of victory, or glory, or combat, but the brutality and horrors of war, and the curses she’d cause anyone who made the mistake of calling on her to further their own wars.

The second is the song “Zombie” by Bad Wolves. It has similar anti-war themes, and then I got the idea… What if zombies were a way Iphigenia punished the people who sought out war? So now I have a setting where zombies are called the Children of Iphigenia, and torment the nations that start wars. And from their I came up with ways people might try to abuse that, and how Iphigenia would respond. I only have a couple bits written so far, but I do want to continue this one.

Abe Lincoln as a god of freedom was a kind of spur of the moment thing; I may change it.

King Ferris sent everyone away, leaving him alone before the altars of Iphigenia and Lincoln. He kneeled, and with the deepest anguish of soul he plead to the gods.

“Please, I don’t know what to do. The Imperials have cut off trade, and now for fear of them, no other nation will trade with us, either. They say the will only reopen their borders if we submit to them; if I allow my people to become their slaves.

“My people are starving, and the only ways out I can see are war or slavery. You have taught us the horrors of war, Lady Iphigenia, and I would not wish that on my people or theirs; but you, Lord Lincoln, have taught us the pains of slavery, and I will not submit my people to that. So please, if there is another way, open my eyes that I may see it.”

For many long moments, the king knelt there in silence. Finally, he rose and turned around, to find two figures standing amidst the pews. On his right, a veiled blonde woman wearing a toga held a ceremonial dagger. The left side of her chest was stained with blood. When she spoke, her voice reverberated through King Ferris’s soul, despite its low volume. 

“I have peered into your soul, O king, and in this instance, I have found it pure. Spare the people, and my children shall not turn on yours.”

To his left, a bearded man in a strange black suit towered, made even taller by his top hat. In his hands he held two halves of a rusted chain. “I have seen the brightness of your hope, O king, and it shall guide you. Go with my blessing, and the secret roads shall open before you and yours.”

The king immediately bowed. “On behalf of my people, thank you. Thank you both.”

They both tipped their heads then vanished, once more leaving King Ferris alone in the temple. He turned his gaze westward, towards the Empire, and murmured to himself, “May the gods have mercy on your souls.”

Far away, in Paulus, the capital of the Empire, Horenza, the high priestess of Iphigenia, dreamt. In her dream, she stood alone beneath a scarlet sky amidst a field of corpses. Her stomach heaved, and she turned to run, but anywhere she went, more corpses, and that same blood-stained sky.

Horenza paused to catch her breath when something clutched at her ankle. She screamed, and found one of the corpses had grabbed one of her many gold anklets. Empty sockets looked up at her, and a voice echoed in her ears. “Are these the riches you earned selling our lives to the Empire, High Priestess Horenza?”

Horenza screamed again and tore her foot away, leaving her anklet in the corpse’s grasp. Soon, though, more and more corpses grabbed at her, taking jewelry and ripping at her fine clothes, pulling on her hair, leaving her ragged.

All the while, their voices mocked her. “She’s so fat! How much did you get to eat while we starved?”

“Her clothes are so pretty! Did she steal them from our homelands, like her people stole our freedom?”

“What good are your riches now, High Priestess?”

“Nothing to say? None of the honeyed words you gave your Senate, assuring them the goddess favored them?”

Then the voices stopped, and in front of Horenza appeared a raven-winged woman with golden hair, floating in the air. She held a bloody scythe in her hand, and where her heart should be there was a gaping hole. Her voice was quiet, but it shook Horenza to her core. “Did you really think you could lie to me, Horenza?”

She raised her scythe, and Horenza screamed.

Iphigenia Next->