𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚜 - 𝙵𝚕𝚢𝚗𝚗 𝚁𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚛 x 𝙵𝚎𝚖! 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛

↣ 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟺 - 𝙲𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝙴𝚗𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜 ↢

Once her name was called, Rapunzel gasps as she rips the crown off her head and turns the mirror around. She grabs the satchel and crown and stuffs it into a pot which doesn't go unnoticed by me.

"Let down your hair!"

She quickly ushers me up the stairs to her bedroom. Once I'm in there, she closes the curtains behind me and rushes to the window.

R: "One moment, Mother!"

"I have a big surprise!"

R: "Uh...I do too!"

"Ooh, I bet my surprise is bigger!"

R: "I seriously doubt it."

She mutters that last bit quietly and looks up to the curtains and sees me peeking out at her. Not much so I can go unnoticed. After afew moments of her pulling up her mother, she comes through the window with a basket of fresh parsnips.

"I brought back parsnips, I'm going to make hazelnut soup for dinner. Your favorite. Surprise!"

I looked at the woman and noticed how different they looked to each other. Her mother's hair was black and curly while Rapunzel's was blonde. Her mother's eyes were a darker brown while Rapunzel's was a striking green. Her mother's figure was also strikingly different to Rapunzel's since Rapunzel was a slimmer girl while her mother was more filled out. Her mother's facial bone structure was more sharp and defined, but Rapunzel's was a rounder, soft type.

R: "Well, Mother, there's something I want to tell you."

"Oh, Rapunzel, you know I hate leaving you after a fight. Especially when I've done absolutely nothing wrong."

Her mother hangs up her coat and takes the basket of parsnips and puts it down on the table where, I suppose, they normally prepare dinner.

R: "I've been thinking a lot about what you said earlier."

"I hope you're still not talking about the stars."

R: "Floating lights, and, yes, I'm leading up to that."

The more they talk, I see Rapunzel slowly inching her way to the closet where Flynn is. I don't know what she is doing, but I hope it won't put my best friend in jeopardy, otherwise there will be a problem. I'm also kind of curious about what she is talking about with the "Floating Lights." Is she talking about the lanterns for the lost princess?

"Because I really thought was dropped the issue, sweetheart."

R: "No, Mother, I'm just saying, you think I'm not strong enough to handle myself out there."

Rapunzel is very close to the chair now and is about to touch it when I try and signal to her not to do it. I guess that she's trying to prove her worthiness of going outside by showing that she knocked out an intruder and hid him in her closet? But hasn't she left the tower before? All I know is that her mother seems to not be keen on having other people seeing her, so with Flynn and I here that won't go well. Not to mention we are on the kingdom's most wanted list.

She can't see my signals though, and I'm trying very hard not to be caught by her mother. But I will be having a word with her about our safety when her mother is very far away from this tower.

"Oh, darling, I know you're not strong enough to handle yourself out there."

R: "But if you just..."

"Rapunzel, we're done talking about this."

I could hear it in her mother's voice that she was very over this conversation. It's clear Rapunzel can't exactly take cues. I'm not excited for how this will turn out.

R: "Trust me!"

"Rapunzel."

R: "I know what I'm..."

"Rapunzel.."

R: "Oh, come on!"

"Enough with the lights, Rapunzel! You are not leaving this tower! Ever!"

That confirmed my theory that she had never left the tower. Being scared around Flynn and I but not her mother. She thought Flynn had pointy teeth like some kind of monster. She has a chameleon as her only friend. She's practically begging her mother to go see these lanterns which requires her to go outside. She's been inside this tower her whole life. But what made her so special to keep her hidden and in the deep forest nonetheless. It can't be just her super long hair.

Rapunzel jumps back a little at the yelling. Silence and tension fills the room. Her hand is still on the top of chair. She looks up at me, and I can finally signal her to get away from the closet to not reveal Flynn. She thankfully complied and took her hand away. I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding.

Her mother groans and slumps back into a chair by the kitchen table.

"Great. Now I'm the bad guy."

Something about her seemed off to me. She played victim just a bit too much.

Rapunzel looks around until her eyes land on a painting I didn't notice before. I should have noticed it when I was looking around at the walls earlier. The painting was her sitting on a tree outside, at night. Above her was the "floating lights" that she was talking about. This confirmed my thought about those "floating lights" being the lanterns for the lost princess.

I see her look at the closet for a moment, then glance at me. I could see an idea pop into her head, but I'm not sure if I was going to like it. Especially considering her trying to blow Flynn and I's cover just to prove her worthiness.

R: "All I was going to say, Mother, is that... I know what I want for my birthday now."

"And what is that?"

R: "New paint. The paint made from the white shells you once brought me."

"Well, that is a very long trip, Rapunzel. Almost three days' time."

Rapunzel said this on the spot. She may not know much about the outside world, but I know now that she does have some sort of intelligence. She's forcing her mother away for a while so she can carry out whatever idea popped into her head.

R: "I just thought it was a better idea than the stars."

Her mother sighed and got up to hug her daughter, who won her mother over with the idea.

"You're sure you'll be all right on your own?"

R: "I know I'm safe as long as I'm here."

I suppose they're a family of actors.

As her mother was getting ready to leave, Rapunzel put together a basket of food that consisted of a large slice of bread, apples, and some thick slices of cheese.

"I'll be back in three days' time. I love you very much dear."

R: "I love you more."

"I love you most."

Her mother then starts going out the window on Rapunzel's hair and that's the last I see of her mother. I see Rapunzel still leaning her body out the window when I see her wave goodbye to her mother. After a moment she rushes back in, not bothering to take her hair off the hook.

I knew this was a good time to have that word with her, so I come out of her room.

Y: "Can you please tell me why on earth you thought that was a good idea?!"

1221 words