Golden Angel

Part 5

<> 28ish Years Later <>
Rapunzel laid on the pile of hay she had made and tried to get some sleep. It was hard for her to sleep sometimes, especially if it was too hot or too cold. But today was a perfect day. Just as she was about to fall asleep, she was startled awake. By what, however, she didn't know. She sat up and looked out of her little cave and saw two women. One had long, blonde hair, and the other had short, dark hair. Rapunzel had never seen them before. She stood up and walked to the mouth of the cave and called out to them.
"Hey!"
The two women stopped and looked around. She called louder.
"Over here!"
The women turned in her direction and Rapunzel stuck her arms through the bars and waved them.
When they reached the cave, Rapunzel asked, "Who are you?"
"I'm Emma." the blonde one answered. "And this is my mom, Mary-Margaret. Or Snow White. Who are you?"
"My name is Rapunzel."
"Seriously?" Emma said, rolling her eyes. "She's real too?" she asked her mother.
"Apparently." Mary-Margaret answered. "I've never met her either."
"Aren't you supposed to be in a tower or something? Why are you locked up in a cave?" Emma asked.
"Well, I was in a tower. Until my mother got mad and sent me away. Then when I got here, another woman locked me up here."
"Wow, tough luck." Emma replied.
"Yeah."
"I've never seen you guys before." Rapunzel said.
"We're not from here." Mary-Margaret said. "Well I mean, we were, but that's not important right now."
"We fell through a portal and got stuck here." Emma said. "Now we're just trying to find our way back."
"Oh. Where did you fall from?"
"Storybrooke."
"Storybrooke? I've never heard of it."
"I wonder why you weren't there. . ." Emma wondered aloud. "I mean, all of the other major fairytale characters are. Why not Rapunzel?"
"Because this place was protected from the Curse." Rapunzel answered.
"You know about that?"
"Yes. The woman who put me here is the one who cast the protection spell to protect us from my mother's curse."
"Whoa whoa whoa, wait! Mother? Regina is your mother?" Emma asked.
"You know my mother?" Rapunzel gasped.
"Kinda wish I didn't." Emma chuckled.
"I don't understand." Mary-Margaret said. "Regina was my step-mother. I never knew she had an actual daughter."
"She kept me in that tower my whole life. She didn't want anyone to know about me."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
"How about we get you out of here?" Emma said.
"That sounds great!" Rapunzel said excitedly.
Emma looked around and found a large stone. She pounded the lock with it until it broke and fell to the ground.
"Oh my gosh, thank you!" Rapunzel squealed as she burst out of the cave. She rushed up to Emma and threw her arms around her neck. "Thank you!" she repeated.
"No problem." Emma replied, awkwardly patting Rapunzel's back. The reaction had taken her by surprise.
"Well, we should really get going." Mary-Margaret said. "Would you like to come with us?"
"No, thank you. I'm going to try to find my prince!"
"Alright, well, good luck with that." said Emma.
"Goodbye, Rapunzel! It was nice meeting you!" Mary-Margaret said as she and Emma walked away.
"You too!" Rapunzel called back.

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~A Few Days Later in Storybrooke~
A couple of hours after she and Mary-Margaret got back from the Enchanted Forest, Emma went to Regina's office and knocked on the door.
"Come in." Regina called.
"Hey, I, uh, wanted to talk to you about something." Emma said.
"What is it?" the mayor asked as she folded her hands on her desk.
"When Mary-Margaret and I were in the Enchanted Forest, we met someone."
"Shocking." Regina rolled her eyes.
"She says she's your daughter."
Regina's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open slightly. "Rapunzel?" she whispered. Then she stood up. "How is she? Was she okay?"
"So it's true? Rapunzel is your daughter?"
"Yes, but you didn't answer the question! How. . .is she?" Regina asked, and it looked as though she were about to cry.
"Well, she wasn't great when we got there. Apparently, your crazy mother found her and locked her in a cave. But we let her out."
"Why didn't she come back with you?"
"Something about finding her prince. And I don't blame her for not wanting to come back to where you are. You did keep her in a tower for most of her life."
Regina glared at Emma.
"Why in the h-ll would you do that to your daughter?"
"Because. . ." Regina hesitated. "She was all I had left of Daniel."
Now it was Emma's turn to drop her jaw.
"Daniel? The stable boy your mom killed? You had a kid with him?"
"Yes."
"Wow!"
"What?" Regina asked defensively.
"I just never pictured you as having kids of your own. She said you sent her away. Why would you do that if you loved her so much?"
Regina sighed. "Because she disobeyed me. I warned her, and she still didn't listen."
"Harsh. What did she do?"
"I think that's all you need to know about her. Thank you for letting me know how she's doing, but you can go now."
Emma looked annoyed at being kicked out, but she left anyway. Regina shut the door behind her and then leaned against it. She smiled broadly and started crying
happy-tears. All these years, she had thought Rapunzel was dead because she hadn't been able to find her in town. But she was alive! And somehow, Regina wanted to find her and make things right.