Gothel had lived a sheltered life, hidden away by her parents in a tall tower for what they had claimed to be in aid of her safety. She knew she was cursed never to walk in the sunlight again, yet that did not prevent her from attempting to get out. If only she had been given a kind of magic that was useful instead of what she had been dealt by the cruel hands of fate.
Not to say that she had not made any friends in her time within the tower.
Unknown to her parents who had locked her in the secluded place surrounded by a thicket of trees, hidden away where no one would find her, someone else lived in the tower. An old woman with a hunched back had lived for years within the solitude of the tower. She bustled about, keeping herself busy whilst she waited for someone to find her like she had been told they would.
Rapunzel – or, as Gothel came to name her, Mother Rapunzel. She was kindly and bubbly, always babbling to herself whilst she made Gothel's favourite food from what she could find in the recesses of the dark, lonely basement. For someone who had spent most of her life alone, Gothel couldn't help but think how Mother Rapunzel seemed quite happy living this way. Although, she always suspected that Rapunzel only acted like that because she had been forced to make do with what hand she had been dealt.
Perhaps that was why Gothel had finally decided to come clean about her powers.
Sitting by the fireplace, tugging at the gloves that covered her hands which had once been called dangerous and made for those who were greedy, Gothel watched Mother Rapunzel closely as she always did. Surveying the ageing wrinkles and the speculative green eyes that focussed on her knitting whilst rocking back and forth in the rickety old chair that was falling to pieces, Mother Rapunzel probably looked rather beautiful when she was a young woman. Alas, the courage failed her to tell her so or to ask of those days. She didn't want to pry into the mysterious and intriguing yesteryears of her closest companion.
"Mother Rapunzel," Gothel finally said, her voice wavering slightly as she clenched her eyes shut. "I wish to tell you something."
Continuing her knitting, Rapunzel smiled, humming to herself as she looked up briefly at Gothel before looking down once more.
"Actually, I want to show you," she said, taking off the gloves and holding her hands out for Rapunzel to take.
With a gentle titter, she obliged, laying down her knitting upon her knee for a moment.
Loosening a breath, a yellow-gold light set aglow Gothel's hands and Rapunzel's, the skin becoming clearer and younger until she was a young woman not much older than eighteen. Gothel smiled at Rapunzel, giggling to herself joyfully, yet she failed to see the scheming behind the kind green eyes she trusted so dearly.
Word Count = 500
Written for the WattpadDisneys's prompt for Halloween Vault 3D
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Spookerella | Horror Short Stories
Horror- Created for the Halloween Vault contests hosted by Wattpad - On Halloween, things always go bump in the night in the lonely pages of Spookerella. Whilst the dead wander the earth, haunting those still among the living, Spookerella waits for a fool...
