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