23 November 2022

Looking back over my notes, it seems this was right before I let myself relax about my old goal of 40k words, and made a new, more achievable goal to finish my draft before Nanowrimo ended. That helped things flow a lot better. This was also the day I realized I’d filled things in enough that I had to start making lists of what scenes or transitions I needed to write.

With the whole scenario around Aurora collapsing, I’m worried people will think I’m siding with Isaac, because he was “right” and Aurora did collapse. I don’t, necessarily. I think he kind of mishandled the situation; Aurora would have been much more amenable to the idea of staying put if he hadn’t approached it the way he had. This doesn’t excuse Aurora, either, of course. They’re both kind of dumb with this. But in a believable, “I can’t really blame them” kind of way. that said, I might make better use of the inherent time crunch of Aurora’s impending death to motivate her to at least see the castle once.

Then a wall slammed up into the dragon’s lower jaw from underneath, directing her attack away from Isaac and Phillip and providing them a shield. Aurora slid in from behind it and stopped beside Isaac. “I’m sorry, but nothing I’m trying seems to be working! She’s blocking my magic somehow!”

“Don’t worry, you’re helping plenty. Try to time your next attack just before the ballistae fire at her!” 

Aurora nodded, then moved away and tried to divert Gothel’s attention off of Isaac and Phillip. Isaac took the chance to look over his friend; he’d want a doctor to take a look just to be safe, but it seemed to be nothing more than a nasty concussion and a few broken ribs. At the very least, Phillip was still breathing.

Isaac heaved a sigh of relief and turned around just as a trio of ballista bolts dug into the dragon’s flank. The dragon screamed and swiped at Aurora in front of her, but Aurora diverted the attack with the Tower’s walls.

The blue humanoid core that was Gothel’s main self began backing away from Aurora, moving through the dragon’s body to somewhere closer to Isaac. Isaac quietly drew his sword and snuck closer, and when he got a chance, he drove his sword between the dragon’s scales directly into Gothel’s core self.

There was a momentary pause, and then the dragon began to writhe as blue smoke poured out from all its wounds. Isaac barely avoided the thing’s tail as it slammed the ground and buildings nearby.

Over the next ten to fifteen seconds, the form of the dragon shrank and faded away, leaving only a dark haired woman with Isaac’s sword in her back.

Isaac collapsed backwards and sat down next to Phillip, and just stared up at the sky. He couldn’t help the silly grin that spread over his face. They’d survived.

Once the dragon faded away and only Gothel remained, that’s when it really struck Aurora that this was real, it was really her.

Aurora walked over and pulled the sword out of Gothel’s back, then turned her body over so she could at least face the sky. Aurora’s heart churned. This was the woman she’d called “mother” for all those years. And she’d killed her.

Sure, Isaac was the one to actually do it. And at the time, Gothel was actively trying to kill Aurora, herself. But Aurora couldn’t help feeling guilty, and also that she’d just lost something very special to her.

She wasn’t sure if tears were mixed with the raindrops on her face. She wasn’t sure if Gothel deserved them if they were. Regardless, she wiped her face clean. “Whatever afterlife fairies might go to, if there even is one, I hope you’re at peace.” She closed Gothel’s eyes, then shifted so she held her knees tight against her chest.

Isaac watched her, and after a few moments passed, he asked, “What’s on your mind?”

Aurora shrugged. “I guess it feels like I’m a bad luck charm. Or worse. At least when it comes to parents. Frederick and Hannah are in a deep coma, and might never wake up. The Tower was ripped apart when Gothel came to chase after me. And as for Gothel herself, well…” She gestured to the corpse next to her. “It kind of makes you wonder, doesn’t it?”

(After escaping the Tower, as Gothel is turning into a dragon, in the version where they don’t see it happen)

The trip back was relatively uneventful. They spent most of the journey chatting about random thigs, especially the King Arthur novel series. Phillip recommended a few other novels as well, which Aurora intended to read once they got back home.

Aurora and Phillip could almost see the castle walls when a large shadow passed overhead. They looked up, and their eyes nearly bugged out when they saw the deep blue dragon soaring above them. “What the heck is it now?” Phillip said.

Then it landed a few hundred feet from them and began to swing its head left and right, sniffing at the air. When she looked more closely, Aurora realized that its eyes were milky white, and a horrible conclusion occurred to her. “Gothel?”

As soon as she spoke, the dragon’s head fixated on her. Only a moment later, Aurora and Phillip urged their horses to rush to the side, just before a blast of fire tore through the space they’d just been standing in.

“You run ahead and warn the city,” Aurora yelled. “Tell Isaac; he can summon the army and evacuate people or something!”

“What about you?” Phillip shouted back.

“I’ll keep her distracted,” Aurora replied. “It’s me she wants anyway!”

Phillip looked like he’d just bitten something extraordinarily bitter, but he nodded and wheeled his horse around. “If you die, Isaac and Maleficent are both gonna kill me. So don’t die!”

“Don’t plan on it!”

And with that, Phillip rode off.

The next hour or so felt like an eternity. Aurora pulled every trick she could think of to dodge, distract, and outrun the dragon-Gothel. Eventually, she decided her luck was running thin, and she made a break for the northern gates of the capital.

(After Aurora has left the Tower, on their way to the capital)

An hour later, though, and that tightness had turned to chest pain. Rapunzel started coughing here and there, though she did her best to hide it. Still, it wasn’t too long before Isaac pulled back alongside her. “Are you alright?”

Rapunzel faked a smile. “Yeah, I’ll be…” She coughed into her fist, then continued. “I’ll be fine.”

Isaac gave her a worried look. “Are you sure? We can stop and take a break, if you need us to.”

Rapunzel paused, then glanced down the road. “How far to the next town?”

Isaac looked over to Phillip, who replied, “It’s about a half hour. Maybe forty-five minutes.”

“I should be good until then.” Rapunzel started hacking again, then smiled weakly at Isaac. “But maybe once we get there, we should stop and rest for a while.”

“Alright.” There was clear doubt in Isaac’s eyes, but he didn’t press the issue, and pulled ahead again.

Now that he wasn’t watching for a moment, Rapunzel grimaced and clutched at her chest. “Thirty minutes, I only have to last thirty minutes.”

Her vision started to go white, but Rapunzel was so focused on staying conscious she didn’t notice. Then something hard crashed into her right side, and it took Rapunzel a moment to realize she’d fallen off her horse. The last thing she saw was Isaac jumping off his horse and running toward her, and then everything went black.

When she woke up, Rapunzel wasn’t sure where she was or what was happening. After a moment, however, she vaguely remembered falling off her horse; this must be an inn room somewhere. She sat up and looked around.

Isaac sat in a far corner of the room. He looked sullen, and bags had started to form under his eyes.

Rapunzel bit her lip. She was almost afraid to call out to him. “H-hey.”

Isaac’s eyes snapped to hers, and first shock, and then relief washed over his face. Then his expression hardened, and he glared at her; really glared, not the exasperated kind he’d given her during their banter while she was in the Tower. “Why didn’t you say something?”

Rapunzel wasn’t sure what to say. “I… I guess I didn’t want to worry you.”

There was a beat where he didn’t respond. Then he threw up his hands and said sarcastically, “Well, that worked wonderfully!” He ran his fingers through his hair. “I even asked you about it. You said you were fine.”

“I know. I know, it’s just… I wanted to prove I could do it, you know? Even without Gothel’s magic keeping me ‘healthy’.”

Isaac gestured to her and the bed. “Well, apparently, you can’t.”

Rapunzel flinched and shrank into herself. She wanted to argue, but what could she say? Here she was. He was right.

Isaac saw the expression on her face, and his own softened. “I’m sorry. That’s not… It’s not what I meant.”

“But it’s the truth.” Rapunzel couldn’t quite keep the pout out of her voice.

Isaac scowled. He took a deep breath. “So what do you want to do? If you do still want to keep pushing forward, we’ll need to come up with a plan to make sure you’re not pushing yourself too hard. But if you want to stay and wait here, that works, too.”

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19 November 2022

A lot of these scenes were really fun for me to write. I especially enjoyed the “duel” (if you can even call it that) with Maleficent. Maleficent’s actually being super gentle with Aurora, to try and honor Hannah’s last wish that Aurora get a chance to lead a full life. But it’s cool to see how she manipulates different things to interrupt Aurora and her plans. I do probably need to clarify what exactly’s going on in one or two spots, though.

And then there’s the whole bit as Isaac, Aurora, and Phillip get ready to leave town. It’s a glorious mess, and I love it. Aurora would have been more than happy to stay, if Isaac had figured out a better way to approach the subject; instead, he sparked her stubbornness. This doesn’t go well for her, but I blame the both of them for that, not just her. I am worried that it’ll look like I’m taking Isaac’s side; he’s right, in a way, that she is weak, and isn’t physically capable of everything she wants to be, at least no without some kind of assistance. But I disagree with his approach. Find ways around limitations, and ways to mitigate risks; don’t just say someone can’t do something.

By the time they reached the village, Rapunzel’s feet were killing her, and she was having a hard time breathing. So she was grateful when Isaac announced, “This is it.”

They entered the building and Isaac walked up to the innkeeper. “I’d like to book an additional room for the lady here.”

“Of course, Your–” The innkeeper cleared his throat. “Of course, good customer.” He looked curiously at Rapunzel, then noticed the horrible state of her hair. “Oh my goodness! That looks dreadful. Would you like me to call me wife to tend to your hair?”

Rapunzel shot him a grateful smile. “That would be lovely.”

The innkeeper nodded once, then turned around and hollered, “Honey!”

A short woman with graying hair waddled out from the back. “Yes, what is it, darling?”

“Could you attend to the hair of our most recent guest?” The innkeeper turned to Rapunzel. “And, hm, shall we say to give her the royal treatment?”

His wife’s eyes sparkled, and she took Rapunzel by the hand and sat her down in a chair in the back. “Now, how long would you like it, hon?”

Rapunzel, shrugged. “I’d… like to keep it on the longer side. I’ve had long hair my whole life, so cutting it too short would feel… strange. But I’ll let you decide.”

“Tell you what, then; I’ll cut it to the small of your back, and if you do decide you want it shorter later, you will be able to find someone to cut it then.”

She got to work, and soon the sound of her clippers snipping away filled the room. It was a strange feeling for Rapunzel; other than the rushed hack-job from Isaac, she’d never had her hair cut, and she felt like she should sense something. Instead, it was kind of just… happening.

While she trimmed, the woman asked, “Where are you from? I don’t recognize you, and you seem pretty young to be gallivanting through the woods with the prince.”

“Oh, um…” So they knew he was a prince already. Rapunzel would have to be extra careful if she didn’t want them to find out she was the lost princess. “I’m from the far side of the forest; I was helping with his search for Princess Aurora. I actually turn sixteen in a week or so.”

“I see, I see.” The woman nodded to herself. “And what about his friend, Phillip? He’s a nice young lad. I assume you’ve met him?”

Ah. Rapunzel chuckled, and almost shook her head before she caught herself. “He’s just a friend. He has excellent taste in reading material, and he’s a nice enough guy, but there’s nothing more between us.”

“Ah. Well, more’s the pity.” There was a last snip of the clippers, and the woman announced, “All finished. Come, let’s scrub it clean for you.”

Ten to fifteen minutes later, Rapunzel headed up to the room she’d been given while she dried her hair, a contented smile on her face.

Later that evening, there was knock on the door, and Isaac called out, “Mind if we come in? I had a few things I wanted to talk about.”

Rapunzel opened the door for them, and Isaac and Phillip stepped in. She looked over at Isaac. “What is it?”

“Well,” Isaac began, and cleared his throat. “I… had a thought. I’ve already sent letters to Mom and Dad, to ask them to come here, Back then, I didn’t think you were ever going to leave the Tower.”

“Right, okay.” Rapunzel nodded.

“And given how much trouble you had just getting here, I was wondering if it wouldn’t be easier to just… wait here, maybe?”

Ordinarily, Rapunzel would think that was a great idea. Especially given the way her feet hurt. But something about the way Isaac was approaching this bothered her. “Why?”

Isaac frowned. “Why what?”

“Why are you suggesting this?” She narrowed her eyes at him. “You don’t think I can do this, do you?”

“No! No, that’s not what I’m trying to say. It’s just… You’re not used to traveling, and you mentioned having a weak body, so I was trying to consider all the options, and…”

Rapunzel’s stare turned into a full-on glare. She’d taken care of herself just fine in the Tower for years, thank you very much. She could handle a little trip to the capital. “I’m going to need to get used to traveling at some point, so it might as well be now. We’re going.” Isaac began to protest, but Rapunzel ignored him and headed for the door. “Good night.”

She was in the hallway before she realized her mistake. She turned around and went back in and said, “Actually, this is my room. Could I ask you to leave? I need to sleep.”

Isaac threw his hands up in exasperation, but the boys did leave, and Rapunzel was left alone with her thoughts.

They did manage to find a horse to buy for Rapunzel, and set out early the next morning. It was quite a gentle horse, and Phillip gave her quite a few helpful pointers. Still, it didn’t take long to start chafing, and Rapunzel began to regret her stubborn outburst the night before. Not that she’d ever admit it.

Duel with Maleficent

Aurora looked in shock at the hedge of thorns surrounding this part of the palace. Had Maleficent done this? How? When?

She only walked in a couple of feet when she saw Maleficent standing there, almost as if the witch-queen had been waiting for her.

“I thought I told you not to risk this foolishness,” Maleficent said softly. Her eyes burned with green light, however, and her mouth was set in a grim line.

“And I can’t just leave them like this!” Aurora yelled back. “If that costs me my life, fine! I’m going to die soon anyway!”

The lights around Maleficent flared, and she glared at Aurora. “Do you really think so little of your life?” she demanded firmly. “Would you spit on the weight of the sacrifice Hannah made for you!?”

“I don’t even understand why she did it!” Aurora cried back. “I’m not worth something like that!” She ran forward and reached out to grab Maleficent’s intelligence; she didn’t want to hurt her, just incapacitate her enough to get past and…

Wait. What was she doing? Aurora stopped short and looked around. What was with all the roses and thorns? And who was that tall, intimidating woman glaring down at her, with her hand outstretched?

Then her memories all snapped back into place, and Aurora’s eyes widened. She looked up at the woman she now recognized as Maleficent.

“You will not set foot inside their resting place,” Maleficent promised.

Aurora bit her lip and reached out again. Maybe if she stole away Maleficent’s speed of thought–

Then everything went black, and Aurora stumbled forward. She stretched out her arms, trying to feel for where she was, when Maleficent’s voice whispered from beside her, “I have the magic and abilities of twelve fairies combined, with over fifty years of practice using them. I can see the threads you reach for before you can even grab them. What chance do you think you have?”

Aurora’s sight returned to her, and tears spilled out her eyes to mix with the rain on her cheeks.. It wasn’t even that Maleficent was right. It was the fact that Maleficent was holding back. If she’d wanted to, it would have been simple for her to keep Aurora’s memories or eyesight locked away, and Aurora wouldn’t have been able to do anything.

Was there anything Aurora could do? Did she have anyway of beating Maleficent’s reaction time? Then she remembered a bit about fate-spinning she’d read, specifically the part where masters could control the very flow of time. She stilled her breathing, strained her ears, and reached out for the faint sound of a clock.

Maleficent’s eyes went wide, and she looked afraid for the first time. “Don’t! Aurora…”

Then Aurora grabbed something and yanked hard. In a moment, she vanished, leaving Maleficent alone in the courtyard.

Maleficent’s shoulders drooped, and her grip on her staff tightened. When she spoke, there was a catch in her voice, the only evidence she was holding back tears. “You foolish, foolish girl.”

[First half of Isaac’s fight with the dragon here.]

For a second, Aurora wasn’t sure her attempt at fate-spinning had done anything. Then she realized Maleficent wasn’t moving, and the rain had frozen. Aurora smiled and laughed; she’d actually done it! Then her smile disappeared as she realized something. How was she going to get back?

Back to first Tower exit

Still, it wasn’t that bad, and she kept herself distracted by chatting with the boys.

Halfway through the morning, she felt a little short of breath, like her chest was too tight. Aurora chose to ignore it, however; she’d insisted on continuing, and there was no way she was going to give Isaac more ammo to tease her with later.

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27 September 2022

This immediately felt off as soon as I wrote it. It wasn’t until I was in the middle of work the next day that I figured out why, though; I wasn’t staying true to my image of Hanako. This Hanako is all “lone samurai” angst and sorrow and the world is terrible. The Hanako I originally established? She was willing and able to find the positive in almost any situation. Doesn’t mean she doesn’t have angst or angsty moments, but I try to remember to add her cheerful, almost cavalier attitude.

As a result, I actually rewrote the scene here, and expanded it. We’ll get to it once we reach October 6th and 8th entries for this year.

The town made no effort to welcome outsiders, but still, Hanako was able to get a room at the inn with little trouble. After she was certain she was alone, she finally pulled back her hood and heaved a sigh of relief. She ate a simple meal and went to sleep.

The next morning, however, she woke to find a battalion of the shogun’s army had camped nearby during the night. A squadron of them marched straight into the center of town; the commander ordered his men to take food and supplies, along with anything else they fancied, all while spouting some rhetoric about the glorious fight against youkai.

In her travels, Hanako had sometimes run into towns ransacked like this; destitute, heartbroken, and usually starving. The army were like locusts, devouring everything in their path.

Despite that, she knew better than to get involved; she couldn’t take on an entire army, no matter her strength and skill. Especially not one designed to hunt oni like her.

But when the commander moved to grab a young woman, Hanako caught him by the wrist. “You leave her - and the other members of the village - alone.”

The commander yanked his hand back and reached for his sword, sneering at her. “It is their duty, as citizens under the shogun, to serve our needs!! We defend them from the army of monsters, so this is only right!”

“Protect them?” Hanako asked quietly. “Like you protected Naha, where the people are so starved they’re boiling leather? Like you protected Tokushima, where the march of you feet turned their fields into wastelands? Or Gifu? Wakayama? Makuhari?” Hanako spat on the ground. “If you want to hunt monsters, commander, perhaps start with the rapists and thieves in your own army.”

The commander’s face burned red, and he barked an order to the rest of the squad. The five men all drew their swords and circled around Hanako.

The girl she’d saved had fled with the rest of the villagers, thankfully leaving the area clear. Hanako was grateful for that; less chance the soldiers would try to use someone as leverage. Hanako inhaled deeply, and drew her sword out only the first inch. Her rage snarled, eager for the fight.

As in on cue, all five soldiers jumped toward her at the same time, only to swing at empty air. Hanako danced between them, her sword flashing here and there, almost unseen in the dawn light. Only seconds had passed, but Hanako stood with her sword to the commander’s throat, while behind her his men’s armor clattered to the ground.

The sweat beading on the commander’s pale face took the bite out of his glare. “You will regret this!”

Hanako pushed the blade just a little harder against his skin. “Oh? Are you saying it would be better if I killed you and saved myself the trouble?”

The commander’s face turned bone white, and Hanako whispered, “As of this moment, this village is under my protection. If you don’t want to me to bleed you like the animals you are, you will take your men and never return. Am I clear?”

With a nod, the commander backed away, then turned and ran. His men followed after him, struggling to carry all their armor with them.

Hanako sighed, then sank to the ground against a wall. A few of the villagers gingerly stepped out onto the street. One, an elderly man Hanako assumed was the chief, stomped over to her. “What have you done!?”

“I saved a young woman,” Hanako replied tiredly.

“At the cost of the village! When they return, it will be a while battalion, bringing torches! Mark my words, there won’t be a building left standing!”

Of course. What else had she expected? Even without revealing her horn, she got the same reactions. “I’ll protect your village, don’t worry, old man. And you haven’t seen what I’ve seen. Once the army’s gone through… Well, let’s just say I don’t even call that surviving.”

The old man tried to rant at her some more, but Hanako tuned him out. Instead, she stood up, and began heading for her room in the inn.

On the way, the woman she’d saved stopped her. “Thank you.”

Hanako smiled back. “You’re welcome. You okay?”

The woman nodded.

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