14 May 2024

Reworking the last bit of the previous post, and then continuing from there with Rapunzel’s perspective. Yes, the Arthurian legends are a novel series in this universe; no, I haven’t nailed down which form of “cannon” is the “cannon” of the fictional series. Nor am I likely to stress too much about it.

…”You’re coming with us, aren’t you? I mean, we finally found you.”

Rapunzel squeaked and started to shake her head, but Isaac either didn’t notice or didn’t care. “It’ll be great. Mom and Maleficent will have someone new to fuss over, and you’ll get to finally be with your family. You can learn to be a proper princess, and since you're the oldest, you can take over the kingdom while I discover new things and build foreign connections. Doesn’t that sound grand?”

It was only then Isaac noticed the panic on Rapunzel’s face. She sucked in a deep breath and shook her head. “N-no, it does not. Th-thank you.” Even as Isaac opened his mouth to protest, she turned her back on him. “I think you should go, now.” She snapped her fingers, and suddenly there was no floor under Isaac’s feet. He fell onto a long, winding ramp that never seemed to end, Finally, it dumped him…

Rapunzel took a few moments to catch her breath. When she turned around, though, her face turned bright scarlet.

Phillip stood their, shuffling awkwardly, a strange expression on his face. “Erm. I, uh… Sorry about him. Isaac can be… He’s a bit of a dumbass sometimes.” He scratched his cheek, then asked, “Just checking, but, he’s okay, right?”

Rapunzel curled her shoulders in and nodded. “J-just… He’s just outside.”

With a nod, Phillip scratched the back of his neck and took another look around the room. “Oh, wow! Did you paint that? That’s Percival, right?

Instantly, Rapuzel’s expression brightened. “You read the King Arthur books?” When Phillip nodded, she pressed, “How far have you gotten?”

“I’m all caught up, even with the latest book [author]’s released. You?”

“The old lady just appeared in court and told Percival off for being too polite.” Rapunzel grimaced. “I… don’t actually know how far behind I am. Is that the latest one?”

“They just released the next one after that a month or so ago; it ends at a bit of a cliffhanger, but I love it. The dynamic between Perce, Gawain, and Bors is amazing.”

For a moment, Rapunzel let herself get excited, but then a stray thought occurred to her. If the latest one only came out a month ago, she’d likely never get a chance to see who [author] resolved the latest cliffhanger. She’d barely have time to read the newest book, honestly. Tears started flowing down her cheeks, which sent Phillip into a panic.

“He,:” Rapunzel finally asked. “He d-does know I’m go, going to die soon, right? The p-prince, I mean.”

It took quite a while for Phillip to respond. “I think, for us, we’re still processing the fact that you’re real, not just a story told to keep us in line and away from magic. What that means, for us or for you… I don’t think that’s hit yet. At least for me. And Isaac… well, he’s a bit tunnel-visioned at the best of times. Even if he knows, I don’t think it’s hit him yet.”

28 January 2023

So, I actually went back to Godhunter for a bit. I had some ideas on how the Seeress questline might progress, and wanted to get a feel for the place, if I ever do get around to writing that one. There’s a lot of options.

I think the funnest part about these, even when I first started, was seeing how “impossible” I could make it feel - take the ordinary weaknesses of a power, such as “checkmating” someone with foresight, and block those one way or another - and then figuring out how the Reaper would defeat them anyway. So, yeah. There are plans in the works. It’s just a question of if I’m in the write frame of mind to tackle it, and no other, more pressing bits I want to write.

I’m also quite fond of this format of “discovery”. Put myself there, and see what happens. This trick obviously won’t work for everyone; some people prefer to put a bit more distance, and take a much broader look at everything and how the pieces fit together, and there are a lot of advantages to that approach. But this, it just feels fun, and still helps me practice my narrative writing skills, as well.

The first thing that strikes me as I arrive in the main thoroughfare of the Seeress’ city is how bright it is. Not at all what I might initially expect of an exploitive, tyrannical god-queen. The street is wide, probably the equivalent of six lanes of traffic, complete with a median in the middle featuring trees planted at regular intervals.

On either side, the buildings are tall, probably six to seven stories, and every other building is draped with a long, teal banner depicting a single, open eye.

The road leads to a large pyramid, the top third made of glass, overlooking the city. Rather than head there, though, I turn off onto one of the side streets. I’m guessing the underbelly of the city could tell me a lot… if I can even understand enough of how that works to envision something semi-plausible.

A few random twists and turns later, and I find myself in a cramped alley, with pipes holding who knows what running into the buildings on either side. I find an old blind beggar huddled away in one of the corners.

In a soft and soothing tone, I say “Hey, there, old-timer.”

His head snaps my direction. When he opens his mouth to speak, I notice he is missing many of his teeth. “H-have you come to take me away?”

“No. I’m new around here, actually.” I pull out a loaf of bread from the ether and hand it to him. “Here.”

It takes him a moment for him to realize what it is, but when he dows, tears start streaming down his face, and he digs in.

I wait for him to finish eating. “What can you tell me about this city? What should I watch out for?”

The beggar hesitates for a bit, then points a trembling finger. “Don’t go that way; Her Ladyship has it blocked off. I don’t know what it is but they’re not very nice with anyone as gets too close.” He turns and points another way. “Madame Gaskal lives that way. She’s kind. Her words are gruff, but if you ever need help, she’s the one.”

He pauses, and in a whisper he adds, “And never go out on the main road on a Tuesday. That’s when Her Ladyship goes on her grand procession.”

I raise my eyebrow. “Grand procession?”

He nods, and opens his mouth to explain, when we hear a fanfare of trumpets. “There it is!” he exclaims. “Quick, hide!” He squeezes himself as tightly into the corner as he can.

Curious. For me, it’s a Saturday. The benefits of mental travel, I suppose. I thank the man, and with a snap of my fingers I reappear on the roof of a building overlooking the main thoroughfare.

The Seeress sits on a palanquin carried by eight tall, bronze-skinned men. Her skin is like copper, with wavy, raven-black hair falling about her shoulders. Her clothes are white, as is the veil used to cover her face.

I notice that the palanquin is decorated with numerous eye motifs. I wonder if that plays into the Reaper’s hunt at all? Rather than killing herself, or yielding to the Reaper directly, does she put out her own eyes to keep from seeing anything? …Somehow, that idea makes the whole thing even more macabre, and not an avenue I necessarily want to pursue.

Behind her comes a procession of priests and priestesses, all wearing blindfolds. Each blindfold has a single red eye painted on it. Kind of like the Sheikah or Yiga clan symbols, only without the teardrop. It does make me wonder; are each of these priests and priestesses blind? If they are, did that happen naturally, or did the Seeress blind them herself?

As the procession makes its way down the street, I have an epiphany. One of the things she’s doing here is to collect more servants to replace any she’s lost. What happened to those, then? How harsh is she with the servants’ failings? I already noticed on the main street that everything is very orderly; every tree, building banner, etc. all must go in its exact place. What if she gets harsh when one of the servants disturbs that? She wouldn’t even need to kill them every time; she might be satisfied blinding them. Then she could reassign them somewhere else, or just cast them out of her palace/temple/pyramid. I wonder what that old beggar did to earn her wrath?

17 November 2022

Well, here it is. We’re finally caught up, or at least as caught up as I’m going to get. I want to keep that one week buffer to give myself time to type everything in after I’ve written it.

At some point, I realized that after Maleficent’s discussion with Isaac on the dangers of fate-spinning, and considering his own stubbornness, there’s no way he’d agree to help Aurora figure it out. He would, however, be likely to send Phillip instead, and Phillip’s in so far over his head that he’s pretty much willing to roll with whatever.

Phillip smiled. “Aurora it is, then.” He scrunched his eyebrows together. “You do have a plan, though, right? To make sure you don’t vanish everyone?”

[skipping how she convinces him for now]

“Alright, then.” Phillip leaned back. “What do you need me to do?”

Aurora stared up at him in shock.

“Oi, don’t give me that look. You’re my friend, and Isaac sent me to keep an eye on you. Least I could do is help you try, right?”

Tears welled up in Aurora’s eyes, and she laughed. “Come on, then. Let’s go.”

The trip there went a lot faster than the trip back had been. Part of that was because it was just the two of them but part of it also had to do with the fact they better understood Aurora’s limits. Soon they arrived at the forest where the Tower was hidden away, and then the tower itself.

“Would it be better if I waited out here?” Phillip asked. 

Aurora nodded. “I’ll try to be quick. The Tower will let you know if something goes wrong.” She moved to the base of the Tower, which opened up to let her in.

Gothel had shut herself in her room ever since that witch had blinded her. She’d barely been able to eat, though the Tower provided plenty of food for her, and sleep evaded her. Her daughter, her Rapunzel, was like them. Like that woman. The one who’d taken her sisters away.

Gothel could have used the boy’s sight to at least partially heal herself, but she did not. She wanted nothing of his. It must be his fault. He’d changed Rapunzel somehow. Gothel snarled, then forced herself to calm back down.

Rapunzel’s words dug at her heart, but Gothel couldn’t understand them. So she stayed in her room, cycling through all the negative thoughts, until she caught a whiff of something familiar.

Rapunzel had returned to the Tower.

Edited bits to get the following:

“Can I leave the kingdom in your hands for a few days?”

“That would be unwise.” Maleficent shook her head. “Even were I well-regarded in the kingdom, which I am not, this is a critical time in your young reign. You need to prove that you are not a puppet, whether to me or anyone else.”

Isaac grimaced, and clenched his fist as he looked out over the parapet. Was there anyone else he could send?

A moment of inspiration struck him, and he gestured to one of his guards. “Please fetch my my friend, Phillip Charmande.”

Phillip didn’t really understand what Isaac had been talking about. Something about cobwebs, and fate, and his sister. All Phillip knew was that Rapunzel had gotten herself in over her head somehow, and Isaac wanted him to watch out for her.

He’d barely traveled two or three hours when he ran into Rapunzel off the side of the road. She was breathing heavily, and Phillip figured the ache in her chest was back. Her horse had been tethered beside her.

“You know, your brother was worried enough before he thought of how weak you get,” Phillip said. “Wouldn’t it have been better to let him know what you were doing?”

Rapunzel started and looked up at him. “Phillip?”

Phillip grinned at her. “In the flesh!”

“But… How? Why? I didn’t think anyone would notice–”

“That you left?” Phillip looked at her askance. “You do know that you’re a princess right? Even if you don’t want to be. And where you were gone for so long… People notice you now.”

Rapunzel scowled and looked away. Phillip dismounted and walked up to her. “Why didn’t you ask someone to go with you? You collapsed a couple times on the trip back, didn’t you? What if that happened again?”

“I, just… I don’t know.”

“Uh huh. And what’s all this about people disappearing from existence and fate and cobwebs and things?”

Rapunzel sighed. “It’s complicated.”

“Yeah, I got that much.” When she didn’t say anything, Phillip said, “Look, Rapunzel–”

“It’s Aurora.”

Phillip blinked. “Huh?”

Rapunzel - Aurora - looked away and rubbed her arms. “You can call me Aurora. It seemed rude not to use the name my parents gave me after they… well.”

Phillip smiled. “Aurora it is, then.” He scrunched his eyebrows together. “You do have a plan, though, right? To make sure you don’t vanish everyone?”

“Not…exactly.” She looked down the road. “I know Moth - Gothel had some books about fate-spinning in her hidden library. So I was going to find them and see if I could figure anything out.”

“Alright, then.” Phillip leaned back. “What are we waiting for?”

Aurora stared up at him in shock.

“Oi, don’t give me that look…

Back to new stuff

Aurora crept through the Tower. She didn’t know where Gothel was, or if she was even still in the Tower, and she didn’t particularly want to find out. Even in the best-case scenario, Aurora didn’t think that encounter was going to be pleasant. It still felt weird, though, coming back like this. Kind of like coming home from a long vacation, only to discover you weren’t welcome anymore.

She made her way up the stairs to the meadow, and was surprised to find the animals still there. She was pleased to see they were well fed, and Fenrir was far more energetic now that Gothel wasn’t stealing his health to cover Aurora’s.

“Say, Tower,” Aurora said. “Would it be possible to let them out? When I leave, I mean. I don’t want them to stay here alone, and definitely not alone with her.”

The ground rippled in a way Aurora knew meant yes. She smiled and said, “Thank you.”

From there, she made her way through the Tower to the library. She went to a very specific bookshelf in the back left, pushed the switch, and [magical thing to open the door]. The bookshelf swung free, and she entered Gothel’s hidden library.

Aurora looked around at the piles of books and scattered documents everywhere. That was the downside to this place; nothing was organized the way it was in the main library.

Fortunately, Aurora had an idea of where to look. Soon, she was skimming through documents, looking for anything that might be useful. In particular, she looked for any references to fate-spinning or lifting curses.

Whenever she found something that looked promising, she grinned and stuffed it in her satchel. After an hour or so, it was already full to bursting, but Aurora wanted to look for a bit longer, just in case there was anything else she could use.

Then the Tower banged the door open and closed to warn her about something. Aurora jumped, then snuck into the main library and peered around the main bookshelves to the main entrance.

There, Gothel was sniffing the air, turning her head this way and that. Her eyes were milky white, and she kept one hand on a wall or bookshelf as she walked. “Somewhere, somewhere, here,” she said, her voice almost sing-song. “My Rapunzel is here somewhere. The nose knows, and I can smell her.”

Aurora’s breath caught in her throat. Had she ever seen Gothel this bad? She took a deep breath and began to stealth through towards the doors.

Then Gothel paused, and turned straight toward Aurora. If Aurora hadn’t known better, she would have sworn Gothel could see her. Gothel moved to block Aurora’s path to the door. With a snap of her fingers, the bookshelves joined together to keep Aurora from slipping through them and past Gothel.

A horrid grin spread on Gothel’s face, and she began walking down the aisle in Aurora’s direction. “My darling Rapunzel has finally come home! But she’s been a naughty, naughty girl. For she’s gone and become a witch, and even stolen my eyesight away!”

Aurora backed away, slowly at first and then more an more frantically. Soon, she’d backed herself up against the wall, while Gothel slowly advanced on her.

“So what will we do with this naughty girl? What should be done now she’s become a witch?”

Gothel reached a hand out as if to stroke Aurora’s cheek. Aurora barely held back a scream, and desperately reached behind her, hoping for a way out to appear. The Tower obliged, and Aurora turned the new doorknob and practically fell back into the hallway. She slammed the door in Gothel’s face, then raced down the stairs.

Stone clattered on stone when Gothel forced the Tower to open the way for her. “Dear Rapunzel, is my dear Rapunzel trying to run away? Where do you think you can go?” She whistled a tune, and a few steps ahead of Aurora, the floor slammed up into the ceiling, cutting her off. 

Aurora scowled and shouted, “Tower!” To her right, a door appeared, and she rushed through it into the lake room. She began sprinting along the shore; it was only moments, however, before she started to wheeze, and the pain in her chest returned.

Behind her, Gothel slowly pursued her, walking at the same even gait. “Dearest Rapunzel, such a sick little thing. All I wanted was to nurse her and make it better. And yet she blinded me.”

Aurora glanced back and yelped. Gothel’s face had transformed into a bestial snarl, and leathery wings sprouted from her back. The nails on her hands lengthened into claws. “Yet she blinded me! Why, Rapunzel? WHY!?”

She leaped into the air and dove at Aurora. Aurora rolled to the side, narrowly escaping her claws, and kept running. The Tower created a door in the wall closest to her and stretched the room to make it even easier to reach.

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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.”

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