11 November 2022

This, at least up through today (the 21st), is my most prolific day so far this month. Including some edits to earlier entries, I broke 2500 words this day. Probably not that much for the people who can actually hit 50k, but I felt pretty proud of myself.

Most of that was a lot of short spurts, and I was all over the place writing. I have scenes from many different sections of the book. I also did some background work (for example, naming all twelve of Gothel’s “sisters” and the gifts they gave Maleficent, so I could reference that). I might add more commentary throughout.

She headed up the stairs to her paint studio, with the canvases rolling along the banister behind her. She opened the door, and instantly felt more at ease; there was nothing quite like the gentle atmosphere in here to calm her down.

The far wall was covered in a gorgeous sunset over rolling hills; she’d painted most of that over three years ago, and had continued to touch it up or add tweaks since then. To her left, the wall was covered in a sun-dappled forest, while her right depicted an ocean front, both based on illustrations in the books Mother had brought her. Everything was lit brightly by the skylight in the ceiling; even on rainy days, the Tower could emit light of its own to compensate.

The space itself looked cluttered at first glance, with mounds of sketchbooks piled up against the ocean-side wall. But everything had its place, and her workspace was completely free of the clutter; only her tools and her current project were allowed there.

Rapunzel set her things down, and put away the blank canvases and other supplies. She sat at her work station and stretched, then looked at the white canvas before her.

“What should I do today?” She flipped through some of the art books she owned for ideas, but nothing really caught her attention. She could paint another landscape, perhaps the actual view from the window again, but she wanted to do something different today.

Once Rapunzel recognized that, she paused, then glanced over at the piles of sketchbooks. Many of them, she knew, had been filled with her failed attempts to draw people, and faces in particular. Even under the best circumstances, faces were hard, and it’s not like Rapunzel had very many opportunities to see them in person.

She waffled for a moment, then decided to go for it. Even if it didn’t turn out, she’d learn something, right? She flipped to an image of Queen Hannah of Lowenveil. Rapunzel had always been impressed with how kind her face looked; she nodded to herself and began to paint.

It was an hour or two later when the door opened behind her. “Rapunzel? Are you in here? I’ve–”

Mother’s words cut off, and Rapunzel turned to see her frozen in shock, just staring at Rapunzel’s painting. Rapunzel cursed under her breath; the image was recognizable enough, and who knows what that made Mother think.

Nothing for it but to bluff her way through, then. “Ah, hello, Mother! What do you think? I thought she had a kind face, so I decided to start with her.”

“Kind… kind face…” Mother’s eyes shifted off the painting to Rapunael, and started to regain their focus. “Ah, yes, dear, you’ve quite improved.” She looked back to the painting. “Did you know I met her once?”

Oh, yes. Rapunzel knew all about that. She faked a smile and said, “Oh? When was that?”

“Oh, years and years ago. It was the last time…” Mother’s eyes lost focus again, and her gaze moved to the walls. “Oh, Therese! These look loverly, as always.”

Well, shoot. Rapunzel had forgotten; Maleficent had been there when she was taken, too, and if Mother thought Rapunzel was one of her old sisters, things had gotten really bad. Rapunzel stood up and turned Mother away from the room and toward the door. “So you’ve told me. Come on, let’s go sit down for a bit.”

Rapunzel gently led Mother out of the room and shut the door behind her. She still didn’t know the details, but Rapunzel always wondered; what exactly had Maleficent done, way back when, that had scarred a fairy like Mother this much?

It bothered me that I hadn’t finished this scene. Also, I’ll eventually remove any references to Frieda and Phillip flirting; it was writing this it clicked why that was weird.

“...can you?”

Lena frowned and was about to retort, when Frieda exclaimed, “Ooh! Weird magicy bits!”

“What sorts of magic?” Lena moved up next to her. What she saw impressed her; it was surprisingly subtle magic, especially for how complicated it was.

“Did you find something?” The prince came over to see what they were looking at, but couldn’t see a thing. If he could, Lena would’ve been shocked.

Lena answered, “There’s a spell here that covers quite a large area. It diverts people around it, so no one can get close, then lightly touches their memory so they don’t realize anything’s wrong. It’s fresh, too; whoever made it must have just finished resetting it.”

The prince nodded thoughtfully. “That matches my theories well enough. Can you get us through?”

Frieda grabbed the threads of magic and pulled them apart. “Yep! Step right through here; once you’re inside the boundary, it recognizes you as safe.”

The boys stepped in, and Lena was about to follow when she noticed a blue spark from the magic in Frieda’s hands. “Wait. Does this magic feel familiar to you at all?”

Frieda frowned and pulled the threads closer. Then she shrieked and backed away. “Nuh-uh! No way! I’m not getting anywhere near that madwoman again!” Once Lena heard that, she started backing away, too.

The prince turned to the two fairies, a wary expression on his face. “Madwoman? Who are you talking about?”

“It’s that one - Gothel. The baby-snatcher,” Lena muttered. “She’s the reason we wound up imprisoned last time.”

“If I’d known she’d lost it that badly, I never would have asked to join her back in Lowenveil,” Frieda added.

Isaac raised an eyebrow. “You know who I am, right? Who did you think we were looking for?” When neither of the fairies could give him a response, he asked, “Are there more spells deeper in?”

“I don’t know, and honestly, I don’t care,” Lena said. “No matter what you say, I’m not going any closer to that basket case. And you shouldn’t, either; who knows what she’ll think you’re up to, or how she’ll respond.”

“She might turn you into a frog,” Frieda offered.

“Or a chicken.”

“She might blind you!”

“Or steal your youth and turn you into an old man.”

“Or steal all your experiences and turn you back into a wee little babe.”

“Alright, I got the idea,” the prince interjected. “How long has she been crazy like that?”

Both fairies shrugged, but Frieda said, “It’s all wrapped up in that business with Maleficent. Some say she was there, you know, when Maleficent ripped her gifts right out of all twelve of her sisters, and only spared Gothel so she could tell everyone else what happened.”

“Gibbering idiots, now, the lot of them,” Lena said. “And uglier than a boar’s backside.”

The prince looked from one fairy to the eyebrow, with one eyebrow still raised. “So, kind of like what happens to people after all your fairy ‘blessings’ run out? Kind of sounds like turnabout’s fair play, to me.”

Lena opened her mouth to reply, then frowned. Was that what this was like? “Well, if you’re going anyway, good luck. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.”

The prince nodded and turned into the forest. The other boy smiled shyly and waved at Frieda, who waved back with a warm smile, before he followed the prince into the underbrush. Lena gave Frieda a look.

“What? He’s too young now, sure, but he’ll grow up someday.”

Lena rolled her eyes and pulled Frieda away. “Okay, now let’s get out of here before this blows up in our face somehow.”

Isaac gave Phillip a sidelong glance as they walked. “Please tell me you’re not thinking what I think you’re thinking.”

“What?” Phillip protested. “She was fun!”

“And she’s, like, three hundred years old. You’re fourteen.”

Phillip shrugged. “So what?” Then he slumped. “Not like we’ll ever see them again, though.”

“Probably best for all our sakes if we don’t.” Isaac crept forward, when he noticed a middle-aged woman in a blue dress walk out into a large clearing. He immediately pulled Phillip down into the bush an shushed him. They watched as the woman walked to the base of a tower Isaac swore hadn’t been there a moment ago and yelled out, “Rapunzel! Rapunzel! Let down your hair!”

“Why rapunzel?” Phillip muttered. Isaac shushed him.

Both watched in surprise as a long train of bright red hair unfurled from the window thirty feet up, all the way down to the woman, who grabbed on and slowly rose until she could step into the window.

Every time it comes up, the friendship between Hannah and Maleficent startles me. I definitely did not plan this, and I agree it seems unusual. But something about it just clicks for me. Hopefully in the finished, polished story, I’ll be able to convey that to the readers, too.

Queen Maleficent would never admit it, but she had begun looking forward to Queen Hannah’s annual visits. She didn’t know why; the woman insisted on rearranging her decor, and the servants all ignored Maleficent’s wishes to follow Hannah’s instead during her stay. Honestly, Maleficent wasn’t sure at times which of the two of them was actually the queen here.

It seems Hannah herself felt quite accomplished this visit; she’d finally rid the castle of all the drapes, and only replaced the ones in the bedrooms. Even then, she chose pale cotton curtains to use, rather than the dark, heavy things that had been there before. Even Maleficent had to acknowledge the castle was a lot brighter now, both literally and figuratively.

So when Hannah prepared to return home, it was with the greatest sincerity Maleficent said, “Thank you for coming, Hannah. And for everything you have done here.”

Hannah’s eyes went wide, and she beamed. “You know, I do think that is the first time you have ever thanked me, Maleficent!”

Before Maleficent could reply, the doors burst open and an errand boy rushed in. “Urgent message for Queen Hannah!”

Hannah took it, and Maleficent moved to the couch to wait for her. Not far into the message, however, and Hannah gasped and brought a hand to her mouth. Tears welled up in her eyes, and once she’d finished, she began to read the message again from the start.

Concerned, Maleficent stood. “What is it? Is something wrong?”

Hannah shook her head and struggled to find words. “He’s, they… They’ve found her! Isaac, he’s…” The tears spilled out onto her cheeks, and she turned to Maleficent. “Isaac found Aurora!”

Half an hour later, they were at the stables, where Maleficent had cordoned off six of her fastest horses, not including the very fastest. She told the stableboy, “For the next two weeks, these six are not to be ridden or taken out for any reason. Give them extra feed; they may seem lethargic, but they will need the energy.”

Her eyes began to glow with violet light, and she reached out and pulled the speed from those six into the fastest horse, which was being saddled with all Hannah’s things. Maleficent cautioned Hannah, “He will travel seven times faster than normal; while now you can make the trip in two days instead of two weeks, moving that speed comes with its own dangers. Stay low, and hold on tight; tie yourself to the horse if you have to.”

Hannah nodded, then cocked her head. “But you’re coming too, right?”

Maleficent froze. What right did she have to be there? “Even if, when all is said and done, I am the one ultimately responsible for all of this?”

Hannah gave her a warm smile. “All the more reason to come along and see it through to the end, right?”

“...So talk.”

For several long moments, no one said anything. The prince’s friend started to get antsy, and finally he broke the silence and asked, “So, uh, you’ve lived her, in the tower, your whole life?”

“Yes.”

“That, erm, never got boring at all?”

“I keep busy.” Rapunzel’s eyes never left the prince’s.

Another moment passed, and Phillip started backing away. “I’ll, um, I’ll go stand over here. And look at the lake.”

He walked away, and Rapunzel and the prince continued their staring match.

Finally, the prince asked, “You never wondered about your family at all? Who we were, or what we might be like?”

Rapunzel shrugged. “Sure, I was curious. The same way I idly wonder what it might be like to live on the other side of the world. Doesn’t mean I’m going to uproot everything I know and love to go find out.”

“We’ve been looking for you for fifteen years. I’ve heard stories about you, the way you were kidnapped, since the day I was born! Is that all you have to say?”

The inside of Rapunzel’s chest prickled. She folded her arms and looked away. “Well, I’m sorry I’m such a disappointment.”

“No! Damn it, that’s not–” Isaac groaned and ran his hand through his hair. He glanced back up at Rapunzel. “Could you help me to understand? What about this place makes you want to stay?”

“Oh, hey, cool! That table’s moving all by itself!”

Phillip’s voice pulled them both away from their discussion. They looked back at each other, and the tension lingered a moment longer before Rapunzel sighed and nodded to the table. “After tea, maybe?”

She gave them a tour of the parts of the Tower she was familiar with after that. Her art studio. The garden. The star-gazing observatory. She avoided the library, of course; too many ways that could go wrong. She finished in the meadow room, where she kept all the animals Mother brought in.

“Woah. It’s like some kind of weird petting zoo,” Phillip said.

Isaac pulled his coattails away from a young goat looking for something to munch on. “And the fairy keeps all these? What on earth for?”

Rapunzel smiled sadly, then knelt down and began petting Lotte. “I don’t think Mother - Gothel, I mean - planned for them to live this long.”

Isaac’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

Rapunzel didn’t answer for a long time; she just shifted to Fenrir’s side. Tears poole at the base of her eyes as she stroked the weak dog’s head. “He’s pretty sick, isn’t he. Even you two can tell that much.” The two boys nodded. “Do you know why?”

When they shook their heads, Rapunzel looked up and met Isaac’s gaze. “It’s because of me. Mother brings them here and takes their health so I can be ‘normal’.”

Isaac’s eyes went wide, and he looked down at the dog. “Wait, so the curse…?”

Rapunzel nodded. “Fairy gifts last half your natural lifespan; no more, no less. And Maleficent’s curse is set to go off the exact moment I would turn into a horrendous-looking dullard. Which means even if, by some series of miracles, I avoided all of that, I’d still be lucky to live past 32.”

For a long time, neither Isaac nor Phillip said a word.

<-Rapunzel Previous

Rapunzel Next->

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

10 November 2022

Looking back through my notes, this was the day I finalized the relationship between Gothel and Maleficent, and their shared history together. It doesn’t come up in this clip, but it did completely redefine who Gothel was and what her motivations were for me. I like this version much better, even if she is less like the archaic “true fae” in a lot of stories.

In the parts I wrote on this day, I really wanted to show that Rapunzel doesn’t really grasp the idea of family. to her, they’re all strangers; what does it matter if they’re related? I would like to explore this more, but I don’t think she’s very strongly attached to Gothel, either, for a variety of reasons. Her only attachment is to the tower itself… And that’s its own whole basket of worms. this very much puts her at odds with her brother Isaac, who was raised to prioritize family over almost anything else (and I’m not sure there’s even an “almost” there).

Rapunzel had let out a squeak when the grappling hook had sailed through the window. Fortunately, the tower took care of things, but it had startled her.

She peered down at the two boys, the blonde in particular. What on earth made him so determined to talk to her? Sure, they were related, but it’s not like they knew each other. It’s not like she’d be around much longer, anyway. Even if she survived Maleficent’s curse, she still had the blowback from the fairy gifts, and, well… Death might be the better option.

Rapunzel shook the negative thought out of her head. She glanced back down; the boys were still figuring out what to do next. She bit her lower lip, then leaned her head out the window and shouted, “Oi! Why are you trying so hard to get in here?”

The tow boys were stunned to see her, but the blonde quickly recovered and cupped his hands around his mouth. “I don’t know if you’ll believe me, but you’re my sister! Princess Aurora!”

That’s it? “Yeah, and? So what?”

That seemed to shock the prince. Apparently, he thought his reasoning was self-evident after that. Or maybe he was just surprised she already knew she was Princess Aurora? Finally, he pulled himself together enough to shout, “We’ve been looking for you ever since you were taken away. We want you to come home!”

Rapunzel’s expression soured. “I am home!” She patted the window sill. “The Tower is all I need!”

When the prince made that determined expression, Rapunzel’s heart sank. He was so certain he could ‘fix’ her now, wasn’t he? He shouted, “What about Mom and Dad? Don’t you want to meet them? They’re your family!”

“I’ve never met them before! So not particularly, no!”

Once again, the prince was at a loss. Rapunzel couldn’t help but smile to herself. It was fun messing with his emotions. Finally, he threw his hands up. “Look, Aurora, will you just let us in? Please?”

She glowered at him. “My name is Rapunzel!”

For the first time, the bigger boy - Phillip? - spoke up. “Wait, Rapunzel? Like the cabbage?”

Rapunzel shrugged. “I think it’s a fairy thing. Lily, Daisy, Rose. The see the mortal world like a garden or something. At least I’m not called Hemlock.”

Phillip nodded, then shouted back, “You’re very beautiful!”

Where did that come from? Rapunzel rolled her eyes, even if she doubted they could see her from down there. “Gee, thanks. If you still say that after my fairy gift has run out, I might even believe you!”

The prince glared at his friend, then turned back to Rapunzel. “Look, can we come in? I just want to talk!”

For a long time, Rapunzel just stared at him. In the end, she decided that ignoring him would only make things more annoying and complicated. She tapped the ground, and the Tower opened a door leading inside for the two boys. She headed to the lake room; it seemed the best place for this kind of talk.

The door opened in front of Isaac, even though there hadn’t been the slightest indication of even an archway there before. He exchanged a look with Phillip, and the two cautiously made their way inside.

To Isaac’s surprise, the interior was very brightly lit. Lanterns hung every few feet along the wall. He wasn’t sure what made them glow; presumably some kind of fairy magic. Whatever it was, it didn’t produce heat like flame.

The corridor led them up a long, winding stairway. That eventually led to a large set of double doors. When Isaac opened them, though, his jaw dropped; inside the room was a massive lake. The ceiling still hung twenty feet above them, and he could still make out the walls on all sides, so he knew they must still be inside the tower, somehow. But a room this size, much less with a lake in it, should never have been able to fit.

Rapunzel was seated before them at a tea table. She looked up to the ceiling and said, “Tower, three cups of tea, if you would, please. And maybe a small assortment of snacks?”

Isaac and Phillip approached her in bewilderment. “How… Where does it all fit?”

“It’s fairy magic, obviously.” She waved them to sit down, then stared at Isaac intently enough to bore holes into him. “You said you wanted to talk. So talk.”
<-Rapunzel Previous

Rapunzel Next->

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

9 November 2022

For some reason, whenever I get stuck and need a break, I wind up writing about Lena and Frieda. I’m not sure why. Mostly they’re the designated comedy relief, I guess? Though I do worry that my sense of humor is weird and no one else finds their hijinks funny.

I briefly toyed with the idea of Phillip x Frieda being a thing… then I remembered he’s only fourteen. So no. That’s not happening. Even without considering the fact she’s probably 300.

When Isaac and Phillip arrived in the apple merchant’s village, they were disappointed to learn they’d just missed her by a couple of days. Long enough that chasing after her didn’t really seem feasible.

“So, what now?” Phillip asked. “Wait around until she comes back through?”

“If we have to.” Isaac frowned. Even in the best-case scenario, that would be a couple months. “I’m really not looking forward to it, though.”

The two booked themselves a room at the inn. The innkeeper, a portly, jovial fellow, mentioned as they finished booking their room, “Oh, you’ve come at an excellent time. We have some special visitors staying with us tonight! Duchess Sorlanne and her daughter, Delilah, are passing through.”

Isaac raised his eyebrows, while Phillip scrunched his together . “Aren’t they from the southern part of the kingdom? Like, two weeks away from here?”

“Yes they are, indeed.” Isaac tapped his finger as he thought, then asked the innkeeper, “Did they happen to mention what business they had in the area?”

The innkeeper stroked his chin. “No, can’t say that they did.”

“May I inquire as to which room they are staying in?”

“Sorry, but the asked not to be disturbed.”

Isaac feigned a cheery smile. “Of course, good sir, and I thank you for honoring the privacy of your patrons. However…” He flashed his signet ring to the innkeeper. “As the crown prince, I would be quite remiss if I did not notify them of my presence, would I not?”

The innkeeper’s eyes widened, and he smiled broadly. “Of course, sire! I’m sorry, I didn’t recognize you. Would you like me to announce your presence?”

Isaac shook his head and raised his palm. “It’s appreciated, but I am traveling incognito to attend to some business. If you would direct me to their room, that would be more than enough.”

“Of course, sire! Up the stairs, second door on the right. The one just past it is yours.”

“Thank you, my good man.” Isaac clapped his shoulder, and brought a finger to his lips. “And remember, mum’s the word.”

“Yes, sire! No one shall hear a peep from my mouth!”

As Isaac and Phillip headed upstairs, Phillip looked at Isaac in amazement. “You should do stuff like that more often. I’d almost forgotten you were an actual, proper prince.”

Isaac scowled. “I hate pulling rank. Makes me feel slimy.”

Phillip shrugged. “You know everyone in town is going to know about you by the time the sun sets, right?”

“Don’t remind me.” Isaac sighed.

They arrived at the door in question, and Isaac pounded on it. The tow boys heard a flurry of activity from behind the door, until it finally opened to reveal an over-powdered young woman in an excessively showy pink dress. Her blonde hair had been carefully arranged in curls.

“Delilah Sorlanne, I presume?” Isaac asked, and gave a bow. The girl looked nothing like Delilah.

The not-Delilah gave him a flirtatious giggle. “I am. Who are you?”

“My name is Isaac, and this is my friend, Phillip. We heard you were in town, and came to pay our respects to you and your mother. May we come in?”

Not-Delilah glanced back at an older woman, perhaps late 40s or early 50s, in a refined green gown. The older woman waved a hand dismissively, and Not-Delilah gave the two an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, but we are quite tired from our journey, so we won’t be seeing any visitors.”

She moved to close the door, but Isaac jammed his foot in the doorway and forced it back open. “I really must insist.” He flashed his signet ring, making Not-Delilah go pale, and pushed past her into the room.

“What is the meaning of this?” The false Duchess Sorlanne rose to her feet, the image of indignant fury, but as soon as she saw Isaac’s ring, her face turned bone white. She glanced to the doorway, where Phillip had just closed the door behind him, and now stood with one hand casually resting on the pommel of his sword.

“You see,” Isaac said, “I happen to be personally acquainted with the Sorlanne family. Quirk of the job, if you will. And you two look nothing like any of them. So who are you?”

When neither of the two women spoke, Isaac continued, “Perhaps I should hazard a guess? There’s this one story, you see, that my parents have told me time and time again, and it has always fascinated me. It was about these two fairies; one dressed in green, named Lena,” and he nodded to the false duchess, “and a pink one, named Frieda.” He gestured to Not-Delilah, and both women turned even paler. “They told me how after my sister was kidnapped by another fairy, these two were thrown in prison, but somehow they managed to escape, and vanished without a trace.”

Not-Delilah motioned to the window, and the green one started shifting so she could reach it. So Isaac very deliberately moved to sit on the window sill, arms folded. He grinned wickedly at the two. “Let’s make a deal, shall we?”

The two fairies shot looks of horror at one another.

Lena felt trapped. Sword at her back, even if it wasn’t drawn yet, and some kind of scary magic user ahead. She thought, after they’d escaped prison and the search for them had died down, that she and Frieda had put the whole “Aurora the baby was kidnapped” debacle behind them.

Apparently not.

How were they supposed to know the prince was wandering around this part of the country? And right next to some kind of crazy enchanted forest? What gives!

Not that Frieda seemed to care. After the initial shock of getting caught, she was as cheerful as ever, and happily chatted with the boys. Well, the bigger one, anyway; the prince didn’t seem to want to talk with them very much. Not that Lena cared. Really.

“Yep. Any shape we want,” Frieda told Phillip. Somehow, they’d gotten to talking about fairies’ shapeshifting abilities. “But I don’t like pretending to be men.”

“So, if you wanted to have a pig nose and crazy purple hair or something, you could just… do it?” Phillip asked. 

Frieda responded by changing her face to match his description, and the two started laughing so hard it startled the birds in the nearby trees.

The prince shushed them, then kept going. Lena glared at them, too. “Yes, we can. But true fairies would never stoop to such behavior.”

Frieda snorted. “After you spent a week as an ugly old woman with a single tooth, just to make that one noble family feel so bad they’d take you in?”

Lena’s face flushed. “That was an entirely separate matter.”

“It didn’t work,” Frieda whispered to Phillip. “The rich family just spat at her, and it was the local poor kids who gave her food. Apparently it tasted pretty bad.”

Phillip had to wipe tears from his eyes from how hard he laughed. Once he stopped, though, he asked, “Say, where you can change your age and your appearance and everything, it makes me curious. How old are you? Do you even get old?”

The prince shoved Phillip. “It’s rude to ask a lady’s age.

Lena sniffed and nodded approvingly, but Frieda just smiled and waved it off. “Nah. Lena and me, well, you can’t exactly call us ladies, can you?”

<-Rapunzel Previous

Rapunzel Next->

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

8 November 2022

I actually have a bunch more ideas for how the Tower could screw with Isaac and Phillip. I had the thought of, whenever they got close with their throws or whatever, it suddenly grew another 10-20 feet taller. I had the idea, if Isaac kept trying to climb it, that eventually the entire wall would be smooth as glass. When the building itself is alive, there’s a lot of fun options.

…one end, then began to spin it. He tried to throw it to the window, but he must have mistimed the throw, as the hook didn’t even make it ten feet up before it plopped back down, without ever touching the tower.

Phillip gave him a pitiful look. “Dude, seriously?”

“Well, you try it, then!” Isaac huffed and folded his arms.

With a shrug, Phillip grabbed the grappling hook and tried it himself. He got it twenty, maybe twenty-five feet up, but it bounced off the tower without getting close to the window.

Isaac’s scowl deepened. “You still missed.”

Phillip grinned and playfully shoved Isaac. “Still closer than you were.”

The two spent the next fifteen to twenty minutes taking turns trying to land the hook in the window, and generally missing by a wide margin. Finally, Phillip actually did make it into the window, and after tugging a couple times to make sure everything was secure, he passed the rope off to Isaac. “Does that mean I win?”

Isaac chuckled and shook his head. Right as he got ready to climb, though, the window turned itself inside out and dumped the hook down at their feet.

The two just stared at it. “Seriously?” Phillip said, deadpan.

In sheer frustration, Isaac chucked the hook up one last time. It didn’t even get close to the window, but rather than bounce off the tower like it had been doing, it seemed to stick to the wall, like the tower had grabbed it.

The two boys watched in stunned silence as the tower pulled the hook down until it was at their eye level. Then it very deliberately spat the hook out at them.

“...I don’t think we’re getting in there again unless that girl lets us in,” Phillip said.

Isaac only nodded.

<-Rapunzel Previous

Rapunzel Next->

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

7 November 2022

I got home from work utterly exhausted this day. I don’t remember why; it might not have been anything specific. But it was all I could do to even get this much down before I crashed. Fortunately, I haven’t had another day this bad since. Tuesday the 8th, the very next day, was also a bit rough, but not this bad. I didn’t even finish the sentence before I zonked…

…the ground.

Phillip looked down at him and then up to the window. “Something tells me she doesn’t want to talk to you.”

“Gee, I hadn’t noticed.” Isaac scowled and rubbed his bottom where he’d landed. He glared up at the window. “Do we still have that rope?”

“Yeah, why?”

Isaac dug through the bag and pulled the rope out. He tied a makeshift grappling hook at one end,

<-Rapunzel Previous

Rapunzel Next->

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

6 November 2022

This is the scene that revealed that titles always lie. Turns out, despite everything building up to that before this, it is not Aurora/Rapunzel who becomes the sleeping beauty, but rather her mother Hannah. And to a certain extent her father, though one of the potential endings actually changes that to just be Hannah.

I wrote this scene, despite taking place quite a ways further in, because I still wanted to focus only on this story this month, but I still wanted to do something more spiritual on Sunday, and this fit in my head.

Maleficent hovered just outside the family group. They hadn’t noticed her yet, which was just as well. Even she didn’t know why she was here, but something about Hannah’s request compelled her to come.

Frederick, the ever-vigilant husband and father, was the first to notice Maleficent, and he immediately leaped forward and drew his sword, sheltering the rest of his family behind him. “You! What more do you want from us?”

Before Maleficent could even form a response, Hannah rose and placed a hand on his shoulder. “It’s alright, love; she’s here at my request.” She pushed sword arm down as she stepped past him and faced Maleficent. With a small curtsy, the queen said, “Thank you for responding to my letter, Queen Maleficent.”

Maleficent bowed her head, then turned to look at the two children. The boy watched her with wariness, his right hand on the sword at his side. Maleficent was surprised to realize he had faerie sight. The girl’s doing, perhaps?

The girl, Aurora, was different. There was none of the hostility or wariness Maleficent would have expected, especially considering she had doomed the young girl to death just after she’d been born. No, Aurora studied her like a puzzle she hadn’t quite figured out yet.

Maleficent turned back to Hannah. “You requested to see me?”

Hannah nodded, then glanced back toward Aurora. “When I went to see you earlier, you said that the gifts a fairy-blessed child receives must be paid back, correct?” When Maleficent dipped her head, Hannah asked, “Does she have to be the one that pays the price?”

Both Maleficent’s and Aurora’s eyes went wide. Maleficent would have chuckled, had the situation been any less serious; this woman never ceased to surprise her. 

However, Aurora’s face turned white, and for the first time Maleficent could see true fear in her eyes. “No! Han– Mom, you can’t! Don’t do this!”

Hannah simply cupped Aurora’s cheek and smiled gently. She turned back to Maleficent. “Can you do it?”

Maleficent glanced at Aurora, who desperately shook her head, then over to Frederick and the boy, who seemed a little bewildered. “I will not unless both you and your husband fully understand what it is you are asking, and I have Frederick’s word that both he and every citizen of this kingdom will not pursue me for doing this.”

Frederick glanced back and forth between the two queens and asked, “Why? What are you asking her to do, Hannah?”

Hannah set her face, then nodded to Maleficent. Maleficent explained, “For sixteen years, you daughter has been blessed with extraordinary beauty and cleverness. Even if she was locked away in a tower during that time, the price for her gifts must be paid. Ordinarily, that would come from Aurora herself in the second half of her life, where she would become ugly and dim-witted. And then there’s the matter of the curse I left on her.” Maleficent was surprised at the bitterness in her own voice at that last part. Was that regret?

“And Mom wants to take all that on herself,” Aurora whispered. “Take my place and pay the cost. And probably die.”

For a long moment, Frederick stared at Aurora, then turned back and stared into Hannah’s eyes. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

Hannah nodded again. Tears poured down Aurora’s face. “No, please! Even if you do this, I won’t live long anyway! I’m sick! I was born weak, and I—”

Hannah cut her off with a hug. “And you are still my daughter. And I love you. And no matter how short your chance at life will be after this, it will be more than you’ve had so far.” She turned and nodded to Maleficent.

<-Rapunzel Previous

Rapunzel Next->

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

5 November 2022

This was just fun to write. I loved Aurora’s “oh crap” moments when Isaac showed up, and it was fun to explore the dynamic between Isaac and Phillip.

Back at their room in the inn, Isaac pulled loose and spread out a map of Lowenveil and its surroundings. Little dots and x’s had been marked all over it, concentrated especially heavily in the northwest, not far from their current location.

“What’s all this?” Phillip asked as he peered over Isaac’s shoulder.

“The results of research.” Isaac tapped the map thoughtfully, then marked a dot at the location of the farm they’d visited. He looked over the map, and then pointed to a certain forest that had a large red X over it. “No matter how I look at it, I keep coming back to this forest.”

“The X means your family’s already looked there, right?” Phillip pulled back and bit into one of the pears they’d gotten with their meal.

“Several times, in fact. Twice my father sent a whole battalion in to scout the place from brush to canopy. Nothing.”

“Well there you go.” Phillip shrugged and flopped down onto his bed.

“Yeah, but…” Isaac tapped the quill to his lips. “Every other time he’s sent his men out, their reports have been incredibly detailed. They even include the fit and color of the clothes of every citizen they spoke with. But every report on this forest is… vague. General references to birds or chipmunks. It’s not enough to be certain anything’s off, but it’s a noticeable difference.”

Phillip scrunched his eyebrows together and sat up. “So, you think there could be some kind of fairy spell in the forest keeping anyone from finding them?”

“Exactly!” Isaac jabbed his quill toward his friend.

“Okay… But, how are you going to get through, then?”

With his quill raised, Isaac opened his mouth to reply. Then he slumped and turned away. “I don’t know.”

Phillip leaned closer and stared at the map for a moment. “Does she ever come out? The fairy I mean. To buy groceries or clothes, or whatever else.”

Isaac shrugged. “I mean, probably? But how would we ever know? Fairies can shapeshift their appearance whenever they want, remember?”

“Yeah, but if every so often some random person goes wandering in and out of the forest, that’s suspicious, right? Especially if it’s a different person every time.”

For a long moment, Isaac just looked at Phillip. Then he grinned and began tearing through his own bags.

Phillip watched his friend in shock. “Wait, don’t tell me your parents never thought of that? Seems like it’d be– Just how many journals did you pack!?”

Indeed, Isaac was pulling out journal after journal, flipping through a handful of pages before tossing it aside. Finally, with an “Aha!”, he found the one he wanted.

“Of course they did. But we don’t have the manpower to watch the forest borders 24-7.” He cracked open the journal and pointed to one specific entry. “So, in one village on the edge of the forest, they get this apple merchant that comes through every so often. Maybe once every two to three months? Anyway, she’s the only one willing to risk selling apples in that part of the kingdom anymore.”

“Right. ‘Cause so many of them get stolen and ruined by our mysterious fairy.”

“Exactly. Now this merchant hasn’t always had the best of luck either which is one of the reasons she wasn’t on our watch list. But… She rarely if ever visits any of the other towns. And a major part of her outfit is always blue.”

Phillip thought for a moment. “Didn’t all the fairies get assigned a color of some kind? Like there was a green one, and a pink one, or something. Was the blue one the one that took your sister?”

“That’s the one. So we just need to track down this merchant and see if we can follow her.”

Phillip looked skeptical, but he didn’t argue. “Alright then. Now can we go to bed? I’m tired.”

Rapunzel sighed with relief and used her elbow to wipe the sweat from her brow. It looks like both Lottie and her newborn lamb would be alright. The lamb bleated as he struggled to his feet, and the two wandered away.

She hadn’t even finished rinsing the blood from her hands when the Tower flashed a yellow light at her, letting her know someone was waiting outside.

She scowled; she’d wanted to take a bath after all that. Caring for the animals was hard work. Then she hesitated. Mother had just left; she wasn’t due back for several days, and she wasn’t the type to forget something and come back for it.

In the end, when Rapunzel arrived at the reception room, she poked her head outside the window to see what was going on.

Two boys stood some twenty feet below her, a short and slender blonde and a larger brunette. The blonde boy cupped his hand around his mouth and yelled, “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!”

Where did he learn that? Had he overheard Mother? Rapunzel scowled down at them, then pulled her head back in. “Do you think they’re dangerous?”

The Tower clattered in a shrug, and Rapunzel took another look at the boys. The blonde had moved to the base of the Tower and had started to climb, while the brunette gesticulated wildly, probably asking the blonde what he was thinking.

With a sigh, Rapunzel released the brake to lower her hair. SHe poked her head out and yelled, “I can only take on up at a time, alright?”

The two boys exchanged glances, and the blonde grabbed onto her hair. Rapunzel began to heave, and soon he clambered through the window. He looked Rapunzel up and down, and his eyes lingered on the blood splattered on her dress and forearms. “You are… not what I expected.”

She leveled a glare at him. “Well, let’s see how you look after spending the morning helping an ewe birth their lamb.” She spun around and released the brake again to pull his friend in.

“No! That’s not what I–” Rapunzel could hear him curse under his breath behind her.

Rapunzel finally pulled the brunette in. It wasn’t easy; that boy was heavy. She had new appreciation for Mother’s ability to change her size and weight. She turned on the boys and placed her hands on her hips. “So, who are you, and what do you want?”

The brunette just stared at her, slack-jawed as a blush crept up his cheeks. Rapunzel ignored him and turned all her attention on the blonde.

He ran his fingers through his hair to the back of his neck. “Well, this isn’t going at all how I imagined it.” He extended a hand with a wry smile. “Hi. My name is Isaac. And this is my friend Phillip.”

Rapunzel moved to accept the handshake, then stopped when she heard his name. “Isaac? As in, Isaac Lowenveil? The prince?”

Isaac grew sheepish. “Um, yeah. That’s me. I wasn’t sure you’d even know who I was out here.”

Crap. Crap crap crap. Rapunzel put her hands to her temples. “Oh, this is bad. This is very, very bad.”

“Wait, what’s wrong?” Isaac reached out for her but Rapunzel pulled back and snapped her fingers.

The two boys screamed as the floor fell out from under them, and the Tower created a slide that dumped them outside. Rapunzel poked her head out to make sure they weren’t injured, then pulled back inside and sat against the wall. “Okay, Rapunzel. Think, think. How are you going to get through this?”

Isaac was struck speechless. That was definitely his sister; she had their father’s nose and flaming red hair, along with their mother’s eyes.

And she’d dumped him outside. Was she worried about Gothel’s reaction? That made sense. Did she even know who she was?

Beside him, Phillip was still in a daze, a slappy smile on his face. Something about that expression profoundly irritated Isaac, and he elbowed Phillip. “Oi.”

Phillip turned to him, still only half aware of his surroundings. “She’s an angel.”

“No, she’s my sister. And she just kicked us out while she was covered in blood. In what way is that angelic?”

“I’m serious, man. It feels like I’ve dreamed about her before.”

Isaac slugged his shoulder and glared at him. “Stop trying to hit on my sister.”

Phillip blinked a few times and shook his head. “Right, sorry about that. But dang.”

That earned him another look from Isaac, but he ignored it. The two glanced up at the window. Phillip commented, “I don’t think she’s going to pull us back up after that.”

“Yeah. I highly doubt it.” Isaac took a deep breath, and headed to the tower wall. 

“You’re still thinking of climbing up there?”

“Do you have a better idea?

Phillip did not. But he did come over and crouch down next to Isaac. “Here. At least let me give you a boost.”

Isaac looked at his friend in surprise. “Thanks.”

Phillip hoisted him up, and Isaac began the climb. About halfway from where he started, though, he grabbed onto a block that sank into the wall, and the wall turned smooth beneath his grip. He shouted out as he slid all the way back to the ground.

<-Rapunzel Previous

Rapunzel Next->

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

4 November 2022

This was the day I put together a lot of the building blocks that would eventually become the foundation for my story. This is the day I decided the Tower was alive, similar to the Encanto in Disney’s Encanto, or the TARDIS in Doctor Who. It’s also the day I realized Rapunzel, at first, doesnt’t want to leave. Being a princess doesn’t sound that great, at least to her.

The most interesting discovery, though, was the relationship between Hannah and Maleficent. I hadn’t planned for that. Was actually trying to lean away from it, in the planning phase I do before each chunk of writing (it happened a lot this particular day). And still, Hannah refused to leave without figuring out who Maleficent was on the inside and befriending her, and that impacted the plot of the entire book.

One thing I had not figured out yet, though, was what exactly motivated Gothel and Maleficent. I did figure out their shared backstory later, but here, it’s still just a generic “Maleficent hates fairies”, and a vague idea that maybe Gothel wants Aurora as part of some collection (that’s not why, as it turns out, at least for this story).

You would think that after spending years and years locked up in a tower, Rapunzel might resent her (foster) mother, especially after learning the truth, or at least year for more adventure in her life. For the most part, though, you’d be wrong.

Well, it’s not like Rapunzel had zero resentment towards Mother. She’d figured out years ago that she was the “lost princess Aurora”, and Mother had been the one to spirit her away from her real parents. But she’d found out at the same time about Queen Maleficent's curse and everything else that occurred around that time, so she was willing to give Mother the benefit of the doubt. She’d honestly been too scared of Mother’s response to ask about it, though.

Besides, if she was still part of her real family, she’d be a princess, with all the duties, responsibilities, and expectations that came with that. To Rapunzel, that sounded like much more of a prison than the Tower ever was. Especially when she could open a door here and randomly stumble onto a gorgeous lake, in a room so large she got barely make out the far wall. No, the Tower had all the adventure she needed right there.

On this particular morning, Rapunzel woke up and stretched like usual. “Good morning, Tower!” The Tower waved the bedroom door to return her greeting, and shuffled her bedroom slippers over to her. Rapunzel slipped out of bed into them, and made her way downstairs.

Before she even arrived at the kitchen, she could smell the bacon cooking on the griddle, and a smile lit up her face. Sure enough, when she walked in, the Tower had heated the stove and was cooking up a healthy serving of bacon and eggs.

“Where does Mother get all this pork and chicken, I wonder?” Rapunzel mused aloud. The cabinets clattered in a way Rapunzel recognized as the Tower’s equivalent to a shrug. “Speaking of Mother, is she back yet?”

Before the Tower could reply, a voice from outside called out, “Rapunzel! Rapunzel! Let down your hair!”

“Ah. Coming!” Rapunzel called back. She snagged a piece of bacon and scarfed it while she headed to what she called “the reception room”. There, the Tower had brought over the opposite end of her long, bright red hair, which was kept coiled on a wheel. Rapunzel hooked the wheel into the winch system and released the brake; the wheel spun loose, and dropped the ends of her hair to the ground outside.

Once Mother was ready, she tugged the hair three times, and Rapunzel began to crank her hair back into the Tower, lifting Mother in with it. Today, she had the appearance of a middle-class woman in her early- to mid-forties, and wore a deep, navy blue dress with white sleeves. She seemed especially fond of the color blue; no matter who or what Mother transformed into, it always featured blue prominently.

As Mother stepped inside, Rapunzel asked, “How was your trip?”

Mother smiled at her and patted her head. That irked Rapunzel a bit; she wasn’t a child anymore. But Mother meant well, so Rapuzel didn’t bother to fight it. “It went well enough. I got you a few things.” Out of a bag no bigger than a house cat, she pulled out an array of paints, several large canvases, and a new set of brushes. “I got you a few more books, as well; three or four storybooks, and a couple of histories.”

Rapunzel broke out in a wide smile and hugged Mother. She’d been running low on paint supplies; this was perfect. She decided not to mention she’d secretly read both histories already when she’d broken into the hidden library Mother kept in one of the secret rooms. No need to cause trouble; the novels looked intriguing enough, anyway.

“Thank you, Mother.” She gathered the paints and brushes, leaving the Tower to take care of the canvases and books. “The Tower has breakfast ready in the kitchen; bacon and eggs.” then she skipped off to her painting studio to put her things away.

After Gothel discovers Isaac has been visiting Rapunzel

Gothel’s rage simmered down as the boy flew out the window. She pocketed the boy’s sight for later use and carefully arranged her features into a calming smile. As she turned and looked at Rapunzel, however, she froze.

Rapunzel, her sweet, little girl, the centerpiece of her collection, now floated two to three feet in the air. Her eyes burned with violet light and her nostrils flared, and the very shadows of the room were drawn toward her. Gothel couldn’t help but remember that fateful day, almost sixteen years ago, when that despicable witch has stalked in and cursed this very child. The witch then looked very similar to the way Rapunzel did now.

“Rapunzel?” Gothel asked timidly.

When Rapunzel spoke, her voice echoed, as if it emanated from every wall and doorway in the Tower at once. “How dare you! What right do you have to hurt him?”

“I just… just wanted to keep you safe,” Gothel explained, making a great effort to keep her voice as level and soothing as possible. “He could be dangerous.”

Rapunzel snorted and sneered at her. “Why, because I might find out about the fact he’s actually my brother? Or were you worried he’d come and take me away with him, and ruin your ‘collection’?”

Gothel’s eyes widened, and her mouth slipped open. Rapunzel touched to the floor and slowly began to advance on her, forcing Gothel to back up towards the door. “What, you thought I was a fool? That I wouldn’t find out on my own? Your friend gifted me with cleverness, remember? I know I was born Princess Aurora. I’ve known for years. If that was enough to make me leave, I WOULD HAVE LEFT YEARS AGO!”

Gothel’s back hit the wall of the hallway beyond the door. She tried to reach out to the Tower for help, but she got no response. Then Gothel remembered its purpose; it would do everything to “protect Rapunzel”, even if it was against its creator’s wishes.

“For the record, I’d already told him I wasn’t going home with him,” Rapunzel continued. Her tone softened, and her voice lost its echo. Her eyes still burned, but they turned away from Gothel for a moment. “But it was nice to have someone visit. Someone human, who can actually understand the things I need and the way I think.” She snorted and glared at Gothel. “Not that you’d understand that, would you, Mother? Fairies don’t work like that, do they?”

That was the first time Gothel had heard Rapunzel spit the word “Mother” with such venom. She flinched, bu she tried to argue back. “But with your curse–”

Rapunzel’s eyes flared brighter, and her voice boomed louder than it ever had yet. “And which curse would that be? Maleficent’s curse of death? Or do you mean the one your friends gave me along with their gifts, that will turn me into a wretched, ugly simpleton halfway through my life!? Compared to that, Maleficent’s curse might almost be a blessing!”

Gothel’s eyes went wide and her heart shot with pain. What was this feeling? She didn’t understand. And that witch’s curse was a blessing? Her face contorted and turned sour. What about all Gothel had done for Rapunzel? Where was the girl’s gratitude? “After everything I’ve done to keep you safe–”

“You’ve locked me in a cage like a pet songbird!” Rapunzel roared. “You’ve hidden me away like a secret treasure, to make sure no one can steal it from you! And I was willing to let you. Because it’s comfortable here. I don’t have to face real life. Well, guess what?” She reached her hand towards Gothel’s face. “I’m done hiding.”

She spoke a word in the old faerie language, clenched her fist, and pulled. Gothel screamed as her eyes burned and everything went black. She heard Rapunzel snap her fingers and order, “Stairs.”

To Gothel’s surprise, she heard the scrape of stone on stone as the Tower rearranged itself to comply with Rapunzel’s bidding.

Gothel grew furious at her creation, and her voice lost any trace of composure. “Stop! What are you doing? I built you to protect the girl?”

There was a moment of silence, then Rapunzel answered on the Tower’s behalf. “Didn’t you know? Sometimes the best way to protect something is to let it go free. It was even mentioned in one of those novels you gave me.”

And with that, Gothel was left with only Rapunzel’s fading footsteps and the sound of her own screams.

Roughly 2 Years Later (after Aurora was first taken, btw)

Hannah looked up at Castle Venwald. She’d heard stories as a little girl of the glorious, pristine white walls, even all the way out in Lowenveil, but now they’d all been dyed a deep black. She almost turned the horse around, but after all the effort it had taken to convince Frederick to let her come on this journey, she couldn’t just go back and admit she’d gotten cold feet. She rode up to the castle gate and addressed the guards. “I am Queen Hannah of Lowenveil. I’ve come to request an audience with Queen Maleficent.”

One of the guards saluted and entered the castle. She waited outside on her horse for ten to fifteen minutes, then the guard returned and led her inside. “You can leave your horse here; we’ll take it to the stables and one for it until you are ready to depart.”

Hannah dismounted and thanked him, then followed his directions to the waiting room. Inside the castle was slightly cheerier than the outside, with red carpets and beautiful tapestries, but the lighting was still dim, and Hannah felt incredibly out of place.

She was in the living room for around thirty minutes before Maleficent entered. Venwald’s queen wore an elegant, deep violet dress; while it wasn’t as formal as what she’d worn to Aurora’s baby blessing, somehow it made her all the more imposing. Her crown was stylized to look like two horns sweeping back over her raven hair. “Queen Hannah. This certainly is a surprise, especially considering the circumstances of our last encounter.”

Hannah moved to stand, but Maleficent raised a hand. “Please; stay seated. Especially considering your current condition.”

She pointedly stared at Hannah’s belly. How did she…? No, she was a witch, of course she could tell. Hannah accepted her offer and sat back down.

Maleficent took a seat near her. “So does your husband know yet?”

Hannah looked aside. “I only found out myself a week into the journey.” She smiled sadly. “It’s just as well. It was hard enough to convince Frederick to come as is.”

For a long time, Maleficent just studied Hannah. Hannah couldn’t tell what was going through to other queen’s head, but she straightened her back and returned her gaze. This was not a time to back down, no matter how terrifying or dangerous Maleficent was.

“Why did you come?” Maleficent asked. “Whatever my reasons, I’m well aware of the pain my actions have caused your family.”

“That is one of the reasons, actually,” Hannah replied. “I wanted to hear your reasons. If possible, I want to understand why you did what you did. It may not change things, but I think we have a right to know.”

Maleficent dipped her head. “And the other reasons?”

“I’m sure by now you’ve heard what happened to Aurora after you left?” When Maleficent dipped her head again, Hannah said, “We haven’t been able to find either Gothel or Aurora. Something is going on with the fairies, and other than the fairies themselves, you seem to know the most about them.”

For a moment, Maleficent didn’t reply. She simply took a cup of tea to her lips, and savored the scent for a moment, before she drank and set it down. “Fortunately the two are intertwined. How much do you know about the costs of fairy blessings?”

<-Rapunzel Previous

Rapunzel Next->

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

3 November 2022

This day, I was just exhausted, I think. I had a hard time focusing, so I picked something random and fun. Lena and Frieda seemed a bit ridiculous, so I explored to see what shenanigans they’d get up to. The details on how their magic works have been changed since this, since here I was just throwing ideas around, but it gets the idea across.

Also, you might be able to tell from this, but I will be jumping around all over the place as I write. For whatever reason, it is very difficult for me to just write straight through in order and stay motivated. So I may bounce from the beginning to the middle and back. I tend to trend in a forward direction (ie I try to come back and continue the main story thread most days), but it’s not consistent.

Lena stood on Frieda’s shoulders, and carefully peered along the walls. No guards in sight; good. She hoisted herself up onto the parapet, then turned and helped Frieda up behind her.

“Did you know Gothel was going to pull something like that?” she hissed, and jumped down the other side of the wall.

Frieda jumped after her into her arms, and as quietly as possible she answered, “Of course not! Do you think I would have gotten us into this if I’d known what Gothel was up to?”

The two fairies snuck away from the castle towards the woods. Once they’d gotten in far enough to be obscured from sight, they both heaved a sigh of relief.

“Well, that was horrible,” Lena muttered to herself. She did her best to smooth out the wrinkles and rips on her green gown, but it didn’t help.

“It could always have been worse,” Frieda answered. She bent down and started building a fire. She looked very strange doing something so woodsy in her bright pink dress.

Lena gave her a flat look. “Instead of earning a favor from the royal family, King Frederick was so furious with us he locked us up. The last of our magic’s gone, after we used it to bless a kid who’s not going to live long enough to give it back. And that’s because we attracted the attention of a ridiculously powerful witch, who might well be the most infamous fairy-killer of all time. Our friend, the one we used to even get the job, made off with the princess and ruined any chance we had of fixing all that. And with our luck, she won’t let anybody know what she’s up to and vanish, and the Spring Court’s going to blame us for her disappearance.”

“True,” Frieda said, as the fire finally started to burn properly. “But King Frederick didn’t execute us right away. You know all those kings back east would have done that.”

Lena shuddered and shuffled closer to the fire. “So now what? No magic, no money, no connections. What can we even do now?”

Frieda flashed her a grin and a peace sign. “Isn’t it obvious? We find something sentimental and get our magic back. Scam the owner, rob them, charm them, whatever works. And once we get enough magic saved up, we can go home.”

“Home, huh.” Lena sighed as she gazed into the fire. “Do we even have a home to go back to?”

Frieda opened her mouth, then closed it again after a moment. “Well, if things are good enough here, maybe we skip that part.”

<-Rapunzel Previous

Rapunzel Next->

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

1 November 2022

Somehow, it seems fitting to start posting my Nanowrimo work just after we get halfway through the month. It’s been good to reflect; I had the barest hints of ideas and worldbuilding when I wrote this, and now it’s expanded into so much more. I just have to remember that doesn’t mean it’s done growing; it still is. I was - am - proud of the first section, from Maleficent’s point of view. A lot has changed since I wrote that, though, so there are definitely tweaks to be made. The last section was mostly just to keep writing something, and has since been scrapped.

I do not expect to hit 50k this year; as of writing this (early evening of the 16th), I only have roughly 14,500 words. I’m still shooting for 40k, though, even if it’s a bit unreasonable.

Maleficent strode through the massive double doors into the ballroom, paying no mind to the guards scurrying this way and that. A quick survey of the room confirmed her suspicions; of the rulers of major nations in the region, all others were already represented, which meant she was the only who had not been invited. That, in itself, was fine; expected even, given recent events. But the sight of the trio of fairies… that infuriated her.

Maleficent managed to contain herself, and plucked the smallest strand of composure from a passing serving girl just to be safe. She went to greet the hosts, and smiled widely, even if that smile never reached her eyes. “Good evening, King Frederick. Queen Hannah.”

Frederick looked rather uncomfortable with her presence, and Maleficent took some small satisfaction in that fact. Hannah, however, positively beamed at her. “Queen Maleficent! I’m so happy to see you.” She took Maleficent’s hand in both of hers. “We heard about your late husband; I’m sorry for your loss. We figured it might be rude to intrude on your time of grief to ask you to come celebrate with us.”

“Yes, quite.” Maleficent withdrew her hand from the other queen’s grasp and pursed her lips; she hadn’t quite figured out what to make of Queen Hannah as of yet. She looked past the royal couple at the baby girl lying in a crib behind them. The three fairies, green, pink, and blue, had gathered around it. “I presume this is the child?”

“Yes. We’ve named her Aurora.” Queen Hannah smiled down at her daughter. “The fairies were just bestowing their gifts; Lena blessed her with beauty, and Frieda with cleverness.” She gestured to the pink and green fairies, who nodded their heads in turn. “Isn’t it marvelous?”

Marvelous? Did she really not know? Were witches so rare in this part of the realm? Maleficent turned to the two fairies just named, and in the ancient language of fae magic demanded of them, “And you did not warn them of the cost? Of what will happen to their beloved child halfway through her time in mortality? Are the fae now so underhanded?”

All three fairies gasped and turned pale, but not from what she’d said. No, they looked at her in horror when they realized she could speak their tongue, and the implications that carried.

Maleficent looked at the baby once more and reached out a hand, only to pull it back. Things were even worse than they appeared; the child was not destined to be long for the world. Such was part of Maleficent’s gift, and her curse; the things she could do let her see the span of a person’s life with just a glance.

She switched back to common tongue and announced, “Then I, too, shall bestow a gift on the child. Before the sun sets on her sixteenth birthday, she will be poisoned, whether by the prick of a finger or th flesh of an apple, and she will die, and be spared the cruelty of this unjust world.” And thus, the very day the child’s gifts would become curses, instead of the child, the cost would be reflected back on the wretched creatures that would so abuse the human race.

The entire hall was stunned silent, until Frederick shouted to the guard, “Seize her!”

Before the guards could take more than a single step, however, Maleficent stole the light and heat from all the torches in the room and released it in a burst around her. With all the dignity she carried as a queen, she strode out of the castle unimpeded, heedless of the mother’s cries that echoed behind her.

Prince Isaac was eight when his family went to go bring his sister back home. He didn’t know the details; most times, he didn’t even remember he had an older sister. She’d been taken by a fairy named Gothel before he was born to keep her safe. Something about a witch’s curse?

It all sounded like a grand adventure. But then Gothel stopped sending letters. Mum and Dad grew worried, and decided to go see her. Isaac asked to come along.

However, when they arrived, all they found was a long-abandoned shack in the woods. No sign of fairies or sisters, or even that anyone had ever lived here at all. The only thing they found was a single letter, and Isaac hadn’t been allowed to read it.

Soon, they went home, and Dad ordered his men to scour the land for even the faintest hint of where Gothel could have gone.

Rapunzel Next->

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