Once upon a time, a commoner woman stood by the altar, a small silver necklace resting against the violet fabric of her dress.
This silver necklace was the the prince's favor, light in weight and the chain as small as a needle's point.
Her wedding was filled with nobles and earls and ladies that she did not know.
The guests of the wedding would not have known that this woman had borne twins. Twins that had the blood of the prince in their veins.
The prince had visited her chambers when she was a servant, a friendship ending into an impulsive, passionate storm.
The king and queen had been mortified but made an ultimatum with the commoner woman. If she would marry their son then she would be considered fit to raise her children.
And now, as she watched the prince enter the ornate church, she forced her cold hands to stop shaking and to will away the sinking feeling in her stomach.
The night had not ended well for the commoner woman.
For when she asked to see her children, her husband had loftily informed her that both were sent away separately to orphanages far away from this kingdom.
Seeing his wife's blanched face, he explained that it was better to start this life anew and that she could replace them in no time.
The commoner woman screamed, her hands clawing at the silver necklace around her neck. It pulled apart easily in her frenzied hands, scattering across the stone floor.
She threw herself on the bed and the prince wisely left her alone.
That night she fashioned a rope out of the silk sheets and escaped by climbing out the window.
The commoner woman fled the kingdom, surviving in the wilderness by feasting upon fruit and roots.
Her hair had grown to much more than an annoyance, trailing behind her and becoming thick with grime.
Eventually she came upon an ivory tower, with a grand garden surrounding the structure.
By sure force of luck, the owner of the tower had been out tending to this garden. She was a witch, though there was a kind look in her eyes.
The commoner woman was given proper care and found herself employed under the witch. She was to live in the ivory tower and help the witch care for the garden.
One day, the witch had left for supplies in the village and the garden was attacked by a desperate man.
He accidentally tore apart the rapunzel in his hands, apologies flowing from his mouth.
The commoner woman demanded an explanation, her long hair seemingly alive with her anger.
The desperate man, his voice cracking, explained that if he did not give the rapunzel to his pregnant wife then she would die.
The commoner woman's expression softened and she twisted a lock of hair around her hand.
She let him go with a fresh rapunzel plant but made him swear to not be a thief. Some other witch's garden would not be so merciful.
When an explanation was given to the witch, the commoner woman told her whole story.
And with the witch's blessing, and a cut of her hair, the commoner woman set off to find her children.
A/N: Originally posted on Ao3 on October 31st 2016
Inspiration taken from the prompt "Rewrite a classic fairy tale by telling it backwards. The end is now the beginning."
I made the prince undergo an adaptational villainy... I also wonder why there are so many twins in fairy tales.