It was cold down in the dungeons, and Rapunzel shivered as they went deeper underground. Further and further they traveled until every drop of sunlight was snuffed out. Out of habit, she wrapped some of her hair around her body as she usually did when she was afraid. Before long, a cell came into view. The woman inside sat with her back to the bars, and appeared to be curled in on herself.
"Halt!" she called to the guards who had escorted her.
"But your Highness, our instructions were-"
"I don't care. You will obey my orders at the present moment in time."
"Yes, your Highness."
"Thank you. Go back and wait on the upper level. I'll join you when I'm through here."
"Yes, your Highness."
They bowed and were gone. Taking a deep fortifying breath, the young princess approached the prisoner. She didn't turn at the sound of footsteps, opting to keep her face hidden. Rapunzel sighed and sat down beside the bars.
"Hello, Mother."
"Rapunzel," the woman responded, though it was devoid of emotion.
She should hate her. This was the woman who had kidnapped her, kept her hidden, and lied to her for eighteen years. But she was also Mother. Mother, who had comforted her when she was scared. Mother, who had made long journeys for paint just to keep her happy.
Mother, who knew her better than anyone else. She sighed again, feeling a headache coming on at the surge of conflicting emotions. She turned and slumped against the bars and could just feel the older woman's back press against her own.
"Mother, please turn around."
She heard shuffling and chains clinking. She winced at the sound, but knew it was better than the alternative. When the silence had resumed, she turned her own body to face the woman. They stared at each other for several minutes, silvery gray locked on green. Gothel was the first to break eye contact.
"What do you want, Rapunzel?"
"I just wanted to see you."
"Why is that? You have your dream life upstairs. And I'm not part of it. I'm simply waiting to die."
She looked angry, but at the same time resigned to her fate. She shivered in the cool air and for the first time the young woman noticed the thin gray dress she was wearing. It was nowhere near thick enough to block out the chilly air. Without thinking twice, she reached through the bars and took one of the older woman's hands between her own, wincing at how cold it was. She began massaging it, hoping to get some warmth back into the appendage.
The older woman sighed as feeling began to return to her right hand. She slid a little closer to the barrier that separated her from the girl she had looked after for nearly twenty years. Despite her approach to parenting, she did love the girl. She had tried hard to show it throughout the years, teaching her to read, paint and sing. But she had failed in the long run, and look where she ended up because of her selfishness.
All this trouble for a flower to keep her young. Her vanity had been her downfall, just as her own mother had warned centuries ago. She had aged in the time she had been prisoner. Not to the old hag she despised, but to an appearance of her late forties or early fifties. She had caught sight of herself in one of the puddles in the floor of her cell and had kept her eyes closed ever since.
She shivered again as another gust of cold air swept across her body. Rapunzel tensed and froze for a split second before reaching down the bodice of her dress. The older woman watched in fascination as a key was revealed.
"Is that?" she asked, a weak flame of hope beginning to burn in her chest. Perhaps the girl didn't hate her after all.
Rapunzel nodded and signaled for her to keep quiet. The key fit smoothly into the lock and turned with ease. She slowly coaxed the door open, careful not to let the hinges squeak. Once there was an opening wide enough for her to fit through, she eased inside the cell and shut the door behind her. She sat beside the older woman, and after a few seconds, hesitantly wrapped her arms around her. Gothel sighed at the warmth that enveloped her, the first she had felt since being "escorted" to the cell.
Rapunzel gasped at the feeling of the older woman's skin.
"You're ice cold!"
"They don't exactly provide luxuries when you're being held prisoner," Gothel replied drily.
She tucked her body into a tighter ball, and it wasn't long before she felt the girl's hair being spread across her. It provided a little warmth, and her mind went back to a time when Rapunzel had been a little girl and they had to do the same thing because they ran out of firewood. Rapunzel bit her lip, worried for the woman. She had come here to straighten things out, not keep her from freezing to death. She chewed her lip, sighed, and decided to get it over with.
"Mother," she felt the older woman relax at the familiarity, "did you ever love me?"
The older woman tensed and struggled to sit up, but found she couldn't manage it. What to say? Of course she loved her, but would she believe her? Probably not, but she would try.
"Yes, very much. But I must admit, it took a while for me to realize it."
"Why?"
"Because I didn't want a child." She sighed. "In the beginning you were so fussy. I couldn't keep you quiet for more than a few minutes at a time. It annoyed and frightened me. I was afraid the royal guards would hear your wails and find the tower.
"I had almost decided to give you back because I couldn't stand the crying when it happened. You grew silent and just stared at me. It was unnerving at first, how critically you were looking at me, almost as if you knew I wasn't actually your mother. But then you smiled and laughed, and I felt something happen. I still can't describe it, but after that it was easier to tolerate you.
"And then, as you got older, you became very affectionate. Always giving hugs and kisses or wanting to snuggle." A soft smile crossed her face as she recalled the early years, years before the girl had discovered the lanterns. "And one day, you looked at me and called me mama. I knew then that I loved you, and if I cared to admit it had probably loved you even before that."
She fell silent and for a while Rapunzel didn't ask any questions. They were each in their own world, absorbed in their own thoughts. Rapunzel looked down at a small movement from Gothel. It came again, and the Princess finally understood what it was. The woman was sneezing, no surprise considering her surroundings.
"Okay, come on. We're going upstairs."
"I can't. Unless you've forgotten, I'm a prisoner. This is where I live...at least until I'm hanged."
She turned her head and sneezed again, but the Princess pulled her up anyway. She turned to exit the cell, forgetting that the older woman was chained. She got as far as the bars before the chains jerked them both back.
"You see?" the older woman asked with a sad smile. "Even if I wanted to leave your parents have made absolutely sure I can't."
Rapunzel looked long and hard at the chains and then at the key she held. With a steadiness that suggested triumph, she inserted the key into the lock of the chains. It slid in smoothly and turned easily. The cuffs fell open, and Gothel quickly brought her hands to her body. She cradled her bruised wrists close, not hesitating in following they Princess out of the cell and up the stairs.
The guards immediately drew their swords when they saw her, but Rapunzel stepped in front of her.
"No! Put away your weapons! She has my permission to be out of her cell."
"But your Highness, she is to be hanged for-"
"No, she is not. I have spoken with my parents and convinced them a life sentence was preferable. She is to be moved to a cell on the uppermost floor and she is to be treated with the utmost respect. Am I clear?"
"Yes, Highness."
"You will escort us to her new cell."
The guards turned to carry out their orders and Gothel held Rapunzel back. She turned a confused eye on her, but the older woman waited until the guards were out of hearing range before speaking her mind.
"You spoke to the king and queen? I'm not going to die?"
"Well, spoke is such a loose term..."
"You lied?"
"Not exactly. You are going to serve a life sentence, but I didn't speak to them. It was more like I sobbed and begged them not to have you hanged."
"Why would you do that? After all I did to you."
Rapunzel sighed heavily, trying to choose the easiest way to explain it her.
"Because, for all the lies you've ever told me, all the irrational fears you put into my head, and all the horrible insults to diminish my self-esteem, there were good things. The hazelnut soup, the cuddles when I was younger and the hugs when I was older, the paints. The list goes on and on. For every horrible thing you ever said to me, you said or did something kind. And, you know me better than anyone in this castle will ever hope to. In short-you're still my mother."
Gothel was shocked, so much so that Rapunzel had to take her hand and guide her up the several flights of stairs to ground level where her new cell was. She was still stunned as the Princess gently sat her on her bed and sang to her to make her young. She didn't even feel herself grow young. It wasn't until the Princess was about to leave that she snapped out of it.
"Wait!" she called desperately.
Rapunzel paused and the guards looked at her anxiously. She waved them away, signaling it would be fine to leave her alone with the prisoner. She turned to face the woman.
"What, Mother?"
She opened her arms and held her breath, just hoping that their relationship wasn't past repair. Rapunzel looked from her face to her arms, debating and wondering. It had been so long since she'd had a proper hug, or at least one that didn't feel awkward. Gothel began to grow nervous when the girl didn't move, and her arms began to lower. Seeing this, the Princess quickly ran into her arms.
The hold was familiar and comfortable, not at all like the smothering hugs she got from her real mother or the stiff hugs from her father. She inhaled deeply, relaxing when she smelled the familiar scent of forest and roses that always seemed to engulf the older woman. It felt good to have that normalcy, and neither woman could deny how right it felt.
"I love you," Gothel whispered into the mane of blonde hair.
"I love you more," came the reply muffled into her shoulder.
"I love you most."
And for the first time, Rapunzel wholeheartedly believed it.
AN: Well, what did you think? I feel like I could continue this and maybe add in how the queen feels about their new life-long prisoner and her relationship with her daughter. If I get enough positive reviews I'll continue it, so be sure to tell me!