Disclaimer: I'm only going to say this once but it applies to all future chapters for this story. I do not own, nor will I profit from, any of the characters in this story. All recognizable characters belong to Disney, only the plot is mine. So here goes...
Chapter 1 - Prologue
The tower was dark. That was the first thing Gothel noticed when she awoke. Rapunzel always left at least one lamp lit overnight due to her pathetic fear of the dark. 'Mother' smirked at the thought. It was so easy to manipulate her when she was shaken.
She stood and crept into the main living space, intent on checking on Rapunzel, when her foot brushed against something. She looked down and noticed something dark coiled on the floor. Dread pooled in her chest & she frantically reached for a candle. With a quick flick of the match, light shone across the room & Gothel gasped. Long, brown hair draped down the stairs and coiled around the tower, the end of it tied to the window hook & drifted in the wind to the ground.
Desperately she dashed up the stairs to Rapunzel's room, ripping the curtain from the doorway. Most of Rapunzel's clothes were gone, as well as some of the 'treasures' Gothel had brought back from the outside world. She frantically gathered the long tresses in her arms, silent tears streaming down her face. As she reached the moonlit window she gazed down at the pale, knobbly, age-spotted hands clutching dead hair.
A scream tore through the night. Just minutes away, in the forest outside their ravine, Rapunzel's head jerked up. She hastily finished braiding one long lock of golden hair - her bangs that she refused to cut - and wrapped the braid around her neck. She fastened Gothel's cloak around her shoulders, yanked the too-big boots higher on her calves, checked the dagger stashed in her belt, & swung her bag over her head before darting off into the trees. Pascal poked his head out from the hood of her cloak & Rapunzel couldn't help but smile. She finally did it. And she never looked back.
A/N - So my kid is obsessed with Tangled. So I have watched it eighty five thousand times. And there are a few things that seriously bug me.
1. How does Rapunzel know when her birthday is? She was stolen as an infant (~1 year in this story), so unless Gothel TOLD her the lanterns showed up on her birthday (stupid move for a captor), how would she know?
2. What drawback does her healing ability have? There is a give & take to everything. Believable powers need a flaw, something that is taken from the user. You'll find out what the cost is for Rapunzel later on.
SO I've decided to write an AU that I'm calling Outlaw!Rapunzel & that I hope will take care of those serious plot holes.
Oh & 3. Rapunzel actually has a freaking backbone & leaves her abusive, manipulative "mother." (As you have just seen.) Seriously how unhealthy was THAT relationship? Passive-aggressive much? Ok. End rant.
Chapters for this story will be relatively short, and as of right now it's outlined to about 15 chapters, but I'm willing to take scene suggestions (tie ins to the movie are faves of mine) and I may break up chapters into multiple parts if I feel they're getting too long. So I hope you enjoy my AU take on Disney's Tangled.