Tangled
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Once Upon a Time, nor do I own the plot of Tangled. I had to change who some of the characters are to fit the parallel, but I hope I do fans of Once Upon a Time and Tangled alike justice. Lines in italics are part of the narration by a character in the story. Lines in regular text are description or dialogue. Now, on to the story!
Chapter 1
"This is the story of how I died. Don't worry, this is actually a very fun story, and the truth is, it isn't even mine. This is the story of a girl named Regina. And it starts with the sun," a male narrator says.
Now, once upon a time a single drop of sunlight fell from the heavens, and from this small drop of sun grew a magic golden flower. It had the ability to heal the sick and injured. An elderly woman in a Victorian era dress approaches the sight of the magical flower, uncovering the flower from the wicker basket she placed over it.
"Oh, you see that old woman over there? You might want to remember her. She's kinda important," the narrator warns.
Well, centuries passed, and a hop, skip, and a boat ride away there grew a kingdom. The kingdom was ruled by a beloved king and queen, King Henry and Queen Lilly. And the queen, well, she was about to have a baby. The baby would be the first heir to the throne, as the King and Queen had no other children. But, she got sick. Really sick. She was running out of time, and that's when people usually start to look for a miracle. Or, in this case, a magic golden flower.
"Sire, we are ready to begin the search for the flower," the royal guard tells King Henry.
"Very good. We must make haste. Lilly doesn't have much time. We must save both her and our child," King Henry responds, a look of concern on his face.
The guard simply nods before walking the saddened king out of his bedroom, away from his wife. The men set out in boats and on foot to start looking for the magic golden flower that is rumored to grow in the woods near the castle.
The elderly woman who knows of this flower is unaware that the king and his men are looking for her magic flower. She goes over to the flower's position and removes the basket.
"Ah, I told you she'd be important," the narrator smirks at his listeners.
You see, instead of sharing the sun's gift, this woman, Cora, hoards its healing power and uses it to keep herself young for hundreds of years. And all she has to do was sing a special song.
"Flower gleam and glow. Let your power shine. Make the clock reverse. Bring back what once was mine. What once was mine," Cora sings to the flower, her complexion smoothing out as she becomes younger.
"All right, you get the gist. She sings to it she turns young. Creepy, right?"
Cora hears footsteps approaching from the woods and quickly throws the basket over the flower. As she turns to flee, Cora's foot catches in the basket, unbeknownst to her. The basket gets ripped from the flower, leaving the sun's gift exposed. The soldiers who are searching the woods run towards the glowing golden plant, eager to retrieve it for the king. The pair of men walks over to the flower and they know that this is the plant that can save their beloved queen and her unborn child.
"We found it!" one of the men calls to King Henry.
King Henry rushes over to his men and stares at the flower in amazement. They had found the plant that could cure the love of his life and save their child. A single tear escapes the king's eye, and he claps his men over the back in thanks. He will make sure that these two men are properly recompensed when they return back to the castle.
"Thank you, men. Now, we must get this back to Lilly. She needs it very soon," King Henry tells them as they head back for the ship.
Once King Henry reaches the castle, he races up to his bedroom and places the magic golden flower in a cup of tea for his beautiful wife. Once the flower has dissolved in the tea, he tilts Lilly's head and helps her swallow the tea. The magic of the golden flower healed the queen. A few days later, it is time for the heir to the throne to be born.
"King Henry, sire, you can come in now," the midwife tells her king as he stops his pacing in the hallway.
A healthy baby girl, a princess, is born with magic running through her veins. No one knows that the princess has magic, no one except for Cora, that is. The child has beautiful brown hair, with dark brown eyes to match. She reaches a hand out for her mother as Queen Lilly places the newborn into her bassinet. The little princess has already captured the heart of her kingdom, though only her parents and workers in the castle have seen her.
"I'll give you a hint. That's Regina."
Later on in the night, King Henry gets his princess out of her bassinet and cradles her in his big, strong arms. He walks her out towards the balcony, Queen Lilly not too far behind her husband and daughter. To celebrate her birth, the king and queen launch a flying lantern into the sky. The kingdom takes this as a sign that a princess has been born, and each loyal subject rejoices. For that one moment, everything is perfect. King Henry and Queen Lilly look down at Princess Regina with love filling their eyes as they watch their perfect daughter. The royal couple could not have hoped for a better child. As Regina yawns, King Henry hands her over to her mother before heading into the bedroom himself. Queen Lilly places her newborn into her bassinet on her back, being careful not to let Regina flip over onto her stomach. King Henry folds the blankets of the bed down before climbing into bed himself. Queen Lilly settles down beside him after she makes sure Regina is fast asleep. The perfect moment continues as the family slumbers. And then that moment ends.
The window of the royal bedroom quietly opens, and a cloaked woman steps inside the bedroom. King Henry and Queen Lilly remain asleep in their bed, wrapped in each other's warm embrace. Princess Regina quietly sleeps in her bassinet, still on her back. She has her tiny hands wrapped into little fists, twitching every now and then as she sleeps. The cloaked woman walks over to Regina and peers into the precious baby's bassinet.
"Flower gleam and glow. Let your power shine. Make the clock reverse…" Cora begins to sing, which causes Regina's hair to softly glow.
Cora cuts off a strand of Regina's hair, hoping to obtain a small percentage of the baby's magic. The hair grows darker in Cora's hand, and it loses the magical properties it once had. Cora decides that if she can't have a part of the child, then she wants the whole thing. She roughly picks up Princess Regina, which causes the baby to begin crying. King Henry and Queen Lilly instantly wake up upon hearing their daughter's cries and rush towards the other side of the room. Cora is too fast for them. Cora broke into the castle, stole the child, and just like that, gone. Queen Lilly begins to cry, not believing she lost her only child only a few hours after she was born. The King does his best to console his wife, but no words can soothe the pain she feels in her heart for her missing infant. King Henry, not wanting to give up easily, assembles a group of his best men to help him go out and look for Princess Regina and the horrible woman who took his precious daughter.
"Lilly, we will do whatever in our power to get Regina back. We will see her again, I promise," King Henry tells his wife as he grabs his bow and arrow off the table.
Meanwhile, Cora runs through the woods with Regina clutched tightly to her chest. Regina wails and cries as the strange woman runs with her, taking the young princess farther away from her parents. Soon, Cora reaches a secluded part of the woods and heads for the large stone tower that ominously looms in the distance. She opens the hidden door to the tower and rushes inside with Regina, slamming the door behind her. She was never going to let anyone find Princess Regina. She was going to make sure of that. Regina continues crying and screaming, knowing that Cora is not her mother and wanting to be back in her mother's soft hands or her father's strong, but gentle, arms.
"Hush, Regina. I am your Mommy now. You are going to love me, and I am going to raise you as my own. You'll like living with me much more than you would like living in a castle," Cora coos as she places Regina in a makeshift bassinet.
The kingdom searched and searched, but they could not find the princess. For deep within the forest, in a hidden tower, Cora raises the child as her own. Cora has found her new magic flower, but this time, she is determined to keep it hidden.
Two Years Later
King Henry and Queen Lilly have almost given up hope of finding Regna. It has been two years, and they have heard no news of their daughter's whereabouts. For all they know, their princess could be dead. They couldn't be farther away from the truth. In the tower, Cora is brushing Regina's hair while getting the princess to sing her the magic song that enacts the magic in her hair.
"Save what has been lost. Bring back what once was mine. What once was mine," Regina sings in a cute tone as her "mother" brushes her long brown hair.
Cora becomes younger as Regina sings, and a content smile passes over her face. Regina, however, is not so content with the current situations. She turns two tomorrow, and she has never been outside the tower that she has called home. Her childish curiosity gets the best of her, so she asks her mother a question.
"Why can't I go outside?" Regina asks in an innocent tone.
"The outside world is a dangerous place filled with horrible, selfish people. You must stay here where you're safe. Do you understand, flower?" Cora responds, enacting the lie she has been planning ever since she kidnapped Regina from the castle.
"Yes, Mommy," Regina says in a slightly dejected tone.
But, the walls of that tower cannot hide everything. Each year on her birthday the king and queen release thousands of lanterns into the sky in hope that one day their lost princess will return.
Author's Note: Well, there's the first chapter! This was so much fun to write! Does anyone have any guesses as to who our mysterious narrator might be? If so, post your guesses in the comments section. Also, please review with what you think of it so far. I would greatly appreciate hearing what you think of this so far! I will try to update as soon as possible. Please review, and I thank you for your time, views, and comments! Until next time, my lovely readers!