For Want of Love
Disclaimer: I don't own Into The Woods :(
Author's Note: Hi! This is my first story for this fandom, and as I haven't read any fanfiction for it yet, I do not know if anything like this has been done before. As such, any similarities to another tale are purely coincidental. I hope you all enjoy this! I got the idea and couldn't get it out of my head until I wrote it. Thanks for clicking on, and please leave me a review if you liked it! :)
Once upon a time,
there lived a lonely witch. Spurned by her mother since birth, the witch, whose name was Hazel, isolated herself from the many nearby villages. Knowing nothing but loneliness, Hazel longed to find someone with whom she could share happiness. Hazel wanted a child.
And so it was that the lonely old sorceress fashioned herself a home in the middle of the great woods that surrounded the kingdom. Using her magic, Hazel covered her small cottage with sweets of every shape and size, making them look and smell as delectable as they surely tasted. For years, Hazel watched many children walk to her home for a lick, but they never stayed. And Hazel never forced them - she knew that if she forced a child to stay with her, they would surely run. She had to find a child who wanted to be with her - only then could she be happy.
And then, she met Gretel.
The poor girl was starving and sick when she crawled to Hazel's front door. She couldn't have been more than six years of age, yet she didn't even glance at the candy surrounding her. She knocked with fervor, calling out in a weak voice, "Please, help me! Let me in!"
Hazel, who had been reading, quickly got up and opened her front door. The child was lying there weeping, shivering from the cold. She was dressed in rags, and looked as poor and lowly as she had ever seen a child.
"Oh, you poor thing!" exclaimed Hazel with empathy. She scooped the frail girl into her arms, amazed by her small stature. She glanced to make sure that the child had no one with her before bringing her graciously into her home. She set the child down on her large bed, and covered her with many blankets. Exhausted, the little girl fell asleep without even telling Hazel her name.
For two days Hazel cared for the girl, fetching her hot water and soup. She fed and clothed and loved the poor child, giving into a motherly instict that she wasn't even aware she possessed. The girl never woke up, which worried Hazel greatly, but she tried to focus all her energy on reviving her. She told the girl stories while she slept, in between changing her blankets and bringing down her fever. There was an hour or so when Hazel was sure the child would die, but she managed to pull through.
On a rainy afternoon, the child woke up.
She was frightened, but so grateful to Hazel for caring for her. She explained that she and her brother had been banished from their father's house by their wicked stepmother, and so they had taken to the woods to find somewhere new to live. Their new freedom had been short-lived, however, when a cunning wolf had tricked them and taken the life of her brother. The girl, who shared that her name was Gretel, had taken off through the trees, where she lived alone for a week without food or shelter. She'd been in a dreadful state when she saw the smoke rising from Hazel's chimney.
"So you have nowhere to go, dear?" asked Hazel worriedly. Tears in her soft eyes, Gretel shook her head.
"Not to worry," said Hazel, putting an arm around Gretel's shaking shoulders. "I will give you protection, Gretel. You need never fear again."
For several years, Gretel and Hazel had a happy life. Hazel was finally the mother she had always longed to be, and Gretel was safe and warm and looked after. There was but one trouble - Gretel still had nightmares about her brother and her stepmother. They always resulted in Gretel's waking up in the middle of the night, shrieking. It was then that Hazel developed an idea.
"You dream of a life you are no longer a part of, my darling. You are not that child anymore. You are my daughter."
"But I am still Gretel," the child pointed out with a sad expression. Hazel lifted her chin up to meet her eyes.
"Part of you will always be Gretel, my child, but you need not be her any longer. From now on, you shall be Agatha, my child. And Agatha is afraid of nothing."
By the time she was eleven, Gretel, or rather, Agatha, began showing signs of beauty, the likes of which Hazel had never seen. She felt blessed to be raising such a child.
Wanting to share something with her daughter, Hazel began teaching the girl magic on the eve of her twelfth birthday. Agatha was a natural, showing signs of powers that Hazel had never imagined were existant within the girl. By the tender age of fourteen, Agatha had far exceeded her mother's expectations, and was performing spells by the hour that had taken Hazel years to learn.
"Are you proud of me, mother?" Agatha asked one day, eyes lighting up with joy. Hazel, who was truthfully more frightened by her daughter's progress than impressed, feigned a smile and replied, "Of course, Aggie. You're so gifted."
It was around this time that Agatha met Alonzo.
She'd been walking through the woods picking flowers when she'd heard the sound of someone following her. Scared, and still fearful of wolves even after all those years, Agatha used her magic to trap the body she surely knew was behind her. When she turned she saw a boy, perhaps a year or two older than she, tied up by the ropes that Agatha had fashioned.
"Please, let me go!" the boy begged, struggling to free himself from his bindings. "I didn' mean to scare ya!"
The boy was handsome, and the first boy that Agatha had seen for many years. She was under a spell of love the moment she looked into his dark eyes. Without a word she snapped her fingers, and the ropes vanished.
"You're a witch!" the boy exclaimed, eyes widening. Agatha surely looked affronted by the accusation.
"I'm an Agatha," she corrected quickly, narrowing her eyes. "I'm no witch."
"But y-ya made those ropes come from nowhere!" the boy shrieked. Agatha rolled her eyes.
"I obviously have magic. But that doesn't make me a witch." she said.
The boy looked confused. "Then what does that make ya?"
Agatha smiled slightly, and shrugged. "I don't know. I guess it just makes me enchanting."
The boy began to seem more at ease, and he, too, seemed to be attracted by Agatha's charms. He bowed, and extended his hand. When Agatha gave him hers, he kissed it, and said, "My name is Alonzo. A pleasure to meet ya, Agatha."
Agatha wasn't sure why she kept her love for Alonzo from her mother. Perhaps she was frightened that her mother wouldn't accept him, as he was no prince or royal. He was the son of a baker from a nearby village. The two of them met in the woods all the time, falling into a state of bliss. For a year they kept their love a secret, but when Alonzo presented Agatha with a ring one night, they knew they could keep it a secret no longer. It was with a fearful heart that Agatha, holding Alonzo's strong hand in her own, made her way home to introduce him to her mother.
Hazel was initially quite taken with her daughter's new friend, but when she saw the ring and its meaning, she quickly became backed in a corner. She wanted for Agatha's happiness, but Hazel was a selfish woman by nature, and couldn't bear the thought of losing her only child. Fearful and unsure, Hazel's magic struck out without thinking, and the burst hit Alonzo. He fell forward to the floor, and Agatha screamed.
"What have you done to him?" she shrieked, falling to her fiance's side. She was relieved that he was breathing and seemed unharmed, but she knew Hazel's magic must have done something.
"Agatha, I-I'm so sorry," Hazel gasped, eyes wide. "I can't lose you."
"You weren't losing me, mother!" cried Agatha. "Our family was only going to grow!"
"You would have left me!" screamed Hazel violently, shaking her daughter's shoulders with all her might. "You cannot leave me! You're never to see him, or any boy again!"
"Mother, you can't do that!" sobbed Agatha, shielding Alonzo's body with her own. "I'll let you do nothing else to him! I love him!"
"But he won't love you when he wakes." said Hazel grimly, cackling madly. For the first time, Agatha began to wonder who her mother truly was, for she had never seen such a malicious side to the normally even-tempered woman. "In fact, he won't remember a single moment he ever spent with you."
"No!" scried Agatha. "How do I reverse this curse?"
"You don't." hissed Hazel. With a snap of her fingers, Alonzo disappeared, and reappeared on the front steps of his father's bakery. Agatha's fingers grasped at the floor where Alonzo had been, as if searching for him. "Don't you see, Aggie? We can be happy, just us two."
"No!"
"Stop saying that!" cried Hazel. "You are not leaving me, Agatha! You're my child - you'll listen to me! Children must listen!"
That night, as the clock struck midnight, Agatha gathered her belongings and left her mother's house. She wandered through the woods for hours until she reached the edge. She saw a village sitting there peacefully, and decided that it was far away enough that her mother would never be able to find her. Using her powers, she fashioned for herself a cottage, much like the others around her. Her new house was quaint, and Agatha knew she would be happy.
For weeks, Agatha maintained the life of any other villager. She kept her house simple and clean, and tended a garden. The garden was Agatha's pride and joy. She raised all kinds of plants and vegetables there, and the growth of their vines gave Agatha's heart happiness.
And then, one day, she heard a knock at the door. Surprised at having a visiter, Agatha answered the caller without a thought.
She was shocked into silence was she saw Alonzo standing before her, his goofy grin plastered on his face. His eyes twinkled with light, and the sight of him made Agatha's throat constrict.
"Hello!" he greeted jovially. "I would shake your hand, miss, but I'm afraid mine are a bit full." Alonzo laughed, and Agatha noticed the large basket he held out. It was filled to the brim with breads and sweets. "My name is Alonzo. Boy, I feel mighty rude comin' out to ya so late, but things have been busy. My family owns the bakery next door, and we wanted to welcome ya to the village." Alonzo handed a stunned Agatha the basket. She placed it on the table next to her, and tried to regain her composure. It was quite clear that her true love held no remembrance of her.
"I'm Aggie." she told him, using her nickname with the hopes that perhaps it would jog his memory. It did not. While he chatted on with her in his kind, customary way, Agatha tried many spells to rid him of her mother's curse, but there was no breaking it. Her Alonzo was gone from her.
And then a thought struck her - perhaps she could make him fall in love with her once more!
"Oh, would you like to come in, Alonzo?" asked Agatha sweetly, a hopeful tone entering her voice. Her smile was genuine.
"Oh golly, I would love to Miss Aggie," smiled Alonzo in return. "But I can't today. I'm helping my father was a particularly large order of sticky buns until this afternoon, and then I have reason to believe my fiancee will be calling on me." His smile never faltered.
What was left of Agatha's heart shattered into a thousand pieces. "Y-Your fiancee?" she questioned. Alonzo nodded.
"It's an arranged marriage, but she's really a lovely girl. We'll be quite happy together. In fact, I think I may be falling in love with her already!"
For days, Agatha wouldn't touch food. She barely slept at night, dreams of Alonzo plaguing her. Her love was so close to her, but he was so out of reach. It was torment watching him day after day, but knowing that she'd lost him forever.
One day, Agatha saw a beautiful young woman call on the baker's son, and she knew that she would be forced to watch she and Alonzo happily stroll through the village until sunset. Oh, dear, what if they called on her for a visit? Aggie knew her heart would not be able to stand it. Without a thought, she vanished from her living room and found herself on a walk through the woods.
She'd only been walking for half an hour when a regal voice called out to her.
"Greetings, fair maiden!" the man said. Agatha turned only to find the kingdom's own prince standing in her midst. She fell to her knees.
"Hello, your highness." she greeted. She heard the prince laugh from above her.
"Oh, stand up, please." he said to her. Agatha stood. "I am not this land's prince, fair lady. My father is the king of another land. I come as a diplomat from the next kingdom over. I'm on my way to the castle now."
"On foot?" questioned Agatha, some of the pressure for her to be as polite as possible lifted. "I would think your majesty would have a steed to take him on such a journey."
"On the contrary," the prince said. "I find that walking opens doors that would otherwise be closed to me."
Agatha's eyes widened as the prince drew closer to her. His lips were directly in front of hers, and he whispered hoarsley, "Can I kiss you?"
"I am no princess," breathed Agatha, her heart pounding. The prince laughed, as though her comment was entirely irrelevant.
"Anything can happen in the woods," he pointed out.
In the coming months, Alonzo married his new lover, and Agatha found herself with child. She desperately searched for the prince she had met in the woods that day, but she was never able to locate him. It was as though he had vanished entirely. She'd even found the courage to ask the royal family where he was, explaining her situation with great honesty, but the king and his wife did not believe her. They thought her to be a lying peasant. And it was in those moments that Agatha knew she would never be able to count on the royal family for anything.
Agatha tried to ignore Alonzo on the rare occasions she saw him, but it was difficult. Her blackened heart shriveled each time she heard him laugh at something his new bride said. Each time they kissed or embraced, she felt pure jealousy and anger. These emotions made her bitter.
The thought of the child she was to bear was the only thing that kept her somewhat happy. She knew that no matter what, her sweet and precious baby would never abandon her. They would live together forever, as a happy little family.
The time had almost come for Agatha's baby to arrive when Hazel at long last located her daughter. She congratulated the girl for being clever enough to avoid her for so long. Agatha was more terrified of the woman who'd raised her than she ever had been before.
"Please, leave me alone." Agatha begged, tears stinging her eyes. "I just want to be left alone."
"Of course, of course," placated Hazel, a strange look in her eyes. "I only came to find you so I could say goodbye." Hazel explained to Agatha that her health had been rapidly declining, and she knew that she would soon die. Agatha was sorry to hear it, as part of her truly loved her mother, but her relief shone through slightly, as she would never have to run away again to be safe.
"I see that you're to have a baby." said Hazel, looking to Agatha's swelled stomach. Agatha swallowed hard.
"You are right." she said, nodding. Hazel clicked her tongue.
"Why should you be so happy?" she murmured. Agatha's anger burst.
"Happy? You took away my only love, forced me out of my home, tried to keep me away from the future that would have made me glad, and then I am seduced by a prince who wasn't even around long enough to learn that he was to be a father! If that is a happy ending in your eyes, mother, then I feel sorely sorry for you!"
"How dare you speak to your mother that way?" asked Agatha, aghast. "Well, my child, how about this? Now, I shall take away every bit of your happiness!" And so it was that Hazel cursed her daughter. "After your daughter is born, you may love her with all your heart, but she will hate the sight of you. She will not be able to look at you without malice in her eyes. And once she is born, you shall never have another child again!" Hazel's magic hit Agatha, who fell to the ground in misery. "Now how is that for a change? Now you will know my pain, Aggie, darling. Now you will know how it feels to lose the child you always wanted!"
Agatha looked up to her mother, crying manically. "Mother, undo this! You cannot wish such an ending upon your own daughter!"
"And that's not all!" laughed Hazel madly, her magic nearly bursting at the seams. "That garden you are so fond of, Aggie? Why don't I do something to that as well?"
"Mother, don't!" screeched Agatha, picking herself up from the ground. Her own magic bubbled at the surface. "You will take back your wretched curse, and you will not touch my garden!"
"Children must listen!" screamed Hazel. "Those beans that you are growing are now enchanted. And if they ever leave your possession, you shall be punished most severely. That way, I will always have a grip on you, my darling, even in death."
"Stop it! Stop!" begged Agatha, the tears blinding her vision. "I don't want to have to hurt you, mother, but if you don't take your magic back now, I'll have to!"
"Go ahead, Aggie, kill me." said Hazel darkly. "I am old and ugly, and you, my own daughter, want nothing to do with me. Let me die."
"Take back your curses first!" but Agatha was cut off, for suddenly, she felt pain wrack throughout her body. Her baby was coming. She looked up to Hazel with tortured eyes and begged one final time, "Please!" Hazel only shook her head. "This is a witch's ending, Aggie. We never find happiness. Children can only grow from something you love to something to lose. I'm sparing you the heartache."
Another shot of pain tore through Agatha, and as she cried out in pain, her magic escaped her and knocked her mother right out the door. The old witch vanished in a pile of ash, dead.
Agatha had her child that very night. The beautiful young girl looked just like her - beautiful brown curls, and shining eyes. Agatha loved the little girl more than anything in the world, and gave her a name that befit such beauty.
But Hazel's curse stood. The baby would not nurse from Agatha, and each time she tried to hold her daughter, the child shrieked so loudly that it woke the neighbors. Agatha knew that her baby would starve and cry herself to death if she did not give her up. She tried every manner of magic possible to free her baby from her reasonless hatred of her, but nothing worked. And so it was that Agatha found herself and her baby walking through the woods one night, Agatha crying tears of agony.
They happened upon a woman in the woods, who was mourning the fact that she, much like Agatha now found herself, was unable to have children. The woman was kind of face and heart, and told Agatha that her name was Wendy.
"My husband and I only want a child." she implored. Agatha looked down to her baby, who was fast asleep. She turned back to Wendy.
"I have had a curse placed upon me," she explained broken-heartedly. Here her mother was, winning even in death. "That this beautiful child shall always loathe me. She won't even nurse. She will die if I keep her any longer." Agatha looked to her baby girl, knowing that she would most likely never see her again. She handed the basket to Wendy, who took it in disbelief. "Her name is Ella. And you will take care of her!" Agatha saw that Wendy would never hurt Ella, but she knew she had to make sure. "If you do, I will curse you and your entire family!"
"I-I would never hurt this child," Wendy stammered, looking down at her new daughter with fresh tears. "I will always protect her."
"I'd like some insurance." said Agatha. With a beam of magic, she put a spell on Wendy that would ensure she would always be with Ella. "As her mother, you should be with her anyways. But even if you were to die, you would stay with her to protect her."
"You can create such magic?" asked Wendy.
"I just did." said Agatha angrily. She turned on her heel and went home, leaving Wendy and Ella alone in the woods.
Without her daughter, Agatha was even more miserable than before. She was loathed to see Alonzo and his wife strut through the village with their newborn son, and even more loathed to find that Alonzo's wife was pregnant with their second child. It was more unfair than Agatha could even bear to fathom.
One night, eight months after Agatha had given up Ella, she heard a disturbance in her backyard. She got out of bed and found Alonzo digging through her garden, picking her precious vegetables and placing them in the basket he held. Agatha's eyes angry and violent, she cried,
"What are you doing in my garden?!"
"P-Please!" begged Alonzo. "My wife, she saw your vegetables and said they were all she wanted! She is with child, please, have mercy!"
Agatha wanted to curse him right there, but found restraint somewhere in her soul. The lonely Aggie's mind began to weave a web that Alonzo would not be able to escape from. She may not be able to have him, but that didn't mean she couldn't finally have the company she so desired.
"You may have my greens," she told him, acid leaking into her tone. "But I want something in exchange."
"Anything you desire, it is yours!" Alonzo promised.
"You will give me the child that your wife will bear."
The deal struck, Alonzo hurried out of Agatha's garden. But the moment he did, Agatha felt magic begin to spread through her entire body. In a haze of pain, she felt her form begin to melt away. Her back became hunched, her fingers turned to claws, and all the ugliness in the world fell upon her. She became old and wizened, and as her eyes raked over her garden, she noticed six of her beans were missing.
When Alonzo's daughter was born, he forced his wife to give her to Agatha. Agatha took the little girl away, and hid her in a tower far from where anyone could ever take her away. The child, whom Agatha named Rapunzel, was the only one who could accept the witch for who she really was. She was Agatha's only family.
As punishment for Alonzo's thievery of Agatha's beans, she cursed he, his wife, and their small boy that they would never have another child as long as any of them lived.
Alonzo's wife soon died of a broken heart, and Alonzo ran off into the woods due to the fear of raising his son alone. The boy, who was only two and could not very well take care of himself, was looked after by Agatha herself out of the kindness of her heart. And when he was old enough to manage on his own, she wiped every memory of her from his mind, save that she was his neighbor.
Rapunzel could not replace Ella in Agatha's heart, but she was still her daughter, and she loved her every bit as much as she still loved Ella. She raised her with grace and compassion, her only folley being the inherent fear that she would one day be taken away from her. But Agatha forced such thoughts never to enter her mind, for she feared they would drive her mad.
And so it was that, out of the selfishness and cruelty of the world, a witch was made out of Agatha, and the events that would soon come to pass were put into motion.
Once upon a time in a far off kingdom, there lay a small village at the edge of the woods. And in this village lived a young maiden, a carefree young lad, and a childless baker with his wife.