Once long, long ago, in a time of castles, kings, and magic, there was a secret manor hidden deep in a dark forest. The woods were whispered to be full of monsters and dragons. And even if a person was brave enough to go into the forest, they couldn't see the manor because it was concealed by a magic wall, which kept intruders out and more importantly, kept a young girl hidden inside. This young girl's name was Buttercup Raven, but she was also known by her nickname Rapunzel. She is born with the most majestic emerald eyes, soft, yet messy raven hair, and light brown skin, which was soft and smooth to the touch. Even as a child, Buttercup knew why she wasn't allowed to leave the magic walls that surrounded her home, but she still longed to leave the prison she called home. This feeling was a curse for the girl.
Every day the young raven haired girl would look at the purple wall surrounding her home and wonder what it'd be like to see the outside world.
"Mommy, can I not go with you?" asked a 7 year old Buttercup, her wide, emerald eyes begging her mother. The mother and child were standing near the magic wall where the mother was preparing to leave with her horse like always. The sun was slowly sinking its way down the horizon to cast its orange hues upon the earth.
The name of Buttercup's mother is Gothel Raven. Unlike Buttercup, Gothel had glowing, violet eyes, bushy curly hair, and pale skin. The only thing resembling them was their beauty, which compassed even the most beautiful person in the world.
A sigh leaves the red, luscious lips of Gothel's mouth as she shakes her head at her daughter. "No, my little Buttercup, the outside world is a dangerous place." The older woman hugs the child in a tender embrace. "You must stay here where it's safe…Do you understand that, flower?"
Buttercup hugs her back, holding back the tears threatening to spill from her eyes. "Yes, mommy…"
"Why don't you sing mommy a song before she leaves?" Gothel sweeps off Buttercup's messy bangs and places a kiss on her forehead.
Buttercup sniffs as she nods. "O-Okay…" She pulls away from the embrace and places her hands on top of her mother's. The young girl slowly inhales and begins to sing in a soft, melodic voice, "Flower, gleam and glow let your power shine. Make the clock reverse bring back what once was mine…" A bright white light glows from the girl's hands and spreads to her mother's like roots planting itself into the soil. The light swallowed the woman's whole form, making her look like an angel descending from the heavens. "Heal what has been hurt change the Fates' design. Save what has been lost bring back what once was mine, what once was mine." Once Buttercup finished the verse, the light immediately disappears. After the light vanishes, Gothel now looks much younger than before and the woman sighs in satisfaction.
"Thank you, my cute little daughter. Now, go back into the mansion and get a good night's rest." Gothel hurriedly mounts the horse and smiles down at her daughter. "Be safe now, Rapunzel! Bye." With that half-hearted farewell, the young woman waves her hand over the magic wall and the wall opens, showing a path through the woods. Not looking back Gothel then leaves through the opening and the wall closes up, blocking Buttercup's pathway to freedom and leaving her alone again. For a few minutes, the 7 year old stood there silently with tears slowly cascading her red, puffy cheeks.
"Took that oldie long enough to leave." An anonymous, yet childish voice sounds behind the raven haired girl. Buttercup gasps and quickly turns around to meet the intruder. She sees a girl around her age standing there with a tired, yet annoyed expression. She was shorter than Buttercup by a few inches and had black hair tied messily into two low, pig tails and dark brown eyes, which almost looked black from being shadowed from the light.
Buttercup blinks in shock and gasps again when the girl disappears and appears beside her. "My name's Muse…er…Estelle. Yea, Muse Estelle is my name. What's yours?" The shock and fear from seeing another person besides her mother slowly dissipates as the curious wander takes place in Buttercup's mind.
The raven haired wipes off the tears from her eyes, answering, "M-My name's Buttercup Raven, but mommy sometimes calls me Rapunzel."
Muse tilts her head in confusion. "Why call you Rapunzel? That's like too far from Buttercup. I mean, B and R are like…" She exaggerates by spreading her arms wide, which makes Buttercup giggle.
"Yea, I know right. Mommy said it's from a magical flower she made me eat to heal me from my sickness."
"Oh, but enough talk about that boring stuff!" Buttercup felt somewhat offended by this exclamation, but kept quiet. "What's someone like you tra…I mean, living here inside this tiny space?"
"I'm not trapped," countered Buttercup, which made Muse flinch in guilt. "I live here to keep the monsters out."
Muse blinked. "Monsters? What kind of monsters?" The black haired girl was somewhat confused with Buttercup's choice of wording about the humans hunting in the forest. As far as Muse knew, the only monster known would be the witch that just left the manor.
"B-Big, scary bugs, monsters with pointy teeth and lots of hair, scaly animals, and, worst of all…" Buttercup whimpered. "There are ghosts!" Muse raises a brow at the latter then slowly nods her head in understanding. Every thing that Buttercup just said was true so Muse couldn't argue.
"By the way, Buttercup, how'd you do that glowy lighty thing?" asked Muse in complete bewilderment.
Buttercup seemed to brighten and held her high in pride. "It's my magic! Mommy said it's the rarest kind of magic of all, it is almost impossible for a person like me to get!" Muse's eyes widen in amazement and wonder.
"Really?!"
"Uh-huh! I can grow plants and stuff! I'm an Earth…" The raven haired girl's smile slowly deflated as she continued, "…fairy…"
Muse exclaimed, "An Earth fairy?! You mean, one of the most powerful and rarest enchanted beings in the entire kingdom?!"
"Eh?" Buttercup was confused. She thought that Muse was going to laugh at her for being a lame fairy.
"You don't even know what it is!" Muse gasped. "An Earth fairy is a rare blessing given by the Harvest Goddess, whose heart they say are made of ice! Everyone praised the Harvest Goddess and constantly gave her offerings of all kinds, but only one person moved the Goddess' heart. It was a farmer who always took care of his animals and plants with care and gave everyone in the town gifts every day. After finishing his days' work, he goes to the waterfalls where the Harvest Goddess resides to keep her company and talk about his good days and bad.
"The Harvest Goddess decided to trick the people to see if their heart was truly as kind and pure as she thought it was. She sent famines, pestilence, the plague, and all sorts of terrible stuff all throughout the land. Slowly, the people who praised the Goddess began to curse her for all the things that were happening to them, except one person. Even though his plants withered, animals were sick, and had no food on his table; the farmer continued to give gifts to the angered townspeople and visited the Harvest Goddess with gifts he didn't know she loved. He kept strong faith that everything will soon go well if he continued to stay optimistic.
"After 7 years…"
"7 years?!" Buttercup shouted in shock and Muse quickly shushed her. "Sorry…continue." The young raven haired girl was intrigued by the story concerning her magic.
"Ehem, that's right. After 7 years of non-stop curses, the Harvest Goddess fell in love with the farmer's pure heart. Throughout those years in each dreaded season, the farmer continued to believe and never wavered in his faith that it will all come to pass. Unlike the farmer, the townspeople slowly disappeared one by one each year as they moved to another town to search for better soil leaving the farmer all by himself in the deserted town. The Harvest Goddess was moved by the farmer's unwavering faith and gave him 7 years' worth of blessings. She gave him seeds of different plants, which the farmer has never seen; exotic animals, which people didn't know existed; gems from throughout the kingdoms and heavens; and the best of all blessings, a wife so beautiful that the Goddess of Beauty would be most ashamed. No one knows what the wife looks like, except that her magic could make plants grow faster than the seasons should give.
"Thanks to the farmer's strong belief, the king bestowed upon him a royal status making him the first noble from a commoner's blood." Muse finished. She squealed. "I can't believe your magic is THAT Earth fairy magic!"
Buttercup couldn't believe that she was THAT important. Well, her magic is, but that was beside the point! Her emerald eyes flickered to the glittering magic wall and a shiver slithered down her spine. Now she understood why her mother didn't want to let her out. Her magic was so rare that people would fight over her. She was glad to have a mother as loving as hers.
Muse, though, was confused. How did Buttercup's kind of magic get into the Kingdom of Airus? As far as she knew, that kind of magic either existed from the Kingdom of Flora or the Kingdom of… She stopped her train of thought from remembering that cursed name. It was almost a taboo to bring up that name in Airus. It was absolutely forbidden. So, it irked Muse to see an Earth Fairy around her age standing beside her. She pursed her lips and glanced over Buttercup, her mind amidst confusion.
Still, it was nice to finally talk to a person who wasn't hunting her down.
After calming down from her shock, Buttercup turned to Muse and asked, "By the way, Muse, how did you get through mommy's magic wall? No one's ever gotten through before."
Muse tilted her head and thought whether to tell Buttercup or not. She looked over to the raven haired girl to see her wide, emerald eyes glaring deep into her soul. "There are several ways to get in here, but I didn't want that oldie to notice so I flew in here."
"You flew in here?"
Muse nodded. "Yea, your mother's magic wall only surrounds the place but doesn't completely cover it so I flew over the wall and waited for her to leave." Buttercup looks over at Muse's back and tilts her head when she sees no wings.
"But you don't have wings. How did you fly over the wall?" Muse takes a few steps back and smiles. Buttercup then notices black dust floating around Muse and before she knew it, the dust completely covered Muse's small form and what took its place was a dragon that stood at the same size as Gothel.
Instead of screaming, Buttercup gaped in wonder and amazement. "No way! You can turn into a dragon?! That is soooo cool!" Muse was shocked that Buttercup didn't scream or run away in fear like the others usually would do when they see her turn into a big, scary dragon.
"Y-You're not scared?"
"Scared?! Why would I be?! You turned into a dragon! I've never seen a dragon before!" Muse smiled, though it looked quite creepy since she was a dragon and all. Buttercup quickly ran towards Muse's dragon form and began touching her scaly wings and body.
"H-Hey, that tickles!" Muse bellowed while struggling not to laugh when Buttercup shook her head underneath Muse's extended neck. The two played for a while, enjoying their time together. One of them feared that it would soon end and she had to go on the run again. When the stars began blinking down on them from above in the dark night, the child and dragon yawned loudly.
Again, black dust covered Muse's dragon form and the black haired girl turned back to normal. She yawned again while rubbing her eyes.
"I-It was nice talking with you, Buttercup…" Muse sniffed, holding back her tears. "I'll be going now."
Buttercup yawned. "What are you talking about? Aren't you going to stay for a while?"
"Eh?"
"Its dark and mommy said that the forest is scary at night. There are many ghosts too! Where are you going to sleep, huh?" Muse brightened at the thought. She'll just be there for a while, only a little while.
"You'll let me stay for the night?"
"Sure! I'm sure the bed can fit both of us so we can share it." Buttercup quipped as she skipped towards the dark manor. "Come on, follow me. The manor is big so it's easy to get lost." Muse quickly followed, a grin pasted on her lips.
The raven haired girl walked up the wide steps of the manor, not at all scared by the ominous darkness clouding over the building. Muse simply followed while taking the building into consideration. It sure was one big house with only two people living in it. From what Muse could see, the manor was built to be three stories high and looked to have lots of rooms inside it. There was one part of the building though that stood out from the rest. It was a very tall tower with only one window.
She watched as Buttercup pushed the huge door open with ease, which looked to be even taller and wider than her dragon form. A wide and long and dark hallway meets them as they enter through the door. Muse almost gasped in shock when something on the walls of the hall begins to illuminate the way in a bright white light when Buttercup skips through it. On a closer inspection, Muse saw that that something was a plant of some sort. A stem sprouted out from the wall curling down into a bell-like shape. The white light came from a ball thing from inside the bell and it began to slowly dim away.
"Muse!" Buttercup's call stops Muse from trying to think of a name for the odd plant. The black haired girl quickly follows after her acquaintance while trying to look at everything.
The walls were decorated with few portraits and most of them only portrayed the old woman she saw earlier. Weirdly enough, the portraits looked old enough to be ancient but that was impossible. The old woman was Buttercup's mother. The black haired girl knew that Buttercup was the one who kept the woman young. And since Buttercup was around her age, the woman in the ancient portrait couldn't be that oldie. The portraits didn't make any sense. Muse shakes her head and turns back to follow Buttercup's darkening form.
Finally, after a total of five minutes, Buttercup stops in front of a door at the end of the hall. It confused Muse that for such a huge manor, there was only one door. Most likely that woman cast some sort of spell… Muse thought. Buttercup twisted the doorknob with her two hands and pushed open the door for the two girls to enter through. Muse's jaw dropped when she saw a flight of wooden, rickety stairs leading all the way to the top.
"W-Wait…what is this?" A croak escaped Muse's mouth as she tried to grasp the situation she was seeing.
Buttercup, oblivious of this underlying fact, looked over at her friend with her thin brows furrowed together. "What are you talking about? Duh, THIS leads to my room. C'mon, I'm sleepy and I wanna sleep." She stretches her arms as she yawns.
Muse purses her lips while her eyes wander up the weird and creepy staircase. "O-Oh, okay… lead the way." Buttercup shrugs at her new friend's weird question and starts running up the staircase, wanting to sleep.
"Constant as the stars above, always know that you are loved…" Buttercup hums to the song in her head. The 7 year old girl didn't know where the song came from or who she heard it from. All she knew was that that song tugged her heart strings and it was important for her to know it. She didn't notice Muse behind her freeze once she began singing. "And my love-"
Muse quickly cuts her off breaking the moment, "B-Buttercup, uh, where did you say you live again?" Buttercup stops walking and looks down at her friend.
"What do you mean by that?" A smile danced her lips as she raises both her brows. "I live here in the Enchanted Forest of Airus and Flora." She turns around again and continues her walk. "You're weird, Muse. I didn't even tell you where I lived. How about you? Where do you live?"
Muse frowns. "I don't really… have a home."
Buttercup laughs. "Everyone has a home, you numb-numb!"
"No, I really don't. My mom threw me out." Muse sniffs softly as the memories flutter through her mind, memories of her mother calling her a monster, a demon.
Buttercup pauses. "Oh, I'm sorry… I didn't know." Muse laughs, shaking her head but not responding.
Silence harbors between the two as they continue their ascent to Buttercup's supposed room. After a few more swirls, a large iron door greets their view and Buttercup tried to lift their down spirits.
"This is my room! It's not much, but I hope you feel like home." She smiles and twists the doorknob to open the metallic door. A pale green room, almost empty of any furniture, welcomes the two young girls. Plants like the ones in the hall lights up the room in a pale green color. Inside the room was a bed, a treasure box, a large mirror, and a wooden door, which Muse guessed leads to the bathroom. There was no window. Muse lets her eyes wander around the medium-sized room while Buttercup goes over a single-person bed. Thankfully, the two were still children so they'd fit in it. The bed only had one pillow and one blanket, but it seemed to Muse that Buttercup was never bothered by this. Finally, Muse notices something amiss in the wall across of her. She closed the metallic door with great difficulty while wondering to herself how Buttercup could push such a door then walks over to the odd wall.
Before Muse could even touch the wall, Buttercup called her from the bed, "Let's sleep, Muse! I've prepared the bed so it can fit the both of us." Muse lets her hand drop to her side and nods at Buttercup, her curiosity dimming away.
"Kay…" Muse jumps into the bed pushing Buttercup off and making her land with a loud thud. Muse laughs while Buttercup fumes.
"You big butt, lemme sleep too!" The raven haired girl laughs as she jumps into the bed. After fighting over the bed, the two girls finally came to a stop. Buttercup's left leg was on top of Muse's stomach while Muse's right arm was over of Buttercup's head. The two huffed softly from exhaustion.
Buttercup sighs as she closes her eyes. "Muse, you can live here if you don't have anywhere else to go…"
Muse hums. "Really? That'd be great…"
"I'm sure mommy won't mind."
Muse quickly sits up and glares down at Buttercup. "No, you can't tell your mommy I'm here." Buttercup opens her eyes and looks up at her friend.
"Why not?"
Muse struggles to find an excuse. She spluttered, "Y-You just can't okay?! She'll tell on me and I'll be hunted down again and, and, and" Buttercup sits up and grabs Muse by the shoulders. Waterworks flooded Muse's cheeks and snot trickled down her nose as she cried.
"Calm down, Muse! I promise I won't tell mommy or anyone else that you're here." She grabs Muse's left hand and entwines their pinkies together. "I promise, okay?" Muse sniffs and nods.
"Promise…"
While a story of blooming friendship and secrecy echoes within the darkness of the Enchanted Forest, another story already makes its place in the same kingdom on that very same day. A tragedy that would tear the hearts and destroy the lives of many would soon be written heavily in stone for many to remember. The day that the queen of Airus dies in the flames of hatred by the hands of wretched fiends and the betrayal of a brother will always be a reminder of the nature of humans and what they can do. Or so they say.
The Kingdom of Airus was once ruled by a king of righteousness and kindness and his wife, the queen who was filled with wisdom and mercy. Their names were King William the 6th and Queen Emily B. Airus. The kingdom was prosperous and had successful trades with every kingdom within its reach. The king and queen made sure to put their people first before themselves, which strengthened their relationship with those of lower status. Not only were the rulers gifted with leadership and beauty, they were gifted a son with hair as black as the night sky lit without its stars and eyes as green as the blades of the forest grass. It was a blessing sent from the heavens for the queen was barren and the rulers almost lost all hope. It was truly a miracle.
When the baby was born, the kingdom celebrated greatly for the heir and threw a great feast in the castle, inviting everyone into the celebration. There were no prejudices amongst classes or races, hatred, or strife. Everyone celebrated the birth of the soon to be king of Airus and gifted him all kinds of gifts. On that night, the baby was named Walter Glade Airus, Walter in honor of the First King and Glade for his forest green eyes. But he was called Glade mostly. As the only heir of the kingdom, he was trained and doted equally by the king and queen who raised him like proper parents should.
Everyone in the kingdom loved him.
But, alas, happy times always come to an end.
On the prince's 8th birthday, Glade wished to celebrate in the Enchanted Forest where the sun usually casts its beautiful orange hues. He threw a fit and wouldn't calm down unless his parents complied with his bidding.
"I knew you'd get your father's stubbornness…" Queen Emily sighs softly as she watches her son giddily poke his head out the carriage window. Emily B. Airus was a baroness before she married King William and was crowned queen. She was born with long, ebony hair which was tied up in a neat bun, dark grey eyes that was like a storm when angered, pale skin that was almost of a porcelain doll, and lips as red as blood. "Put your head back inside, Walter Glade! You don't know what might happen." She then mutters under her breath, low enough so Glade wouldn't hear, "William, you better be prepared to face my wrath when we get back home. Ugh, I knew I shouldn't have left him alone with Glade!"
Glade rolls his eyes at his worrying mother and looks back out the window, but not poking his head out this time. He watched as the scenery starts to change into ominous shapes, knowing full well that was how the Enchanted Forest cast its spells on wandering people to scare them off. He blinked and the scenery turned back to normal and grinned. A curious wonder glittered in his forest green eyes and Queen Emily smiled at Glade's childish curiosity. She couldn't blame the child for not realizing the dangers of the Enchanted Forest. He was still a child. She'll throw all the blame to that idiot husband of hers for bringing this up to their 8 year old son. She sighed and leaned back on her seat. She decided to enjoy the scenery as well since it would be hectic once again when they returned to the castle and looked out the window of the carriage door. Flowers that shouldn't be blooming sprouted from the ground and trees of different seasons passed her by, making the supposedly dangerous forest seem harmless.
"Mom, look! There's a person riding a horse!" Glade yelled pointing outside his window. Queen Emily frowned hearing this and looked through the carriage window to indeed see a person on a horse staring at them. Queen Emily felt her throat tighten at the familiar, glowing, violet piercing daggers of hatred at her. It was then the queen noticed that the carriage had stopped moving.
Oblivious of the danger slowly seething into his life, Glade poked his head out the window, his eyes drawn to the magical gaze leering at him.
"GLADE, NO!" Queen Emily's scream rang too late as her son was pulled out of the still carriage. Glade cried out and landed on the hard, muddy ground with a loud thud. He wheezed for the air was kicked right out at him. His blurry vision looked up at his mother who reached out at him.
"M-Mom, wh-what's happ-" His words got cut off as the carriage suddenly burst into flames. His forest green eyes went wide at the blazing sight before him. He didn't understand what was going on, his mind being buzzed to comprehend what just happened.
"M-Mom!" He croaked, trying to push himself off of the ground, but failing to do so. The shock ran through his veins making his body not do what he wanted. As his vision cleared, he then noticed the dead bodies of the Royal Guards accompanying them. Swords and arrows were struck through their bodies while most had their throat slashed. But he didn't care about that. His mind remained on the burning carriage.
"MOM!" He cried out once more, now louder. The fire continued to blaze in his eyes, non-stopping, never ending. "M-NNNMM!" A hand covers his mouth and pulls him into a bush. The prince wanted to so badly struggle in the arms of his captor, but something made him completely still and the sounds he wanted to scream out was immediately silenced as the hand glowed purple. Magic! Glade thought. For the prince, magic wasn't his forte. The queen badly wanted him to learn magic, but he refused to do so thinking that it was for prissy girlies and etc. Now he regrets not even learning a single spell to even counter against this foe holding him!
"Sssssssssshhhhhhh…." The captor's voice hissed in his ear. His eyes widen at the feminine tone. I know now you're a woman! When dad finds me, you are as good as dead! He thought with a vengeance. "Watch now, my dear prince, and be filled with darkness…" The woman's words caused a stir in Glade's heart as he watched a bunch of soldiers clothed in dark green armor jump towards the blazing carriage, and with them was someone the prince knew very well.
No, it has to be a lie… It has to be! Tears welled up in the corner of Glade's eyes as he stared at the person whom he thought was family, whom he believed would never hurt any of them.
"This is the queen's and the prince's carriage, correct?" asked Prince Glade's uncle while pointing at the burning carriage. This man was a rich duke named Oscar L. who lives in the central town of Airus. He is still in his early 20s and is the only sibling of King William. He was the average height of 5'7 and had dark blue eyes and blonde hair as well as a beard. His skin was tan in color for he often rode a horse under the heat of the sun.
One of the soldiers nodded. "Yes, sir. We saw the queen and the prince from the carriage door." The prince felt the tears trickle down his cheeks while he watched his uncle laugh happily.
"After 8 years of watching that wretched child rise to be the king he shouldn't be, the heir is now no more! And finally, I will be the one to be crowned king!" He laughed like an insane man. The tears now roam free down Glade's flushed cheeks. He wanted to yell and thrash and scream, but he couldn't. He was still held down by the woman's magic.
"Do you realize now, Prince Glade of Airus?" whispered the woman against his ear in a low, cackling tone. "You might be a prince whose wishes are always granted no matter what others say, but this is reality playing its sonata before you. No matter how much you scream or cry or beg for this not to be real. IT IS REAL. There is no such thing as an happily ever after!"
NO! Glade screamed in his mind. At that same time he screamed, the fire blazing the carriage immediately died out. Everyone stood still in shock when they saw the queen standing in the midst of the fire, her grey eyes almost whirling angrily like a tornado. Duke Oscar shook like a leaf caught in that tornado and took weary steps back, nearing Glade's and the woman's hiding spot.
"E-E-Emily! G-Go-Good th-thing y-you're s-st-still a-a-alive," stuttered the duke. His light green eyes were wide like a deer caught in the headlights. He pointed at the soldiers and shouted, "Th-They were g-going to-to k-kill me too! Th-Thank g-goodness yo-you're alive!" The soldiers all cast an annoyed glance at the fearful duke and rolled their eyes, knowing full well that they had to take care of it like usual.
"Oh just stand back, Mr. Can't-do-anything-but-laugh." One of the soldiers, perhaps the commander, walked up and raised his sword. "We'll finish the job so you can have that stupid crown of yours." Before the commander could even yell out an order, a strong gust of wind blew harshly around all of them cutting off the air they were breathing. One by one they fell on their knees and clutched their necks. Their mouths were wide open begging for a single breath of air. Their faces slowly turned blue from the lack of oxygen.
What just happened? Glade stared in shock when the soldiers and his uncle fell down unconscious. The hand holding him down tightened as his mother cast a glare where they were hiding.
"Give me back my son, witch, or this'll be the last time you'll ever breathe." Queen Emily hissed through gritted teeth. She raised her arms sending over gusts of wind which sent chills down the prince's spine.
The witch holding Glade laughed at her threat. "We shall see then who is faster…my dying breath or your precious son's." With a movement as those of lightning, the hand covering Glade's mouth positioned to slice his throat in one fluid motion.
The queen quickly yelled, "Stop!" Her stormy, grey eyes were now wide and frightened and her red lips quivered in fear. She immediately canceled her magic and took a step towards the bush. "N-Not Glade, leave him out of this, Gothel. What do you want?" The witch named Gothel stood up from the hiding spot, bringing along Glade, and smiled coyly at the now frightened queen.
"Emily, Emily, Emily," Gothel grinned widely, showing her teeth, "don't be too hasty on selling out your life." Glade shivered as the witch ran a finger across his cheek. "All I want is one simple thing, really…"
Queen Emily frowned, narrowing her grey eyes. "Speak already, witch so we can leave."
Gothel rolled her eyes. "Don't be in such haste, your royal highness. If you want your son back alive, then all I want is for you to…"
Emily's eyes widen at the ridiculous and utterly preposterous proposition. "ARE YOU INSANE?! We're already at a disagreement and you want to lead us to war?!"
Gothel sighed. "If you can't then…" Glade stiffened, although he really can't move, as Gothel ran her forefinger across his throat.
"FINE!" Gothel smiled at the queen's surrender. "W-We will do it... now let him go."
"As you wish." Gothel was about to let him go, but that was just wishful thinking for a witch will always be a witch. Once Gothel released her magic, Glade's eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fell down on the ground with a loud thud.
Emily gasped and quickly ran over to her fallen son. Before she could reach him, however, the witch stabbed her deeply in the stomach. A gurgle spluttered from the queen's lips as blood slowly trickled down the side of her mouth. Her eyes, wide in horror, looked up at the wide, malicious grin from the woman who stabbed her.
"Wh-Why…?" Blood drips down on the ground like a pitter-patter of raindrops.
Gothel laughs. "Oh, please. Don't take this to heart, Emily." She harshly pulls out the blade and the queen drops to her knees. More blood spills on the ground, coloring the dirt a bloody red. "If you had just stayed dead, I wouldn't have to resort to such means." Her purple eyes glowed darkly and evilly, staring down at the fallen queen.
Emily choked and crawled desperately towards Glade. Gothel watched her nonchalantly as the queen placed the unconscious prince on her lap, ignoring the death creeping ever so closely towards her.
My son… She thought, knowing she could not speak. Do not let this day fill you with hatred. I am sure the witch will use a spell to make you see that it was your uncle who killed me. I know that you will stop being the trusting boy I know you are... A lone tear drops on Glade's closed eyelids. I know that you will become cold and hateful. I know what will happen to you. I've seen it too many times on the looks of families who've lost their children to the other kingdoms. But do not let this stop you from your duties…not only as a prince, but as a human being…as the future king of Airus. Do not become like your father. If not for me, the kingdom would have fallen to constant wars. You have to…you have to… Queen Emily coughed, splattering blood on Glade's clothes. You have to learn to forgive others of their trespasses against you. You have to learn how to truly love and understand that feeling. Becoming a king isn't about throwing out laws or going to war or anything of the like, it is protecting the people. A kingdom isn't the town or the castle or the money. It is its people. The people are what make a kingdom. Without the people, there is no kingdom. Glade, I… The queen's body falls down to the side, a dead smile on her lips and her eyes closed.
Seeing the queen truly dead, Gothel looked down on the bloody blade in her hand and placed it near Duke Oscar's unconscious body. Her head snapped towards the road that leads to the kingdom, hearing the thunderous hooves hurdling towards them, and smiled. She walked back to her awaiting horse and mounted it. Her eyes lingered on Glade's unconscious body for a while and then she quickly left.
King William gripped the reins of his horse tightly, feeling his heart beating loudly in his ears. Along the way towards the Enchanted Forest, something had stopped the king and the accompanying guards. It was a magic wall that even their best sorcerer, Desmund, could not cancel out. Worry filled the king as he thought about his wife and his son.
"Sire, I'm sure they're fine. Queen Em is strong enough to hold her own, after all." The Royal Guard, Isaiah Williams, reassured the king but even he had doubts. The Royal Guard was a man in his early 40s and wore the traditional armor of white and dark green. He has light yellow eyes, tan skin, clean-cut dark brown hair, and a thick muscular form. Royal Guard Isaiah swallowed nervously. The young prince was also with the queen, and if he was taken hostage, even the strong queen will fall.
When the burnt carriage and the fallen bodies of his soldiers came to view, King William felt the air leave his lungs and his horse began to slow down to a trot. Blood scattered the ground all around them and the king prayed for his family's safety. It was not clearly seen as the sun had already set and the day was slowly turning into night. Royal Guard Isaiah gets off his horse along with several others to surround the king, ensuring his safety. Isaiah stood at front and let his stern yellow eyes watch the surrounding area carefully, but what he saw meters way made his gut wrench uncomfortably. Alongside the dead bodies of the kingdom's soldiers were the soldiers of THAT kingdom and the king's brother, Duke Oscar with a blade from THAT kingdom drenched in blood. He thought they were dead, but on a closer inspection, their stomach moved up and down in synchronization with their breath. His face turned grim when he saw the queen and prince lying in their pool of blood.
Isaiah tried to remain strong as he turned to the horror-stricken king. "Condolences, my king…but we were too late." He and the rest of the guards knelt on one knee on the ground and bowed their heads.
King William gets off the horse slowly. The panic in his heart was beginning to dissipate and a new feeling took its place. Horror and grief pooled his eyes and the innermost part of his heart. His hand covered his mouth as he trudged slowly to the lying bodies of his beloved wife and son. He didn't want to believe that they were dead. He refused to believe that his beloved family had passed away. Memories of their time together fleeted in his mind when he kneels down beside his wife's dead corpse. A sob escaped his throat as his fingers brushed against Queen Emily's cold, pale cheek.
"You put up your hair in a bun like I told you to..." William laughed through the tears. The droplets trickled down his chin and fell on top of the queen's closed eyelids. "And you yelled at me all morning that a bun wouldn't suit you well." That was their last conversation. There were no goodbye or I love you. Queen Emily stormed out of the room while King William was surrounded by the troubles of his kingdom. He sobbed. How could that be their last conversation? He lifted the queen's upper body and cried into her chest. He hoped that that there was at least a heart beat…just one for his spirit to rise. But there was none. Her heart had already stopped beating and no matter how much he wished, it would never again beat.
Royal Guard Isaiah felt rage bubble in his stomach as he looked at the unconscious body of Duke Oscar, his eyes on the bloodied blade. He knew that the king would execute the man, whether blood related or not. Duke Oscar had killed the queen and the heir to the throne. There would be no forgiveness, but more blood. It has always been that way.
After mourning over his dead wife, King William moved towards his son. He felt even more remorse over Prince Glade than Queen Emily. Unlike Emily, Glade did not live his life to the fullest. He did not know what it was like to have friends his age, grow up, be a teenager, or fall in love. Glade died far too young. The king sobbed as he took his son in his arms and hugged him. He knew that no matter how much he wished, his wife and son are already dead. So he cried. But soon, his tears and grieving moans came to a stop when he felt it. It was only a slight movement, but the king felt it.
Glade's breath tickled the king's ear and King William quickly pulled away. The guards watched in confusion as the king placed his fingers on Glade's neck.
Bu-dum.
Bu-dum.
Bu-dum.
There was a pulse.
"HE'S ALIVE! GLADE'S ALIVE!" came the king's joyful shout. As the soldiers quickly stumble to the prince's aid, the cold night began to twinkle with the stars lighting up the sky.
While the two girls began to sleep soundly in their bed in the hidden manor inside the Enchanted Forest, the prince of Airus lain unconscious in the hospital bed in the castle with his memories altered by the witch's magic. Gothel's whereabouts were not known after the incident. The soldiers and the king's brother were imprisoned in the dark prison, awaiting their trial for execution. The news of the queen's death and the prince's attempted assassination has yet to spread. The king is still in mourning. And the kingdom that is yet to be named lies in wait for redemption.
There is more to be told for this tale, but sadly, that is a story for next time.
I could continue the story, but I didn't like how the plot went and I wanted it to make it a Grimm's brother's fairy tale as well (suggested by Mystical Raven). I'm sorry to those readers who actually liked the story, but I'm sorry. The story stopped playing the Rapunzel tale (well, for me anyways) and I just had to re-write it. I hope you forgive me.
I want to explain stuff about how this story is going to be. I'm basically going to combine Barbie as Rapunzel, Tangled, and the Grimm's brother's Rapunzel into one plot while adding my own twists to the story. Like in Barbie as Rapunzel, the prince didn't have a mom so yea...I killed her off. Bloop. I won't explain why I did, but its for story purposes huehuehue.
Of course, Fang (the fan's favorite griffin in Mystical Raven's Ever After stories) will appear in the next chapter. I think the next chapter would be longer than this one cause of the introduction of the rest of the PPGZ and RRBZ (YES, THE OTHER ORIGINAL PAIRINGS WILL INDEED APPEAR YAHOOOO)
And please, if you have any ideas, don't hesitate to review or pm me.
And finally, lastly, THANK YOU FOR READING! I'd be glad if you drop a review, especially to those who read the previous story of this, and tell me what you think about it.
Again, thank you!
Star OUT!