Chapter 2
It had taken the physician, Gordon, most of the night to mix, simmer and boil. However, the second it was cooled enough to drink without burning it was passed to the Queen in an ornate goblet that had been placed next to Gordon by the Queen's lady-in-waiting.
Holding it in her weak hand, she forgot all ettiquette and guzzled the drink down. She was too ill and too desperate to save her own life and the lives of her children to care about the way she was behaving in front of her King and his men. Just minutes after she had emptied the goblet, it seemed as if energy was returning to her. Suspecting that it was the flower, she turned to her husband who was staring at her face in amazement.
She was soon made aware of the reasons for his expression when her lady-in-waiting, Kathleen, passed her a hand-held mirror. Lifting it to her face, she jolted slightly upon seeing the gold irises that had replaced her own green ones.
Looking back up to her husband she smiled, "It's working."
Two weeks later, Gordon was returning to the Queen's chambers in a similar state of urgency as the night when the guards had found the flower. However, this time there was a joyous but just as stressful reason for his running - the heirs to Corona's throne were arriving.
A mirror of two weeks ago, the aged physician knocked once before bursting in finding the Queen to be curled on the bed around her stomach. She was clutching at her maid's hand tightly, grunting at the pain of the contractions that were starting to increase in frequency.
Over the next hours the contractions became worse and more frequent and the Queen became closer and closer to exhaustion. By the fifth hour of the dark-haired woman's labour, the first baby appeared.
Unlike the monarch and his queen, who boasted brown locks, the little girl had tufts of golden hair sticking up in all directions. Gordon suspected that it was a result of the flower. It didn't take long for the baby to start crying to the relief of the old physician. But as he handed the baby back to the midwife he knew that he couldn't relax yet - there was another baby that needed birthing yet.
It took another two hours before the midwives handed him the second child. Unlike his sister, he shared his parent's hair colour. He was a lot quicker to cry than her too, but his cries calmed the chaos that had taken over the room.
It was late at night, the palace was asleep. For the first time in months, the two royal babies were sleeping through the whole night and it seemed that the whole castle were taking the opportunity to rest. The twins themselves were nestled up against it other peacefully. The little girl had hair to her shoulders despite her young age and it glowed golden in any light. Her brother's hair was shorter, sticking up at angles. However it had been noticed that his cries had the ability to calm any situation.
When the night had reached the start of its second hour, the silence of the royal chambers was disturbed by a near-silent tapping on the window as someone was trying to get in. The tapping only stopped when the balcony door opened to reveal a frail form hidden under a dark cloak.
Gothel moved swiftly and silently towards the cradle that she knew housed the two gidted children. As soon as she had heard the news of the Queen's miraculous recovery she knew that it was the reason for the disappearance of her precious flower. She spent the months that she had before she got to a state of need planning. The pale woman knew that all she needed to do was to sneak into the castle and retrieve a clipping of the princess' hair.
However, as she cut the fair from the babe it turned from the golden colour she knew was a result of the flower to the rich brunette that her family held. Clenching her fists and scowling, she took a moment to gather her thoughts and form a new plan. She looked to the boy, seeing if he could be of any value before grabbing the two of them and running. Her hasty leave caused the cot to be knocked over, alerting the two sleeping parents to the intruder. However, by the time that they were aware of the lost children, Gothel was already stowing away into the night.
The accident happened when the twins were 13. After Gothel had taken the twins, she soon discovered that singing the tune that activated the flower's power also worked with Rapunzel's hair. The magic had also affected Arieh's voice - any words that left his mouth were instantly calming, and if he sang the song when Gothel was brushing his sisters hair, the magic was stronger and lasted longer.
Whenever she left on errands, she would take Arieh along with her to help - having grown his hair to around his ears he no longer looked like the missing prince and so she felt it was safe to let him out. To the great saddness of both twins, Rapunzel was still to recognisable and so was not allowed to leave the tower.
It was a cold winter morning, and Gothel had asked Arieh to collect fire wood to stock up for the rest of the winter. She had joined him, collecting wood a few meters away. Not noticing that he was heading away from his mother, the thirteen year-old continued to pick up dried wood that would burn well. Due to his lack of attention, he didn't realise that he had come across a clearing where a small family were sitting. When he did register that he wasn't alone, he smiled and greeted them. However, it only took him a few seconds to notice the ill look that the family displayed. His smile turned into a frown and he looked at them sadly before thinking of what he does when his mother is ill.
He crept towards them and they shark back in fear, "Don't worry. I can help you."
He held his arm out towards them, "Rest your hand on my arm. Go on, it will help, I promise"
The family slowly and feebly did as he told them and he started to sing:
"Flower gleam and glow
Let your powers shine
Make the clock reverse
Bring back what once was mine
Heal what has been hurt
Change the fates design
Save what has been lost
Bring back what once was mine
What once was mine"
Ending his song, he looked over the family, smiling in relief as the signs of illness left them. The group examined themsleves in wonder before the father turned to him.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Ari-" He was stopped mid-sentence by a hand grabbing his arm. He turned around to see his mother with a furious expression on her face. He shrunk back, knowing that she wasn't happy that he had shared his gift with strangers. She pulled him away from the small huddle of people who shouted a thank you after him.
Once they had reached the hidden clearing where the tower was located, his mother stopped and let his arm go. Not knowing what to do, Arieh just stood and waited, looking up at the older woman.
"How dare you?! What were you thinking, showing people your gift?"
"They were ill... I couldn't leave them there to die mother!" Arieh insisted. Not even seconds after he had spoken his cheek was stinging from the slap that his mother had bestowed on him. The thirteen year-old stared wide-eyes up at his mother in shock.
"You are never to leave this tower again! If you do, this punishment will seem to be nothing in comparison."
His eyes teared up and he looked down at the grass. "B-but-"
"No. Now, lets go inside." She proceeded to call up to Rapunzel, letting Arieh know that she was finished discussing the matter. The blonde hair came tumbling down the wall of the tower in a cascade. Having dropped to its full length, his mother pushed Arieh forwards and he grabbed onto the hair to be pulled up.
Once he was in the tower, Rapunzel gave him a hug in way of greeting before throwing her hair out of the tower again before their Mother got impatient.
It was that day, when he was forbidden to leave the tower like his sister, that he slowly started to talk less and less. At first it was just that he used fewer words to get his points across. Then he just stopped trying to make the point. The only one who he spoke to was Rapunzel. He wouldn't even sing for Gothel, no matter how much she hit him. Instead he just sat on his bed whilst his twin sung the song that made their Mother young again.