Gothel held Sybil in her arms, although the child was quite heavy. They had been walking for hours, and Sybil had gotten tired quickly. So Gothel had picked her up, and she had fallen asleep. This was probably better, actually, because Gothel could walk much faster without Sybil's short legs slowing her down.
They arrived at the tower, finally. It was hidden in a valley with a curtain of leaves hiding the entrance. Gothel climbed the staircase hidden inside, and finally reached the top.
She closed the trapdoor to the stairs, and put a rug over it. Then she finally went to her bed and laid Sybil in the bed.
Morning came, and the king was livid. He had found that his oldest daughter was missing.
"Where is she?" he screamed at the queen. "Where are you hiding her?" He struck her with his hand.
"I don't know!" cried the queen. "She wasn't in her bed when I woke up!"
"You are lying!" screamed the king. "Tell me where she is!"
The queen held up her hands. "I really don't know!"
The king stormed out of the room.
Within an hour, all over the kingdom people knew of the missing princess. They even heard that the king was offering a reward for whoever found the princess.
People were searching everywhere. But there was one place they didn't search. Deep in the forest in a hidden valley, the lost princess was just waking up.
Sybil woke up and was surprised to see that she was in an unfamiliar place. She stood up and looked around. There was a door, and she walked out of it into a different room, where the lady who had taken her away was standing.
"Good morning," said the lady. "I made breakfast for you."
"Where's Mommy?" asked Sybil.
The lady frowned. "We left her back at the castle, remember?"
"Oh yeah," said Sybil. "When are we going to see her?"
The lady looked sad. "I'm sorry, but you can't see her again," she said. "It's too dangerous to go back, and we can't let anyone know where we are. Your father might find out."
Sybil shivered as she thought of her father the night before. He had been mean and bad. She didn't want him to find her.
She looked at the lady again. "Who are you?"
The lady smiled. "You can call me Mother. I'm your new mother now."