Chapter 4 : I miss you.

Alice Jones was terribly afraid.

It had been since less than three days that she had not seen her father, and yet, she already missed him.

Because, unlike the other times where he had left the tower, she had no idea of when he would come back, nor even if he would come back.

By the way, it was not like the other times when he left the tower because he had to, or because he wanted to get her something he knew she would like.

No, it was not what happened, not this time.

The witch had come, the witch had hurt her papa, the witch had smiled when she had seen their pain, the witch had cursed him, the witch had taken him away from her, the witch had ruined her life.

The witch was her mother.

She had given birth to her, and not only did she abandon her when she was a baby, she had decided that it would be a good idea to come back into her life ten years later and ruin it completely, because hell, it would just be fun, right ?

Her mother had separated her from her father, and now, the ten years-old girl had no idea if she would one day see him again, and she didn't know either when (or even if) she would go out of this damn tower one day, since she had also taken the magical artifact from them.

Oh, the pirates that her father had let near her to take care of her while he was away had tried to reassure her, to tell her that things would be fine, Mr Smee especially tried to do so, but he hadn't convinced her at all.

She couldn't believe it, not since her father just couldn't be physically with her or he would suffer and slowly die by enduring terrible sufferings.

The thing is, the tower never felt that cold to her before her father was taken from her.

She already knew loneliness, as despair, and despondence, it's true.

Living in a tower from where she couldn't go, not being able to see the world apart what she could see from her window, knowing no one else than her father and being often separated from him, and not knowing if she would be free one day, there was of course moments in her life when she was not happy and deeply depressed.

But these moments never really lasted for long.

Because her father was with her, trying to distract her from her pain, and even when he was not here, at least, she could comfort herself by the certitude that he would soon come back, and that one day she would be free from the tower.

But now ?

She didn't even have this anymore, even this tiny hope had been ripped out from her.

The three next days were passed by Alice between rage, sadness, despair and brief moments of joy thanks to the pirates' presence.

Even if, despite their best efforts, there was something which would never changed.

She missed her papa.

§§§§

The closest she got to the tower, the scariest Rapunzel was about all this situation.

She remembered everything.

The loneliness, the coldness of the tower, the despair of these six years where she was locked up without being able to escape, if she didn't want to break her deal with Gothel.

She should have stayed in the tower, she thought.

Maybe her family would have been safer and happier without her coming back and ruining everything by her own presence.

In fact, she realized that it might be her, the real reason why her family fell apart.

Before her return, everything was okay and fine, the girls were sisters, they had a mother and a father who loved them, and Marcus was happy with Cecilia.

It was what she had wanted for him, for them, in fact, she had never asked him to wait for her return.

All of this was just her fault, she had provoked this by breaking her promise to Gothel, by running away from the tower, she had broken the deal which was supposed to keep her family safe.

She could continue to accuse Gothel, or Cecilia, or Ella, or even Marcus for being the responsible of their current unhappiness, but it would have been pure hypocrisy.

Rapunzel Tremaine was the responsible of the fall of their family, because she had refused to stay Gothel's prisoner, she had broken the deal she had done, and the consequences had been terrible.

She had chased Cecilia by poisoning her, she had lost Anastasia for maybe forever, and she had killed Marcus.

Gothel had been completely right.

She was not the Guardian, nor a hero.

She would never be.

She had a sad chuckle, as she remembered how, in her naivety, she had found it quite easy to escape from the tower, since there had been no guards or no magic to keep her locked up into the prison.

Now, she finally understood the reason why.

Gothel might began to plant the seed of jealousy in her heart, and pushed her to ruin everything, but she was the one who had decided to do this.

Her family was not safe anymore and it was all her fault.

Looking up in front of her, she saw her two daughters walking next to Hook, the three of them were talking together, the pirate was evoking with them his life as a pirate, mainly talking about his adventures, and trying not to talk about the darker parts of his past.

Rapunzel began to smile.

It's not too late.

I can still prove to Gothel that she was wrong about me.

These girls were all the things she still had kept from Marcus.

They were her daughters.

Her future.

The only one who might succeed to make her believe she was still not completely twisted and broken.

They were the reason why she must fight against Gothel, not just because she wanted to enact a personal revenge, and not only because the witch had to be stopped, but because the two girls had deeply suffered from the dryad's crimes as they had suffered from her own.

The witch had to pay for what she did, for all the lives she had ruined, for all her crimes, Alice's abandonment, Hook's curse, and all the other things that Rapunzel knew nothing about but that the witch had committed.

(Like killing the first humans of the Land Without Magic.

Or like her project of killing all the non-magical creatures of the world.

Yeah, this witch was pretty crazy.)

The young woman was then taken from her thoughts by Hook's voice :

"So… here we are, he said, showing the tower to them."

Rapunzel looked at the place which used to be her prison, and she suddenly paled, realizing too that she risked to immediately collapse.

Only Hook's, Ella's and Drizella's presence stopped her to do so.

If she wanted to win against her old demons, she had to stay strong.

"Yes, she answered with a false smile. Here we are."

She took a deep breath.

She swore to herself that one day, she would be able to look at this tower without being afraid, and without feeling like a lost little girl again.

§§§§

"I never thought before this day that I would return willingly here, she said for herself, and Drizella frowned as she heard her mother talk.

- What do you mean ? You already came here before ?"

Rapunzel tried to smile without any conviction, and she brushed her daughter's hair gently, pulling her into a tight and tender embrace.

She never told them.

The tower, her imprisonment, her deal with Gothel and her conflict with her, only Marcus had knew everything which had happened to her during the six long years where she hadn't been at home.

The girls (including Anastasia, of course) had learned rapidly that Rapunzel had been kept as a prisoner by an evil woman, but there was a lot of things they ignored.

They never knew she had done this to save their family, and they didn't know either that she had doomed them to their fall when she had escaped.

"Yes, I did. It's the place where I was kept imprisoned."

Drizella looked at her mother, and so did Ella.

"I never told you, right ? Drizzy… do you remember that night where your father was so sick, how much I was afraid he might die, and how I was so desperate to save him, and ready to do anything to cure him. Then, she smiled with tenderness at her younger daughter. No, of course you don't remember it. You were so young at that time, and you and Ana, you were both so scared…

- I know… Anastasia told me, when… there were times where I couldn't remember you well. Remember your face, or your voice, how you smiled to us, how you tucked us in and kissed our forehead to say good night. She told me about that night where we lost you, but the more she talked about it, the less I remembered it. I wanted you to come back, I suggested the use of the lanterns to Ana, but in the end, I didn't even remember who you were, the girl admitted."

Rapunzel tried not to cry, just pulling her daughter tighter into her embrace.

Six years.

Six years of separation with her daughter had been enough to make her almost completely forget her mother and everything which concerned her. There had been the lanterns, of course, that Drizella had the idea to use to give hope to her mother, but in the end, she had lost complete hope to get her back.

It was different from Anastasia and Marcus, her other girl had never lost hope to see her again one day, and she had kept more memories of her than Drizella did, and Marcus…

Well, Marcus had just moved on.

But Drizella, her, she had forgotten her completely, she had found a new mother in Cecilia, she had just replaced her.

It was what hurt her the most.

Looking around her, she did everything not to look directly at the tower itself.

If she did, she knew that she would just fall down.

She looked at Hook for some seconds, who was next to Ella and listening carefully to her, and she felt incredibly relieved that he was here, with them.

The woman felt less alone with him on her side, first because he was an adult (and apart her servants, she had not a lot of adults in her entourage, since she had no friends or family), and also because he knew too what it was to be trapped into the tower.

Just as her, he had never been truly imprisoned there, they just both had a duty of staying there, both for their own family, her for her husband and her daughters, and him, for his daughter.

He knew the tower more than anyone, maybe even more than herself or Gothel.

The pirate was looking at her with sympathy, seeming to encourage her to pursue her story.

She took a deep breath.

There was so much things she had never said to Drizella or Ella, so much things she still couldn't say, about Anastasia's, about their father's death.

But she could talk about what had happened to her in the tower, and how she got there.

"During this night, when I lost almost all my hopes of finding a way to save your father, I arrived then into the garden of a woman named Gothel…

- It's the woman who trapped you too, right ? Ella exclaimed immediately at Hook.

This one nodded his head and had a false smile.

- Yes, indeed.

- I made a deal with her. She saved your father, provided happiness and riches to our family, and in exchange, I had to stay there.

- But that's horrible ! Ella screamed. What kind… what kind of person does that ?

- You did this for us ?

- Yes, Drizzy. Of course I did. I got out six years later, and after that, everything began to fall apart."

Because of me, she thought.

"You're not the only one who was used and abused by Gothel, Killian then said. She used me, and when I gave her what she wanted, a daughter and a way to escape, she abandoned her immediately and let her locked up for forever. She left without looking back.

- That's the reason why we are here, right ? For her. For Alice, Drizella said, curious."

As Ella herself, she didn't have a lot of friends, and the idea of knowing someone else, someone new, especially a person who knew nothing about the world and who had met no one in her life except her father and his crew, was making her really enthusiastic.

This time, despite his sadness, the pirate let a real smile illuminate his face.

His little girl.

"Yes. My little Alice. The members of my crew sent me a message yesterday, saying that they had to leave for a time. Being a crew of pirates, they are still wanted, and searched, so, if they didn't want to be imprisoned for being who they are, they just… couldn't stay. So now, she is left alone, on her own, and my efforts to keep her safe and with some company were all done for nothing.

- You don't have to worry about that ! Ella affirmed with a great smile of kindness on her face. You can't be near her because of the witch's spell, but we can, and we will stay with her as much as we can and as long as we can."

Moved by the little girl's discourse and kindness, Hook felt like he was about to cry, right now, knowing his little girl would not be alone now, and he smiled again.

"Thanks Ella. I appreciate it, really."

§§§§

Thewoman and the two girls prepared themselves for the climb of the tower, and as Rapunzel Tremaine looked at the tower a new time, she shivered, images of her captivity running again and again in her head.

"Hey ! It's going to be okay, right ? She can't hurt you anymore, you're free from her now.

- I hope so. As long as she is away from the tower, I will never be completely free or safe. I am afraid of her coming back and taking away from me the last rests of happiness I still have.

- This won't happen. You're strong Rapunzel, you succeeded to imprison her one time, you can do it again, and I will do everything to help you do it.

She looked at him with determination.

- Thanks Killian, for your support. And I will do everything to make sure your daughter is safe with us, even if she can't be with you."

To make the ascension of the tower was quite strange for Rapunzel.

She was coming back to a place she had always wanted to leave, and the trembling of her legs and her hands only stopped when she reminded herself that Gothel was not here anymore and never would be.

Killian Jones was right.

She was safe.

She was not happy, her husband was dead, one of her daughters was in a deep coma, she had difficulties to reconnect with the other one, and her step-daughter was the living proof of what a terrible woman she was, but at least, she was not in danger.

Not for now, in fact.

As she finally entered into the place, the first thing she saw was the only inhabitant of the place : a little girl with blond hair and blue eyes.

"Who are you ? The kid asked, on the defensive."

Rapunzel immediately thought : she looks exactly like Gothel.

In fact, for some seconds, rage completely overtook her and she was deeply tempted to do to the girl what Gothel did to Anastasia, put her between life and death and try to take her from her mother.

Only the sound of the arrival of Ella and Drizella took her from her dark thoughts, and she remarked something else about the child.

Alice Jones has her father's eyes, she thought.

She regained her calm and her composure, and she looked at the child with confidence.

She is living the same thing I had lived, except that she was less alone than me.

But she is also cursed to stay here, what a terrible fate !

"My name is Rapunzel Tremaine, and here, there are my daughters.

- Are you Alice Jones ? Drizella asked her.

- Yes. Yes, it's me. Why, she added, gaining some confidence, are you seeing someone else here ?

Drizella chuckled.

- No, indeed… I am Drizella Tremaine, she said, giving her hand to Alice."

Alice cautiously looked at her hand, before taking it.

"Nice to meet you Drizella. And you are ? She asked at the other girl.

- I am Ella, the older girl said.

- I'm happy to meet you too. Why… why are you all here ? How did you find the tower ?

- You father sent us there to find you and take care of you."

The little girl's eyes became then illuminated with joy.

"My father ? Where is he ? Is he okay ?

- He is. As much as he can be, being separated from you as he is, of course. He is just there, under us, near the tower."

Walking in direction of the window, Alice put her hand on the magical protection which stopped her from leaving the tower and looked at the outside, especially at the ground.

For some seconds, her heart stopped and she froze.

He was here.

Just as the woman had said.

"Papa ?"

The pirate looked up, and Alice felt relieved to see that he was okay, and her breath became more appeased as she realized that the distance between them was great enough which meant that he was not suffering from the spell the witch had inflicted to him.

"Alice ? You're okay ?"

No. I'm not, not anymore because you're not here and I'm all alone.

I miss you papa.

She forced herself to smile, not wanting to worry him.

"Yes, I'm alright papa ! Rapunzel and her daughters are with me ! Thanks for sending them to me, now that all the pirates are gone, I was feeling a little lonely."

Thanks for coming back to me.

He smiled at her and it warmed her heart.

Her papa was here, with her, and he was okay.

"I love you starfish, he screamed to her, with tears in the eyes, and raising his hand in the air, as if he wanted to hold her against him.

- I love you too papa, she answered, trying without any success to put her hand out of the tower."

Hell, he was both so close and so far from her…

She wiped her tears, continuing to smile with both joy and sadness, before turning back in Rapunzel's direction.

Alice didn't hesitate any second, and she run in Rapunzel's arms, hugging tightly.

The noble woman froze, not understanding what was happening to her, since she was not used to these marks of affection, before automatically pulling her arms around the little girl, replying to the embrace.

Why ?

"Thank you, the prisoner of the tower simply said. Thank you very much for bringing back my papa to me."

Rapunzel smiled, feeling tears begin to form themselves in her eyes.

I'm sorry you have to endure that, kid.

She tried to imagine a little girl like her, all alone in this so great and so cold tower, like she herself was for six years, and it broke her heart.

It was a chance that she hadn't become crazy during her life there, and she had been a grown-up woman who could handle herself.

While Alice wasn't.

"You're welcome Alice, she whispered, deeply moved."

She then promised to herself that she would defeat Gothel one day, not only for revenge, or because it was the right thing to do, or for Anastasia, but also in order to free this little girl from the terrible prison where her own mother had locked her up.

Hugging her in her arms, she closed her eyes, imagining for some seconds that the little girl right here was Anastasia, alive, awake and breathing, as it should be.

And, just as Killian Jones himself was doing so under the tower, Rapunzel Tremaine began to cry.

§§§§

Gothel was quite satisfied of how the things had turned.

She had done what she had to do, and if she was lucky, things would go the way she wanted them to do so.

And they would, she knew it.

The pirate was cursed, far from his daughter, her daughter, and one day she would come back, one day she would exchange his life against her daughter's help.

One day, she would come back to Rapunzel's home, and take Drizella's from her, when this one would be too much broken to accept her mother's indifference toward her.

One day, the curse sending them to the Land without magic would be finally cast, and then, she would finally eradicate all the non-magical humans from the world.

But that would be for another day.

Walking in the coven's garden, she finally smiled when she saw Seraphina.

"My love…

The dark-skinned woman looked at her, and smiled, before kissing her.

- Gothel, you're back !

The witch smiled.

- Yes, I am…

- Did the plan work ?

- It did. Then, she interlaced their fingers. One day, I swear to you, we will finally get our revenge on the humans who destroyed our lives, she said, before kissing her again."

What she didn't know, is that sometimes, the determination of two parents can be much more powerful than magic.

To be continued…