Considering the fact that I had never left my lofty prison, I believed that I handled this new residence quite well. Although, Flynn probably begged to differ. From the outside, it looked shabby, to say the least. And this was not mere snobbyness on my part. The yellow paint on the sign was peeling and the wood itself looked rotten. I could also smell a rancid odour wafting from the place. All in all, I was not looking forward to entering such a dwelling. But enter I must. So I took a deep breath, trying to inhale as much fresh air as possible before following Flynn inside.

To my immense surprise, the interior of the dwelling was the polar opposite to the outside. The furnishings were gleaming and the inhabitants were well dressed. What puzzled me the most was where such an horrendous smell was originating from, especially from a place as clean as this. But I soon had my answer.

In the corner of the room was a pile of waste, with a fan positioned beside it. The fan then blew the smell through the open window. Now that I knew where it was from, another question remained: Why?

As if reading my thoughts, Flynn spoke up. "You see, by making this place look filthy and squalid from the outside, it deters unwanted guests. This is a special place, after all, and we need our privacy."

"Special how?" I asked.

"Don't worry, you'll soon find out."

Flynn had barely finished her sentence when I heard a booming voice.

"Ah, Flynn! I see that you have brought a new arrival with you." It said. "Is this the one who-"

"Yes." She answered quickly, not giving the person a chance to continue.

I raised my eyebrow at that, feeling a tad suspicious of her. Although, being suspicious was usual for me, especially given my circumstances. Everyone I had cared for had abandoned me, after all, and they had known me for years. I had known Flynn hours so she owed me no loyalty. Even so, there was...something...about her that made me not want to let go of her. And this feeling would only serve to intensify the more I got to know her.

This was not good. Perhaps I should cut all ties with her right this instant before it was too late. But I could not. I needed her. She was my guide and, without her, I might as well return to my tower because I knew I would become hopelessly lost. I had no other option, I simply needed to stay with her and hope that I did not end up sinking too deeply.

Fortunately, I stopped dwelling on those thoughts when a distraction arose. A distraction in the form of a large man barrelling towards me. He was moving far too quickly for me to evade him so I simply stood there, waiting to be crushed. And, in a way, this is what happened. However, his intention was not to kill me, rather to scoop me up into an embrace.

"Hello, young sir!" He said, after placing me back on to the ground.

My jaw dropped in shock. Someone had actually addressed me by my preferred pronoun. What was going on? Did this signal the end of the world? Impending apocalypse or not, I could not help but smile.

Years and years of being addressed incorrectly was more psychologically damaging to me than I could ever explain. I noticed him staring at me and suddenly remembered that I had not replied to his greeting.

"Hello." I answered. "It is nice to meet you. My name is..."

I stopped mid-sentence. Was it wise to share my name with a stranger?

"Rapunzel, I know."

"How did you...?"

He pointed behind me, causing me to turn bright red in embarrassment. The hair, of course! My mind had been so full of various other thoughts that I had completely forgotten about my appearance. This was not good. I did not wish to be recognisable to all, especially since not everyone would have pure intentions in regards to my wellbeing.

Being in possession of magic hair usually attracted the wrong sorts of people to me. Gothel had been one of them, Flynn...well, I was unsure about her but I had plenty of time to find out. For now, I would have to trust her.

I also needed to change my appearance. For reasons unbeknownst to myself, my hair was uncuttable. Believe me, I had tried. It was far too long to be hidden by a hat of any kind. Perhaps I could tie it up somehow, or braid it? Should I ask Flynn to help me do so? It would not be possible to do it by myself.

"Flynn..." I began to say before I was interrupted.

"We have been awaiting your arrival for a while, young man. And now that you are here, we have work to do."

The voice that made that statement was different to the booming one. This one was quieter, more feminine. I moved my attention to the owner of the voice. They appeared exactly as they sounded. She had long, blonde hair – not as long as mine, of course – and eyes the colour of chocolate. She was slender in build and was wringing her hands, in a shy manner.

"What work?" I asked, wary.

"Well, look at me, what do you see?"

I lowered my eyes, embarrassed, unsure how to answer such a question.

"Well, in all honesty, you are very beautiful." I said, after much consideration. "If I actually identified as female, I would love to look like you."

My hand flew to my mouth after I made this statement. I had answered too honestly, accidentally outing myself. Although, they must already know. My name was synonymous with 'princess', after all.

"There is no need to look so horrified." The lady soothed. "We know the specifics of your birth. That you ended up in a form that just wasn't you. In fact, the very same thing happened to me."

"To you?" I exclaimed, in disbelief.

"Yes, me. I was...born in the form that you wish that you were."

"But you..."

"But I what? I don't appear as though I was? Well, believe me, I did once. But thanks to my friends here, who don't stick to the 'gender norm' either, I was transformed. And now I am who I always wanted to be, on the outside now as well as the inside."

"Really?" I asked, mood lifting.

"Yes, really." She replied. "None of us here are considered 'normal' by society, and not only because of the genders we identify as, if any."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Male and female aren't the only genders you can identify as, some people identify as none, others identify as both. 'Non-binary' is a name some of them go by. And also there are more sexualities than simply 'heterosexual', which is considered to be normal. There are also homosexuals – gays and lesbians – bisexuals, pansexuals, asexuals, and demisexuals.

And here at the Snuggly Duckling we have a whole spectrum of residents, each identifying as one of the many branches of gender and sexuality. This is why I know that we will be able to help you. We have masses of experience, after all, many of us being able to understand your predicament."

"Wow." I said, taken aback. I had not been expecting to be meeting strangers who actually understood me. That had never happened to me before.

Perhaps this journey would not be as bad as I originally assumed, after all. I had already been wrong about the Snugly Duckling which just goes to show that you should never judge a book by its cover, a lesson I had desperately wanted to teach others.