Chapter 1

Once upon a time, a single drop of sunlight fell from the heavens. And from this small drop of sun grew a magic, golden flower. It could heal the sick, and injured.

Centuries passed and a hop, skip, and a boat ride away, there grew a kingdom. The kingdom was ruled by a beloved King and Queen. And the Queen was about to have a baby, and she got sick. Close to death. She was running out of time. And that's when people usually start to look for a miracle. Or in this case, a magic golden flower.

However, sharing the Sun's gift, an elderly wicked woman, Mother Gothel, hoarded its healing power and used it to keep herself young for hundreds of years. And all she had to do was sing a special song.

"Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine. Make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine, what once was mine."

As she sang, she turned young. Her grey curly hair changed to raven black. Her wrinkled skin turned smooth. Then, she heard footsteps coming in her direction. Gothel hid the flower underneath the leafy lid. But as she ran away to hide, her green lantern knocked the lid over. The kingdom guard spotted the golden flower and took it to the flower with them as Gothel watched on from the bushes; her anger fuelled within her.

The magic of the golden flower healed the queen. A healthy baby girl, a princess, was born with beautiful golden hair. To celebrate her birth, the King and Queen launched a flying lantern into the sky. For that one moment, everything was perfect. And then that moment ended. On that very same night, Gothel broke into the castle and stole the child. Just like that... gone. The Kingdom searched and searched, but they could not find the Princess. For deep within the forest, in a hidden tower, Gothel raised the child as her own. She had found her new magic flower. But this time she was determined to keep it hidden.

But the walls of that tower could not hide everything. Each year on her birthday, the King and Queen released thousands of lanterns into the sky in hope that one day, their lost Princess would return.

Eighteen years later, the little girl grew into a beautiful young woman. Her name was Rapunzel. Yet she had no idea who she was.

On a sunny morning, a chameleon ran out of the window and his head turned, his brown eyes searching for a hiding spot. Then, he saw a flower pot and stood behind it. He camouflaged himself with the patterns on the pot. The window door opened and Rapunzel looked outside.

"Hah!" She said but couldn't find anything. Her green eyes scanned on the window sill and the lone flower pot. She brushed her long blonde hair back and sneakily smiled to herself. "Hmm, Well... I guess Pascal's not hiding out here."

The chameleon, Pascal, chuckled and a golden lock of hair snatched him away from the pot. Rapunzel hung upside-down from the roof. "GOTCHA!"

Pascal shrieked and his disguise disappeared and his scaly skin changed to green. She got herself on the ground and lowered the chameleon on the window sill, taking the lock of her hair back inside. "That's twenty-two for me. How about twenty-three, out of forty-five?" Pascal shook his head, his answer saying no. "Okay, well, what do you want to do?" Rapunzel sat on the window sill and Pascal pointed his tail out the window, indicating that he wants to go outside."Yeah, I don't think so. I like it here and so do you." Pascal blew a raspberry at her. "Oh, come on Pascal, it's not so bad in there."

Rapunzel and Pascal went inside and she looked at the grandfather clock. It was seven in the morning. It was time for her usual morning lineup. She started the chores with sweeping the floors until it was all clean. Then, she polished and waxed, did laundry, mopped the floor, and shined up the room. When the floor got swept again, Rapunzel looked at the grandfather clock and it was fifteen minutes later. After her chores were done, she went to her bedroom and read a book, maybe two or three depending on how long the book was. Once she was done reading, she would add a few paintings to her gallery: the whole wall within the tower. She took a break from painting and decided to play the guitar or knit or cook as she wondered about her life starting.

After her lunch, which was a bowl of hazelnut soup, she played with puzzles and darts and then baking cookies. Then, she does other activities: paper-mache, ballet, chess, pottery, ventriloquy and candle-making were just to name a few. Then she would stretch her arms or sketch on the wall, maybe climbing or sewing a dress for Pascal. Rapunzel, if she had time to spare, would re-read the books and, if there was any room in the tower, painted the wall some more. Then she would brush and brush her long golden hair while being stuck in the same place she had always been in. Despite all these activities, she kept wondering when her life will begin.

Rapunzel looked out the window and looked at the blue sky. She was thinking about tomorrow and was excited yet nervous about it. Tomorrow will be her birthday yet her birthday was not like any other. Each year, on her birthday, the mysterious lights would appear in the night sky and she wondered where they came from. Was it meant for her? She wondered what they were and why on her birthday. She sighed and looked back at the painting she was working on: herself sitting on the leaf and glancing at the lights at night. She walked away from the window and repainted the yellow of her hair in the painting.

"What is it like out there, where they glow?" She asked herself dreamingly. "Now that I'm older. Mother might just let me go."

"Don't worry. You'll see the lights one day."

She shook her head, trying to get the calming voice away from her.