A lock of the child's hair. Of course she couldn't cut it! How could she not have predicted this! A flower is no longer alive once it's picked. How wished this had occurred to her sooner. She could have prepared more.
Now, she raced upon a horse that she had… borrowed. And the Princess of Corona wailed against her chest. She was being followed, but with some unprecedented twists and turns, she had gained on them some. Gothel would retrieve Cassandra from the cottage, and head to a little spot she knew of where the sundrop would never be found. Gothel had considered leaving Cassandra at the cottage… she'd be found by the royal guard, no doubt, and placed safely in an orphanage. The girl meant very little to Gothel… she was the result of some love affair that never should have happened. But she was her daughter, nonetheless. Besides, the child proved useful at times and usually managed to entertain herself. Once she was older, she'd surely become even more useful.
When Gothel raced in the cottage, she saw her child sitting on the window sill, wrapped up in a scratchy blanket with that piercing music box in her hands.
The four year old was caught off guard when her mother burst through the door yelling to her to come. Cassandra hadn't even had time to obey before she was slung over her mother's shoulder and then outside in the night air. With the jostling, her beloved music box clattered to the concrete steps of the cottage and broke into pieces. Cassandra watched helplessly as she was carried away from her precious toy. She began to cry.
Before Cassandra knew it, she was grasping onto a horse with as strong as a grip as her tiny self could provide. Mother was behind her, using one arm to tightly grasp a bundle against her chest, and the other hanging onto the reins. Gothel merely leaned on Cassandra to keep her aboard the steed, and whether that was even on purpose was difficult to say.
Cassandra heard noise all around. Her mother muttered inaudible words, and there were shouting men in other parts of the woods not too far off, all accompanied by the trampling of horse hooves. There was another peculiar noise too, ringing right above her. Cassandra couldn't identify it at the time, but she would later learn that it was the cries of her new baby sister.
Gothel raced through the woods, taking as many twists and turns as she could. She knew exactly where to go, but she had to be sure nobody was following before she got too close to their final destination.
Eventually, Gothel let the horse loose and concluded that they'd walk the rest of the way, headed to a tower in a man made rock cavern. The tower had been constructed many lifetimes ago, at the same time as the tunnels underneath Corona that so few knew about. There were perks to being as old as Gothel was.
Gothel eventually had to carry not only the infant, but Cassandra as well. The girl tried to match her mother's pace but she fell too far behind every few minutes. Her paces were just too small and her little legs were so tired. Gothel couldn't risk Cassandra getting separated from her. Not when she could be found this close to the tower.
Gothel picked up the girl with one arm, the other occupied by the flower, who had finally stopped crying and fell asleep. She propped Cassandra onto her hip and hurried their pace.
Cassandra clung to her mother's hip immediately, and fell asleep.
Gothel groaned as the girl's weight became more difficult to support. Looking on the brightside, she would not have to listen to the child's annoying whines and cries for the rest of the journey.
Gothel hoped Cassandra wouldn't be more trouble than she was worth.
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.
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The sun was beginning to rise by the time Gothel and the girls were hidden away in what would be their home from here on out. She had placed the sleeping Cassandra down, her own cloak the only barrier between the little girl and the awfully dirty floor.
Gothel's old bones felt exhausted from the chase. And she knew exactly what to do about that.
"Flower, gleam and glow
Let your power 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"
When Gothel sang, the child's hair lit up into a beautiful glow, one strand at a time. All the while little Rapunzel slept soundly, completely unaware of how her life had just changed forever.
Any weariness Gothel had felt before was washed away in an instant. Her spine straightened, her skin tightened, and each breath came easier. She had her flower back at last.
"Mama…" came a tiny, sad voice from across the room.
Gothel jumped, the voice startling her, and the glowing locks fell back to their default colour. Gothel exhaled. "You should not be up, Cassandra. What do you want?" she barked at the little girl.
Cassandra flinched at her mother's harsh tone, but she stepped closer anyway. Finally, the unidentified bundle she'd seen and heard was revealed as a tiny baby, as perfect as a porcelain doll. "Who is she, mama?" Cassandra inquired.
Gothel sighed, then crouched down to allow her daughter a clearer view of the babe. "This is your new sister, dear." Gothel said, her voice just a twinge too sweet to be realistic.
"My sister…? Mama, why are we here?" she asked.
Gothel groaned inwardly. If she had known the little rut would ask so many questions, she'd have left her at the cottage. It was too late now though. "This is our new home darling…" said Gothel. Then, concocting a story quickly in her head, she continued. "You see dear, your sister has a special gift… her hair possesses a magic that can heal the sick and dying-"
"That's why it was glowing?" Cassandra cut in.
"Yes. Do not interrupt me." Gothel spat, before continuing. "Others learned of her power, and they want to take her and use her for it… so we have to hide her. You and I will have to protect her for the rest of her life. Do you understand?" Gothel said, weaving the tale as she went.
Cassandra nodded fiercely.
Gothel knew then that going back for Cassandra was not a mistake. The child was so desperate for love, and admittedly so full of it herself, that she'd already do anything for her little sister.
"Mama, what's her name?" Cassandra asked.
Gothel hesitated. She knew the child's given name, yet only thought of her as 'Flower' thus far. "Her name is Rapunzel, dear." Gothel said. It would not matter if she had the name of the Princess, because nobody other than Gothel and Cassandra would ever meet her.
Cassandra looked at her new sister with adoration in her eyes.
"Would you like to hold her, dear?" Gothel asked, her cold heart softening for just the moment.
Cassandra smiled wide, and nodded.
Gothel smiled back, and sat herself down on the dusty floor, leaning against a wall. She lifted Rapunzel a bit higher and gestured for Cassandra to come to her lap.
Cassandra came to her mother's lap, her heart swelled from getting a taste of affection she longed for so deeply.
Once seated, Gothel wrapped her arms around Cassandra and put the infant in the little girl's lap.
Cassandra instantly clutched the baby, but stayed nestled as close to her mother as she could. Gothel relaxed, and held both of her children warmly.
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About a month had passed since their arrival at the tower. Gothel would be unrecognizable as the old woman who took the Princess, so it was no problem to make trips into Corona.
Gothel only left while Rapunzel napped.
During the time when Gothel left and Rapunzel slept, Cassandra would clean and clean and clean.
The tower had been uninhabited for hundreds of years, but now, after a month of work by Cassandra, and several shopping trips by Gothel, the place finally began to feel more comfortable.
Gothel and Cassandra built a cradle themselves, as Gothel did not want to attract any suspicion by purchasing one. She had taught Cassandra how to change diapers and how to feed Rapunzel, but Gothel unfortunately still had to do some work, as Cassandra could not be trusted to hold the baby on her own.
The girls had a shared bedroom, Rapunzel's cradle adjacent from Cassandra's bed.
One night, Gothel had been woken up by a wail from the golden haired infant in the other room, she'd groaned and kicked her legs out of bed to go soothe the child. By the time she'd reached the curtained doorway though, the wails had become little coos.
Looking in, she saw Cassandra with her own little hands rubbing Rapunzel's tummy, or her hair, or her face. "It's ok Rabunzel." little Cassandra would say, unable to properly pronounce the name. "It's ok… I'm here. Your sissy is here. Don't cry Rabunzel. I love you."
Not even Mother Gothel could deny that the scene before her was adorable.
I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! Let me know what you think, and follow so you'll be notified when I update!