~Chapter 23~

Rapunzel

The next thing I knew when my eyes slowly came open was that I was in a place I didn't recognize. An entire bookshelf covered the span of one wall. A box of toys and stuffed animals filled a box in the corner. A tapestry of a golden sun with a purple background hung on the nearby wall. I stared at the image most carefully. Somehow I knew it was important. As I slowly sat up, a woman wearing a dress and apron came into the room. In her hand, there was a bouquet of flowers and she replaced the wilting flowers in the vase on the vanity across the room. As she turned to leave, she looked up at me in surprise.

"Hello, can you please tell me where-"

The woman quickly left the room seemingly in a panic and I was alone again. I looked down at my bedspread at something small and green moving its way toward me. A small chameleon began hopping up and down squealing with delight.

"Hey, little guy," I greeted.

I rubbed its head with my finger and it seemed happy to see me. My head was beating like a drum as I worked hard to identify this creature. The pain in my head was intense as I cupped my face in my hands.

"I'm sorry, little guy, I don't remember much."

His skin promptly turned a shade of blue as there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," I said, calmly unsure of who was coming to greet me. Maybe whoever it was could explain some things to me. A man and woman walked in and they stared at me in a way that made me a little uncomfortable as if they recognized me, which was confusing as I had no idea who they were. The man was tall with light greying spots in his brown hair. The woman had green eyes that seemed so familiar to me. Her long brown hair went down her back and both these two guests were dressed in formal attire. The woman approached the end of the bed.

"I brought you some water. Care for some?" She smiled, warmly.

I didn't know this woman at all, but something in my gut said she was a good person. I accepted the glass and drank it slowly as my stomach had been doing somersaults since I woke up.

"I see you met Pascal." She continued, gesturing to the chameleon.

"Yeah, thanks to you. I now know his name." I replied taking another sip of the water.

"Speaking of names, I'm Arianna." She replied,

"And I'm her husband, Frederic and this place is our home." The man replied.

I finished the glass apparently more thirsty than I realized.

"Nice to meet you both, I'm Rapunzel," I said.

The two of them came closer as Arianna sat on the edge of the bed as Frederic stood beside her putting his hand on her shoulder.

"What we're about to say might be a bit of a shock, but it's important you hear it from us," Arianna said.

"O-Okay," I muttered, suddenly nervous.

Frederic and Arianna exchanged glances as Arianna took a breath.

"We're your parents, Rapunzel."

I blinked a couple of times as Arianna spoke the words.

"No, that can't be right." I said, "I-If it's true then, why are you telling me this now? I just turned eighteen and you've been out of my life all these years. Why now?" I accused, "Didn't you want me?"

Arianna's eyes turned glassy. I didn't mean to be so harsh.

"Oh sweetheart, of course, we did," Frederic replied.

"You were taken by one of our staff we hired, Emelia Gothel. We never gave up hope that you were out there." Arianna added. I recognized the name.

"Did that woman have long black, curly hair?" I asked.

Frederic and Arianna exchanged curious looks.

"No, she was older. Greying hair and aging features." Arianna replied.

I threw the covers off me and got up going over to the nearby window gazing out on the landscape. Wrapping my arms around myself. I felt as though my head was going to explode. I began humming the tune I had always known. This song always had a way of calming me down when I was upset. I hummed a few bars before Arianna joined me at the window filling in the lyrics.

"A new dawn is breaking

A day for memories in the making

My child, my dear, sweet child

My love for you remains

sure as the rising and the setting sun

I'll always hold you tight as my love remains

For I am yours and you are mine."

I joined her on the last line as Arianna lifted her hand to my cheek. I smiled as tears spilled from mine. Her eyes, her voice, and something about her seemed familiar even though we spent years apart. She threw her arms around me holding me tight as the both of us cried. Frederic soon joined the hug-fest as we all held onto this moment. I had a family this whole time. A mother and a father who loved me. Much time was taken away from us, but we had our whole lives to make up for that loss.

My parents informed me that after the siege of Ravadyn, I got hurt falling unconscious for nearly ten days. So my waking up on my own was a great sign. Our palace, my new home had been under construction since the siege fixing the damage from cannon fire. A royal coronation was to be held three days after I woke up. The kingdom rejoiced at my return after so many years. A bejeweled crown was placed on my head and the weight of it I found heavy figuratively speaking. I knew nothing of my new role and my parents didn't pressure me in any way. My identity and name were restored to me and that was enough. I was waited on by the palace staff and that was something I could never get used to. Dresses tailor made and baths drawn with strong scents that would stick to me like glue. Pascal and I explored the palace corridors together as I got familiar with my new home.

The day of the coronation arrived and the whole city gathered in our courtyard outside. It was held in the evening, which I wasn't sure why. After all from what I understood, the kingdom of Corona was very fond of the sun. I was fitted into a purple brocade dress with lace sleeves for the day. My hair was fixed into a braid adorned with flowers interwoven throughout. My parents went out in the courtyard first as the ceremony began and then I followed with the doors opening wide for me. I could feel my knees knocking beneath my dress as I came out. The last thing I wanted to do was mess this day up. I know the people of Corona needed something to celebrate after the siege from Ravadyn. I walked down the red carpet coming right up to the stone railing that overlooked people below standing between my parents. Father announced my name before placing my bejeweled crown on my head. Trumpeters blew their horns as the crowd erupted in applause and I looked on at the crowd feeling a bit overwhelmed. I held back the tears of being so happy at this moment. Moments later, I understood why the coronation was held in the evening. Everyone in the crowd lit up a paper lantern and sent them up to the sky. I turned toward my mother who held one in her hands too.

"Every year we lit these, every year we never gave up hope, and now you're home."

She was bursting with emotion herself as she wiped her eye with her one hand. My parents stood on both sides of me as the three of us pushed the lantern into the sky with all the rest. Standing here beneath the floating lights, I looked on in awe not knowing I could ever be so happy in this moment, though at the same time, I felt like something huge was missing and I couldn't put my finger on it.

Over the next few weeks, I familiarized myself even more with the kingdom. I went on walks throughout the kingdom with escorts. As I neared water, I felt nervous and I wanted to tackle that fear, so my father got instructors to teach me to swim. I caught on very quickly and was paddling in no time. Most importantly, I got to know my parents on a deeper level, all of us explored what the other did during my lost years. One night in the dining hall, I asked a question that had me curious.

"So you never had any more kids?" I asked one night at dinner. "I have no brothers and sisters?"

Father took a sip of his drink as mother picked at her plate.

"We couldn't," Mother said, "We were lucky you and I both survived when you were born. It was all thanks to that flower that was found."

"Which flower?" I asked.

"I called it the sundrop bloom, but its actual name is Sol Lillitalus." Mother replied.

"Explains why your hair was blonde when you were born." Father added, putting down his drink. It made sense after they explained it to me, but why did I feel like there was more to this Sol Lillitalus? This was worth investigating on my own as I didn't want to upset my parents. When asked about my eighteen years, I remembered someone vaguely taking care of me, but their face was blurred out in my mind. Though a week after that dinner, I remembered some details of a tower hidden in the forest outside Corona. My parents asked me to take them there if I could remember the way. I rode a white horse who was captured after the siege from Ravadyn, his name was Maximus and he seemed to recognize me. The three of us rode to that place. I didn't think I'd remember the way, but as I entered the forest, I found my way easily enough. The tower was hidden in a glade with a waterfall just behind it. Mother placed a hand over her mouth.

"What's wrong?"

"All these years, you weren't far. We should have found you."

I put my arm around her.

"I'm here now, that's all that matters."

Father stared at the tower as if it were a fierce enemy.

"Wish we knew how you went from here and got to Ravadyn." He said.

"I'm sorry, I don't remember."

"I know, sweetheart. Though in the meantime, I'm removing this tower brick by brick. This place isn't your legacy. It's in the past." He nodded.

As we rode back home, it was midday and I wanted to paint in my room, so I was up there alone with Pascal for hours. When I finally emerged, I went to go explore more rooms in the upper halls. In one month, I had only seen half of this place. Most rooms were vacant though I still startled some of the servants who were doing their rounds between rooms dusting and cleaning. Pascal ran ahead of me going up the stairs to the third floor.

"Hey Pascal, wait up." I called, for a chameleon, he was quite fast on his four little legs. This floor seems smaller than the rest with fewer rooms. The hallway lined with banners of the Corona sun. One family portrait was hung on the wall. An oil painting of my parents and myself. It was hard not to notice my long blonde hair and green eyes as a babe. So much had been taken from my life. Mother told me about the woman who took me away as a baby and I had no memories of this. I barely remembered Conwyn and that was far more recent. My memories played dirty tricks these past weeks and part of me felt as if this were all a lie. Either that, or that feeling of something being missing from my reality just grew that much stronger. Pascal ran down the stretch of hallway before turning back toward me abruptly. He turned to head back toward the stairs when I stopped in front of the only room with the door ajar a few inches. My mother was inside looking at a small bookshelf that laid against the wall. I slowly cracked open the door as it creaked loudly announcing myself for me.

"What are you doing up here?" I asked looking around.

The stone walls made the room appear dull, but they were decorated with tapestries of purple and blush pinks. A crib collected dust in the corner with some strange sun designed contraption attached to it

"I've spent many times in here over the past eighteen years. Even though I have you back, I guess the habit is hard to drop."

"Was this my room?"

Mother nodded slowly as she slid out a book from the shelf peering through its pages. She put down the picture book on the top of the shelf face up before casually walking toward the crib. Getting down on her knees, she bent down and pulled out a red chest from underneath the crib.

"What's this?" I asked.

She handed it to me and it was heavier than it looked.

"Geez, and here I thought I considered myself to be fairly strong."

I gently placed the chest down between my mother and I as I opened the lid. Inside there were tons of letters sealed with the sun of Corona in gold wax.

"What is this?" I asked mother.

"Letters from your father and I over the years. We each wrote one on your birthday each year in addition to sending out the lanterns. Though we wrote them many times throughout the years. They're yours." She smiled.

"I can't wait to read these." I nodded.

I looked down at Pascal who climbed into the chest curiously.

"Wanna help carry this, Pascal?"

He shook his head as I laughed.

"I'll help you carry this to your new room." Mother offered, coming toward the chest through knocking the book she pulled earlier with her elbow.

"I got it." I said.

Curiously I picked it up glancing over the cover, while it didn't seem familiar, the name in the text reminded me of something I couldn't quite put my finger on. The vibrant colors on the cover distracted me for a moment just thinking this was but a children's book. I kept tracing my fingers over each letter of the title, specifically the name Flynnigan Rider. My mother watched me curiously.

"I love that book," She sighed, "It's a great story of a great adventurer who works hard to achieve his dreams."

"Sounds like a great book any kid would love." I shrugged.

"When you were taken, I was in a dark place and I found that reading to the local orphan children really helped me cope."'

"I'm sorry, I've caused you so much pain." I muttered.

My mother grabbed me by the shoulders looking at me intently.

"You are a gift, don't ever think anything different. Your father and I have been praying for the day you would return home."

I nodded refocusing on the cover as mother watched me most carefully. The familiarity had been bugging me and I wish I knew why. The name rang inside my head and I kept thinking I knew the name, though the person on the book cover didn't match who I saw in my mind. As I glanced through the pages, the character in the book was sailing on ships and discovering islands and new places to live. All the while being merry with his crew of friends. I remembered being on a ship with someone, but their face was blurred out in my mind. Flynnigan sailed to a snow covered land pelting his men with snow all the while riding horses anywhere they went when not at sea. I closed my eyes bringing a hand to my head as I dropped the chest of letters. Then the pieces came together.

"Eugene," I whispered as I opened my eyes.

My mother looked at me with a solemn expression.

"What name did you say?" She asked.

"Mother, where is Eugene? I need to see him!"

My eyes welled up with tears as the relief flooded my mind. Though in the same moment all the pain I had experienced from Emelia Gothel. The healing incantation and all those years alone in the tower. So much all at once, it was overwhelming, but I knew that I needed to find Eugene.

"He's gone, Rapunzel," Mother replied.

My heart fell as I felt sick to my stomach. Father came into the room joining us looking at my expression growing concerned as he put his arm around mother.

"What's going on?" He asked.

"What do you mean gone?" I asked my mother not even answering my father's question.

"He asked us not to say anything. Forgive us." Mother muttered.

"Is he not here? Where would he go?"

Father's brows raised in recognition of the conversation

"He thought it was best that he left. You should respect his decision."

"Sure I can respect it, but I don't agree with it." I grumbled.

After everything, he didn't have the decency to wait for me to wake up? The man had faults sure, but I didn't think impatience was one of them. How could he not even say goodbye? I wouldn't let him get away with sneaking off like a thief in the night. My decision was made.

"He told us you were alive." Mother said, "He confirmed your identity while we were facing Conwyn's siege."

"He also saved your mother's life from falling debris pushing her out of harm's way." Father added.

I exhaled a sharp breath looking toward my parents with tears filling my eyes.

"I have to find him. I-I owe him so much and-"

Mother threw her arms around me holding me as let the tears fall on her shoulder. As we pulled away, mother cupped my face in her hands wiping my cheeks with her thumbs.

"I'll go with you." She said.

"You'll take the fastest ship in the harbor." Father added.

I stepped back from mother hugging my father tight. Pascal was running in circles excitedly.

"You coming too, Pascal?" I smirked.

He nodded as I knelt down letting him climb into my hands as I put him on my shoulder.

Mother told me where Eugene went to start over on the Isles of Hartsmouth. Even more places to discover in this world, but I had hoped we could do it together, both Eugene and I. I wasted no time getting to the harbor. Father insisted on taking a small unit of guards for protection. It was a bit much, but I couldn't argue with him. He just got me back. One thing bothered me as I didn't know where Gothel was at this point in time. She was ruthless, but I wasn't a child anymore, if she ever tried again, I'd never let her come between me and my family again. Eugene was part of that as well. Going through all that I had in the past eighteen years made me stronger in spite of it. Our ship left the harbor as mother and I looked out at the horizon. My fingers gripped the side rails nervously as a thought kept repeating in my mind. How would he react to seeing me? After all, he had left me behind for a reason and I know I needed to hear that reason from him directly.