On the way home from her three day trip for sea shell paints, Gothel couldn't wait see her flower. She wouldn't admit it out loud to herself but she missed her little flower. She knew her flower was upset when she left and to be honest she couldn't help but feel slightly guilty. She hated it when Rapunzel argued or pushed boundaries that she had set but what really set her off was that her flower was no longer little. Gothel knew Rapunzel's 18th birthday was coming up; she had always known. However, like any other day she pushed away any thoughts of her little girl growing up. The thought of Rapunzel turning 18 only made her sick to her stomach. What terrified her the most was that she was actually thinking of setting her free. For years Gothel had only one purpose in her life and being youthful and content was apart of it however throughout does years she became lonely. All her the people she once knew from her past had disappeared or vanished and she never made new ones because eventually they too would past. Yes she knew youth from the golden flower would come at a price but at the time she didn't care. She feared death.
Gothel wasn't so far from the tower now, she knew she would make it just before nightfall and in time for dinner. Gothel had aged quite a bit during the trip and with every step she took her knees ached and her back pain only got worse every passing hour. She wasn't fully old just yet as her skin was still tight around her face and hair only slightly grey. However with one more day without her flower Gothel would truly be her real self. An elderly woman on the edge of death. Taking a little rest on a fallen tree log by the path she was on, Gothel began to let her mind wonder again. If she was going to set her little flower free she would have to tell her the truth. The whole truth. Honestly Gothel wasn't ready for that but then she would never be ready. To her surprise she always thought Rapunzel would figure it out on her own. However once Rapunzel knew the truth Gothel would be back on her own again and this time it would be the end of her. Snapping out of her ridiculous thoughts Gothel knew that there was no way she could let Rapunzel go. She had to keep her hidden, so she could say alive but more importantly she had keep Rapunzel safe from the lingering darkness that was awaiting her in the outside world. After all Gothel wasn't the only thing looking for the magic flower.
Just as Gothel predicted she arrived at the tower just before nightfall. Standing by the tower Gothel called out her famous lines. " Rapunzel left down your hair!" It wasn't long before long thick golden hair fell to the floor and Gothel secured herself as her Flower lifted her up the tower. Reaching the top Gothel was greeted with her usual overjoyed daughter. Ever since Gothel could remember Rapunzel never failed to welcome her home with a smile or hug even after arguments.
"Hello mother how was your trip!"
Rapunzel said as she helped Gothel with the basket of goods and her cloak. " The usual...fine." Gothel said tiredly taking a seat in her favourite red chair; she truly was exhausted.
" well I'm glad you made it back safely... I missed you mother especially on my birthday." Rapunzel mumbled the last part of her sentence. She didn't want to sound too needy, Mother hated that.
Rapunzel was finally 18. She had kind of wished Gothel would spend it with her but after their heated argument she had to think of something fast to cover up her lie. After all she did have a man in her wardrobe. The situation with the thief went oddly. As he woke up from being hit on the head with the frying pan Rapunzel had interrogated him only to find out he wasn't after her hair and was on the run from some 'bad people'. However after a long discussion with pascal she decided to let him go and made him swear to never come back again which he agreed to. He was the first person she spoken to who wasn't her mother or her pet pal and this made Rapunzel wished that one day her mother would change her mind and let her out into the real world. To finally meet more people in the world.
" what was that Rapunzel I didn't hear the last part of what you said? You missed what?"
Snapping out of her trail of thought Rapunzel looked back at her mother again. "Oh, I just said that I made dinner for today that's all and I thought you would miss dinner."
" Oh, Well what did you make for Dinner Flower? I am Famish." Gothel said as she looked curiously to the kitchen. Dashing to Kitchen Rapunzel began serving up a plate for her mother. " I thought I make Potato Casserole." Rapunzel said with pride as it was one of her best dishes she loved to make. Gothel also agreed as Rapunzel glanced at her mother's peak of interest which made Rapunzel smile.
After eating and brushing Rapunzel's hair, restoring her beautiful youth. Gothel was beginning to debate with herself on telling Rapunzel the truth. Washing up the dishes Gothel was becoming nervous of the thought of her flower ever finding out real reason why she was on this tower. ' There will come a time were Rapunzel will figure out and then what?' Gothel thought as she scrubbed the pot a little harder than necessary but suddenly Rapunzel interrupted Gothel thoughts as she announced she was heading to bed. Turning around from the sink Gothel was about wish her goodnight until she realised Rapunzel hadn't eaten much. She barely touched her bowl of food which now sat with the dirty dishes by the sink. "Flower you didn't eat your dinner?"
" I wasn't hungry mother." Rapunzel said as she ascended the stairs with tired eyes.
" Rapunzel you must eat something? You can't go to bed on an empty stomach." Gothel said with concern Looking up to her flower, crossing her arms as she dove into mummy mode as she waited for Rapunzel's answer.
" mother really I'm not hungry I promise...beside like you said I am looking kind of chubby anyways." Watching her Flower's face change into a miserable one really pulled at Gothel's heart strings for some reason. She always told herself she didn't care about child only her magic she possessed but to be honest Gothel was always at war with herself when it came to Rapunzel. She only wanted make Rapunzel stay in the tower but in the process she had only hurt her feelings, as usual going too far but why now was Gothel feeling bad about it now? She normally brushed it off thinking would Rapunzel would too. Watching her flower's eyes become sad at the words she had said in the past. she just said she
Rapunzel continued walking up the stairs but Gothel stopped her. " Rapunzel wait!"
" yes mother?"
Staring into those big emerald eyes Gothel froze. She wanted to say something to cheer her up but opening her mouth to speak Gothel couldn't find the words and when she finally did it was the wrong words. " Don't slouch flower it isn't good for your posture." With that Gothel returned to the dishes and Rapunzel went to bed. Clearly only feeling worse.
She failed. Pacing in her room Gothel couldn't believe she failed. It had been two hours since her flower went to bed and Gothel couldn't bring herself to sleep. She froze, she never imagined it would be this hard to talk to her flower without being patronising. ' You fool why did you freeze you was so close to...Wait why do you care to? ' Gothel thought to herself in frustration. You can't let Rapunzel in you fool, you must keep her at a distance. Gothel reason with herself but tired of pacing Gothel dramatically fell onto the bed in defeat. Looking towards her window she guessed that midnight was fast approaching. Climbing back into her bed Gothel tried to get at least some beauty sleep.
Tossing and turning in her bed trying to distract her active thoughts, Gothel signed struggling to do so. Closing her eyes Gothel subconscious let her mind drifted to back to good memories of her and Rapunzel. She remembered when her little flower was learning to walk and the first steps she took towards her. It was a fond memory that Gothel held closely to her heart and it made Gothel so proud. Rapunzel was small than and so determined walk no matter what but when she finally did Gothel lost herself in the moment. Losing herself in the memory Gothel began to fall asleep a deep sleep, with a peaceful smile on her face however Gothel's happy dreams quickly ended and turned dark. leaving her restless.
Once again tossing and turning Gothel was engulfed into horrible a nightmare, making her sweat and cry in agony. She was trapped in a painful nightmare she could not escape. She watched the horrors of her nightmares unfold: blood, fire, bodies and screeches of injured victims. What terrified her from her nightmare was familiar figure that reached out to her. The figure was calling her but before Gothel could reach it the person was engulfed with flames and everything went black.
Gothel bolted up from her sleep in sweat and tears. Her body was shaking and her heart rate racing. Beating out of her chest. It was like she was there again. Taking deep breaths Gothel took in her bearings, she was still in the tower. It was just a nightmare she kept telling herself mentally but Gothel knew it was more than just a nightmare. It was a memory. It was her past.