Rapunzel was reluctant to move from the comforting embrace. Gothel wasn't pushing her away as she normally did so she was content to stay. She had many questions for her mother, and decided to put the time to good use.

"Mother, is my name really Rapunzel or did you name me that?"

"Of course it's your name. The queen had just named you that day. You were eight days old when I took you. The lantern ceremony had just finished up, and everyone was drifting toward their homes. I slipped in with a group of palace workers and when the time came I split off to wait under the bedroom window.

"The lights went out, and I waited until I was sure they were asleep. I climbed the trellis and entered the bedchamber. I went to the crib, sang the song, and tried to cut a piece of hair. I didn't want you, I just wanted the hair. Unfortunately, it turned brown and lost its power.

"That's when I took you. As soon as I had you in my arms you began to cry. It woke the king and queen, and they caught a glimpse of me as I went back out the window."

Rapunzel thought the answer over for a bit before asking her next question. She voiced it shyly, unsure of her reaction.

"Mother, have you ever been in love?"

Gothel tensed and Rapunzel knew she had hit a nerve.

"Yes," she breathed quietly.

Rapunzel lifted her head from her shoulder to look her in the eye. She was surprised at what she saw there. Her mother's eyes were glazed with tears, and she was as still as a statue. She was worried she may have pushed too hard, but then Gothel began to speak.

"His name was Jonathan. He worked as a stable hand for my father. I didn't notice him at first, other than to shoo him away when he followed me, which was all the time. I was only eighteen. I didn't want a husband. At least, I thought I didn't.

"He was always so kind to me, and one day I realized that maybe he wasn't so annoying, maybe he was actually handsome." She smiled, even as a tear ran down her face. "He began courting me, and after a while, I discovered I was with child...his child. We were engaged and ready to be married. The wedding was supposed to be held in a week.

"But then the accident happened. He was tending the horses in the barn like always, but something went wrong. We found out later that another worker had been smoking, and that's what caused it, the fire I mean. The barn went up in flames, and Jonathan, the wonderful man he was, was too busy rescuing he horses to get himself out. A beam engulfed in flames fell across the doorway, and then the whole thing started to come down.

"I can still remember his screams." She shuddered, the sound echoing in her mind, even four hundred years later. "I remember thinking that if dying was like that then I never wanted to die. I lost the baby a few weeks later. It was a son, just what Jonathan had hoped for.

"I poured all my energy into looking beautiful, trying to find something, anything, to distract me from the pain. Others thought I was vain, but in reality I was afraid of dying."

She looked down when she felt her dress growing wet. Rapunzel was sobbing quietly into her shoulder, her eyes opened to the older woman's harsh life. She felt her own tears begin to fall, and wiped them away. She had shed her share of tears centuries ago. She began to smooth a hand through the girl's hair, hoping to calm her.

"Mother, I had no idea. I'm so sorry!"

"Shhh, pet, it was a long time ago."

The Princess breathed deeply, trying to get her tears under control. She hoped nothing like that ever happened to Flynn. Without him she would be lost. Silence resumed, the only thing interrupting it the sound of Rapunzel's sniffles.

"Mother, after...after Jonathan, was there anyone else?"

"Do you mean was there anyone else I loved? No. Was there anyone else I had a relationship with? Yes, many men. But I didn't love anyone else for many, many years. I had begun to believe myself incapable of it until you came along."

"Were there anymore children?"

"Yes. Six boys and seven girls. Four of the boys were stillborn. One made it to two months, the other I miscarried. Five of the girls were stillborn, one was six months old, and the other I miscarried.

"I couldn't seem to bring them into the world alive, much less take care of them. It was so hard, seeing each of my children die before they had a chance at life. I was so scared when I got you. I was afraid something would happen and I would lose you, too. But you were stronger than the others.

"When you turned one I made you a large stuffed bear, do you remember? And you kept on living. I finally felt like I wasn't a complete failure."

"Oh, Mother, you're not a failure. Even though you kidnapped me, you took such good care of me. The queen doesn't even know what my favorite color is."

Gothel snorted in amusement. "You mean she can't tell? You only wear it every day."

"I know. She doesn't know anything about me."

"Now, Rapunzel, you're not being fair. If she would have raised you she would know all these things."

"I know, but...she doesn't feel like my mother. She feels like a stranger that wants to insert herself into my life."

"Well, give her a chance. I'm sure she'll learn all these things with time."

"Yeah."

She shifted so that her head was in Gothel's lap, the woman's hand stroking through her hair. They lay like that a while, unaware that they were being watched.

AN: So, some really heavy stuff in this chapter. Sorry if it's depressing, but I felt the need to include Gothel's backstory. If something like that happened to me, I might be a bit bitter, too. Wouldn't you? Anyway, heavy stuff. But soon Flynn and the Queen will make an appearance, promise!