She was always there protecting me. Keeping her flower safe, that's what she said. I understood her intentions. I was small and fragile with not even an ounce of muscle on me. She said that I would be unable to protect myself when the time comes. You see, people wanted my hair. When it grows, golden dust appears in the strands. Mother found that if she rubbed it into her skin, it kept her healthy and youthful. She says it's our little secret. So she made rules to keep it that way. She said I was never to go anywhere that wasn't safe. School and Home nothing more. I thought that would keep me safe, that mother was leading me away from danger.

But she was the danger.

She said I was not to speak to anyone but her. That school was for learning not chit-chat. She made sure I listened in class. I was not supposed to talk to anyone. It didn't stop me doing so. I had a small group of close friends and I was acquainted with almost the whole class. They all looked out for me. They protected me in ways mother never did. That's when I realised the truth.

Mother told me lies.

I stopped believing her words. Any sentence she uttered meant nothing to me. Even the things I used to believe. They weren't truthful.

But I still had doubt.

So that one drizzly afternoon, I started to listen again. Big mistake. That lie she told was something I couldn't help believing. Even though I knew the truth, I believed her words.

"Those friends of yours" she shouted, as I slammed the car door "They hate you. They are telling you a lie. And if you even utter a word to them, you'll be forbidden from leaving the house. They will pay." She smiled sweetly as she got out of the car and lead me inside. She shut the door and walked down the drive.

How did she know? I bet she had the place wired. My life was officially over.

Quasi. Snow. Tink. They were all caught in Mother Gothel's web of lies. And as I reached for a kitchen knife, I remembered all the sneaking, the silent whispers, and the struggle to not be seen. All for nought. And as I reached the window to wave goodbye, I remembered everything I had done for my 'mother'. All the kind words and soft songs.

I stood there, by the window and held that knife high. She turned around to find this sight. Her eyes widened as I held it behind my back, against my hair. Her blood-curdling scream rang in my ears as I chopped my hair off in one clean swipe. The golden mass fell to the floor in a heap. I shed a tear as the weight lifted off my back. I was free from her. That was my last thought before she fell to the ground.

Instinct took over as I ran to her. All my sense of judgement had been lost in a single second. Tears had begun streaming out of my eyes as a knelt beside her. I shakily picked up the phone that had fallen out of her pocket and dialled 999. I whispered the address and my name into the speaker. The lady only just picked it up before I fell to the floor beside Gothel, slowly closing my eyes.

I woke up in a small white room. The smell of disinfectant was everywhere and I could hear coughs in every direction. A single doctor stood to my left examining a clipboard with my name on it. He spoke quietly into his miniature phone, taking brief glances at me. "This poor girl." He said, looking at me "She has gone through enough in the past twenty-four hours. Women thought to be her mother died a while back and she knows nothing of it. We have contacted a nice couple with several fostered children and they agreed to adopt her on a permanent basis. Aren't people nice these days?"

She's gone. She died. No, I killed her. Calm down Rapunzel, you didn't kill her. You simply added to an already bad stress problem. You don't need to think about that.

On my right were about 20 separate gifts, plied high on a chair. My friends were so thoughtful. A small TV was hung on the wall in front of me. That Flynn Rider was at it again. He had stolen something that belonged to the kidnapped daughter of a wealthy mayor that governed the neighbouring city. I think it was that famous tiara, the one with the rubies and diamonds. Everyone loved that. Everyone loved her. She was 2 when she disappeared. That was 16 years ago. Why would you steal from a kidnapped girl who hasn't been seen for that long?

One day later, the doctor was looking at me with apologetic eyes as he told me about Mother. I was being discharged from the hospital immediately. I slung my rucksack over my shoulder as he watched. He was seriously bumming me out.

"The police might want to question you" he mumbled "Since you were there when she died. I mean, you won't get arrested or anything but they might want to inquire."

I slipped on my trainers and walked swiftly towards the door, stopping just once to whisper thank you to the stuttering figure behind me. I wondered into the hall, daydreaming about police stations and officers tasering me. And as I turned the corner, I saw my future ahead of me.

Quasi, Snow and Tink all stood there, smiling at me. They had tons of balloons and chocolates in their arms, but they didn't seem to care. Quasi's mum and dad stood beside the three, trying to get them to give the gifts to them. I ran to them and jumped at them all. Me, Tink and Snow all fell to the floor, though Quasi was able to duck out the way in time.

"Welcome to the family, Rapunzel."

As we waved goodbye to the girls and set off for home, I started to smile. Not my ordinary throw away smile. A beautiful beam that apparently set the car alight. Though Quasi does go a bit over the top sometimes.

Quasi's mum suggested I should get my hair dyed. She said it would match my eyes. And I believed her. I nodded as I breathed the ocean air.

My life had just begun.

Author's note

I loved writing that chapter! I had so many ideas. The Flynn Rider bit hints towards some more Rapunzel action. I hope you enjoyed it. Please review! It helps me improve my grammar and punctuation plus the overall aspect of the plotline. So please Review!

Side Note:

Quasi is short for Quasimodo and he has a family in this.

He is the only real son of his parents and the rest of his family is adopted/fostered

I am about to write his chapter so it will be up in about 2 weeks

Tink is Tinker Bell

I am going to write a chapter from a perceptive soon so watch this space!

Snow is Snow White

This is not on my immediate to do list but if enough people ask, I will try!

Thank you for reading!