"Princess? It's time to get up. Happy birthday."
Rapunzel smiled and yawned. Her first birthday with her parents. She got up and turned to her maid. "Thank you Kim."
Kim continued, "Your parents are downstairs waiting for you. And Prince Eugene will be arriving back from your cousin's kingdom tonight." With that Kim left.
After getting dressed, Rapunzel raced downstairs to join her parents. When entering the dining hall, she could see that the queen was crying. "Mom! What's the matter?"
The queen turned to her daughter smiling, "They grow up so fast." She said choking. The king chuckled. "Good morning, Angel." He said to his daughter, and gave her a quick hug. "Hungry?"
After they ate, Kim walked in, holding a small box. "A present for the princess, your majesties. From some neighboring kingdom." Kim placed the box on the table in front of Rapunzel, then left the room.
Rapunzel moved her hand to the box, but before she could do anything, the queen grabbed her hand. "Sweetheart, before you open anything, your Father and I have something to give you." The king reached into his robes and pulled out a small black box.
"You guys! Being my parents is more than enough!" But when the king passed her the box, she accepted it. Then she slowly opened it. Inside was a golden necklace with a Purple Heart charm that read, big sister. Rapunzel gasped and looked up at her parents, who were looking at her happily.
"Are you guys serious?!" Rapunzel asked. The queen nodded happily. Rapunzel flung herself across the table and pulled both her parents into a hug. After what seemed like hours of hugging, the royal family let go of each other. The king and queen then told their daughter they were going into town. Rapunzel said she'd be out in a minute. After her parents left, Rapunzel put on her new necklace. Then she took the present from the neighboring kingdom and went up to her room.
There Rapunzel sat on her bed and stared at the gift. Something about it seemed… familiar. Hesitating, Rapunzel leaned in toward the package. She had barely poked it when the wrapping fell off. And what was revealed was…
A golden flower.
As soon as Rapunzel realized what it was, she scrambled backwards. It couldn't be.
Could it?
Overcome with curiosity, Rapunzel crept forward, grabbing her frying pan from her nightstand on the way. She knelt before the glowing, beautiful flower. Wow. So- magical. The longer she looked at it, it seemed to glow brighter and brighter. Mesmerized, Rapunzel reached out to touch it once more. As soon as she did a searing pain came over her, traveling from her fingertip to the top of her head, where her hair started. "Oh my…" Rapunzel said aloud to herself. Her short, choppy brown hair was growing. One inch, one foot, one mile? It was hard to tell. It was turning back into the golden blond it was before it was cut. Even more alarming, the newly grown hair that covered her back was causing extraordinary pain. She fell forward into the flower, which was now wilting. Her tiara fell off. And then she was falling.