Rosalie came home after school that day and frowned when she noticed that her mother was already home. "Mom?" She asked softly as she walked into her mother's study.
"You are home. Good. We need to talk." Eleanor told her and gestured to the couch. She would make sure her daughter would stay away from Jamie. "Explain this to me." She added as she showed her the pictures.
Shocked as she saw the photos, Rosalie gulped. She knew she would be in a lot of trouble now. "I...Jamie is my boyfriend. I wanted to tell you but I knew how badly you would react." She explained to her and looked down. She was scared of what her mother would do now.
"Well, you will not see him again." The older woman spoke up and made her daughter look at her.
Rosalie frowned. "But I see him everyday in school." She said softly. She didn't like where this was going.
"We'll see about that. Now come on." She said and grabbed the blonde's arm and dragged her outside to the car and pushed her in before getting in the driver's seat.
The young girl didn't like any of this. "Where are we going?" She asked her mother confused as she looked out the window. She had no idea what was going to happen but she knew she wouldn't like it as soon as the car stopped and she saw where they were. Her mother's salon.
Eleanor parked the car in front of the salon and got out, opening the door for Rosalie. "Come on." She told her in a strict tone and grabbed her arm slightly before going into the salon with her. "Go sit down in one of the chairs." She spoke up before going over to the back to get her hair cutting tools.
The young girl gulped but didn't dare to argue. She sat down and nervously waited for her mother to return. Whatever her mother was planning to do with her hair now, it couldn't be good. She didn't want to have short hair again.
The hairdresser brought her tools over to Rosalie and put on her apron before draping the cape over her daughter. She knew Rosalie loved her hair but it had to go in order to keep the boy away from her. "I don't want to hear a word from you. Just sit still and don't move." The grey haired woman told her strictly as she began to unravel the long blonde hair from the braid. She inspected the long hair and then took a hairbrush to brush through it one last time.
This action usually calmed Rosalie, however right now she was totally on edge. She hated not knowing what was going to happen and was terrified she would end up with no hair when her mother would be done. The blonde watched her mother nervously through the mirror as she kept brushing her hair for a while.
When Eleanor was satisfied with how Rosalie's hair looked after brushing it, she began to section the hair into small ponytails before she picked up her scissors and began to snip the little ponytails off, putting them on the counter next to Rosalie. She watched her daughter through the mirror, keeping her stony expression up as Rosalie began to cry once the first ponytail was severed.
Her beautiful long hair would be gone again. Rosalie sobbed as she saw the ponytails next to her instead of being attached to her head. She couldn't believe her mother was doing this to her after she spend so much time growing and taking care of her hair. She was heartbroken.
The former witch continued with her work, not bothered by the girl's tears. She cut expertly through the ponytails and then got a comb and spray bottle and wet the now short hair before sectioning it off again. She gently pushed her daughter's head forward so she would look down and she could cut the hair in the back. After 28 years of practise she was really an expert on cutting hair. Not a single word was spoken while she transformed Rosalie's long hair into a very short pixie cut. She took her time, cutting section after section and then turned on the clippers to cut the back and sides even shorter than it already was.
Rosalie shivered slightly as she heard the clippers and watched the whole process through the mirror. Not once did she stop crying. She hated every aspect of this haircut.
When Eleanor was finally satisfied with the haircut she shut the clippers off and brushed all of the excess hair away from Rosalie's face and neck before taking the cape off. "You are all done." She spoke finally and ran her fingers through the now very short hair. She smiled slightly at the result.
The blonde stared at herself and sighed sadly as she touched the short hair. She hated it so much. She gasped when she looked down and saw all her hair on the floor and the counter next to her. It was awful.
The hairdresser swiped the hair away and threw it in the trash but kept the ponytails. "You can keep it as a reminder." She told her daughter and handed them to her before closing the salon again and taking Rosalie home.
When they reached the house again they got in and Eleanor send Rosalie directly to her room. "You will not leave this house from now on, except with me. I'll take care of the twins and take them to day care and home again. And you'll be homeschooled from now on. Hand over your phone." The older woman pointed out and waited for her daughter to hand over her phone. She wouldn't lose her daughter again. Not because of this boy again.
Shaking her head in disbelieve, the blonde sat down on her bed and stared at her mother. This couldn't be happening. Her mother couldn't be serious about this. "You can't do that. You can't be serious. I'm not a little girl anymore." She told her, looking at her with her soft brown eyes.
"I'm serious. As long as you live under my roof you'll do as I say. Don't forget who took care of you and the twins after their good for nothing father left you. Without me you'll have nothing." She pointed out harshly and slapped her daughter across the face to make her words stick.
Rosalie gasped when she felt the slap and looked at her mother in shock. "I hate you." She spat and began to cry again as she handed her phone over. She couldn't believe this. Her mother was completely insane.
The words stung but Eleanor wouldn't let it show. Rapunzel was hers and she wouldn't share her with anyone else. She grabbed her phone and turned on her heels to leave the room, however before she left she turned around to her daughter again and looked at her. "You'll see. This was for the best. That boy is only after you for your beauty. I'm the only one who truly loves you." She told her and sighed. She hated being harsh with her but she really thought her actions where for the best. No one would take her daughter from her.
A few days later...
It had been five days and Jamie was extremely worried as he hadn't heard from Rosalie. She hadn't texted him and didn't come to school either. Something must have happened and he was sure her mother had something to do with this.
He was so worried that he decided to go to the sheriff station for help. "Sheriff Swan? I'm Jamie Prince. My girlfriend has been missing for five days now and I'm very worried. She hasn't been in school and she isn't answering her phone." He explained to the blonde and hoped she could help him.
Emma looked at the young man and frowned. That didn't sound so good. They had just solved the Kathryn Nolan case and now another person was missing. "Well, who is your girlfriend? I'm sure we can find her." She said and offered him a seat at her desk.
Jamie was grateful Emma was willing to help. "Her name is Rosalie Gardener. She is Eleanor Gardener's daughter, the owner of the hair salon. She works for Mayor Mills as babysitter but she hasn't shown up in a week and she hasn't been in school either. I'm sure her mother has something to do with this." He explained to the blonde, sighing deeply as he thought about Rosalie. He hoped whatever was going on could be solved Rosalie would be okay.
The sheriff took some notes and frowned as he mentioned Regina. So the mayor was in this too. "What makes you think her mother has anything to do with this?" She questioned as she looked at him.
"Rosalie and I are dating in secret. Her mother doesn't let her interact with boys apart from Henry. She is extremely protective. So protective and strict that Rosalie is scared of her. If Eleanor found out about us, I'm sure Rosalie is in trouble." He explained and showed her a photo of Rosalie. He was so worried and he was sure Eleanor was behind this.
Emma looked at the photo as she listened to him. She felt bad for the girl. By the sound of it, Eleanor wasn't a pleasent person. It reminded her a bit of Regina. "Alright. I'll look into it. Don't worry, I'm sure Rosalie is fine." She told him reassuringly and then watched him leave. She grabbed her keys and drove to the mayor's office first. Maybe Regina knew something.
Jamie sighed and left to go to Granny's. He was worried about Rosalie and hoped she would be alright. He was sure Eleanor had done something to her and he didn't like it.
After a few minutes, Emma arrived at town hall and entered Regina's office. She was sure if her son's baby sitter was in trouble, Regina would know.
The mayor looked at Emma, annoyed, when she just entered her office. "Ms. Swan, what brings you here today?" She asked the sheriff and looked up from the paper work she was currently going through and raised an eyebrow at her.
Emma sat down and showed her the picture Jamie gave her. "This is Rosalie Gardener. Her boyfriend came to me saying that she has been missing for a few days now and he suspects her mother is behind this. Eleanor Gardener is your friend, right? And Rosalie works as your babysitter?" She explained and raised an eyebrow at her too. She hoped she could solve this quickly.
The brunette looked at the photo for a moment and thought whether or not she should be honest with the sheriff or not. She felt bad for Rosalie and was sure whatever Eleanor has done wouldn't be pleasent for the young girl. She regretted showing her the photos of Rosalie and Jamie though she wasn't sure why she felt so bad. She guessed she saw something in Rosalie that reminded her of herself when she was her age and deeply in love with Daniel. But she couldn't think about that now.
"Well, yes she works for me. But I also haven't seen her in a few days. I'm sure she is at home with her mother and her kids right now." She answered and hoped that would be enough information for Emma. She didn't want to admit that she was the reason Eleanor locked Rosalie up.
The blonde looked at the mayor and noticed that she was holding something back. "Do you know if she knows about Jamie and Rosalie? He mentioned they kept it a secret and her mother wouldn't be happy if she found out." She asked and hoped Regina would tell her the truth.
Regina sighed. Eleanor was her friend but she was seriously worried about Rosalie and the twins. If Eleanor was angry there was no saying what she would do. She got up and took out the envelop of photos that Sydney took of Rosalie and Jamie. "I showed her those. Sydney took them. She wanted me to keep an eye on Rosalie because she got suspicious Rosalie would be hiding something." She explained to the blonde.
Sighing, Emma looked at the photos and listened to Regina. For the first time ever she noticed something like regret coming from Regina which was odd. "Do you think she would hurt her daughter?" She questioned and hoped Jamie wouldn't be right that Eleanor hurt her.
"No. Of course not. She loves Rosalie and only wants to protect her. She wouldn't do anything to hurt her." She answered quickly, a little too quickly. She had her pokerface up again since she didn't want to expose Eleanor. It might threathen the curse. Though she worried about Rosalie, she couldn't risk the curse.
Emma nodded though she wasn't entirely convinced. She would look into it more. "Well, thank you for telling me." She said and then left. She decided to take a break and go to the diner for lunch.
When she arrived she noticed Henry sitting in a booth and sat down across from him. "Hey, kiddo." She said with a smile.
"Hey, Emma. What's up?" He asked and smiled at his birth mother.
The blonde looked at the book he was reading in before looking at him again. "I am investigating something. It's about your babysitter Rosalie. Who is she in your book?" She asked him curiously. She still didn't believe but maybe Henry's fantasy would give her some answers.
Henry frowned but then just smiled as he was happy Emma was showing interest in his book. "Uhm, she is Rapunzel." He explained and flipped through the book and showed her a picture of Rapunzel.
She did look really similiar to Rosalie, Emma had to admit. "And what's her story?" She asked curiously.
"Well, she was raised by the witch who kept her locked in the tower and one day a prince found the tower and fell in love with her. But when the witch found out she cut Rapunzel's hair and banished her to a swamp and she blinded the prince." He explained to her and shrugged. He didn't know why that was important.
Emma frowned. Something about this seemed off. "You said she was raised by the witch so isn't she her mother?" She asked him unsure. The way Regina acted when asked about Eleanor and Rosalie made her think that Rosalie might indeed be in danger and maybe Henry's book could help to get some answers.
The little boy shoke his head. "No, she isn't. In the book it says that she got Rapunzel through a deal but it doesn't say how and who her real parents are." He explained and looked at her. "So Rosalie might be adopted?" He questioned.
Emma nodded slowly. "Yes she might. Thank you, Henry." She said and then went to Eleanor's house. She needed to make sure Rosalie was really alright. She wasn't sure what to expect. The blonde walked up to the front door of the three story mansion and rang the doorbell.
Eleanor was in the kitchen while Rosalie was in the living room with the twins as the doorbell rang. "Rosalie? Can you please get the door?" She called out.
"Yes, Mother." The blonde girl answered and went to open the door. She frowned as she saw Emma. Henry had told her all about his birth mother and Rosalie knew she was the sheriff but she was confused as to what Emma could be doing here. "Hello, Sheriff Swan. Can I help you?" She asked her.
Emma looked at the young girl. She looked different than on the photo her boyfriend gave her. Her blonde hair was cropped short and she was pale. Her eyes were full of sadness. They seemed haunted almost, like something terrible had happened and then her Emma's eyes wandered to the girl's cheek. There was a bruise, barely noticable since it was covered by make up but it was there. She needed to find out what was going on.
"I...Well can I come in? I need to talk to your mother." She told the young girl.
Rosalie nodded and stepped aside so Emma could come in. "Mother! It's for you." She called out.
Eleanor frowned. She didn't expect anyone. She took off her apron and quickly cleaned her hands before going to the front door. She looked at sheriff and then at her daughter. "Go to your room, please." The older woman said in a strict tone. Whatever Sheriff Swan wanted from her, it couldn't be good.