Once upon a time, a single drop of sunshine and moonlight fell from the heavens. And from the small drop of sun, grew a magical golden flower. It had the power to heal the sick and injured. The drop of moon, however, became a single, seductive, opal stone. It had the power to destroy any and all who dared to claim it. But, the moonstone had a will of their own and only chose one person to be their carrier. Centuries passed, the opal's defenses spread, and from that, a kingdom grew: the Dark Kingdom. It's people revolved around protecting the world from the moonstone's unbridled power. Meanwhile, across the land where the sundrop flower grew, a sprawling kingdom was built on the island across the bay known as Corona. At the time, not many people knew of the legendary flower or the power it possessed, except for one. An old woman named Mother Gothel had searched for a long time to find the sundrop, and at last, she found it, a look of greed glinted in her eyes.
Back in the Dark Kingdom, the moonstone's magic was becoming incredibly unstable. The black rocks that formed the kingdom were growing out of control and the opal's awesome power had claimed the life of the dark queen. Distraught, her husband Edmund decided that was the final straw. The only way to protect his subjects and the only family he had left was to destroy the moonstone once and for all. Despite one of his most trusting knights' attempts to stop him, the dark king refused to let anything stand in the way of eradicating the opal. Unfortunately, the moonstone did not take kindly to Edmund's anger. His brash actions ended up costing him his left arm. The knight, Quirin, who was caught in the radiation however, was miraculously unharmed. All he did was absorb that little bit of power in himself. It quickly became clear to Edmund that obliterating such a formidable power was next to impossible. The best thing the dark king could do for his people was send them as far away from the moonstone as humanly possible, including his only son.
Quirin and his fellow knights dispersed to keep any and all away from the dark Kingdom while Edmund stayed behind as the moonstone's last line of defense. After months of traveling, Quirin wound up in a farming village not far away from Corona. At the time of his arrival, the mayor of that village had recently passed away, leaving the people struggling to find a new elect. It seemed like they were willing to choose the first random person from off the streets to be their leader. And it just so happened that Quirin was that person. At first, the wayward knight was hesitant to step into such a huge role. That is until a young woman with red hair who lived in the village vouched for him.
"He's able-bodied and strong as an ox to boot." the woman bragged.
Quirin wanted to disclaim her high praises, but when the other villagers were encouraged by them, the man didn't have it in his heart to do so.
From that day forth, Quirin did his best to live up to the image that was conspired of him. Eventually, the village leader had earned the recognition and friendship of Corona's current king, Frederic.
"May the village of Old Corona prosper for many years to come." the king told Quirin kindly as he shook his hand.
The encouraging woman from Old Corona, Minerva who was friends with Queen Arianna, had developed feelings for the village leader. And vice versa. After they had confided their love for each other, the couple traveled to the Corona capital on the Day of Hearts. There, they added their signatures in the coveted diary of Herz der Sonne.
Four years later, King Frederic and Queen Arianna were happy to announce that they were expecting a child soon, an heir to the throne. Quirin and Minerva were invited to the castle to make sure that the birth went swimmingly and that the baby was healthy afterwards. However, by nightfall, the exciting event turned grim when Arianna fell gravely ill on the night that the baby was coming. Minerva, who was a healer of sorts, tried the best she could to help heal her friend, but nothing was working. Things were looking dire for the queen and the unborn child. But then, Frederic remembered hearing a legend of an object with miraculous healing properties. That same night, he and Quirin were alone in the throne room to discuss making a hasty decision.
"I must seek out the sundrop flower." the king declared.
"Your Majesty, if I may offer my rebuttal, I wouldn't recommend uprooting such a legendary power." Quirin opposed.
"And why is that?" Frederic asked skeptically.
The retired knight then reach into his vest and pulled out a torn piece of paper with the sun and moon on it.
"According to this parchment I received from a friend, the sundrop is not the only source of power in the world." he explained. "There is an opposite force with a dark power just as great. That flower is the only thing keeping the darkness at bay. If you were to remove the light, the darkness will come creeping in, wreaking havoc in ways you can't even begin to conceive of."
"While I appreciate your concern, Quirin, I hardly doubt that trusting some fairy tale is worth losing my wife and child." the king spoke in defiance.
"We will find another way to heal the queen." Quirin tried to assure him.
"There is no other way!" Frederic boomed before breathing to regain his composure. "Quirin, I hope that one day when you are a father, you'll understand why one must take such a risk for the good of his family."
The village leader couldn't differentiate if his friend really meant what he said or if the king just didn't want him to press on the matter any further. Nevertheless, Quirin finally decided that there wasn't anything he could do to stop Frederic at this point.
"Then, don't say I didn't warn you." he spoke in defeat, leaving the king to go join his wife.
Not long after that conversation, King Frederic sent the royal guard to seek out the sundrop flower. The fabled blossom was growing on a cliff that overlooked the sea.
Unbeknownst to everyone in Corona, the sundrop was being heavily protected by an evil witch named Mother Gothel. She kept the flower hidden away from prying eyes until she was ready to use it herself. And only for herself. Powermad and vain, the witch used the blossom's magic to make herself young and beautiful forever. Thus, prolonging her life. All she had to do to activate the sundrop's power was use a special incantation.
Flower gleam and glow
Let your power shine
Make the clock reverse
Bring back what once was mine
What once was mine
Gothel had managed to keep the sundrop hidden away for centuries until the royal guards of Corona came looking for it. They accidentally knocked over the fake bush the concealed the bloom and it revealed itself to its seekers.
"There! We found it!" one of the guards cried out in relief.
Together, the guards dug the flower up from the ground and delivered it back to the castle post haste. All the while, everyone was unaware of a livid Gothel who watched the whole thing unfold.
The sundrop was made into a golden elixir and fed to Queen Arianna. Delivering her baby continued without a hitch because as the queen was healed, so was her newborn daughter. Thanks to the miracle flower, the baby girl was born with long, golden hair. In her parents' eyes, she was perfect. And she was given the name Rapunzel, a beautiful princess with a bright future ahead of her.
In celebration of their healthy daughter, King Frederic and Queen Arianna released a floating lantern into the sky. All of Corona rejoiced for the birth of the young princess. And for the time being, everything was perfect. But good things don't always last forever.
The following night, while the king and queen were fast asleep, Mother Gothel snuck into their bedroom. She approached the bassinet where Princess Rapunzel was. The witch knew that just because the sundrop wasn't a flower anymore, didn't mean that the magic was gone too. To test that theory, Gothel took a lock of the baby's hair and started reciting the incantation.
Flower gleam and glow
Let your power shine
Make the clock reverse-
Confident that she was correct, the witch used a pair of scissors she held in her other hand to cut the piece of hair from the princess. One lock was all she really needed. Or at least, that's what she thought. Because once that piece of hair was cut, the tress turned brown and so did the snippet. Gothel could feel the sundrop's magic leave her body, making her look old and haggard. With no other option, the witch snatched the infant from her bassinet! Rapunzel's cries alerted her parents who woke up just in time to see Gothel disappear out the window with their daughter in tow!
Meanwhile, down the hall, Quirin and Minerva were rapidly awakened by the king's distressed voice.
"Guards! Guards! My child!" Frederic cried urgently. "Rapunzel!"
The royal guard searched high and low, but alas, could not find any trace of the princess or the madwoman captured her. Because in a secret valley deep in the woods, Gothel had hidden Rapunzel in a tower where no one would ever find her. Over the years, the witch raised the little girl as her own.
As she brushed her "daughter's" hair while Rapunzel sang the incantation, the healing power was absorbed into the witch, making herself look younger in matter of seconds. Now that Gothel had the sundrop back in her grasp, she was determined not to let it out of her sight again.
"Why can't I go outside?" Rapunzel (now four years old) asked.
"The outside world is a dangerous place, filled with horrible, selfish people." Gothel explained. "You must stay here, where you're safe. Do you understand, Flower?"
"Yes, Mommy." the little girl replied.
But not even the walls of the tower could contain the determined spirit of a young princess. As soon as it was lights out, little Rapunzel tiptoed down the stairs, careful not to wake her mother. She then made her way to the tower's window and pushed the shudders open. The sky then lit, not by the stars, but by a plethora of paper lanterns.
You see, every year on Rapunzel's birthday, King Frederic and Queen Arianna would send thousands of paper lanterns into the sky. That way, no matter how far away she was, their lost princess would see the lanterns and find her way back home. Little did anyone in Corona know, the lost princess was closer to home than they realized.
Meanwhile, another's story was about to begin. One born with rare collection of gifts that would later turn destiny on its head.