Chapter Text
This is a story that people knows very well and even so, there are parts of the story that got lost in time, after being told over and over through the years it earned its modifications and alterations but now, we can finally take a look at those who brought back the sunshine to the kingdom of the Sun and it began indeed, with the Sun… and the Moon.
Millennia ago, a single drop of sun fell into the earth from the heavens giving birth to a glowing magic flower; the Sundrop flower. It was said that it had the power to heal any sickness and injury if you knew how to invoke its magical properties. At the same time, a drop of moonlight fell in an opposite direction than the Sundrop. From it a beautiful and shining opal was formed; the Moonstone whose abilities are unknown to the world but it is said that it is connected to the Sundrop, making sure to keep the balance of the world.
There are poems and theories about the true nature of the Sundrop and the Moonstone; wizards, magicians, alchemists and inventors all tried to unveil their powers, most of them lost their lives trying, although there was something that resonated through the eras: “The Sun is male, representing masculinity. The Moon is female, representing femininity. When the Sun and the Moon overlap, then the two genders become one, in other words, the union represents a perfect being” but, what does this perfect being mean? It can have a lot of meanings depending on the point of view. For instance, some believe that the union between a woman and a man gives hope for a new life, a pure life who has not been tainted by the sins of the humans; others interpret it as someone who does not commit mistakes, someone who does not decay or rot… someone above mortality and the craziest ones believed in someone with the omnipotence of controlling life and death of all creatures.
The Kingdom of Corona was the only kingdom to publicly reveal the legend of the Sundrop even when there were no records of such a miracle flower ever existing in fact, the kingdom was built around the legend of said flower gaining the nickname of "The Kingdom of the Sun" although, with the passing of the years, people forgot about the legend until the miracle was needed.
One of the inventors who was able to gather the knowledge of the Sundrop and the Moonstone had to endure lots of trials, including the betrayal of his disciples; Dame Gothel was one of them and the only one who found the golden glowing flower.
Gothel, instead of sharing the gift of the flower, she kept it for herself and made sure that no one would be able to find it, not even her colleagues nor her mentor. The location of the flower was outside the walls of the Kingdom of Corona, beyond an unused bridge; right at the side of a cliff facing the ocean and the open sky were both the Sun and the Moon could bathe it with their light; if it weren't because Gothel build a tiny dome made out bushes and leaves to camouflage the flower.
This Gothel could have used the flower for anything but she chose to use it to regain her youth; she just had to sing the incantation her mentor once found to activate its healing powers.
"Flower gleam and glow
Let your power shine
Make the clock reverse
Bring back what once was mine
Heal what has been hurt
Change the Fates design
Save what has been lost
Bring back what once was mine
What once was mine"
With this simple incantation, anyone could use the Sundrop but of course, this knowledge got lost in time thanks to Gothel and her former comrades who she also betrayed to keep the secret of eternal youth for herself. She was one step closer to being immortal, a perfect existence who does not decay… a God.
Years and years passed; no one can tell at this point how old Gothel was thanks to her moving from one place to another whenever rumors of her being a witch or a vampire would spread within the people she seduced and manipulated for money, power and riches but always, close enough to the Sundrop flower.
Corona kept growing in power and influence; King Frederick and Queen Arianna were the current generation of sovereigns, loved by their subjects and respected by the rest of the Seven Kingdoms but they were missing something in their perfect life, a heir.
It came the day when Queen Arianna happily told her husband that she was expecting a child. With no time to lose, both of them made sure to have a room ready for the coming baby once they were old enough; in the tallest tower of the castle along with clothes, toys and a baby crib was put in the chambers of the King and Queen.
The kingdom was overjoyed with the news of a royal baby, some subjects even prepared presents for the upcoming child. Everything seemed perfect now, until the tragedy came…
Queen Arianna felt ill right when the birth of the child was about to happen; none of the doctors were able to do something about it and gave the ultimatum, the Queen and the child were going to die.
King Frederick was not willing to let that happen no matter the cost. That night he gave the order not just to the Royal Guard and the castle subjects but to the whole kingdom: Seek for the magic golden flower to save his family.
One of his subjects warned the King that he should not seek the flower, that if he removed the light of the world, the darkness would arise but Frederick did not listen and ignored the warning. He was going to save his wife and child.
That same night, Gothel was using the Sundrop, without knowing that all of Corona were looking for it. She didn't have time to properly hide the flower when she heard voices and saw the light of a lantern coming closer. In her attempt to run away she bumped the dome she used to cover it and left the Sundrop to bathe in the moonlight for anyone to see but, she wasn't even able to come back to it as the Coronan soldiers were giving the signal. "We found it! Men, we found the flower!" screamed one of the soldiers.
Quickly, two more soldiers joined in the cliff and with the most care, they made sure to take the flower along with its roots. Gothel had lost her precious flower.
As fast as the Royal Guard horses allowed them to move, the soldiers took the flower to the castle and gave it to the maidens and medics. Of course, no one knew that the healing powers could be activated with a song so they did the most logical thing when it comes to medicinal plants: they infused the flower for the Queen to drink.
Frederick was able to breathe again when Arianna's pale skin was no more, the maids begged the King to go outside the room because the Queen was about to give birth to the baby.
Most of the Kingdom weren't able to sleep that night, between searching for a legend and waiting for news but right with the first lights of the Sun, the Royal Advisor Nigel came out of the castle.
"Queen Arianna gave birth to our princess, Rapunzel and both of them are healthy!" He announced, which caused people to scream and cry in joy.
May 12th, the day when the Princess of Corona, Rapunzel was born; a beautiful green eyed blonde girl who shared a strong resemblance with her mother.
To celebrate, Corona sent thousands of lanterns into the sky. All bowed to celebrate the princess's birthday like this the following year and for that little instant, everything was perfect once again.
But Gothel… who quickly began to age without her flower, was desperate. She knew how magic works; there is no way to completely lose a magic source without it turning into something else or finding a new host and she knew where to look for it.
No one was able to see her on the night she entered the King and the Queen chambers, no one heard her sing the incantation, no one saw the glowing hair of baby Rapunzel, no one saw Gothel regaining her youth and no one saw her cutting some of the princess hair.
The Sundrop not just found a new home in the princess' blond hair but in Rapunzel; she herself was the Sundrop.
Gothel had no choice, she knew she had little time left before her immortality vanished along with her existence, she wasn't willing to renounce being a perfect being. She took baby Rapunzel with her and quickly ran away through the room windows, that's when Rapunzel began to cry.
Frederick and Arianna woke up with their daughter's cries but their surprise was when they saw a hooded shadow take the little princess.
"Guards, quick!" Screamed Frederick. "MY DAUGHTER!" Continued with desperation as the woman disappeared from their sight.
"Rapunzel!" Arianna cried as she tried to reach for the window but it was too late…
Gothel had successfully kidnapped Princess Rapunzel. Took her horse and quickly hurried it to run towards the bridge that leads the castle island to mainland; the only way to enter Corona by foot.
The guards did not lose time and being led by the Captain, they took their own horses and went after Gothel. Unfortunately she had the advantage of having a strong and quick horse, not to mention the darkness of the forest where no moonlight could illuminate the way.
Gothel decided to go to her cottage in hopes that the guards won't find them but thanks to Rapunzel crying for the rest of the way, the guards could close the distance between them. She was very close to the cottage but since the guards were already at her back, decided to trick them and hide within the bushes next to a thick tree, making sure that Rapunzel would shut up.
There were lights in the cottage and a shadow by the window; someone was in there and that was enough reason for the Captain to believe that the princess's kidnapper was inside. The cottage was surrounded by water and only could be accessed through the wooden rope bridge in the middle, the kidnapper won't have where to run.
The Captain quickly dismounted his horse and opened the cottage door. "The princess, where is she?!" He demanded to whoever could be inside.
Gothel saw how her pursuers went across the bridge and surrounded the cottage while inspecting the inside. She hesitated for a moment; should she wait until they leave or run away right now. She didn't have time to think as a tiny figure that was inside the cottage caught the attention of the guards.
"Mom?"
The guards then saw Gothel at the other side of the bridge and immediately went after her; by grabbing the sword she had in her own horse she cut the bridge's ropes, leaving the guards, the Captain and the tiny figure trapped on the cottage side as she rode her horse once again. This time no one was able to go after her. The princess was never seen again after that.
For days, weeks, months… years… the Guards were looking with no rest for the princess; all kinds of thieves from the Seven Kingdoms were locked up, some even hanged. The King thought the responsible could be any of those thieves but no one had Rapunzel in their hands. Rewards were even offered for the princess but everything was useless, Rapunzel was gone.
King Frederick couldn't help but think about the subject that warned him about taking the Sundrop; maybe this was the price he had to pay, maybe this was the darkness that arose after using the flower… at the end, he felt that everything was his fault. Yes, his wife was healthier and alive but, the pain of losing a daughter is something that any parent shouldn't have to afront.
This time around, Gothel will make sure that no one finds her precious flower so, she trapped Rapunzel in a tall tower, hidden deep in the forest, in a well hidden passage surrounded by vegetation, boulders, rocks and trees.
She raised Rapunzel as a daughter that she can manipulate. Might have been pity or it was a pain to think about, but Gothel decided to keep the girl's name, Rapunzel, along with her real birthday, May 12th.
"Why can't I go out, mother?" Asked a tiny Rapunzel as Gothel was brushing her long blond hair.
"The outside world is very dangerous. You must stay here, where you are safe. Do you understand, my little flower?"
"Yes, mother…"
But even so, the tall walls of the tower couldn't hide everything from the girl. Every year on her birthday, the kingdom would light up lanterns into the sky, as a final glow of hope that maybe someday, by some kind of miracle, the lost princess of Corona would return home. In the meantime, Rapunzel will always have the Sun and the Moon to look out for her.
17 years later, the subject who warned King Frederick about the Sundrop, arrived at the place where the flower used to reside… What he found was exactly what he suspected would happen but decided to keep silent about it in hopes that no one would notice the abnormality that was growing there.
Unfortunately a few days later, someone else arrived at the place. She was just exploring in her free day, using it as a chance to keep working on the kingdom maps she was drawing since a couple of years ago, all to impress her father. Her surprise was when she found a bunch of spiky black rocks.
Determined to take a piece to examine it later at the castle, she grabbed the sword that was resting on her back, with a deep breath and a firm grip with both hands, she put all her strength in a single blow but… her sword shattered in a million pieces; the black rocks were unbreakable.
She tried with a long knife, her short knife and an axe she was carrying but all her weapons ended up broken in pieces at her feet. With a very loud growl, she gave up but kept the mental note to investigate it in the future. Tomorrow she will have to return to her maid duties at the castle, so this mystery will have to wait until she can have the free time for her small adventures beyond the walls of Corona.
She decided to not alarm her father with the black rocks she found and kept the secret for herself; for now, she can only keep doing her job and maybe, try to ask her father if he can give her guard duty.
She would have never imagine what would transpire after taking a first step into proving she was worthy to protect the kingdom as a royal guard, even less how these black rocks would change her life but for now, let’s leave aside the black rocks because, we won’t encounter them again much later but yes… this is the story of how I was killed so let’s start with that but worry not, that I have yet a lot of things to do before I can go to the other side plus, a certain someone is not going to let me anyway.