TANGLED, pjo₁

0.01

𖤓

SHE NEVER KNEW MUCH ABOUT HER PARENTAGE.

all she remembered was being placed in a foster home at a young age, given the name her mom chose for her, reagan corona. around six or seven, she discovered the meaning behind her last name, describing the circle of light from the sun during a solar eclipse, while her first name meant little ruler or royalty.

as she grew older, the irony of her name became apparent. for the past nine years, she'd been hidden from the world behind the dark walls of 'the gothel foster home for young girls.' one of the younger girls - lucy, who had been adopted three weeks ago if reagan rememberers correctly - always used to say she had the best room and was the luckiest girl there. but, despite having her own room with a huge window for natural lighting, she didn't feel lucky. she's been with mrs. gothel all her life, and being called 'the messy blonde girl' by some snobby rich couple was the closest thing to being adopted she's experienced.

"rea! rea!" someone shouted from the hallway. "rea, come quick! the movie is starting!"

backing away from her canvas, a painting of a boy with black hair and sea-green eyes, and an unfinished girl with long blonde hair, she put down her paintbrush and joined the other girls in the living room.

𖤓

SHE SWORE SHE HEARD A... METALLIC... SLASHING SOUND.

she found herself waking up early as usual, but this time it was because of the weird noise she heard. she opened the window and noticed a small glow in the forest surrounding the orphanage. having spent her entire life in an orphanage, having never been to a real school, and with friends either adopted or much younger, she couldn't ignore the impulse that drove her to explore the light.

or maybe she just wanted an excuse to leave...

filling a bag with her few belongings, a few different paints and some clothes, she headed to the window on the other side of her room. She was on the top floor of the building, and the vines climbing the side of the building had always caught her eye as a way to get out. now, she could act on her day dream plans of running away. the vines were her escape route. climbing down the trellis, she escaped the orphanage, guided by the glow in the forest and the hope for something beyond those dark walls.

reagan ran as hard as she could across the small meadow her room overlooked. She couldn't risk being caught now. Not when she was so close to the glowing light. in fear of being caught, she ran even faster.

she had been running for maybe three minutes when she started to make out where the glowing was coming from. what she had come across was a simple campfire with a young boy around her age - shorter than reagan, around four foot two with spiked black hair and what looked like a bow on his back - sitting on a rock and a slightly older boy, who looked to be about eleven years old, with a cap on his head and some... questionable furry pants. the older boy had a small bronze knife in his hand, and it looked like he'd just used it to start the fire.

reagan tried getting closer, the fire was warm and she was starting to get cold in her t-shirt and the floral printed pj pants she rolled out of bed with, but she didn't want to startle the two boys, so she stayed hidden behind the tree. reagan watched as the slightly older boy started sniffing the air around him, wondering what he could possibly be looking for, reagan crept a bit closer and looked out from behind the tree.