Spellbound: Trapped?

CHAPTER ONE

Rapunzel liked to revisit her happiest memories when her mother was away. She liked to pretend she was three years old again when only just touched the ground instead of dragging behind her like it did nowadays. Mother was seated on the grass nearby, making a daisy chain. She laughed as Rapunzel dance wobbly towards her. Mother had a beautiful laugh she would throw back her head and let light brown hair cascade in soft waves down her back, as her big blue eyes sparkled and twinkled better than any clear blue sky Rapunzel had ever seen. 

The memory faded out of Rapunzel's focus and suddenly it was her fifth birthday. She and Mother were staring out of the window up at the starry sky.

"What's that star Mother?" Rapunzel had asked. 

"That's the star of purity and truth, the star you were born under." Mother whispered, brushing her fingers through Rapunzel's hair. 

"What does that mean?" 

"That you are perfect in every single way." That was the answer to most of Rapunzel's questions about her past. She hated it and loved it at the same time. It always made her feel special and loved, especially when Mother would wrap her arms around Rapunzel and pull her into a hug. 

Next she was eight. A storm was raging outside and Rapunzel was waiting anxiously for Mother to return home. A branch crashed into the side of their cottage and Rapunzel yelped and Argos pressed himself into the back of her legs, trying to reassure her that everything was ok. Argos was the dog that had Rapunzel when she had been attacked at the age of4. The loyal hound was always by her side, but Rapunzel wanted her mother to be there. Reading her a story curled up on the big bed. As if she had heard her daughter's silent plea, Mother ran into the glen below and began to levitate slowly up to the ledge where the cottage was. Rapunzel was crying now, from relief and worry as Mother opened the door and scooped Rapunzel up, peppering her face with kisses and whispering words of comfort and motherly love. "It's alright my darling, it's alright, no need to cry." Mother carried her over to the big bed, and without fretting about pyjamas or dirty slippers gently placed Rapunzel down and picking up the story book from the bedside table. "Everything is alright." 

Ten. They were in front of the fire. Snow fell softly outside as Mother brushed every lock of hair with the patience that Rapunzel clearly hadn't inherited. Mother was singing. It was a song that was unfamiliar and yet somehow recognisable and it went like this:

Close your eyes, little girl, there's nothing to fear,

Your youth is pure and true.

Mine has escaped me, swallowed me, my future's unclear,

The only answer is you.

Close your eyes, sweet child, innocence so dear,

 Life's weight, a silent, endless dread.

Eternal youth a prison, every passing year,

The curse of time denied, the pain is what I've said.

Close your eyes, little girl, there's nothing to fear,

Your future awaits, like a moonlit path

 And although at times it may seem as though it is unclear,

You'll find the answer hidden within your own heart

She had never sung that lullaby before and she never did it again, but it was still Rapunzel's favourite in a sad sort of way, she'd loved it so much she had written the words in her diary and sung them softly to herself when Mother was away. 

As she grew older and older, her memories became sharper. Eleven, running down the mountain, the sun on her face, Argos stepping on her hair (she didn't blame him, she had a lot) to meet Mother in the glen. Twelve, cooking up a surprise cake for Mother's birthday, the look on Mother's face when she'd seen the bright green icing and the wonky chocolate sculptures had been the happiest Rapunzel had ever seen her. Thirteen, collecting mushrooms in the forest with Argos. Fourteen, nursing old Argos as he lay on the hearth rug. Fifteen, laying fresh flowers on his grave as she and her mother hugged and cried and hugged and cried in memory of their beloved dog. And finally.....sixteen.