What if.... a Tangled story [ENG]

Chapter 2 - Mother

Knock knock knock

-"Rapunzel!! It's time to get up!!"-.My mother startled me awake that morning. She knocked on my bedroom door and called me with her melodic voice. After the fright, I rubbed my eyes and yawned.-"Here I come, mother..."-. I stretched my arms above my head to wake up my sleeping muscles. After that I got up and took my little friend, Pascal, out of bed, an adorable chameleon that my mother didn't know about and that had shown up at the tower window on the evening of my eighth birthday. The little guy had been poisoned by a snake and I had cured him with the power of my hair. Now he was staying in my tower and his bed was a twig connected to a pulley. Apparently chameleons like to sleep up high.

-"Wake up sleepyhead! Here shines a new day!"-.I pulled the twig down through the pulley. Pascal stretched like a cat and licked his eyes, then looked at me with a smile and made a bizarre sound. I giggled and put him on my shoulder.-"While I change, you think about what we could do today, okay?"-.He put his paw to his forehead, in a military sign, and jumped off my shoulder, landing on my bed. I giggled again.

I opened the closet's hips and dove in to find a nice outfit to wear for that wonderful day.

After changing I began the long process of combing my 20 meters of magical hair. As I combed my hair Pascal approached me.-"So Pascal, have you thought about what to do today?"-.Pascal nodded. He stood up on his hind legs and cleared his little throat. He started to... sing I suppose?... Or whatever those chameleon noises were that made me put a finger against his tiny mouth, shortly after he started his performance. He pouted at me and I stroked his head -"About singing... We need to practice a little..."-.

At that moment my mother called me again -"Rapunzel! How long will it take to get you ready, sweetheart? I need a little magic. Mommy didn't wake up very well this morning"-.

-"Here I come, mother!"-. With the brush in my hand I headed towards the exit of my room. During the sudden move, Pascal fell to the floor.

I went down the stairs and quickly reached my mother. She had already set up the chairs.

I took a seat on one of the two already positioned chairs and she sat behind me and started brushing my hair.

Then I began to sing... the Healing Incantation..

"Flower, gleam and glow
Let your powers 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"

My hair immediately began to glow a bright yellow.

I still didn't know exactly what had given my hair that power, but my mother had always mumbled about a miraculous flower...

As the spell ended, my mother sighed contentedly.

Things were very calm... until we both heard a strange noise outside the tower...

I looked towards the window. I wanted to get up and go see...but my mother stopped me and went instead of me.

She kept me safe in that tower, safe from the outside world and all its dangers.

The only time I had tried to convince her to let me out was six months ago, when I turned eighteen.

While my mother looked out the window I turned my head towards a drawing of mine on the wall and sighed: I had pictured myself free, sitting on the trees during the night of my birthday, looking at the lights in the sky... they weren't stars, they were something magical and fascinating...

My greatest dream was to understand the mystery behind these lights that on each of my birthdays floated in the night sky, every year more numerous and brighter.

My mother didn't let me go out that night... but at least I was able to enjoy the show from the window... like every year.

While I was lost in my thoughts, I didn't notice that my mother was staring at a point outside the window, in a rather disturbing way: I didn't see her immobility and a strange tremor in her body.

Soon that moment seemed to pass and she turned to me with a smile -"Nothing to worry about my dear..."- she giggled and looked at her hands rejuvenated thanks to my spell. -"You are free to return to your room to draw or read or do whatever you like"-. I sighed. At that moment I felt a strange curiosity towards the noise that had attracted my mother to the window, but she would have prevented me from going to investigate. -"Yes, mother..."-. A little reluctantly I headed towards my room.

As soon as I crossed the door, I found on the floor, a sore Pascal from the previous fall that I had not noticed. He was so small that sometimes I didn't see what was happening to him, but he was and still is my best friend and I would never forget his presence.

I gently picked him up and brought him close to my face, as I usually did when I wanted to confide in him - "you know Pascal... before, when I was saying the incantation... mother and I heard a strange noise coming from outside... mother didn't even let me look out the window...." - I sighed and collapsed on the bed. Pascal let out a little cry and fell on my stomach - "but now I'm so curious!" - I banged my legs a bit on the soft mattress and stared intently at the ceiling above me, which I myself had decorated with colorful figures and animals.

I rolled my eyes a bit and continued talking to my friend - "you know, maybe it was just a frightened little animal...." -. Suddenly my eyes fell on the small circular window in my room. My eyebrows shot up, indicating an idea had dawned on me.

I jumped up but caught Pascal just in time before he could fly back to the floor (poor little guy).

I then grabbed a lock of hair with my other hand and twirled it around before throwing it at the window handle to open it. I managed to do so successfully on my first try. I deserved a little cheer, so I whispered, "Go, Rapunzel!" Pascal rolled his eyes.

I put my little friend on my shoulder -"tie yourself in, Pascal!"-. Pascal grabbed a small lock of my hair and tied it to his chest. I started to climb the wall of the room, helping myself with the beams that I could tie my hair to. Once I reached the top, my heart started to beat fast. I smiled excitedly and slowly, very slowly, I leaned my head out the window to look down.

Unfortunately, at that precise moment, my mother burst into my room -"Rapunzel, I had completely forgotten about breakfast so I made you a quick one..."-.

At her sudden arrival, I jumped and immediately pulled back from the window. The sudden movement made me lose my balance and I fell to the floor. Luckily for me, my hair had fallen before me, giving me a soft landing.

I immediately got back on my feet and looked at my mother with a nervous smile. Pascal hid in my locks - "ah... very good mother, thank you so much mother, I'll be right there mother"-.

As I spoke in a nervous tone, I realized that the woman had seen the whole scene, in fact she was looking at me suspiciously. - "Rapunzel... what were you doing up there?"-. I stammered an immediate excuse - "Nothing! nothing! I was... stretching!"-.

My mother groaned, threw her head back, closed her eyes and pinched her nose - "Oh Rapunzel, I can't stand it when you mumble!"-.

I had never liked seeing my mother... exasperated by behaviors she didn't approve of. I put a hand on my arm and caressed it, feeling guilty for having lied to her - "sorry mother... I was... looking out the window... but I swear I won't do it again!"-.

She looked at me. I saw a strange light in her eyes. She sighed and came closer to me, encircling me in a soft hug. She stroked my soft hair and her voice calmed down - "don't worry, dear..." -. At one point, I'm sure I felt her long fingers grab a lock of my hair with a little more force than expected.

Before I could even begin to think of strange reasons for such an event, my mother moved the hand that was caressing me to my wrist and wrapped it gently - "now come, otherwise breakfast will get cold..." -. She slowly dragged me downstairs with her. Furtively, I pulled Pascal out of my locks and placed him on my bed.

As we walked, I looked at my mother.... I still can't believe that the woman who raised me, betrayed me... she seemed like a good person, devoted to protecting me...

And yet at that exact moment, during breakfast, she was already planning something that would change the perception of my life forever....