Return to Say Goodbye

This was originally supposed to be for the alternate ending #justwriteit challenge, but I missed my deadline. I thought I'd just finish writing the story though, so here it is. This isn't based on Tangled. I didn't have the heart to do this to those characters. I feel so evil writing this, but it wouldn't get out of my head. Sorry!

The sound of the festivities in the kingdom could be heard from miles away, it seemed. All were so thrilled that the prince had wedded at last. And what a princess, too! Beautiful and kind, with shining blue eyes, a warm smile upon her face, and long locks of golden hair that stretched almost to her feet...

And whose name was Rapunzel.

She had told all those people the story she thought was hers - that her mother had kept her imprisoned in a tower for years, ever since she'd turned twelve. That the prince had found her, and that they had fallen in love. That her mother had found out, and had cut her hair and cast her out in the woods to starve. That when the prince had come to the tower next to help Rapunzel escape, he had found her mother instead. That her mother had sent him falling from the tower, simply by telling him that Rapunzel was gone. That somehow he had survived the ordeal, but that the thorns at the bottom of the tower had successfully pricked away his eyesight. That he had wandered the woods for a long time, searching for Rapunzel, as she lived unhappily in the woods, struggling to survive. That the two of them had eventually found each other, and that Rapunzel's tears had restored the eyesight that her mother had stolen from the prince. That they were here now, together and ready to lead the kingdom that was theirs together.

This story had been met with cheers from the people, gullible fools that they were.

For they had forgotten the most important detail... that Rapunzel's mother, the witch, had not been killed. She was still alive, and she had not been found. No one knew where she was, but she was closer to them than anyone thought.

No one thought much of the woman wearing a brown cloak, standing quietly in a corner. No one saw her or paid attention to her. For after all, there were much more impressive people to see right then. Of course, had anyone with particularly keen vision looked her way, they might have seen a slight blur around the edges of her face, as though it was a mask. And if they were particularly fond of the prince and the princess, they might have taken offense at the fact that the woman's hood was still upon her head, not flung back so that she could see Prince Charles and Princess Rapunzel properly. But more than either of these two things, what would have caught one's attention if they had looked at this woman was easily the expression in her eyes. The eyes were malevolent, angry, not the slightest bit pleased. There was something akin to hatred in her face, and perhaps it was hatred's fiercer cousin. And there was only one person in all the kingdom who was known to feel so about the two young lovers standing on the platform.

The witch was with the people in the square, listening to Rapunzel and her prince.

The witch was still alive, still breathing, and still very much in need of vengeance on Rapunzel and Charles.

"Please welcome your future queen," the prince was now calling to the people. "My wife, Princess Rapunzel!"

This was greeted with roars of delight, thunderous applause, and many hats thrown into the air. The witch, to her surprise and mild consternation, found someone snatching her own hood off her head, flinging it back to reveal her olive skin and her dark, voluminous hair. With a scowl, she summoned it back magically to cover her head once again. With another wave of her hand, she sent the unwary person who had pulled it away stumbling into those nearest him. No one noticed, not even the victim. He simply picked himself up and continued cheering for Prince Charles and Princess Rapunzel. As it was, people were jumping and falling over and picking themselves up again, laughing.