Rapunzel: Independent

     Once upon a time in a land far away a tower was built that had no stairs and no door, and hidden within this tower was a beautiful maiden, her name was Rapunzel. Rapunzel was a lot like the other young women in the land, except for one peculiarity, her hair. Her golden locks stretched seventy feet long, and she had been forbidden to ever cut them. Rapunzel had been locked away in the tall door less tower since she was the age of twelve, but she had always wished to venture out into the world and to find a fine prince who would care for her and love her. But she was not alone in her quaint little tower; she had the flowers that surrounded her tower, running up the walls and along the sides of her windows projecting a colorful atmosphere that Rapunzel loved. She sighed, whenever she had gotten bored she would spend countless hours gazing at the beauty of the flowers.

Today was just like any other for Rapunzel, and it was also just a normal day for Prince Charles, the King's son. Charles was riding his horse through the forest when he heard a voice singing. The voice was lovelier than any he had ever heard, he followed the magnificent sound across the forest until his eyes fell upon a tower that had only one window, and through that window he saw the fair maiden Rapunzel. The beauty of Rapunzel made the Prince carry on closer to the tower, and when he was right before it he started searching frantically for an entrance.

"Fair maiden!" he cried as loud as he possibly could.

Rapunzel was startled by his loud cry and went to the window to see where it had come from. She looked down from her window to see Prince Charles running circles around the tower.

"Is there a way that I can enter the tower?" he asked not taking his eyes from Rapunzel.

"There is no way in or out, good sir" she replied.

"A rope perhaps?" he asked with great desperation.

Rapunzel looked throughout her room for something that would suffice as a rope. It wasn't long before she decided that her hair would be a fine substitute for a rope. She let her heaping mess of hair fall over the side of the widow and down to where the Prince stood. He made no hesitation to start climbing her hair.

Rapunzel winced as the King's son climbed higher and higher. The pain was unbearable, seeing as though she was very tender headed and a full grown man climbing your hair was quite a painful experience, but she endured it in hope that when he finally did reach the top that they could escape the tower together and some day get married.

When Prince Charles did reach the top of the tower the only thing he wished to do was talk about himself and Rapunzel's radiant beauty, he had never once talked about anything else. He would come and go whenever he pleased, and he hadn't even suggested the idea of getting Rapunzel out of the tower that had kept her prisoner for so many years. She loved the Prince with all of her heart but the only thing that Charles loved about her was her beauty.

"Rapunzel, Rapunzel let down your hair, so that I may climb the golden stair" Charles cried from below. Rapunzel let out a sigh, she had never liked letting her hair fall out the window. Most people don't know this but hair is quite heavy especially when you have pounds of it. She went to the window carrying the piles of hair in her arms, and watched as it fell gracefully to the ground. Her head jerked rapidly to the frame of the window due to the weight of the Prince, she had become hard headed since she had to do this about three times a week.

"I am coming, Rapunzel!" he bellowed.

"Take your time dear Charles, there is no need to hurry" Rapunzel said through her gritted teeth.

"Oh, Rapunzel, I have dreamt of your beauty since the night I saw you last, I cannot wait to gaze upon your face once again" said the Prince, once again talking about her beauty.

"I have told the rest of the kingdom of your beauty" Charles carried on.

"Is that so?" she asked flatly, annoyed by the mentioning of her beauty.

"Yes and how your eyes are as blue as the sea and of your beautiful long golden hair" he said in a wistful voice.

"Is my beauty all that matters to you?"Rapunzel yelled back down to him, she had clearly had enough of his endless talking on that subject. "Have you ever thought to ask how I even got up here? If I have a family that I miss? What my favorite flower is? And has the thought even came to you that I might want to get out of this tower?"

"Perhaps when I reach the top and gaze upon your beauty we shall discuss those matters" he replied in a confused tone.

Rapunzel looked down the window to see how far he had come. Surprisingly he was only about five yards away. She couldn't have this. He wasn't going to be able to gaze upon her beauty any longer. She gave an exhausted sigh and looked over at the red and gold box, that was among her many jewelry boxes, it sat on the small table near the window. The box held one of the most dangerous weapons she had ever known existed: scissors.

She opened the lid and lifted them slowly out of the box. Yes, they would do nicely. She spread the scissor blades apart, bringing the mouth close to her hair and asked, "Are all men like you, Charles?"

"Most men are, and if they are not, they should be" he answered.

Rapunzel gave a mischievous grin to his reply, "Well, Prince Charles, if men are the way you say they are I have no further use for long hair" she said cutting loose a thick piece of blonde hair.

"Rapunzel, what are you doing?" he asked in a near state of panic as he heard the snip of the scissors and felt parts of his 'rope' give way.

"I'm getting rid of what I don't need. I don't need men who only notice my outward beauty; I want a man that notices the beauty in my heart because that is where true beauty comes from" she snipped at her hair again, letting two more locks fall to the ground below.

"Oh please Rapunzel, let me have a mere glimpse of you before you cut your hair any further" the Prince begged.

"If you wish to reach the ground safely I suggest that you start your descent downward now" Rapunzel replied coldly.

Prince Charles started climbing his way down and as soon as she felt fewer weight tugging on her hair she cut the rest of her golden strands with the scissors and let them fall out the window.

"Now, go and tell all of the princes and men of the land that if they ever truly want to find beauty to not search for it in the face of a lady, but search in her heart, for that is where true beauty lies" Rapunzel called loudly from her tower, and so the word was spread of the true meaning of beauty.

Rapunzel sighed happily, her job was done, and she would never have to haul a man up a tower by her hair ever again. She looked out the window and at her flowers. She discovered that the vines that lined the tower walls had grown strong and thick. They looked as though they would be able to hold her weight if she were to climb down them, and so she did. When Rapunzel reached the bottom and planted her feet on the grassy ground she realized that she never needed a man to help her out of her tower in the first place and that she could have done it all by herself, and so Rapunzel vowed that from that day forward to be independent. And Rapunzel lived happily ever after, independently.

The End