The Lost Princess - A Once Upon A Time Fanfic

The Tower // Enchanted Forest

8 years. At just 8 years old, the poor bastard child Rapunzel was trapped in the highest tower of the King's castle. 

When Princess Eva came of age, she married Prince Leopold of the Northern Kingdom of the Enchanted Forest. In order to keep her station as a royal, she had to produce an heir with the Prince. Leopold, however, seemed keen on raising Rapunzel that he was not in such a hurry to do so. This angered Eva as she wanted to be Queen one day. Leopold's father was ill and deteriorating quickly. It was only a matter of time until they were named rulers of their Kingdom and would be expected to have a prince or princess. 

Unfortunately, Rapunzel was not an heir. The rule states that a child born out of wedlock is to have no title or fortune. He or she can be claimed by their parent's significant other - as Leopold did - but they will never inherit what is their parents'. 

Rapunzel, being a child, wasn't bothered. She was a curious thing. She would run through the castle at all hours of the day, meeting and greeting royals left and right. Leopold would read her stories, make her tea and put her to bed. He was thankful to have a child he could care for. All he ever wanted was to be a father. 

Eva saw Rapunzel as a nuisance. Rapunzel did, in fact, almost kill her and was a threat to the throne. Leopold knew the truth of Rapunzel, but to the rest of the Kingdom, she was Eva's estranged niece. Once her parents died, custody was given to Eva...or so the story goes. No one would ever know that Rapunzel was truly Eva's daughter. 

When Eva and Leopold were finally ready to conceive, Eva made the decision to lock Rapunzel away in the tower to prevent anyone from ever finding out the truth about her. But the 8 year old had a vibrant and positive personality. She was as bright as the flower that saved her mother's life. 

Once they were able to produce an heir, Leopold and Eva became King and Queen of their kingdom, and their daughter would be the future queen of the castle, leaving Rapunzel with no title of her own - just an old, decrepit tower to spend the rest of her days. 

Her stepfather would sneak in every night - against his wife's wishes. He would bring board games, paint sets and lots of books for the child to read. She grew to know Leopold as her own father and loved him just as much. But she was never allowed out of the tower. 

As the years drug on, she heard stories from Leopold of the beautiful, pure and perfect princess Snow White. Everyone in the castle that knew about Rapunzel had swiftly forgotten about her, those that didn't never would. Her mother rarely visited her eldest daughter, but Leopold continued to visit every night. Apparently, the Queen had become fair, kind-hearted and compassionate and was raising her Snow to be the same - though Snow struggled a bit with humility. Like any 8 year old, she was in the "me" phase of life. But Eva and Leopold were teaching her to be a benevolent leader. 

In the years she'd spent in the tower, her hair had grown to great lengths. For reasons unknown to her, no one was able to cut it and it grew and grew until it filled the entirety of her small room. It was almost like magic, she thought. She had learned how to get around it though. She even found ways to play with it, only wishing she could use it to escape her fate. 

Rapunzel, now 16, had no desire to meet or know Snow White. Jealousy ate her up. She was growing tired of the tower. Leopold visited less and less. He would tell her about the journeys he would need to take and not come back for weeks at a time. It was bearable with him, but by herself, she couldn't handle it. She would stare out the window, praying for a miracle. 

There was no realistic way out. She could never get past the guards. No one would hear her if she yelled out the window, and there was no way she could climb down the tower. Especially with the bars on the windows.