The Lost Princess - A Once Upon A Time Fanfic

The Teacher // Enchanted Forest

"In order to teach you properly," Rumplestiltskin started, "we must go to a realm where you and I are unknown."

"Another realm? How is that possible?" Rapunzel asked naively.

Rumplestiltskin pursed his lips and shook his head. "My, do I have so much to teach you."

They were standing in the middle of the woods, 100 feet from the village where she lived. They were completely alone. Rumplestiltskin had promised to stay in order to teach her everything she needed to know about her magic. Something told her that learning from the Dark One may be dangerous, but she figured if she was as powerful as he claimed her to be, she could take care of herself.

"So where is this other realm?" She asked.

Rumplestiltskin pulled out a key from the pocket of his jacket.

"This, dearie, will answer all of your questions."

"A key," she said, dubiously. "Where's the door?"

"Ah," he began to circle her, "that is the problem you'll have to solve."

"Back in the village?" She asked.

"No!" He called out, making her jump. "We must be away from those people. You cannot have any distractions."

"I don't get distracted," she said, confidently.

"You might. Tell me," he was behind her now, close to her ear, "do the people who love and accept you so much know of your magic?" He asked in a whisper.

She didn't answer, which was enough for him.

"So, here's what I want you to do," he said, jumping in front of her. "Conjure up a door. Any door!"

"I've never done that before," she answered.

"Well, there's a first time for everything," he said with his sinister smile. "When using magic to conjure an item, you must feel an attachment to it. Magic is all about our emotions," he sang. "I know you have a few things you must be attached to."

The tower. He was speaking of the tower. The tower where she spent her entire life before he let her out. The tower she dared not to think of because it only brought memories of pain.

"So I'm just supposed to think about the door..."

"And the height of your emotion will cause it to appear," he explained. "Close your eyes, dearie. Picture it."

So she did. Rapunzel squeezed her eyes shut and imagined the room. The window had been so perfectly placed. The world was at her fingertips, but there was no way out of her prison. She remembered tripping over her comically long hair when her father would come to her. It was the only time she looked to the door with excitement and hope, rather than disdain and hatred.

And immediately, she felt the hatred for her mother, the woman who detested her enough to lock her in a cage. She had attempted to bottle up the memories and pack them away in her head. She felt hatred for her situation. If she hadn't been born a bastard, her mother may have loved her.

But she remembered her father, who wasn't really her father but acted as such, and felt content again. The emotions burned back and forth, from love to hate. The line between the two was blurred as each emotion hurt just the same.

"Open your eyes," Rumplestiltskin instructed. When Rapunzel obeyed, she drew back at the sight of the door.

"Was that dark magic?" She asked, breathless. Rumplestiltskin quickly shook his head.

"I saw the battle you went through just now. You were back and forth between the light and the dark. Not settling for one, you chose neither, which really does make you a neutral being," his voice, for the first time since their meeting, shook. He knew the power she possessed and it caused him fear.