#untangled

“The lost princess is me,” said Rapunzel, voice low, quiet, spoken like a question but as sure as any fact. “Isn’t it?”

Her mother, now seeing her unhurt, gave her an exasperated eye roll. “You’re mumbling again,” she snipped. “Rapunzel, what have I told you about the mumbling?”

But Rapunzel, instead of backing down, instead of accepting whatever the woman had told her as fact like she’s done her whole life, straightened.

Because it seemed that nothing the woman had told her was fact, and that this woman wasn’t even her mother at all .

“It’s me,” she repeated, voice hard as steel, eyes sharp as a blade. “Isn’t it? I’m the lost princess,” she said firmly, voice shaking from anger, fists curling at her sides.

The woman standing before her froze, and it was the first time Rapunzel has ever seen her unsure.

It was true.

It was true.

“Did I mumble, mother?” said Rapunzel dangerously. “Or should I even call you that?”

The woman—Gothel, since she would never be Mother to Rapunzel again—creased her brows, as if concerned, and if Rapunzel didn’t know better, she’d have fallen for it. “Everything I did was to protect you,” she cooed, reaching for her.

“No, it wasn’t!” said Rapunzel, jerking away from her touch. “It was—” Suddenly, more pieces clicked into place. “It was to protect you !” she exclaimed, gesturing with her hair. “You just wanted me for my hair’s magic,” she breathed, hurt and angry all at once. At the expression on Gothel’s face, Rapunzel knew she’d hit the mark. Her eyes narrowed. “Well, you will never use my hair again.”

“I love you, Rapunzel,” cooed Gothel again, voice taking on a hysterical, last-ditch-effort tone. “More than those stupid royals or that thief ever could! He would have betrayed you in the end; I did you a favor! Stay,” she stressed.

But Rapunzel looked at her sharply. “He would have betrayed me?” she repeated. “He would have? What are you talking about?” Her voice shook with rising fury.

Gothel’s expression slipped, and Rapunzel watched her realize her mistake. “He did betray you,” she amended quickly, trying another smile. “Why of course he did; you saw for yourself!”

Hope and fear surged in Rapunzel’s chest. “I think,” she ground out, “that I only saw what you wanted me to see. Like you have my whole life,” she growled. She moved to push past her. “I’m going to find Eugene.”

“Oh, I’m sure the Royal Guard has already,” came Gothel’s sharp voice behind her.

Rapunzel turned, heart skipping. “What?” 

Gothel smiled something that sent chills down Rapunzel’s spine. “I trapped him on that ship with the stolen jewels. He will have already been found, and will certainly be hanged for his crimes in the morning.”

Rapunzel’s hope that Eugene hadn’t betrayed her froze in her chest, sinking like a ship in the sea. “No,” she breathed. She ran for the door. “I’ll save him,” she said breathlessly, only to be yanked back with a yelp as Gothel grabbed her by the hair.

“You aren’t going anywhere,” she said dangerously, keeping a grip on her hair that Rapunzel couldn’t shake. “If you won’t stay with me willingly, then I’ll make you.” 

She lunged for her, and Rapunzel screamed.

Emma leaned against the trunk of a tree to catch her breath.

She blinked at the midnight forest around her, feeling vague flashbacks of Neverland come back to her. But this place, other than being a woodland, was nothing like Neverland. It felt warm and inviting and a place she could imagine even wanting to return to.

That was, if the Royal Guard would stop chasing her.

Nearly twenty-four hours ago, she and Killian had been traversing the realms, as he called it, for their honeymoon. They had happened upon this land that they came to find out was called Corona . In passing he had mentioned the land seemed familiar, but he hadn’t remembered how. And after a two hundred year long life, Emma could understand. It wasn’t until they stumbled upon a set of wanted posters that Killian had gone rigid and insisted they leave immediately. At Emma’s confusion, he muttered something about stolen jewels and it’s been two hundred years, they should bloody think I’m dead by now, and Emma had realized one of the wanted posters was a badly drawn picture of him.

But before they could return to where he’d docked the Jolly Roger, they ran into a group of Royal Guards, who despite the poor drawing of Killian, had recognized him immediately and demanded he be hanged for his crimes. 

Was there no statute of limitations in this place?

Somehow she and Killian had gotten separated as they ran from the Guards. Now, exhausted and still panting, Emma shut her eyes, really wishing her cell phone worked here. 

Leaves suddenly rustled and Emma’s heart skipped. Horse hooves. 

“Damn it,” she hissed. 

The last time she ran from authority this much she was seventeen.

Emma pushed off the tree and started running again, knowing she couldn’t outrun the horse. She looked for a place to hide. 

There.

Some bushes—they’d be at least enough cover. Emma dove through them, only to realize there wasn’t a cliff side behind them.

 Emma blinked at the hole in the dirt wall, leading to—

“Woah,” breathed Emma, hearing the horses in the distance riding off, unaware of her as she walked forward into where she found herself. 

It was beautiful, lush nature, all surrounding an incredibly tall tower that looked like it came out of a storybo—

Emma paused.

It did come out of a storybook.

Henry’s.

Emma felt another pang of homesickness, missing her son, as she and Killian have been away for almost two weeks now. They had just been about to head back home when this whole mess happened, and Emma should have expected it. They could never catch a break in the crises, could they? 

But knowing him and herself, they’ll find each other. He’ll be all right.

Her husband was a survivor.

She smiled at the thought. Husband.

She couldn’t wait to find him and feel his arms around her again.

But shattering the thought, Emma suddenly heard a scream from the window at the top of the tower.

Emma’s heart skipped.

The protectiveness she was born with rose up in her chest, and Emma ran forward, poofing herself in through the window of the tower mid-run.

Her magic dispersed in a white cloud, landing her on the floor of what looked like a bedroom, floor-to-ceiling walls covered in paintings, and the floor covered in—

Emma suddenly realized what story this was.

Hundreds and hundreds of yards of blond hair was strewn around the room.

And the person the hair belonged to was on her knees, arms chained to her sides, and a woman trying to force her into a trapdoor.

Both women looked at Emma in shock. The younger one— Rapunzel, Emma knew—shouted through the gag a muffled word Emma recognized as “Help,” and Emma’s eyes narrowed at the older woman.

The woman sneered at her in angry shock. “Who —oh, it doesn’t matter,” said the woman sharply, but she abandoned the sentence, grabbing a dagger from behind her back, and Rapunzel’s eyes shot wide, giving a squeal in warning.

Emma dodged a swipe of the dagger, thanking Killian for the sword-fighting lessons, and she ran for Rapunzel. With the first idea in Emma’s mind, she grabbed the younger girl’s shoulder, and shut her eyes as the white cloud of her magic consumed them, transporting them away just as the dagger cut through the mist where Emma had been standing.

Emma and Rapunzel fell to the ground hard.

They were in the forest again; the first place she could think of to get them to safety was the place she and Killian had last been together here in Corona. 

Emma hurried to get herself off the ground, accidentally tangling herself in the girl’s hair, and being careful not to step on it or pull it. Freed of the strands, she rushed to the girl’s aid.

Emma quickly tore off the tape from her mouth, wincing at her yelp.

She stared at Emma with wide eyes. “You saved me,” she said breathlessly.

Emma smiled. “Kind of what I do,” she said with a half-hearted smirk that faded as she worked on getting the chains off of her. Once she was able to pull them over her head, freeing her arms, they were suddenly thrown around her, squeezing Emma so tight she couldn’t breathe.

“Thank you,” said Rapunzel breathlessly. “Thank you,” she said again, squeezing her even harder. “How can I ever repay you?!”

Emma tried to breathe. “Breathing… would be fine,” she joked through a wince, and Rapunzel gave an “ oops ” over her shoulder, pulling back with a wince of her own. She let out her own breath, shaking her head. “Thank you, honestly,” she repeated.

“No problem,” said Emma. “Who even was that woman? What happened back there?”

Rapunzel’s eyes clouded over. “My mo—” She caught herself. “That.. woman… she pretended to be my mother my whole life,” she whispered.

Emma’s brows shot up. “She what ?”

“I kind of… just realized she wasn’t my mother,” admitted Rapunzel. “I told her I was leaving, and… she was trying to… make me stay,” she said with a shiver.

“That’s… terrible,” said Emma, the word an understatement, suppressing a shiver. That woman was the epitome of madness. “Are you okay?” asked Emma.

“Yeah,” said Rapunzel shakily, but Emma knew it was a lie. Rapunzel looked around the quiet forest, hugging herself. “But I don’t think she’s going to let me go that easily,” she said worriedly. “She… needs me,” she said, even quieter.

A chill swept down Emma’s spine at the idea. For a moment, Emma wished she’d killed the vile woman, but… flashbacks of Cruella had her shaking herself from the memory. At least she and Rapunzel were safe for now.

Emma felt her resolve harden. “She won’t get you,” she promised. “I’ll make sure of it.” Smiling reassuringly, she extended a hand. “I’m Emma. Emma Swan.” 

“I’m Rapunzel,” said Rapunzel, shaking Emma’s hand, her fingers trembling.

“I know,” said Emma before she could stop the words, making Rapunzel’s brows rise.

“How do you know me?” she asked, eyes wide. “Did you know I was the lost princess? Is that why you were there?”

Emma’s brows lifted this time. For the short time she and Killian were here, they had overheard about the lost princess, and even watched the lanterns fly into the sky, Emma safely in Killian’s arms…

She shook herself, still missing him so much it hurt.

“Um, no—I was in the forest and I heard your scream,” said Emma. “It’s kind of a long story, but I grew up in a realm called The Land Without Magic. In that realm, there are stories of people from all different realms, and one of them is yours. But I don’t remember this happening in that story,” said Emma. “Though… they get a lot of things wrong.”

“You grew up in a realm without magic?” asked Rapunzel. “But… you have magic,” she said, still seeming awed by it.

“Yeah… it’s a long story,” said Emma, but at Rapunzel’s pleading eyes, Emma decided to give her the short version. “I was born in the Enchanted Forest,” said Emma, but the location didn’t seem to resonate with Rapunzel. “But because of a Curse, I was sent to the Land Without Magic, and… I had to grow up without my parents,” said Emma unsteadily. “It was only a few years ago that I found my parents, who are a king and a queen in the Enchanted Forest and learned that they never wanted to leave me.” finished Emma, the story still sometimes too crazy to believe, and not for the first time wishing she could go tell her younger self that it would happen for her.

Rapunzel’s eyes widened. “So you’re a lost princess too?”

Emma smiled half-heartedly, biting her lip. “I… guess I was, actually. Yeah. Still it’s hard to remember that I’m a ‘princess’,” she said the word with as much sureness as a paper tower in a hurricane. “My parents had to send me away when I was a baby in an attempt to protect me,” Emma went on. “It turned out I was this ‘Savior’ who had to break the Curse, and…” She smiled shyly, still fragile over the idea of it all. “Well, things have been a little crazy ever since, but… it brought me to my family.”

Rapunzel’s eyes suddenly clouded even more. “My—the… the woman who pretended to be my mother,” she said softly, “she stole me from my parents.”

“Stole you?” echoed Emma, brows rising sharply.

Nodding, Rapunzel said, “From… the King and Queen, I guess,” she said, like she was still realizing it as she said it. “Before a few days ago, I haven’t ever even left the tower,” she whispered. “Mother—“ She caught herself. “She wouldn’t let me,” she whispered. 

Emma’s brows creased with empathy, reminding herself of her time in prison. But she couldn’t imagine having gone through that her whole childhood . It was a loneliness like no other. “Why did she take you?” asked Emma gently.

Rapunzel hesitated, but then said, “I have magic, too.”

“You do?” asked Emma, brows rising, feeling a flashback to meeting Elsa.

Rapunzel lifted a few strands of her hair, and looking at Emma, gently took Emma’s arm, where Emma suddenly realized the dagger had nicked her. Rapunzel wrapped the strand around the cut on Emma’s forearm, and shut her eyes. “Flower, gleam and glow,” she sang softly, and Emma jumped at the sudden light flowing from Rapunzel’s hair to her arm. “Let your power shine,” she sang, “make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine.”

She opened her eyes, removing her hair to show Emma’s skin perfectly unharmed. “Woah,” said Emma. “Magic hair… was definitely not in the movie,” she said.

“What’s a movie?” asked Rapunzel. But her gaze shifted, and she suddenly gasped, stumbling to her feet, tripping over her own hair and Emma had to steady her.

“What’s wrong?” asked Emma.

“Eugene!” she exclaimed. 

“Who?” asked Emma. She turned to see what Rapunzel had seen, to find her gaze on the wanted posters on the trees. She was looking at one of a charming-looking man with a less-than-attractive nose.

“Eugene,” repeated Rapunzel breathlessly. “I met him a few days ago,” she said quickly. “He… I… we…” Her eyes teared up. “I love him,” she whispered, smiling with the words. But the smile fell— “He’s in trouble!” 

“What kind of trouble?” asked Emma.

“My mo—Gothel,” said Rapunzel uneasily. “She tied him to a ship and framed him for a crime and the Royal Guard is going to find him and… and they’re going to…” Her eyes filled with tears again, but this time they weren’t happy ones.

Emma didn’t need help finishing her sentence. “We’ll find him,” said Emma. “We’ll save him.” she assured her, seeing such a fresh strength in Rapunzel’s eyes, but still so much innocence and so much fear.

And it felt like Emma was jumping into a Time Portal and looking into a mirror.

“Okay,” said Rapunzel, seeming to calm in Emma’s determination.

“We’ll find your prince,” said Emma. 

Rapunzel smiled through the fear in her eyes.

“And then after we do,” said Emma, “I could use some help finding mine.”

“Your prince?” asked Rapunzel. “Who is he?”

At that, Emma just smiled.

And gestured proudly to the wanted poster right next to the one of Flynn Rider.

-.-.