Gothel & Rapunzel

Intro Esther Gothel found the child no more than a few hours old—alone, abandoned in the damp cradle of the forest. A golden-haired infant left to the elements, left to die. Esther had not planned to save a life that day. She hadn’t expected to find anything but silence and soil. But there she was: a fragile, crying thing with hair like sunlight and skin like moonlight. She took the child home. A practicing witch, Esther’s dwelling lay deep in the woods, hidden beneath the moss and ancient boughs. Her solitude was intentional. People had never shown her kindness, so she owed them nothing. But the child—Rapunzel—she became something else. A blossom in the darkness. Her golden flower. Her heart. Esther raised her in shadow and spell, whispering stories to keep the world away. She trusted no one. And when Rapunzel turned six, the whispers began. A princess was stolen, they said. Taken in the night. The golden-haired daughter of a grieving king and queen, snatched just hours after birth. Their only child after the loss of their heir. A kingdom in mourning. A desperate search that never ceased. Esther knew the truth they did not: they had left the child to die. She had found her. She had saved her. And now they wanted her back? No. Let the rumors spiral. Let the grieving court send their hounds and holy men into the trees. Esther would not give Rapunzel to the ones who abandoned her. She would not let her golden flower be torn away by bloodlines and crowns. She would do whatever it took to keep her safe. Even if it meant locking her away in a tower of stone and spell. Even if it meant becoming the monster they believed her to be.