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Rapunzel was eight years old the first time that she used her healing powers on herself.
Mother Gothel was gradually starting to leave Rapunzel alone for longer and longer stretches of time. That particular morning, Rapunzel began to experiment with climbing the rafters using her hair. She had already been gleefully swinging around for a few hours, and the longer she played, the more careless she became. All it took was one wrong move, and Rapunzel toppled from the high rafters down to the cold, unmoving tiled floor. In a moment of panic, she frantically tried to catch herself with her hair but instead, she gave a shout of pain as she hit the floor with a sharp thud. Her leg that hit the floor first throbbed in pain and was bent at an unusual angle. Rapunzel choked back her tears and tried to figure out what to do through the dizzying pain. The only other times that she had been severely hurt were when she burnt her hand on the scorching skillet while frying eggs and when she skinned her knees while running around the tower. Both times, Mother was furious at her and fussed the entire time about how clumsy and careless Rapunzel was.
When she had skinned her knees playing, Rapunzel asked through sniffly tears “Mommy, can I use my hair to help my knees? It helps you feel better when you use my hair.”
Mother Gothel had simply laughed. “Really, Rapunzel? I can’t believe you would be so selfish as to want to use your power on yourself. It was your own carelessness that caused this, and you will have to deal with the consequences of your own actions.”
Rapunzel asked the same question when she burnt her hand, and she received the same answer, chiding about her clumsiness and selfishness.
Rapunzel couldn’t let Mother find out.
She would be absolutely furious.
Rapunzel gingerly pulled herself into an upward sitting position, pulling her hair out from underneath her in the process. She took a large portion of her hair and began to carefully wrap her injured leg, wincing whenever she put too much pressure. She took a deep breath once she finished wrapping her injury, closing her eyes to sing the special song:
“Flower gleam and glow
Let your power shine
Make the clock reverse
Bring back what once was mine
Heal what has been hurt
Change the fate’s design
Save what has been lost
Bring back what once was mine
What once was mine.”
Rapunzel gradually opened her eyes and tenderly unwrapped her hair from her leg. As she sang, warmth began to spread throughout her body to the tips of her toes. Her leg no longer ached, but who knew if her leg was completely healed? She had never before attempted to heal herself or such a large injury. The only thing that she knew her powers affected were the headaches that Mother received frequently. Her healing power had to have some sort of limit.
When Rapunzel caught the first glimpse of her leg, she caught her breath. She slowly stood up and put pressure on her leg, wiggling her toes and bending her knee to test it. When no sharp pang or any pain accompanied her tests, she gave a triumphant smile.
It worked. It honestly worked!
“Rapunzel, Let down your hair!” Rapunzel snapped her head towards the open shutters in surprise. Usually, she wouldn’t be expecting her mother’s arrival for a few more hours.
She rushed to the opening and let her hair cascade down the side of the tower. She began to pull her mother up, excitement at her recent discovery growing. She couldn’t wait to tell Mother. How amazed would she be? What would she say-
Rapunzel felt her heart drop. What would Mother say? Would she be furious? Undoubtedly. She already told Rapunzel that merely thinking of using her powers on herself made her the most selfish little girl in the world. What would she say if she knew that Rapunzel had followed through on her thoughts, used her powers and that it actually worked? Then she would have to explain how she had gotten into the situation in the first place, too… Rapunzel’s resolve hardened. No, it would be better to say nothing.
When Mother slid into the tower, Rapunzel dutifully listened to her mother recount her adventure to the thug-driven marketplace where thieves lay around every corner and old croons try to steal away young girls to add to their stews. While listening, Rapunzel put away the fresh produce and prepared two places at the small table as her mother stirred the mushroom stew over the fireplace. Mother sipped some of the broth out of the large ladle and once she determined it was fit for consumption, she ladled out a serving for herself and Rapunzel.
As they sat down to dinner, Mother Gothel continued to fuss about how exhausting it was to clean and cook and forage and do all of the housework herself. Rapunzel listened to her elder in silence until Gothal took a break from her long-winded complaint and asked “So, my little flower, what did you do to amuse yourself in my absence?”
Rapunzel froze, her bowl raised halfway between the table and her lips. “I finished my drawing I started a few days ago, “ she answered rigidly, then attempted to act normal and sip her soup to avoid suspicion. She had never outright lied to her mother, not even about Pascal. She just simply avoided mentioning anything about her friend to her mother. Rapunzel eyed her mother, certain that she would be called out in the middle of her lie, but her mother hadn’t even glanced at her.
“That must have been quite enjoyable,” her mother said absentmindedly before resuming to list the number of things that still needed to be completed.
Rapunzel continued to silently sip her soup, no longer able to pay attention to her mother’s droning.
She had lied. And her mother hadn’t noticed. Rapunzel smiled to herself. After dinner, she halfway expected her mother to shriek about the deceit of her own daughter and the injustice of her daughter’s actions. But the night continued with no incident, and Mother tucked Rapunzel into bed after lovingly brushing her daughter’s hair and singing to her.
“Good night, my blossom,” her mother told her, planting a kiss on the top of her head.
“Good night, Mother,” Rapunzel replied, watching the flickering shadow of her mother disappear as the woman carried the candle out of her daughter’s room and down the stairs.
Rapunzel lay awake in bed, her mind a whirlwind of the events from her day. She managed to heal her own injured leg and directly lie to her mother, two things that she had never before attempted. And two things that had ended in success. Rapunzel closed her eyes, imagining all of the new possibilities that lay before her, the options that she had never before dreamed of. Rapunzel smiled as sleep gradually overtook her, her secret cradled safely within the quiet darkness.