Chapter 22: Once Upon a Time

(A/N: This chapter will focus on the back story of Rapunzel and Gothel.)

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"She is indeed one of the most powerful sorcerers but at the same time someone who is very lonely too."

-Zash

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The tale of a lonely powerful sorceress.

I am Gothel Eclezar Von Zorcerus.

The Zorcerus family is one of the most renowned families in the land of Faresha located in the Fairy realm world, where many renowned tales came from. We were renowned when it came to our sorcery. But you can't really tell if this family were good or bad ones.

We created potions, poisons, and any magical items we could think of and sell them to the people regardless of whether they are on the bad or good side.

"We are just making a living, it's none of our business whatever the clients will do to our items." Mom and dad always told me this.

Since I was born, I was raised to think like that and act like that. 'Everything is just business, and the other things don't matter at all as long as you got your earn.'

Eight years after I was born, I studied more and gain many things and knowledge about sorcery. My parents praised me as a genius. And I continue to live like that.

Then one day, on a chilly winter night, I woke up to the sounds of shouting. I came out of my room and head towards our main staircase with a lamp in my hand. I paused just before I could take a first step down the stairs.

It's mom and dad and they seem quarreling downstairs.

"Are you certain?"

"Yes. It is."

"A whole kingdom vanished because of us! Don't joke around."

"We just sold the items. We aren't the ones who used it! It's not our fault"

"But it doesn't change the fact that we created it and sell it to them! How can I not blame ourselves for this?!"

"We didn't know what would they do with the item. And we never cared!" Dad shouted.

"That's right we didn't care but surely the bureau would hold us liable with this!" Mom screamed in frustration.

*Bang! Bang!* Loud knocks were heard at the entrance door of our house.

"They are here!"

"What should we do?!"

"Quickly hide Gothel!"

Mom ran upstairs and she was surprised and paused for a bit when she saw me on the stairs.

"You're awake? No. Nevermind! That doesn't matter right now." Mother carried me quickly.

*Boom!* Mom paused to the sudden explosion. Dad was thrown away hitting the cabinet with different potions that are pasted in our wall.

"Ju-just go!" Dad shouted as he stood up staggering.

Mom hugged me tightly as she closed her eyes. She quickly released a deep breath before dashing into the innermost room of our house. That was where the teleportation ward is located.

As we went inside, mom immediately, placed and let me stand in the middle of the magic circle for the teleportation. She putted her bracelet with white pearls on my wrist.

"The things you'll be needing will be here."

"Mom. What's happening?" I asked as tears were welling up in my eyes.

"Oh. Deary."

Mom wiped my tears with her thumb gently.

"We do bad things and now we are paying the price for it." Mom said as she caressed my hair.

Bad things? I thought everything is just a business. Other things don't matter? Why are we bad now? We just created and sold things.

*boom!* *boom!*

We heard many more explosions.

Mom bit her thumb and her blood drop to the circle. Her blood crawled towards the linings of the circle. It shone with red light as a gust of wind started to accumulate around us.

This teleportation ward is only for one person used. So it means...

"I'm sorry Gothel, I and your dad wouldn't be there for you from now on. Live a good life and don't become like us. I love you." Mother kissed my forehead.

I want to yell but no voice is coming up from my mouth as I am fully crying. She stands up as she heads back and leaves this room.

'No mom! Dad! Don't go!' As the teleportation activated I am stuck here now until I am teleported to the place I would be sent to. My body started vanishing. The last scene I saw was my mother's back running without looking back at me.

"Mom!" I was finally able to scream. But the next thing I saw when I blinked my eyes were tall trees around me and the full moon high above the sky.

"No. No. No."

"Please don't leave me like this. Mom, dad I still need you!" I kept hitting the ground with my fist. Until I collapsed due to fatigue.

From that day, I never heard anything or see my parents again. From the very place I was sent to which some kind of forest, A single almost nine-year-old girl started to live there on her own.

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Many years passed, Gothel grew up as a fine lady. She became powerful and started to travel around the world.

She became a renowned sorcerer by the name of Dame Gothel. She tried to investigate her parent's death. But she came to a certain block just as she was investigating a certain organization.

And after many years with no results of her investigation of her parent's death. She noticed that she was aging now. She became afraid to grow old and die without finding the truth.

So she confined herself in a mansion in a certain village and begin her studies about immortality.

One year becomes two then ten and finally after twenty years passed she finally produced her 3871st test product. She was certain that this would finally succeed. She just needed it to be ripe enough to be harvested.

After a long time of nonstop research, her body felt how tired it was. She decided to take a break and sleep for many days.

And exactly three days she awoke again and felt very refreshed. She immediately checked the rampions.

But to her great dismay, many were already missing! A theft! Why her alarms didn't resounded?!

"My life-long research!"

The night that day she waited for the theft to come. And there he is, a middle-aged man with brown hair and wearing simple farmer clothes of a brown shirt and green pants.

"How dare you climb over my walls and steal my rampions?!" She reprimanded with the most chilling voice she got.

The poor farmer hearing and seeing her bend with both of his knees and plead for forgiveness.

"O, great sorceress! Please forgive this poor farmer! I just do this for my wife who is pregnant! And told me she would die if she would not be able to eat the rampions planted here."

The man cried out of fright.

'Pregnant wife?' This! Hmm. This is certainly interesting.

"Then if it as you say, I will give you more rampions as many as you want but in exchange, the child that must come on this world must be given to me and I would care for her like a mother," Gothel said as a cold glint past her cold peach eyes.

In the distress of mind of the man, he immediately agreed without thinking much that he just sold out his soon-to-be child.

'How pathetic.' Gothel thought as she watched the man to ran away.

The time came when the wife of the farmer finally gave birth to a very beautiful girl. In that instant, Gothel appeared, she named the girl Rapunzel which is the same as rampion and took the child away.

The mansion she was staying too disappeared without a single trace left on it. Though she just transfered it outside the village up a hill. But she made it only visible to her.

"Uwahh! Uwahhh!" A very ear-piercing sound of a baby cry resounded in her whole mansion.

'Now then, how should one take care of a baby?' One of the most powerful sorcerers was suddenly put in an unexpected predicament.

She looked with much conflict at the baby who is still crying now and was placed in a cradle. She created it in an instant when she arrived here.