Tangled | Edwin Au

1

🎶Flower, gleam and glow
Let your power shine
Make the clock reverse
Bring back what once was mine🎶

"This is the story of how I died. Don't worry, this is actually a very fun story. And the truth is, it isn't even mine. This is the story of a girl, named Winry. And it starts, with the sun. Now, once upon a time, a single drop of sunlight fell from the heavens." A voice narrated.
A golden droplet falls from the sky and hits the ground, a soft glow spreading through the soil.
"And from this small drop of sun, grew a magic, golden, flower." It continued.
The glow grew into a beautiful, colourful flower.
"It had the ability to heal the sick, and injured."
An old, hunched over woman climbed towards the flower, hobbling.
"Oh, you see that old woman, over there? You might want to remember her. She's kind of important."
The old lady reaches for the flower, her wrinkly hands opening to grasp it. "Well, centuries passed and a hop skip and a boat ride away there grew a kingdom. The kingdom was ruled by a beloved King and Queen. And the Queen, well she was about to have a baby, and she got sick, really, sick. She was running out of time. And that's when people usually start to look for a miracle. Or in this case, a magic golden flower."
The elderly women returned with her lamp, it emitting a faint green glow. "Ahhh, I told you she'd be important. You see instead of sharing the Sun's gift, this woman, the homunculus, Lust, hoarded its healing power and used it to keep herself young for hundreds of years. And all she had to do was sing a special song."
"Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine. Make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine, what once was mine." Lust sung.
"All right, you get the gist. She sings, she turns young. Creepy, right?" The narrator speaks.
A guard stumbled up the hill, head-turning rapidly in search of a cure. His eyes widen as he sees the gleaming flower.
"We found it!" he yelled, calling his comrades to come join him in digging up the flower.
"The magic of the golden flower, healed the queen. A healthy baby girl, a princess was born. With beautiful golden hair. I'll give you a hint. That's Winry. To celebrate her birth, the King and Queen launched a flying lantern into the sky. For that one moment, everything was perfect. And then that moment ended."
Lust, obviously aged, jumped over the castle bannister, slowly pushed the humongous nursery door open, and crept into the room.
Winry is sleeping softly the whole time in her crib, unaware of the decrepit women in her room. Lust slowly reaches into the infants crib, and softly grabs a strand of her hair. Reaching into her cloak, she pulls out a pair of glinting scissors.
"Flower, gleam and glow, let your powers shine, make the clock re----"she gasped, shocked about a few strands of the baby's hair, that had turned brown, and let it drift to the mattress, completely useless and drained of power.
"Lust broke into the castle and stole the child. Just like that... gone. The Kingdom searched and searched, but they could not find the Princess. For deep within the forest, in a hidden tower, Lust raised the child as her own."
In a large tower, hidden away from the world, Lust sat at her throne-like chair, gingerly pulling a brush through the child's gorgeous, golden locks.
"...save what was lost, bring back what once was mine, what once was mine." Winry sung, looking at the flowing flames in the fireplace.
"Lust had found her new magic flower. But this time she was determined to keep it hidden." the narrator recited.
"Why can't I go outside?" Winry inquired, curiously.
"The outside world is a dangerous place. Filled with horrible, selfish people. You must stay here, where you're safe. Do you understand, flower?" Lust demanded, ceasing to brush the young girls hair.
"Yes, Mommy." the child answered.
"But the walls of that tower could not hide everything. Each year on her birthday, the King and Queen released thousands of lanterns into the sky in hope that one day, their lost Princess would return." the voice pursued.

A green chameleon ran out onto the windowsill, and ran to hide behind a flower pot. He camouflaged himself to match the flower pot, in hopes that no one will see him.
Winry shoves the curtains to the sides, letting the light shine into the tower.
"HAH! Hmm, Well... I guess Al's not hiding out here."
Al chuckles slightly, under the impression that she hadn't seen him. Something then suddenly fastened around his ankle. Something soft. Something silky. Something gold. And then it yanked. And Al shrieked.
"GOTCHA!!! That's twenty two for me. How about twenty-three, out of forty-five?" Winry requested as she turned to look at Al's pouting face.
He shakes his head no, declining her request.
"Okay, well, what do you want to do?" Al points his jade tail out the window, indicating that he wants to go outside. "Yeah, I don't think so. I like it in here and so do you." she points at Al. He pouts.
"Oh, come on Al, it's not so bad in there." she points towards the inside of the tower.

A top a giant castle, leaping across the ultramarine tiles, three figures stop and stand, one shorter than the others, younger too.
The young man leant against a pillar, his golden hair flowing in the wind. "Wow! I could get used to a view like this." he awed, irritating the two behind him.
"Fullmetal, come on." his accomplice demanded, his long black ponytail taken by the wind.
"Hold on. Yep, I'm used to it. Guys, I want a castle." The man known as 'Fullmetal' beamed.
"We do this job, you can buy your own castle." the man said, or rated at Fullmetal's inability to take the mission seriously.

The young man walks over to the open window that leads into the hall which contains their treasure, with confidence in each passing step.
He reaches the window, and is hoisted down by his two allies for the mission, as he is the smallest of the three, although he is the least trustworthy. Why else would they trust him, a petty, thug?
The alchemist standing in front of their goldmine sneezes and, being the obvious comedian he is, the blonde just has to make a joke.
"Oh, hay fever?" he jokes, amusement laced in his voice.
"Yeah." the alchemist replies and turns to look at Fullmetal, but to his surprise, he does not see him dangling from the ceiling, holding on to the pedestal for support, that he's sure is worth much more than his life, and the crown resting in his hand.
"Huh?" The alchemist takes a double-take, unsure of what he saw. He turns around fully and his eyes widen as he sees that the crown his gone. A wave of panic sets in as he looks around frantically, until he look up, and catches a glimpse of Fullmetal's boot leaving the window.
"Wait, what? Hey, wait!" He yelled
The short man an his two taller associates leapt between the rooftops. The two were getting very annoyed with Fullmetals constant chatter.
"Can't you picture me in a castle of my own?" Fullmetal asked, amazed at the idea that he could be as rich as a man could ask for. "I mean, I certainly can. Oh, the things we've seen and it's only eight in the morning. Gentlemen, this is a very big day."