Tangled [Hariana]

Chapter 1

For many years the people of the kingdom searched and searched, but they never found their princess. No one knew that far away, hidden in a boxed-in valley, Lana was raising the child as her own. To prevent her from leaving, Lana kept the girl at the top of the tall tower they called home.

The beautiful valley provided stunning views for the little girl. A waterfall fell from the crest of the steep surrounding cliffs, plunging to a sparkling, winding stream below. The meadows were filled with flowers and lush greenery. Often rainbows rose from the water, glimmering and arching over the stone tower.

During the day, Lana would frequently go outside the tower to gather herbs and vegetables. On other occasions, the little girl watched as Lana Parrilla went to the edge of the valley and slipped into a dark hole at the base of a rocky cliff, disappearing through a tunnel that led her beyond the places that the child could see.

The tunnel opened to a forest outside of the valley. Lana Parrilla made sure that when she came and went through the tunnel, no one ever saw her. If anyone did see, they might find the hidden tower—and the Princess.

Lana Parrilla adored Ariana. And the child loved Lana Parrilla, too. After all, she was the only mother—the only person!—whom Ariana knew or remembered. Lana Parrilla was there to feed and bathe the infant. She watched Ariana take her first steps. And she sang lullabies to the little girl as she stroked and brushed her every day. Ariana never knew the true love of her real parents.

Nearly four years passed before Ariana asked Lana Parrilla, "Why can't I go outside?"

Lana Parrilla remained cautious in her response. She knew she had to make the little girl fearful so she would never stray from the safety of the tower.

"The outside world is a dangerous place filled with horrible, selfish people," she replied. She did not want to lose Ariana. The child was a part of her now. She treasured Ariana as she would a prized rose or a precious jewel.

Lana Parrilla lifted a section of Ariana's hair. Ariana reached back and touched the small tuft on the nape of her neck. It was the only part of her hair that was dark and short.

"They wanted your gift for themselves," Lana Parrilla said, lying to Ariana as she gazed at the hair that she herself had cut. "So they cut a piece of your hair."

"Yes, Mommy." Ariana shivered a little. The outside world must be a terribly dangerous place.

But on the night of her fourth birthday, Ariana tiptoed over to the tower window. There in the night sky she saw thousands of sparkling lights drifting up beyond the ridge of the valley toward the stars.

The same thing happened on the night of her fifth birthday and on her sixth and seventh birthdays. Ariana loved those floating lights. She even grew to believe that somehow they were meant for her.

Ariana didn't know that each year, the King and Queen and all the people in the kingdom released thousands of glowing lanterns as beacons for their lost princess. They hoped that one day the lights would guide her home.

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Years passed, and Ariana grew to a beautiful young woman with sparkling brown eyes and golden hair that was nearly seventy feet long—seventy feet of hair that was used to make a swing so that she could swoop from the rafters in the tower, and that made brushes for her beloved paintings. And despite her lonely life spent inside the top of the tower, nothing could destroy Ariana's spirit.

With her eighteenth birthday approaching, Ariana had decided that this birthday would be different. At least, she hoped so. But first she had to gather enough courage to ask Lana Parrilla for the biggest favor she could grant. Lana Parrilla had always told Ariana that someday, when she was old enough, when she was ready, she would be allowed to go outside. Outside! Ariana could only imagine outside—a place she barely glimpsed from her window, a place filled with creatures and plants and with sights, sounds, and smells she had never experienced!

Ariana nervously hoped that Lana Parrilla would finally allow her to go out. She needed to find the source of those mysterious floating lights!