Her Green Eyes (Rapunzel Retold)

The Wolves

Spring came, and Gothel found that Rosella was disappearing throughout the day more and more often. If the doubts had not already set into her mind, she would have assumed she was with the wolf cubs or perhaps making friends throughout the village, but she bacame increasingly concerned that she may be... well, the thought ofasmug look on Silene's face next solstice if Rose had been visiting her in secret throughout the year put Gothel into a state of unease.

She decided to follow Rosella, with only ten more mornings until Yule, the winter celebration, determined to understand the remarkable toddler's mind. In the form of a large black crow, possibly the largest crow any human would have ever seen, she took off and followed the little girl on her travels throughout the day. She spent the morning wandering around the village, something Gothel never would have imagined the plucky little loner girl doing, and was increasingly surprised when she spoke to more and more people.

The blacksmith tipped his hat to her, and handed her an iron horseshoe.

"For good luck, little Rosie." He said, smiling, and watched her leave. She never spoke to him, just smiled. It was because he called her Rosie. Gothel knew she hated Rosie. Rose, she could live with, but she much prefered Rosella. She never spoke to someone who called her Rosie. It pleased Gothel to know she was still the one who knew Rosella best, and continued to follow her.

The innkeeper's wife pulled her into the tavern and poured her a glass of hot tea and brushed her hair, and watched her sit by the fireplace and sleep, curled up with their huge sheepdog. Gothel watched her tiny sleeping body, her eyelids fluttering, a dream no doubt. She had never asked her about her dreams. What if she had nightmares? She didn't even know.

An hour later, she woke up and petted the dog, and left the inn, waving to the innkeeper's wife as she went. She smiled and said 'Hello' to so many villagers that she, Gothel, didn't even know the names of, and went to sit by the stream near the cobbled bridge that led over to the forest, Rosella's favourite place. But she did not enter. She merely sat by the stream and watched, never moving, other than her left leg swinging gently as she sat on the wall.

It seemed to gothel that she was.... waiting. For what, she had no idea, but settled herself on a high branch of a sycamore tree to watch, and wait along with her.

Hours later, something began to move. Gothel almost flew out of the tree in shock, at the sight of two wolf cubs come out of the forest and to the stream. Wolves?? Outside the forest?? Never! They had never come this close to the village before, or not that Gothel recalled. She was so baffled, she almost missed the most incredible, entirely impossible thing in the world.

She almost missed her little Rosella turning into a small, pure white wolf cub.