Mother Knows Best (Villains 5)

“He’s taking her to the lights! He’s taking her to the lights! He’s taking her to the lights!” they sang as they danced around their chamber.

“Oh-oh! Let’s see what Gothel is doing now!” said Lucinda, directing her attention to one of the other mirrors. “Show us Gothel!” she said, but changed her mind. “No, wait! Look at Rapunzel! She’s in the world! And she’s worried she is going to break Gothel’s heart and crush her soul!”

“Oh please! That’s so dramatic!” said Ruby.

“No, those were her words! Crush her soul!”

“And Flynn is trying to talk her into going back to the tower! Horrible man!”

But the sisters were distracted by the mirror they had conjured Gothel within. “What is that horse doing? Lucinda, look there! That horse is attacking Gothel!”

“A palace horse. Where’s your rider?” said Gothel, flying into a panic and calling Rapunzel again and again.

“She’s going back to the tower! She’s going back to the tower!” squealed Ruby.

The odd sisters watched Gothel as she raced back to the tower. It was dark and empty and full of shadows. “Your precious flower is gone!” screamed the odd sisters. “Gone, gone, gone forever!” they screeched like harpies.

“Now Gothel will know what it’s like to lose everything! She will lose her precious flower!” Lucinda said snippily, making Ruby laugh.

Martha got quiet, not joining in the celebration. “What is it, Martha?” asked her sisters.

“But she already has lost everything, hasn’t she? She’s lost her sisters. She lost her home. And now she’s losing the last chance she has to bring her sisters back.”

“What are you saying, Martha?” asked Lucinda.

“We should have told her,” Martha said in a very small voice, tears running down her face and silencing her cackling sisters.

“And we would have if she hadn’t turned on us!” snapped Lucinda. “She wouldn’t share the flower! She doesn’t deserve to know!”

Martha persisted, surprising her sisters. “We should have told her the moment we learned! Not waited.”

Lucinda shook her head as if trying to banish a terrible thought. “We don’t have time to talk about this now. I won’t waste my time feeling guilty about Gothel! If it weren’t for her, Maleficent might still be alive!”

Martha knew Lucinda was right. “I know, I know.” But the conversation was interrupted by a blood-chilling scream. It was Ruby.

“What in Hades has happened, Ruby!”

“Gothel has found the crown! She’s found the wanted poster!”

“No matter, my dear sisters. It’s all been written.”

Ruby nodded at the image in the mirror. “Is the part about Gothel carrying that large knife also written?”

“There is no fear of an unhappy ending for Rapunzel. She is not the victim in this story. That role has already been laid out for Gothel. Oh, her heart will be broken, my precious sisters, and her soul will be crushed. I have seen to that!”

“What do you mean? What do you mean?”

“You’ll see, my dears. Let Gothel take her knife and set out into the world. She knows little more of the world than Rapunzel does.”

“Show me the sisters!” screamed Gothel into her hand mirror. She was expecting to see Lucinda’s mocking face looking back at her. Instead she found her sisters—her real sisters. Primrose and Hazel. Their coffins were open.

“What? What’s this?” Gothel’s heart was racing. “Where’s Mrs. Tiddlebottom? Show me Mrs. Tiddlebottom!” she yelled. The mirror showed only her own face. “Show me the old woman!” she screamed.

Lucinda appeared in the mirror, laughing. “You’re the old woman, Gothel. Look at yourself. You’re dying without the flower. You took that girl from her family, lied to her, and made her think she’s your daughter! You’ve dedicated your life to a lie, just like your mother!”

“Shut up! You know nothing of my mother!”

“We know everything about your mother! Your mother lied to you. You’re not her daughter! Not in the way you think! Have you ever heard her talk about a father? No! That’s because she created you with magic!”