anna_luna | Stargate Atlantis, Day 7: Fairy Tales by Anna

Title: Rapunzel
Author:

anna_luna
Week/Challenge: Day 7: Fairy Tales
Prompt: Rapunzel
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Pairing: John/Rodney with slight John/Teyla
Art/Words: 6 drawings and 1007 Words to have them make sense
Rating: PG
Written for the

undermistletoe challenge.

Rapunzel

Author's Notes: This story is based on the story "Rapunzel" in the manga "Kohri no Mamono no Monogatari" by Shiho Sugiura. "Rapunzel" is a side story featured in the 5th volume of the manga. (I bought the manga just for the side story, it is that awesome).

Many, many thanks to

runpunkrun,

machinistm and

xenachan for quick beta, suggestions and ideas on what scenes to draw. If you find any grammar/spelling mistakes, please let me know so I can fix them.

Rapunzel

A long time ago near a village far, far away, there lived a Wizard named Rodney. He was very young to be a Wizard and the people in the village didn't know if this was because of his genius or his magic. The Wizard didn't come to the village often and then only to trade in wonders and gadgets and secrets. He lived in a tower in the forest and in his garden there grew the most wonderful fruit, but no matter who asked, he refused to sell it.

The wife of the village shepherd was pregnant and she yearned for the forbidden fruit. She wanted it so much that one night she sent her husband to steal it from the Wizard. The shepherd thought he had not been seen and his wife feasted on the fruit.

Time passed and both the shepherd and his wife forgot about it. But on the day his son John turned three years old the Wizard came and claimed him as payment for the fruit taken from his garden.

The Wizard took the boy with him and locked him in the highest room of his tower. John could see for miles around in every direction but he was never allowed to leave.

The Wizard gave him stars and diamonds and wonders to play with so he wouldn't miss the world outside.

Rapunzel

Every night, before going to sleep, John would kiss the Wizard on the cheek to say good night as his mother had done with him.

With time John grew and besides keeping the Wizard's house clean, he started helping with his magic. Sometimes, when John did something right, the Wizard smiled.

Every night, before going to sleep John kissed his cheek.

The years passed and John grew up to be a handsome man and his hair grew so long it trailed behind him. The Wizard braided it for him and put a spell on it and every time the Wizard left to trade in the village he would climb down John's hair to the bottom of the tower. And every time the Wizard returned, John let his hair fall so the Wizard could climb back up.

Rapunzel

But everything could not always remain the same and one day a Princess passed near the tower and saw the Wizard climb down on John's hair.

Before John could gather his hair again, the princess climbed the tower and met John.

John was very frightened at first, he had never met a princess before, but she was very gentle and they drank tea together and she told him of the world beyond the tower.

John was very impressed by her, by her beauty and her soft tones and her small hands on the tea cup. She was so different from everything he'd known.

She told him of the people who lived free, not locked up in towers, and that she had read of a boy called John that had been taken from his parents by an evil Wizard.

John did not believe her, the Wizard could not be evil. The Princess must be wrong.

"Ask the Wizard," she said. "I'll come back tomorrow and take you away from here if you so wish it." And then she left.

That night, while John and the Wizard ate dinner, John asked him about his parents.

"What about them?" said the Wizard.

"Where are they? Are they dead?" asked John.

"I don't think they are dead, they probably still live in the village." The Wizard answered.

"Did you steal me from them?"

"What?" said the Wizard, suddenly alert. "Who gave you these ideas? Was someone here?"

"A... a princess," said John.

"A princess?", asked the Wizard. "What did she want?"

"To make me free! To take me with her!" John screamed.

The Wizard paled. "You want to..." he started and stopped, stood up and locked himself in his study.

John cleared away the table and washed the dishes and was very confused. He went to sleep but woke up when he felt the Wizard's lips on his cheek.

"Good night," the Wizard said, but it sounded like 'Good bye'.

The next morning, when the Princess returned the Wizard cut John's hair with an enchanted scissor. He kissed John's cheek once more and sent him down to the Princess. It was better this way, mortals were not meant to live with Wizards. John did not belong to him, with him. The Wizard always knew they were living on borrowed time.

John rode away with the Princess feeling hollow inside and when he looked back at the tower, he couldn't see the Wizard at all.

They rested for a while in a clearing and John marveled at the flowers and the birds.

"I'll bring you to your parents," the Princess promised joyously and John just stared at her, not knowing what to say.

She took John's hand, leaned forward and brought her lips to the back of his hand in a kiss.

Rapunzel

John was very startled. "Why did you do that?"

"It is something people do when they care for someone else," she explained. "It is a sign of affection."

"Wizard...," John murmured. "We need to return to the tower!"

"Why?" asked the Princess.

"I never knew..." John said and the Princess rode them back.

The Tower was sealed from the outside, but John had learned a bit of the Wizard's magic and the doors opened for him.

Upstairs, the Wizard was in his study, engrossed in an experiment.

"Wizard!" John said and jumped into his arms and kissed him.

Rapunzel

"John?" the Wizard asked confused.

The Princess shrugged.

"I never knew," John said burying his face in the Wizard's neck. "I'm not leaving you."

"John," the Wizard said. "You belong with your people."

"I care for you and you care for me, I belong with you." John kissed his cheek. "Although, I would love to get out of the tower some times."

The Princess returned to her kingdom and had many other adventures.

Rodney and John lived happily ever after.

The end.

Some extras

The original and first John-as-Rapunzel drawing:

R: ...And you will be called 'Rapunzel'.
J: 'Rapunzel'?
R: 'Rapunzel'.
J: I don't like 'Rapunzel'.
R: ... What *do* you like?
J: I like 'John'.
R: 'John' then.

And because I missed Ronon, a mini comic: