Rapunzel

Rapunzel is one of the five Demonic Princesses featured in Black Souls I, as a minor antagonist. She rules over her section of the Lost Empire, Gothel's Tower, and because of her role, blocks entry into the Inner Lost Empire. Her name is derived from the character of the same name in a fairytale written by the Brothers Grimm, "Rapunzel." Her death or the formation of a covenant with her is required to confront Cinderella. 
==Appearance==
Rapunzel takes the appearance of a normal girl with green eyes, white skin, and her definitive, long blonde hair reaching down to her feet, her bangs obscuring her right eye from view. For a princess, she dresses rather scantily, opting to wear only three thin, black cloths that barely keep her body unexposed. One wraps around her chest, and the other two are put around her waist, crossing in an "X" shape at the midsection of her pelvis. Her most conventional piece of clothing would be the black cap that lies on her head, with a yellow insignia of a bird spreading its wings outward at its front and a black cross placed on its "body." 
In her true form, she instead takes the appearance of an almost hydra-like monster, with its elongated heads and its shoulders being the heads of various men popping out of the body's "eyes," which is a head itself. The arms are produced from the ends of the heads forming the shoulders, coming out of their mouths and brandishing a pole. The legs take the form of the heads of horses with long blonde hair covering their eyes, akin to the princess herself. To finish the grotesque form is a vast amount of colorful wings, making her appear larger than she actually is. 
==Personality==
At first glance, Rapunzel appears to be a vain and spoiled individual who operates on a hair trigger, the latter noted by herself multiple times throughout normal conversation as a way to warn others. She's fond of flattery, fairly susceptible to such comments, although it's not quite enough to keep her grudge at bay.Rapunzel Battle (Elma Summon) - Elma: "Beautiful hair......" // Rapunzel: "Hihihi, isn't it!?" Above all, she values reliability and loyalty among her servants, and within other people in general. While she tries her best to be reasonable with due dates, with her explosive demeanor, her patience runs especially thin. The results mean much to her, and due to her capricious nature, may shift interests at the drop of a hat, abandoning other desires if something she requests is much better than anticipated.Rapunzel (Phantom Rose Delivery) - Rapunzel: "Yes... I'm pleased with you more and more. I came to want you even more than Behemoth."
Her obsession as a Demonic Princess is that of power, coveting the idea of many servants, influence, and the like, going so far as to proclaim that she's the best person to become the queen of the demonic princesses in Cinderella's stead. Additionally, she seems insistent on being free despite seemingly being trapped within the tower.Rapunzel Battle (Catherine Summon) - Catherine: "Icarus wished for freedom, yet the sun burnt his wings and he fell back onto the ground." // Rapunzel: "Shut up, be silent! My freedom is only mine!" 
She lets her guard down emotionally when it comes to her husband, of whom she acts possessive over; beneath all of her narcissism and arrogance, she harbors feelings of being empty and lonely despite her position allowing her to grab everything and anything within her reach. She's quick to insist that she's fine, at the possible concern of her lover, but despite her pride, she's honest about her plight.Rapunzel (Post-Cinderella) - Rapunzel: "Surrounded by money and servant beasts...... With every treasure within my reach...... I feel completely empty...... I want to meet everyone...... I already hate to be alone...... Uuu...... don't look at my face... I'm fine...... I want you to always be with me, not leaving even for a moment...... Don't abandon me......"
==Biography==
As she's based off of the original fairytale, her history prior to the game's events are likely similar, with a few alterations. The fairytale she drops denotes that her beauty and her hair allured many men, allowing for the overall creation of her kingdom as seen in-game, with various demonbeasts running rampant within Gothel's Tower. Additionally, a witch still played a part in her story for one reason or another but the exact extent of this unnamed witch's influence on Rapunzel's story remains unclear.Rapunzel Battle (Dorothy Summon) - Dorothy: "Demonic princess Rapunzel, it's time for you to die." // Rapunzel: "I'm already tired of witches. You'll do well as a fodder for beasts."
The remainder of Rapunzel's story is influenced by Grimm's actions, or lack thereof.
Should Grimm fall in his initial battle with Behemoth in Jacob's Mine, it will invade Gothel's Tower, killing all of its inhabitants offscreen, including Rapunzel. This result yields Rapunzel's fairytale without having to fight or even talk to her, but it bars her covenant, as well as the rewards associated with it. Behemoth, too, still needs to be killed; her fairytale will not be available until its death. Assuming Grimm successfully killed Behemoth the first time around, Gothel's Tower will remain intact, demonbeasts and all.
Initially, Rapunzel questions Grimm on his identity and how he even managed to get past Chameleon, but due to her high spirits, she dismisses the interrogation before he has a chance to answer. According to her, Behemoth will soon become her pet, attributing it as a "beast stronger than any other." He can choose to kill her or to tell her that he killed Behemoth, both of which will initiate a fight with Rapunzel. Choosing to be "envious" will prompt a satisfied response from her. By this point, the option to kill her will always be available, even after forming a covenant with her. Killing her here will still allow for progression in entry to the Inner Lost Empire.
Upon speaking to her again, she will state her growing frustration with the lack of both Behemoth's arrival and the Three Little Pigs, who were in charge of bringing the monster to her. Grimm can ask for a covenant with her, to which she believes is only a jest due to the status of her person. However, she quickly realizes that he's serious, and will indulge in his request on the condition that he finds an uncommon flower in Helsa Desert, the Phantom Rose. Telling her that he has the rose without actually having it will anger her and initiate a battle.
Finding the rose, Grimm can bring it back to Rapunzel, and she will express satisfaction before keeping her word and forming a covenant with him, triggering an H-scene. Afterwards, she states that she's lost interest in Behemoth, and marks Grimm as her husband in its stead, putting him one step closer to facing Cinderella.
After Cinderella has been dealt with, and Grimm is in a covenant with Rapunzel without killing her, Grimm can choose to come back to Gothel's Tower and speak with Rapunzel once more, which will trigger a monologue from her as she speaks of Cinderella's death with neutrality. She appears to be more concerned of how the other princesses feel, stating her desire for wanting to see them again, and how lonely she herself feels despite her position granting her anything that she can think of. However, she shakes off her problem, and asks that Grimm stay by her side forevermore.
==Relationships==
===Demonic Princesses===
Despite her aloof demeanor, she does still care about the other princesses; she seems neutral on the matter of Cinderella's death if she's killed, stating that she "finally got what's coming," but goes on to wonder about the feelings of the other princesses, even Snow White, who has sent members of the Black Trial in the past to assassinate her alongside the other princesses;Rapunzel Battle (Miranda Summon) - Rapunzel: "The Black Trial? Bah, Snow White hired you again? Well, blame your own bad luck." her peer Little Mermaid reciprocates this idea, as well.Little Mermaid Dialogue (Post-Cinderella) - Little Mermaid: "Elder sister has four dear friends...♡ We're very close, like sisters, you see? We got separated now, so it's a bit lonely... But elder sister is always thinking about everyone...♡ It would be nice to chat like in the olden days, to talk about love…♡ It will be truly wonderful to meet again, someday, somewhere...♡" While not explicitly stated by Princess Frog, and Snow White only realizing her actions too late in a specific instance, it's implied the two of them have thought the same. 
Due to the idea that either she cannot leave the tower, or that she can't leave her position as is, she's only able to imagine how they feel by her lonesome.
===Grimm===
During their first initial meeting, she questioned his presence within her tower, but she immediately changes the subject, shrugging off his visit as nothing altogether remarkable. Seeing him as nothing more than just an undead, she acts in her normally jaded and prideful manner towards him.
Should Grimm ask for a covenant with her and find the Phantom Rose she asks for, however, her demeanor towards him becomes softer and even clingy, and, immediately after forming the covenant, proclaims him as her husband; she'll protest if Grimm tries to leave, but ultimately will let him go with her wishes of his safety. 
If Grimm decides to kill her, she will appear silently appalled yet unsurprised by the action, remarking that in the end, even her most beloved was going to betray her.
==Enemy==
<tabber>
|-|Hair Princess Rapunzel=
|-|Hair Princess Rapunzel (Phase 2)=
* Gets bonus action
</tabber>
== Trivia==
*As she's based off of her story counterpart, she shares similarities to the original fairytale:
**She has the iconic long and blonde hair as depicted in various media, albeit here she does not use her hair as a means for others to climb her tower.
**She does appear to be trapped within her tower, even without a witch directly keeping her there. 
***However, there is a witch associated with her, as noted in a brief conversation with Dorothy as well as the naming of "Gothel's Tower," a nod to the original antagonist in the story, Dame Gothel.
**Her various attacks range from shooting thorns and inducing blindness, all of which are a reference to the fairytale. As Grimm would hypothetically fill in the role for the "prince," this makes the reference much more striking.
*Alongside the conversation with Catherine if the latter is summoned in battle, as well as her juxtaposing circumstance within the tower, the bird on her cap seems to symbolize a theme of freedom.
**Her phase 2 form additionally has an excessive amount of wings, perhaps trying to insist to herself and to her opponent that she is truly free despite her fated and conflicted connection to the tower.
*She is the only Demonic Princess that can be killed offscreen due to the player's actions.
*Behemoth's rampage within Gothel's Tower has additional effects aside from killing Rapunzel: 
** The aggressive demonbeasts within Gothel's Tower will all disappear. 
***The Peter Pan miniboss will still be in his usual place, however.
**Elma's father will perish in the conflict, leaving the Storm Ruler in its chest without having to pay him the 50,000 souls, as well as a loss in his shop and flavor dialogue from him if Elma is saved later on.
**Gothel's Tower will show additional holes and cracks in the monster's wake.
==Gallery==
File:Rapunzel in game.png|Rapunzel Sprite, as seen in game
File:Rapunzel Main.png|Art from Toro's Twitter 
Category:Demonic Princesses
== References ==
==Navigation==
Category:Black Souls I Characters