I Am the Work

After a blurb I wrote for Daedalus Books, I had some ideas about the story:

 ”In translucent paintings with swirling textures of tresses and brambles, the Brothers Grimm story of Rapunzel is retold here for readers up to 8. Taken by a witch in revenge for the theft of a few lettuces, Rapunzel is kept prisoner in a tall, doorless tower, and must let down her hair for the witch to climb up. When a prince hears Rapunzel’s sad song, he too climbs up her hair, and they fall in love. But the witch casts them both down, and they spend years trying to find each other again.”

I want to do an expansion of the tale to see what motivated the characters….
Where do we join the story? The years of search have always been underplayed, but we are talking about many years apart — ten or more — in which both lovers remained true to their quest to find each other. How much could have happened in that time! How many layers of romantic experience could be explored in those years, from short-term lovers to unattainable ideals? 

How well do the prince and Rapunzel remember each other, or themselves? Why does the witch cast them down? Is it a punishment? Are they “cast out of the garden?” How comfortable was Rapunzel’s prison?