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Such news the wind carries! The Goddess Flora is weak, she cannot hold to her form. The natural balance is in danger!

—Light Fairy, The Thumbelina Curse

The Thumbelina Curse is the bonus gameplay content included in the Collector's Edition of Ballad of Rapunzel. In it, we play as the Golden Child, Gerda, who must find and rescue her friend Kai, who has fallen prey to a terrible curse.

This bonus game is based on Hans Christian Andersen's Thumbelina and L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Menu Screen[]

The adventure is far from over. Play as Gerda, and with the power of the Golden Child, embark on a harrowing quest to save the world.

Prologue[]

Several days have passed since I left that horrible tower.

The pollen is no more and I know in my heart, the Detective and Prince Ross have saved us all.

But just as I thought the debacle was over, my sleep has suddenly been plagued with nightmares.

Every night I see my dearest friend in danger, and a young girl's voice urges me to find him.

I do not know what the dream may lead to, but for Kai, I must go. I can only hope I will be as strong and brave as the Detective.

Plot[]

WARNING: This section contains massive spoilers! Read at your own risk!

The game opens with a video of what is, presumably, Gerda's dream. She sees Kai helping a young girl hide inside a flower, while he says he'll go for help. We see an animal skulking nearby, and as the small girl watches Kai leave, we see quick movement in shadows and reflected in her horrified eyes. Then the girl begins to plead for someone to help them.

Gerda returns to the dark forests around Floralia, where she finds Kai's botany books and journals. Further exploration shows that the forest has changed much in the few days since Gerda was last there. What could have caused these changes?

In the cave that leads up to Belladonna's tower, Gerda finds a whole crop of carnivorous plants snapping away - and a lifelike statue of a man chained to the wall. With a touch, Gerda releases the magic enchanting the statue, which turns into a live person. She frees the man, who seems oddly familiar to Gerda and introduces himself as Gwyn, a Prince from a faraway country.

Gwyn leads the way to a beautiful shrine for Goddess Flora. Floating in the water beside the shrine is a strange flower. Opening it reveals a tiny girl, fast asleep. Gwyn says he has been having dreams about this girl, and says it is his princely duty to stay and stand guard over her.

Gerda explores without him and crawls through a mole's tunnel to a serene lake. She returns to the shrine to find Gwyn fighting off a Flying Monkey, of all things! The monkey is chased off by a screeching eagle, whom Gwyn says is his mother's familiar.

After using Kai's left-behind notes to brew a reviving potion, Gerda wakes the little girl in the flower. She is Thumbelina, and Kai's notes have told us that she has no memory of who she is or how she came to be so small. Almost the very same moment the tiny girl wakes, she is grabbed up and carried off by another Winged Monkey.

Gwyn and Gerda give chase, but end up losing the monkey. They do, however, find a tiny Kai in the bushes. It seems he's been hit by the same curse as Thumbelina, and if Gerda doesn't reverse it soon, he will lose all of his memories as Thumbelina has.

Kai insists that only Gerda can save him and Thumbelina because she is the Golden Child. Gwyn overhears this and realizes the girl he's adventuring with is the same little girl who saved his life all those years ago. He swears to provide whatever aid Gerda requires.

The threesome see the winged monkey take Thumbelina through a portal in the Valley of Ice and Fire. They give chase through the portal and end up in the Goddess Flora's shrine inside the Floralia palace - only it's covered in evil spells and auras. Even Gerda's Golden Child powers can't work to destroy it all. Clearly, this is the seat of the strange power that has made all of the changes to Floralia in only a matter of days.

It's here that the travelers learn that Thumbelina actually is the Goddess Flora. The absence of Rapunzel and Belladonna, along with the fall of Floralia itself, has weakened her powers so drastically that she can only take on the form of a small child. The Wicked Witch, Mother Gothel, has also used a curse to make her exceptionally tiny and to erase her memories.

Gerda uses her smarts to reverse the curses on Kai and Thumbelina, restoring both to their full sizes. However, Thumbelina is still weakened and in the clutches of the Wicked Witch and her flying monkeys. Gwyn and Kai fight off the monkeys, leaving the Wicked Witch on her own.

Using a Fire Agate of Ross Red's power, Gerda manages to combine an attack with Gwyn's own inherited ice powers, creating an unbeatable force that takes down the Wicked Witch and frees Thumbelina from her grasp.

The three-race to the portal that will bring Thumbelina to her home in Rosaria, the Fairy Kingdom. The Wicked Witch tries to stop them with magical vines, but with one touch from Gerda, the vines shrivel out of their way and all four of them make it safely through the portal.

Once safe in her homeland, Goddess Flora thanks the trio of travelers for answering her calls to them and coming to her aid. She says she must remain in Rosaria for now in order to build her powers and strength back. However, she is sure that everything in their homeworld will be fine with the three of them looking after things.



Epilogue[]

Our time in Floralia has finally drawn to an end.

Kai is eager to return to his studies. Although I think he is very wise already, he is anxious to be able to use his knowledge to protect those important to him.

Gwyn tells me he has discovered more than he hoped for, and found someone he thought lost to him. He has invited me to visit the castle, under much friendlier circumstances.

As for me, I feel as though I've lived more in the past few days than I ever have before! I've met so many new friends and I am much more confident in using my powers.

I'm not sure what the goddess meant of the rewards we have received, but what greater reward could there be than saving the world?

I hope one day the three of us will have another adventure together. Until then, it is time to go home.

Parables[]

Thumbelina

The power of a Goddess is never absolute, for it rises and falls in accordance to the faith she is bestowed. Such a decline befell Flora, the nature Goddess, forcing her to revert to a child's form. Weakened, Flora came across a wicked witch, whose curse shrunk the Goddess to fit in her wizened palm. The witch named her Thumbelina, intent on keeping her captive. Flora managed to escape, but in her vulnerable state, many more perils faced her. Powerless and lost, she was forced into marriage to a mole, but was saved by a kind swallow in the nick of time. Flora was taken to a floral fairyland where the Fairy Prince released her from the curse and allowed her to recuperate within his lands. Soon, Flora and the Prince fell in love. The Prince proposed, but Flora could only refuse, knowing her duty lay elsewhere. Though broken-hearted, the Prince gave his blessing and welcomed her to visit his lands whenever the need arose.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Once upon a time, there was a young girl named Dorothy. One day, her house was swept up by a mysterious tornado that carried her to a magical land of fairies and flowers. Dorothy learned of a Goddess residing among the fairies. Hoping she could show her the way home, Dorothy set off on a journey to the core of the fairyland - Rosaria, joined by others she befriended. Among her companions was a Scarecrow, who confessed his desire for a brain; a Tin Man, who proclaimed his wish for a heart; and a cowardly Lion, who wished for courage. They overcame many obstacles and perils along the way, only to have their hopes dashed when the Goddess confessed she was unable to grant all of their wishes. Instead, the Goddess gave the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion, tokens of her esteem. For their journey had mad it evident they possessed the traits they so desired already. And with a click of her shoes, Dorothy was whisked safely back home. The Goddess resumed her post, maintaining the balance for nature. For certainly, there was no place like home.

Connections[]

Trivia[]

  • The recipe for the revival potion calls for parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme. There is a song called Scarborough Fair that calls for these four ingredients as a cure for lost love.

Gallery[]

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