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The Midwife returned to the village not long after she left with a group of crying children in tow. They emerged from the woods together in a row, all the children holding each other’s hands with the eldest one gripping onto The Midwife’s sleeve for dear life.Tears stained their cheeks and shirts, but none of them were crying anymore. A few of the younger ones kept glancing back into the woods, but The Midwife’s steady pace kept the children marching forward towards the town.
It did not take long for the town’s parents to come running out to meet their once-lost children. Moving as one the parents swept their children up in their arms, embracing them tight, promising them to never part again. Tears flowed once more, but this time out of love and relief instead of fear. The Midwife stepped to the side, not wanting to get in the way of such loving reunions.
The Midwife smiled softly to herself. She knew within a week the parents would be yelling at their kids to do their chores again. Ah well. Might as well enjoy the moment.
Out of the corner of her eye The Midwife caught an unfortunate splash of red walking her way. The Town Mayor was bit of an eyesore between the gaudy silk red top hat and matching waistcoat he wore. The bow tie and vest weren't doing any favors either. He approached her cautiously, as if she may strike at any moment.
"What happened? The Mayor asked, his eyes wide. "Where's the Piper?"
"Drowned." The Midwife said as she began patting herself down, obviously in search of something.
"Drowned?" The Mayor echoed.
"Aye. In the river. With the rest of the rats,"
The Mayor paused, giving himself a moment to take in the sight of The Midwife. She was a simple woman in simple clothes, looking to be midway in age. Not the type to be a town hero at all. Questions formed on The Mayor’s lips only to vanish when he noticed that her simple clothes were now soaked through. She has a real pair of strong looking arms, too. Probably from all that midwifing. "Miss Midwife--"
"Ain't my name." The Midwife grumbled as she finally fished out her smoking pipe. She gave it a shake in an attempt to get most of the water out. It didn’t really work.
"Mrs Midwife, our community can't thank you enough! Name what you want and it's yours!"
The Midwife shoved her pipe back into whatever pocket it came from before she turned to The Mayor. "Twenty gold pieces."
"Twenty!" The Mayor sputtered, "That's--"
"Twice as much as The Piper wanted." The Midwife said with a nod. "But I know you have it. Not in the town coffers, of course, but probably in an old sock you got hidden under a floorboard in that fancy mayor house of yours. Then I want you to spread it among the parents here. Tell them it’s to help them with the wages they lost while worrying about their kids. Bet that'll make them forget you were the one who refuses to pay The Piper in the first place."
The Mayor's mouth opened and closed over and over, trying to come up with something to say, but in the end he just sighed and nodded his head. He already knew what happened when they didn't pay The Piper. He couldn't imagine what would happen if he didn't pay The Midwife.