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There once was a young maiden, bright and fair, who fell in love with a prince. Her father, being ever so proud of her, told the prince’s father that she could spin straw into gold. The greedy king took the young maiden and locked her to spin gold upon pain of death…
"Curses!” The young maiden (blond-bearded young man) sat on the floor in tears, a large black spinning wheel looming behind her like a shadow. Her teeth dug into her bottom lip, “If only father had not been so reckless, I would not be about to die! Spinning straw into gold, there’s no one who could do such an impossibly foolish thing!”
“Ooh, what’s that face poppet?” a voice called from the shadows.
“Ah! Merde!(Shit)” the girl’s head whipped up so fast at the noise that she smacked her skull on the wheel behind her. She could have sworn that she’d been locked up alone…
“That’s much better. Pain suits your face so much more nicely.” The voice laughed.
“Whose there?” The girl asked, looking round the room. In the corner, where the light could not reach, sat upon a stray barrel was a man in tattered old clothing. He was a curious man, his only discernable features were two glowing emerald eyes.
“Why, me? I’m no one, dearie, no one at all! No one important, anyway. Not so much as you. After all, you’re the golden goose.”
Blue eyes glared at the strange man. (S)he didn’t have time to play games. “Well,” she sighed, rising to her feet, stray straw clinging to her dark blue dress, “How did you get in here?”
“Why do you want to know?”
“Because,” the maiden replied, “if you can get in, that means I can get out. Please, you have to help me!”
“Hmm,” the strange man tapped a single slender finger to his chin, “help you how?”
“Help me escape!” the girl cried.
“Oh, I could never do that, poppet.” He shook his head. “I’m afraid I’m not quite capable.”
“Augh!” the girl was near tears again. “Then what use are you?”
“I never said I couldn’t help you.” His ivory grin flashed in the darkness. He crossed one leg over the other, setting his elbow on his knee and his head in an upturned palm.
“What?” the girl scoffed, “And I don’t suppose you can spin straw into gold?”
“As a matter of fact, that is my specialty.” The stranger replied, watching as the girl’s face lit up with hope, “But what will you give me for it?”
The girl looked down. “I will give you this necklace I am wearing.” She replied, removing the sapphire pendant and long, golden chain from around her neck.
“Then it shall be done.”
The stranger hopped off his perch and landed on the seat of the spinning wheel. He set to work, turning the entire room’s store of straw into finely spun spools of gold. The stranger, the maiden noted, had hair of gold and skin like porcelain. For someone in such poor appearance, he was rich in beauty.
When the task was done, the stranger turned towards the girl and asked, “Tell me then, dove, what’s your name?”
“My name is Francis.” (s)he replied “And yours, my friend?”
But the stranger simply grinned, lips curving to display sharp canines. Then he stood and strolled off into the darkness. Francis followed after, but could not find where the man had disappeared to.
Almost immediately there was a loud clank and the bolts and locks were undone from the door. Francis turned around and saw the king standing in the entry way, red skirt swishing as she walked, small white flowers adorning her long brown hair. She smiled at the room and nodded approvingly at the miller’s daughter.
“I see your father was not lying after all. You’ve done well.” King Elizbeta was pleased at the room of gold, but wanted more. “However, I must be sure that this is not simply some trick of the light. You will perform the same task tonight, with the same results, or I will have your head.” And with that, the king flew from the room, leaving Francis alone.
Once again the fair maiden wept for she had not spun the gold herself the first time, and did not know how she would keep her head about her now.
“Oh, Francis.” The name rolled off the stranger’s tongue. “I rather think tears suit a frog like you. They highlight your pathetic nature.”
“It is you, mon ami!” the girl’s face brightened with the light from the sun.
“Yes, I suppose it is.” The stranger drawled.
“While I am fully against your calling me a frog, I must ask you one more favor.”
“What is it?”
“Please, I’m afraid I am to be locked away again. Help me.” she pleaded.
“That depends, dearie. Everything has its’ price.” The man replied.
“I have this ring.” The maiden held out her hand, displaying the small silver and sapphire trinket, “And It will be yours if you return to me tonight and perform the same kindness as before.”
The stranger stood and bowed deeply to her. “As you wish.” He stated simply. And again, he was gone.
**************
Later that night, the maiden was moved into a room nearly doubled in size to the first, and once again, the room was full of straw and a lone spinning wheel.
“Oh no. How will he find me now that I’ve been moved?” She cried. “What if he can’t—“
“Can’t what, frog?”
“Oh! Mon ami! I’m so glad to see you!” Francis smiled wearily.
“Yes, yes. And I you. Now then, my payment?” A slender hand uncurled, extending towards the maiden.
“Oui, Oui! Here! Take it, please.” She removed the ring from her finger and placed it in the man’s hand. Once again, he placed himself at the wheel and spun.
**************
The next morning, the king came and to see the room again. (S)He was pleased. But ever greedy, the king demanded that the miller’s daughter complete a final task; she would spin a third, even larger room of straw into gold. And if she could do so, she would not only be able to leave her captivity, but the golden threads would act as her dowry; come daylight, she would wed the prince.
The maiden’s heart swelled with joy. She would be free soon! More than free, she smiled, she would be married to her love!
****************
Francis’ heart sank. “Pardon?”
“You heard me, love. If you’ve nothing to trade me for my labor, I’m afraid I simply cannot help you.”
“But I…” She shrank, sinking to the dusty floor. “But, I have nothing left to give.” She wept.
“Oh, now darling. Don’t say that. After all, you’re a woman, aren’t you? You’ve always something to trade.” Emerald eyes grinned darkly.
“Oh, mon cher! I thought you’d never ask!” He sighed, “Oh, but non! I cannot! Tomorrow I am to be married to my love.” The maiden clutched at her chest.
“Oh, keep it in your knickers, frog. That isn’t what I want…well, not quite.”
“Then, what could you want from me?”
“That’s simple, really. I want your first born. Your children.”
“My firstborn child?” She gasped. “I could never…”
“Well, dearie. It’s either your womb or your head. You can live without one, but what about the other? It’s a tough choice, poppet. And I suggest you choose wisely.”
Tearfully, the young girl agreed. And the next day, when the King came to see what she had done, he was pleased. His greed was satiated, and the maiden married the Prince. Eventually, the maiden became Queen in a happy union. She gave birth to twin princes and forgot all about the deal she had made so long ago….
************
The Queen was sitting near her children’s cradles, rocking them quietly. Her husband, King Roderich, had wondered if the boys were getting too old for this and needed to be moved into proper beds. But Francis insisted otherwise, loving the time she spent with them, knowing it wouldn’t last forever; knowing that they would soon grow. She smiled down at both of her sons. Alfred was the eldest twin, and he rarely stood to be separated from Mattieu, the younger of the pair. She had only managed to get him to settle down after a long fuss; he was ever the strong-willed counterpart to his brother’s tranquil nature. She pushed the dark wood of the cradles gently. A sudden voice stopped her heart, hands stilling.
“Well, then, poppet. It’s certainly been a long while, hasn’t it?”
The queen looked over, eyes wide in horror, to see the man she had known once, many years before, standing in the darkness of the nursery playing with Alfred’s stuffed toy bunny. His hair was gold as ever, his eyes were emeralds; his skin was smoothest ivory and his voice was rich, seductive music. He was the devil himself.
Francis gripped Alfred’s cradle tightly, knuckles turning white against the blackened fame.
“What do you want?” She growled, a mother wolf protecting her cubs.
“Shhhhh. You don’t want to wake the children, frog.” The devil smiled, white teeth flashing in the darkness. His eyes glowing. “You know why I’m here. Don’t you recall? You signed away your firstborn flesh in order to save your own.” He stepped forward.
Francis bodily covered Alfred’s crib.
“Non! You can’t have him. Take whatever you want. You can have my crown, the gold, this castle. You can take anything you want but leave my child! You can’t take Alfred from me!” She hissed.
“Oh, but don’t you recall?” He stepped towards Mathieu’s cradle. “I said your firstborn children… You promised your first-born and your first birth gave you both. And these two are halves of a whole, you see. When you promised me one, you gave me both.”
“Bastard!”
“Of course, I could always take half of them. The first half, from here,” The man’s hand hovered over Mathieu’s head, motions slicing from the tip of the toddler’s head down to his waist, “to here.” He grinned, watching Francis’ face darken. “But! Where would the fun in that be—“
“Don’t touch my son.”
“—when I’m entitled to all of both?”
“Either of them.” Francis lunged at the devil, who leapt backwards and away from the cribs.
“Oh, how I love that look on your face, frog. Absolute desperation. Absolutely beautiful.” He snapped and all at once, both toddlers were lifted out of their cribs and began to float towards the stranger.
“Wait!” Francis shouted. “Wait! You like to make deals, right? So, let’s make another one. You pick. Anything you want. Anything but them. Please!”
“Hmm…” the stranger taped a finger against his chin, “Tempting, tempting. Alright frog.” He snapped again, releasing the boys. Francis dove to catch them both, pulling them into her arms and dropping to her knees. “If you win, you can keep your children. But if I win?”
“Name your price.”
“I won’t just take these two. I’ll claim all your little tadpoles. And believe me, frog, with your libido, there’s no way you won’t have more of them.”
Francis grit her teeth, clutching her sons tighter, “Fine.”
“Very well then. My challenge is simple enough. Even someone of your intelligence should be able to figure it out somehow: Guess my name.”
“Pardon?”
“You heard me. Guess my name correctly and you can keep your precious tadpoles. I’ll never bother you again. But get it wrong, and I’ll claim them all. Oh, and by the way, you only have three days. Clock’s ticking.”
His voice cackled fading into the darkness.
“Mommy?” Mathieu’s violet eyes cracked open. The little blond looked up at his mother, “Why are you crying?”
***********
“I can’t believe you would do such a thing!”The king was clearly flustered. He had been woken up before the sun by his wife who, lovely as she was, was showing herself now to be a fool in judgment. “Throwing our children’s lives about like this. The very future of the country is at risk now.”
“My love, don’t be angry with me! It’s our fathers’ faults we ended up in this mess. I never would have made that deal if I thought I would have lived otherwise and I…I didn’t think he would…” Francis’ words broke off into sobbing again.
Roderick pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Look, stop crying, alright? It’s unbecoming of a Queen.” He pulled his wife into his chest and cleared his throat, trying to muster a manly determination in his high-pitched voice, “We will simply have to face this problem head on and overcome it. I will send out messengers in every direction to collect all the names they can think of.”
And so, the messengers were sent far and wide. And in the morning, the stranger appeared. He was even lovelier in the daylight; far less mysterious, but no less dangerous. From sun-up to sun-down, the Queen guessed every name she could think of. To each, he answered, “That is not my name”. This continued the next day with the same results. When sunset approached, he left laughing, “Come now frog, one more day. Surely even you can think of it by then.”
********************
As it would happen, a messenger who had been returning from his travels stumbled upon a peculiar scene. In the woods, stood a beautiful man in patched-up clothing. He appeared to be speaking with himself at first glance, but upon further inspection, the messenger thought that he might be speaking with fae, as he could hear the faintest whipers just under the wind.
“Oh, no, they’ll never guess it.” The golden-haired man laughed, “That frog will die of heartbreak before she figures it out.”
The messenger could barely make out the whispers
“Shhh! Not so loud. The girl’s not as dumb as she looks. She’s sent spies searching for me. We can’t have them overhear you, can we?”
The messenger slipped away unseen, and just when the Queen had given up hope, conveyed all that he had heard.
***********
“I’m afraid I simply don’t know what it could be. But there’s no harm in guessing, non?”
“None at all, my dear.” Emerald eyes danced darkly. He was sure of his victory.
“Is it Nicholas?”
“That is not my name.”
“Is it Banquo?”
“That is not my name.”
“Artimis? Archibald? Hm? No, no, none of those. Oh, I know. Is it, perhaps, Arthur?”
Emerald eyes widened and ivory skin blushed.
“What?”
“Oh! I knew it!” The queen cheered. “It is Arthur!”
“How!? How did you know?” he shrieked. He had lost! He had lost he had lost he had—wait! No, not yet. “Half.”
“Excuse me?” The king and queen balked.
“You’ve only guessed half of my name.” Arthur grinned. “Half the name. Half the child. You get to pick which one you want to keep. I still win half.”
“No! Villain! You ever said I had to guess more than one name. That’s against the rules!”
“Rules? Oh, my silly little frog. I think I’ve been more than fair. You’re the only one breaking rules, asking for extensions. I gave you two years, was that not enough?” he growled, “Now, I recommend you choose which child you wish to keep, or I’ll be taking half of both.”
“ You slime. Guards! Guards! Don’t let him escape” Francis yelled.
All at once, Arthur was surrounded by soldiers. He was about to take action when he felt a tug at his pant leg. Arthur looked down to see a tiny tot sitting by his feet and pulling at his clothing. The blond boy looked up through his unruly hair, bright baby blues blinking up wide. “Hey, mister? Why do you look so sad?” the child asked.
Arthur smiled. “Funny. I didn’t know I was.” And then, Arthur did something strange. He smiled down at the boy. It was neither devious nor shrouded in secrecy and traps. It was a genuine smile that took the entire court by surprise. And then he vanished.
**********
Queen Francis was relieved. The entire kingdom celebrated the success of protecting their princes. And from that day forward, the Queen never let her children out of her sight.
That is, until…
One bright and sunny day, Prince Alfred decided to go exploring the castle gardens. They were ever so beautiful this time of year; natural treasures easily could be found when the warm sun made flowers bloom and trees cast tall, dark shadows. There was danger to be found, hidden around every corner, in every bit of unexplored darkness.
The eldest prince always got exactly what he asked for.
He peeked out from behind a stone pillar, spotting two pairs of emeralds watching him from beneath a tall oak tree. It was a tattered-looking man with hair like gold and skin of ivory. He was something very familiar. “Do I know you?” the boy asked.
“Hello, Alfred.” The man held out a hand and replied, “My name is Rumpelstiltskin, but my friends call me Arthur. Would you like to come away with me on an adventure?”
THEN END