She looked up and he could see she was briefly happy to see him. Then she broke down into tears once again. "Why are you crying?" he asked her, moving a little closer.
"Be-be-because I have no-nothing left to give you," she sobbed, not raising her head from her knees.
The poltergeist studied her for a moment and then asked, "If I turn this last room of straw into silk-lace for you, the king will marry you to his son?"
The young fae nodded, glancing up at him through tear-stained eyes.
"Then I propose this: I will turn this straw into silk-lace for you, if you will promise me your first born."
She looked at him shocked. How could she promise to give her first born away?
The young fae considered her options, not that she had many. If she didn't agree, then the fae prince wouldn't marry her and her father would be taken from her never to be seen again. She thought carefully; there was every chance that she could say yes now and the little man would never make her keep her end of the promise. Comforted by this thought, and left with no other choice, the young fae agreed.
Chapter Four
Months later, the young prince smiled with pride as he watched his bride walk down the aisle towards him. Only a few months ago, out of the blue, his father had introduced him to this pretty young fae. It hadn't taken long before he fell head over heels for her and he proposed to her one night on the top tower of the castle under the stars. Today was their wedding day, held in the grounds of the castle, and the bride looked beautiful in a long white dress that flowed gently in the wind. She walked happily down the aisle, her arm linked through her father's, who looked like he would burst with pride at any moment.
The ceremony was short and sweet with close friends and family gathered in the castle grounds. A feast was laid out for the evening and a band played music late into the night until the last dancer left. The young fae princess couldn't be happier. Only a few days before the wedding, she had found out that she was carrying her first child and had told her prince this morning. They had shared the news that day with their friends and family after the ceremony.
The next nine months passed blissfully for the fae princess, with the odd bout of morning sickness. She had all but forgotten about the little poltergeist who had helped her those three nights in the castle dungeon.
Soon she held in her arms a beautiful baby girl. She loved her with all her heart and spent days after the birth just staring at her precious daughter. Then one morning, when her daughter was only a few months old, the fae princess sat in a rocking chair in the nursery gently rocking her daughter to sleep, and through the wall glided a little man. The fae princess looked up in horror as she recognized him as the man who had helped her all those months ago. She held on to her daughter tightly and cried, "No!"
The little poltergeist sighed. He hated this part, but he just couldn't live any longer as a ghost. He held out his arms, silently beckoning the princess to hand over the child.
"No!" she shouted again, then lowered her voice as she glanced at the sleeping child. "You can't, please, you mustn't."
"We made a deal," said the little man. "I spun the straw into silk-lace for you and you would give me your first born. You must honor the deal."
The fae princess desperately tried to think of a way out. She stalled, "What is your name? You have not even told me your name."
The little man sighed again. "No one knows my name, and it is not important."
"What if … what if I could guess your name," the fae princess said wildly, thinking of the first thing that came to her mind, still clutching tightly to her daughter. "If I can guess your name, then you let me keep my child."
Surely it couldn't be too hard to guess a name, she thought to herself.
The little man swayed, eyeing her up. He didn't want to take the child with force, but he must get the child in the end. His name was very unusual so there was no chance of the fae princess guessing what it was. Reluctantly he took pity on the princess and agreed.
"Okay, if you manage to guess my name in the next three days you can keep your child. I will return each evening, and if you have not guessed my name by the third evening you will give the child to me," he said, turning to go back through the wall. He paused before he left and said, "Spend the time with your daughter, for you will not be able to guess my name." He left and the fae princess started to cry, holding her daughter close.
The next day, the fae princess told the prince what had happened. She didn't tell him about spinning the silk-lace in the dungeons, for the prince had never found out the way the king had treated her before they met. She just told him that the little man had helped her in the past and part of the bargain was that she would give her first born to him. She told the prince that she had assumed that she would never hear from him again.
They sat down together and created a list of all the names they could think of. They asked everyone in the castle, and the prince sent out five of his best men to travel far and wide to learn of every name in the land. All too soon night time came and the little man arrived in the nursery where the fae princess sat rocking her daughter to sleep.
The little man sat down on a chair by the window and said, "What is my name?"
The fae princess picked up her list and one by one read out all the names they had thought of, "Aaron, Alex, Andrew ..." she started. The little man shook his head after every name. "Daniel, Dexter, Dylan ..." she continued. Still the little man shook his head. By the time the princess reached the names beginning with z, she was feeling frantic. "Zane, Zachary, Zepher?" She stopped as she reached the bottom of the list. How could this be?
"Bu-but...it can't be, your name must be one of these!"
"I assure you it is not, Princess," the little man said, getting up from the seat. "I will come back tomorrow so you may guess again." He turned and left the way he came, leaving the princess in the chair speechless.
The next day, all but one of the soldiers returned with lists of names from across the land. The prince and princess poured over the lists and added a few names of their own. They were confident this time, the little man's name must be one of these.
The princess waited until dark and once again took her place in the rocking chair with her daughter. She had only been there a few minutes when the little man arrived, gliding effortlessly through the wall. This time he leant up against the crib on the other side of the room.
"Princess," he said, "what is my name?"
She took a deep breath and started reading the names off the list, "Aari, Abel, Angelo ... Nashan, Nasori, Nedru, Noru ... Remun, Ritof, Rok ..." The poltergeist shook his head over and over again. The fae princess reached the end of the list and looked over at the little man who was still shaking his head.
"It can't be," she said again, "your name must be on this list. We have sent soldiers across the country to find names and I have read them all out to you."
"No, Princess, you have not read my name," said the little man. "I will give you one more chance. I will return tomorrow for you to guess again, but if you cannot guess my name tomorrow I will take the child with me." He turned and left, making his way back to the little cottage in the forest.
The princess leaned back in the rocking chair, tears streaming down her face. She looked down at her sleeping daughter and gently stroked her head. "What shall we do?" she whispered to her daughter. The prince came in and sat down beside them questioningly. The princess shook her head.
"We must send the soldiers out again," he said determinedly. "We must find out this man's name before tomorrow evening."
"What if we cannot," asked the princess, "what if it is impossible?"
"It cannot be impossible," he replied gently stroking his daughter's head and watched as she squirmed in her sleep. "We must find out his name."
Chapter Five
The little man sat in the armchair at the cottage in the forest. The cottage owners were conveniently away again, allowing the little man to stay there whi
lst he visited the princess. Or rather, they had suddenly found themselves in need of a vacation after the little man had agreed to give the princess three days to guess his name. The princess had now had two days, and as far as the little man could tell she had guessed every possible name she could think of. He chuckled at some of the names she had said, how ridiculous they had been. He was quite looking forward to the names she would come up with the next day.
The little poltergeist woke up the next morning feeling refreshed, well as refreshed as a ghost could feel anyway. Today was the day he had been waiting for. Too long had he been stuck in ghost form and unable to return home, see his family, or even eat a meal. He went down the stairs and made himself a cup of tea. He couldn't drink it of course, but he enjoyed holding it to his face and watching the steam flow off the top. He could almost taste it when he did that. He was in such a good mood he sang a little song whilst he pottered around the kitchen:
One day a witch caught me in,
her castle stealing for my kin.
While I knew I was doing wrong,
the witch's punishment was too long.
Now the fae child has been born,
I'll be stuck no longer in this form.
For little does she know my game,
Rumpelstiltskin is my name!
Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, the poltergeist caught a flash of color at the window. Someone had been looking in! Had they heard him? He couldn't take the chance.
Quickly he moved through the wall and outside into the forest. He saw a flash of red hair disappearing through the trees to his right. He followed through the trees and soon had caught up with the spy, as he did not have to navigate the twigs and leaves that littered the forest floor. It was one of the king's soldiers and he was heading back to the castle. The poltergeist had to think fast, he couldn't let the soldier get back to the princess and tell her his name.
He quickly put a confusion spell over the forest. It wouldn't hold long, but it would be long enough to make the soldier lose his way in the forest. He made noises come from the edge of the trees, trying to drive the soldier deeper and deeper into the forest. It seemed to be working. By the time the spell started wearing off, the soldier had moved so deep into the forest he was completely lost.
The little poltergeist spent the rest of the day keeping a watchful eye on the soldier still lost deep in the forest. He knew he would find his way out eventually, but he needed him out of the way today, so watch him he did until darkness began to fall. The soldier gave up looking for the way out, and sorted out shelter under a cluster of trees not far from the cottage. If only the soldier had known he was a few minutes’ walk from the edge of the forest, but alas he did not.
The sun set in the distance as the poltergeist made his way out of the forest, across the fields, and to the castle for the last time. He glided into the nursery and sat down, waiting for the fae princess to notice him.
She gave a little start as the poltergeist appeared on the other side of the room. Tears began streaming down her face before she had even started talking. The soldiers had come back with few names and they were all very ridiculous.
The little poltergeist said, "Fae Princess, what is my name?"
With a shaking hand, she picked up the piece of paper that lay next to her with a list of names on. She read them out slowly, hoping to delay the little man for as long as possible. "Adadodin, Albion, Axel ... Shadow, Spirit, Storm ... Warlock, Wind, Wolf?" She glanced at the little man who sat in front of her, shaking his head at all the names. She continued, unable to keep the tears out of her voice, "Zeal, Zoro, Zutenari?" She had reached the end of the list.
"No," the little man said, getting up from the chair, "you have not been able to guess my name." He gestured for her to hand the child over to him.
"No!" wailed the fae princess desperately. "Please, take anything, take everything we have. Please leave my daughter with me."
The little man shook his head sadly. "I cannot, I must take the child now." He held his hands out again, and this time he used magic to pull the fae child gently towards him. He took her into his arms and moved to the edge of the room as the princess collapsed onto the floor.
The poltergeist turned around slowly, holding the child close to him. He looked at the fae princess, who was staring at him through her tears, and he said softly, "My name is Rumpelstiltskin." And then he disappeared.
Chapter Six
The little poltergeist and the fae child arrived safely in the land of the witch, appearing right outside her home. He walked up to the door and knocked loudly, ignoring the fact that it was the middle of the night. When nothing happened, he knocked again, louder still, and waited. Moments later a crashing noise came from within the house and he took an involuntary step back as the door opened and a thunderous witch stared down at him, her hair wild and her dressing gown wonky.
"What time do you call this?" the witch yelled furiously at the poltergeist. Then she noticed the child in his arms as the little girl woke up and began to cry.
"Is this ..." the witch started, her temper forgotten.
"A fae child," the poltergeist said, bowing down, "just as you asked."
"Come in," the witch said, opening the door to let him pass, and gesturing to a room on her right. The poltergeist entered the house and went into the room on the right, followed closely by the witch. The witch conjured a basket in the middle of the room and he placed the fae child gently into it, rocking it slightly.
"Well, I didn't expect to see you again, little man," the witch said, looking down at him, "but you have done as I asked and brought me the fae child I need. Very well, I will return you to your original state, and I hope this was a lesson to you not to meddle with a witch."
It certainly was. The little man felt his feet land firmly on the floor and he touched his arms together in delight; he was a poltergeist no more!
"Now go," the witch said sternly, "and I don't want to see you again unless you are coming to trade with me fairly."
The little man practically skipped out the front door, giving one last sad glance to the fae child he left behind. There was nothing more that could be done now, since he had made his choice. He closed his eyes and seconds later he appeared in his home land at the bottom of the hill his mansion stood on. He never could quite manage to magic himself any closer. In delight, he made his way up the hill towards the mansion, unable to keep the smile from spreading across his face as his nephews and nieces recognized him and came running to meet him. Ah, it was good to be home.
Back in the king's castle, not far from the forest, the fae prince and princess were distraught. Weeks had gone by and they were no closer to finding the mysterious little man who had disappeared off into the night with their child. Day and night the soldiers searched the land. They visited every town, every village, every house, and every person that lived in the land. But to no avail, the child was nowhere to be found.
As the weeks passed by and turned into months, the princess became more and more tormented by the loss of her child. Her magic became darker and stronger, and the fae prince grew worried. After the fifth solder came to him badly injured with stories of the princess's anger he decided he must act. He found his father on the castle balcony staring out over the forest. His father looked so much older these days, his hair greyed beyond his years.
"Father," the young prince said, walking out to join the king on the balcony, "I must talk to you about the princess." He hesitated, not really knowing how to continue.
The king turned to him and nodded gravely. "I am aware, my son. I have seen the dark magic she casts these days. I have seen the damage she has done to the castle and the people within it. I had hoped that time would heal her and she would return from the darkness that now consumes her." Sighing, he looked out over the forest once more. "It seems the princess is too far gone now, I do not think she will ever return to us as she once was," he said sadly.
The prince stood next to his fa
ther, looking out over the land. Minutes passed in silence. The prince knew what he must do, but it would break his heart.
Days passed after the prince's conversation with his father. He kept hoping that the princess would get better, but quite the opposite happened; she became worse and worse until no one except the prince would be in the same room as her. Finally, the prince decided he had no choice. He packed a rucksack of the princess's clothes, put some food, water, and silk-lace in the front pocket, and placed a small blanket that had belonged to their daughter in the top before zipping it up. The day before he had been to see the old and great fae woman who lived a few villages away. She had given him the spell he needed to keep the people of the land safe.
He picked up the rucksack and headed off to the nursery where he knew the princess spent all her time. As he walked he muttered under his breath, “Oh, fae princess who used to be kind, you have let the darkness take over your mind. Now I must protect the people of this land, you must leave this place, you have been banned.”
A tear ran down the prince's cheek as he pushed open the door to the nursery to find his princess in a gentle trance. He guided her down the stairs and placed the rucksack on her back. He held her close and whispered to her, telling her that he loved her and hoped one day she might fight the darkness and return to him. The fae princess pulled away from him, abruptly turned and walked out of the castle grounds without a backwards glance.
She walked solidly onwards, past the forest that held the little cottage, past the rivers that ran by the little village and onwards towards the mountains in the distance. As she walked, the animals flew away and hid in the forest, up the mountains and in the river. The flowers began to wilt as she walked by, her anger and despair uncontrollable, and as she went she looked everywhere for her daughter. She would never stop looking.
Unhappily Ever After: Fairy Tales With a Twist Page 9
