by S R Nulton
There are five other dwarfs here as well. I haven’t met them all, but they are on guard duty and one of them said she would start training me in the mornings.
I miss you Mama, but I’m going to do what I can to learn and find out just what Father has done to this country. I’ve already heard a bit about the problems, but I think I’ll need to go out and actually meet some of the people.
Are you safe? I hope so. I don’t think I could bear losing you. Write me quickly so that I know how everything worked out there.
Love,
Your Little Light.”
I brushed my hand against the letter as I reread it once again and tried not to cry. My little girl was so far away, but it was the only way to keep her safe. Still, it was the first time since she was 13 that we’d gone more than a few hours between seeing one another.
What made it so much worse was that I could feel myself slipping more and more as she was gone longer. Where I used to be able to last most of the day without any significant loss of sanity, I was suddenly lucky to be myself for a few hours. And even the quality of my insanity had changed.
I guess it was the fear that did it. When Snow was with me, I felt a little scared, but she made sure that I was calm and safe. Suddenly, I had no one. Bekins was constantly lurking around every corner with veiled threats, all the servants but the cook had left, and my husband was positively gleeful when he realized that Snow was “dead”. Actually, what really made him happy was believing I’d killed her. It was oddly simple to convince him I was jealous of her beauty, but he didn’t know I could change my appearance, so there was that. We were lucky that madness often makes you forget little things like the people you’ve killed, otherwise he would have realized that it was a ruse the first time I mentioned her being alive. Snow had been the center of my life for so long that it was impossible to not talk about her.
Carefully, I folded the letters and placed them inside a book and put it back on its shelf beneath the stone dove that delivered them. It was a neat bit of enchanting that was easily hidden unless it was being used and it was lovely enough to sit out like a decoration without looking unusual. It had been quite the surprise when it first tapped on my window, stone beak nearly cracking the glass. Or it would have been if my mind hadn’t started to feel so muddled.
Glancing around the room, my attention was drawn to the reason I was so miserable. Well, one of them anyway.
The mirror that the king had used to curse me was still in my room, but there was little I could do about that. Once he stopped visiting so much, I would move it around and hopefully mitigate the damage. Until then, I contented myself with Snow’s letters.
Her tutors and guards were all relatives of mine, oddly enough. Apparently, my parents had kept a closer eye on me than I'd thought once they’d discovered where I’d disappeared to. As a result, they had been in contact with Merriweather and come as soon as they heard they were needed. Snow was safe and finally able to meet her grandparents. She was also learning how to interact with different people. I’d always worried that she was too isolated and might not be able to deal with new people, or anyone, if she ever escaped. With the help of a few boisterous relatives and the field trips they had planned for her, she would be ready to rule when and if the opportunity ever came. And if not, then she was at least equipped to deal with real life, away from the castle.
The most entertaining part for me was when she described the dwarves reaction to her doing chores. One of the guards, my fifth cousin Edwald, had told her she was expected to take a shift working in the kitchen and cleaning the house. He’d been expecting a fight, but all he got was a small smile and a venison stew better than he’d ever tasted before. They’d expected a pampered princess and instead they got a well trained young woman who could easily run her own home.
“It’s good she isn’t here,” I whispered, needing to hear someone’s voice. “She shouldn’t have to see what I’ve become.” I glanced in the mirror and grimaced before adjusting my appearance to be more in line with the human concept of beauty, although my illness was starting to show. I was unearthly in my natural form, but that was what happened when so many types of magic clashed together in one being. Still, it wasn’t something I wanted to broadcast.
“It’s bad enough, knowing that my husband dallies with women in the city all the time. Even worse when he brings them here and locks me away! I know he’s just using them, but still! Maybe if I am more beautiful, he will leave those little strumpets alone. Not that I want him here. Maybe I’ll take a lover…” I mused, lost in my own thoughts as a little part of me screamed that it wasn’t me before being smothered under more important concerns.
“Like the state of my room! I should have changed it ages ago! No, I did already. But why would I anyone want to live with such dark colors? I need something more flashy and bright!”
I quickly left the room, calling for Bekins to bring me some fabrics. It was time to redecorate!
Then, maybe I would find out where the broccoli had flown off to.
I could have sworn I planted it in the back garden. Perhaps it moved to the pond so it could visit the cat tails and gossip...
~
There’s a woman here, I thought to myself. I have to protect her. He might hurt her!
Not much could break through the miasma, but my need to save others from my fate could and did. What made it worse was that the woman fairly glowed with magic. It was all bottled up still, making her an easy target for a man like the king of Fretche.
“She is very plain. I wonder that you employ her,” I prattled cruelly. I literally had to bite my lip to stop from spewing more horrible things at the poor girl. It had been a bad day before they’d shown up and my madness induced jealousy was at an all-time high. At least, I thought it was.
I had to redirect the conversation. “Of course, you must excuse the mess. The servants never seem to put things back properly when my husband is gone. Have you seen him lately? I know that he would have been here if he knew that you were. He does so love to entertain guests.” I rushed through the question, hoping that they wouldn’t notice my dread at the thought of Blue Beard arriving. Still, it was a danger that had to be acknowledged. If they had seen him while coming, I needed to get them out as quickly as possible.
“It’s no problem, and no, I haven’t seen your husband. Is he due home soon?” the Spinner’s welp asked as I adjusted some knick-knacks. Sometimes working with my hands helped keep the crazy from taking back over. It also helped me look more unhinged and hid my relief at the boy’s answer.
“Oh, not for days and days! He does so love to travel.”
“Well, we shall certainly stay and try to relieve your boredom as you await his return.”
The boy didn’t notice the young woman’s flinch, but I did. She was astonished and hurt. It helped me hold on a bit longer, but I didn’t have long. Then he spoke again.
“Where is your stepdaughter these days? Does she not help you around the castle?”
I froze. Not for the reason you would expect though. It wasn’t from astonishment or fear. It was from my mind rebelling against the curse. I wasn’t strong enough though. It still had me. I vaguely recognized my voice saying, “Oh, that girl is off gadding about the country, as always…”
…
The next thing I knew, it was morning and someone was doing magic.
We were in the dining room, a more gaudy waste of wealth I’d never seen. It was covered in gold, from floor to ceiling and everything in between. As was I, apparently.
The Spinner’s welp closed his hand over a powder he’d pulled from his food. Food intended for his companion.
“What was that?” I asked in a strained voice, fighting to stay me long enough to warn them.
“A simple spell to remove poisons…” his voice faded out for a moment as I pushed at the fog. He was still speaking when I could hear again. “…seems determined to separate me from my assistant. I wonder why.”
Perfect! I have an opening, but I have to be careful. Bekins will be listening. “A true servant follows the spirit of his master’s orders, even when the master is unable to issue them. I miss my doll, have you seen it? I used to love to make it act as I chose. So lovely to play with. But there was always a newer one that seemed more exciting, so there was nothing to be done but rid myself of the old to gain the new.”
The boy frowned in concern then nodded. “I always had trouble getting rid of things. Some would just tenaciously hang on. Stubborn pets.”
He understands! “Yes. Silly things, wanting to hold onto life. Papa always had the mad ones watched so he knew when they had to be destroyed.” The world faded again, reminding me of fall turning to winter. “I miss the spring…”
…
I had to take them to the gallery. I just couldn’t remember who or why.
Then, I was there, with two people I couldn’t remember. But it was important. Why was it important?
“I want to show you my sisters. There have been so many of them, but my husband always makes sure to capture them on canvas before they leave. I like to come look at them. I need to know them so that I won’t get them mixed up when I meet them.” It wasn’t exactly what I wanted to say, but it worked.
Looking around the gallery, at all the women that had come before me, that had died before me after marrying my husband, an old nursery rhyme popped into my mind.
“Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow? With silver bells and cockle shells and pretty maids in a row.” I liked the sound of it, but it always made me sad. And it didn’t make sense. I didn’t know anyone named Mary! But the new people were looking at a picture at the far end of the hall.
“My first sister,” I offered. “She was lovely. She looks so kind. A shame he took more than she had to give. Not enough magic in her blood.”
The Spinner’s welp was talking about one of my sisters now, about how she was part-Fey, but my mind was only half on it. It didn’t matter though. I was telling him all he needed to know. “She was happy to have married such a handsome, eligible bachelor. It was arranged before she was born and he was a mighty knight, well known for his battle prowess. He just wanted a child, from her, but then he got sick and decided to try out something he had heard of while fighting for his king against the wraiths. She was weak though. She had conceived and much of her magic had gone into the child already. The spell harvested magic from her, not the child. She died. The child died with her. He got better for a few years, then found another to heal him. And another. And another. And now I’m here and when he kills me, there is already another lined up to take my place.”
Wait, the bell! No! I doubled over and held my head in pain as the curse pushed at me. “No, no, no! They are calling him back and pushing the darkness closer! Ah!” It always got stronger when he was closer, and he was using magic to get back rapidly.
“Quickly, where is the mirror?” the boy demanded, gripping me by the shoulders. “If I can fix it, its hold on you will be broken and you can escape.”
I shook my head. “If I do, he will hunt me down and discover that his daughter is still alive. I can’t let him get her.”
“Then fake it,” the girl told me. “Stay here, put on makeup to hide the physical changes and act wacky until you can plan your escape.”
The bell rang again and was accompanied by a pounding on the door. That was what finally made me agree. Bekins was going to burst in at any moment! “I switched it with another and made them look the same. The one you want is in the parlor where we met. Once it’s fixed, leave immediately. My husband will be back within the hour and when he arrives, he will do anything to keep the Spinner from that mirror. And he will take your assistant for a quick boost. I’ve seen him do it before. Now go!”
I quickly showed them the hidden hallway and closed the door. Unfortunately, with them out of sight and my husband rapidly approaching, my mind was fleeing again. Bekins was talking, yelling really, and dragging me away.
Just as the darkness closed in, though, I was able to give them one last hint on how to escape. “Little rabbits don’t like to be held! They wanted to jump about. We opened a window and they went hunting for lettuces. They’re soporific, you know.”
~
The king was finally gone. It had been nearly two weeks of anxiety since the young couple had escaped. My husband had only left the day before and he hadn’t been happy to lose the couple. What made him even more irritable was that he hadn’t been able to catch me in his trap. I refused to go near the door, let alone open it. I knew for a fact that he’d brought several other women to the castle while I’d been incapacitated and that each of them had opened the door. That was the last I’d heard of them, not that I was allowed out of my room while they were there… or remembered much about it.
The curse was over though. I was slowly remembering things. Fortunately, it was only the portions where I was more or less aware that were coming back. I was terrified to find out how I’d acted when I was under the influence of the curse. The obnoxious mix of bright colors in my bedroom were evidence enough! And that didn’t include the thick coating of dust that covered almost every room of the castle. I mean, I know that it is impossible for one woman to keep an entire castle clean, but it was clear that I hadn't even tried and that wasn't like me.
On the bright side, I’d been able to switch the mirrors back easily enough. The enchanted one was back in its original place, facing my bed.
I walked up and brushed my hand against the seamless surface. The crack had been repaired like it was never there and I was thrilled. It didn’t feel wrong anymore.
Something moved in it just as I was turning away. My head snapped back just in time to watch the face of the mirror ripple and shift. It was like water, disturbed by an errant breeze, but on a solid surface!
When it stopped moving, I was staring at a most peculiar looking man. His face was covered in burn scars, his hair looked like a mix of precious metals, and his steel grey eyes looked like he regularly sharpened them on a whet stone.
“So, you are the Queen of Fretche,” he mused as he examined me. “Drop the guise, girl. I want to know who I’m working with.”
I blinked but obeyed. He had an odd sort of authority to him that my grandfather did and it made me feel safe. I hadn’t felt safe in years.
“Ah, much better.” He seemed to take my alien appearance in stride. Then again, he had metallic hair. Iridescent skin isn’t really a big jump from there. “Now, let’s see if we can get the introductions done. I’m–”
“The Spinner,” I cut him off. “I know. I heard my husband mention you when he was talking about the mirror one time. He was always afraid you would come and take it, then it got worse when he damaged it.”
“Yes, well, I would have gotten to it sooner or later. And you can call me Rumplestiltskin. Most people do.”
I blinked again before frowning. “That’s awful. No one should call you that! I think I’ll stick to Spinner.”
He chuckled and smiled kindly at me. “That’s very similar to what my wife said when I introduced myself. Except she renamed me completely. Now, I’ve received quite a bit of information from my nephew, so let me see if I’ve got this straight. You were kidnapped, forced into marriage, and then driven insane, all so that your husband could steal your magic. Which he has done to more than a hundred other women before you. And it also forced you to fake your stepdaughter’s murder. Is that right?”
I nodded without speaking. It is a bit unnerving to hear your life summed up so simply.
“Right, well, what do you want to do about it?”
“I– I never really thought about it. I mean, I sent Snow away. She found somewhere safe where she’d be trained to take over the country, but I don’t really know what to do. I do know that the spells he cast on the country are–”
“Wait!” Spinner interrupted. “What do you mean ‘spells he cast on the country’? You don’t mean to
tell me he used his stolen power to bespell his entire country do you?”
“Yes. I read it in one of his journals. He got all the spells while fighting off a Wraith incursion. Well, that’s what he claimed. I’m pretty sure it was a trading party with a bad interpreter. Anyway, some woman named Charlotte sold him the spells. He wasn’t interested at first. Too stubborn. Then he got sick and decided to use them. Just the power stealing spell first. The other one kept the country from asking too many questions about a king who didn’t age and was cruel to pretty much everyone.”
His brows drew together. “So that’s why no one ever complained. They couldn’t. Good thing that the spells are going to weaken very quickly, if they haven’t already.”
“Why?” I was confused. I wasn’t trained with magic, except the Wraith kind, but I knew that the spells weren’t weak ones.
“He broke the mirror. He gets seven years bad luck.”
A laugh popped out of me. “What? You mean that’s a real thing?”
“Of course! It only works with magic mirrors, but it is real. Broken magic mirrors start losing their magic and once they are fixed, they tend to be ruthless about getting back to normal. Any magic your husband is using that is based out of that castle is fair game. And magic mirrors won’t stop pulling that magic until they feel they have gotten even. It’s one of the ways they achieve sentience.”
I swallowed and stared at the mirror in front of me. “How do we know? And you mean that it will be able to think?”
He chucked. “Think, speak, tell knock-knock jokes, randomly teleport itself to other rooms in your home. They have all sorts of tricks. And there is a diagnosis spell that can be run, but it’s a bit fussy and needs someone on both sides to get it running. Now, do you want help from the other countries? You are well within your rights to call on allies for assistance.”
