Wicked Tales: Rumple’s Game

By the fifth year, they were still very happy with the choice they'd made in loving each other. When Adrianna came to Caitlinn one morning and found her vomiting over the chamber pot, a thrill went through them both. The young Queen had been tossing her cups for the past five weeks and though neither wanted to go to Hedwig with their suspicions, they knew it was time. Adrianna helped Caitlinn cool her flushed features, and then dress in a gown of white with pink trim. She hugged her Queen and Caitlinn grinned wide with her happy news.

The two women, now friends descended the stairs and Caitlinn dismissed her handmaiden when she found her husband locked in a conversation with her father. She waited on the edge. Her feet shifted back and forth and her fingers toyed with the ribbon of her dress. Hedwig noticed her and the conversation with Astrid ended. He walked over and took her hands in his. "You're cold," he said and brought the frozen digits up to his lips. He kissed each one, and then took her to a chair, where he urged her to sit. "You look flushed though. Are you feverish?" He touched her cheeks then her forehead. "Your hot and cold; what is wrong?" he asked. His voice dripped with concern and worry.

Caitlinn licked her lips and smiled softly. Her father came over to her and touched her face. A look of worry filled his features as well. "I believe my Lord, that it is time to rejoice," Caitlinn answered.

"Rejoice?" Hedwig asked, still not understanding why his feverish, yet not feverish wife wanted to rejoice.

"It has happened, my love. Finally we are going to have a child."

Her proclamation was met with silence. Two faces stared at her with looks of wonder, doubt and then suddenly dawning and joy. Hedwig grabbed her, lifted her and spun her around in a tight embrace. He kissed her lips, her eyes, her cheeks, and then stopped mid swing to set her back onto the chair. Astrid clapped his hands in joy and praised the Saints. He then hugged his son-in-law and kissed his daughter. "A celebration indeed!" he shouted and hurried to the kitchen to find the woman who had filled a void in his life over the past five years.

Alone with Hedwig, Caitlinn laughed with joy and was again lifted into his arms. He took her place on the chair and held her on his lap. He stroked her hair, kissed her lips and then rubbed her belly. "I stopped praying," he whispered.

"So had I. I stopped praying and hoping. I told myself my blessing was just being a part of your life," she admitted. They touched and kissed again, eventually making love on the chair and calling out each other's name.

Months went by, Caitlinn growing more rounded and her breasts more thick as they filled with milk. Hedwig's attentions for her body only increased. He loved to hold her large globes, suckle from them and taste the nectar that seeped out as she came closer to her due date. They often would embrace new positions in their chambers, experimenting on what worked best with Caitlinn's ever changing shape. The taste of her arousal changed and Hedwig became more addicted to her flavor. Her own needs were heightened and often she found herself begging for her King to take her quickly and without tenderness or passion. Hedwig complied, enjoying the vixen in his bed. They were lost to each other during the nights and often during the day.

Hedwig ran his country and loved his wife, nothing could ever destroy them. The night of their child's birth began early that morning. Hedwig had just returned from a hunt and was rushed to his Queen's bedchamber. A room that she had not used since their wedding night. She had changed it into a birthing room after learning of their upcoming event. Now he stood at her side, holding her hand and whispering his love of her into her ear. She shouted and screamed, cried and begged for relief. Hours passed and worry filled the features of Adrianna as well as the physician that was aiding in the delivery of the royal.

Just before the midnight hour approached, a cry of jubilation rang out, followed by a scream that filled the castle walls. Princess Amber angrily made herself known to all. She was washed and then bundled up in a blanket stitched by her mother. Only when she was nestled against her mother's breast did her squalling cease.

Weeks went by and Amber grew stronger. Caitlinn and Hedwig loved their child with all their heart. Each enjoyed the time they spent with her either alone or together. Soon two months had passed and Caitlinn found herself alone with her daughter in the gardens, something that didn't happen as often as she wished. She fed the child, enjoying the tugging sensation that rippled through her breast. The connection of mother and daughter was strong. She stroked the silky strands of gold that covered her daughter's head and played with the ribbon that Adrianna had placed in the thin strands.

"A pretty girl, you have there Your Highness. But I should be saying...my pretty girl."

Caitlinn's face turned white and she rose from the bench she'd been sitting on. Her nipple popped free of Amber's mouth and the child released a loud cry of displeasure. Caitlinn brought her up to her shoulder and whispered words of soothing comfort to the child's ear. She stared in fear at the man before her, a man she tried to forget and yet knew she never could. Tears filled her eyes and her lips shook with fear.

"I'm here to collect my payment for the gold," the stranger told her.

She shook her head no. Words were lost to her. Her chest felt as if a thousand hands were squeezing the life out of her. Amber sensed her mother's discomfort and continued to wail. "She's loud. I'll be cutting out her tongue if'n she keeps that up."

Caitlinn blanched further and stumbled back. "No!" she cried and then screamed for the royal guards.

The wizard glared at her and took a step forward. "The child is mine!" He reached for her, but Caitlinn dodged his attempt. She screamed again and begged for the man to leave her alone.

He laughed at her and then eyed the garden gate to see if anyone was coming to the Queen's aide. "You owe me something my Queen."

"I will give you whatever you wish, but please I beg of you do not take my child."

"Anything?" he asked and moved closer to her. "Even a kiss?"

She paled, but shook her head. What kind of kiss? She didn't ask, she feared the answer. The wizard stepped toward her again, closing the distance between them. He grabbed her head and twisted the long locks till she was crying out in pain. He kissed her then, forcing his tongue into her mouth and making her accept his taste once more. She remained still as he supped from her, with the thrusting of his tongue. He pulled away and then stared at her exposed breast.

Caitlinn's child had quieted, calmed herself with her own tears. The wizard reached out and stroked Amber's golden curls. Caitlinn jerked the child away, and lifted her wet globe to the man's face. "Take it," she told him. "Take whatever you want and then leave me."

The stranger grinned. He cupped her tit with a hard grip and lifted it higher. Caitlinn whimpered at the pain of her skin being pulled so roughly. Her breasts were tender still from Amber's constant need. The man's mouth descended and he sucked harder than the wee babe. Caitlinn felt the milk her daughter craved squirt from her breast and heard the stranger's moan of delight as he drank.

"Change sides," he demanded and waited barely a minute for Caitlinn to do his bidding. He pulled the twin globe free and immediately devoured the sweet liquid churning inside. When he emptied the mound, he looked up at Caitlinn and saw her disgust. He laughed and chuckled low. "I am not done," he told her and dropped to his knees.

Caitlinn cried and stepped back. "No... no more," she demanded.

"You owe me," he growled and rose up to reach for Amber.

Caitlinn prayed for the guards, but no longer called for them, fearful of the sight they would see and the conclusions they would make. She didn't want Hedwig to think the worse of her, yet here she stood, her breasts exposed and wet from another man's lips. "I'll give you gold, jewels, land. . . Just please go."

"I need none of those things. I need a child!"

"Not mine!" she pleaded. "Please; there has to be something else."

The sound of the garden gate opening made Caitlinn spin around to see who was coming. Adrianna stood there, staring in shock at the Queen and the strange man. "Your Majesty?" Her voice was laced with curiosity as well as concern. Her gaze shifted from the exposed bosom of Caitlinn to the old man that stood at her side. She called for the guards and then watched as the man sneered back at her, turned and ran from the gardens, darting through the thick hedges of the nearby maze.

Caitlinn fell to her knees, clutching Amber to her chest. Adrianna rushed to her side and knelt down next to her. She wrapped both the woman and the child in her arms and held them close. Soon the guards were there, quickly followed by Astrid and Hedwig. The King pushed his way through the group, till he reached Caitlinn's side. He dropped to his knees and gathered her in his arms, freeing Adrianna of her burden.

He asked questions of everyone as Caitlinn shivered and wept. Her words came out jumbled and made little sense to the group that hovered on the edge of every word she spoke. In time the sobs lessened and she was being rocked on her husband's lap. He'd transferred them from the garden floor to the bench. She looked into his eyes and started to cry again as she thought of the confession she would have to give him. His gaze moved to her exposed chest and he demanded one of the guards' jacket to cover her up. Adrianna took Amber and Hedwig wrapped the heavy wool garment around his wife. He touched her cheek and lifted her chin. "Who is this man, Adrianna speaks of?"

Caitlinn looked at the group of faces, all familiar to her and all special to her heart, even the guards. She then went back to her husband and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, her head hung down and she refused to meet his inquisitive expression. "He is a wizard."

"A wizard?" several of the onlookers repeated.

Hedwig eyed her with growing curiosity. Still she refused to look up at him. "He came to me in the village, declaring I would be the one you chose to wed. He then came to me in the tower..."

Silence followed, prompting Hedwig to lift her chin again. "He spun the gold, didn't he?"

Tears fell in rivers down Caitlinn's cheeks. "I promised him anything he wanted if he would do it. I knew that Guifford would have had my father and myself executed if I didn't have that gold come morning. The first night, I only had to pay him with a story and a kiss." She shuddered at the taste of the man in her mouth, a taste that still lingered from his kiss minutes ago. "My stories he didn't like, so my payment was unfinished."

"And the other nights?" Hedwig asked. The group of guards, her father, and Adrianna waited with bated breath.

"The second night he demanded another kiss... this one more vile than the other and songs. My voice became weak and I fell asleep, unable to complete the second demand." Immediately she began to cry again and Hedwig took a deep breath, hoping to calm his worrying self.

"The third?" he insisted, once she composed herself again.

Caitlinn closed her eyes and buried her face in her hands. She sniffled and tried to speak, but the words just became lodged in her throat. It took several minutes for her to say the words she dreaded. "I thought he would ask for another kiss; I was ready for it to be another vile act, one that I would perform in order to get the gold you and Guifford demanded. But he didn't ask for a kiss. He said if I didn't give him what he wanted, then he would not spin, but turn all the gold he'd spun back into straw. Guifford would have my father and myself executed. I couldn't let him do that. I couldn't let the man go without promising him whatever he wanted!"

Hedwig stared at his wife, fearful of the answer to his question, but knowing he needed to know what she'd promised. "Caitlinn, tell me."

She looked at her daughter, sleeping soundly in Adrianna's arms. Her gaze then shot back to Hedwig's intense stare. "I promised him my first born."

A collective gasp erupted from the people who had stood listening to the Queen's story. Hedwig's features paled and he seemed to stagger back from his wife's confession. He looked at his daughter and shuddered at the thought of another taking her from him. He rose from his feet and walked a short distance from Caitlinn and the others. "We will not give him what he wants. There has to be a way to stop him. Trick him into releasing you from his promise."

Adrianna chewed on her lower lip. She passed the babe to Astrid and then took a seat beside Caitlinn. "Your Majesty, this wizard what was his name?" she asked.

Caitlinn shook her head. "I don't know. I never asked him. I simply. . . used him to get the straw spun." She wiped at her eyes. "I cannot lose my Amber," she whispered and fresh tears fell. She reached for the child and her father handed her over to her motherly embrace.

"You will not lose her!" Hedwig shouted and the babe awoke. Caitlinn cradled the small royal to her chest and smoothed her hair down with her fingers. In time Amber again became quiet.

"Your Majesty, there are rumors of a wizard that lives deep in the enchanted forest," Adrianna said; she rose from her seat and gave it up to the King, who quickly claimed it. "Perhaps we should send soldiers there and see if they can find this man?"

"Immediately," Hedwig replied and gave the order to one of the guards. Within the hour, a large group of armed men were leaving the castle and scouring the woods that had fueled many fairy tales. Hedwig, Caitlinn, and the others, never thought they would be in one.

Astrid sat down on a nearby bench and pressed his hands to his temples. "I am sorry, daughter. My greed made this happen."

"No father. It was not your fault, it was mine. I could have told the truth from the beginning, even claimed you were senile, and perhaps Guifford would have allowed you to live. Perhaps not. . .we don't know."

Hedwig sighed. "Guifford caused a lot of problems in this keep and it seems the greatest one of all was putting the fear of death into my people."

"That fear, Your Highness," Adrianna said, "is no more."

Astrid sat there for several long minutes and then looked up. "Daughter, do your remember the story I told you as a child. The one about the beanstalk?"

Caitlinn thought it odd her father would bring up such a thing, but she knew he was old and perhaps a bit touched in the head. "Yes, I remember. The golden harp and the goose?"

"Yes, a goose. Though you were always insisting on it being a duck, because a goose is not as lovely looking... so you claimed."

"I was a child. I wanted the pretty animals, the quieter ones. Geese honk so loud." Astrid laughed and Caitlinn smiled at the memory and then the thought floated away as the burden of the promise returned.

"There was a wizard in that story. Do you remember?" Astrid asked. He studied his daughter as if she would suddenly have the answer spring up from her lips.

She thought a moment. "A wizard? I don't. . .oh Father, there was a wizard."

"I know that story," Adrianna piped in. "The boy sold his cow for magic beans. The beans sprouted into a tall vine, which the boy climbed up."

Hedwig continued, "He reached the top and found a castle. Inside there lived a giant that would grind up bones and turn them into bread. He also found a harp that was actually a woman and a goose, not a duck," he winked at his wife, "who laid golden eggs."

The small group was lost in the childhood story as they each recalled times they were full of the innocence of children. Caitlinn stroked Amber's hair and continued. "The boy stole the harp and the goose. The giant found out and chased after them, even climbing down the beanstalk. Once at the bottom the boy hacked the stalk and it crashed to the ground. The giant fell and died where he landed."

"And they all lived happily ever after," Adrianna said.

Astrid cleared his throat. "But there is more to the story," he proclaimed.

"Ahh yes," Hedwig replied. "The old man who gave him the beans. He was a wizard too, wasn't he?"

"Yes, he was. But what was his name?" Astrid asked.

The group remained quiet. No one had the answer. Hedwig rose and turned to Astrid. "Go to the Bishop, have him pour over all the parchments that speak of fairy tales. Have him assign someone who can read and write to go over all texts that concern with the generations before us. If a name sticks out more than another, or is linked to flights of fancy then have him bring it to me."

Astrid nodded his head and hurried away. Hedwig took Caitlinn's hand and lifted her from the bench. "Come, let us rest with our daughter and think no more of this, right now." Caitlinn knew a rest would be welcomed, but she made no promise not to think of the deed she'd done. Adrianna watched with sad eyes as her liege and lady left. She turned to follow them in, when a soft chuckle reached her ears. She paused and headed toward the hedge maze, where the wizard had disappeared.

"Surely he would not still be here," she told herself as she timidly stepped into the first part of the intricate constructed game. She stopped and listened again. The sound of joyous laughter reached her when the wind shifted direction. She walked toward it, hoping and praying that whoever was speaking would continue to do so. When she rounded one of the various corners of the maze, she stopped short and stared at the old man she'd seen upon entering the gardens.

The waves of golden locks she has,
will bring about my pizazz.
I'll cut and slice the tiny mite,
and make her taste oh so right.
I'm old and gnarled this I know,
But Rumplestiltskin will soon glow.

There's just one way to end this curse,
Place me in a line of verse.
Do not dawdle or waste my time.
You must make sure that it will rhyme.
Say it thrice, don't be shy,
Only then will I say bye bye."

Adrianna remained still as she listened to the wizard's tune. He sang it with merriment and danced in a circle, before disappearing between the thick branches of the hedge maze. She followed him, but by the time she was able to squeeze herself through the branches, untangling her skirts from their gripping leaves, the wizard and his sing-song voice were gone. Adrianna cursed softly and darted her way back through the maze. Once she reached the starting point and spotted the gardens, she was out of breath, but anxious to reach her Queen and King's side.

She hurried toward the castle, stumbling on her way, but righting herself and dashing up the stairs to their chambers. She banged on the door, and called for her Ladyship. In less than a minute the King was pulling the door open and glaring down at his wife's handmaiden. "What brings you to our door and in such a fashion? Your Queen is upset; Your Princess is sleeping and you dare to bang on this door in such a way."

Her eyes grew wide at her King's unexpected temper. He had not ever been one to burrow down on a servant, unless there was a good reason. Adrianna trembled, but took a deep breath and looked over his shoulder at Caitlinn's soothing expression. She then returned her attentions back to her King and licked her dry lips. "I heard him. . .in the maze. . .a verse. He needs to hear his name in a verse."