by Jenni James
She blinked her large brown eyes at him, her brain too fuzzy and focused on the pain to fully comprehend all that he was saying. “So you are happy then? You are well pleased?”
“Happy?” He barked out a laugh. “My dear maiden, you have made me much more than happy! I am exuberant! I am ecstatic! I am so well pleased with you, I mean to move you out of this room this very instant and do something simply divine with you! Something—something to reward you for your tremendous talents.” Wildly he picked her up and spun her around.
“But wait!” She was a bit dizzy when he set her down again. “Can I not sleep first? Do you mind terribly if I slept for some hours before any such thanks are given?”
“Oh! Yes! You must sleep. You must. You must keep up your strength.”
“Thank you.”
The king let her go and walked back over to the gold—touching it again for several minutes before saying, “This is simply not enough, though. We will most definitely need more.”
“More?” Aubrynn’s stomach dropped. “Truly? There is not enough there now?” Her fingers began to ache again.
“Oh, no!” He spun around to look at her—then checked himself when he saw the girl’s face. “You, we—how else will we be able to afford the type of wedding we hope to have? How will we be able to secure the castle from our enemies and see that it is fine and decorated in the greatest of fashion for those who wish to visit? Aubrynn! No! I am afraid we have only just begun!”
The girl collapsed on her bottom. Right onto the stone floor. It was too much, she was too exhausted. Neither her nor Rumple would be able to do all he would require of her. She felt like weeping.
He rushed forward and knelt before her. “Aubrynn, you must see that this is the best way. You must.”
She shook her head and covered her face with her sore hands. The last thought in the world would be to do this all over again. She simply could not imagine it.
Instantly, the king’s tone changed. She felt the room shift before she heard him stand up. “You will stop this nonsense and do as I have asked and you will be grateful for it too!”
She kept her head in her hands, not willing to risk his wrath more.
“Aubrynn Sloat, I command you to finish this. You will create all the gold this kingdom requires or I will hang you! Do you understand me?”
When she did not move he shouted, “Look at me!”
Slowly she removed her hands and looked up at his forceful features—her own glaring back at him. With great strength, she stood to her full height and placed her hands on her hips. “Then kill me now. I am done working for you. You are cruel and selfish and will only use this gold to better yourself—thinking nothing of your subjects. If this is what marriage to a king will be like—eternal selfish slavery—then take your gold and destroy me! For I will not have it!”
He grabbed her arm, yanking her toward his face. “You will never speak to your king in such a way again, madam. I am not in the habit of being told what to do.” He brought his hand up and to strike her, but then changed his mind at the last moment. “Sleep here!” He thrust her away from him and toward the small bed. I was going to allow you to sleep in the one of the castle suites, but I can see you need to be reminded who your betters are. “Guards!” he called out. “Guards bring me the girl’s father! Fetch him from the village and be prompt!”
She could hear the heavy footsteps of the guards making their way down the spiral staircase. “What will you do to him?” she asked.
The king smiled. “Everything I wish to do to you right this moment.” He stepped forward, loving the way she scurried away from him and onto the bed. “You almost made me lose my temper with you and that would not do, would it?” He stopped and brought a hand up to inspect his ring. “No, my dear queen,” he spoke softly down at the bright red stone, “you are about to make me a very rich man. And just think, when you do, I will love you forever.”
She swallowed. “And if I refuse?”
His striking blue eyes met hers as he raised one thick dark eyebrow. “Then a hanging for your father will not be sufficient. I shall simply make him pay for your every crime and outburst and willful stubbornness. I will torture him, my dear.”
She gasped.
“And if you are not careful, I shall make you watch as well.”
“You are evil! Pure evil!”
He raised a hand up in a cautionary gesture. “Careful, my dear. He is all ready going to receive several lashings as a result of this instance. I suggest you mind your manners and be a good girl, or you will live to regret it.”
Clenching her jaw, Aubrynn remained silent. Clasping her shaking hands together, she lowered her eyes and willed herself to remain calm. The blisters stung.
“Do we have an agreement?” he asked smoothly. “You will do all I ask, correct?”
“Yes,” she muttered.
“Good. Rest, my little one. For in a few more hours, I shall have the servants remove this gold and bring up twice as much hay—to be completed on the morrow.” He leaned down and pulled her hands from her lap. Inspecting them from side to side, his fingers lightly tracing the blisters. “Tsk. Tsk. It is a great loss for royalty to lose their hands like this, however—they will be well enough soon. As long as you do as I ask.” He pinched one large blister on her forefinger, causing the fluid to spill upon her hand and onto her lap. She did not flinch. “I wonder how many blisters I can produce on the Sloat family today. It will be a very interesting game to play, perhaps.”
She kept her eyes lowered and remained silent.
“Good girl. You are learning. I can see you and I will be friends again shortly. Enjoy your rest. You shall need it. I will be back again tomorrow.”
And with that, he was gone.
CHAPTER TWELVE
AUBRYNN CURLED UP UPON the makeshift bed and covered herself with one of the blankets available. She was so very exhausted; she did not even allow her mind to wander toward all that will be happening now. Instead, she focused on the great feeling of heaviness that came over her. Allowing her eyes to drift shut, she let out one sob of remorse and fatigue and fell directly to sleep.
She slept so deeply and for so long Rumple began to be worried. The guards had already come in and changed the gold out, carrying each coil between three of them at once down the steps. Once they removed all the gold, they then came back with twice as much stacks of hay than before for her to transform.
After he had awoken from his nap, Rumplestiltskin had made his way into the kitchens to find out what he could of the girl and what Marcus had chosen to do. It took no time at all to apprehend from the servants she had defied the king and was now asleep, awaiting another long night of spinning straw into gold.
As soon as he could, with another fresh round of supplies and water, he made his way up to the tower and knocked lightly upon the hidden door. When she did not answer, he peeked his head in and beheld the sleeping girl with the doubled mass of hay around her.
Quietly, he crept into the room and, sweeping off a small patch of ground, he began to artfully arrange the food on the blanket she was not using to welcome her when she awoke. Except she did not awake—not for at least two hours more.
Rumple had already begun to work on the straw by the time she had started to stir. It was a long process, but he was able to make some progress with one of the piles in that time. It was better than allowing it to sit there and precious minutes to pass.
She stirred and stretched before she heard the sound of the spindle spinning.
“Good morning, dear,” he called around the pebble in his mouth. He was still upon the seat and did not look up until the straw was completely through, then he removed the stone and asked, “How did you sleep?”
“Like a baby.” She grinned and stretched again, wiggling her toes. “And you are here.”
“I am here.”
How is it he is so wonderful? “Thank you.”
“I would not miss it for the world.”
She sat up, her eyes taking in the massive amount of straw. “Could he be any greedier?”
Rumple glanced over to the piles and sighed. “I am afraid not. At least in my experience I have never known any man to be quite like King Marcus, though his father did come pretty close.”
“Have you lived here long then?”
He nodded. “All my life.”
“A servant of the castle is all you have ever known?”
“Most all of my memories revolve around serving the inhabitants of this castle, yes.”
She pushed herself off the bed and walked over to him. “My! Look at all this food and the gold. You have done quite a bit.”
He shook his head and snorted. “Not nearly an eighth of what I can do when you are helping.”
She picked his hand up off the wheel and turned it over. “We do make an incredible force together, I must agree.” Her fingers lightly traced his worn palm. “How bad is it?”
He shrugged. “I have felt worse.” He then flipped his hand within hers and captured her fingers for inspection. He winced as he tilted them from side to side. “Aubrynn, what will we do with you? You cannot work in such a state. They will be a bloody mess within an hour or so.”
She shrugged and tried to mimic him. “I have had worse.”
His eyes flew to hers. “Truthfully?”
“No.”
“Aubrynn. This is not right. Does the king know you have these and are incapable of doing all he asks? I think he should be told.”
“He knows.”
“You are certain?”
She pulled her hand out of his and pointed to her finger. “Do you see this?”
“The one that has popped, yes.”
“It was a present from the king.”
Rumple captured that finger and pulled it to his mouth, kissing the redness.
She smiled as his grey-blue eyes caught hers over her hand. He really was completely adorable. Then she chuckled and whispered, “I have to relieve myself.”
Rumple’s whole body froze for a moment and then he threw his head back and laughed. “Of course you do! Who would not need to?”
“Um, so how does one go about doing so in the castle?”
“How bad is it?”
“Uh—pretty bad.”
Rumple shook his head. The king is a fool. Clearly he had not thought of such things as taking care of her basic needs. “I could take you down the secret stairs to a room designed for relief, if you would like? Or I could fetch a bedpan for you and I will leave the room and you can just toss it out the window? Which would you prefer?”
“Either, or. Something. Soon.” The idea of walking down all those stairs did not appeal, but neither did using a bedpan and tossing it out the window. Especially knowing he would be back again soon. But honestly, if something was not taken care of shortly, a lot more embarrassing things would happen than the use of a silly bedpan.
Looking at her face and the way Aubrynn had begun to hop a bit, desperate times awaited. “How about we do this,” he answered, “we will use the stone to glide you down the stairs quickly and silently to where we need to go and then I will be sure to bring a bedpan up for future use. Yes?”
“Um, fine. That will do. But could we hurry, please?”
Standing, Rumple clutched the rock and, while concentrating, watched it glow. He wrapped one arm around her waist, holding her tightly next to him, and then grinned as they began to float off the ground. He concentrated on the door opening before them and then slid her down the long spiraling passageway. By the time they had gotten to the end, she was clinging to him for dear life. It was brilliant to feel her so close.
He slowly opened the door and peeked out. As soon as the coast was clear, he rushed her to the back end of the castle, dodging down deserted old passageways the whole time. She gasped and clutched his shirt as the magic worked faster and they were transported quicker than he had ever experienced before. During the complete duration he concentrated solely on reaching the room unnoticed. The magic worked and kept them completely shielded from being seen.
Rumple smiled. These rocks were definitely more useful than he had ever thought possible. “We are here!” he said as he lowered them both gently down.
“That was quite possibly the most enchanting and fun thing I have ever done in my life!” she exclaimed. “I was terrified to squeal or screech or anything, in case we were heard, but, oh, how I wished to do just that! We were flying. I cannot believe it, but we were truly flying!”
“Pretty glorious, is it not?” He pulled away from her happiness and pushed her gently toward the room. “If you walk inside you will see a large ledge and a hole. You may use it. There is also a towel and soap and water to wash yourself with after you are through.”
“Oh, goodness! This is a luxury indeed. How wonderful.”
He chuckled. “I will close the door to give you some privacy. Please hurry.”
Aubrynn returned to him rather quickly with the biggest smile upon her face. “Do you have any idea how marvelous you are? Just how simply perfectly superb it is to know another human being like you?”
He was leaning up against the wall. “It is because I can fly, is it not?”
“Well…” She grinned.
He pushed off from the wall and chuckled. “I knew it.” Holding his arm out, he waited.
Aubrynn giggled and stepped into that waiting arm. Her hands going around his shoulders and grabbing a handful of his shirt, her face just mere inches from his.
Rumple’s eyes explored her happy features a moment. What would it be like to wake up each morning to such pleasing looks before him? Such a contented glow and warmth about her he had rarely seen in anyone else. Tilly had come close, but she still did not have the spark that Aubrynn did. Gently, he leaned forward and tasted her lips again.
She moaned and held on tighter to his shirt.
For a moment he had completely forgotten where he was and that he was with the castle prisoner. But when sounds of the kitchens began to make way to his ears, he immediately pulled back. He knew several servants would pass this way shortly on their way up to the dining room. As swiftly as possible, he concentrated on the stone and lifting them up.
“Why did you stop?” she whispered near his ear.
Her voice triggered a series of shivers through his neck and shoulder. They hovered slightly before dipping. “Hush. You will make me lose concentration.”
“But I liked kissing you.”
“Shh!” He pulled them back up and they began to move forward, nearing the first of the passageways.
She grinned and lowered her voice, turning directly to the shell of his ear. “Can you kiss me as we fly?”
He nearly dropped them both that time. “Maiden!”
She chuckled and tucked her head into his shoulder. “I will behave now.”
Rumple’s silent laugh could be felt throughout his whole chest.
Could there be a more perfect man in the world?
Honestly?
Aubrynn giggled and snuggled closer as they flew back to her waiting room.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
IT WAS SEVERAL MINUTES after Rumplestiltskin and Aubrynn had eaten and while they were again preparing for another long night of spinning straw into gold that Rumple surprised Aubrynn, as she was placing another pile of straw next to the spindle, by capturing up her palm and wrapping a long narrow strip of fabric around it.
“Where did you acquire such a thing?” she asked, fascinated with how well he managed to wrap the strip around her hand and then each finger and back around her palm again.
“I tore it from one of the blankets.” He looped the loose end and tied it off, securing it to one of the other straps around her hand. Once done, he repeated the process again with her other fingers.
She inspected his handiwork all around and then smiled. “Thank you. I believe you may have saved me.”
Rumple grinned and leaned crookedly upon the spindle. “So, whe
n you are queen will I be granted knight status?”
“If I am ever queen you will be given the grandest chamber in this house—mark my words!”
His smile fell. Slowly his eyes took in her every feature. If things were different, it would be he who would be marrying her soon. His heart began to thump quite strangely and hollowly within his chest.
Aubrynn took a step closer. “What? What is it?” Her cloth-covered hands reached up and held his arms. “What have I said to bring such a look upon your face?”
He shook his head slightly to chase the silliness away. “’Tis nothing.”
She tugged on his sleeves, her eyes searching his. “Falsehoods do not become you, my dear. Have I said or done something that has triggered such an awful memory to show itself upon your features? Rumplestiltskin, I promise, whatever it is—whatever I have said—I did not mean to harm you further than you have obviously been harmed. You, you of all the people in the world do not deserve such treatment from me; especially after all you have done—”
“Hush.” He placed a finger upon her soft lips to silence her. “You have done nothing wrong. It is life that has intruded upon my thoughts, nothing more.” His thumb gently brushed against her bottom lip.
“Kiss me,” she said against his hand.
He chuckled. “You are intent on surprising me at every turn, are you not?” His fingers spayed across her jaw as his thumb continued to caress her mouth.
“Rumplestiltskin, kiss me now, you fool.”
His serious eyes met hers. “I am a fool. I am fool for wanting to be here the longer I am with you. I imagine soon, I shall never want to leave you.”
“What?” Confusion marred her sweet features. “Will you leave me soon? Please do not leave me. What would I do without you?”
“Shh…” He brought his mouth down to capture hers, kissing her tenderly. “I would never leave you. Can you not see I am completely bound to you? Just as this magic has woven and transformed straw into gold, so has your heart woven and transformed mine to forever be changed and bound to yours.”