The Storyteller’s Daughter

by Victoria McCombs

  Bellifusa? No wonder he went by simply ‘the King.’ I’d have shed that name too.

  With a small smile on my face, I turned back to the beginning of the book and flipped until I found what I came for.

  Rumpelstiltskin

  There was a small picture of him that I had to squint at to see. It looked like him, but all dressed up. The Rumpel that I knew never wore more than a plain shirt, but this one was dressed in so many jewels that I doubted he could do more than sit for that portrait.

  The other parts were still him, though, like the long curls and the thin lips. It was Rumpel, alright. He looked very solemn there, but handsome. I hadn’t realized before how handsome he was.

  I stared at that picture for longer than I intended to. Blushing, I moved on to the words.

  Family:

  Prince Rumpelstiltskin was born to King Herold and Queen Helenette, the third monarchs of Westfallen. He was followed by his sister, Princess Elite. Rumpelstiltskin was raised under Governess Maude.

  That’s all it said about his family. I wanted a picture of his parents and sister, but I couldn’t find one. Disappointed by the lack of information so far, I turned the page.

  Reign:

  Rumpelstiltskin ascended to the throne after his father’s early death due to sickness. In accordance with an arranged marriage, he wed Princess Clarissa three days before his coronation. One year after their wedding, Clarissa gave birth to a daughter, Posey.

  I stopped to read that again. Rumpel had a wife and a daughter? I found a picture of them and stared at it hard. Unlike the earlier picture, Rumpel looked happy in this one. He had his arm around a girl with dark hair and dark eyes, and his body was turned toward her. She was beaming so wide that I could see all of her teeth. In her arms was a small bundle. I couldn’t see Posey’s face, but if she looked anything like her mother, then she was beautiful.

  Rumpel looked the same age as he was now. Eagerly, I kept reading.

  It went on to talk about some of his achievements as king: treaties made, and small disputes settled. Some kind of rock was discovered while he was king, and it brought new wealth to the kingdom.

  The next chapter took a dramatic turn.

  Queen Clarissa died at the young age of twenty-six. After her passing, Rumpelstiltskin handed the throne over to his cousin, Rupert.

  That was the end of Rumpel’s section. The next page went on to talk about Rupert, and while I read that one too, it said nothing more of Rumpelstiltskin.

  I felt tears filling my eyes. Rumpel had a wife, who he looked like he loved, but she died. It made me see him a little differently. I wondered what became of the daughter.

  I picked up the next book, searching for more answers. This one was thicker, so I hoped it had more thorough information. My back was sore, and I needed to stretch before I dug in to find out the secrets beneath the pages.

  I thumbed through until I found Rumpelstiltskin’s section. It had the same picture of him as before, with the same family history, but I could tell from the first glance that this page had more writing than the other book had. Eager, I read on.

  Sure enough, this one mentioned a few things that the other one didn’t.

  For example, instead of simply saying that Queen Clarissa got sick, it elaborated, saying that during an epidemic, she got the Black Sickness. The name of it didn’t strike fear in me, for it hadn’t come around for as long as I’d been alive. I’d heard stories from the elder ladies of how devastating it could be, though. From the few pictures included, it looked upsetting. To save his wife from the Black Sickness, Rumpel brought magic to the land. With his magic, he had the power to heal her. But she still died. I tried to find out why, but the book didn’t say. At the end, as a result of using magic, Rumpel was cursed. Unless he could somehow make things right again, he would remain cursed for one hundred years, at which point he would fade away into the spirit of magic.

  I had to read that part three times, and yet I still didn’t understand. If Rumpel was able to bring magic to the land, why was he then cursed for using it? And what did it mean when it said he had to make things right?

  I heard a noise and slammed the book shut. I craned my neck to see around the oak bookshelf, though I still couldn’t see the main doors. After a quiet moment, Conrad’s voice echoed through the room.

  “Cosette, are you in here?”

  I shoved the books away and stood up quickly. “Yes, I’m coming.” I didn’t want him to see the books on Rumpel. I wasn’t sure what he was taught in history class, but I didn’t think he knew that Rumpel still lived in his kingdom.

  What would he do if he knew? I doubted he could do anything. I knew that Rumpel didn’t like the prince, but I wondered what Conrad’s thoughts on Rumpel would be.

  I came around a bookshelf and almost ran into Conrad.

  “Oh!” I laughed nervously and he held out his arms to me.

  “You alright?”

  “Yes, just clumsy I’m afraid.” It took me a second to remember that I was standing before the prince, and I started to curtsy, but he held out his hands to stop me.

  “Remember, you really don’t have to do that,” he said with a big smile as I stood up straight.

  “Are you enjoying the library?” He looked around as if it was a new place to him.

  I breathed out, slowly conquering my nerves. “It’s so beautiful.”

  “Just like you.” Conrad winked at me. The nerves came rushing back.

  He held out his arm to me, his blue sleeves fluttering as he did. “I came to see if you would like to take an afternoon walk with me in the gardens?”

  I looked outside. Was it afternoon already? That meant only a few hours until dinner, then my evening with Rumpel spinning straw. Should I ask him about his family? Or would that be too painful for him?

  Conrad’s hand waited, and I knew better than to turn down the prince. “I would be honored.”

  “Great, perhaps you would like to stop by your room first for shoes?”

  I blushed, looking down at my bare feet. I had forgotten about that. I felt foolish for how upset I had been when I kicked off my shoes this morning. Conrad had his eyebrows raised at me. I tried to tuck my toes under my dress.

  “Yes, that would be lovely.”

  I peeked back at my books, resolving to come back later and finish solving the mystery of Rumpelstiltskin.

  Chapter Fourteen

  I watched Rumpel spin gold silently. I couldn’t get that picture out of my head, the one of him holding his wife and baby. How much heartache had he endured in his past? I felt sorry for him now, cursed to stay alive in a world where his wife was dead.

  “Are you still mad at me?” Rumpel asked quietly, causing me to perk up.

  “No.”

  He nodded. “Just quiet then?”

  “I’m thinking, I guess.”

  “Ah, about our charming Prince Conrad?”

  I acknowledged his joke with a grin. “Not at all. About you, actually.”

  “Oh?” He turned his face down to look at me but kept spinning. “What about me?”

  Unsure how to bring up what I had found, but wanting to know more about it, I thought through my words. Rumpel’s life was turning into quite the mystery, and I wanted to solve the puzzle. Finally, I came up with a question that could lead to some answers.

  “Have you ever been in love?”

  His hands froze. His chest rose with his next breath, but the rest of his body remained still. He didn’t turn to look at me, but kept his eyes fixated on the spinning wheel. I wondered if I had crossed a line by asking. We didn’t know each other, and that was a personal question. I was about to take it back when he spoke. “Yes.”

  I waited, hoping he would say more. His hands resumed spinning and I leaned back, dissatisfied but accepting that I may never get him to open up.

  Rumpel’s steady breathing kept time with his spinning. I focused on the rhythmic sound as I watched him attentively. I was seeing him differentl
y now that I knew what he had been through.

  I sensed he knew that I was watching him so intently. Did he know that I had researched him in the library? Was he there watching me? I continued to study him as I pondered. What had become of his daughter? How had his wife died? Why was he cursed?

  Knowing that my curiosity would best me in the end, I gave in and picked another question to ask. I had already started asking about his wife, so I figured I could build off that. “How did she die? The woman you loved?”

  His hands didn’t freeze this time, and I suspected he had been expecting another question. When he didn’t answer after a minute, I figured he had discarded my question. With nothing to do, I waited, hoping he would give me some clarity.

  There hadn’t been as much straw tonight, and he finished spinning before saying anything else. I held my breath when Rumpel faced me, looking thoughtful. Slowly, he spoke. “She was killed.”

  After a few seconds I raised my eyebrows. I had waited so long for three words? That still wasn’t a complete answer. I didn’t know more than I had before.

  Rumpel sighed as he crossed his legs. “Alright. I’ll tell you my story.”

  The excitement must have been evident on my face, because Rumpel gave a small laugh as he moved to the ground next to me to tell his tale.

  “I can’t promise to tell it with as much eloquence as your father would,” he warned me. I was touched that he remembered my father’s Gift. But I wiggled on the floor, excited to hear his story, and he smiled again at my eagerness.

  “More than a hundred years ago, I became king of Westfallen. I’m still known as the youngest king Westfallen has ever had. In my youth, I was advised to marry quickly to make our country appear more stable. My parents had arranged a marriage for me since birth, and we moved ahead with the wedding. Her name was Clarissa. She was the cousin of the Tames’ queen.”

  His eyes grew soft when he said her name and I felt a pang of jealousy. I’d never been loved like that before. Nearing twenty, my experience with love was limited to my time with Aiden.

  “We had a daughter, sweet Posey. Oh, she was so beautiful. She looked just like her mother. Clarissa and Posey were the pride of my life.” His eyebrows lowered and his smile turned to a frown. “But then the Black Sickness came. It took so many lives. We tried to keep our family isolated from the sickness, but soon Clarissa showed symptoms. She got worse with time, no matter what we tried. I grew desperate. I didn’t want to lose her.”

  He paused. “Do you know how magic works?”

  I shook my head.

  “It must be invited into the kingdom, and at this time, Westfallen was without magic. But I’d heard tales of a woman in the North, someone who wielded magic. More than that, she was, she is, the heart of magic. I knew she had the power to save my wife, so I left Clarissa and Posey and I set out alone to find her.”

  I leaned forward, engrossed in his story. The history books didn’t say anything about this.

  “I found her, or rather she found me, and I pleaded with her to save my wife. Though I had nothing to offer her, she took pity on me and brought magic to our country. She taught me how to use it and how to save my wife.”

  Rumpel breathed deeply.

  “Did you save her?” I asked with anticipation. I could hardly believe that I was getting Rumpel to talk so much. This was more than he had spoken in the last three nights combined.

  “I did. My wife was one of the last inflicted before the Black Sickness left our land, and my daughter never caught it. For a while, we were happy again. I used my magic to help rebuild Westfallen and keep my family safe. But others didn’t see it in a positive way. They worried there would be a price to pay. A life for a life. There were rebels who felt the queen should have died and that it wasn’t fair of me to have saved her. Everyone lost someone they loved to the Black Sickness, and they worried I had upset fate by keeping Clarissa alive, that fate would take revenge on Westfallen.”

  A small tear fell down Rumpel’s cheek and I sucked in my breath. His voice cracked as he continued. “The rebels broke into the castle one night and killed Clarissa. I couldn’t save her from that.”

  He was quiet for a while as a few more tears fell. Unsure what to do, I remained still and gave him his space. He sniffed, rubbing his eye with his sleeve.

  “Unhappy with the way things had gone, the sorceress from the North came to Westfallen. For not using my magic well, she cursed me. I would have one hundred years to make things right, or else I would become a part of magic. Unsure of what to do, I took Posey and we retired to the countryside. I raised her there until she was old enough to marry, and then I returned to Westfallen to try to break the curse.”

  I pursed my lips together. “What does that mean, ‘make things right?’”

  Rumpel looked lost as he raised his hands then let them fall again. “I have no idea. She said that she won’t take back the magic from me, but I had to learn to control it before it took me over. I had to make things right. That’s all she said. I’ve tried everything I can think of, but I can’t find the way to break the curse.”

  Confused, I squinted my eyes. “Why would she not tell you how to break the curse?”

  “I think me figuring it out is part of breaking it. I spent years finding potions, spells and enchantments. I’ve done good deeds, danced with frogs and butterflies, spun by a river, tossed stones, but nothing has worked. The sorceress is too powerful to cast a simple curse.”

  I wished that I had something that could help him, but I didn’t know anything about curses. And of course, I seemed to be the only one in the land without a bit of magic in me. “It doesn’t seem fair for her to curse you. You didn’t do anything wrong. Clarissa would have died either way. The sorceress just came, cursed you, and left?”

  Rumpel was still a moment before he coughed. “Basically. She pulled the magic from the land and put it back in everyone in the form of Gifts. That’s why Westfallen has Gifts.”

  “Why don’t I?” I asked him. I shifted on the ground so my feet were crossed to my side. My back was getting stiff from spending so long on the stone floor.

  Rumpel pulled his hair back, then let it fall again. “I have no clue. I’ve been trying to figure that out since you told me. I thought it could be connected to my curse.”

  I was intrigued by the thought. With all that Rumpel had done for me, it would be nice to do something for him. While Rumpel confused me, and I wasn’t sure he particularly enjoyed my presence, I didn’t want him to be cursed forever. I vowed that I would do everything in my power to help break his curse.

  A new thought came to mind. By the way he told his story, it didn’t sound like he had much time. I asked, hoping he had a few years left. If I was going to try to help him, I could use all the time I could get.

  He sighed, and for the first time since I met him, he looked small and helpless. “Six months. After that, the curse can never be broken.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  The library was quickly becoming a dear place to me, and it amazed me that it was empty every time I visited. Once, I noticed some books had been moved around and chairs pushed back, so I knew someone had come, but I had yet to see anyone else there but Conrad and Rumpel. If I grew up in a place like this, the charm of the library might soon wear off for me too, but for the time being, I was still blown away by its beauty every time I visited.

  The air smelled like cinnamon this morning, and I could hear birds chirping through one of the open windows. Some leftover tartlets from breakfast sat by my side and I swore they tasted better with a book in my hands.

  Anna had gotten used to me coming here, so she picked out comfy dresses for me and pulled my hair back so that I could be cozy as I read. I appreciated her thoughtfulness, as well as her ability to do my hair. She was quite the magician. I’d never looked as beautiful as I had these past few weeks. My beauty might rival Anika’s. She would be shocked if she saw me now.

  I wished I knew how my family fared
. While I was treated well in Westnut Castle, it was made clear to me that I was still working for the King, and as such, I had to stay in the castle. Rumpel had offered to write another letter for my family, but I had said no, not wanting to look like I couldn’t handle things on my own.

  Rumpel had somberly allowed me to try to break his curse, though he warned me that it was nearly impossible. He’d given up. I’d pretended to be offended that he didn’t think I could do it, but if I was being honest, I didn’t have much faith in me, either. Still, I relentlessly studied as much information on magic as I could, hoping to find something he had missed.

  I brought my books to the back-corner couch, near the window, and settled in next to my crumpets. I had two volumes with me, both on folklore magic. They seemed to be composed of small tales from people who used magic, compilations of their stories. I hoped to find someone with a curse like Rumpel’s to see how they broke it.

  I read for hours. My eyes felt dry as I blinked, and my mouth swelled with thirst as I thought that I should have brought tea with me. I folded the book open next to me and stretched my arms. I needed a break before continuing. I had found nothing of value yet.

  I looked up, startled to see Rumpel standing with his back against a bookcase, watching me. He had his arms crossed and looked amused.

  “What are you doing here?” My heart had skipped five beats in sudden fright, and I worked to regain my breath.

  He pushed off from the bookshelf and strode over to me. “Looking to see if you found anything. I’ve read all these, by the way.” He plopped himself down on the couch and picked up my book, flipping through the pages. I sighed in frustration.

  “I want to help, I just don’t know how,” I said.