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What's in a name?	By : jinna1979 Category: Fairy Tales, Fables, Folklore, Legends, and Myth > Fairy Tales Views: 16599 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction,I do not own Rumpelstiltskin. Any resemblance of characters to actual persons,living or dead, is purely coincidental

Chapter List
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- 26
It was the middle of the night before Rumplestiltskin awoke. He felt remarkably clear-headed and light, but at the same time, disoriented about where he was. He could see sparkling stars above him, which was a familiar sight, however, he was lying on a bed of straw on an uneven wooden surface, which felt odd and prickly compared to grass, moss or soil. He sat up, and despite the uncomfortable surface, he felt no aches or pains. If anything, he felt ready to leap and bound, as the fey were wont to do. Looking around, he noticed three cloaked bodies lying on the ground, surrounding a bed of smoldering coals from a campfire. His night vision was sharp, and he easily identified Millicent, and her friend, whom he had seen from the castle. The young child was unfamiliar.

The sight of Millicent resulted in an onslaught of memories, although they came in fragments coloured by intense emotions of fear, pain and relief. He could remember waking up in the cellar floor, feeling like he had been buried in a landfall that resulted in multiple blows to the head, as well as the the pulsing pain of the gash on his arm. He remembered climbing stairwell after stairwell, with a bundle of fabric in his arms. And he could remember Millicent’s expression when he entered her room, and the way her arms wrapped around him as she cried. The memories of their escape from the palace was more fragmented. He mostly remembered the feel of Millicent’s body as she supported his weight, and the shadowy corridors that all looked the same in the dark. The memories of the city were even more splintered. He mostly remembered only cobblestone, and then dirt roads. He had no recollection at all of how Millicent and her friend acquired the wagon, or the mule tied to the tree, snoring contentedly.

Considering the peacefulness of the situation, he assumed that they were well away from the castle. He had a vague sense of Millicent’s voice in the darkness, telling him that they were safe, as well as the beautiful image of a cottage in the woods. Perhaps they were dreams - it was hard to tell. He stood up with care, and with his fey abilities he made no sound as he climbed off the wagon. Although his body did not have the lithe agility that it once did, he moved with ease and as much grace as his cumbersome body was able to.

Seeing the three girls sleeping warmed his heart. It was reassuring to know that despite their suffering, they could still have an untroubled sleep. However, Rumplestiltskin’s guard was up. It was fortunate that no harm had befallen Millicent and her friend, however, it was foolish to assume that there were no threats at all. Though he was tempted to spend the night, feasting upon the sight of Millicent, her safety was a greater priority. Thus decided, he stood up to scout the surrounding region.

The party was surrounded by a copse of trees and a low thicket. However, the surrounding area was relatively open, with gently rolling hills and tall grasses. There was no one on the road, though at this time of night, most were snugly wrapped under covers, dreaming peaceful dreams. To human eyes, the area would have been perceived as nondescript. However, Rumplestiltskin was still fey, despite his warped form. He could see the many burrows where little creatures poked their heads out of, testing the night air. He could hear not only the cricket’s song, but the also the scampering of field mice, and the soft buzz of insect wings. The undulating movement of the grasses delighted his eyes, and he could see wildflowers beginning to bud, and the small specks of colours were as brilliant to him in the night as they would be under the bright noonday sun.

The feel of the earth beneath his feet seemed to imbue him with vitality. After being trapped in the castle with Millicent for so long, being out in nature felt wonderful. In the palace, there was a constant sense of ‘wrongness’ as though he was less himself. It was as though his essence was fading away, and life seemed fuzzy at its edges. In that time, only Millicent truly felt real. Now, he felt as though he had somehow come home. The world seemed so remarkably sharp - he felt that he was seeing every blade of grass at once, and feeling the heartbeat of every creature. It was like leaping into the pure element of aliveness, where every cell within him vibrated and sang with gladness. Every breath felt like the first breath, and his heart radiated with gratitude. Knowing that Millicent was safe and that by some miracle, she had chosen to share her life with him only added another layer of wondrous joy.

Despite all he was feeling, Rumplestiltskin was not distracted from his task. He circled the camp, and wandered up and down the road, attuned to all that was around him. Fortunately, there seemed to be no danger. A part of him wondered whether a division of guards would be out, searching for Millicent. She was the greatest treasure he could imagine, and it seemed inconceivable that anyone who had her would ever let her go. However, his fey senses could detect no danger or ill will from the lifeforms around him.   Silently, he returned to the camp, but everyone remained serenely asleep. Content that all was well, Rumplestiltskin sat near to Millicent, alternating between watching her peaceful breathing, and watching the vibrant landscape before him.

As the sky lightened from a blackish navy to a soft purple, Olivie was the first to awaken. She was disrupted from troubled dreams by the urgings of her bladder, and was startled to see Rumplestiltskin sitting near to Millicent. Though it was still fairly dark, Olivie recognized the man as the one who had been lying unconscious in the wagon. Men usually frightened Olivie - the sight of them made her want to tremble with instinctive terror. Even - or perhaps especially - her own brothers frightened her. Yet, this ugly man sitting on the other side of the campfire did not scare her, strange as it seemed. He smiled at her, and held up his open palm. From it, a soft ball of pale pink-ish light appeared, and wafted over to her. It was utterly startling in the most delightful way she could imagine. Did he somehow know that pink was her favourite colour? The ball of light moved towards the trees, and she followed it. She glanced back at the ugly man, and he nodded slightly to her, as though understanding her unspoken needs. Amidst the privacy of the trees, she could take care of her bodily needs, and with the glow of the pink light, she need not fear tripping over fallen branches and roots.

When she was done, the pink light moved back towards the camp. Millicent and Carine still slept, their breathing deep and even. Olivie did not return to the spot where she slept, but instead, moved to sit in the open space between Millicent and Carine. This meant that she would be closer to the strange man, but that was alright. She could not explain it - her childish vocabulary lacked the words - but the man simply felt like a good person. He somehow reminded her of a stray dog she had once found that looked fearsome, but guarded her as though she were it’s own pup. The dog would lick her face, and wag it’s tail with unbounded enthusiasm whenever Olivie went to visit it in the alley way where it made its home. When Millicent had left to go to work the castle, she once tried to sneak the dog home, but when her mother caught sight of it, she had kicked the dog angrily, and it ran off in terror, yelping painfully. When Olivie went back in search for the fearsome looking dog, it was nowhere to be seen, and her young heart broke.

The man said nothing to Olivie, and she said nothing to him. However, she glanced at him curiously, and then looked back towards the the pink ball of light that hovered in front of her. Hesitantly, she reached out to touch it, and it emitted a melodic tinkling sound, and darted away, circling the air like a dazed bumble bee. Olivie could not help but burst out in laughter. She reached out again as the ball of light circled hear her and attempted to grab it. There was an expression of gleeful concentration on her face as she watched the pattern of the ball’s movements, waiting for the right moment to snatch at it. As her fingers brushed against it, it tinkled again in a way that seemed indignant, and then darted off, eluding Olivie’s grasp. Olivie giggled in delight. The ball of light seemed to have it’s own personality, and she stood, determined to catch it. However, her laughter had woken both Millicent and Carine, and they sat up, startled by the sight before them.

Millicent had noticed that the man had woken, and he looked to be in perfect health. She longed to speak to him, but Olivie’s antics had caught her attention, and it was utterly remarkable to hear the child laugh. Previously, Olivie had seemed so solemn and guarded that the childish giggles seemed completely foreign. Millicent glanced at the man, and caught his eye. He smiled in a mischievous way, and if she was unsure before, she was certain now that he was the one responsible for Olivie’s childish joy.

As for Carine, her eyes were wide with bewilderment.

  “Help me catch it!” Olivie called out to her sister, her face alight with exuberant glee. Olivie was running hither and thither through the camp, leaping over the Carine’s body as she attempted to grab the ball of light. The ball did not move terribly quickly - it seemed to be the right pace to allow Olivie to just touch it, causing it to tinkle indignantly, yet never truly being caught. Carine was completely stunned. She was so accustomed to her sister’s timidity that the sound of Olivie’s laughter was almost forgotten. On one hand, her she could feel her heart expand with warmth at the sight of Olivie’s happiness. But on the other hand, she did not trust the ball of light. She glanced over at the ugly man who was alive and well, and knew that he was the cause of it.

If the ugly man were not engaged to her dear friend Millicent, Carine would have been up, and thanking the man gratefully for bringing Olivie a measure of joy. However, because he was in fact engaged to Millicent, Carine could not help but twist his actions in her mind. Unable to move past her prejudice against him, Carine felt that the man was manipulating the situation to make himself seem more favourable to Millicent. To Carine, nothing about his actions were altruistic - rather, she saw it as a ploy. After all, the man did not know Olivie or Carine - why would he do anything for them? No, Carine was quite certain that the ugly man was just trying to get to Millicent through Olivie.

As for Millicent, she was laughing alongside Olivie. The ball of light simply sounded so piqued every time that Olivie touched it. Turning towards her dear magical friend, she rested her hand on his arm, and said, “thank you.” In response, he simply grinned.

  “Let me try,” Millicent said to Olivie as she stood up. “See if you can herd it towards me.” Olivie looked towards Millicent, startled. She hesitated for a moment, as though mentally assessing whether Millicent was trustworthy or not, but then nodded. Olivie expanded her arms outwards, as though trying to create a boundary that the light could not escape from. When the light attempted to zip away from her, she leapt in front of it, cutting off it’s exit. As for Millicent, she bit her lower lip, and crouched in concentration as she watched the ball’s erratic movements. When the ball was close enough she darted her arm out, certain that she would catch the ball. However, it only tinkled louder than ever, and whizzed away.

  “Hey!” Millicent exclaimed, as though the pink ball had done her a great injustice by getting away. Olivie was laughing mirthfully, and bounded off to continue her chase. Shaking her head ruefully, Millicent sat back down next to the man.

  “How are you feeling?” She asked. “You look much better. I was…. Well, you frightened me for a bit. I wasn’t certain that you would…”

Rumplestiltskin smiled reassuringly. “I feel wonderful. Thank you, dearest Millicent. I would not be here, if not for you.”

“Well, actually, most of it was Carine. She got the wagon, and she has been purchasing food for us. Oh, and she also got the salve and bandages for your arm. If not for her…” Millicent looked to where Carine sat and smiled gratefully. “Thank you, Carine. For everything you’ve done. I’m so glad to have met you.”

  “Ah, well then I owe you a debt, Carine,” Rumplestiltskin said. He stood up, and bowed to her, and Carine was momentarily startled by the grace of his movements. “Please let me know how I can repay you.”

“Oh… well… sir....‘twasn’t a problem,” Carine replied. “Millicent told me you were the one to get me the gold, so I think that makes us even.” Rumplestiltskin raised his eyebrow, but said nothing. He simply smiled and bowed again. Millicent had stood, and was examining the bandages on Rumplestiltskin’s arm.

  “May I have a look?” She asked. “I want to make sure… that is, if you don’t mind.”

  “By all means.” He held out his arm, and looked at her expectantly, eyes twinkling with warmth. With gentle care, Millicent unravelled Rumplestiltskin’s linen bandages, and gasped at the sight on his arm.

  “Why - it’s healed! Completely healed!” Millicent glanced up at the man with an incredulous expression. “Could the salve have been so effective? No… I imagine this must be the work of magic. Well…. Thank goodness! It looked terrible before.” Rumpelstiltskin looked down at his arm and frowned when he noticed the whitish scar. It was the first and only scar he ever had. However, Millicent seemed happy, so he decided not to comment.

  “Thank you for your care, dearest Millicent,” he said instead tipping his head graciously. Millicent grinned and swatted his arm playfully.

  “Enough ‘thank yous’ for today, I think. We’d best pack our camp and get going. I cannot wait to see the forest!” Without another word, she gathered up her cloak, and helped to hitch the mule to the wagon.

Carine and Olivie decided to take up the reins, while Rumplestiltskin and Millicent sat in the back. Olivie had worn herself out, trying to chase the ball of light, and now that it was no longer being harassed, it hovered contentedly near Olivie’s shoulder. Olivie had named it Blossom, and was chatting merrily to her sister about all of Blossom’s merits.

  “Blossom is really clever! And she sounds like bells! And she’s so fast! Even Milly couldn’t catch her! And she’s ever so pretty! Don’t you like her, sister? I named her Blossom because I think she looks like a flower. And Blossom really likes to fly! I think Blossom likes me. Don’t you think?” And on and on she chattered, speaking more this morning than Millicent had ever heard her speak the entire time she had known her.

Olivie eventually ran out of things to say, and was experimenting with how close she could get her fingers towards the pink ball of light before it darted away. Carine could hear Millicent and the man talking softly in the back of the cart, though she was unable to catch their words. She found her thoughts scrambling rapidly to sort out the situation she was in, and paid little heed to the mule as it sedately followed the dirt road.

There was no question in her mind about breaking up the engagement between Millicent and the ugly man. Though Carine hardly thought of herself as a romantic, her imagination was completely ensnared by the idea of Millicent being with her true love, and surely, Millicent’s true love was the beautiful, dark-haired fey that she had described. In her mind, she could easily envision the copper-haired beauty, and her handsome lover, gazing lovingly into one another’s eyes. Of course, in her mind, the pair of them were also magically surrounded by a golden light, as though blessed by the gods, and were wearing robes so lavish that even the king would be envious. Carine snuck a glance back at Millicent and the ugly man. The sight made her want to shrivel up in distaste. It was just wrong. True, the man seemed to treat Millicent kindly. And as much as Carine believed it was manipulation, she was genuinely grateful that the man had brought back Olivie’s smile. Olivie was but a child, and one of Carine’s deepest wishes was to ensure that the rest of Olivie’s childhood was carefree and joyful.

Still, as glad as she was that the man had made Olivie happy, and as much as she could see that the man was kind to Millicent, she could not shake the notion that Millicent did not belong to him. If Millicent were to marry him, then she would be getting so much less than she deserved. Perhaps, if Millicent were to marry the ugly man, Millicent would be content. But Carine felt that Millicent ought to have much more than contentment. Millicent ought to be happy. Carine was determined to break Millicent’s engagement, not out of selfishness, but out of love for her friend.

Her mind made up, Carine felt that she needed to decide how to go about it. Her earlier idea of keeping her unborn babe was foremost in her mind. She did not want to do anything devious, such as lying to her dear friend. Millicent had been so kind to her, and Carine did not want to repay kindness with dishonesty and manipulation. Let the ugly man be the manipulative one. Carine contemplated the idea of keeping the baby. Was she ready for it? She glanced over at Olivie, who was still trying to poke the ball of light. Her heart filled with warmth and she could not help but smile. When she was living in the palace, she was more than certain that she did not want the babe. But now her circumstances had changed. She had her sister close to her, and she did not have to worry about the king’s wrath, or the disdain of the other servants. Moreover, she had a fortune in gold coins. It was not enough to support Carine and Olivie for the rest of their lives, but it would be enough to get them a fresh start. Carine would be able to get an apprenticeship. The gold could certainly support the sisters as Carine learned a trade. Carine was certainly not adversed to working, and the idea that she could choose whatever trade she wanted was an exciting thought.

But how would a new baby fit into that picture? Carine took one of her hands off the reins, and rested it upon her stomach. For the first time, she allowed herself to open her heart towards it, and she was surprised by the warmth and love that flowed forth. Regardless of who its father was, she knew she would adore the child. She could already imagine holding it in her arms. Her brutal upbringing only inspired her to want to be the best mother that she could be. In that moment, she realized that if the ugly man were not in the picture, she would still want to keep her child. Curiously, the idea filled Carine with a sense of gladness - not that she would be breaking up Millicent’s engagement, but that there would be a new life in her world that she could love. All she had to do was decide how and when she would tell Millicent. It would be a distraction to tell her while they were still on the road, so she decided she would break the news when they broke camp for the evening.

In the afternoon, Millicent and the man switched places with Carine and took the reins. Or rather, the man insisted that it was the gentlemanly thing to do to take the reins, while he entertained Millicent with stories, and attempted to make her laugh.

There were very few other travellers on the road - mostly just merchants - so the day was uneventful. As evening drew near, they came up to a roadside inn near a crossroad, and the group debated whether or not to stay the night.

  “We can’t keep spending your gold, Carine. It would not be fair,” Millicent stated.

  “I don’t mind, Miss Millicent. You have done so much for me and my sister. It would be rather nice to sleep in a real bed. I think I have a bruise from lying on a rock last night.” Carine winced as she pressed her hand against a sore spot on her back. Olivie glanced towards the inn, and then towards her sister. There was a look of apprehension on her face. The idea of seeing other people seemed to frighten her, and Carine noticed her look.

  “Don’t be afraid Ollie-love. I won’t let anyone hurt you. Not ever again,” Carine said reassuringly. She wrapped her arm around Olivie, and squeezed her protectively.

  “None of us will let anyone hurt you!” Millicent exclaimed. “Still, I feel wrong, taking your gold, Carine. I know that you need it.”

  “I can pay for all of us,” Rumplestiltskin said.

  “You have coin? Wait, of course you would have coin, considering that you can spin straw into gold.” Millicent laughed at her own silliness.

  “Indeed. And I have less need of it than any of you. So please, allow me to take care of it. It is the least I can do.” Rumpelstiltskin looked from Millicent to Carine, and both of them nodded as they considered his words.

  “Alright, it’s settled then! I do like sleeping outside, but I must say, I miss having hot meals!” Millicent could feel her mouth watering already. She looked towards the inn eagerly, and then at the rest of her travelling companions. “Let’s go!”

Not wanting to draw too much attention, Rumplestiltskin made sure that the pink ball of light would be invisible to everyone outside their group. The wagon was led to the stables by the side of the inn, and a young boy took the reins, and promised to take care of the mule. The party entered the inn, which was rather quiet. It seemed that there were few occupants at this time of year. Despite this, Olivie still clung to Carine, attempting to hide behind her skirts.

Rumplestiltskin walked up to the counter, where a barkeep was idly wiping a mug clean with a rag.

  “Good evening. I’d like - three rooms, please.” The barkeep frowned slightly at Rumplestiltskin’s ugliness, but he had seen all sorts, and he was not inclined to turn away paying customers. He changed his feature into the semblance of a polite smile.

  “Indeed sir. Would you like to go up to the rooms right away, or perhaps have something to eat first? I can have a boy bring your belongings up to the rooms.”

  “We can manage our own belongings, thank you. We’d be happy for a meal though.” The barkeep nodded and indicated his head towards the near-empty dining area.

  “Seat yourselves. The missus has chicken and potato stew cooking, and a some slices of ham. It’s -” The barkeep paused as he considered the situation. The party looked fairly travel worn, and the boy who stabled their mule mentioned that they did not seem to have any baggage. Though it was not the best model of politeness, he did not want to risk the situation and lose coin. “It’s our policy that customers pay up front. It’s eight coppers for each room, and one for the meal and mead.”

Rumplestiltskin nodded. “I’ll have to go out to the wagon and get it.” The barkeep tried to keep his expression neutral. The boy had said that the wagon was empty, but for some straw, and moreover, it was extremely odd for anyone to not keep coin on their person. Still, coin was coin. The barkeep nodded. Rumplestiltskin walked up to Millicent, Carine and Olivie.

  “Sit where you’d like,” he said. “I have to fetch something from the wagon.” They looked at him oddly, but nodded, and sat by an empty table near the window.

Rumplestiltskin went to the stable, and noted that he was completely alone. He reached into his secret hollow in the world of the fey. He did not in fact have any coins, or much gold for that matter. However, as fey, he did have a tendency to collect anything that struck his fancy. He had numerous figurines of bejeweled silver, and some pretty, intricate copper ornaments. He also had several pretty gold rings, and somewhere in the pile was the necklace that Millicent had given him. There were many beautiful wood carvings, though their value to humans was comparatively low. He also had a lovely set of silver plate and goblets that were etched with beautiful patterns of swirling flowers and leaves. It was a shame he had to destroy it. He had no inclination of getting his group in trouble by handing out false coin, and since he did not have real coins, he would have to turn his silver treasures into silver coins. With a mildly regretful sigh, he transformed one of the goblets into a generous handful of silver coins. Realizing he did not have a coin pouch, he grabbed an empty burlap sack from the stable, and transformed a portion of it into a small burlap pouch. Transformation magic was significantly more effortful than illusions, and he felt extremely tired from his efforts.

Rumpelstiltskin walked back into the inn, and noted that the young boy was already bringing out food for his party. On the table, there was a large loaf of brown bread, and the boy was carrying a platter with thick slices of ham. Rumplestiltskin’s sharp ears could pick up the growling of Millicent’s stomach, and he pursed his lips, trying his best to hide his bubbling amusement. Afterall, he’d look like a fool, grinning for no reason. He walked up to the barkeep and gave him three silver coins, hoping it was enough. He did not want to offend the man.

“Is that enough?” Rumplestiltskin did not know the conversion of coins between copper, silver and gold. As fey, there was no reason to be aware of such things - after all, the conversions seemed to change every several years. The barkeep nodded, pushing one of the silver coins back at Rumplestiltskin and pulling out his pouch to measure change for Rumplestiltskin.

“Keep the change,” Rumplestiltskin said, nonchalantly. He had no use for coins anyway. The barkeep’s eyes widened.

  “Thank you sir! We’ll have the rest of the food brought right out, sir!” The barkeep rushed through the doors that led to the kitchens, and Rumplestiltskin could hear him ordering his wife to give their new customers generous portions of food, and demanding the boy to give the rooms an extra clean before the customers settled for the night. “The down pillows, boy! Use the down pillows! Wait, first bring them their stew. Quick now! Don’t keep them waiting, boy!” On top of that, he was insisting that his wife bake them a pie.

  “I’ve no time to make a pie, husband! Have you any notion how long it takes? Besides, we’ve very few apples left in our store.”

  “Then prepare one for tomorrow morning! He gave us three silver!”

  “What? Three? Oh my, oh my! I’ll begin the pie right away.”

  “And the best mead! Ah, I’ll go fetch it from the cellars now!” The barkeep’s footsteps stomped off down the stairs. Rumplestiltskin could not help grinning. He made his way to the rectangular table and sat next to Millicent, and across from Olivie. Olivie had scooted as close to Carine as possible, and was nervously clutching her arm. Millicent cut herself a thick slice of brown bread, which she was dipping into her stew. As for Carine, she was trying to coax Olivie to eat some ham.

Rumplestiltskin felt a twist of sympathy for the poor child. Whatever she had faced her short life seemed to have made her terribly afraid of strangers - or perhaps only strange men. It was fortunate that technically, he was not a man, but a male faerie, or at least he used to be. It was evident to him that she was far too anxious to eat - her stomach was likely in a knot of fear, and if she was forced to consume anything, it would result in a terrible stomach ache. Yet he had a good measure of the folk in the inn, and knew that they were relatively harmless.

  “This stew is heavenly! Ah… and the bread… it reminds me of home,” Millicent exclaimed, unable to hide the pleasure in her voice. “Try some Olivie! You know we won’t let anyone hurt you. We promised!” Olivie looked up at Millicent, but pursed her lips, and buried her face against Carine’s arm. Millicent glanced at Carine sympathetically. It was bewildering to see the child go from playful and happy, to suddenly shuttered and fearful. She had not spent much of her youth amongst younger children, and felt helpless in the situation. Carine was still holding a piece of ham out to Olivie, but she knew that Olivie would not eat - at least not until they were locked up tight and safe in their room.

  “We can eat later, when we’re alone, Ollie-love,” she said reassuringly. “Would that be okay?”

  “Child,” Rumplestiltskin said, before Olivie could respond. Olivie looked up at Rumplestiltskin questioningly. “If anyone tries to hurt you, I promise, I will turn them into kittens.” Everyone’s eyes widened as they heard what he was telling Olivie.

  “Really?” Olivie responded hopefully. Carine looked from Rumplestiltskin to Olivie in surprise. Usually, when Olivie was afraid, she did not speak at all - she only nodded or shook her head, erstwhile tightly clutching Carine.

  “Look,” Rumplestitskin replied. The barkeep was walking towards the table, mugs of mead in hand. Using illusion magic, Rumplestiltskin made a set of cat ears and long white whiskers appear on the barkeep, as well as a swishing tail. The barkeep could not see the illusion - in fact, Millicent and Carine could not as well. However, it was clear as day to Olivie. The fact was, Rumplestiltskin did not have the magical aptitude to turn creatures from one form to another - none of the fey were that strong. However, Olivie need not know that - what was important was alleviating her fear. Unable to help herself, Olivie burst out into giggles. Carine’s jaw dropped in shock. What had just happened? The barkeep handed out the mugs of mead to the party, looking questioningly at Olivie, but saying nothing.

  “Thank you,” Rumplestiltskin said to him.

  “Ah, just give a call if you need anything else,” the barkeep replied, but to Olivie, it sounded like a series of ‘mews’ and ‘miaows.’ Olivie was still giggling and trying her best not to stare at the barkeep. The sight of the broad barkeep making little mewling sounds was utterly ridiculous. The tension seemed to melt away from her body.

  “Well, child? What do you say? It would be awfully hard for the man to keep his inn if he were a kitten. He has a family you know. And if he turned into a kitten, how would he serve you pie?” Rumplestiltskin tried to keep his expression serious as he waited for Olivie’s answer.

  “Alright. He can stay as a man. He’d be an ugly kitten, and I’d feel bad.” Olivie responded.

  “Come now child, just admit it, you want the pie.” Olivie grinned but nodded. Rumplstiltskin laughed in response.

  “Very noble of you.” Rumplestiltskin tipped his head at her. “I’d say you at least deserve some bread and ham for that act of kindness.” Olivie nodded enthusiastically, and took that ham from Carine, eating it with contentment. As for Millicent and Carine, they were both staring at Rumpelstiltskin in wide-eyed confusion, unable to believe what had just happened.

  “Child,” said Rumplestiltskin after a moment, “Please tell your sister and Miss Millicent that as flattered as I am by the way they are ogling me, I can only marry one of them.” Millicent and Olivie burst out laughing, but Carine scowled and blushed in embarrassment.

  “I wouldn’t mind if you married my sister!” Olivie piped up. Carine blanched, and sputtered in response. Millicent, who was watching Carine’s response laughed again.

  “Ah, I’m afraid he’s already been claimed,” Millicent said, wrapping her arm around his in an attempt to save Carine from further embarrassment. “But if it doesn’t work out, I’ll let you know Carine.” Millicent laughed again at Carine’s shocked response. It was all too easy to tease the girl, and she couldn’t help herself. Carine shook her head and sighed, and a small laugh escaped from her lips. As much as she did not want to think about marrying the ugly man, he had somehow performed a miracle and made Olivie laugh in the presence of strange men. Finally relaxed, the group was able to eat their dinner in peace, and Carine decided that she would not bring up the situation of the baby tonight. Not tonight, but maybe tomorrow.
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