Rumpel : A Not Fairy Tale

The problem with having a daughter who is a writer is that she tends to rub off on me.  And yes, I'm not sure if I like that.

So, what's this all about?

My eldest daughter is immersed in blog land in several capacities that all center around writing. Her latest endeavor is a blog focused on all things fairy tale. (If you want to check it out, visit the Fairy Tale Central.)

The featured fairy tale for April 2019 is Rumpelstiltskin, and, in coordination with the FTC, this same daughter is hosting a writing prompt on one of her other blogs, Intuitive Writing Guide.

Yes. You guessed it. The 'rub off' this time is that I couldn't resist taking the challenge and writing a scene for this prompt.

Without further ado, a scene from Rumpel, by yours truly.

Margrate stared at the letter. Sweat began to bead along her lip and brow and her lungs started gasping for breath. Fifty thousand yeflin was a lot of gold! Where was she going to get all that money? How was she going to get it? Her nerves shifted into overdrive and sweat began to roll down her back, too.

“Calm your self, Margrate. There has to be a way to do this. The children of Glashbain are counting on you.”

Margrate took a deep breath and willed herself to stop shaking. A few paces around the room didn’t do much to help counter the raw adrenaline pumping through her body.

Fifty yeflin in two weeks. It was impossible.  And yet, she had to do it.

Another trip across the room and she turned to pace back to the other side of the attic.

Margrate screeched with fright when she saw a man just to the left of the door, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

“Really.  I’m not that frightening, am I?”

While Margrate worked at breathing in order to calm the thudding in her chest she studied the source of the question.  A shock of blond hair fell across his brow, drawing attention to the green eyes framed with light brown lashes. The intensity of those eyes was softened by the lines feathering their outside corners, but it was so slight that one could miss it. That fact left her wondering if she should take him at his word, or trust her gut, which was telling her that this man was not someone to turn your back on.

“That all depends.” said Margrate.

The man quirked a brow in question and Margrate found herself answering that question, almost against her will.

“Why are you here? And who are you?”, she said. Drat! Why do I sound like a teenager scared to answer truth or dare?

“The name is Rumpel.”, was the terse answer given. “And I’m here because I was informed that you need some gold.”

SOME gold, thought Margrate.

“What does that have to do with you? And how did you know that? And how did you get in here?” Sheesh! Couldn’t she just have a minute, just ONE minute to catch her breath and settle her mind so she would quit sounding so ridiculous?

“I’m here to make you the gold you need.”, came the reply while not a muscle moved in the man across from her.

Margrate shook her head and spit out the first words that came to mind. “Yeah, right! And I’m going to be crowned queen in three weeks time.”

The subtle change on Rumpel’s face could have been considered a smirk, if he wasn’t doing such a good job of imitating a statue. And now that she thought about it, he hadn’t told her how he knew what she needed, or how he got into the attic room.

“Regardless of your future plans, you need the gold before then, so I suggest that we get to work. Give me your necklace, please.”

“What! No way! And wait just a minute! How did you know about my necklace? And what do you want with it?”

“It is gold, isn’t it?”

“Yes, but … Wait! Aren’t you going to make gold for me?”

“That is the bargain, yes.”

“Then why do you need my gold necklace?”

“Do you want my help or not?”

Not sounded pretty good to Margrate right about now. No way, no how was he getting his hands on the only thing she had left of her mother.



Do you know what the really bad part is about this? I'm not a writer. But now I want to finish writing this story.

Ugh!!
Whoever said children get easier as they get older might not know what they are talking about! LOL

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I hope you have a fantastic week!