Rumpelstiltskin

Chapter 9

9

April 23, 1:18 am

Robin stayed tight my Mira’s side as they wandered through the forest in the dark. She was very unsure of Mira’s safety, and wanted to get her home as soon as she possibly could. A strong wind came up suddenly, and a branch was blown into her face, momentarily disorienting her. Once she had gotten her bearings, she realized that Mira was no longer at her side. She went looking for her, too afraid to speak. She found herself in a clearing. There was suddenly a flash of golden light, revealing that a dark figure was standing in the middle of the clearing. “Robin,” it whispered, “I’ve been waiting for you.”

At dawn, the pink tint of the sunrise woke a quivering Mira from a restless sleep. Robin was her first thought. She slowly slid one eyelid open, hopeful to see Robin’s face, anticipating her waking. Instead she saw the empty forest she had fallen asleep in the night before. As she sat up, the world around her began to spin, and she was forced to lean back onto the tree. Her head hurt so much that she couldn’t think straight. What had happened? She had fallen out of a tree the night before, but why didn’t she feel it then? And where was Robin? She looked around, her vision foggy, trying to make out her surroundings. As she looked, her eyes fixed on a flash of golden light, followed by a dark splotch only a few feet tall.

Mira sat in wonder a moment, then, as her eyes began to adjust, she saw the figure. It was the hooded figure from her dreams. This time though, he was there, standing in front of her. He took down his hood to reveal the wrinkled man from her dream the day before.

“Mira!” He cackled, “So glad you could make it!”  

Mira squinted at the figure, not willing to believe her senses. “Who are you?”

“Rumpelstiltskin,” the figure bowed, “at your service.”

Mira was suddenly flooded with relief. This little man was the one who had haunted her as long as she could remember? Seriously? “Let me guess. This time I have to guess your middle name.” Mira smirked mockingly, wanted to get a little bit of revenge on the man who had scared her out of her wits. “Ok, lets start in the A’s. Albert, Anrike, Amile, Andy--”

The man cringed with obvious embarrassment. “That was a long time ago.” He snapped, cutting Mira off. “Today I come with more serious matters.”

“Oh I see,” Mira crooned, beginning to teeter away from the man, attempting to look strong, despite her headache. “I have to guess your last name. Alright: Smith, Johnson, Freeman, Walker--”

“Enough! I want to talk to you about your parents.”

Mira stopped and turned to look at the man. “My parents, what about them?”

The man grinned a toothless smile. “Aspen and Andrew Parker.” He said with a smirk.

Mira suddenly remembered Robin’s words when she had told her about her parents: “I know who you are. Everyone here does. I can’t believe it took me so long to recognise you. Mira Parker. Daughter of Aspen and Andrew Parker.”  She knew who they were also. “I hear they’re pretty popular around here” Mira retorted, trying extremely hard to keep her composure.

“Indeed they are.” He smirked. “Me and your parents go way back.”

“Oh?”

“Oh yes. You see--” Just as he spoke these words, a girl walked into the clearing. She was wearing a long purple dress and had very large blue eyes. Her most noticeable feature, though was the blond hair that trailed behind her as if it was the train of her dress. She was carrying a basket full of berries, and jumped when she saw Mira.

“Oh! You surprised me!” She exclaimed. “Can’t say I’ve ever seen anyone this far away from the kingdom before!”

Rumplestiltskin frowned at the girl, and, glaring at Mira hissed, “To be continued.” and disappeared in another flash of golden light. The girl appeared oblivious to all of this and rushed toward Mira.

“Wow,” The girl said simply, taking in Mira’s torn dress, scratched face, the goose egg on her forehead, and her hair, which was sticking out in every direction. “You need some help.” She grabbed Mira’s arm and began to lead her through the forest. Mira was too tired to object. Her head was throbbing, and she was losing her vision again. The girl didn’t seem like she was going to do any harm. “My name’s Rapunzel! you know in case you hadn’t guessed by my hair. I’m told it makes me pretty recognisable. Anyway, I’m going to take you back to my tower and clean you up, give you something new to wear, and see what’s up with that bump on your head.” Mira simply nodded in consent, and Rapunzel smiled sympathetically. The continued to walk through the forest in silence.

No matter where she was going, Mira was happy to be away from the hooded man. Rumplestiltskin, the man, only four feet tall, who had been haunting her dreams forever. And what was he talking about her parents? Why was he smirking like that, like he could really hurt a girl her size. She then began to think about Robin’s words. What she hadn’t remembered in the moment, was that afterwards she had said: “Now I know why you are here. There is someone who is out to get you.”  Was it Rumplestiltskin? Was he out to get her? Why on earth would he want her? The questions danced through her head.

Mira’s thoughts were put to rest for the moment when a huge tower, several stories high, came into view. Mira gaped at the structure, remembering her last encounter with heights. Rapunzel, looking knowingly at Mira’s expression, smiled. “Don’t worry. The structure was built with escape stairs.” Her expression suddenly became distant, “To think that all those years all I had to do was lift that certain stone and I would be free.”

The two girls advanced on the tower, and Mira realized how tall it truly was. It possibly measured up to the empire state building. As Mira looked at it, she began to wonder just how much hair it would take to go down that entire thing. “Did you get a haircut?” she asked suddenly.

“What?”

“You know, after you were rescued from the tower.”

Rapunzel smiled. “Oh yes, I got it cut when we got married. Just imagine trying to walk through town with all that hair dragging behind you! People stepping all over it, tugging on it,” she shuddered, “you would get it cut too!” At this point they were standing directly at the base of the tower. It was made completely of stone, and vines were growing on it from time. Rapunzel hurried Mira around the tower, and pushed in a stone. Part of the wall moved aside, along with a great deal of dust. Mira looked suspiciously at the rickety staircase.

“It’s alright. It’s perfectly safe.” Rapunzel reassured her, and they began the ascent.

It felt like hours before they reached the top, and Mira felt like she was going to throw up by the time she got to the top. “Couldn’t they install an elevator in this thing?” Mira asked as she collapsed on the floor.

Rapunzel chuckled. “You know, usually when they are trying to keep someone locked up in a tower, they don’t install an elevator. Mira smiled, and Rapunzel lifted her into a chair. “I’m going to go start a bath for you. Stay here alright?”

Mira nodded, leaning back into her chair and closing her eyes. Images of the man, the wretched little hooded man, flashed before her eyes. She shot up, opening her eyes. She couldn’t fall asleep. Her dreams were haunted, even more now than ever before.