Narrated by Kaylee
Morning came quickly. Two trays of repugnant-looking mush were set on a small, wooden table beside our bed. Because it was better than going hungry, we forced ourselves to eat it. Upon entering the dining hall because of a mouthwatering smell that lured us in, we saw a splendid-looking breakfast spread out on a large table, and Rumpelstiltskin was on the far end of it, feasting away and guzzling down wine. He glanced up at our approach, and after dabbing his mouth with a cloth, he said, "Sleep well, Dearies? Hope you did because I need you to have all your strength for your mission today."
"Mission?" I repeated. "You never said anything about missions in the contract."
"Sounds like you two did not read the fine print in the deal," Rumpelstiltskin replied. "It's all in the contract. See for yourselves." Immediately, he appeared the contract into his hand and shoved it into our faces. We read it and realized how much we had really agreed to unknowingly. "See, as plain as day," he added, pointing to the first few sentences. "Now this is all on you."
"Now what's the mission you want us to go on?" I asked with a heavy sigh.
"I need you two to procure something for me, but it won't be easy," Rumpelstiltskin responded. "You will need to climb a beanstalk to reach a giant's lair where you shall find what I need."
"Wait, are you serious?" I questioned dubiously. "Is this a joke? You actually want us to climb a beanstalk to get to a giant's lair?" It's just like from the fairy tale, Jack and the beanstalk, I thought.
"Indeed," he replied. "Now don't look so surprised, Deary. Beanstalks may be rare, but they very well exist and have been climbed before."
At that response, Aubrey and I exchanged shocked glances. This fairy tale stuff was becoming real which was insane.
"So, if a beanstalk exists, wouldn't that mean that magic beans are here since they grow on beanstalks?" I asked with hope, and Aubrey cast me a thrilled expression.
"Unfortunately, Deary, those who climbed the beanstalk already took the last, remaining beans, so now none remain," Rumpelstiltskin replied.
Aubrey and I cast disappointed glances, then I questioned suspiciously, "How do we know you are telling the truth?"
"You don't have to take my word for truth, but if you don't believe me, then try searching for one yourselves," he replied. "But you would only be wasting your time."
Aubrey and I sighed with disappointment. I then changed the subject, playfully saying, "Anyway, I'm guessing Jack was the first to climb the beanstalk and to find the magic beans."
"That is correct," Rumpelstiltskin replied. "You must have heard about him."
"Wait... what?" Aubrey questioned, widening her eyes with surprise. "And I thought Jack was just a fairy tale story!" Then she glanced at me and added, "Could that mean we are actually in a fairy tale realm?"
"I guess so!" I exclaimed with shock. "I'm sure we are going to see a lot of surprises. Do fairies even exist?" I asked, turning back to Rumpelstiltskin.
"Yes, now no more jibber jabbering," he replied impatiently. "There's no time to waste. Now as I was saying, this object I need you both to find for me, which is up in the giant's lair, is the Dreamstone, a blue stone to be exact."
"What's a Dreamstone for, and why do you need it?" Aubrey asked curiously.
"All you should know is that a Dreamstone is a very powerful object that gives one the ability to communicate with someone they think of," Rumpelstiltskin began. "It works when one is holding the stone then thinks of who they desire to speak to. Then they enter the dream world of the other person only if that other person is sleeping. But it's none of your concern of whom I want to speak to."
"Woah, that's so cool," I remarked in awe. "If I could use it, I would speak to my parents. Anyway, what if there are other blue stones that look like it?" I pointed out.
"Now no need to despair, Deary, for you will only find one blue stone," Rumpelstiltskin reassured. "But make sure you don't get in the giant's way so you can make it out alive."
Aubrey and I swallowed nervously at the prospect of coming across an actual giant. The thought terrified us, and we could very easily be dead meat. "Can't you get it yourself?" I challenged. "After all, you are powerful unlike us. It's not like you can get killed."
"I wouldn't be sending you on this mission if I knew you couldn't do it, Deary," Rumpelstiltskin responded. "Now don't forget our deal. You are tied to it, and it is never easy breaking deals with me."
We appeared in front of a towering and breathtaking beanstalk, and it reached so high into the sky that it disappeared into the clouds. We stared up at it with gaping mouths and eyes stretched wide with astonishment. I felt paralyzed with fear, tightness gripped my chest, and my heart pounded rapidly. Aubrey and I exchanged uneasy glances. "Well, that should be an easy climb," I said with sarcasm.
"We are probably being sent on a death trap," Aubrey said with dread. "Well, we best get climbing before we back out."
As we climbed up the stalk, I felt great fear, and my muscles tightened at every waver of the stalk. I could almost hear my heart pound in my chest because I was so fearful of falling. Aubrey and I tried to stick close together. "Try not to look down," Aubrey hollered.
In that moment, a gush of wind caused the stalk to sway abruptly, causing me to lose my grip on a protruding stem. With a terrified shriek, I started to slide down the stalk, and I frantically tried to grab hold. Aubrey cried out to me in panic, but thankfully I caught hold on another protruding stem. Aubrey stared down at me from many feet above me, and she had fear shown in her pale face. "You alright? You had me scared!" she hollered over the wind.
I stiffly nodded and said nothing in reply. I still felt an adrenalin rush, and my heart fluttered. I climbed at a quicker pace to catch up, and finally, we reached the top. We were out of breath and collapsed to the ground with exhaustion. "That was a strenuous climb," I puffed. Suddenly, I forgot about my exhaustion because a chilling and uneasy feeling overcame me. We turned to each other, very shocked. The giant's courtyard was dismal, the castle was almost in ruin, and huge piles on bones were scattered around the place, including full skeletons. We were like mice compared to everything. I felt nauseous and wished that we could leave immediately, and Aubrey appeared to be no different than me by her expression.
"It may be a fun fairy tale story but a nightmare experiencing it," Aubrey muttered as she warily swept her gaze across the place. "We need to be aware of giants."
Suddenly, a thudding noise was heard in the fortress entrance. "Quick, hide!" I said, and we disappeared behind a huge pillar, waiting until the noise subsided. Then we cautiously peeped our heads out and made a run for the entrance. Then we slipped through a crack underneath the door. After we entered the fortress, we admired the surroundings with awe, but as soon as we heard that same thudding noise, we hurriedly concealed ourselves behind the leg of an enormous table that had a large spread of food on it. And the food was even abnormally large which did not make any sense. A sausage link that hung off the side of the table was ten times my size.
Then we scanned the clearing and headed for a door that we slid underneath. There was a flight of stairs, and after descending each tall step, we landed in what appeared to be the giants' lair. Our jaws dropped from shock since there were enormous piles of treasure all around the place. "Well, this is where we shall hopefully find the Dreamstone," I said, feeling positive.
"Then what are we waiting for?" Aubrey replied. As she was about to take a step forward, I instantly caught her arm.
"Wait, there could be boobie traps," I warned.
"You're right. They are probably well-hidden." Aubrey's gaze then rested on a few dead remains, and she stared back at me anxiously. "Looks like not everyone could avoid them."
I shuttered and looked away. Then I took a deep breath, trying to lessen my anxiety. "I'll try clearing the path by throwing treasure onto it so we don't end up walking into a boobie trap," I said. Then I took up a goblet and thrust it in front of us. Immediately, arrows shot out from a hidden area, making us jump. "All clear for now."
We slowly walked forward, clearing our deadly path with treasure. Because I was so distracted trying to search for the Dreamstone, I did not realize that a rope was right in front of me, and I walked into it.
"Kaylee, watch out!" shouted Aubrey, then she quickly pushed me out of the way from a dropping cage.
"Thanks, I didn't see that coming," I said, sighing with relief.
Suddenly, Aubrey, looking joyful, pointed toward a treasure pile and exclaimed, "There it is!" There was a beautiful, blue stone sitting right on top of the huge treasure pile. We hastily approached the pile, and I volunteered to get it. It was a difficult climb; I kept slipping on heavy coins, jewelry, and goblets, which continuously poured downward. Finally, I managed to reach the blue stone, and with a satisfied grin, I tossed it down to Aubrey. She caught it and placed it into the satchel. "That was a lot easier to find than I had thought," she remarked as I was sliding down the treasure pile. We quickly left and climbed the high stairs until we reached the top, then we made a run for it with an effort to get out as soon as possible. But the dreaded thudding was heard again. "Run!" Aubrey exclaimed.
Then suddenly, a roar was heard, and now we were screwed. The giant stomped heavily after us, causing the floor to shake. "Thieves!" he shouted. "No one steals from me!" We hurried to reach the stalk, and I felt panic rise in me. "Come back, thieves!" he roared in a fury. He reached down to try to scoop us up, but luckily, we evaded his attempts. We were like little mice in comparison to one of his hands. Because I ended up tripping on the slippery floor, I dropped the satchel, and it skidded across the floor. Then the Dreamstone fell out. As I hurried to retrieve it, the furious giant thundered toward me with a mighty roar and swooped down his hand. He scooped me up, and I restlessly fought his tight grasp. He held me up to his eye level and started to squeeze the breath out of me.
"Let her go!" Aubrey shouted in hot rage as she started to repeatedly hit his ankle.
"Thieves never live!" he roared as he tightened his grasp around me until I couldn't breathe. In that moment, I bit him, and he dropped me, grimacing in pain. Then the two of us dashed away with the satchel and Dreamstone. We jumped onto the beanstalk and started to hastily climb down. Then Suddenly, we felt the beanstalk shake violently, and I looked up realizing that the giant had started to forcefully pound at the beanstalk with his mighty fist.
"Crap!" I exclaimed. "We are going to fall!" My muscles tensed up, and I felt as if I was going to pass out since I was so scared. Suddenly, to our utter despair, we lost our grip on the beanstalk and started to fall. We screamed with terror, and I never felt more terrified in my life. We ended up falling into a pond. I resurfaced, gasping for air, and frantically searched for Aubrey. My heart raced fast, and I desperately called out for her. Thankfully, I finally saw her and immediately swam over to her, then we embraced. "I was so afraid that you drowned!" I exclaimed with a cough.
"I'm so glad we are safe," Aubrey said with a sigh of relief. "I was so sure we were not going to survive this fall. Look, I still have the Dreamstone." She held up the soaked satchel, then we swam to shore. "We are so lucky that we landed in water." We then sprawled out on the shore, catching our breath and letting the sun warm us.
"Rumpelstiltskin nearly got us killed over a stupid stone!" I exclaimed, feeling very mad in that moment. "This should suffice for our deal."
"But I'm guessing he won't accept that, for missions are part of the contact," Aubrey replied, letting out an exasperated sigh.
"All this for just a place to sleep?" I returned with vexation. We were cheated! We would have been better off sleeping in the woods." I growled. "We signed without thinking."
"Lesson learned," Aubrey returned, "don't sign a deal without reading it and especially if it's a deal with the Dark One."
"Come on, let's get this stone back to Rumpelstiltskin," I said. We stood up and brushed the sand from our soaked pants then headed to Rumpelstiltskin's fortress. "Rumpelstiltskin," I called. "We have returned, and we have what you need." Immediately, Rumpelstiltskin appeared in front of us with a delighted chuckle and a clap of his hands.
"Let me see it!" he said excitedly. I handed it to him, and he examined it closely with admiration. "Well done, Dearies. You two were the first to make it out alive. You lived up to my expectations. Why else would I have sent you to procure this Dreamstone for me?"
"Hmm, maybe to get us killed," I muttered.
"Oh, why, Deary, you two are of much use to me alive," Rumpelstiltskin responded. "This is only the beginning."
"Oh, that's great," Aubrey returned sarcastically. "More missions coming our way."
"You can't expect us to succeed at everything," I retorted crossly.
"I never said that, Deary," Rumpelstiltskin quickly replied. "You just fail to see your true potential. I see great strength and courage in the two of you that many fail to have. It takes more than physical strength to complete a formidable mission such as the one I sent you on. Cleverness can count and much more than that, the pureness of a heart."
"What do you mean?" I asked curiously.
"A pure heart allows one to attain certain priceless objects that a nonpure-hearted one cannot procure such as myself," he replied. "That Dreamstone could only be procured by the two of you since you two are purehearted. You have great strength in your abilities, and you will find that out one day." Rumpelstiltskin then turned around and placed the powerful stone into a box.
"Whatever you're talking about, this purehearted blabber, we aren't doing any more dangerous missions for you just because you claim we could do so," I made clear. "Not everyone can succeed at everything. We are leaving and finding a magic bean, and we aren't coming back." Then we turned around and started to leave.
"As far as you run, you can't hide from deals or even from me because our business isn't over yet!" Rumpelstiltskin hollered as we were leaving.