Princess Rumpelstiltskin | ONC 2024

Chapter Two

Pounding.

Rumpelstiltskin's head is pounding.

Their back aches as they lie on an unforgiving cold surface while a fuzzy cloud obscures their thoughts. Their tongue feels heavy, like a stone in their mouth. Their skin itches, when they shift the prick of straw on their skin irritates under their cheek. The musty smell irritates their nose.

"Achoo."

A sudden panic floods through them, like lightning down their spine.

Where's my veil!? Rumpelstiltskin's eyes flare open and they roll onto their hands and knees. The room looks like a hurricane tore through it; the many hay bales have been reduced to tattered heaps spilling across the floor, there are scorch marks on the ceiling, and a crumpled heap of tattered grey fabric grumbles in the far corner. That's my cloak.

"No. What?" Rumpelstiltskin's voice is higher than they are used to, a gentle natural soprano that sounds remarkably like the woman who'd disturbed their work. They glance at their hands; there are no claws, no scars, or patchy ashen white burns on grey skin, just dainty hands attached to a delicate wrist all covered with soft creamy skin. All wrapped up in a silken gown.

The bundle shifts and sits up. Rumpelstiltskin snaps their gaze back to their cloak.

"What happe..." The hoarse voice issuing from the bundle trails off as the figure unravels themselves. "What is this?" The figure thrashes and scrambles to unroll themselves before frantically patting at the veil covering their face. They lift the cloth away, revealing grey skin surrounding yellow eyes the colour of piss glaring out from the shadow of their hood; Rumpelstiltskin's face.

"Ah!" They yelp, cat's eye pupils constricting as they back into the wall. "You...you're me...that's me...what's happening?"

"You stole my body." Rumpelstiltskin growls at the princess, but in the princess's voice, the growl comes out less menacing than they would have liked.

"I would never...I can't have...how!?" The princess splutters.

Rumpelstiltskin rolls their eyes. "You touched the wheel while it was..." They trail off into silence. Golden eyes land on the scorch marks on the ceiling in the centre of the room, under which lies a crumpled pile of straw, golden thread, and the broken remnants of the spinning wheel.

"Just look what you've done!" Rumpelstiltskin attempts to stand but wobbles and immediately drops back down to a knee, sudden weakness racing down their limbs. The edge of the corset digs into Rumpelstiltskin's thigh as they focus on willing their body to work. Deep breath in, slow breath out.

The princess doesn't move, holding Rumpelstiltskin's body hostage in a rigid crouch against the wall. "Can you fix it?"

Hearing their own voice hiss at them is not something Rumpelstiltskin likes; in fact, they do not like a lot of things about their current predicament.

"Of course, I can." They snap. "Maybe." They falter. "I need to fix the wheel first." They grumble, picking their way towards the broken tool, almost tripping on their long silken gown before hitching it up as high as possible with both hands.

Rumpelstiltskin kneels by the broken spinning wheel, awkwardly listing to one side as they do because the corset digs into their thigh again. They mutter several choice swears under their breath before they start to pick the wooden shards out of the pile, carefully examining each one before setting it to their left side.

A shuffling sound preludes the question. "How can I help?"

"Stay back princess." Rumpelstiltskin sneers, barely sparing a glance at the man shuffling unsteadily closer. "You've done enough."