Baker's Apprentice Who Lives In A Shoe

The Enchantress

My friend and his son have left town. They didn't even say goodbye. How could they do that? I thought we meant more to them. I have to get over this because I still have my two younger brothers and Morain to take care of. I work at the bakery still, and my family is still living with my boss. It has been rather boring since Bae and his father left. I guess that is to be expected, though, with Rumplestiltskin becoming the Dark One. Morain and my two younger brothers were afraid of him. If Bae even remotely got hurt his father would overreact. I heard that he turned a man into a snail and stepped on him because Bae fell in front of the man. I felt that I owed Rumplestiltskin a great debt. He supported me, comforted me, and he brought my sister back to me. There is no way I would ever be able to repay the kindness he has shown me.

"Ava!" Someone ran into the bakery screaming my name. They looked like they had seen the dead walking. "Someone claiming to be an enchantress has entered town. She has your brothers and sister." I bolted out of the bakery out towards the place that Bae and his father used to live. Once there I saw my siblings kneeling on the ground in front of a woman. Their hands were restrained behind their backs. They saw me and immediately started sobbing.

"I'm sorry." All three of them kept saying over and over. The woman behind them was a stranger to this town. It was not uncommon to have travelers occasionally pas through town, but they never took captives.

"What do you want?" I asked the stranger. Her head was bowed so no one could see her face. The hood of her blue-green cloak casted a shadow dark enough to hide all of her facial features. A soft giggle came from that darkness. For a split second it reminded me of Rumplestiltskin. But, he was gone, and unless he knows how to change his shape, he was not a woman. "What...do...you...want?" I say again.

"I know what you want, and I can give it to you." She finally answered. Her voice was like the most beautiful song I had ever heard.

"That is not what I asked."

"Isn't it, though?" What did she mean by that. "I have come to make a deal with you, child." I shifted uncomfortably where I stood.

"What deal could you possibly want to make with me?" I had no clue what she was talking about. I don't need anything. I have a job, a home, and people who love and respect me.

"I know everyone's deepest desires. I know what you yearn for most." She paused finally picking up her head. The shape of her face was visible, and she was beautiful. "You wish for everlasting beauty so you may find your true love." My jaw felt like it would hit the dirt, and my eyes went wide. How could she know that? I have never told that to anyone. "No one told me of your wish, girl. I simply know when I am needed. There is a price for this beauty that you seek." I was finally able to close my mouth and squint my eyes as my brow furrowed.

"What is the price that you speak of?" I would have to think carefully. Rumplestiltskin went mad with the power that magic had given him. It is likely what has happened to this woman, as well.

"It is actually more of a choice. You come with me and I only kill your siblings, or you refuse to come with me and I destroy this whole town including you and your siblings."

"How could I choose either option?" It was a loose-loose situation. "Either way you kill my siblings."

"Well, of course. If I take you under my wing you can have no baggage. I can't have you coming back here searching for family if you get scared or give up. If you choose to come with me you must have no safety net." Either way I loose my family. I could feel tears coming to my eyes. Could I really choose to be selfish.