Broken Ever Afters

Part 1 - Chapter 10

After my last dreaded first meeting with Rumpelstiltskin, he never showed up again to ask whether I wanted to go through with his offer. In a way, for me it was a relief. I was able to move on with my life and settle down from a life being on the run. Gothel never got the manuscript and I wasn't going to face her again anytime soon.

Sometime I wonder what's become of William. In the cell he mentioned stumbling onto King Oswald's realm and when I think of him, I'd like to imagine him sitting at a bar in the village, having a drink with a new acquaintance before going to work and then returning home to his lovely wife. At first it has been hard to adjust myself to living alone. William and I have always lived together inside the book and outside we had other brothers and sisters to share our home with. Having a place all for myself is odd, having always lived with someone in the house.

A knock on the door startles me as I chop the carrots to throw into my soup. I sweep the shredded vegetables off the chopping block and into the pot. With the ladle I mix the soup before hanging it over the fireplace. Rubbing my hands into a dirty kitchen cloth, I throw the rag on the counter and bend forward to reach for the door knob. I'm not expecting anyone so my surprise for seeing Brier-Rose standing on my doorstep is reasonable.

"Hi," I say, not knowing how else to react to her presence. The last time we spoke was quite a long time ago when I was wondering in the woods and collapsed in front of her house.

"Can we talk?" she asks timidly.

"Yes, of course. Come in."

Rose steps inside, her arms wrapped inside her black shawl, trying to keep warm in this wintry afternoon. Like a stranger visiting for the first time, her green eyes absorb her unfamiliar surroundings. Even though I've lived in this cottage for quite a number of months now, sometimes I feel like a stranger in my own home.

"Take a seat," I offer, picking up the ladle to stir the pot. "I was preparing some vegetable soup. Would you care to have some?"

"No, thank you, I won't be long," she answers, taking her seat. Her head continues to sway from side to side while I take the pot off the fire and onto the counter. I pour myself two ladles of the creamy soup and take my seat across her but I don't eat.

"What is it you wanted to discuss?"

Rose bends her head down and plays with the fringe of her shawl as if the constant compressing and untangling would change its shape. Something is bothering her but she's having trouble voicing it out. Timid in nature, she might be a little shy of me.

"Last night the huntsmen picked up Roger from our home and took him away," she says in between sobs My eyes are glued on her, not knowing how to comfort her and wondering why she decided I should be the first person to know about this.

"The head huntsman gave me a note signed by Gothel. In it she explains why Roger was taken away. I didn't want to come here quicker just in case it was a trap for you. Roger was taken away because Gothel thinks he knows your location. At first I was angry. I wanted to grab my things and run into the forest to look for you. Then when they left and I calmed down, I went to bed and set out in the morning."

"Thanks," I say, not imagining what she might be going through right now. This woman is risking her life to protect a stranger. A stranger she hopes might pay her back by saving her husband.

"Is there anything you can do?"

I move the bowl out of the way, providing an unobstructed view of the woman sitting in front of me. I know what she needs and I know I have to help her but I don't know how. My only comforting thoughts for her right now is to explain why Gothel wants to apprehend me so badly that she took her husband.