Rumplestiltskin by Jenni James

leaning against the wall near the bed, she collected the thing and began to sweep up the bits of fallen hay. Clearing the floor and tidying up the room allowed her to feel productive. He had said they would be spinning the straw as soon as they had eaten, so she took it upon herself to collect a pile and set it closest to the spindle which would allow the work to go faster. Unsure of exactly what she would be expected to do, she wanted him to know she would help him as best she could and be of any assistance he needed.
    Soon after another small sweep of the newly fallen hay, Rumple walked in the hidden doorway. His arms were bundled full of goodies. She quickly set the broom against the wall and helped him into the room.
    “How did you carry this all up those stairs?” she asked, glancing down at his hobbled foot.
    He smirked boyishly. “I have magical powers, remember?”
    Aubrynn rolled her eyes as she removed one of the heavy loads. “Does this magic power include lightening bundles?”
    “Actually, it does.”
    “Oh.” She was surprised. “Well, that must be helpful.”
    He grunted as he set the rest of the load upon the ground. “You have no idea, especially on days like this.” Lowering himself to the floor, he gingerly moved his leg out of the way. “So we are in luck, my fair maiden.”
    “We are?” She was quick to join him, settling her skirts upon the newly swept ground.
    “Yes. It seems the kitchen staff was anticipating your meal, so there were even extra things lying about for you.”
    She smiled as he unwrapped and removed a few peeled boiled eggs, two different cheeses, muffins, some cold ham, a large chunk of bread, two apples, a peach, dried nuts, and several tarts. “My goodness! This is a meal fit for a king! How will we be able to eat half this much food?”
    He grinned and bit into a boiled egg. “That is the beauty of it. We do not have to eat this all—now we have something to break our fast too.”
    His grey-blue eyes danced in the firelight as he chewed, quite proud of himself. Aubrynn did not hesitate to slice some cheese with a small knife he had revealed and began to nibble upon it. As the delicious cheese made its way down her throat she realized how completely famished she was.
    “You are an angel!” she exclaimed as she bit into a chunk of newly broken bread—her hand quickly finding an apple. “How did you know I would be this hungry? I did not even know I was this hungry.”
    He shrugged his shoulders and then answered around a mouthful of ham, “Just an inkling I had.”
    “You will, mayhap, forget my manners for a moment as I catch up to my appetite?” She grinned her own mouth full of apple.
    “Of course!” He chuckled. “As you can see, my savageness has come out as well. So let us be merry beasts together.”
    Gratefully, Aubrynn tucked in quite a bit more than she believed she would be able to. However, with a fully happy tummy she was more than willing to get to work and spin gold. Rumple dusted off his hands and began to help her fold everything away for later. Once it was all stored nicely upon her bed, he went and sat down at the spindle again, removing the golden straw from the seat first.
    “This is a bit troublesome on my own, so I am hoping with you up, you could help feed the straw into the spindle itself. See? Like this.” He picked up a few pieces of hay from the pile she had next to the stool and began to spin the large wheel. She watched the way he held the straw in place on the string, feeding it slowly into the needle.
    “Is that all there is to it, then?” she asked. “Just threading it into the needle?”
    “Not quite.” He spun the wheel a final push and the straw wove through, but came out looking the exact same way it had before. She tried to catch it before it fluttered to the floor, but to no avail.
    “So what is the trick?”
    “Magic. I have to do the magic with this little thing or nothing will happen.” He pulled out the