Rumpelstilt-skin

A Story by Toaster

A new, bloody take on a classic fairytale.

Once upon a time, there was a mill worker. He was a vain man, and often lied to make himself seem more important. One day the king of the land came into the mill looking for someone to make garments of animal skins. The mill worker, attempting to impress the king, yelled that his daughter was the best pelt worker in the world.

“Excellent. If your daughter doesn’t make the best animal skin clothing I’ve ever seen in three days, I'll have her beheaded.” Said the king joyfully as he walked out.

“That cow is lazy anyway.” Said the mill worker as he got back to work. That night he came home to the hut he and his daughter shared and told her what the king had said.

“Father, how could you?” Screamed Eliza, the daughter. She ran to her room crying. Eliza fell into a troubled sleep which seemed to last too long. As soon as the sun came up the kings’ soldiers broke into her house and killed her father. Then they dragged her out of bed and took her to the kings’ castle. Eliza was immediately taken to one of tallest towers and locked in with the pelts and sowing machine she needed to make the clothing. For hours she tried to make garments out of the skins, but to no avail. Soon, night fell and the woman collapsed, fingers cut so badly the bones were showing in places.

“I cannot do this.” Eliza cried into the night.

“But I can.” Said a soft, yet malicious voice from behind her. Eliza turned from the window she was standing at to see a short ugly creature among her pelts.

“Who’re you?” She gasped, backing away.

“My name is not important. But what I can do for you is.” The creature walked forward to Eliza, eyeing her up and down.

“What is it you can do for me?” Eliza asked when she had nowhere to go but out the window, which she was strongly considering.

“I can make the best animal skin clothing in the world. What’s more, I can show you how to make it. And all it takes is a,” He paused, mouth twitching upward, “small fee.”

Eliza jumped at her chance. “What is this small fee? I shall pay it, no matter the cost.”

“I require your first born. Think of it, your life for the life of a child not even born. You can raise it without loving it and when the time comes, give it to me. You are young, you shall have many others.”

Eliza answered immediately. “Show me how to make the clothing. My first born child shall be yours.” The creature set to work, showing Eliza all he knew.

When at last the creature was finished showing Eliza how to weave clothing, it was well into the third day. “Now remember, you must give me your first born child.” The creature told her as it leapt out the window. Eliza rested for a few hours before starting on her clothing. Before she went to sleep that night, she had made the most perfect animal skin clothing in the world.

The king came into the tower the next morning to see Eliza laying on her cot in one corner of the room, and the clothing she had made lying across a chair in the other. The king looked over Eliza’s handiwork, exceedingly impressed. He went to her bed and woke her. “This is amazing, girl.”

“T-thank you, your highness.” Eliza said, frightened of the rumors she had heard of the temper the king had.

“I must declare it immediately. What is your name?” The king had a superior manner about him. He was overweight but still looked as though he could win in any fight.

“Eliza.” She said.

“Well, Eliza, you are to marry my son.” The king turned to one of his guards, ordering him to go and fetch the prince. “All the women in the kingdom have hoped he would ask their hand in marriage, but he could not decide. Therefore, I devised a way in which they could decide amongst themselves.” The door opened once more, and the prince entered the room. “Son, this is to be your wife, Eliza.”

Eliza and the prince were married within the month, and grew to love each other. Many years passed before they finally had a son, named Leon. Eliza had almost forgotten about the small creature, until Leon’s third birthday, when he went missing.

“Dear, have you seen Leon?” Eliza asked her husband, who was now king.

“I suspect he is in the garden or there abouts. Leave the child be.” The king responded absentmindedly. Eliza was nearly in tears by the time she got to the garden. She ran through the shrub maze, screaming her son’s name. When at last she got the center, Eliza saw a familiar face, but not the one she had hoped for.

“You!” She screamed at the small creature before her.

“Hello, Eliza. I trust you are doing well?” The creature said in an overly friendly tone.

“Give me my son back you monster!” Tears were running down Eliza’s face as she spoke.

“Oh, I’m so very sorry. But I cannot do that. You see, we had an agreement. But, not to worry. I have a new agreement for you to get him back.”

“What is it?” Eliza demanded.

“You are to make some clothing out of this skin.” The creature held out a parcel, wrapped in brown paper and with a brown string. “You do that, and you may have your son back.” The creature then left the maze, leaving Eliza there, heartbroken.

Eliza had not sewn in many years, and the skin was tough, as though it had been dried too quickly. But she was determined to get her son back, so she worked through the night, finally finishing early in the morning. There wasn’t much material so she didn’t have a lot to work with. In the end she made a small pair of pants. ‘They shall be for my son, once I get him back.’ She thought.

Eliza arrived at the center of the maze shortly before noon. The creature was there, waiting on one of the benches. Eliza thrust the pants she had made into the creature’s face and said, “Give me back my son.”

Its lips twitched upward as it took the pants. “You realize you could have saved yourself the trouble of making these and just said my name. But, alas, this works too.”

“Your name? You never gave me your name. What is it?” Eliza was furious that she hadn’t been told this information before.

The creature pretended not to hear her and said, “Well, I am a man of my word, so you shall have your son back.” It smiled broadly and handed the pants to Eliza. Then it turned around. “This is goodbye. You’ll never hear from me again.”

“I don’t understand. I thought I would get my Leon back.” Eliza was confused and upset, perhaps already knowing what the creature meant.

“Silly woman, you’re holding your son. Part of him, anyway.” The creature leapt up onto one of the hedges and was about to leave when he stopped, turned around, and said, “Oh, by the way, my name is Rumpelstiltskin.” Rumpelstiltskin laughed as he jumped down from the wall and ran off. The laughs, however, were very nearly drowned out by the terrified and painful screams of Eliza as she clutched the skin to her chest. And they all lived happily ever after. Or he did, at least.