Page 59 of Songs and Spun Gold
A relieved smile spread across her face despite the uncomfortable sensation. Without ceasing her work, she glanced overher shoulder and said, “Thank you for coming again. I thought you might not; I can’t imagine what else I have that I can give you.”
She caught a glimpse of a smirk from the red-haired stranger before she faced her work again. “You thought the same the first night. But you were mistaken.”
“I admit, I wouldn’t have guessed that my hair ribbon would be of use to you. Nor my bracelet,” she added, trying to keep the bitterness and sorrow out of her voice. She had been skeptical of his claim two nights ago when he first appeared, but she’d been desperate. Her jaw had dropped to the floor and the yarn had broken when it took on a metallic sheen on its way through the wheel.
“Ah, yes, you were more reluctant to part with that last night, weren’t you?” He dangled the item in question from his finger, and Katy restrained the urge to make a lunge for it. Catching it in his fist, he stuffed it back in his pocket. “But since you knew it would be worth it, you couldn’t withhold it, could you?”
She hated the taunting note in his voice, but she gritted her teeth and kept her eyes focused on the straw as it passed through her fingers, around the wheel, and onto the bobbin, changing to gold as it went. She didn’t have to like him or his attitude; as long as he helped her, she could put up with it. And it was only one more night. This one last night, and it would be over.
“But you do not need to worry,” he continued loftily. He walked around to stand in front of her so that they could converse easily while she continued to work. “No exchange is necessary tonight.”
“What?” Katy was so surprised, she almost stopped spinning. “Why not?”
The stranger’s lips spread in a wide grin. It wasn’t a pleasantgrin, and she shuddered; something about it struck her as familiar. “Because, my dear girl, you already agreed to one.”
The pedal ceased as her mouth dropped open. “When? I don’t recall agreeing to anything but my hair ribbon and my bracelet.”
“No, you wouldn’t remember,” he laughed. The gleam in his green eyes made her lean away in discomfort. “Even if you could, it was almost ten years ago. You might have forgotten anyway.”
Just to give herself something else to look at, Katy forced herself to resume her spinning. “I first met you two nights ago,” she insisted. “And if Ihadmet you ten years ago, why would I have promised you something for spinning straw into gold? Spinning wheels were outlawed in my village!”
“Oh, it wasn’t for spinning straw into gold.” The stranger folded his hands behind his back and sauntered toward the wall. “It was for helping you marry the prince. Which, incidentally, you will achieve once this straw is all gold.”
Katy rolled her eyes. “Now Iknowyou’re making it up. Some girls may be more interested in a title than the man behind it, but I’ve dreamed of marrying for love my whole life; why would I make a deal to marry someone I’ve never met?”
He spun on his heel to face her, that unnerving grin still on his face. “Are you sure?”
Instead of answering, she scooped up another handful of moistened straw from the bowl at her feet.Hecertainly seemed sure, but did that matter? A liar could present his lie with confidence, but that wouldn’t make it true.
And she wouldn’t have made a deal for the prince. At one time, she may have hoped for an offer from the young noble, but they were friends. If he had not spent so much time with her, she would never have dreamt of it.
“Aren’t you going to ask what the price is?” he asked, hisgrin even wider now and his voice jeering.
“I suppose I should know what youclaimit is,” she grumbled. “Just so I know if I should refuse to pay it.”
He clapped his hands together. “Ah, but that’s the beauty of it. You can only refuse to pay it by refusing to spin the straw into gold, and if you do that, your family will pay a different price, won’t they? And you can’t have that.”
“Just tell me,” she snapped.
“No need to get so worked up,” he scolded. “It’s only a small price, as I told you when I offered the deal.”
Katy glared up at him but didn’t stop her work.
After another few moments of grinning at her, he said, “All I ask is your firstborn child. You see? Nothing too costly.”
The “yarn” broke.
Katy shot to her feet, stumbling a little as she backed away over her seat. Flabbergasted, her mouth flopped soundlessly for at least a full minute. “You cannot be serious!” she finally exclaimed. “Why in the heavens would I have agreed to that? Why wouldanyoneagree to that?”
The stranger shrugged. “Perhaps you were too ambitious for your own good. Perhaps you thought I would never make good on it. What do I care? All that matters is that you made the deal.”
She backed away from him, her heart pounding. “I don’t believe you. I would never agree to a deal like that!”
“Believe me or don’t.” He stalked toward her. “The truth is always true, whether you believe it or not.”
“I don’t accept this deal,” Katy gasped, trying not to let her feelings of shock and panic overwhelm her. “Something else. I’ll give you something else. What do you want?”
The stranger shook a finger at her. “That’s not the way this works. You already agreed to the price for helping you marry the prince; spinning this final night fulfills my side of thebargain. It doesn’t matter if you refuse tonight or not. If you spin the straw, you win the prince, and your firstborn is mine. If you don’t spin the straw, then you don’t win the prince, and then...” He trailed off, allowing her to fill in the rest of the sentence herself.
