Once upon a time, a girl married a prince.
But long before her marriage, she met a small man who helped her spin thread to gold.
That man wanted one thing in return: the girl’s child.
A few days after the child was born, the man entered through the window into the girl’s room. He snuck up on the girl, and he made her jump when he touched her shoulder.
“You remember our deal from years ago. Now you must pay me back,” said the little man.
The girl held her child close as she stared at the imp.
“I’m not just going to give my child away like that,” she said.
“Oh, but you must,” said the little man. “You made a deal with me all those years ago. I never let a deal go empty-handed. But if you insist on keeping your child, I’ll give you a chance to keep him. You have three tries in three days to guess my name. I’ll be back tomorrow.”
The girl took the next day to think. Now, what would be a good name for this creature? she thought.
The creature came back that night.
“What is my name?” asked the imp.
“Hugo,” she answered.
“Not even close. I’ll be back tomorrow night. I hope you’re ready.” The imp seemed to be getting a bit cocky.
But, nonetheless, the girl took all the next day to think of his name.
The creature came back that night.
“What is my name?” he asked.
“Alfonso?” questioned the girl.
“Nope, nope, nope!” cried the imp joyously. “You have one last shot. Give it your all. I’ll be back tomorrow.”
The girl couldn’t sleep that night. She tossed and turned all night. What is his name? What is his name? The same thought ran through her mind well into the next day.
At dinner, just before the imp should return, the girl said to her husband, “There is an imp coming tonight to take our child away. I cannot guess his name.”
The husband looked a bit downtrodden by these news. “I will put up bars in the windows and lock the doors so that he can’t get in. Then our child shall be safe this night.”
So that’s just what he did.
He barred the windows and locked the doors until he was sure that no creature - not even an imp - could get in that night.
And yet, he still did.
The imp appeared in the girl’s room out of nowhere.
“Now, now, princess, why would you try to lock me out like that? All I want is to finish our deal. And now, for the question of the year, what. Is. My. Name?” With each word in that question, he took a step closer to the girl until she was sure she was gonna fall backward.
The imp took a step back. “What is it, what is it, what is it? Ooh, hoo hoo hoo!” He laughed with glee. “I’m so excited.”
The girl hesitated for a moment. She thought for a minute. For another minute. Minutes more later, and she finally thought that she had the answer.
“Is your name…” She started to say something unintelligible that probably wasn’t a name. Or she said something like this: “Bob?”
“No, no, no!” cried the imp. Now, you might think that the girl had won the game. That’s what she thought, too, but, sadly, his joy here sounds a lot like his anger, so in fact he won.
“I WIN!” He yelled this very loud. “I WIN, I WIN, I WIN! Now your child is mine! Give him to me! GIVE HIM!”
The girl had no choice because the child popped right out of her hands and right into the imp’s.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment for a very long time, princess. A very long time. I have just changed the course of history, and now, everything belongs to me. Everything, I tell you. All those kids at school that made fun of me are gonna pay. All those men that wouldn’t hire me just because of my height. All those overpriced onions at the farmers’ market. Everything will change now that I have THIS!”
And he disappeared.
The girl fell to the floor, and cried.
She cried for hours.
She cried for nights.
She cried until she was dead just a week later.
Her husband died, too, just a month after as he realized he couldn’t go on without his love.
The kingdom was thrown into a frenzy, trying to figure out what to do now that the child was taken and there was no one else to take the throne.
Then, the imp walked up to the castle and walked in. Without knocking.
He walked past the guards, not even acknowledging him.
He walked past the advisors, not even batting an eye at the sight of him.
He walked right up to the throne, which seemed to be waiting for him.
And he sat down.
With the child in his lap, he told everyone in the room in a very soft yet menacing voice, “I am your king now. I am the father of this child who is not yet old enough to rule by himself. I am now the ruler of this land and everything it conquers.” His voice rose with each sentence. “My name is Rumpelstiltskin, and you will bow down to me now. I will take everything you love if you even try to strike me down. Fear me, people of the city, fear me!” He cackled and laughed so menacingly, even the men next to the fire shook so violently, they thought they would fall over.
Rumpelstiltskin composed himself for the final sentence which he said so softly, hardly anyone heard him: “I will take everything.”
And the clock struck midnight.
Rumpelstiltskin hired the best seers of the land to tell him of his future. He didn’t want anything to stand in his way of kingship.
One day, an old woman named Matilda, the best seer in all the land, told Rumpelstiltskin of a child destined to fall in love with the prince within the next twenty years. That princess then would turn on him and kill him if he didn’t do anything about it.
Rumpelstiltskin asked for more details.
“This child,” prophesied Matilda, “will come to a party, and she will be the most beautiful thing you or your son will ever lay your eyes on. She will call herself Ella, but she will never say anything of her past. That’s because she comes from a terrible life with a terrible mother and sisters. But there is one key item in this story: there is a Fairy Godmother who helps her with all of this.”
“I want to meet with her,” said the imp. “I have some things I wish to discuss with her.”
Not even two weeks later, Rumpelstiltskin got what he asked for.
“Fairy Godmother!” greeted Rumpelstiltskin. “How nice of you to join me today.”
“Can we hurry on with this?” asked the Fairy Godmother. “I have many other things to attend to, and I don’t want to hasten my schedule.”
“Why, of course, Fairy Godmother. We’ll make this as quick as you like it.”
Rumpelstiltskin guided the Godmother through the hallways of the massive castle and into a private room free from any distractions.
“So tell me, Rumpelstiltskin,” started the Fairy Godmother as soon as the door closed, “why have you brought me here today?”
Rumpelstiltskin responded with, “It is a matter of my kingship.”
“Oh, yes, I know. A girl is coming to kick you out of your throne. That is fate, Rumpelstiltskin. You can’t change it.”
“Oh, but I can, with your help, of course.”
The Fairy Godmother looked stricken. “Are you threatening me?”
“Of course not! Why would an imp such as myself threaten a powerful figure like yourself? No, I am just simply asking for your help. When you bless the girl in the future, I want to give it one little twist, one that you will never mention: the glass will break and the girl will die. Can you do that for me?”
“But if I do that, my reputation will be ruined! I can’t go around cursing people. That’s not what I do. People will start treating me like a witch!” The Fairy Godmother looked truly afraid.
Rumpelstiltskin smiled. “No one will do that because no one will know that it was you who cursed her. Just do that one thing for me, and I promise, on my troth, that you won’t be treated any differently than you are now.”
The Fairy seemed to relax just a slight bit. “I guess… as long as nothing happens to my reputation or to me, I will grant you the curse you wish. On one condition.”
“Yes, yes, whatever it is, I will do it, as long as I keep my throne.”
“I want you to suffer a curse yourself.”
Now it was the imp’s turn to be stricken with fear. “M-m-me? I can’t do that! No, I refuse to allow that.”
“Alright, then you won’t get your curse,” said the Godmother with a smug smile.
Rumpelstiltskin, angry and a tad zealous, muttered some incoherent words then said, “Fine, fine, I’ll do it.”
“Oh, goody! Now, the curse isn’t all too bad. All I want is that you find yourself a queen, that’s all I ask.”
“Oh, that’s not so bad.” The dwarf was starting to feel satisfied with this deal.
“That’s not all. You will find a queen, and you will love her greatly. But sadly, she will die within five years of your marriage. Then you will be dearly heartbroken. Do you understand?”
The imp didn’t seem to care. “Yeah, yeah, okay. So she’ll die, whatever. Not like I’m gonna care anyway.” Okay, so he didn’t actually care at all.
“Alright, your curse is granted. Bippity. Boppity. Boo.” And she vanished.
The imp walked out of the room feeling successful in his work. By accident, he ran into one of the maids, knocking the tray of goblets out of her hand.
As the maid bent over to pick them up, Rumpelstiltskin said, “Watch it, girl.” When he looked down, he saw that she was of fair beauty, and somehow, she intrigued him.
Rumpelstiltskin shook his head. “Not today, Fairy Godmother. Not today.”
And the clock struck midnight.
Nineteen years later, the child Rumpelstiltskin took, whose name is now Jacob, walked up to Rumpelstiltskin.
“I feel ready to take on the kingship sometime soon. Can I ask for your blessing to get married?”
Rumpelstiltskin had been waiting for this moment for a very long time. He smiled. “Yes, my son, you may get married. Would you like me to pick your wife or…?”
Jacob interrupted him. “No, father. I would like to pick her myself.”
“Very well, then. We shall organize a ball so that you may find your wife.”
Rumpelstiltskin and Jacob took the next few months planning the party. Then they took a couple months after to send out the invitations to the entire land.
Formal Ball
Castle Ballroom
Tuesday, 16 of January
All maidens are required to attend
And so it was ready.
Across the land, in a large house, but not quite a first class house, lived a girl with her two stepsisters, Martha and Felicia, and her no-good stepmother. The stepfamily called her Cinder because of all the dust on her face when she cleaned for them. Her real name, though, was Ella. The stepfamily didn’t know that.
And to Cinder, Ella was the only thing left of her after her father and mother had died. And all Ella wanted was to have them back. Or, even better, to leave this wretched family behind.
So, when Ella heard about the ball, of course, she wanted to go terribly.
As the story goes, her stepmother, whose name is Matilda—yes, the very same seer—wouldn’t let her go to the party. Cinder had to stay home and complete a long list of chores while the stepmother and her stepdaughters went to the castle and, in their hopes, capture the eyes of the prince.
The stepfamily left the house, and Ella got started on her lengthy list of chores. As she was going out to tend to the animals, she collapsed and burst into a fit of tears. She cried hard, tired of all the hardship that her stepfamily had put her through.
“Why? Why do I need to do this? I don’t want to suffer through this anymore!”
“I think I could help with that.” The tears blurred her vision, but she saw a light in front of her. It wasn’t bright that it burned her eyes, but it wasn’t dim. It was somewhere in-between like the morning sun shining through the window in an indirect way.
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But it was through that light that intrigued Ella more than the light.
It was a woman, probably in her early fifties, who seemed to radiate with magic. Sparks swirled around her; she held a wand in her left hand; and behind her was a chariot in the shape of a pumpkin pulled by two magnificent horses. The driver, a stunningly good-looking man, had a sense of humor in his eyes.
Ella kept her eyes on the woman. “Who- who are you?”
“Why, I am the Fairy Godmother. I’m here to help you get to the ball. All we need to do now is get you a good change of clothes.” The Fairy Godmother floated—that’s right, she floated—around Ella, studying her very closely.
“I know what you could wear.” With a “Bippity-boppity-boo,” Cinder was suddenly dressed in a stunning turquoise dress. Around her feet wrapped a pair of slippers, both made of glass.
“Oh, my darling, you look so incredibly beautiful,” said the Godmother. A tear fell from her eye.
“What is the matter, Godmother?” asked Ella.
The Godmother quickly wiped the tear from her eye. “Oh, it’s just nothing, Ella. Really, it’s nothing. Just remember, when the clock strikes midnight, all of this will disappear.”
“Okay, Fairy Godmother. Thank you so much.” Ella climbed aboard the chariot, waved the Godmother good-bye, and rode away toward the castle.
When Ella arrived at the castle, she ran as fast as she could up the large staircase in her class slippers and dress. She entered the ballroom, and when the men and women turned to see who had come to the ball so late, they just stared in awe at the shock of Ella’s beauty.
Ella wandered around the room, looking for the prince. After walking for approximately twenty minutes, Ella started to think that the slippers were starting to dig into her feet, so she looked for a place to sit.
That’s when she saw the prince.
Jacob was a stunning man with sandy blonde hair and ice blue eyes, but those eyes did not hold hard mischief; they held a soft and calm personality. Jacob had a small scar above his left eye and another just on the right side of his chin.
But it was who Ella saw dancing with him that made her mouth drop to the floor.
Prince Jacob was dancing with Martha.
Ella knew that she couldn’t just walk right up to the prince and request a dance with him. What if Marth recognized who she was? And if she didn’t, what other sister was nearby and she knew who she was?
Fortunately for Ella, she didn’t have to do that. The prince saw her while dancing with Martha. His eyes caught hers.
Quickly, Jacob turned to Martha. He said something to her. Then he turned and walked toward Ella, leaving Martha stamping her feet.
As Jacob got closer to Ella, he held out his hands. “Do you mind if we dance?”
Ella didn’t waste any time. She took Jacob’s hands, and they waltzed away.
“So,” Jacob started, “what’s your name?”
Ella seemed to hesitate. After being called Cinder for so long, it seemed that it was then burned into her mind. Finally, she said, “Ella. My name’s Ella.”
“Well, hello, Ella. You look very beautiful tonight.”
Ella pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “Thank you.”
They danced for quite a while. Finally, they went outside and into the castle gardens. They found a swing there. They took turns pushing each other around on it.
Ella had an enjoyable time.
But it wouldn’t last forever.
There was a bell in the distance.
Ella stopped and turned Jacob toward her. “What time is it?”
“I believe it is midnight,” answered Jacob. “Why?”
“I have to go.” Ella let the swing go along with Jacob.
Ella heard Jacob yelling behind her, but she was moving too fast for her to hear him.
She ran through the ballroom, pushing the other guests out of her way and tripping others as she made her way to the entrance of the castle.
She started to run down the stairs in front of the palace.
At one moment, she kicked her leg a bit too hard, and the slipper on her foot went flying off.
The slipper, after flying through the air, landed in front of Ella.
Without the slipper already in the air, Ella tripped.
The slipper hit the ground before her, and it shattered into a million pieces.
Ella knew she would get a scratch or two, maybe even a piece of glass stuck in her somewhere.
She could’ve never predicted the actual outcome.
She landed face first into the pile glass awaiting for her at the bottom of the castle steps.
And the glass embedded itself into her there.
One piece scarred her cheek.
Another slightly cut her throat.
The heel of the slipper went straight into her eye.
When the prince came looking for his princess, all he found was a girl in rags at the bottom of the stairs. She laid there motionless.
When he turned her over, her face was covered in glass shards, and the eye that remained unscathed from the glass laid open and lifeless.
Jacob recognized the face even through the scars, blood, and glass.
He screamed into the night.
Exactly twenty years after the deal with the Godmother was struck.
And the clock struck midnight with Jacob’s scream.
Inside the castle, after Rumpelstiltskin had seen all the guests off and had dealt with the dead girl problem, he came back inside to find only one person cleaning the ballroom.
It was the same maid he had bumped into twenty years ago. Even though they had both aged considerably, she still held the same beauty that almost captured the imp all that time ago.
And this time, she captured his attention fully.
She looked up from her work and looked Rumpelstiltskin dead in the eyes.
Rumpelstiltskin stumbled over to her. “What’s your name, girl?”
The maid held his gaze. “Maria. My name’s Maria. And you’re Rumpelstiltskin.”
“Indeed I am.” Rumpelstiltskin smiled. He actually smiled. Nobody had ever seen him do that since he got his grip on the kingship.
And here Maria was, witnessing all of this.
“Can I help you with anything, my king?” questioned Maria. “Or would you just like me to keep cleaning?”
“I like you, gi—Maria. You keep doing what you’re doing for now, but this weekend, I’m gonna take you out for dinner. How does that sound?”
Maria seemed to take a moment to consider. “Okay, King. Let’s do it. What shall I wear?”
“I will have my best tailors make you something. Just be ready to go this weekend.”
Maria returned to cleaning, but Rumpelstiltskin continued to stare at her for a moment longer. In the back of his mind, bells were going off.
He ignored them.
That weekend, only five days later, Rumpelstiltskin found Maria in the ballroom dressed down in the best dress he’d ever seen. Maria wore a sleeveless purple dress, and surprisingly, Rumpelstiltskin felt his face heat up as he gazed in amazing awe at the beauty of Maria. Five days ago, she was covered in dust and was still beautiful. Now, all washed up, she was somehow incredibly more beautiful.
Rumpelstiltskin offered his arm to Maria. She took it. He led her out of the castle into the night and down the stairs to the awaiting chariot. Rumpelstiltskin told the driver, “Take us to the finest diner in town.”
“Yes, sir!” responded the driver. And they were off.
When they returned to the castle, they were both in a fit of giggles.
“Oh, Rumpelstiltskin, you’re such a charming little man.”
“Why, thank you, princess.” Rumpelstiltskin giggled. “I do my best, y’know?”
Rumpelstiltskin led Maria out of the chariot. As they walked up the stairs, the imp stuttered and said, “So, um… If I were to… If I were to ask you to, um, marry me, what would you… what would you, um, say?” Wow, that was embarrassing, he thought to himself.
Maria smiled that cute little smile Rumpelstiltskin liked. (Yeah, he realized this over the date.) Rumpelstiltskin smiled back.
“I would say yes.”
And, simple as that, the next week, they got married.
Just as the clock struck midnight.
Over the next four years, the couple had their amazing moments. They had two children, a girl named Belle and a boy named Daniel. Jacob loved his two half-siblings, but he had doubts about his stepmother.
How come Rumpelstilskin got lucky with love but Jacob found his dead?
Jacob was enraged with this.
But Jacob knew that his father was now truly happy, and he didn’t want to ruin that. All Jacob did in those four years was stay out of their way.
Jacob was never around the castle much anymore. He was always out exploring the land and searching for someone who could match Ella, but he doubted he would ever find someone like her ever again. She had been something very special to him.
But, nonetheless he searched for her.
Back at the castle, the king and queen celebrated their fourth anniversary.
And that night, Maria fell fatally ill.
Just when the clock struck midnight.
Rumpelstiltskin hired the best medics in the land, all of them poring over the queen’s illness, each one coming up empty handed, each one without a cure. Every single one said that they had never dealt with such an illness before. They were unaware of what it was.
Rumpelstiltskin was enraged by this information.
He called for his son to return back to the castle as soon as possible. Then he went into his wife’s room, knelt next to her bed, and wept.
“Why? Why did I agree to that stupid Godmother’s deal?”
“Because you thought, Rumpelstiltskin, that you would never fall in love,” came a familiar voice from behind him.
Rumpelstiltskin turned around slowly. He felt the anger building up in him, the heat rising in his face, the clenching of his knuckles. He knew who it was before he even saw her.
“Good afternoon, Fairy Godmother,” he said. “How nice of you to join me at the time of my wife’s death.”
The Godmother walked over to the side of what might be Maria’s deathbed. “You know, once upon a time, you struck deadly deals yourself. You would take a child in exchange for making gold from straw. You’d take a life in the exchange for magic. You’d leave people in a miserable life just so they could gain a skill. You’d make people suffer just so they could have something more, maybe a life. And for all of them, you gave them three guesses at your name. And of all of them, no one could guess it.”
Shaking from anger and sadness, Rumplestiltskin almost shouted while he said, “So what? They took the deal. They got what they wanted. I don’t get the point of all this. Just tell me what you want.”
“I want for you to suffer the same way they did, and here’s how I’m going to do it: You will get the same three guesses they did. For all eternity, I never revealed my name because if someone knew, they could use it to kill me. No one knows what it is. If you can guess my name in three days, I will let your wife live, and you will never hear from me again. But, if you are unfortunate enough to not guess my name, then I will let your wife die, and our deal will be complete. Do you accept my challenge?”
Rumpelstiltskin, heartbroken and disappointed in this offer, thought about it. Honestly, it was an easy decision, seeing how he could save Maria and have a happy life while also having the power to take down the Fairy Godmother. Then again, it could be just like him, and the Fairy Godmother’s name could be just like the imp’s, and it would be impossible to guess.
Rumpelstiltskin never passed up a chance for something that could benefit him.
“I’ll do it.” Three simple words.
“Then it is done.”
So they shook hands as the clock struck midnight, signaling the start of a new day.
Rumpelstiltskin took the entire day to think hard and long on the Fairy Godmother’s name. He canceled all meetings, he sat in silence during all his meals, and the rest of the time was spent in his wife’s room.
Diana.
Belle.
Maria.
That last name kept coming to him no matter how many times he tried to push it away. That couldn’t have been the Fairy Godmother’s name at all.
That night, the Godmother flew in through the window, the same way Rumpelstiltskin had done it a quarter century ago.
“Time for the first guess. What’ll it be, Rumpelstiltskin? What’s my name?”
Rumpelstiltskin took one more second to think of a name. “Amelia.” He said it with so much confidence, even though he was convinced he was right.
The Godmother shook her head. “Two guesses left, Rumpelstiltskin. Two guesses left; make them count.”
And she left the same way she came.
Another day went by the same way as the first.
No meetings.
Almost complete silence.
Rumpelstiltskin only seen in his wife’s room.
At nightfall, the Godmother entered through the window again. “Guess two. Here we go.”
Rumpelstiltskin took just a moment longer than the last night, and he said it with way less confidence than before. “Hera.”
The Godmother oohed. “That’s a good one. But nowhere close to what my name is.”
And she left again, leaving the imp downtrodden in despair.
The next day, Jacob arrived back at the castle to find the imp hitting his head against the wall of the kitchen.
Rumpelstiltskin stopped for one moment to shout in complete rage, his scream making the hairs on the back of Jacob’s neck rise. Jacob was suddenly afraid to approach him.
Rumpelstiltskin turned to find Jacob staring. “Oh, hello there, son,” his voice suddenly cheery. “How was your trip?”
“Father, are you okay?”
“Yes, Jacob, perfectly fine, thank you for asking.” Though to Jacob, this was clearly a lie.
“What’s the matter, father?” interrogated the prince.
Rumpelstiltskin sighed. “Your stepmother’s dying.”
Jacob didn’t even bat an eye. “She is?” he asked with as much concern as he could muster.
Rumpelstiltskin almost burst into a fit. He stumbled over to Jacob. “I only have one chance to save her. One chance to stop the Godmother.”
Jacob stared at his father. “You struck a deal with the Fairy? Father, why would you do such a thing? What do you have to do?”
Rumpelstiltskin answered only the last question: “I have to guess her name. By tonight.”
So the two spent the rest of the day discussing the possible names of the Godmother.
Rachel.
Mary.
Aria.
Armelle.
Charlotte.
None of them seemed right.
They sat in Maria’s room waiting for the Fairy Godmother and staring out at the sun, watching it set in all its glory. Maria had her eyes open, watching it also.
Rumpelstiltskin knew this would be Maria’s last time seeing the sun, so he walked over to her bedside.
“Hey, Maria. How are you doing?”
Maria lifted a thumb. Slowly and laboriously, she lifted her arm to turn it over. Then she let it drop.
“I know, my love. I know. I feel the same way.” Rumpelstiltskin started to choke up just a little bit. “I’m gonna miss you.”
Maria turned her head toward Rumpelstiltskin in a way that might’ve meant What do you mean?
Rumpelstiltskin gestured to the window as the last ray of light was consumed by the dark of night.
In flew the woman who had caused this event.
The Fairy Godmother herself.
“Rumpelstiltskin, Rumpelstiltskin, Rumpelstiltskin. Tsk tsk tsk. Such a touching moment for us all.” The Fairy Godmother spread her arms in a wide gesture. “But your time is up. What. Is. My. Name?” She took the time to slowly say that last sentence, emphasizing each letter, making them feel heavier than they really were.
Rumpelstiltskin, damaged and lost, looked around the room. First, he looked at his son, staring at the ground. His mouth was set in a thin line, his knuckles white from clenching the stool he sat on.
Next, Rumpelstiltskin looked at his wife, lying in the bed and dying from an illness brought upon her by magic. Nobody knew how to cure it, and only the Godmother could remove it. What was an imp to do about that?
Finally, Rumpelstiltskin’s eyes landed on the Fairy Godmother. She held her wand with a loose grip, but her eyes were filled with some malice, ready to do some damage to somebody who’s done too much damage to others. The Godmother let a small smile settle on her face.
Rumpelstiltskin gripped his wife’s hand as he spoke slowly. “I don’t know what your name is. I probably never will. Go ahead and take my wife away from me. A deal’s a deal, and I’ll let you fulfill it.”
The Fairy’s face softened at that. “The imp has finally learned some integrity. Congratulations, Rumpelstiltskin. I will take your wife from you now, but I will leave something in her place, something to help you remember her and this moment.”
The Godmother disappeared. It was not a sudden flash of light. It was more of a slow fading, starting at the Godmother’s feet and rising to her head. Each speck of light left through the window and out into the darkness.
Maria took her last breath after the speck of light left the room. Her chest made its last fall as Maria slowly closed her eyes. Her hand fell from Rumpelstiltskin’s and back onto the bed.
Rumpelstiltskin looked down as the tears started to flow from his eyes. Never in all his life had he felt this much sadness.
He knelt there for a long while, probably for well over an hour.
At last, he stood up and looked over at the prince.
“I know how you feel now, son. I know what it’s like to lose someone you care deeply about. But I never thought it would hurt this much.” Rumpelstiltskin smiled a small smile. “I’m sorry, Jacob. I’m so dearly sorry.”
Rumpelstiltskin looked back at the bed. His wife was gone, but in her place was a ring. It was small and silver and engraved with an insignia: an ankh broken into multiple pieces and half-devoured by a snake.
Rumpelstiltskin picked it up and held it close. After a few moments, he put it on his finger in a tender manner. He looked one last time out the window, then at his son, then he left the room.
Just as the clock struck midnight.