As part of Fairy Tale Central, Arielle, Faith, and I thought it’d be super fun to share a writing prompt each month that goes along with that month’s featured fairy tale. We can then take the prompt and write a piece based off of it on our personal blogs AND have YOU GUYS do the same if you want. That way we can share ALL the fairy tale love! It’s just so, sooo much fun reimaging fairy tales. And this is a great, quick way to play around with all the many possibilities.

If you missed it (thought probably not since I’ve been blabbering about it all month), for FTC’s first month, we have been featuring Rumpelstiltskin. Annnd yes, I’m squeezing in my prompt on the last possible second of Rumpelstiltskin month ‘cause that’s how I roll. *cough, cough*

ANYWHO. Near the beginning of each month, the prompt will be shared on Arielle’s writing blog Intuitive Writing Guide. You can see the prompt there, write something based off it on your blog, and then add a link in the comments section so others can see it too! FUN STUFF.

In honor of Rumpelstiltskin month, this month’s prompt is…

Click HERE to go to the prompt post.

Super fun right???

SO. I was originally going to write a flash fiction. Ya know, keep it down to 1k. Just a quick, fun scene, since that’s kind of the point of these prompts. A good way to get the creative juices flowing without taking up to much time. Well hahahahaha! You guys should know by now “quick, simple” stories is nooot my style. Even when I TRY. >.> My “fun, little flash fiction” piece exploded into a nearly 4k word short story with multiple convoluted plot threads going on. *LE SIGH*

BUT. I kind of had more fun with this story than I’ve had with writing in a while, and I toootally fell in love with the characters. So I’ve decided to start using this set of characters for each month’s FTC prompts. And, after this one, I am DETERMINED to keep each piece down to 1k words. We’ll just call this a good introduction to the characters, and then their later adventures will (hopefully) be way shorter. *grins*

Also, I wrote this pretty fast and 100% pantsed it. It’s not perfect, I didn’t exactly explain everything in great detail (I really was trying to keep the wordcount down, I promise, guys!), and I just don’t have time right now to spend ages editing it. But I still rather like it, even if it may be a bit flawed. Hope you guys enjoy!

DEAL OR NO DEAL

“Wait. Aren’t you going to make gold for me?”

“That is the bargain, yes.”

“Then why do you need my gold?”

“Do you want my help or not?” The short man held out a hand, thick eyebrows raised in expectation.

Raylinn set a hand on her hip. “I don’t see why giving you the only gold I have will help me gain gold. Isn’t that a bit counterproductive?”

“Are you questioning my methods?”

“Um. Yes. I thought that was pretty clear.”

“Well then.” He spun around and started marching back to the treeline. “Say hello to Finnigan for me. Oh wait.” He looking over his shoulder and cast her an infuriating sneer. “You can’t.”

Her heart stuttered. “Fine!” She reached for the gold ring on her left hand, but paused. Just a breath. Then she slipped it off. It slid away easily. After all, she had only been wearing it for a week. Forgive me, Finnigan. With a huff, she held it out to the man.

He snatched it from her grasp. The gleam in his abnormally large eyes made her second guess this whole bargain. Any single person on the whole of Talgaria would tell her trusting an imp was foolhardy. But what other choice did she have? Besides, losing her engagement ring to gaining back the one who gave it to her seemed like a pretty good deal.

“All right, I’ve given you my end of the bargain.” She crossed her arms. “Now it’s your turn.”

“Yes, yes,” he drawled, stuffing her ring into his pocket. “Did you bring the hay?”

She motioned to the abandoned barn a few paces away. “In there.” Her childhood home at the edge of the forest had been the perfect place to meet. No one ever came here. Other than the decrepit barn that now only housed some owls and unfortunate mice, there was nothing to see but overgrown grass. The ashes of the cottage had long since blown away.

The imp marched over to the barn where a small bale of hay sat in the padded floor. Raylinn stood just outside the wide doorway as he circled, poked, and even sniffed the straw.

“Is all this really necessary?”

His eyes snapped up, and in the dim light of the barn the yellowish tone of his irises glowed like fire, making her skin crawl. “Are you questioning my methods again?”

She took a few steps back. “Sorry, sorry. Go on.” Sheesh. Someone was touchy.

He slid his narrowed gaze back to the hay. After a few seconds more of careful examination, he straightened to his full three feet, held out his right palm, and murmured something unintelligible. With a flash of blue light, a spinning wheel materialized in the middle of the barn.

The man glanced over at her with a self-satisfied smile. She kept her face blank, refusing to aid in growing his already overstuffed ego. Despite the fact that it was a rather impressive feat of magic. Much to her own satisfaction, he did look rather annoyed at her indifference.

He swiped up a pile of hay, situated it into the spinning wheel, and got to work. The wheel turned at a dizzying rate, and above the whirling, the man hummed a tune that chilled Raylinn to the bone. But when something glimmered in the beams of sunlight, she forgot all about the unnerving song. He did it! A strand of gold had appeared from the wheel. This might work after all.

As he continued spinning, she turned and looked out across the field.

Her first week as an engaged woman hadn’t exactly been the bliss people talked about. Then again, most girls didn’t have their fiances kidnapped by a dragon five minutes after the proposal. Her only hope of getting Finnigan back was to offer the dragon a pile of gold. That was the usual bargain with dragons. But, of course, she had to obtain the gold.

Rumors of an imp who could spin straw into gold had floated through Talgaria for years. It had taken a week of wild goose chases and hiking through the forest to find him, but find him she did. Strangely enough, he lived awfully close to her old home.

Memories of frolicking through these very fields drifted through her mind. Then flames. Tongues of fire eating away at her home…her parents. Screams.

She hissed and turned back to the barn, banishing the memories. But they still lingered, as they always did. The constant questions. She never found out how the cottage burned down. One minute everything was peaceful and calm, and the next her home combusted into flames. Almost like magic.

No. No!

She couldn’t go there again. It wasn’t her fault. She was merely playing in the field. Besides, she was incapable of anything like that…wasn’t she?

“Well?”

The imp’s voice ripped her back to the present. There, curled up in long threads at the base of the spinning wheel, lay a pile of gold.

Like the first rays of light during sunrise, hope sparked in her chest. She could save Finnigan.

“You actually did it!”

“Well, you don’t have to sound so surprised.”

All right, all right. He did work his magic for her, she’d give him that. Softening up to him, she inclined her head. “Thank you, Mr…? I didn’t actually catch your name.”

“That’s because I never gave it to you.” His mouth quirked in a cocky smile, erasing any kind thoughts she may have had toward him.

But it didn’t matter. She had the gold. Now she had to make plans. The dragon’s lair was a good three days ride from here. She couldn’t exactly carry the gold there. The capital city sat a few miles away. She’d have to find a cart and donkey she could rent, and some sacks to hide the gold in. Of course, she’d have to be inconspicuous since the King wanted her head but—

“As an extra to our bargain, I’ll transport you straight to the dragon.”

Once again, the imp’s words interrupted her thoughts. But it took her several seconds to grasp their meaning. She stared, blinking. “You’ll…take me to the dragon?”

He offered a smile that revealed rows of crooked yellow teeth. “The bargain was that I’d help you get your betrothed back, yes?”

“Well, yes, but—”

“Then it’s settled.” He raised a hand and snapped.

The barn disappeared.

Wind. Darkness. Heat. No air.

Raylinn staggered forward and gasped, filling her lungs with air. Hot, stifling air, but air nonetheless. A rumble pulled her head up. She stumbled backward, nearly bowling over the imp who stood just behind her. But it was the thing before her that sent her heart to her throat.

A river of lava circled the cavern, sending red light gleaming off the purplish scales of the dragon who loomed not ten paces away. The rattle of chains pulled her eyes away from the beast. From below its spread wings, wrists and ankles shackled to the far wall, she could just make him out.

Finn.

Scalding air snapped her gaze back to the dragon who opened its maw, revealing endless rows of ridiculously looking sharp teeth.

“Wait!” She gestured wildly. Where was the gold? Ah, there, just to her right. She grabbed a strand and held it up. “I’ve brought gold!”

The dragon leaned forward, so close its breath singed her skin, but she stood her ground. The slit pupils of the beast widened and it pulled back and reached a claw forward.

“No!” Raylinn held the strand of gold away. “First you give me my fiance. Then the gold is yours.” Perhaps ordering a dragon around wasn’t the wisest of decisions, but common sense be hanged. She wanted her Finn back.

The dragon let out a steamy huff from its nostrils, and Raylinn braced herself to be turned into a dragon snack. But, to its credit, it pulled its head up and dislodged something stuck between two of its chest scales. It tossed the item down. A silver key clinked at Raylinn’s feet.

She pulled in a breath, snatched up the key, and ran past the dragon, who had started scooping up the gold strands with contented rumbles, like a cat in a pile of yarn.

“Finn!” Raylinn dropped to her knees in front of him.

He sat hunched over against the wall, arms dangling from manacles hooked above his head, lips parched, and sweat dripping from his brown strands of hair. But he smiled when he saw her.

“Raylinn,” he croaked. No doubt the stupid dragon barely gave him food or water. “Did you just enter a dragon’s lair and bargain with it for me?”

“Yes I did,” she said, matter-of-fact, as she unlocked his manacles. “Are you surprised?”

“Not in the least bit.”

She glanced at his face to find his blue eyes twinkling, and she smirked, even as her heart fluttered.

Saving one another had become a bit of a habit.

Finnigan had always been there for her, ever since he had first found her in the wake of the fire during one of his daily rides. Though only thirteen at the time, just a year older than her, he promised to help her. He brought her to his home—the castle. It was a bit of a disgrace for the crown prince of Talgaria to house an orphaned peasant. Or, at least, that’s what his father, King Olten, said, but Finnigan insisted on helping her.

Unfortunately, when she accidentally revealed what she was last year in front of the King, he tried to have her executed. Finnigan once again stood up for her, and got his title as crown prince snatched away and banished in the process. King Olten seemed bent on having her killed, and so they had been on the run and looking out for one another ever since.

This silly dragon probably hadn’t heard the word that Finnigan was crown prince no more. Living so secluded, dragons were usually behind on the news. It had most likely hoped to get a pretty ransom from the King for taking his son.

No matter. All’s well that ends well.

The second she had unclasped his manacles, he reached for her. Grinning, she leaned forward to embrace him. Except his hands wrapped around her neck.

She pulled in a strangled breath. “Finn?”

The playful blue eyes had turned sharp, dangerous. The hate within them squeezed at her heart as tight as his hands around her throat.

“Oh, whoops.”

His hands released, and she staggered to the ground, wheezing in breaths while searching for the voice.

The imp strode up, twisting her engagement ring around his pinkie. “This thing is even stronger than I thought it’d be. No, no, Finny boy. We don’t want to kill her, just control her.”

“What?” Raylinn squeaked, massaging her throat.

The imp cast her a wicked grin and held up his hand bearing her ring. “You should be more careful what you bargain for. Meaningful items have power, you know. At least, for those of us who know how to properly use magic. This ring here is a symbol of ol’ Finnigan’s love for you. And love, well, that’s the most powerful thing of all, now isn’t it? Which means through this ring, I can have full control over his mind.”

She glanced at Finn, who stood over her, eyes glazed with hate. Her own fury coursed her body back with energy, and she shoved to a stand, glaring at the imp. How could she have been so dunce? What reason would a man who could produce infinite gold need for a single gold ring? She had let desperation cloud her judgment.

“So what’s your game then? You’ve done all this so you can control Finnigan and what? Rule over Talgaria through him? Well, guess what? He’s not the crown prince anymore.”

“Oh pshaw! I could care a penny’s worth about ruling this kingdom. Ugh, politics.” He shivered as if ice slid down his back. “No thank you. No, no. I only needed the outlawed prince to get to you.”

She pulled back. “Me? I’m worth absolutely nothing.”

“Ah, but that isn’t true, now is it”—his lips peeled back in a knowing smile—“fairy child?”

Her blood turned cold despite the suffocating heat. “How did you know that?” she breathed. “We only met yesterday.”

“You only met me yesterday. But I’ve know you your whole life.”

She slid backward, shaking her head. “What are you talking about?”

“Oh, little Raylinn. I’ve always been there, living just at the edge of the woods beside your farm. I was there when your fairy mother brought you to the little cottage, when she begged the farmer and his wife to take you before the fairies knew she gave birth to a wingless child. Before she was disgraced and banished from the fairy realm herself. Before your own kind killed you, the abomination.”

Tears stung her eyes. “It…it doesn’t matter. I had loving parents, a good childhood. I wouldn’t have wanted to live in a world of people who hated me because I didn’t look just like them anyway. That still doesn’t explain why you want me. I have no magic like them. I’m powerless.”

He shook his head, tsking. “All the lies, Raylinn. I thought you were better than that. Didn’t I tell you? I’ve been watching, your whole life. I’ve seen the accidents when you’re overemotional. The wind that billows from your hands. The sparks of light that have crackled. And the fairy markings on your hands and arms that appear each time it happens. Ol’ King Olten saw it too, didn’t he? That day he struck his son and your fury got away from you? And we all know how much everyone hates fairy-kind after they nearly wiped Talgaria away during the war.”

She curled her hands into fists, willing the hot tears to stop, trying to quell the fury. “Stop it! Just stop it!”

“You have the fairy power within you, Raylinn. And I can bring it out of you. My magic is just parlor tricks. But with you…” His eyes glowed as dangerously as the lava around them. “Oh with you, I can do everything.”

“I will not be your puppet!”

“Actually, that’s exactly what you’ll be. Unfortunately, I can’t take control of anyone with fairy blood. It’s far more powerful than my own, even if I did have an item of importance like your engagement ring. But there’s something even more powerful than fairy blood.” He slid his gleaming gaze over to Finnigan who stood on like a marionette waiting for its master. “True love. Now that he’s your betrothed, the love is sealed. All I need is for him to give me permission to take you, and your mind is mine. So what say you, ex-Prince Finnigan Heldera? May I have your betrothed?”

“No!” Raylinn leapt forward and slapped both hands against Finn’s lips. He snagged the front of her gown, twisted her around, and dangled her over the lava river. Her boots slipped on the rock floor as heat blasted against her back. She grasped his arms with both hands, trying to stay upright.

The imp sidled up next to him, looking on with those fiery eyes. “You can’t stop me. Truthfully, you’ve been my puppet your whole life. Why do you think your cottage and poor adoptive parents burned up, just when valiant little Prince Finnigan was riding by? I knew you’d be a good match.”

She looked over at him, and as his words sunk in, the heat of the lava dissipated in the wake of the boiling rage inside her. “You. You’re the one who killed my parents!”

“Yes, yes. We’ve established that. I originally tried to steal you when you were a baby, and take control of your parents, but your mother, your real mother that is, put some sort of magic proof spell on you all. Probably to protect you in case the fairies learned what she did and sought you out. Unfortunately, it also kept me from getting to any of you. So, of course, I had to make new plans. It took a few more years, but it was worth it. When I saw the Prince purchase this here ring”—he twisted the gold band around his pinkie—“I knew the time had come. But the magic won’t work unless the item of power is freely given. Thus I hired the dragon to steal him away.”

The dragon let out a harrumph and curled around its gold protectively.

“You’re a clever one though,” he went on. “I knew if I came to you, you’d suspect something. So I let you go on your hunt for me for a while. Planting all the little clues that led you to my home was quite fun, I have to say.”

Raylinn’s mind spun. It was all him. This whole time, he had been shadowing her, controlling her.

“But enough chit-chat.” He waved a hand. “Go on, Finnigan. Give her to me.”

Finn turned those hate-filled eyes to her and opened his mouth.

“No, Finn!” She squeezed his arms tight. “Fight him! I know you’re still in there. Please. You have to fight!”

His lips trembled and, for a split second, the spark of hate in his eyes softened.

She sucked in a breath. “Yes. Yes! Finn, keep fighting!”

He squeezed his eyes shut, teeth gritted.

“No!” The imp jerked his hand with the ring up and squeezed his fist. “You are mine. Do as I say!”

Finnigan’s breathing heightened and sweat poured down his brow.

Tears slid across Raylinn’s cheeks. “Come on, Finn. You can do this. Fight him.” A sob choked up her words. “For…for me.”

His breaths slowed, and when he opened his eyes, he looked at her just as he always did. With love. “Raylinn?”

She gasped a sobbing breath. “You’re back!”

His eyes widened as he seemed to realize he held her over a river of lava. The fist clutching the front of her dress trembled violently. “I can’t…I can’t control my muscles. I…agh!” He squeezed his eyes shut again.

The imp stepped closer to him, sneering. “Yes, that’s it. Bend to my will.”

Now Finn’s entire body shook and his breaths came out ragged, uneven. “It…hurts. It’s like…it’s like he’s burning me from the inside out. Argh!”

Raylinn clung to his arms as he screamed in pain. Just like her parents. This imp had taken everything from her. And now he even took Finn.

She felt burning inside of her as well. Seething, uncontrollable rage that could not be contained. She let out a shriek.

The floor vibrated. The walls shook. Purple fairy markings glowed across her arms. She let loose another scream and the lava river shot up like a wall. She felt its power coursing through her, and she let it loose. The lava burst to the ceiling and formed together in a swirling ball before hurling back down toward the imp.

Raylinn snagged Finnigan down into the now empty pit beneath her. Waves of heat swooshed above their head. The imp’s scream echoed through the cavern. The dragon scooped up its gold threads, took wing, and shot through the tunnel.

Lava continued to swirl through the air like a tornado. But the inner burning within Raylinn had ceased, she lost control of it completely.

A hand snagged hers. “Let’s get out of here!”

When she turned to the speaker, she found the familiar adventurous gleam in Finnigan’s eyes. Grinning, she squeezed his hand and let him pull her up. Together, they scrambled out of the crevice and ducked beneath the eddy of lava. They darted through the wide tunnel. The heat and red light from behind gave way to a spring breeze and blessed daylight ahead. Hand-in-hand, they burst out the tunnel.

Raylinn’s foot slipped out from under her and she rolled down a grassy slope, pulling Finnigan with her. They tumbled over one another and jerked to a halt at the base of the hill.

Raylinn winced, pushing up to a sitting position and spitting grass out of her mouth. She looked over at Finn who was brushing dirt from his mussed hair, and a giggle bubbled out of her throat. Finn snapped his gaze over at her. And then his mouth quirked and next thing she knew they were both clutching their stomachs with laughter.

“Just another day in the life of Finnigan and Raylinn, yeah?” Finn said.

Still chuckling, she nodded. But once the laughter faded, that imp’s words rung in her head. She tugged at a piece of grass. “I’m sorry I lost the engagement ring. You must have spent your last coins on it.”

“Ah, it was only a ring,” he said with a carefree wave of his hand. “And, erm.” Red tinged his cheeks. “Not a very expensive one at that. I’m afraid outlawing doesn’t pay very well.”

She giggled. “Not as well as being a crown prince, I’m sure.”

“No, but lots more fun.” The twinkle in his eyes softened and he cocked his head and studied her, thoughtful. “Are you all right? Those things he said…”

She dropped her gaze and ripped up a handful of grass. “It’ll take some time to process but…well. For so long I feared it was my own uncontrollable magic that set our house on fire. That killed my own parents.” With a shaky breath, she looked back up at him. “But now, finally, I know the truth. Besides,” she let loose the blades of grass and brushed her hands, “you’re safe. That’s what matters. And, in his own twisted way, that imp is the one who brought us together.”

“Huh. Well, he obviously didn’t understand the true power of love, now did he?” He gave her that smile that always made her heart beat in ways that probably wasn’t even healthy.

Cheeks warming, she shook her head. “No he did not. Love always wins.”

“Exactly.” He stood and held his hand down to her. “We’d better be off. If that lava decides to seep out of the tunnel, this probably isn’t the safest place to be lounging.”

“Good point.” She rode his pull up, but they had only taken one step when he halted.

“What’s this?” He knelt down and grabbed something off the ground, and his eyes lit up.

She squinted at the small thing between his fingers. “Is that…?” She couldn’t help but laugh. “A tiny thread of gold. It must have broken off the dragon’s hoard.”

“Well then.” He bent it into a circular shape. “May I?”

Grinning, she held out her hand.

He slipped it on her finger. “The perfect fit. Now.” He offered her his arm, eyes sparking with mischief. “Shall the outlawed prince and fairy go find some more dangerous adventures to get into?”

Unable to stop smiling, she looped her arm through his. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

And there we have it! Sorry it was so long. *hides* Believe it or not, I had more ideas for it, especially regarding the Rumpel character. But ugh. It was getting so long, I skipped all that. My next prompts are gonna be shorter, I am determined!

So what do you think? Would you like to see more adventures of “the outlawed prince and fairy”? I’ve kind of fallen in love with them and would totally love to explore them more…

Technically there’s only one day left of Rumpelstiltskin month (where did April GO???) but if you’re inspired by this prompt and want to write something GO FOR IT! Then leave a comment with the link HERE so the rest of us can read it. And keep your eye out on Arielle’s Writing Blog because the next fairy tale-inspired prompt will be coming atcha SOON. Also you should totally go follow her writing blog because it’s an endless source of writing guide goodness. It is a delicious place for us writers!

ONE MORE THING. A super exciting thing! If you enjoyed my story, and want more from me, I have some SUPER EXCITING newssss. I’M GOING TO BE FEATURED ON GOHAVOK.COM. *shrieks* Havok is a site that features a flash fiction piece every weekday. I recently submitted a piece and they accepted it! It’ll be up on the site WEDNESDAY, MAY 8TH. It will be available to see for non-Havok members for that day ONLY. So I’ll be sure to remind you guys when it’s up. BUT I’M EXCITED. And yes, that time I did manage to write a piece under 1k words. Miracle of miracles! Can’t wait to share it with you all!

OKAY. I am done. I know this is the most monstrous of posts. If you read that whole story I am so unbelievably honored. You guys are the best!

LET’S TALK!

What’da think of my story? Would you like to see more of Raylinn and Finnigan? Are you excited about fairy tale prompts every month? ‘Cause I am! *grins*