"The sun is rising, girl. What will it be? Your firstborn for the ability to always turn straw into gold. You better decide quickly."
Lily gasps as she wakes up in the middle of shaking the Imp's hand. Her blanket is soaked through with sweat. The memory of that has been haunting her dreams for nearly three years.
She's scared of the day the Imp will return. For the child that is growing inside her stomach. She rubs her hand over the barely noticeable bump. It won't be long before her pregnancy is announced to the public and the Imp will come for its end of their bargain.
Taking a deep breathe in, she forces herself to push her fears to the back of her mind. Footfall echoes in the hallway. Before long, her ladies-in-waiting shuffle through the door to help her get ready. She smiles at them as they help her into the blue and gold dress chosen for the day's duties before they try to tame her auburn curls; she's spoken to no one about the deal she made with the Imp and she doesn't plan to.
Guilt twists in her stomach as she watches her husband's eyes light up when he sees her. There has to be a way around this.
Looking down at the baby resting in her arms, she smiles. She didn't know that she could help create something so precious.
"I see congratulations are in order, my lady."
Her eyes snap up. Before her stands the Imp that helped save her life. There's a sneer on his face; his white-blond hair falls past his thin shoulders. He has black and silver cane in front of him, with both hands resting atop of it.
"It's Your Highness," she corrects sharply. She had hoped the Imp would have forgotten about their bargain, but it seems like it was a foolish hope.
"Tsk, there's no need to be angry with me. I've only come to collect the child you promised me," he says.
She holds her newborn son closer to her body. "I'm not sacrificing him."
His grey eyes flash dangerously. "You have already struck a bargain with me. You'd be foolish to go back on it. What will the king do when he finds you never had the ability to turn straw into gold?"
Despite his words, she makes no motion to hand over her son. Knowing how the Imp's magic works, she says, "Let's strike a new bargain."
"And, out of curiosity, what would the new bargain be?" he asks. Even though he's careful to keep an impassive face, she can tell that he's interested by the way he leans forward, resting his weight against his cane.
"Any other deal you want," she says.
His sneer returns. "That is not the bargain we struck. The child is mine."
"Please consider it," she pleads. Frustration bubbles under her skin, and tears well in her eyes. "Please. I doubt you know the bond between a mother and child. Please, any other deal. I beg of you."
"Fine," he agrees. "You have only one attempt in three days to guess my name. If you are correct, I will concede my claim on the child. If you are wrong, this child and the next will be mine."
She worries her bottom lip between her teeth. Last time she struck a bargain, her life hung in the balance. Could she really make a deal where she could potentially lose two children to this creature? "Do I get any hints?"
"No."
She studies him quickly. There must be some clue to his name. The sound of footfall coming interrupts her internal debate.
"Your husband will soon arrive. You better decide fast. What will it be?"
"Yes," she snaps, holding out her hand. "Three days to guess your name."
His lips curl into a grim smile, as if he enjoys being cruel, when he shakes her hand. He disappears just as the door opens.
She barely has time to compose herself before her husband enters her chambers. James can barely contain his happiness as he comes to fawn over his son. The sight of James holding their child fills her heart with love.
She swallows thickly, guilt rising in her throat. She's going to win; she has to. No abomination will have her child.
She growls as she slams the book closed. She's had her ladies-in-waiting bring her book after book dealing with the magical creatures in their kingdom, and she is still no closer to finding an answer than she was a day and a half ago.
The noise startles the maid cleaning. "What is it, Your Highness?"
She forces a remorseful smile to her face. "The descriptions on Trolls are particularly nasty. I didn't realize I closed the book that hard."
The maid looks unconvinced but she returns to her duties, leaving Lily to her thoughts.
Her ladies-in-waiting had told her this was the last book on magical creatures. If no clues to figure out the Imp's name lay within the book, how is she supposed to guess it? He had appeared no more than a day after the bargain was struck to see if she had a guess.
If only she knew where he went when he left her. That could possibly give her some clue to his identity. But she knows it's impossible to track someone who vanished into thin air. She sits up, an idea forming in her mind.
"Please, send for the court sorcerer at once," she requests. After three years of royalty, she still has yet to learn how to demand instead.
The court sorcerer could help her track the Imp.
Her body aches as she dresses as quickly as possible. Childbirth isn't something to laugh at, but as much as she wants to just stay in bed to recover her strength, her need to figure out the Imp's name is stronger. She feels the tug of the tracking spell deep in her gut.
She finishes dressing just as there's a knock on the door. The court sorcerer, Dorcas, comes in. Her blue eyes are sharp as her eyes study her intensity. "You sent for me again, Your Highness?"
"I require a spell that will hide me from the senses," Lily informs her.
"It will only last a half a day, at best," the sorcerer warns. "And it can only affect one of the senses."
She nods sharply. "That will have to do. I would prefer if it was the people's vision that will be affected."
"Very well."
She feels no different as Dorcas' magic washes over her. "Thank you for your service. Can you let my ladies-in-waiting know that I request to not to be disturbed today?"
Dorcas bows, her honey-blonde hair falls into her face. "It was my pleasure, Your Highness."
Lily smiles to herself as she pulls up her hood. Harry is with the wet nurse now, to allow for her to regain her strength. Without her ladies-in-waiting disturbing her, she can slip out of the castle undetected to follow the pull of the tracking spell. The Imp didn't know that the gift of a cigar would be the wherewithal that lead her to him.
The journey into the forest is an unpleasant one. She nearly shrieks in fear, pulling out the dagger that was gifted to her on her wedding day, when a rabbit hops from behind a bush. She chuckles to herself as she puts away her dagger.
She follows the pull in her gut, marking her path, until the feeling wanes and eventually stops altogether. It's a cosy little cottage which surprises her. She creeps forward quietly, watching the path carefully; Dorcas had said her stealth spell only works on one sense, and if heard, she's sure the Imp's magic could undo her sorcerer's spell.
Laughter, bright and happy and definitely female, fills the air before she can hear the unmistakable sound of the Imp's voice. Lily moves as close as possible to hear what is happening inside, crouching just below the window.
Still, she can barely hear a thing. She doesn't know how long she stays there, her body aching but she pushes through the pain. The shadows on the ground tell her it's approaching dusk; she'll have to head back now or else she'll be stuck in the woods at night with no way to navigate.
She starts to move when she hears, "How many times do I have to tell you that the pie is for after dinner, Lucius?"
Closing her eyes, she smiles. Moving just as quietly as before, she starts to follow her marks back home.
When the Imp comes to her the next morning, Lily holds her son close. He gives her a twisted smile. He looks so confident that she won't guess her name that it's disgusting. She wonders how many people he's tricked.
"Today is the last day. What is my name?"
"I do believe you are called Lucius. Am I right?" she asks, keeping her face neutral.
It's satisfying to watch the Imp become more and more red as he realizes he's lost. "You—Impossible—" he snarls. "You're a cheater."
She gives him a smirk of her own. "You never placed terms on what resources I could use to figure it out. But an Imp's bargain is binding unless another one is set, and another one is not."
They have been too fixated on their own emotions to hear the footsteps coming closer. The door swings open. James looks between his wife and the Imp.
"Lily, what is this Imp doing here?" he asks evenly.
She sees the tension in his jaw. Before she gets a change to explain, the Imp's lips curl into a smile.
"Your child might not be mine, but I won't leave here empty handed."
Fear, cold and heavy, runs down her spine. She doesn't have time to demand answers before the Imp's blue magic wraps around her husband's body like a lover. Then he is no longer standing there.
She gasps. "What have you done with my husband?"
The Imp looks pleased with himself when he says, "I exacted revenge. You only bargained for your son's life."
The Imp disappears. She looks over the opposite side of the bed. The clothes James was wearing lay in a pile.
She hears a croak. Placing Harry in the bed beside her, she goes to investigate the clothes. There's a large puke green toad in the middle of the clothes.
Tears well in her eyes. "Oh, James. I'm so sorry. I can—Dorcas." She rushes to the door to have one of the guards send for the court sorcerer. While she waits, she whispers, "I didn't mean for this to happen. I didn't know. I'm so sorry."
Dorcas barely gets into the room before Lily wipes the tears from her cheeks, ordering the other woman to change the toad back into a human. Lily takes to pacing, gnawing at her lip, as more and more of Dorcas' spells fail.
"I'm sorry, but I cannot undo the magic that did this," the court sorcerer announces.
"Get out," Lily orders before she can be asked who the toad is. "Get out. Get out. Get out!"
When the door is closed, Lily collapses to the floor, her shoulders shaking as she sobs into her hands. This is not what she wanted at all.
For Hogwarts, Assignment 9, Arts and Crafts, Task 4: Write a Rumpelstiltskin!AU
Map: 62. (Creature) Toad and 186. (Object) Blanket
72 hour: Pink - James/Lily
Days: Frustration - write about someone fighting frustration
Autumn: (word) scary
Flowers: Alyssum - (creature) Rabbit
Color: Honey
Deserts: Birthday Cake: Lily Evans
Astronomy: (emotion) Frustration
Pinata: Malfoy - 1900
World of orphans: Emma Swan - (au) Fairytale
FB: 11. Boggart - (word) Scare and 14. (Restriction) Write about a character with a floral name
CA: 3. (Character) James Potter
Lizzy's: 10. Alt: (trait) redhead
BC: King: (character) Lucius Malfoy, (object) cigar, (action) threatening someone
Showtime: 7. (word) Bargain
Amber's: 2. Write about someone worrying about the future
Buttons: W3 - Fixated
Ami's: 11. (word) Sacrifice
Angel's: 9. Ripper Roo: (character) Lily Evans Potter, (word) abomination, (color) blue
Bex's: 11. Alternatively, write about someone keeping secrets
365: 81. Creature - Toad
Insane: 459. Wherewithal - (The means)