The Yule season was coming to a close. It had been a wonderful past few days for Rumple. He'd enjoyed his birthday celebration, as well as all the Yule festivities. The weather had been cold, but not too cold. Just right for snowy fun. In between going into the village to join in the celebrations there, Rumple, Dale, little Devon, and Imp had had plenty of time to play. The earth was sleeping, and there was little work to do. While some older people grumbled about the cold and snow, for children it was a time of infinite delights.
Winter fun would continue, even after Yule ended, and Twelfth Night would be no less fun than the rest of the holiday. Rumple, Tiger Lily, Roberta, and Hilda would all be going to the Hatter's house. Rumple had always been the type to enjoy staying up late, so he was especially glad that the celebrations would be late into the night until the next morning.
He was eleven now. That meant he wasn't all that far off from being a man, he thought proudly. He would be starting his apprenticeship soon, and was looking forward to learning from Madsen. Dale's uncle had always been kind to him, bringing him little gifts whenever he went into the larger cities. Rumple knew learning from him would be no hard task, unlike some boys he knew who were no better than slaves to their masters. Madsen would be one more blessing in his life.
Besides spending time with Madsen, he knew growing up meant soon he would earn a living. His godmother and aunts had been there for him since he was a baby. He knew they didn't have much money, but they had never let him feel poor. The simplest meal seemed like a banquet when they ate together. A day spent working hard felt like a game when they talked and joked as they completed their tasks. He wouldn't have believed any boy could ask for more. That was the problem. He knew those who took also had to give. Once he was a grown man, he could start to give back to the people he loved so much.
When it was close to midnight, the family headed over to the Hatters'. As they approached the door, Rumple thought of how he would have to be the first to enter. That night, it was considered bad luck to have a woman be the first to set a foot in the house. There was no other man in their family. That made Rumple pause a moment. He knew his aunts had chosen to never marry, that they had relied on themselves for years. But as the man of the house, didn't that give him a responsibility to them?
"Rumple, what is it?" Roberta asked.
"I was just thinking, it won't be much longer until I'm really a man and can help you more."
Roberta gathered him into a hug, and so did Hilda and Tiger Lily.
"Don't you dare grow up too fast, Rumple Stiltskin," Roberta told him.
"You should know by now how much help you are to us. You help keep us young," Hilda added.
"You bring a light into our lives that no magic or money could replace," Tiger Lily said, kissing his forehead. "So never doubt how much we treasure this time. You treasure it too."
Rumple smiled at them. "All right. I will."
They waited a moment until they heard a bell ring, announcing it was midnight. The Hatters had been waiting, and opened the door almost before Rumple had finished knocking. Everyone was welcomed in, and Rumple made sure to hold out the gifts he had. It would have been unlucky to the Hatters to come with no gift. Rumple handed Jefferson a bottle of good whiskey, a lump of coal so that the house would never know cold, black buns so the house would never know hunger, and a silver coin for prosperity. Jefferson accepted the gifts with a smile.
"You've always brought us luck, Rumple, since the day you and Dale met. It's only right yours should be the first foot through our door tonight."
Rumple hadn't known back then that he was the first real friend Dale had ever had. The Hatters had a natural wanderlust born into them, but they had always kept moving for more reasons than that. With his stammer, poor Dale had always been bullied. Rumple had been the first to stand up for him. Now they were as good as brothers, and Jefferson had made Rumple's village their permanent home.
That night, there was no where anyone would rather be than at home together. It was wonderful to set around talking and sharing stories over a late meal. There were the traditional meat pies. Being his favorite meal, Rumple was looking forward to that. There were also potatoes and turnips, and clootie dumplings, which was a type of suet pudding.
Of course, the dogs wanted their fair share. Bon, Imp's mother who belonged to the Hatters, was more dignified about it. She sat and waited politely. Imp rested his head on Rumple's lap and looked up at him as if Rumple hadn't bothered to feed him in days. There were some "accidentally" dropped tidbits by everyone., and Imp and Bon were quick to pick them up.
"He still getting into mischief?" Grace teased as she looked at Imp. She'd had to go through the early days of Imp's puppyhood, and he'd been known to dig up her flowers more than once, or roll in them. She was as fond of Imp as everyone else was though. Rumple laughed.
"He just likes to keep his mind busy."
That shifted the talk to how Rumple was the same way. It hadn't been that long ago when Tiger Lily had first told him he had magic, and started teaching him as best she could. He loved his magical studies, and showed a quick mind. Not only did he learn fast, he was curious to experiment with what he learned. Thankfully he was smart enough to know his limits and hadn't done any experiments that would be dangerous. He hadn't done anything with fire yet, but mentioned someday he'd like to use it to light the fireballs used in the procession through the village.
As they were talking about that, music was heard outside. People from up the street were coming, swinging burning balls of cloth at the end of ropes. It was the Hatters' turn to join them. Jefferson lit the ball he would carry and put out the Yule log that had burned the past twelve days. Then the families headed into the street to join the others.
It was an incredible sight, all the balls of flame to conclude the holiday celebrating light returning. The people swinging them were nearly dancing, but at no point did anyone come close to being burned. There were shouts and screams of excitement, and the whole village enjoyed the show until it was time to extinguish the fireballs, the last remnants of the Yule fires.
By now, the sun was nearly up, and it was time for everyone to head home. Now, it was the Hatter's turns to set the first foot of the year in Rumple's family's home. Jefferson let Madsen take the lead. Soon Rumple would be his apprentice, and everyone wanted that to bring Rumple a good start in life. Madsen being the first through the door that night was bound to be lucky.
The Hatters would sleep there for a few hours, and everyone would have breakfast together once they were all awake. There was a quiet, satisfied feeling throughout the house. Rumple had always counted himself lucky to live in a home filled with such love. Whatever luck this night brought to either home, he couldn't think how life could be better than it was now.