Does anyone else besides me want Brave to make an appearance on Once Upon a time? Anyway, this is an idea I thought that would work well with the Brave story-line, so here it is.
Milah stood outside her small hut, surveying the small village, completely blanketed in snow. She had just recently turned eighteen, and now both her parents, mostly her mother were trying to marry her off to some boy.
She hated the situation, she didn't want to be married off just because it was traditional; she liked her freedom, and the freedom to explore the nearby woods. She liked the thrill of running through the secretive woods near the village till she found a flower patch and then would roll through the lilies until dark, or sometimes she would go swimming in a lake or nearby stream.
Or in the winter, when the heavy snow fell, she would try and find as much ice as she could and make a little snow city out of the snow and ice.
"Don't worry Sweetheart, I'll make sure that we find you a nice boy," her father said as he came outside. He rested his hand on her shoulder and she looked up at him.
"Must I get married so soon?" she complained, "I don't want to get married, I want to be a maid." She stepped away from him, and swung her arms about while she spun in a circle, snowflakes fell on her black hair, adding to her beauty.
"Milah, you know that woman who never marry always end up as wool spinners, do you really want that life?" her father asked her gently.
"Speaking of which, I need you to go fetch some wool from them, here's some money for it," her mother said coming out of the house. She dropped a few coins in Milah's palm and kissed her forehead.
"You'll be fine my little princess," she told her daughter before heading back inside. Milah grumbled as she stalked away from her home and across the village, towards the wool spinner's shack. A few boys her age stopped and watched her, one of them, a tall blonde haired boy with heavenly blue eyes walked over to her.
"Hi Milah," he said, "Where are you going?"
"To the wool spinner's, for wool, it is winter may I remind you Humphry," Milah sniffed, she could already tell where this was heading. A couple of girls, younger than her, but soon to be old enough to marry were watching jealously. Milah smirked, she knew she was beautiful, but the truth was, she didn't care.
"I can tell, snow everywhere, makes it harder for everyone," Humphry watched her closer, and then leaned forward, "Speaking of which Milah, I was wondering if you would go on a date with me this evening,". The handsome boy smirked, thinking she would say yes.
Though she knew her parents would kill her, or at least her mother would, she politely turned him down.
"No thank you, I have much better things to attend to," Milah smiled as she walked away, knowing he must be heart broken.
"But-but, Milah, you'll marry me or one of my friends, you know you will," Humphry snarled, grabbing her arm.
"No I won't." Milah tried to pull away, but he was stronger than she was.
"You will love one of us, no matter what we have to do," finally he let her go.
"I won't love you or your friends, not now not ever," Milah snapped and stalked past his friends and continued on her way to the shack.
"We shall see," Ted, one of Humphry's friends said.
Milah grumbled the rest of the way to the shack and knocked firmly on the door when she had reached the wool spinner's shack.
An eighteen year old boy opened the door. He had brown hair that reached just past his ears, and wasn't very muscular. He wore ragged clothing and old boots.
"Hey Milah, how much you need this time," he asked, for some odd reason, the boy had never had a crush on her, instead he liked a girl that had recently married a blacksmith's son. She remembered how heart broken he had been.
"Five coins worth Rumplestilskin," she told him, handing him the money. Rumple nodded his head and motioned for her to come in,
"Would you like to come in?" he asked politely.
"No thank you," she said. Rumple nodded and disappeared back inside to collect the wool. Milah had known Rumple ever since his father had abandoned him at the shack, leaving him to be cared for by the seven wool spinner's.
They weren't really friends, but when the other village kids got too annoying, she would hang out with him.
He wasn't a very impressive boy either, he didn't have blue or green eyes or straight teeth like Humphry and his friends did; but instead had crooked teeth and brown eyes that sparkled every time he laughed which was rarely.
"Here you go Milah," he said, handing her a couple of blankets made of wool.
"Thank you, I'll see you later," she told him and left.
Milah arrived home only to find Humpry, Ted, Will and Conner's fathers talking with her parents.
"Oh no," she whispered and rushed over.
"What's going on?" she demanded.
"Wonderful things my little princess, come inside and I'll tell you," her mother said, and she silently followed her mother into the house.
"What's going on mother?" Milah asked, sitting down on the stool beside her mother's chair, where she currently sat.
"Milah, my dear Milah" her mother took Milah's hand in both of hers and smiled, "Since you have such trouble finding a nice boy, we will hold a small completion in three days time to decide your future husband, whoever wins the competition which will be of your choice, will be your husband, isn't that wonderful news darling?"
Milah stared at her mother in shock, she would never even have a choice in her husband? And worse then that, it would be one of the boys she told that she would never love and she would be forced to marry one of them unless she found a boy to marry before then.
"You, you've ruined my life!" Milah stood up eruptly, "You're a beast, how could you do this to me!"
"Young lady, calm down" Her mother said.
"No, you calm down, I won't marry any of those nasty boys, I'l-I'll run away and learn to use magic and turn you and them into bears so you could kill each other," Milah snarled.
"No you won't, you will marry one of those fine young men, hopefully Humphry as to boost your position in society, but even if it's not him, you will marry one of them," Her mother grabbed her arm and yelled. They were blacksmiths, so they didn't have a very high ranking in society. But Humphry's parents were bakers, so they lived in better conditions.
"Why? Why do I have to marry so early?" Milah sobbed.
"Because, it's tradition, and it goes back for as far as anyone can remember," Her mother snapped as her father came in.
"What's going on?" he asked, bewildered.
"She's making me marry someone I hate," Milah wailed, and then raced out of the house and into the village. She didn't know where she was going, but soon found herself in the woods, racing past the ponds and lakes where she had swam.
One thought soon surfaced and she turned sharply, nearly falling on a patch of ice and bolted for the witch's house.
Mary was an old woman, who according to the adults of the village practiced witchcraft. She was actually a woodcarver and Milah had been to her hut once before when she had accompanied Rumple to the woman's hut to get a new spinning wheel for his adoptive mother. That boy was such a coward when it came to magic, he hated it more than anyone else in the village though he had never told Milah why he hated it so much, he had told her it had to do with his father.
Soon the old woman's hut came into view, it looked like it had seen better days.
"Mary! Mary! Mary I need your help!" she banged on the door.
"Come in dearie," the woman invited. Milah went into the hut and found the old woman sweeping the floor. Wood carvings filled the entire place up, even a few wooden bears sat on the woman's table and bed.
"How may I help you Milah?" she asked. Mary had pure white hair, and looked fragile but was certainly very strong. Wrinkles covered her entire body and her blue eyes were as cold as ice.
"Are you really a witch Mary?" she asked nervously.
"What do you mean am I a witch?" Mary asked.
"Are you a witch, like potions and magic stuff?" Milah asked.
"No, I'm a wood carver dearie" Mary shook her head. Milah sighed and fingered with her necklace, made out of silver. It was a heart with an arrow through it, her mother had given it to her when she had turned sixteen.
Mary noticed her figiting.
"What is that dearie?" the old woman said, instantly entranced by her necklace.
"It's my necklace my mother gave it to me," Milah shrugged. Mary took hold of the necklace still around Milah's neck and inspected it.
"I can give you a lot of carving for this," Mary told her, her eyes wide with excitement.
"Not carvings, a spell" Milah said, taking it off.
"Deal, now tell me child, what do you need a spell for?" Mary asked, confirming her identity as a witch.
"It's my mother, you see she's making me get married in three days time, I need a spell to change her, to make her not care about me getting married." Milah explained.
"Easy" Milah watched the witch grab a few berries from a pouch, they were blood red, and then a few other items and stirred them together and then poured the strange concoction into a glass bottle.
"Get her to drink this, and you'll have no more troubles with your mother," she said gravely. Then she added hastily, "Are you sure you want this, I can make a love potion, after all love is the most powerful magic in the world, it's a great gift and a very cruel weapon."
"No, I want this," Milah handed the necklace to her and took the bottle.
Milah had poured the potion into her mother's tea that night and the next morning she woke to a horrible cry.
"She's dead, my beautiful Amber is dead!" Milah rushed into her parent's room to find her father hugging her dead mother's body.
"No! No! Mother, please come back to me," Milah begged, dropping to her knees, hugging her mother's hand. She hadn't wanted this, she had just wanted her mother to leave her alone about marriage. Tears poured down Milah's cheeks. Suddenly she understood the witch's hesitation about giving the spell to her.
After her mother's burial, she sat down on her porch watching the sky. Only two more days till she would have to marry, and this time it was her father making her. But she wan't making the same mistake of going to the witch again, Mary had given her a potion that had killed her mother and that grief was still fresh in her heart.
Never again would she be able to argue with her mother, or hug her. Never again would she hear her lovely singing voice or even her ordinary voice.
Yet, she still wished to break tradition and explore the world, no matter what, she would find a way. But she wouldn't lose the last of family for such a wish. She would have to find another way.
"I'm sorry about what happened to your mother Milah," a soft spoken voice said. Milah looked up, Rumple was standing before her.
"It happens," Milah sniffed, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. Rumple sat down next to her. He took her hand in both of his.
"She'll always be watching over you Milah," he told her, "She loved you more than anything, and will be greatly missed by everyone. If you need anything, I'm here for you". He hugged her and then stood up and left. But his words and his actions had comforted her, allowing her to focus on her mission to change history and how to break tradition.
Her father refused to cancel the comepetition in order to honor her mother's wish, but perhaps there was another way.
Suddenly she recalled the witch's words.
"I can make a love potion, after all love is the most powerful magic in the world, it's a great gift and a very cruel weapon," the witch had said. Suddenly Milah knew how she could answer her problem, and the next few steps were forming in her mind. There was a war coming, a war that would require men to fight, and if her husband was killed in it, then she could be free to explore the world, but she knew how she could get out of marrying one of the four boys she hated.
She stood up and went back to the witch's shack.
"I'm sorry about your mother dearie, but it is want you asked me to do," Mary said when she entered the hut.
"It's ok, I know how you can make it up to me Mary," Milah said, smiling.
"How?" the old woman asked, confused.
"I need you to make me a love potion," Milah said.
Within a few minutes the potion was made, and the witch began to instruct her on how to use it.
"You must make soup, pour the potion in the soup and give it to him, make sure he eats every bite or it won't work," Mary told her as she left.
Milah headed to the wool spinner's shack, hugging a bowl of soup close to her. Today was when the competition would take place unless she chose someone before then that would also want to marry her.
She walked up the creaky old porch steps and knocked on the door. Once again, Rumple opened it.
"Milah? What are you doing here?" he seemed surprised to see her, as he should be. Milah held the bowl out to him,
"I wanted to thank you for your words yesterday, they really helped comfort me, so I made you this soup, if you'll have it." Milah said. Rumple took the bowl.
"Thanks," he said.
"Why don't you grab a spoon and eat it out here with me, I want someone to talk to before the competition," Milah lied.
"Ok, sure," Rumple shrugged indifferently, and Milah smiled knowing she was playing on his greatest weakness, his heart. No matter what, Rumple had always been too kind to hurt people, and luckily today was no different.
Rumplestilskin went inside for a moment and came back out, sitting on the steps to eat, while she carelessly talked about random things. She would peek at him every once in a while to see if he was done yet.
"That was really good soup Milah, thanks," Rumple said when he'd polished it off.
"You're welcome Rumple," Milah said, why wasn't the potion working? She thought, maybe the witch gave me the wrong spell? Maybe it takes a full day to work? If it does, then it'll be too late.
"I'll see you later," Milah said sadly, and began to walk away.
"Wait!" Rumple caught her arm, spun her around and kissed her. When he let go of her, his eyes showed the full power of the potion and Milah smiled, knowing she had gotten exactly what she had wanted, and if she hadn't she could always go back to the witch and ask her for another potion/poison to help her out if he became too much.
"Milah, will you marry me?" he asked.
So what do you guys think of this story? I know it's kind of short, but oh well. Please tell me what you guys thought in the comments.