Strange Encounters
It had been two weeks since I started working for Harold at his blacksmith shop. He had been so generous to me that I fell asleep every night planning ways to someday repay him. I wasn't paid much, but I hoped that it would be enough. My job was simple. I was the Shiner. It was a tedious job, but I was good at it. Of course it doesn't take a lot of skill to shine things. But, on many occasions, Harold pointed out my meticulous work. There was never a dull crevice when I was shining. I shined lots of things. From swords to horseshoes, pots and pans to locks.
On this particular day, I was walking to the shop and I noticed a very well dressed man hovering around the town square. He wore a royal emblem on his tunic, but he did not look like any of the Generals that usually walked through town. He was a skinny man, and very tall. His height and weight gave him a hunched look. He looked middle aged, but his hair was thin and graying.
He greeted people as they walked passed in a very polite manner. The people would see the emblem he wore and they would bow or curtsy. I paused in the middle of the road to watch him. His demeanor was strange, as if he were searching for a particular person. Although, the stressed look on his face told me that he wasn't even sure who he was looking for. I wondered momentarily if I should go offer some help but was distracted when his eyes met mine.
He gave me a quick glance then looked away, but immediately looked back again. I blinked awkwardly and continued to walk. As I passed him, he walked to me.
"Hello my lady." He waved.
I curtsied and nodded a hello.
"Where are you off to this morning?" He asked in a light voice.
"Um, to work." I said.
"Oh, you work? Isn't that strange for a girl? Does your father not work?" He inquired.
I pulled my eyebrows together in annoyance at his interrogation.
"My father passed away a number of years ago, my lord. My family is not in the best financial state and I am the only one who can help us get by."
"Oh I see. That is very gallant of you."
"Thank you sir." I curtsied again as we came to the front of the blacksmiths shop.
He stopped as well and bowed, putting a hand to his eyebrow and gesturing farewell.
"Good day." I said and turned.
"By the way miss, may I ask your name?"
"Cinderella." I answered.
The man gave me another wave and then left me to myself.
Harold was in the back of the shop pounding a red hot blade with a mallet. Sparks flew with the impact of the metals.
"Good morning El." He smiled as he caught me in the corner of his eye.
"Morning Harold. I just had the strangest encounter." I replied.
He stopped working and turned to me, wanting to hear my story.
"This nicely dressed man just walked me to work asking strange questions." I explained.
"Oh, the man with the Royal Emblem? He's been hanging around town all morning. I saw him on my way in."
"I wonder what he's up to." I thought out loud.
"Don't know. Maybe we should ask around tonight, see what we can find out." He nodded.
I agreed and asked what needed to be done first. He pointed to a stack of horseshoes that a customer had brought in for washing. I sat on my stool and picked one up.
I'd finally finished shining the horseshoes when I heard the front door open. Harold was at the front counter, so I didn't bother to get up.
"Well Grumpy!" Harold cheered loudly.
Grumpy? What an odd thing to call a customer. I stood and looked towards the entrance. I didn't see anyone on the other side of the counter. Had Harold gone mad? I walked forward and saw a small man whose head didn't reach the top of the counter. A dwarf! From the Enchanted Forest! I'd never seen one before. Intrigued and exited I moved in for a closer look.
"Meh. I need a can of wagon wheel grease." He grunted. "And hurry it up. A few people caught sight of me out there."
"Sure thing." Harold turned and reached for a can on a shelf. "And how are the brothers?"
"Fine fine." The dwarf snorted.
He noticed my standing there staring and glared at me.
"What are you looking at." He demanded.
I jumped at his tone and looked to Harold for help.
"Oh, this is my employee, Cinderella." Harold introduced. "El, this is a friend of mine, Grumpy. He and his brothers are regulars here, although they like to keep that fact out of public knowledge."
I nodded in understanding as Grumpy looked me up and down. He either grunted in disapproval or acceptance, I'm not quite sure. Harold handed over the can of oil and Grumpy gave a few coins in return. He didn't say thank you and opened the door. He looked around quickly before he bolted away.
"Are they all that rude?" I inquired of Harold.
"No." He shook his head and laughed. "That's why we call him Grumpy."
After a good days work, Harold and I walked out of the shop. Locking the door behind him, He turned and waved goodbye for the day.
"See you tomorrow. Thanks for your help today."
"No, thank you." I waved back.
I stopped at Katy and Nathaniel's house on the way home. Mrs. Tremmond served me a hot blueberry pastry right out of the oven. Katy, Nathaniel and I sat in the kitchen and ate our treats. Mrs. Tremmond left the room to tend to her husband. When she left I took the opportunity to tell them my news.
"I saw an dwarf today!" I whispered.
"What?!" They both whispered back at the same time.
I nodded and practically jumped out of my chair with excitement.
"He came into the shop. He was very rude." I told them.
"That's so cool!" Katy sighed. "I'm jealous."
"I bet he was an ugly fellow." Nathaniel guessed.
"No, he wasn't ugly, just strange." I corrected.
"Speaking of strange." Katy turned to me. "This man came by asking questions about you today."
I almost spit out the bite of pastry I had just taken.
"What?" I choked. "Was he wearing a Royal Emblem on his tunic?"
"Yes, did you see him?" Nathaniel asked.
"Yes, he interrogated me while on my walk to work."
"Well, he came by and asked if we knew you." Katy continued. "I of course told him I was your best friend. Then he started asking me what you were like."
"And of course we told him you were the prettiest girl in the town!" Nathaniel winked at me.
My heart skipped a few beats. Katy gave her brother a glare for interrupting her story. He returned the look with a sarcastic shrug. He smiled at me again as Katy turned to finish.
"I told him that you were kind, hard working, and well known and liked by everyone in town." She said to me.
I looked at the pastry in front of me and frowned.
"Weird." I shook my head. "What do you think he wants?"
They both shrugged and we went back to eating our pastries, leaving me to wonder. When I left, Mrs. Tremmond put three more pastries in a sack for me to take home to the rest of the family. Dri and Ana were both delighted to have something sweet to eat. Of late we were stuck with only eggs and cheese. I told Stepmother about my encounter with the tall man. Her eyes were weary after I finished.
"Oh please be careful." She pleaded. "Maybe you should have Nathaniel walk with you just in case."
"Oh, I'll be fine." I said, although the thought of Nathaniel walking with me wasn't unappealing. "He didn't seem at all dangerous, just unusual."
That night I was laying in bed, a candle lit beside me, looking at the white pearl that Merlin had given me at the market. It was the one thing that the gypsies hadn't taken from me. It had been in the pocket of dress, not my pouch. I couldn't say that I was grateful for it not being stolen, for it seemed a useless item. When I had first discovered it in my pocket, I jumped at the thought of selling it. But then I realized it was probably worth nothing. Merlin would not have given it to me for free if it had been. It was pretty though. In the dim of the candle light the milky color seemed to swirl with silver, like it was glass ball filled with liquid. I decided then that I would ask Harold to put it in a setting for me. Maybe a ring? Or a necklace?
As I contemplated this, a strange sound caught my attention. It came from outside. The sound made the hairs on my neck stand up on end. I froze in place and my heart stopped. The low gurgling growl came again, this time right outside my room. I didn't breath. If I did it would hear me. I heard the soft sound of footsteps crawl passed the old wood of my doorway.
I said a silent prayer in hopes that I had securely locked the doors to the barn. I heard Bessy let out a soft moo. Shut up Bessy! I yelled in my mind. The creature, I assumed it to be a wolf or coyote, growled louder at the sound of the cow. I heard it scratching fiercely at the door to the barn. I had to do something. But what could I possibly do?
Looking around in the faint light I found nothing in my room that could help me. The pitchfork. Where had I left it? I sifted wildly through my memories of earlier that day, trying to remember where I put it. The creature stopped scratching the door to the barn. I relaxed a bit. It came to me then. The pitchfork was leaning against the side of the barn.
I sat up slowly. Where was the creature now? Would I have time to get the pitchfork before the creature got me? Suddenly the sound of panicked clucking and flapping wings filled the yard. The creature growled loudly. I didn't hesitate then. I ran to my door and threw it open. I didn't even look at what was around me, I just ran in the direction of the barn.
In the moonlight I could see the wooden handle of the pitchfork. When I grabbed it, I ran for the chicken coop. In the moonlight I could see feathers flying in the air. I let out a wild scream and the creature, which turned out to be a wolf, came out of the coop. It's chops glistened with wet blood. I ran at it, aiming the pitchfork forward. The wolf bared his teeth and saliva dripped from his mouth.
It jumped out of the way as I lunged forward. It tried to snap at me as I spun around. As I turned I swung the fork and it hit the animal in the jaw. Flying sideways, it regained composure quickly. It jumped at me, my pitchfork raised. I staggered backwards a little at the force of the spikes digging into the wolf's chest. It howled in pain and I let go of the handle. The thing fell to the ground and moaned for a moment then went still.
I dropped to my knees as Stepmother and my stepsisters came running from the house.
"What happened?" They all yelled in unison.
With the dead wolf laying there with a pitchfork protruding from it, I felt no need to respond to there question. My head looked up slowly into the chicken coop. Stepmother inched her way around the scene of the accident and looked inside of the coop.
"Oh no." She put her hand to her mouth.
Dri began dry heaving and ran back into the house while Ana stood there in mystification. I surprised myself, and the others around me, when a laugh escaped my lips.
"What else could possibly go wrong." I sighed.