(Scene fades to a year later. Ida is seen sitting by a window in her and Gallus's bedchamber in the castle. She's gazing up at the sky at dusk when Gallus comes in and helps her to her feet; she's revealed to be pregnant. Gallus pulls Ida close and gently rubs her belly with one hand before they smile and share a kiss. The scene now fades to months later. Ida, now queen, is seen sitting on the floor and playing with a baby girl)
Queen Ida: Ooh. Leah, look. Say hello to Mister Bear. (holds up a stuffed bear and makes it wave an arm at the baby, Leah. The little girl giggles, takes the bear, and hugs it tight as Ida giggles too) I must be the happiest woman in the kingdom. (looks at the window and notices how dark it is outside) Oh, almost time for bed. (to Leah) One sec, sweetie. (kisses her daughter's head, gets up, and closes the curtains before going into the closet)
(Baby Leah starts playing with her bear on the floor without a care while Ida is busy getting her cradle ready for bedtime. A pair of skinny legs appears from the shadows behind Leah. Leah notices a dark shadow over her and curiously looks up to see the little man smiling down at her. She drops her bear)
Little man: (hushed) Well hello, little princess. (bends down and picks up the baby, who starts fussing at the sight of him) You're coming with ME. (grins while showing off his pointed teeth, which makes Leah start to cry)
Queen Ida: Hold on, sweetie. Mommy's coming. (exits the closet and looks to see the little man holding her daughter. She gasps in terror) YOU?!
Little man: Well that's a fine how do you do.
Queen Ida: What are you doing here?! (rushes over to the man while dropping her things)
Little man: I've come for my payment, of course.
Queen Ida: No! Let go of my daughter! (snatches the baby out of the little man's arms. She gently shushes and calms down her crying daughter) It's okay, it's okay. Momma's here. (to the little man) You can't be here, get out!
Little man: You don't need to yell. I'll leave… when you give me what's mine.
Queen Ida: No! You can't mean it! You can't take my baby!
Little man: Yes, I can. You made me a promise, and you WILL keep it.
(Scene cuts to the hallway. Gallus, now king, is seen walking down the hall towards the room Ida and Leah are in)
King Gallus: I'm beat. Time to say goodnight to my girls. (pauses as he's about to open the door)
Little man (behind the door): Don't tell me you've forgotten already, have you?
King Gallus: Huh? (opens the door a tiny bit and peeks inside. He sees the little man and Ida talking) (hushed) Ida? Who's that?
Queen Ida: If I had known what you really wanted from me, I never would've agreed to it. Can't you at least change your mind? (backs away as the little man comes closer to her) You can take anything else! Take my kingdom! Take my jewels! Take anything at all, just leave my baby!
Little man: Oh please, I don't care for frivolous trash. Besides, a baby is far more precious than any treasure. A deal is a deal, and no one breaks deals with me, dearie.
Queen Ida: No, no! I don't care what I promised! You tricked me!
Little man: (gasps with faux innocence) Tricked you? Moi?
Queen Ida: Duh! You knew how desperate I was! (holds her baby close as she's backed into a wall) I didn't know what I was saying back then! I didn't know, I swear! How could anyone have possibly known what you wanted?
Little man: I'm getting bored of your excuses, Queen Ida. You signed a contract! (takes out the contract with her signature) If you know what's good for you, give me the baby! NOW!
King Gallus (hushed): (gasps) What?!
Queen Ida: No, never! (runs to another corner of the room as the man follows her) Please, no! (starts to cry) Isn't there anything I can do? Please, please!
Little man: Ugh, great. (facepalms) Here we go with the crying! (pauses as Ida continues to cry. He raises an eyebrow as he gets an idea and sighs) Argh, alright! Alright, alright, alright, ALRIGHT! Just stop! Stop! (groans) I cannot believe I'm saying this, but… there is a way for you to get out of our contract.
Queen Ida: (stops crying and perks up) There is?
Little man: Yes, and it's quite simple. We just simply strike another deal. And all you have to do is… guess my name. (smirks)
Queen Ida: Your name?
Little man: Mmhmm. My name is my greatest secret, and that's what I want to hear from you. I'll give you three days. You can guess as many times as you like and if you can guess it correctly, you can keep your baby. If not, then the girl will be mine. (twirls a lock Leah's hair with his finger, which she smacks away)
Leah: Nah! (blows a raspberry at him)
Little man: (sneers at Leah) (to Ida) So do we have a deal or not?
Queen Ida: I…
Little man: Don't even try. As of right now, this is your best option and it would be a wise decision for you to accept. But I suppose the real question is… will you choose yourself? (holds out his hand)
Queen Ida: (narrows her eyes) Fine. Deal. (shakes his hand)
Little man: (smiles) Excellent. (lets go of Ida's hand and walks backwards towards the closed window) We begin tomorrow, I'll see you then. (winks at Ida and disappears behind the curtain)
(Ida sighs in defeat and runs a hand through her hair)
King Gallus: Ida?
(Ida turns around to see Gallus standing in the doorway with a very concerned look on his face. She starts tearing up again)
Queen Ida: I've made a horrible mistake!
King Gallus: What? (runs over to Ida and holds her close) Hey, hey! Ida, it's okay. Calm down. What's wrong?
Queen Ida: I-I…
King Gallus: Come on, I'm right here. It'll be okay. (looks her in the eye) Now take a deep breath and tell me everything. (takes his wife's hand as he and Ida touch foreheads)
(Scene cuts to a little while later. Leah is seen sleeping her cradle while Ida and Gallus sit side by side on the edge of their bed)
Queen Ida: And that's how it all happened.
King Gallus: So… you never spun the straw into gold? That creepy little man did?
Queen Ida: Yes. And he tricked me into signing away our baby to him as payment if he helped me that last time.
King Gallus: And you have to guess his name in order to keep our daughter?
Queen Ida: Yes. But the problem is I have no idea what his name is or how to find out. Gallus, I'm so sorry! This is all my fault! I never should've signed that stupid contract! I don't know what to do! (buries her face in her hands)
King Gallus: (pauses, then wraps an arm around his wife's shoulder) …Ida, I never married you because you could spin straw into gold.
Queen Ida: (lifts her head to look at Gallus) You didn't?
King Gallus: No. I married you because I love you, and nothing will ever change that. Definitely not some smooth-talking creep, that's for sure.
Queen Ida: You mean it?
King Gallus: Of course. And don't worry, I'll help you.
Queen Ida: You will?
King Gallus: In any way I can. First thing tomorrow, I'll have my men go out into the kingdom and search for names and you and I can scour the library for any name we can find.
Queen Ida: Oh Gallus! Thank you, thank you, thank you! (hugs Gallus tight) You have no idea how much this means to me! (they part and smile at each other) Seriously, how did I end up with such a wonderful husband?
King Gallus: (playfully shrugs) Don't know. Sometimes you just get lucky.
Queen Ida: Then I really did. (kisses his cheek) I love you so much.
King Gallus: Love you, too.