That night, Isla was led to a room in the tallest tower of the castle; it was so high that the entire kingdom could be seen from up there. When the Lieutenant opened the door, a bale of straw and a spinning wheel was already waiting for her. She looked back at the Lieutenant with a nervous look.

"Remember what the Duchess said, missy. Spin the straw, or else." He said before shoving her into the room. He gave her a smirk. "Just knock when you're all done." And with that, he slammed the door shut and locked it before making his leave.

Isla looked at the straw, then at the spinning wheel. She groaned in frustration and facepalmed. "Ugh, I can't believe this. I told Papa his bragging would get us into trouble! But what about me? I actually covered for him, and look where that landed me! What was I thinking?" She reluctantly picked up a handful of straw and sighed.

In another part of the castle, King Alexander told his son what had transpired with Isla and her father and Phillip was not happy with the explanation he received.

"Son, calm down! I know how this looks, but I assure you it's not what you think." The King said.

"Not what I think?" Phillip shouted. "Father, you had an innocent girl locked up in a tower and decided to make her spin straw into gold?! Just because her father said she could?!"

"Carmilla made that decision, not me! She was talking so quickly, I could hardly even get a word in!" The King paused and sighed. "…But I should've made more of an effort to stop her."

Phillip's face softened and he put a hand on his father's shoulder. "It's okay, father. Carmilla is always doing things like this."

"I know. And to think, I'd know how to handle her shenanigans by now." He let out a chuckle. "But still. She's been my most trusted advisor for years. She must know what she's doing… right?"

The Prince winced in annoyance. "You don't sound sure."

"Of course I know what I'm doing, Your Majesty!" Duchess Carmilla exclaimed as she burst into the room; her daughter was right behind her.

"Have you been eavesdropping again, Carmilla?" Phillip asked.

The Duchess ignored the Prince and quickly wrapped an arm around the King's shoulder. "You know you can trust me." She gave the Prince a disapproving glare. "You should learn to trust me too, Your Highness."

Eve cleared her throat and said, "Sire? I've just been informed that the girl's locked up. No one can get in or out."

"I see. Thank you." The King turned back to Phillip before prying himself out of Carmilla's grip. "Son, please…"

"It's… getting late. I should probably get to bed. I'll see you in the morning, father." Phillip said before making his leave.

The King sighed and sat down on the edge of his bed. "Whatever am I going to do with him?"

"Come on, Sire. The Prince is only a child, he doesn't know any better." Carmilla said.

"He may be young, but he does have a point." The King retorted. "Maybe I should apologize to Isla and the Miller."

The Duchess gasped dramatically. "Apologize? To commoners? Have you lost it? Apologizing is for the weak and wrong. You're not weak and wrong, are you?"

"I… I just need to think. Please leave, Carmilla. I'd like to be alone."

She grimaced, but said, "As you wish."

She turned on her heel and walked out of the room before Eve closed the door. The King then took off his crown and ran a hand through his hair before turning to look at the portrait hanging on the wall; it was of a beautiful woman with platinum blonde hair and emerald green eyes and wearing a golden tiara. "If only you were here."

Around the same time, little Odie was running about through the castle halls in a worried frenzy looking for his mistress. Suddenly, an unfriendly face jumped out in front of the poor pup, causing him to hop back in fright.

"And just what do you think you're doing?" Constantina, the Duchess's cat, asked.

"Looking for Isla. What does it look like?" Odie argued.

"Well, you won't find her here. Besides, the Miller's daughter has an entire night to spin straw to gold. She shouldn't get distracted. What can you possibly do to help her? You're just an itty bitty little pest."

"And you're just a nasty, cranky old bully of a cat."

Constantina snarled at him. She was about to swipe her claws at him until a pair of hands suddenly grabbed her and lifted her up off the floor. She yowled in surprise and swung her paws around, trying to get away from her captor.

"There you are, Constantina." Eve said. "Mother's been looking for you. Now get along with you, and leave this little pup alone." She set the cat back down on the floor and gently shoved her away.

With her nose turned up, Constantina walked off down the hall in a huff. Eve smirked triumphantly before glancing down at Odie. She knelt down and reached out her hand to pet him, but he took a cautious step away from her.

"It's okay, little fellow. I'm not going to hurt you." She gently said.

Odie cautiously approached the girl, not sure if he could trust her. But she didn't seem mean like her mother, so that was a good sign. Before she could even touch him however, a shrill voice yelled out,

"Eve!"

Eve looked up to see her mother coming towards her with her arms folded over her chest and a displeased expression on his face. She quickly stood up.

"Eve, don't touch that mangy thing! You don't know where it's been! Eugh…" The Duchess said, glancing at Odie in disgust.

Odie growled at her in response before walking away.

Eve sighed in irritation. "Mother, he's just a puppy."

"Don't you roll your eyes at me, missy. That's not how the future queen should behave."

"I am NOT the future queen. The Prince clearly has eyes for someone else."

Duchess Carmilla paused. "…You don't actually mean… that filthy miller's daughter, do you?"

"Maybe I do. I saw how the Prince looked at her, and I'm sure you did too. There's no denying that he likes her."

The Duchess narrowed her eyes at her daughter. "We shall discuss this later." She then grabbed her by the arm and led her away before disappearing down the hall.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Hours passed. In the tower room, as she sat at the spinning wheel, Isla tried her hardest to spin the straw, but nothing she did worked. The straw just wouldn't change into gold.

"Uh… hocus pocus! No. Abracadabra! No. Presto? Argh! No, no, no!" She cried in exasperation. "This isn't working! And I can't take that spinning sound anymore!" She yawned while pounding her fist on the wheel in frustration. "I! Hate! You! Sound!" She paused as tears started to well up in her eyes. "…Who am I kidding? This is hopeless!" She then buried her face in her hands and began to cry, believing there was no way to save herself.

But as she was weeping, she felt a hand tap her shoulder followed by an unfamiliar voice asking,

"Why the tears?"

Isla looked up and jumped at the sight of a strange man she had never seen before. He was a little shorter than her and he had a very thin build, messy dark hair, a pointed nose, golden yellow eyes, and one sharp gold tooth. She was so startled at the sight of him that she nearly fell out of her seat.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I scare you?" The stranger asked with a curious smile.

"Yes, you did." Isla said, wiping her eyes.

He noticed she was still crying and took a handkerchief out of his pocket, which he used to wipe her tears. "Oh, come now. Please don't cry. I hate seeing people so sad."

"I-I'm sorry." She took a breath and calmed down. "Thank you. But who are you? Where did you come from?"

"Never mind that. Let's just say I'm a friend and you, dear girl, look like you could use one right about now." The little man said, putting his handkerchief away. "You must be Isla, the Miller's daughter. Yes?"

"Y-Yes. How did you know?"

"I have my ways of knowing things. Now tell me, dearie, why are you crying? What's the matter?"

Isla was very hesitant; she knew nothing about this strange little man, but he seemed so kind. How bad could he be? "Well… I'm just afraid. The King had me locked up in here.

"Because… he wants you to spin this straw into gold?" The stranger asked, glancing at the straw.

She nodded. "Right. And if I don't then my father and I will be punished. But I'm crying because I don't know how to spin straw into gold at all!"

"Is that all?" The little man smirked. "…I can spin straw into gold."

Isla paused and her eyes widened. "You can? You mean… it can be done?"

"Most certainly, dearie. And you needn't worry any longer, for I would be delighted to spin this straw to gold for you."

"You would?" Isla grinned.

"For a fee, of course."

"A fee?"

"Why yes. I demand payment for my work. After all, all magic comes with a price. So, if I spin this straw into gold for you, what will you give me in return?"

"I… I don't know. I'll give you anything, but I'm poor. What do I have of any value?"

"Come now, everyone has something."

At first, Isla could think of nothing of worth to give to the stranger. She then glanced at her right wrist and noticed the bracelet of white beads she wore every day; it was a birthday gift from her father. She took off the bracelet and offered it to him. "Would you take this bracelet? It's not much, but it does mean a lot to me."

The little man took the bracelet and examined it carefully. After a moment, he smirked at her and said, "Not bad. It'll do."

"So you'll do it?"

"Indeed. Now step aside."

Isla stood up from the stool and backed away before the little man put the bracelet into his pocket and sat down at the spinning wheel. She watched in awe as the little man took handful after handful of straw and spun it into threads of shining gold. She was so distracted by the spectacle that she didn't even notice the little man's eyes glow a bright yellow as he spun. When he was done, Isla could hardly believe it.

"Oh my gosh! This is amazing! Thank you Thank you so much!" She cried.

"Please, think nothing of it. I'm glad to help." The little man replied as he backed away into the shadows, smiling mischievously.

Isla gazed at the gold. "It's so beautiful! I had no idea it could be done. How did you…?" She turned her head to look at the little man, but he was already gone. "Oh, uh… Goodbye."