Early the next morning, the King, the Miller, the Prince, the Duchess, and Eve, followed by Odie and Constantina, went up to the tower room to check on Isla. A guard was waiting for them and he hurriedly unlocked the door. The Prince and the Miller were very anxious, but Duchess Carmilla was more eager than anything. There was no doubt she was wholeheartedly expecting to see the Miller's crying daughter with the untouched pile of straw.
"Now we'll see the value of your words, Miller." She said smugly.
The Miller gulped.
But when the door opened, they were all astonished to see Isla sound asleep while lying on the floor next to the spun gold. Odie bounded into the tower room past everyone and licked her face, which quickly woke her up.
She yawned and sat up. "Odie?"
Prince Phillip stared in amazement before turning to Isla. "It's gold… It's really gold!" He quickly approached her and helped her to her feet with a big smile on his face. "You did it!"
The Miller gasped. "I knew you could do it, Isla!"
"This… this is incredible!" The King exclaimed, stepping inside.
"Wow, I don't believe it…" Eve said in awe.
The Duchess was shocked, so much so that her jaw practically dropped to the floor. Even Constantina was stunned. Eve smirked to herself at this.
"Child, this is truly astounding!" The King exclaimed.
"I did my best, Your Majesty." Isla meekly said with a curtsy.
"And your best was wonderful." The Prince said, taking her hand.
"Thank you… Your Highness." The girl blushed.
This greatly upset the Duchess. She didn't like how close Isla and the Prince were becoming, not one bit. She could practically feel the steam fuming from their chemistry and it infuriated her. But then, as she stared at the glittering gold, something struck Carmilla. She quickly gathered herself up and zipped up to the King.
"It's a trick! We have to see if she can do it again!" She shouted.
"Again?!" Isla cried.
"But she just proved herself!" The Prince exclaimed.
"Then doing it a second time shouldn't be a challenge. And we should try for more this time."
"Now wait just a moment, Carmilla." The King said as he stepped in between them. "There's no need for all of that. The girl must be tired from spinning all night and she deserves a reward for her hard work."
"That's right. And do we even need any more gold, Carmilla?" The Prince asked.
"Of course we do, Your Highness. You can never have enough gold, and this little pile is hardly enough for a king of your father's stature." Carmilla argued. "She should spin another night, just to be sure."
"I am the King. That is my choice. But…" The King furrowed his brow in thought. "…But perhaps you're right."
"What?" The girl nervously asked.
"Father!" The Prince cried in exasperation.
"Phillip, you don't have to shout. I'm sorry son, but if it will put the Duchess's mind at ease, it shall be done."
"Uh oh." The Miller whispered.
"Then it's settled! Guards!" She clapped her hands and the Captain and the Lieutenant appeared in the doorway, giving a salute. "Take the girl somewhere else and have this room filled with five bales of straw. At once."
'Five more bales?' Isla thought.
"Just do as she says." The King sighed.
"Yes, Your Majesty." The Captain said before taking Isla by the arm and leading her out; Odie chased after them, barking all the while.
"Yes, Your Grace." The Lieutenant added.
But before the Lieutenant could leave, the Duchess whispered in his ear, "I want you to stand guard here all night. If you hear anything out of the ordinary coming from this room, and I mean anything at all, alert me immediately." She slipped a few gold coins into his pocket.
"Whatever you say, Your Grace." He whispered, giving a wink.
"Good." Carmilla said before she and the Lieutenant made their leave; the King, Miller, and Prince followed them out.
As she watched her mother disappear down the hall, Eve couldn't help but feel suspicious; something about this whole situation didn't sit right with her. The Miller's daughter already proved herself, why would she need to do it again? She was brash, ambiguous, and a bit aloof at times, but this was a new level. What was she up to?
"Constantina! Eve!" Carmilla called from down the hall.
The nasty old cat hissed at the girl before turning up her nose and trotting down the hall towards her owner. Rolling her eyes and sighing, Eve reluctantly followed after Constantina.
0-0-0-0-0-0
Five bales of straw, along with the spinning wheel, were waiting for Isla when she returned that night. The Duchess grinned, taking delight the girl's fear.
"All this? Into gold?" Isla nervously asked.
"By morning, or else." Carmilla said before pushing her into the room. "See you tomorrow." She gave a smile and a wink before closing and locking the door. "You know what to do." She gave a tiny pouch of gold to the Lieutenant and nodded.
He gave her a salute. "Yes, Your Grace."
And with that, she turned on her heels and walked off, feeling quite sure with herself.
Isla frantically searched the tower room for a good few minutes, hoping to find a trace of the little man who helped her the night before. She looked through the bales of straw, but there was nothing.
"Hello? Little man?" She called in a whisper. "Little man, are you there? Come out, come out wherever you are! Where are you?"
Just then the door opened and the Lieutenant poked his head into the room. "Did you call me?"
"No! I… just leave me alone." Isla said.
After a long moment of silence, the Lieutenant shrugged and stepped out before closing and locking the door again. Isla sighed, believing he wasn't going to come. She took a handful of straw and turned to the spinning wheel.
"Maybe that little man put a spell on the spinning wheel." She said to herself. She fed the straw into the wheel and gave it a spin, only for it to go too fast and fly off. She yelped in surprise. "Then again, maybe he didn't." But then she felt a tap on her shoulder, which made her jump. She turned and saw the little man. "Oh! It's you."
"Indeed it is, dearie." He said before glancing at the straw. "So the King wants you to spin more straw, eh?"
"Yes."
"What will you give me this time?" He then noticed something shiny hanging from Isla's neck; it was a lovely gold locket. "Oooh, hello? What have we here?"
"My locket?" Isla asked, gripping the locket in her hand. "My… mother gave it to me before she died. It's all I have left."
"Mind if I have a look?" He leaned in closer to take a better look at the trinket. He examined it very carefully. "Hmmmm… Not bad. Not bad at all. Yes, this will do very nicely. Now let's get to it, shall we?" The little man promptly took a seat at the spinning wheel and, just as he did before, spun handful after handful of straw into gold, his eyes glowing yellow as he worked.
In another part of the castle, Phillip paced the floor of his room as his mind buzzed with thoughts of Isla. He desperately wanted to help her, but he had no idea how. But as he was lost in thought, he noticed his door creaking open.
"Hello?" He called.
He turned to see Odie walking with a sad look on his face. The Prince smiled and knelt down to pet the little pooch.
"Hey there, little fellow. What are you doing in here?" He gently said. "I know you're worried about your owner. I am too. If my mother were still here, she wouldn't have allowed this." He sighed. "I wish there was something I could do to help her. I'd spin all of that straw to gold myself if I knew how."
'You and me both.' Odie thought.
Meanwhile, the Duchess was admiring herself in her vanity mirror with Constantina sitting right by her side. Eve suddenly entered her mother's room and sai,
"Mother, I want to talk."
"About what, dear?" Carmilla asked.
"Why did you insist on Isla spinning more straw tonight?"
"To be absolutely sure it isn't a trick. Perhaps last night was just beginner's luck."
"I don't know. But isn't it amazing anyway? I wonder how she does it." Then a thought struck Eve's mind. "Mother, what were you saying to the Lieutenant this morning?"
"…Excuse me?"
"I heard you whispering something to him this morning, but I couldn't make it out. What did you say to him?"
"That's none of your business, Eve." She turned away from her vanity and approached her daughter. "Mother dearest has everything under control, don't you worry your pretty little head about it." She patted Eve's head condescendingly.
Constantina meowed mockingly at the girl as if she were laughing. Eve narrowed her eyes.
"But don't you think making Isla spin another night is too much?"
Carmilla sneered. "Why are you defending that peasant? Where is this coming from? …This is her influence, isn't it?"
"I'm just saying you might be going too far with this." Eve retorted. "What's all this even about anyway? Are you trying to humiliate her and her father or something?"
"Eve, that is enough!" Carmilla shouted. "I don't know where you got this new attitude, but it needs to stop. I'm your mother, you have to trust me and treat me with respect. This is all part of my plan, and the last thing I need is you questioning me and my methods and poking your nose where it doesn't belong. And I don't want you going near that filthy girl anymore; she's poisoning your mind. Do I make myself clear?"
Eve sighed and shook her head, realizing there wasn't any point in arguing with her mother anymore; Carmilla was as stubborn as a mule and adamant on getting what she wants more than anyone else she knew. She knew her mother wanted something, but she still didn't know what. What did she mean by 'plan'? She was definitely hiding something.
"…Fine. But we're going to talk about this later, whether you want to or not." She said before making her leave and closing the door.
"Ugh, that pesky maggot is messing with my little girl's mind. She doesn't know what she's saying. She doesn't even realize I'm doing all of this for her… but I suppose that's for the best. Don't want anything getting out too soon." Carmilla went back to her vanity and stroked Constantina's back. "At least I'll always have you, right?"
Constantina purred happily and thought, 'Always and forever, mistress.'
Back in the tower, the little man had spun the last of the straw into gold. He stood up and cracked his back.
"Phew! Another job well done, if I do say so myself." He declared.
"You did it! Thank you!" Isla cried.
"Nothing to it for a clever fellow like me." He held out his hand. "Now for my prize."
"Oh, right. Here, it's yours." She took off her locket and reluctantly placed it into his open hand.
"Appreciated." He put the necklace into his pocket.
"Thank you again for your help. You have no idea how much this means to me."
"Please think nothing of it, my dear. I'm glad to help. But I'd keep an eye on that Duchess if I were you." He gave her a wink.
"The Duchess? Why?"
"Gotta go! Ta!"
And with that, the little man disappeared into the shadows, leaving Isla alone once again. She let out a giggle.