It's All Fun and Games Until Somebody Loses Their Mind

“This great magician, what’s his name?” she asked hesitantly. I sensed she was afraid of hearing a certain name, but that she already had a feeling he was the man I was speaking of.

“Rumpelstiltskin, the dark one…” I replied and I hung my head in shame.

As I approached the massive doors of the castle I knew to not bother knocking. Rumpelstiltskin was no doubt already aware of my presence, and it wasn’t as if he would hear the knock if he was in any other room in the gigantic castle aside from the foyer. I stepped inside and removed my hat, resting it comfortably over my stomach, ensuring I was still being polite. With jittering nerves, I passed a few open doors before movement at the top of the winding staircase caught my eye.

“Well, well, dearie, what brings you back to me?” Rumpelstiltskin called as he glided down the stairs at a leisurely pace.

“I have a question about my hats,” I declared and his lips curled into a smirk.

“I’ve told you everything I know, dearie. Your magic is unique, I cannot completely understand it,” he said with a hint of annoyance, clearly thinking I was here to ask him again about the origins of my magic.

“Something unusual happened. You’re my best chance at finding an answer,” I justified my presence. Rumpelstiltskin halted on the third last step and looked at me with a bemused expression.

“What happened?” he wondered. A smile tugged at the corners of my lips for a brief second before they fell at the recollection that Jefferson hadn’t followed me through the portal. Our relationship clearly hadn’t meant as much to him as I had originally thought. He hadn’t returned my feelings after all. I took in a slow breath to help steady myself to describe the peculiar situation.

“You told me that the rule of my hats were that the number of people who jump through the portal must equal the number that return through,” I began and Rumpelstiltskin nodded. “That has always proven to be true, and I have never challenged the rule. But this last journey, I…” I halted as a ripple of grief churned in my guts, wondering what Jefferson was doing without me.

“You what, dearie? Get on with it!” Rumpelstiltskin encouraged, adding a high-pitched giggle at the end.

“I travelled with someone else, to another land, but they did not return with me. No one did. I came back here alone,” I said before exhaling loudly. It failed at calming my nerves, and Rumpelstiltskin’s smirk only further unsettled me.

“But dearie, you did not return alone,” he remarked with an elegant twist of his wrist, part of his flair. I briefly wondered if I could craft a hat that would suit him and help flaunt his unique persona.

“But I am certain that no one followed me! I waited afterwards, but saw no one!” I insisted. If Jefferson had stepped through behind me, he would have appeared by my side, like I had hoped. Instead he had decided to leave me brokenhearted.

“That’s because, dearie, you cannot yet see who you brought back with you,” Rumpelstiltskin replied, as cryptic as ever. With a short huff I stared intently at him, watching as his eyes sparkled with delight at my confusion.

“Just tell me,” I said with a sigh. I didn’t want to play his games, I just wanted to understand what had happened with my hat.

“The hat did not change its rule. Two souls went through, and two souls returned. One is you,” Rumpelstiltskin began to explain, pausing for dramatic effect as he pointed a long finger at me. “The other…” His finger lowered and stopped when it was aimed at my hat.

It sunk in a mere moment later. He wasn’t pointing at my hat, he was gesturing towards my stomach. My lips parted from shock and it suddenly became difficult to breathe.

“Congratulations, dearie,” Rumpelstiltskin said with a grin. “Looks like you’ll forever have a memory of your time in another land.” With a final smirk at me, Rumpelstiltskin leapt off the stairs and began walking towards a door.

“Don’t lie to me,” I hissed under my breath. That was the only explanation. I couldn’t be with child… I couldn’t possibly have Jefferson’s baby inside of me, that was just ludicrous.

“What on earth do I possibly have to gain from lying to you?” Rumpelstiltskin countered. I failed to find an answer for his question. “Now get out of my castle before you falsely accuse me of anything else and I have to punish you.” I gasped and scurried towards the exit, slamming the door behind me and running away.

I didn’t stop until my breath ran out. There was nothing left to do but collapse to the ground and rest against a tree. I clutched onto my hat tightly as I wept. It was difficult to tell what was crushing my heart the most: the fact that Jefferson didn’t want to be with me, or that I was in another world with his child. A baby was the last thing I wanted, or needed. I didn’t even know where I would begin… A woman who crafted hats for a living wouldn’t be able to afford to raise a child, especially without a husband. Now I was even more afraid that I was going to lose my mind.

“But you didn’t. You stayed strong,” she observed and a smile forced itself onto my lips, the sun breaking through the clouds.

“I know. I don’t regret having my daughter, or raising her alone,” I agreed.

“Thank you for telling me how you met Papa,” she said with a smile that eased all of the pain I had endured by recalling the story.

“Of course, Grace, darling. You deserve to know what happened,” I breathed while standing to pull her into an embrace. She held me tightly and I found myself wondering what Jefferson was doing now, after all these years. He would have no idea that he had a daughter. Was he happily married now, in Wonderland? Perhaps even still crafting hats like I had taught him?

Through the window I caught sight of a dark purple smog appearing in the distance. It rushed for us, engulfing everything in its path. Guessing I couldn’t escape the dark magic, I clutched Grace tighter to my chest and didn’t let her see the spell before it covered us.