Misfit Trials

Chapter 23

The crowd, who had been on Rumpelstilzchen's side throughout his retelling, starts to shift and whisper in their seats. There are glares and looks of complete outrage of the faces of those in the crowd and it's easy to see that this once lovable and sympathetic old man has lost any good will that the crowd had for him.

"You stopped caring for the babe?" the Cat queries, and if you weren't looking into his eyes, it would feel like an innocent statement. Like he was just asking for clarification. But the anger swirling in his eyes tell a different story.

But, Rumpelstilzchen doesn't notice. He's got his head down, a lone tear falling from his eyes. He barely seems to notice that the atmosphere around him has changed. He nods in answer to the Cat's answer. "My Marta was gone. What did I care?"

"And when did you actually start to care about the child?" the Cat asks.

Rumpelstilzchen actually shakes his head, seeming to clear his mind. "I don't know that I cared so much for the child. More that my family left me because I didn't care about him. More that Marta died for him and I needed to keep her alive."

"So, even now, does the child mean anything to you?" the Cat asks, and there's a slight growl in the purr of his voice.

Rumpelstilzchen takes a deep breath. "I feel...protectiveness. Loyalty. Guilt." Finally, he looks up at the Cat. "Obligation."

"And love?" A harsh, guttural voice asks. It is Mama Bear, holding the tattered and dirty blanket of Baby Bear against her chest, addresses Rumpelstilzchen. Papa Bear holds her hand, silent tears falling down his cheeks. They, too, have lost a child. Goldilocks, a child that they welcomed into their home, had slit his throat while they slept. This was after she had eaten their porridge of strength, stolen the imperial gem from Baby Bear's chair, and stole the blanket of invisibility from his bed. Mama and Papa Bear, the imperial werebears of the Ursa Clan, scoured the land for Goldilocks, seeking revenge for what she did to their child. Their entire kingdom fell to ruins and they allowed it to happen for the love of their cub. "Do you love your child?"

Rumpelstilzchen turns slowly and looks at Mama Bear, seeing her grief and pain written all over her face. "What would love do for the child? Would it make me find him faster? Would it bring him to me now? My love won't help him escape, just as surely as it didn't help Marta survive his birth."

The clearing becomes quiet as soon as he finishes speaking. As much as they hate to hear that a father doesn't love his child, he makes a valid point. His love isn't going to help find the child. But his sense of obligation might.

"Did you ever find any pattern? Any way that could tell you where the boy might turn up next?" Tinkerbell asks.

Rumpelstilzchen turns back towards the front, giving Tink a small smile. "Aaaah. Yes, I did. It took a while, but I did..."