The Veritas Ligare had worn off, evidently. And apparently too soon, for Rumple obviously remembered enough of what he had just said to know what was going on.
Rumplestiltskin grabbed Indira’s wrist—her good one, thankfully—and began dragging her towards the hall that led to his room, and by extension to the hidden jail cell. For such a tiny man, he sure was strong.
Wrenching her wrist free from Rumple’s grip, Indira turned to flee. Cuddles, unfortunately, was standing in her path, looking uncertainly from her to Rumple, and back again, confused. Indira tried to dart around the dog, but the unexpected obstacle gave Rumple time to grab her again. This time, his hand wrapped around Indira’s sprained wrist. She cried out in pain.
That cry made up Cuddles’ mind. The way he cocked his head told Indira exactly what he was thinking: This evil little man was hurting the girl who gave him biscuits. He liked biscuits, and besides, the girl was kind to him. Cuddles lunged for Rumplestiltskin, snapping at Rumple’s leg. Rumplestiltskin screamed.
“Call off the dog, Indira!” Rumple shouted, terrified. Indira refused. Cuddles was her best shot at escaping.
Rumple squeezed Indira’s wrist painfully. She let out another exclamation of pain, trying to wriggle free. Rumple’s grip tightened even more, bringing tears to Indira’s eyes. Still she struggled, and still Rumple’s grip tightened. She let out another cry of pain. Cuddles released his hold on Rumple’s leg, seeming to sense that he was causing Rumple to inflict more pain upon the kind girl.
“Miserable dog!” Rumple kicked at him. Cuddles snapped his teeth, growling, but he made no move to bite Rumple again for fear of the pain it would cause his girl.
***
“Get in there!” Rumple shoved Cuddles and Indira roughly into the cell, slamming the door. Cuddles barked loudly. “I never should’ve let you trick me like that!” Rumple yelled, furious. “That information won’t help you anyhow, not locked up the way you are. You’ll never beat me, Indira, so quit trying!”
Anger overpowered the pain from her throbbing wrist. “I will never stop fighting you, Rumplestiltskin.” Indira shouted back, her voice vibrating with rage, “In the end, you won’t win. Someday, someone will come along who is either stronger or smarter than you, and you will lose the fight. You won’t get away with this, Rumple!”
Only silence answered her from the other side of the door. She kicked it. Cuddles whined. Indira turned and sank to the floor beside him. “I’m so sorry, Cuddles,” she sobbed. She’d failed. Maybe Rumple was right. For all her defiant talk, maybe she should just give up.
“No!” Indira rubbed her hand across her face, swiping away the tears. Cuddles helped, licking her gently on the cheek.
If Grandpa had taught her anything, it was to never give up on something she believed in. She certainly believed that she and her Grandpa deserved to be free from this villain.
“I won’t give up, Grandpa. I promise.” Indira squared her shoulders resolutely.
Then she broke down and cried.
A girl needs a good cry every now and then.
Indira lay on the floor, her good arm wrapped around Cuddle’s neck, weeping. Cuddles whined sympathetically, licking her hand. The two fell asleep there on the floor and stayed there until the next morning, when Indira awoke to Cuddle’s growl. She sat up just as the cell door was closing.
“Enjoy your breakfast,” Rumple called from the other side of the door.
A basket sat just inside the cell door. Cuddles padded over and grabbed the handle gently with his teeth. He brought it to where Indira sat, setting it gently beside her. Indira lifted the cover. Bread and water. Of course. She lifted the bread out of the basket and was relieved to see a plate of cold chicken in the bottom.
Cuddles was much pleased with his chicken. Indira saved a small piece for herself, but the rest she gave to him, figuring he would prefer it over the bread. Funny, Rumple bought this dog to guard her. Guard her Cuddles did—from Rumplestiltskin. It made her happy to know that at least one thing had backfired on him. The man Rumple had bought the dog from had obviously been lying about Cuddles’ level of ferocity. Why, he was gentle as a kitten with her. Indira stroked the beast, thankful for his company.
After breakfast, Indira set to thinking. She sat cross-legged on the floor, determined to puzzle her way out of this impossible situation. She started by listing the things she knew about Rumplestiltskin:
He was a jerk.
He was cruel.
He was self-centred.
He was controlling.
She’d like to punch him in the face.
This was anything but productive. She could feel her blood beginning to boil. Indira started her list over again.
He was afraid of dogs—afraid of Cuddles, at least.
He didn’t hesitate to hurt other people. In fact, he seemed to like it.
High pitched screams caused his ears to fall off, and—
“That’s it!” Indira shook Cuddles energetically. “When his ear falls off, he freezes. He can’t help it! If I scream really high and really long, it should freeze him up and give me time to get that ring off his finger.”
Cuddles didn’t know what his mistress was so excited about, but he woofed softly in agreement. Anything that made her happy was sure to be a good thing.
“Just one problem,” Indira said. “The ring isn’t much good without the portal book. He’s got to be keeping it somewhere he thinks I can’t get to it, but where he can guard it at all times.”
It had to be on his person somewhere. She didn’t recall seeing any suspiciously book-shaped lumps beneath his shirt, but he could certainly fit the book into those ridiculously gigantic boots he wore. That was the most logical place.
She had better be right about where the book was hidden, because if she failed, Rumplestiltskin would be even more on his guard and he’d be careful to never give her such a chance again. He’d punish her horribly as well, undoubtably.
“Please let this plan work. It’s all I have.”
***
When Rumple came with lunch, Indira was ready.
“I need to use the bathroom.”
“Fine!” Rumple snapped, “but the dog stays.” He opened the door just wide enough to let her squeeze through. It was then that Indira let loose the highest pitched, longest scream she could possibly muster.
One of Rumple’s ears fell off, the revolting, hairy clump hitting the floor with a dull thump. The goblin’s face froze in a snarl.
Indira grabbed Rumple’s hand, struggling to work the ruby ring off one-handed, her sprained wrist severely hindering her.
She yanked the ring the rest of the way off of his finger, bringing a clump of hair with it. Gross. Slipping the ring quickly into her pocket, she bent down to search his boots.
Suddenly, Rumple clapped one of his hands over her mouth, wrapping the other around her throat, threatening to choke her. Indira panicked.
“Don’t you try and scream,” Rumple growled ferociously, shoving her back into the cell.
Seeing Rumple lay his awful hands on his mistress was too much for Cuddles. He sprang, sinking his teeth into the hand that clutched Indira’s neck. Rumple hollered. Dog, goblin, and human crashed to the floor. Indira sucked in a sharp breath, pain shooting up her arm. She’d landed on her wrist.
Cuddles was still biting Rumple’s hand. Cursing, the goblin released Indira, using his free hand to claw at the dog. Indira, now able to breath properly, screamed a second time, freezing Rumple in place. His other ear fell off, hitting Indira in the face.
Trying not to puke, Indira scrambled out from beneath Rumple and began tearing at his boots one-handed.
“Help me, Cuddles!”
The dog let go of Rumple’s hand, growling ferociously. Then he sunk his teeth into the tip of Rumplestiltskin’s left boot. He ripped it off the goblin, then went after the second boot.
Indira shoved her hand inside of the boot, feeling for the book. Nothing. She flung the boot aside and reached for the second one which Cuddles had just relieved Rumplestiltskin of. Thrusting her hand in, she hit her knuckles on something solid and book shaped.
“I’ve got the book!” she cried, pulling it out just as Rumplestiltskin unfroze once again. She darted out the door, narrowly missing Rumple’s first ear, which lay outside the cell like a dead rat. Cuddles, running just behind her, snapped the ear up on his way by, closing his jaw around it.
“Come back here!” Rumple roared, not far behind them.
There must be a fire in the office hearth. There had to be. Desperately, Indira ran through the house, clutching the book with her good hand. She dodged around hallway tables and through doorways, running for freedom.
“I say,” Rumple shouted, “give me back that book, you little thief!”
He was close behind her and Cuddles now. The office door was just ahead. She could make it. She had to make it.
As she burst through the office door, her eyes fell to the fireplace. One tiny log glowed faintly, on the verge of going out. “No!” Indira cried, falling to her knees in front of the fireplace. “Please! Please don’t go out!” She blew on the log, desperate. In her panic she blew too hard, sending a puff of ash into the air and extinguishing the flame. “No, no no…” She closed her eyes. It was hopeless. She didn’t have time to revive the coals before Rumple would be upon her.
“Woof!”
Indira opened her eyes. She watched as Cuddles dropped the goblin ear and launched himself at Rumplestiltskin, bowling the little fiend to the ground. Rumple yelled angrily, grappling with the dog.
Doing the only thing that had really helped her so far, Indira screamed.
Rumple was still rolling around on the floor, Cuddles on top of him.
Rumple was panting, trying to drag himself across the room to the fireplace. To her. Cuddles yanked him backwards, growling. Her scream showed no signs of affecting Rumple.
Cuddles was buying her some time, but she wasn’t sure how long he’d be able to hold Rumple off. Setting the book down, she flipped it clumsily open. Then she pulled the ruby ring from her pocket. Being forced to perform things one-handed was not good in an emergency situation.
Rumple was dragging himself across the floor faster than Cuddles could drag him back, breathing heavily, fury and panic mixing in his eyes. Hand shaking, Indira closed the ring inside the book. Rather, she tried to, but the ring rolled off of the book as she attempted to close it. It bounced across the stone floor, rolling to a stop just inches from Rumple’s outstretched hand. Desperately, he scrabbled the extra few inches, intent on retrieving the ring. Indira dove for it, her hand closing around it just as she landed on her injured wrist, accompanied by a cracking noise and acutely increased pain.
“Ow! Ow!” she cried, twisting away from Rumple and struggling to her feet, keeping a tight hold on the ring. If her wrist hadn’t been broken before, it most certainly was now.
Rumplestiltskin’s hand wrapped around Indira’s ankle. He pulled himself toward her. Cuddles sunk his teeth through the seat of Rumple’s pants, his sharp canines penetrating Rumple’s skin. Rumple howled, beating the dog with one fist, the other hand still wrapped around Indira’s ankle. Indira was hopping on one foot in a frenzied attempt to get free. The book. She must get to the book.
Cuddles sank his teeth deeper into Rumple’s posterior. Rumple howled louder, involuntarily loosening his grip on Indira’s ankle. She jerked free and stumbled forward, nearly tripping on top of the portal book.
“No!” Rumple screamed. Indira had the ring in the book once again. Cuddles had Rumple well in paw, so this time she was able to shut the cover more gently.
As the pages closed around the ruby ring, Rumple made one last-ditch effort to get away. Cuddles lost his grip. He lunged forward, poised to recapture the goblin’s pants between his teeth.
The book closed, and Cuddles’ muzzle snapped shut, catching only air. Rumplestiltskin was gone. Cuddles looked surprised and a bit disappointed to discover that he was not biting Rumple’s rear.
The book’s cover began roiling, bulging, shifting. Rumple was trying to bust his way back through the portal. Indira shoved a corner of the book into the faintly glowing coals, puffing on them frantically, trying to ignite the book. “Come on,” she begged fearfully. “Please catch. You have to catch.”
Ever so slightly, the corner of the writhing book began to smoke.
Just when Indira thought she couldn’t hold the book closed any longer, just when her aching hand began to slip, the corner of the book burst into flame.
Immediately the book’s shifting covers began to bulge less violently. The bigger the flames got, the stiller the book became. Indira held on as long as she could manage, but finally she let the book drop into the fire, snatching her hand away.
The book was fully engulfed in the fire now. Purple, red, and black flames filled the fireplace, emitting a horrible odour. Indira coughed, backing away.
The flames didn’t last long. Soon they died away, and all that was left was a pile of ashes the colour of a pure blue sky.
It was then that she realized the excruciating pain in her wrist was completely gone.
It was then that she realized Grandpa was nowhere to be seen.
It was then that Cuddles bolted for the door, barking wildly. Indira raced after him. “Cuddles! Come back here!”
The dog paid her no heed, barreling through doorways and around sharp corners. Indira struggled to keep up with him. She nearly tripped over him when he skidded to a stop just inside the library doorway. He quit barking abruptly, his tail wagging crazily.
“Indira!” Grandpa hurried towards her. His kind old face was filled with concern. “Oh, sweetie,” he exclaimed, “your arm is in a sling!” His eyes narrowed. “Did that devil of a Rumplestiltskin hurt you?”
“Oh, Grandpa!” Indira laughed with happy relief. “My arm is okay now.” She pulled the sling off and threw herself into Grandpa’s arms. “I’ll tell the whole story to you later. Right now all I want is to be held and loved. Grandpa, I’ve missed you so!” She burst into happy tears.
“There, there, Indira.” Grandpa hugged her tight. Two happy tears trickled down his wrinkled old cheeks. “You know I’ll always love you, sweetheart.”
Indira and Grandpa stood that way, embracing, for quite some time before Cuddles began nosing them, wanting to be part of the reunion. Cuddles raised himself up, placing his paws on Indira’s shoulders. Gently, he licked her ear. Indira giggled. “Grandpa,” she said, “I’d like you to meet Cuddles.”
THE END.