Read Once Upon a Time: The Villains for Free Online Page B

with pity. “Even the prettiest peasant woman would not interest him, my friend.”
    The miller takes instant offense. “H-he would not wish to bypass her talent.”
    The three men cast amused glances to each other, and the head guard asks, “And what talent would bring a prince to kneel at the feet of a peasant?”
    “She … uh … she spins.”
    Thick laughter stirs the air. It makes the girl plead for her father to come away, but he will not. He stands resolute in the face of the soldiers’ jeers. “Imagine that, a miller’s daughter who spins wool!” a gruff guard exclaims. “The king has more spinners than he uses already.”
    The miller’s face grows bright red, and his hands ball into fists. He takes a step forward. “She spins straw into gold!”
    The girl pales as the head guard’s eyes fall on her. “That is a special talent.”
    Tense silence pierces the air. The guards’ eyes boldly examine the girl from head to toe. Even the horses prick their ears forward as if to catch the full drama unfolding before them. The head guard shifts in his saddle and leans forward. His voice is low and threatening. “Tell me, old miller. Do you know the penalty for lying to the king’s guard?”
    “N-nay.”
    “Hanging.” He lets the word soak into the miller’s mind before he asks, “Do you still say she spins straw into gold?”
    “Father, please,” the girl pleads.
    But her father will not listen. “You think I lie? I do not. Me daughter has beauty and talent fit for a king.”
    The three guards cast questioning looks amongst themselves. The claim is preposterous, a fabrication of a doting father, but if true, it would be an amazing find. They are not immune to the possibility. Their mad king just might be mad enough to grant them a reward. Finally, the head guard nods. “So be it.” The three whirl their mounts around and gallop away.
    I don’t return to my forest. I’m curious about the miller’s claim. The thick-headed man turns a smug smile on his daughter. “Well, what say you now? There is little doubt you will soon claim the prince’s attention.”
    The girl covers her face with her hands. “What have you done?” she moans. “I have no such talent, and when it is found out, both you and I will hang.”
    “Nonsense,” the miller says. He puffs out his chest and smiles. “When the king’s son sees you, he will fall in love and we will be set for life.”
    “I am not so beautiful as that, father.”
    “Yes, you are. Wait and see.”
    The pair enters the house, the father filled with boisterous pride and the daughter with trembling silence.
    I grab my ears and rub. My brain has been given much to ponder. I was witness to a lie. Not just any lie, but one sure to kindle a king’s interest. A disaster in the making was what this would be. My blood begins to sing.
    “Daughter, daughter you will falter.
    Gold, gold, there’s none to hold.
    Miller, miller, you just killed her.
    Die, die, the king will cry!”
    A giggle erupts. Then another and another. I’ve found what I have been looking for. Sweet revenge. I’ll make the king’s son take a poor peasant to wife, and then I’ll take everything the king thought he’d gained away from him. What better way to hurt man than to destroy his king?
    “It’s perfect.”
    The moon waxes and wanes. I sit on the edge of the forest like a tree stump too old to foster new growth, and I wait. Beetles crawl up my arms and onto my cheek. With a flick of my tongue, I eat, and all the while I stare at the miller’s house…waiting. I am loath to leave my bait for fear they’ll run under cover of night in an effort to escape. More stupid than I, for they stay in their mill like a pair of silly rabbits and wait for the disaster that will surely strike. And behold, strike it does. Within a fortnight, a procession emerges from the distance. The carriage is grand, the guards impressive. I perk at the sight, shaking leaf litter from my hair and new moss