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“We just need to do them before sundown,” she replied. “If you start right now, I think it would be possible.”

It took him hours of work, but right before sundown, every single piece of straw in the expansive room was now gold. They just had to wait for the king to come by and check on her progress now. Once he ascertained it with his own eyes, the first part of this story would be over .

“You should leave,” said Serena looking toward the door, anticipating the king’s arrival. “I don’t think the king here would be pleased to find an uninvited man in strange attire in his castle.”

When there was no reply, she looked behind her to see Grim had already disappeared. The tale had probably decided to do the job for them, then. Stars, all this magic was starting to give her a headache.

Right at that moment, the king swept in, followed by his retinue.

He was wearing garments that were even fancier than they had been in the afternoon, though she had not thought that was possible.

The extra adornment seemed to flatter him no more though.

In fact, it had given him a sheen of sweat all across his face as he huffed slightly entering the room.

As he looked around the chamber that glinted with gold, his face lit up with greedy delight.

“How magnificent, Miss Miller!” he cried.

“Your father was truthful after all, and We shall offer you an imperial apology for doubting him in the first place. As for you, We wish that you join us for dinner as you have pleased Us greatly. There is another guest also invited who has expressed interest in meeting you.”

She had no idea who the guest was but dropped a graceful curtsy in response to the king’s invitation. He nodded approvingly at her genuflection and looked her up and down.

“You cannot show up to the royal table in those clothes!” he said and snapped his fingers, making two maids rush forward. “Give the girl the finest silks to dress in and make sure she is fit to dine with the king!”

Chortling at his own joke, the monarch then turned and exited the room, his entourage surrounding him, heaping praise at what they called his elevated sense of humor .

The two maids jumped into action as soon as they left, closing the door and herding her toward the bath, where she soaked in scented oils and expensive soaps until her dress arrived .

Once they were assured she was clean enough to their liking, she was wrapped in a lavish robe and shown the gown that had been chosen for her.

She let out a soft gasp despite herself, for the dress that was draped across the bed was beautiful. The fabric was gold with the upper half embroidered with tiny glittering roses. The bodice disappeared into a pool of silk that resembled molten gold.

“It’s beautiful,” she whispered.

“Gold is His Majesty’s favorite color,” said the girl next to her, holding what looked like thin gold chains. “I am sure he will be very pleased to see you in it.”

Once she was dressed in the gown, the purpose for the chains became evident, as the two maids looped them around her upper arm and fastened them to her neckline.

They then proceeded to dust her cheeks and eyelids with golden powder, and her hair was pulled up into an elaborate braided hairstyle, with only a few strands being left out to frame her face.

To finish it off, a necklace of topaz was fasted around her neck with heavy matching earrings.

The girl in the mirror looked back at her with wide eyes. Was it really her? She was quite unaccustomed to such finery, but she couldn’t deny that she liked how she looked.

She was then escorted to dinner by a footman who came to fetch her shortly after.

The walk to the dining hall left her with a lot of time to think about the fairytale she was in and what the real challenge was to be.

She suspected that Lore had dropped them straight in on purpose to throw them off and make them flounder a little.

So far, however, the tale was nowhere as bleak as the first one, which gave them some time to figure out what was happening .

Resolving to finish this tale as soon as possible so they could go home, Serena stepped into the hall, prepared to charm the king. She found him sitting at the head of the expansive dining table in the middle of the lavish gold room.

“Ah there she is! Miss Miller, come, come. Our guest has been asking to see you!” cried the king, gesturing to the man sitting on his right.

She approached the table and curtsied, glancing discreetly at the king’s other guest. He had dark-brown hair and a slight build, with sharp, almost feral, features.

His eyes were a cloudy blue, and he was looking at her with an unsettling smile.

A shiver ran down her spine, and she took the seat farthest enough to still not cause offense.

The stranger continued to stare at her and she looked down at her plate wishing he would stop.

“You look well,” he spoke, in a voice that reminded her of slick oil.

“Thank you,” she said politely.

“Especially for a cursed girl.”

She looked up in shock, her blood running cold. “You,” she whispered, at the man who was making her play a twisted game, all out of some sort of sick vendetta.

He laughed, an unpleasant sound. “I just thought I’d drop in and see how you’re doing,” he purred. “Since you’re here, dressed in those fine clothes, I assume you managed to turn the straw into gold.”

She refused to dignify him with a response. There could be no good reason why he was here, and she preferred to engage with him as little as she could. She looked at the king, wondering why he was silent through all this. Lore saw her looking and chuckled.

“Don’t look at him for any assistance,” he drawled. “He won’t be bothering us while we talk.”

“You put him under a spell.”

“Clever girl,” he said. “Now, why don’t you and I have a little talk. ”

She sat up, the movement making the plates clatter. “My apologies, but I fear I have lost my appetite. I think I am going to retire to my room.”

The room grew dark right then, and shadows snaked out, grabbing her wrists and forcing her back into the chair, shackling her hands to the arms. Lore’s eyes were now glinting a dangerous red, his cheeks flushed with anger. One of the shadows had sharpened itself to a point at her throat.

“I will not say this a second time,” he said pleasantly, as if he wasn’t threatening her. “Sit. Down.”

She was shaking now; she had known Lore was evil, but this was the first time she felt well and truly at his mercy. There was something in his wild and unhinged gaze—a glint of malice. He was savoring her fear.

“What do you want?” she whispered.

The shadows receded, slinking back into the corners of the room as if they had never existed. No one else in the room batted an eye, not the king, not the footmen. It seemed as though the only two people in that room who still possessed all their senses were Serena and Lore.

“Want?” He grinned. “I want a lot of things, Serena, some of which you can provide, some you cannot. But if I was to pick one thing I want the most? I want Nerida and the spirits to suffer, and you, my beautiful girl, are simply part of that plan.”

“What is wrong with you? What made you this way?”

He looked at her for a long minute.

“I could tell you,” he said, pretending to think about it, “but I don’t think I shall; it’s more fun for me this way.”

“I loathe you,” she whispered, hating him more than she had ever hated anyone before. “You won’t win, you know. We’re going to make sure we come out of this unscathed no matter what you plot. ”

He tilted his head at her, and then smiled widely, his teeth pointy and white.

“We? Who are you referring to, Serena?”

“Me and—” She drew a blank.

“Yes?” he prompted.

Why couldn’t she remember his name? What was going on?

“Did you forget this part of the tale, Serena?” said Lore, stretching back in his chair, tilting it on its back legs. “You have to guess the goblin’s name, don’t you?”

Serena sprang up from her chair, and rushed out of the hall, and this time, the demon did not stop her. Her legs ached as she ran as fast as she could back to her room. She had to see him, had to be sure, had to reach before she forgot anything else.

The room was empty when she got there, and she collapsed onto the bed with her head in her hands.

It was only half an hour ago that she had thought that this tale would be simpler than the last. It was almost laughable how wrong she had been.

Already, her mind was conjuring up the worst possibilities, wondering if he would even be here in the morning.

She was too scared to go to sleep, her mind recalling the time in Bertha’s cottage when she had forgotten everything about herself.

She stayed up until her eyes could stay open no longer, then drifted off in an uneasy sleep.

She woke up to maids bustling in her room at the crack of dawn.

They helped her dress in a simple cream dress with capped sleeves and braided her hair in a simple updo.

More hay was then moved into the room, accompanied by a short bulky man.

He introduced himself as Renaud, and his tone practically reeked of self-importance.

“His Majesty wishes all of this straw to be turned into gold as well,” said Renauld in nasal tones. “He wishes for me to inform you that while he is grateful for your services yesterday, it is not enough to prove that you can truly do all you say.”

A likely story. The king was just a greedy little toad.

She agreed but asked for privacy while doing her work. The room cleared out, and she was left alone, surrounded by piles of straw and a spinning wheel. Surely he would appear any moment now, right?

A minute passed, then two. Then half an hour.

Right as she was about to lose hope, there was a popping sound, and she whirled around to see him standing there in the same ridiculous clothes. Picking up her skirts she almost ran to him and grabbed the front of his tunic with both her hands.

“What’s your name?” she demanded.

He frowned, trying to disengage her hands from his shirt, but she held fast.

“Is this some kind of joke?” he asked.

“ Answer me.”

He opened his mouth to answer and paused, his eyes widening.

Her heart sank as he spoke.

“Serena…why can’t I remember my name?”