(Rumplestiltskin AU. Petyr Baelish x fem!reader, fem!reader x unnamed prince. Angst, magic, deceit. The original tale was written by The Brothers Grimm.)

The Miller's Daughter. That was all you were to the people in the village nearest to the castle. Your name didn't matter to them. The only thing that mattered was that you made the flour deliveries. You could say you hated your life. But then, it happened. The delivery your father had been waiting for. The first delivery to the castle. The king was finally giving your father a chance. If only you had known the fate that was about to befall you.

See, you didn't know that the prince had a habit of trying to sneak away through the kitchens to avoid his princely duties for a few hours. It was during one of those times that you, quite literally, ran into said prince. As soon as you made contact with the solid mass of human being, your heart sank. One of your bags of flour busted open and the others fell to the floor in a heap of white powder. All your hard work...destroyed.

"Watch where you're going!" you snapped, not even bothering to look up at the offender. "I beg your pardon?! How dare you speak to me that way!" Your head snapped up and you froze as a curse tried to escape your lips. You stood to your full height quickly and curtsied before dusting the flour from your skirts. "Forgive me for snapping, my prince." He arched a brow. "And what of my clothing? You've gotten flour all over them!"

"No. You did. I couldn't see around the bags of flour. You should have been paying attention." The prince looked positively gob smacked that you once again had spoken to him the way you did. Only this time, it wasn't the prince who called you out.

"You are speaking to the crowned prince, girl! You could be thrown in the dungeon for such insubordination." You glanced around the prince to see the king and two guards standing in the kitchens. It was clear the king had come down to stop the prince from leaving but had walked in on your interaction instead.

"You would throw me in the dungeon for your son's mistake, Your Majesty? I was simply trying to deliver the flour and I did apologize for my tone," you explained, doing your best to keep your tone from sharpening once again. It didn't help. The king looked furious. "The flour you were supposed to deliver is now all over the floor, you , and my son! You have failed." You wanted to cry. Your father was counting on the commission from the castle since the last miller the castle used had recently died. Your family needed this.

"Please, Your Majesty. My father had nothing to do with this. Please give him another chance." The king crossed his arms over his chest. "He should have taught you better. My answer is no and, should you continue to argue, I will throw you and your father in the dungeon." He beckoned his son to follow him and turned away. "WAIT! Please. Let me prove to you that this will be different. I can give you money. To replace the prince's clothing! I-I can give you enough money to provide for your kingdom for years to come."

The king looked back at you and laughed. "Girl, I am king. I have more gold than you will ever see in your lifetime." You shook your head. "That isn't true. I-I make gold!" You don't know why you said it. You simply said the only thing you could possibly think of that might be able to save you.

"Impossible." You licked your lips as your eyes scanned the room to find a pile of straw in the corner. "It's true. I can spin straw into gold." A boisterous laugh escaped the king's mouth. His entire body shook in merriment. "If you can do that, I'd let you marry the prince." You straightened your back and looked him directly in the eye.

"I can. I will prove it to you." The king stopped laughing and pondered for a moment. "Very well. I will have a room prepared in the tower with straw and a spinning wheel. If, by tomorrow morning, you have spun all the straw into gold as you claim you can, you shall have the prince's hand and your father will never want for anything. Do we have a deal?" You gave him a curtsy. "We do, Your Majesty."

As soon as the royals were out of sight, you nearly ran back to your cart, hopping over the now useless bags of flour, and leaned against it. You were in so much trouble. How in the world were you EVER going to spin straw into gold?! You felt stupid and scared. Your overactive imagination and your willingness to save your father had gotten you into a situation you were certain was going to be the death of you.

That evening, you were shut up in a room in the tower and the door was locked behind you. A spinning wheel sat in the center of the room and a stack of straw was piled high next to it, reaching into the corner of the room. The weight of your lie hit your heart and your shoulders slumped. Obviously your lie was an impossibility. Still, you had to do something while you waited, so you decided to spin the straw. It wouldn't be gold, but at least you'd have something to do with your hands while you waited for your inevitable death.

"Seems you're in a spot of trouble," a voice suddenly said. You jumped nearly a foot off the stool. Your eyes scanned the room to find a man (at least he looked like a man) standing in the corner. "W-Who are you?" He gave you a little smirk. "My name is of no importance. What is important is that I can assist you with your little...dilemma."

You scoffed a bit. "No one can help me. It is impossible to spin straw into gold." His smirk grew, but you saw that no emotion reached his green-grey eyes. "For you, perhaps." You rolled your eyes. "Sure. Now, if you don't mind, I have my death to prepare for and I'd appreciate it if you left."

Instead of leaving, the man slowly approached you. "Aren't you even the least bit curious?" You were done with his questions and games, so you moved off the stool and gestured for him to have a seat. A sort of "put your money where your mouth is" challenge. He took the stool and began to spin. Before your eyes, the yellow straw turned into gold. Your jaw hit the floor.

"How did you do that?!" He chuckled. "Magic. Now, I have a deal for you. I will spin all this straw into gold for you. You'll marry the prince, live happily ever after, blah, blah, blah." Your brows furrowed. "And what's in it for you? You don't seem like the type to do something for nothing." Another chuckle. "You are correct. Your first born child."

"I'm sorry?" you asked, certain you'd misheard. "That is my price. You will give me your first born child." You blinked at him surprised. He stared at you passively for a moment, but there was a slight tic of his lip that showed that he was getting irritated with every second you hesitated. "It isn't a difficult decision. It is life or death, my dear." He was right and you knew that, so you agreed. He immediately got to work spinning gold from all that straw. By the time dawn came, there was not a single ounce of straw left. The man gave you another smirk before disappearing in the darkness as the door opened.

*time skip*

You ended up marrying the prince, as was agreed and a few months later, you brought a little girl into the world. You had all but forgotten about the little man who had saved your life. At least, until one night in your daughter's nursery. You had decided against governess and wet nurses for the time being since your husband wasn't king yet so you didn't have many queenly duties. So when your daughter cried in the night, you got up and walked into the room adjacent to yours to tend to her.

This time, however, when you walked into the room, the shadow of someone almost made you scream. "Now, now, my dear, is that any way to greet the one who saved your life?" You didn't relax, but you didn't scream either. The man turned and you were met the green-grey eyes of the one who spun straw into gold. He held your baby in his arms.

"Why are you here?" He gave you a look. "Surely you haven't forgotten. I'm here to collect my payment. Magic comes at a price, you know." You froze in fear. If he took your child, your husband would know what had happened. That you had lied. "Please, don't. Don't do this. I will give you anything else." He chuckled, his expression twisting into something dark and foreboding. "We made a deal, my dear. I upheld my end of the bargain. Now it's your turn."

You felt tears welling up in your eyes. He regarded your face for a moment before a twisted smile formed on his lips. "However, if you can figure out my name, I will return your child to you." Your heart sank. How were you supposed to figure out the name of this little demon? "How long do I have?" He gave you the time limit of a week before disappearing again.

You spent six days trying to figure things out. Six days of trying to find a clue or two as to his name. Or even where to find him. Finally, your overheard gossip from some of the villagers that brought supplies to the castle. A location. It was all you had, but it was better than nothing and you were running out of time. You kept your down as you made your way to the location and peered in the window. Sure enough, there was the man along with your daughter and someone else.

"This is what you've been up to, Littlefinger?" the other voice asked, "Truly cunning. Stealing an infant." You felt yourself smile. You knew his name now. Without waiting another moment, you burst through the door, surprising the two people. "Littlefinger! That is your name!"

His face fell before contorting in anger. "You cheated." You arched a brow. "Did I, Littlefinger? You never specified how I needed to learn your name. Only that I learn it. I did. Now give me back my baby!" He shook his head. "No." You put your hands on your hips and glared. "A deal is a deal. That is my child and you will give her back this minute, Lit-" he cried out, trying to stop you, but you continued on, "-tlefinger!" Without warning, the little man before you turned to dust. You jumped back.

"What just happened?" Littlefinger's companion smiled. "You said his name three times. His curse was that he could perform great feats of magic but if anyone he has made a deal with says his name three times, he would be destroyed. Now, take your daughter and go, Your Highness." You didn't wait another second.

When you made it back to the castle, you took your daughter to her nursery, made certain the window was locked and sat down with the girl. You rocked with her. You grinned to yourself. Life was wonderful. Littlefinger was gone. You had your prince and your daughter back. No one else would ever know anything about what had happened.