The Curse of Gold by A G Marshall

Author:A G Marshall [Marshall, A G]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Avanell Publishing
Published: 2019-06-12T04:00:00+00:00

The night grew colder, and I blamed my lack of sleep on the lack of a blanket. I spent hours drifting to sleep only to wake up shivering. I considered burrowing in the pile of straw but didn’t want to risk turning anything to gold by accident. The light streaming through my window gradually turned from silver to pink to gold, but the chill remained.

Maybe I had been foolish to make a deal with a fae. They weren’t to be trusted. I closed my eyes to block out the sunlight and drifted to sleep again.

I awoke to the sound of wood scraping rock and sat up. Sleeping on straw had left me stiff and itchy. I was hungry and tired and cold.

And I forgot about all of that when King Banagher walked into the room.

He scowled at the pile of straw as if it were a personal insult.

“Miss Emily, you haven’t even tried. Isn’t the spinning wheel fine enough for you?”

The midnight visitor had given me courage I hadn’t possessed the day before in the throne room. He would help me if I could only delay the king a few days. I stood and brushed off my skirt.

“Sire, I did try to tell you. I can’t spin straw to gold. I am sorry my father lied to you.”

Any hints of friendliness left the king’s face.

“Miss Emily, your father has been selling the most unusual golden items in the marketplace with no explanation as to where he obtained them. It made us suspicious.”

Da. How stupid had he been?

King Banagher’s eyes glittered with malice.

“In the end, we assumed they were stolen. Theft of gold is a capital offense.”

I swallowed.

“And I’m sure my father will understand that when you bring him to trial.”

“Oh no, Miss Emily, he’s already had his trial. You see, I offered to pardon your father if he told us where he really found the gold, and he told us about his accomplice who provided everything. He told us about you.”

“Surely you don’t mean-“

“You stand under trial for theft of gold. Prove your innocence by showing you obtained this gold through magical means, or you will be executed tomorrow morning.”

King Banagher stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind him. A guard brought a bowl of burned oatmeal for me. It was disgusting, but I ate the whole thing, wrapping my hand in my apron to avoid touching the spoon.

Then I paced the floor, trying to think. My cell still felt cold, and the exercise did nothing to warm me.

Spinning gold for the rest of my life was preferable to losing my life, wasn’t it? I gagged at the thought of marriage to the king, but it was preferable to death.

I glared at the pile of straw. It would only take a few hours to spin it to gold. Should I?

Or should I rely on a mysterious fae who hadn’t said how he would help and didn’t have the decency to outline the terms of our deal?

Anyway, he said he needed a few days to free me.

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