The Knight in Shining Armor Challenge

Maid Maileen: The Knight In Shining Armor Challenge

by breakingthenight

Prologue: Cinderella
"He had likewise, by another wife, a young daughter, but of unparalleled goodness and sweetness of temper, which she took from her mother, who was the best creature in the world."

Maileen was only a child when she watched her mother choke to death.  She was the only witness. Of course, except for Goethel. But she was less of a witness and more of a murderer. 

"Maileen!" Her mother had cried out. 

Then she had fallen to the ground, crumpled up, and died. Maileen wept.

It was only a few years later when Maileen's father married Goethel.  Despite Maileen's best attempts to tell him what had happened, he didn't believe his only child. Of course now he had two children. Maileen had a stepbrother who hated her from the start. 

Only a few days later, after forcing her father to pull all of his money out of the bank and keep it in the house, Goethel once again whipped out her obsidian wand and killed Maileen's father. 

The flies swarmed, and Maileen looked on with horror as her stepmother looked on with pleasure. 

All that was left was a pile of ashes for Maileen to sweep up. 

And so a second gravestone joined the first. 

Life kept moving, and Goethel locked Maileen up in a tower. She was let out only for a few hours at a time to cook and clean. 

Nothing, however, kept Maileen's spirits down. She loved to read her mother's cookbooks. There were just so many of them, though!

And so her spirits were dashed slightly when Goethel set a curse on her. Until all the cookbooks were read, she could not eat a real meal. The only thing she could have was apple cider.  

And of course, the thing she hated most was apple cider. She could not stand it. 

As soon as Maileen saw Goethel on the back of a horse, latched on to the man who would no doubt be her next lover, she ran down the ladder of her tower. 

She first made dinner, painstakingly.  She still didn't feel quite confident making the recipe she had just learned.

At the end of the day, Maileen collapsed into bed. She was exhausted. She'd never had much trouble cleaning the house: it was simply make two meals a day, clean some toilets, and make the beds. But now that she was struggling with reading the cookbooks and eating only apple cider, which did not fill her up very much, she was very tired. 

The next morning Maileen woke early. This gave her time to prepare breakfast and even read a bit before Kurt and Goethel were up. But once they were off, she made her stepbrother's bed and got on the day's chores.

And then, one night, she began having nightmares.  And that made her question. Why was she here? Why did she stay when it was so awful? But then she remembered the curse. First she must break it. 

Chapter 1: Rapunzel

"At first Rapunzel was terribly frightened when a man, such as her eyes had never yet beheld, came to her; but the king's son began to talk to her quite like a friend, and told her that his heart had been so stirred that it had let him have no rest, and he had been forced to see her. Then Rapunzel lost her fear, and when he asked her if she would take him for her husband, and she saw that he was young and handsome, she thought: 'He will love me more than old Dame Gothel does'; and she said yes, and laid her hand in his."

It was later that same day that Maileen spotted a man in their front entry way. He was less elegantly dressed than many of the dinner guests Goethel often had. She exchanged a glance with him. Later, as she was serving dinner, he told her his name was Charles. "Maileen," she answered in nearly a whisper before hustling out of the room. 

Weeks passed. Maileen grew sore, and often found herself wishing for a massage. The work was hard, and she had little rest. 

Her one hope was that she had begun exchanging letters with Charles. He had wrote her first, and she had sent a polite reply. Soon it grew into heart felt letters. Since she was the one who got the mail she was able to get them with no problem. She kept them in a box on an end table in her kitchen. 

She leaped up with joy, however, when she saw him walking down her street, right towards their front door. Lucky, he was. Her stepmother had just left for work. 

She rushed him up into her tower, afraid of someone coming home. Up there, Charles smiled. "You've made it nice."

Then he made a move to hug her. She accepted it, feeling almost awkward but still quite at ease. 

He began flirting with her, and suddenly she believed in love at (almost) first sight. Charles was the only one who could look at her tattered clothes and low social status and still love her. 

By the end of the night, they were holding hands. 

And then she heard the whinny of a horse, and peeked out the window.  Her step brother was home. 

Charles stayed for dinner, as now he couldn't escape.  He would wait until nighttime. He joined Maileen in a dinner of apple cider, as it was the only thing stored in the tower. 

Soon enough, it was midnight and Maileen knew her relatives would at least be upstairs. She hugged Charles as he headed out. 

Chapter Two: Sleeping Beauty
"Finally he came to the old tower where Brier-Rose was lying asleep. The prince was so amazed at her beauty that he bent over and kissed her. At that moment she awoke."

One day Maileen sat down at the spinning wheel, her mother's, something she had not done in a long time. But she had not been working for long when her finger got pricked. She got up to get a bandage for the small stream of blood. 

Just then, she fell into a deep sleep.

She didn't know that the spindle was cursed by an evil witch a long time ago, originally meant for someone else. It had somehow made its way to her mother.  And now the curse affected her. And only a true love could awake her.

But little did she know that Charles, to surprise her, had sneaked in after her stepbrother had left for work.  After Maileen not responding when he knocked on the door, he opened it (it had been unlocked when Goethel had left) and came inside. He found Maileen lying there. 

Having never kissed her before, he suddenly had an urge to do so. He hoisted her limp body up and kissed. As soon as he did so, she awoke. 

It was that moment that they both knew for sure they loved each other, and could never part. 

Charles couldn't help but smile. "Maileen. I want to take you away, out of here..." 

"And ever since I met you I vowed to do so. Today..."

"It will happen. Will you marry me, Maileen Christian?"

"Oh Charles, yes! How did you ever afford such a beautiful ring?"

As Maileen collapsed into his arms, she whispered the only thing that could ruin his day.

"I can't leave." 

"Why?"

"The curse. I have to read all of my mother's cookbooks first."

"I can help. You can get it done faster."

And he did. From that day forward, Charles did all the chores he could. Whether they were within the kitchen or the tower, or the house while Kurt and Goethel were gone, he did everything he could so Maileen could read. He stayed there permanently now. 

Maileen, although her cooking skill was improving, was sometimes so tired she let the food burn. She hoped her relatives didn't notice. 

Kurt did, and informed Goethel of it. Goethel knocked on the door of the tower, and for a terrifying moment Charles hid while Maileen descended the ladder only for Goethel to tell her to work harder.

It was a Sunday, a holy day, the day they decided to get married. Maileen wore her mother's blue wedding skirt over a plain chemise. Nonetheless, Charles, who wore his fanciest tunic, thought she was beautiful. 

They exchanged rings, simple bands of silver. Charles had a fair amount of money, but after buying the expensive wedding rings these had been the only thing he had been able to buy after sneaking out late one night. 

Afterwards Maileen and Charles kissed for the second time only. 

Often at the end of a long day the newly married couple would relax with their books: Maileen her mother's cookbooks and Charles various books he had brought along. 

Everything seemed to be going nearly perfect when one day, Maileen spotted roaches in the main hallway.  They stomped on and killed them all, but not before contracting the flu from them. 

This set to halt all reading, and Maileen and Charles struggled to complete the chores in the two hours Goethel was gone each day. Everything seemed to be going wrong.

Chapter 3: Rumpelstiltskin

"When the girl was alone the manikin came again for the third time, and said, 'What will you give me if I spin the straw for you this time also?' 'I have nothing left that I could give,' answered the girl. 'Then promise me, if you should become queen, to give me your first child.'

One day, confident that Goethel would be gone for at least another hour, Charles took some trash outside. He was feeling better, though Maileen was not. She had been throwing up for weeks now. 

It was just as the doors swung closed as he headed back inside, Goethel arrived home. 

Charles heard the whinnies of the horse and shot across the house toward the tower. Luckily he arrived there safe, but it was too close. He would have to be more careful from now on, and he almost told Maileen that she would have to do the chores. 

But there were some complications. Between the throwing up and the weight she was gaining (eventually she had to borrow some of her mother's old clothes, something she had vowed not to do (with the exception of the wedding dress) because she could not fit into her dress) she finally pieced it together. 

As Charles walked in behind her, she broke the news.

"Charles. I'm pregnant."

Maileen still had to do chores, but Charles did as much as he could. Unfortunately one thing he could not do  was make and serve meals.

At least Maileen enjoyed this. And as she stirred, she couldn't help but cradle the bowl, as though it was a baby. 

And now they suddenly felt content. Maileen and Charles slept peacefully.  All was well again. 

Charles loved the baby already. He felt Maileen's belly constantly. 

He tried to cheer her up by tickling her, and he succeeded often. 

But as Maileen's stomach grew bigger she became depressed. How would she deal with a baby, a huge house to clean, and meals to make? Not to mention reading the cookbooks. As it was she woke up at 4 in the morning in order to make and serve breakfast as well as get out of the dining room so her stepmother and brother wouldn't see her. 

One day she felt contractions. She kept herself from screaming, but couldn't help but wish she had a midwife.

After it was all over, Maileen knew it was worth it. It was a baby girl, named Esmerelda.  She was wrapped in rags, and her father came to see her for the first time. 

"Hello, Esme. Isn't she a darling?"

"Yes. But, Charles...We don't have anywhere to put her."

It was then that Maileen's fairy godmother, Griselda, appeared. She didn't come around often. Maileen explained the predicament. 

As soon as she had said the words, a fairytale nursery appeared on the unused fourth floor. It was beautiful. 

"Thank you, thank you Griselda!" Maileen exclaimed.

Esme loved her nursery, and again Maileen felt happy. But a baby was a lot of work, and the first month she didn't touch the cookbooks.

"It was the weirdest thing last night. It was almost like I heard a baby crying. But no, I know that isn't right. It was probably horses in the distance." Kurt was confused by the events of the previous night, but he had never heard a baby cry in the first place.

"Yes. Interesting." Goethel seemed far away. 

Maileen loved taking care of baby Esme. Although Charles insisted he should so she could read, she could not give up the pleasures of motherhood.

Although it was a lot of work, she still had occasional time to read. She was now through seven of the ten cookbooks, and could almost again taste food in her mouth. 

Maileen loved looking at her daughter, who had Charles' hair and her wide grey eyes. She was too small to see which she looked more like, but Maileen loved looking at her anyway. 

She often found herself rising in the early morning to spend some time with her daughter, read, and cook breakfast before anyone else woke up. 

One day she found a penciled in note in the margin. 

"Today I did an awful thing. I promised an evil man my daughter's first daughter. He threatened to take my baby instead. But the midwife says I'm carrying like a boy. So I shouldn't have any problems. Should I? I'm sorry. -Catherine"

No sooner had she read the note than there was a knock on the door. A man walked in.  Maileen, holding Esmerelda, watched on in horror. 

"What is that, Esmerelda? You want me to take you?" The man teased.

"No. She doesn't. And how do you know her name?" Maileen shouted. 

"A little birdie told me. Unless you can guess my name, the child is mine." The man threw words at Maileen.

"You can't do this!" Maileen shouted.

"You have three days," the man shouted as he retreated.

Charles came down and agreed to search for the man. He found him one night on a nearly deserted lot. All that was there was a bonfire. The man danced around it, singing: 

"Today I bake, tomorrow brew,

"The next I'll have the young queen's child.

"Ha, glad am I that no one knew

that Rumpelstiltskin I am styled."

The next day Rumpelstiltskin arrived.

"What is my name?"

"Is it Conrad?" asked Maileen innocently, stringing him along.

"That is not my name."

"Is it Harry?"

"That is not my name."

"Is it, perhaps, Rumpelstiltskin?"

The man leaped up. "The devil told you that! The devil told you that!"

And he was never seen again. 

Chapter 4: Hansel and Gretel

"Be quiet, Gretel, said Hansel, do not distress yourself, I will soon find a way to help us. And when the old folks had fallen asleep, he got up, put on his little coat, opened the door below, and crept outside. The moon shone brightly, and the white pebbles which lay in front of the house glittered like real silver pennies. Hansel stooped and stuffed the little pocket of his coat with as many as he could get in. Then he went back and said to Gretel, be comforted, dear little sister, and sleep in peace, God will not forsake us, and he lay down again in his bed."

Months passed in peace, and little Esme grew up. She was now just over a year old, and Maileen could not imagine it had been so long. For sure having a child had slowed down her reading, but she would not have changed it for a thing. 

She was still fascinated by the marvels of the nursery, such as a flower which functioned as a high chair. 

With a bit of finality Maileen closed the book. It was the last cookbook. Maileen had now read cover to cover every single one of the cookbooks. She knew every recipe...But now she could try them. 

Maileen inhaled the smell of the food, but it was better knowing she could now eat it. Oh, how good it would taste! 

It was a bit of a hassle carrying the plates up the ladder, but Maileen could handle it. 

The omelettes were scarfed down by Maileen and Charles. They were gone all too soon, but they both knew there would be many more to come. 

It was the day they would be leaving. And as excited as Maileen was, she couldn't help but have sad feelings. They had to leave everything behind, including her daughter's magical, wondrous nursery. 

She descended the ladder to the bedroom which had once seemed like a prison and now seemed like home.

Finally, the kitchen and family room. She couldn't bring the cookbooks, and had committed her favorite recipes to memory. On an afterthought, she took the very first one and put it in her deep pocket. 

"Are you ready?" Charles asked.

"Yes," responded Maileen. "Just one more thing." 

She went out to her parent's graves and mourned one last time. She would never see them again. 

She ran out front when she heard horses.

"Charles! I thought we were walking!" 

"I used the last of my money to hire a carriage." 

With so much extra space, Maileen ran upstairs and grabbed the rest of the books. Everything else was left behind. 

It was right after the carriage had pulled out of view that Kurt arrived home. Calling for Maileen and not finding her, he searched the house. When his mother arrived home, he ran outside. "She's gone," he breathed. 

Goethel never found her, and died unhappy. But that's another story.

This story is about Maileen and Charles, and their story ended well. 

And as the carriage rumbled down the street, all they could see was the future ahead of them. 

Chapter 5: Happily Ever After

"He led her to his kingdom where he was joyfully received, and they lived for a long time afterwards, happy and contented."

Maileen looked out over their new home. It was beautiful. Unlike the old place, there were trees everywhere here, and mountains too. 

She imagined her children roaming these hills, as she had once wished to as a child. But of course her children would not be holed up in the house like she was.

The forests would offer an opportunity for Charles to gain money by chopping down trees. And the blue sky was magnificent.

The house was absolutely beautiful. Charles never told Maileen exactly how he afforded it, but Maileen wondered if her godmother had anything to do with it. 

Charles smiled as he looked out at the house. Here they would never have to worry.

"Are you excited about seeing the house, Esme?" Maileen looked at her daughter with love. 

And suddenly, looking into her daughter's eyes, Maileen knew everything would be okay.

The end.

Look out for an outtakes/final thoughts post later!