Goldilocks and the Three Barons

Once upon a time there was a slavegirl who was as proud as she was beautiful, for her mother was a slavegirl as well, as had been her grandmother before her. Her blue eyes were as bright as sapphires, and she was called Goldilocks, for her hair fell past her waist like a river of gold.

Now Goldilocks was owned by the old Merchant Prince of Hass, and when he died, the heir of the house decided to have Goldilocks sold. So he sent Goldilocks to the maiden-barn in the chief town of the kingdom – not the kingdom you are thinking of, but one of its neighbors. There in the maiden-barn Goldilocks was caged and washed and brushed, poked and prodded and asked many questions. And then she was ordered to the round auction stone, to step up onto it and to be sold from it.

Goldilocks stood on the round auction stone, wearing naught but her slave collar of never-rusting dwarf-steel, while dozens of men ogled and discussed her. One by one they called out their bids to become her new owner, and the winner of the bidding was a well-dressed lord of middling height and terrible thinness, red-haired and clean-shaven. And so Goldilocks stepped down from the auction stone as the next girl to be sold climbed up onto it.

The auctioneer’s assistant took Goldilocks to the stalls of the sold-girls, and there she awaited her new master. When he came, he brought heavy iron chains to lock on her wrists and on her ankles, and a great cloak of red wool to drape around her.

“Goldilocks, my wenchy lass,” he then said, “I am Baron Brassbell, but you shall know me as Master Fredrick.”

“Yes, Master Fredrick,” Goldilocks answered. “I will obey, and it will be as you wish.”

“Very good, my wenchy lass,” Master Fredrick said. “Now I will take you to Brassbell Tower, for that is my home, and there I will set you to the tasks of a slavegirl. You will sweep and scrub the floors, you will help my Cook in the kitchen, you will sew me a new tunic and embroider it, and you will provide me with the Seven Sensuous Secrets of pleasure, taught to slavegirls by the House of Rumpelstiltskin.”

“Yes, Master Fredrick,” Goldilocks said again. “I will obey, and it will be as you wish.” And cloaked and chained, and wearing her slave-collar of dwarf-steel, she rode in a pony-cart to Brassbell Tower, built of stone as red as Master Fredrick’s hair.

When they entered Brassbell Tower, Master Fredrick said, “Goldilocks, my wenchy lass, you will now wear this slave dress of brown sackcloth, belted with no more than a simple rope. Then, when you have dressed yourself, you will go about Brassbell Tower with your feet slavegirl bare and your hands chained before you. And as you do so, you will introduce yourself to my other servants.”

“Yes, Master Fredrick,” Goldilocks said. “I will obey, and it will be as you wish.”

So Goldilocks put on the slave dress of brown sackcloth, tying it with a rope around her waist. Then barefoot and with her wrists chained before her, she went about the tower, introducing herself to each of the servants as she met them.

The welcome those servants gave Goldilocks was gruff but not unfriendly, and many of them had ruddy skins that betrayed the brick-orc blood running in their veins. When Goldilocks had met them all, they sent her back to kneel before Master Fredrick, and as Goldilocks knelt, he told her, “Goldilocks, my wenchy lass, now you will go and beg my other servants for a broom, a bucket, and a scrub brush, and then you will sweep and scrub the floors of Brassbell Tower.”

“Yes, Master Fredrick,” Goldilocks said. “I will obey, and it will be as you wish.”

So Goldilocks went to beg a broom, bucket, scrub brush from the ruddy-skinned servants of her master, and set about sweeping and scrubbing the cold stone floors that chilled her bare feet.

And then Master Fredrick said, “Goldilocks, my wenchy lass, I now will send you to the kitchen, there to help my Cook.”

“Yes, Master Fredrick,” Goldilocks said. “I will obey, and it will be as you wish.”

So Goldilocks went to the kitchen, where the Cook showed more brick-orc blood than most, and was as bald and as stout as Master Fredrick was red-headed and lean. The Cook set Goldilocks to roll out pastry-crust of mince-pies, to scrub the pots and pans in the scullery, and to go out and serve Master Fredrick at his feasts. And that was how Goldilocks came to venture into the feast-hall, placing slices of mince-pie on Master Fredrick’s plate and pouring small beer into Master Fredrick’s leather drinking jack.

Then Master Fredrick said, “Goldilocks, my wenchy lass, I now will lock you in these heavy iron chains, for it amuses me to do so. And you will sit beside me and share my feast of mince-pie and small beer.”

“Yes, Master Fredrick,” Goldilocks said. “I will obey, and it will be as you wish.”

So Goldilocks sat beside her Master Fredrick, chained with heavy iron chains. Nor was she the only owned and collared female at the table. Most of the men who followed Baron Brassbell had free women as companions, but some had purchased wenches from the maiden-barn, bidding upon them when they stood on the round auction stone.

When the feast was done, Master Fredrick sent Goldilocks to his bedchamber. She walked there slowly, with the tiny steps forced by her heavy iron chains locked on her ankles, and when she arrived Master Fredrick was there before her. There he said, “Now, Goldilocks my wenchy lass, you will untie the plain rope that serves you as a belt. You will remove your slave dress of brown sackcloth. And you will provide me with the Seven Sensuous Secrets of pleasure that are taught to slavegirls in the House of Rumpelstiltskin.”

“Yes, Master Fredrick,” Goldilocks said. “I will obey, and it will be as you wish.”

So Goldilocks undid the rope that served her as a belt, and removed her slave dress of brown sackcloth, and wearing naught but her slave collar of never-rusting dwarf-steel and the heavy chains locked upon her by her master and owner, she showed to Master Fredrick the Seven Sensuous Secrets of pleasure that the House of Rumpelstiltskin had taught her.

Thus the days went by, and Goldilocks was content. For the ruddy-skinned servants of Brassbell Tower were gruff but not unfriendly, and Master Fredrick not a cruel man, even if he was sparing with his praise. Each night she joined him in his bed, pleasing him with the Seven Sensuous Secrets she had been taught by the House of Rumpelstiltskin. Each morning she swept and scrubbed the stone floors of the tower that chilled her bare feet, and each afternoon she helped Cook in the kitchen, scrubbing pots and pans in the scullery and rolling out pastry-crusts for mince-pies. And at noon when the light was good, Goldilocks would sew and embroider the tunic that Master Fredrick had set her to make for him.

When that tunic was finished, Goldilocks presented it to her master, and Master Fredrick said, “I am pleased that you have finished this tunic today, for my cousin Baron Worthwood is to arrive at my tower this evening, and I shall wear my new tunic tomorrow when he feasts with me.”

So it was as Master Fredrick said. Baron Worthwood arrived at Brassbell Tower that evening in a carriage drawn by four horses. Riding before the carriage and behind it were his followers, and the free women of his followers, and the slave wench companions of his followers. And when he stepped out of his carriage, Goldilocks saw that he was tall and stout, with a bushy beard, and hair as black as night.

Now Baron Worthwood had brought neither a free woman nor a slave wench as a companion to Brassbell Tower, and on the morning after his arrival he looked upon Goldilocks and said, “My cousin, you have a beautiful blue-eyed odalisque here, and I congratulate you on your find. Should I ever see the like for sale, I will buy her. And having bought her, I will wrap her in a cloak of sun-bleached linen, and transport her in my carriage to the shambling white palace that is Castle Worthwood.”

And Master Fredrick answered, “I wish you luck in your girl-hunt, Cousin Worthwood.” Then he said to his slavegirl, “Goldilocks, my wenchy lass, you will now go to the kitchen, to roll out pastry-crust for mince-pies, and to perform whatever other tasks my Cook may give you to do.”

“Yes, Master Fredrick,” Goldilocks said. “I will obey, and it will be as you wish.”

So Goldilocks went to the kitchen, and rolled out pastry-crust for mince-pies, as well as performing the other kitchen tasks given to her by Master Fredrick’s bald Cook. When the feast began, she was told to venture once more into the feast hall, bearing mince-pies and small beer to serve to Master Fredrick and to all his guests. And she was to do so wearing only her slave dress of brown sackcloth, belted with a simple rope, and her slave collar of never-rusting dwarf-steel, with the cold stone floor of the red tower chilling her bare feet.

In the feast hall, Goldilocks found Master Fredrick unhappy with the new tunic she had sewn and embroidered for him, and when the feast was done he said to her, “Goldilocks, my wenchy lass, I fear you will never be my favorite slavegirl. For the new tunic you have sewn for me and embroidered for me is too tight and pinchy. Thus I have decided to sell you, and my cousin Worthwood has decided to buy you. And so tonight you will sleep alone in a high loft-bed, reached by a tall ladder.”

Thus it was that Goldilocks slept alone that night in a high loft reached by a tall ladder, and when she climbed back down in the morning she was called before Master Fredrick and Baron Worthwood. There she was made to untie the simple rope that served her as a belt, and to remove her slave dress of brown sackcloth. Then wearing naught but her slave collar of dwarf-steel, Goldilocks stood with the red stone of the floor chill against her bare feet, and received a buyer’s inspection.

When his inspection was done, Baron Worthwood handed a fat purse to Baron Brassbell, and so Goldilocks was sold to her new master.

“Goldilocks, my beautiful blue-eyed odalisque,” her new master said, “I am Baron Worthwood, as you know, but you shall call me Master Melvin.”

“Yes, Master Melvin,” Goldilocks said. “I will obey, and it will be as you wish.”

Master Melvin then bound Goldilocks with leather straps, tying her hand and foot, and once she was completely helpless he wrapped her in a great cloak of sun-bleached linen and carried her to his carriage. In that carriage she made the journey to Castle Worthwood, with Master Melvin sitting beside her, while riding before the carriage and behind the carriage were Master Melvin’s followers, the free women of his followers, and the slave wench companions of his followers.

On their arrival at Castle Worthwood, Goldilocks saw that it was a shambling pile of limestone, as white as the hair of Master Melvin was black. Master Melvin carried Goldilocks into the castle, and there he unwrapped the cloak of unbleached linen, and untied the leather straps that bound her hand and foot, and make her put on scraps of black fur that barely covered her decencies. Yet Goldilocks did not feel chilled, for the castle was as ancient as the ancient empire, and its floor had a hypocaust to keep it warm. Indeed, the tiles of the floor felt hot, under her bare feet.

“And now, Goldilocks, my beautiful blue-eyed odalisque,” Master Melvin said. “I will tie your wrists behind you again, and you will wander hither and yon here in Castle Worthwood, and introduce yourself to all the castle staff. Once you have done so, you will return to me and I will set you to the duties of a slavegirl.”

“Yes, Master Melvin,” Goldilocks said. “I will obey, and it will be as you wish.”

So Goldilocks wandered hither and yon in Castle Worthwood, with her wrists bound behind her and with scraps of black fur that barely covered her decencies. She found the various castle servants, many with the pale skins showing them to have had snow-goblin ancestors. These servants grinned and joked, and teased Goldilocks without being mocking, and when she had introduced herself to all who she could find, they sent her back to her Master Melvin.

“So now Goldilocks, my beautiful blue-eyed odalisque,” Master Melvin said. “You are ready to be set to the duties of a slavegirl, here in Castle Worthwood? Very well then: You will dust and polish the furniture and the brasswork each morning, you will assist my Cook in the kitchen each afternoon, and when the light is good, you will stitch and sew and embroider a new tunic for me. And each and every night you will display for me the Seven Sensuous Secrets of pleasure, as taught to slavegirls by the House of Rumpelstiltskin.”

“Yes, Master Melvin,” Goldilocks said. “I will obey, and it will be as you wish.”

And so wearing the scraps of black fur that barely covered her decencies, Goldilocks set about the tasks of a slavegirl.

“Goldilocks, my beautiful blue-eyed odalisque,” Master Melvin would tell her each morning, “you will now dust and polish the furniture and the brasswork of Castle Worthwood.”

So Goldilocks would seek out rags and brushes, and dust the furniture and polish the brasswork of Castle Worthwood, with the white tiles feeling hot under her bare feet because of the hypocaust beneath the floor.

And every afternoon Master Melvin would say, “Goldilocks, my beautiful blue-eyed odalisque, you will now go to the kitchen, there to assist my Cook.”

So Goldilocks would go to the kitchen, where the Cook was a free woman of terrible primness. There Cook would set Goldilocks to knead bread dough, and to peel root-vegetables, and to scrub the pots and pans in the scullery. And when the bread came out of the oven, Goldilocks would carry large trays to the dining room, dressed only in scraps of black fur that barely covered her decencies, and her slave collar of never-rusting dwarf-steel.

In the great dining room, Master Melvin always sat at the head of a long cloth-covered table, with his followers sitting at the sides of the table, with the free women they were courting and the slave wenches they had purchased from the round auction stone of the maiden-barn. And there Goldilocks would serve her Master Melvin, slicing the warm bread and cool cheeses, and pouring wine into his glass-and-silver goblet, while the floor felt hot under her bare feet because of the hypocaust beneath the white tiles.

More often than not, Master Melvin would then say, “Goldilocks, my beautiful blue-eyed odalisque, I now will tie you again, hand and foot, with these leather straps, for it amuses me to do so. And I will feed you as you sit beside me here at this dinner.”

“Yes, Master Melvin,” Goldilocks would answer. “I will obey, and it will be as you wish.”

Then Goldilocks would sit beside her Master Melvin and eat from his hand. For her own hands would be tied behind her, and her ankles crossed and bound so that she could not stand and walk.

And every evening, when the last of the wine had been drunk, Master Melvin would send Goldilocks to his bedchamber. In that bedchamber he would say, “Goldilocks, my beautiful blue-eyed odalisque, I will untie the leather straps with which I have bound your wrists, and you will remove the scraps of fur which now cover your decencies. Then I will leash you to my bed, and you will display for me the Seven Sensuous Secrets of pleasure that were taught to you by the House of Rumpelstiltskin.”

“Yes, Master Melvin,” Goldilocks would answer. “I will obey, and it will be as you wish.” And so she did.

Thus the days went by, in Castle Worthwood, and Goldilocks was content, for Master Melvin was a cheerful owner, even if his shows of affection were sometimes overwhelming. Goldilocks would dust the furniture and polish the brasswork each morning, and help Cook in the kitchen each afternoon, and spend each night leashed to the bed of her Master Melvin, pleasing him with the Seven Sensuous Secrets she had been taught by the House of Rumpelstiltskin. And when the light was good, she would sew and embroider the tunic that he had tasked her to make for him.

When she had finished that tunic, Goldilocks presented it to Master Melvin, and he told her, “Goldilocks, my beautiful blue-eyed odalisque, I am pleased that you have now completed this tunic, for my cousin Baron Lamplock has just arrived at Castle Worthwood, riding his fine dun horse, and I shall wear my new tunic this evening when he dines with me.”

Now Baron Lamplock had brought his sword-brothers with him, and each sword-brother had brought a laughing slavegirl wench with him. And Goldilocks saw that Baron Lamplock himself was a well-built man of middling height, with brown hair cut close and a beard neatly trimmed, and that he had brought neither a free woman companion nor a laughing slavegirl wench for himself. But Baron Lamplock looked up and down upon Goldilocks, in her scraps of black fur and her collar of dwarf-steel, and smiling he said to Master Melvin, “My cousin Worthwood, you have here a jewel of a slavegirl, and I am decently envious of your good fortune. I see now that after I depart I must visit the maiden-barn and its round auction stone, there to bid upon a laughing slavegirl of my own. And when I have won the bidding, I will place my new wench in a sack of stout canvas and carry her back to Lamplock Manor.”

And Master Melvin answered, “May you have good fortune in your bidding, and may you acquire as fine a collared wench as my Goldilocks.” Then he turned and said, “Goldilocks, my beautiful blue-eyed odalisque, it is now time for you to go to the kitchen, there to knead bread dough, and to peel roots, and to assist my Cook in whatever other tasks she assigns to you.”

“Yes, Master Melvin,” Goldilocks said. “I will obey, and it will be as you wish.”

So Goldilocks went to the kitchen, and the prim Cook set her to knead bread dough, and to peel roots, and to other tasks besides. And when the bread came out of the oven, Goldilocks carried a tray into the great dining room, wearing her slave collar of never-rusting dwarf-steel and the scraps of black fur that barely covered her decencies. There she sliced warm bread and poured wine for both Master Melvin and Lord Lamplock, with the white floor feeling as hot as always under her bare feet because of the hypocaust beneath it.

But Master Melvin was unhappy with the new tunic that Goldilocks had sewn and embroidered for him, and when the last of the wine had been drunk he said to her, “Goldilocks, my beautiful blue-eyed odalisque, I find that I cannot keep you, for the new tunic you have sewn for me and embroidered for me is too loose and floppy. I have offered you to my cousin Lamplock, and he has agreed to purchase you. But tonight you will sleep alone on a low pallet, set no more than a handbreadth above the floor.”

So as Master Melvin commanded, Goldilocks slept alone that night on a low pallet, set no more than a handbreadth above the floor. And when she rose in the morning she was called before Master Melvin and Baron Lamplock, and made to remove the scraps of black fur that had barely covered her decencies. Then, wearing naught by her slave collar of never-rusting dwarf-steel, Goldilocks stood in place, with the white tile hot under her bare feet, and received a new master’s inspection.

When his inspection was done, Baron Lamplock counted out coins to his cousin Worthwood, and so Goldilocks was once again sold to a new owner.

“Goldilocks, my jewel of a slavegirl,” her new owner said, “You were presented to me in my guise as Baron Lamplock, but now that I own you, you shall call me Master Brian.”

“Yes, Master Brian,” Goldilocks said. “I will obey, and it will be as you wish.”

Master Brian then ran his hands over the nude body of his Goldilocks, and tied her well with water-softened ropes. And he put her in a sack of stout canvas, and her skin continued to tingle from her new master’s touch as she rode slung over the back of a mule on the journey to Lamplock Manor.

At the end of the journey, Master Brian lifted Goldilocks from the sack that contained her, and she saw that Lamplock Manor was a stately country house, built of tan brick. It had many windows and a great oaken door, badged with the chain-and-lantern of the Barony of Lamplock. Her master allowed her to stand and to take a good long look at the manor-house, as the sword-brothers took their horses and mules and laughing slavegirl wenches to the stables, and then he carried her lightly through that great oaken door, still well-tied with those water-softened ropes.

Inside the manor-house, Master Brian untied Goldilocks, and made her dress herself in a top and skirt of bright-dyed cotton that left her midriff bare. He then locked bells on her wrist and ankle, and said to her, “Goldilocks, my jewel of a slavegirl, you now have my permission and command to explore Lamplock Manor, and to smile at and to greet the others who make their home here: My sword-brothers and their laughing slavegirl wenches (whom you have already met), the merry halfling maids of the manor-house who wear slave collars much like your own, and the halfling menservants of the manor-house who own those maids. And” he added with a smile, “you will tell those merry slave-maids that you may stand taller than they, but you do not stand above them.”

“Yes, Master Brian,” Goldilocks said, smiling in return. “I will obey, and it will be as you wish.”

So Goldilocks explored the halls and rooms of Lamplock Manor, with its wood-paneling and wallpaper, and its floors that were mostly well-waxed wooden parquet, with occasional green flagstones laid instead. And as the bells locked on her wrist and on her ankle jingled, she smiled at and greeted the others who made their home here: The sword-brothers of Master Brian and their laughing slavegirl wenches, the merry halfling maids in their slave collars of never-rusting dwarf-steel, so much like her own, and the halfling menservants of the manor-house who owned those merry halfling slave-maids.

Nor did Goldilocks forget the command of her Master Brian. When she gossiped with the merry halfling slave-maids, she would say, “I do not stand above you, even if I stand taller than you. After all, we all wear collars of never-rusting dwarf-steel.”

“The laughing slavegirl wenches of the sword-brothers say the same,” the merry halfling maids would answer. “You should be sure to gossip with them, as well.”

And as Goldilocks explored and gossiped, she saw the laughing slavegirl wenches performing this task and that, and the merry halfling slave-maids performing that task and this. But when she asked about the proper duties of a slavegirl, here Lamplock Manor, they would tell her, “You must ask your own master, for he is the proper one to command you.”

So Goldilocks returned to her Master Brian, with the bells locked on her ankle and wrist ringing, and going to her knees before him, she said, “Master, I would learn of, and be set to, the proper duties of a slavegirl, here in this fine and stately manor-house, and so I beg of you to tell me of them.”

Master Brian considered Goldilocks in silence, looking over ever inch of her. Then he smiled, and then he grinned, and then he began to touch her. He reached down to his kneeling slavegirl and stroked her golden hair. He teased her through the brightly-dyed cotton top and cotton skirt she wore, and he caressed the bare skin of her arms, and her legs, and her midriff. And finding the touch of her master to be exciting and desirable, Goldilocks looked up and smiled back, and pressed herself closer, embracing her master’s legs as she knelt before him.

Finally Master Brian spoke. “Goldilocks, my jewel of a slavegirl, you now have shown that you understand the first duty of a slavegirl here in Lamplock Manor. And that is to find pleasure and happiness in the touch of her master.

“As for your other duties, you will do whatever may be needful in the manor-house, alongside the laughing slavegirl wenches of my sword brothers, and the merry halfling slave-maids of the halfling menservants. You will take your turn in the kitchen, as do all the other females here who wear slave collars of never-rusting dwarf-steel. You will eat beside me, for it is the rule of this manor-house that a slavegirl here eats the same food that her master feasts on. And you will spend your nights in my great and masterly bed, where you will show to me the Seven Sensuous Secrets of pleasure, as taught to slavegirls by the House of Rumpelstiltskin. But each night, before you do so, I will confirm for myself that you are hot and eager.”

So the days passed, with Goldilocks doing what was needful, under the direction of the sword-brothers and their laughing slavegirl wenches, and of the halfling menservants of the manor-house and their merry halfling slave-maids. She swept and waxed the floors of wooden parquet, she scrubbed and mopped the green flagstones in the kitchen and the baths and the laundry, she dusted the shelves and the mantles, and the tables and the chairs, and she set new candles in place of those that had burnt low. As she worked, in her top and skirt of brightly-dyed cotton that left her midriff bare, she found that the floors of well-waxed wooden parquet were not too hot against her bare feet and that the floors of green flagstones were not too chill. And Goldilocks smiled as she worked, for the halfling slave-maids were merry, and the slavegirl wenches would laugh, and Master Brian knew how to touch his slavegirl well.

Each day, Master Brian would chain or tie or bell Goldilocks, all according to his whim. At each meal, he had her eat beside him, following the rule of the manor-house that slavegirls there should eat the same food that their masters feasted upon. And each evening he would secure her with water-softened ropes in his great and masterly bed, with her arms spread and her legs spread, and he would confirm that she was hot and eager. Then he would release her, or partly release her, so that she might show him the Seven Sensuous Secrets of pleasure, as taught to her by the House of Rumpelstiltskin.

Like the other collared beauties of the manor, Goldilocks would take her turn in the kitchen. There Master Cook ruled like a halfling king in his little realm, and his merry Goodwench Pearl was the slave-maid who wore his collar. In the kitchen Goldilocks would scrub out pots and pans, or knead bread-dough, or roll out pastry-crust, or peel vegetable-roots, or do whatever else that Master Cook said was needful. But one day Master Cook said, “Goodwench Goldilocks, I am pleased to have you in my kitchen for I have seen that you smile as you work. Yet now I must send you away, for today the laundry of Lamplock Manor has the greater need for your hands.”

So Goldilocks went down to the laundry-room. Like the kitchen of Lamplock Manor, it had a floor of green flagstones and a fireplace where great kettles of water were brought to a boil. But instead of tables and spoons and carving knives, it had tubs and washboards, and great piles of clothing waiting to be scrubbed and rinsed and hung to dry.

Working in the laundry-room were laughing slavegirl wenches and merry halfling slave-maids, and Goldilocks joined them in hauling water and scrubbing, in rinsing and wringing, and in hanging the washed clothing to dry. And among the clothing, Goldilocks found a tunic of her Master Brian, one that had been fine indeed when it was new, but that now was threatening to fall apart into rags.

Goldilocks held up this tunic and wondered aloud, “Why has not my Master Brian commanded me to sew a new and fine tunic for him? For this tunic was once very fine, yet it now threatens to fall apart into rags.”

And Dorothea, the laughing slavegirl wench who was working beside Goldilocks in the laundry, answered, “It is the almost-forgotten curse of the Old Moon Man that keeps your master from doing so. For long ago the Old Moon Man was slighted by the Barons of the Kingdom, and in response he spoke the words of earth and air and water. And his curse was that any tunic any Baron commanded to be made for him would be ill-fitting and annoying to wear. Now over the years the curse has waned in power and in memory, and in these days it has but little strength. Yet from time to time the curse of the Old Moon Man will wax again, a ghost of what it was when the Old Moon Man first spoke it, and yet still terrible.”

“I thank you for your words of wisdom, Dorothea,” Goldilocks said. “For they have made much clear to me. For when Baron Brassbell was my Master Fredrick, he commanded that I sew and embroider a new tunic for him. And when I had done so it displeased him, for it was too tight and pinchy. And when Baron Worthwood was my Master Melvin, he commanded that I stitch and sew a new tunic for him. And when I had done so he was displeased, for he found the tunic to be too loose and floppy. So now I see why Baron Lamplock, who is my Master Brian, still wears this old tunic, even though it threatens to fall apart into rags, as the curse of the Old Moon Man would fall upon a new one. Yet I do not understand how this old tunic has avoided the curse. Was it sewn on a day when the curse was at its weakest?”

“No,” said Dorothea. “This old tunic, which you hold with such care lest it fall apart into rags, was sewn in secret from the old Baron Lamplock who was the father of your Master Brian. Thus it evaded the curse of the Old Moon Man, for it was not sewn by the Baron’s command. Yet none now dare attempt to repeat that feat of secret sewing, lest the secret be discovered before the tunic is finished, and the curse return with all its strength of old. For the current Baron – who is your Master Brian – is a seeing and knowing master. And if you will heed my words of wisdom, Goldilocks, you will not attempt that feat either.”

Goldilocks pondered the words of Dorothea. She spoke with the other laughing slavegirl wenches and with the merry halfling slave-maids of the manor-house. And she considered the ill-fortune she’d had with sewing tunics for Baron Brassbell, who her old Master Fredrick, and for Baron Worthwood, who was her old master Melvin. She pondered and she considered, and then she set about sewing a new tunic in secret. For the old tunic was indeed badly worn, and threatened to fall apart into rags.

She sewed in secret and embroidered in secret, using the old tunic as a pattern. She sewed and she embroidered in the dark, with the practice she’d had in sewing tunics for her old masters serving her well. And at last a night came when she finished the sewing and the embroidery, and it was the night before the morning when the old tunic of her Master Brian fell apart into rags.

“Now this is a bother and a nuisance,” Master Brian said. “It was a day long-ago when I first put on this tunic, and I have worn it ever since because it fitted me comfortably and well. But now at last it has fallen apart into rags. And while I might command that a new tunic be made for me, I fear that such a tunic would fall to the curse of the Old Moon Man. It would turn out to be too cursed tight and pinchy, or too cursed loose and floppy, and then I would have to sell the slavegirls who sewed and embroidered it for me.”

On hearing that, Goldilocks knelt at the feet of her Master Brian, wearing naught but her slave collar of never-rusting dwarf-steel. For she had not yet put on the bright-colored top and skirt of cotton that left her midriff bare. And at the feet of her master, Goldilocks said, “I beg your mercy most abjectly, master, for I have acted without your command. I have sewn and embroidered a new tunic for you in secret, wishing and hoping that by doing so, I might keep it from the curse of the Old Moon Man.”

In the silence that followed, Goldilocks sensed the eyes of her master, taking in her slave collar, and her long golden hair, and her nakedness, and she did not dare look back up at him, but kept her own eyes on his legs and feet. At last Master Brian said, “Tell me Goldilocks, my jewel of a slavegirl. How is it that you are not asking questions of an unquenched curiosity, but rather know already of the curse of the Old Moon Man? For it was long ago that he spoke the words of earth and air and water, and the curse he so laid on the Barons of the Kingdom is now old and almost-forgotten.”

“The tale came to me when I asked about your old tunic, master,” Goldilocks replied. “For it had long threatened to fall apart into rags. And it was the laughing slavegirl wenches of your sword-brothers, and the merry halfling slave-maids of the manor-house who told me of the almost-forgotten curse of the Old Moon Man.”

“Well then Goldilocks, my jewel of a slavegirl,” Master Brian said. “I did not command you to sew and to embroider a new tunic for me. But since that you have done so in secret, I now command you to bring it forth this very instant.”

“Yes, Master Brian,” Goldilocks said, looking up at last and seeing the smile of her master. “I will obey, and it will be as you wish.”

Goldilocks rose and brought out the new tunic from the place where she had kept it hidden. And when her Master Brian put it on, it was not too tight and pinchy, nor was it too loose and floppy. The tunic that Goldilocks had sewn and embroidered in secret from her Master Brian fit him just right, instead. And Master Brian grinned down at Goldilocks, who had once again knelt at his feet, still dressed in naught but her slave collar of never-rusting dwarf-steel.

“As fine and as comfortable as this new tunic is,” Master Brian said, “I will not be wearing it long today. For I find that I must chastise and reward my jewel of a slavegirl for what she has done. I will command you to my great and masterly bed, where my ropes will make you as helpless as a slavegirl should be. All this morning I shall have you laugh and scream with pleasure, and all this afternoon you will show to me the Seven Sensuous Secrets of pleasure, as taught to slavegirls by the House of Rumpelstiltskin.”

At those words Goldilocks embraced the legs of her master. “Yes, Master Brian!” she cried out eagerly. “I will obey, and it will be as you wish!”

And that was not the only morning when Master Brian commanded Goldilocks to his great and masterly bed, where his ropes made her as happy and as helpless as a slavegirl should be. Nor was it the only afternoon when Goldilocks showed to her Master Brian the Seven Sensuous Secrets of pleasure, as taught to slavegirls by the House of Rumpelstiltskin. For Master Brian never sold Goldilocks, his jewel of a slavegirl, but instead choose to keep her as his very own wench, forever afterwards.