His Father's House
Warning: Spoilers for 3X01. If you didn't watch it, don't read it.
This is just a short reaction triple-drabble that I wrote right after watching tonight's episode. Enjoy!
Neal wasn't sure what to think of being back in the Enchanted Forest. He hadn't let himself truly think about it, not really. He needed to get to Emma, to Henry. They were still in danger.
Occasionally, he would pause at how foreign his own homeland was to him. The fourteen years he had spent here was short compared to his stay in other worlds, and a child's perspective at that. As a resident of The World Without Magic, he now saw absurdity where was once normality. Fairytale characters that he knew from books and movies had saved his life. He resisted the urge to sing a few Disney songs that he knew would only lead to trouble.
Now, accompanied by Mulan and Robin Hood of all people, he was in his father's long abandoned castle. Since it was after his time, he didn't have any memories there, but when he saw his father's staff the emotions came flooding in, raw and untempered. That was his Papa's, the man before the Dark One. It was a reminder of things long ago that Neal tried to leave be.
He shook the past off, he had more than enough practice, and only allowed the logic to come to him. The staff was the key. That didn't mean he had the time to dwell on it. Emma and Henry needed him, and they were the present, the important.
That meant that he'd have to use magic. Did that make him any better than his father? After all, even the Dark One had started out trying to save his son… Just like Neal wanted to do. But he didn't have a choice. Neal had to guarantee his family's safety, whatever the cost. Even if it meant using something he really hated.
A/N: So, yeah. Nothing special, but I wanted to write something for this ep and this kinda popped out. I NEED NEXT WEEK NOW! Um... Sorry about that. I just can't wait. I'm kinda excited. Next week'll be awesome. New episode of OUAT, Supernatural starts, OUAT in Wonderland starts... I just have to get through all of the current one. Great. Anyways, thanks for reading! I do enjoy reviews by at the same time, I do understand this is 300 words of mostly introspection. If anyone wants to discuss the episode instead, that's fine too. This season is gonna totally rock!
-Also, why was Belle in the preview for next week? Is she there in Neverland somehow? If so, how? Or is Rumplestiltskin hallucinating? Being tricked? Or- I'll just stop now...