This is my first written fanfic for Once Upon a Time. I started writing this when the hiatus began but now I am ready to share this story with you guys. I hope you enjoy and I plan to post a new piece of the story every Saturday.
Once Upon a Time
Sub-story
Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of enchanted water,
as requested by the Dark one.
Jack fell down, and you know the rest. Or do you?
There was an old woman who lived a shoe.
With so many children, what could she do?
In the Enchanted Forest, there was a giant's shoe isolated in the wood. An old woman discovered it and invited the new orphans to join her. She turned the shoe into a small house for the five children and herself. But finding enough food for them was hard. These selfless children learned to make do with less, as they lived in that shoe for the next few years.
Then the Dark One visited them…
The children I the shoe ran amuck in the forest, playing hide and seek. One boy stopped when he saw the Dark One approach. He signaled the others with a whistle, and they rounded up.
"Kids," the old woman stood outside her shoe, "inside."
The children followed, climbing up the lace and into the shoe. One girl took a moment to look at the Dark One, confused about what was going on.
"Come on Jill," her bother called.
She slid down and huffed.
"Who is that being?" A younger girl asked.
"He's called the Dark One," Jill's brother stated.
"Why?" Jill asked. "He looked pretty shiny to me."
"They call him that because he's evil. He makes treacherous deals and kills people. He has lots of power that he just abuses." Her brother explained.
"Jack, are you saying he wasn't born like that?" A girl with ginger braids asked.
"No. He stole that power from the last Dark One." Jack went on.
"He was human before?" Jill asked.
"I guess. I don't know too much about his past." Jack said.
"Where are you going?" The ginger haired girl asked Jill, who was climbing up the ladder to the top of the shoe.
"I'm curious," Jill called.
"Jill," Jack urged.
"No, I won't help you," The old woman said to the Dark One.
"Not even for what I am offering in return?" The Dark One replied.
Jill sat up on the top of the shoe and watched them.
"I know better than to make any deals with you. They always backfire." The old woman scolded.
"Have a little faith dearie."
Jill gave a little smile at him saying 'dearie.'
"Stay away from my house and don't ever come back." The old woman said.
"It's a shoe." He pointed out.
"It's our home." She argued.
The Dark One looked up and saw Jill, who stated back. He looked back to the old woman and said, "If you insist." He turned away and left.
The following day, Jill, being the oldest of the children, at age 12, was sent to pick berries, while the old woman got them two buckets of water for the next few days.
Jill walked a few miles to where the berries were at. Before she could pick the first berry, she heard "Don't you ever get tired of eating the same thing?"
It was the Dark One.
Jill turned to face him. "What brings you here?"
"Oh I was just bored and decided to pop in." He answered.
"You can teleport?" She asked.
"Indeed dearie."
She gave a small smile again.
He giggled and she smiled brighter.
"There's that smile," he pointed out. "You know not many people find me funny. Can you believe that?" he joked.
"Not for the life of me."
"Now that you mention it, I have a proposition for you."
"What is it?"
"So curious, too. Oh, that's a good thing." He used his arms to gesture. "How you like to move out of that stuffy old shoe and have a real house? You could eat a kinds of food. Even cake. You look like you've never even tasted the stuff."
"I have, and it's wonderful. Never had it since living in that shoe." She took on offense.
"You'll have a proper house with oncoming food for years to come."
"For all of us?" She clarified.
"Well of course dearie. Wouldn't want you to live alone," he looked away.
"What do I have to do?"
He smiled as he turned to her. "I need you to fetch me some water."
"From?"
"From the hill of Hollis. It's a few miles that a way," he pointed. "Here's a bucket, he showed her. Fill it up and return here for me to collect it. When you get her just call me name and I shall come."
"And that would be…?"
He bowed as he said "Rumpelstiltskin."
"I'm Jill," she curtsied.
He looked surprised by her grace in his presence.
"Do we have a deal?" he asked a few moments later.
"Yes," she shook his hand. "It's a deal."
"You can't do this," Jack told his sister when she returned to the shoe.
Another girl their age with the two ginger braids was cooking a stu using the berries Jill brought back. One of the younger boys was sleeping on the cushions from a couch.
"Jack, if I succeed," she stood up as Jack shook his head, "We could have a real house. We could have our own room and our own bed. We could have toys," her face lit up.
"It's the dark one. He can't be trusted." Jack warned.
"I don't want to live like this anymore. We all deserve better." Jill declared.
"You've already made up your mind?"
Jill looked around the small shoe house. Cushions and blankets all around the ground. Found dressers turned into a counter for the kitchen. "The deal has been made."
Jack sighed and looked down.
"It's not that difficult of a task, you know. I just have to retrieve a bucket of water." Jill reassured him.
"Why aren't you afraid?" He wondered.
"Of going to fetch water?"
"No," he moaned, "Of him?"
"I don't believe everything I hear."
One of the younger girls entered the house from the ladder.
"Where were you?" The ginger braided girl asked her.
"I was visiting the marketplace, Pippi." The girl replied.
Pippi sighed and turned around. She stirred the food once before saying, "You could have been snatched up. It's not safe out there."
"I just wanted to play with the other kids," the girl replied shyly.
"But you're not like the other kids," Pippi reminded her. Jill looked at Pippi. "We're alone and closed off."
"But why?" The girl asked.
"Clara," Pippi eyed her, "we live in a shoe. We have no money. We don't fit in with the others."
Jill faced Jack and gave him a look. Jack looked at her for a moment before nodding. "When is that task due?" He asked quietly to her.
"Tomorrow at sunset. It's about 4 miles out, so I'll leave after breakfast," Jill replied.
"No," Jack grabbed his sister's hand, "We'll go."
Jill looked at her brother and saw his determination. He didn't exactly support her but he didn't want her to be alone. He insisted on going to protect her.
Jack and Jill walked for over a hour through the forest. Jill held the map as they walked along.
"We shouldn't have lied," Jack said as Jill walked passed him. .
"They'll forgive us when we succeed," Jill stated, holding the pail. "Besides, we weren't exactly lying."
"We said we were going to broaden or search for new food," Jack reviewed. He stopped and looked back for a moment.
"Jack, we are giving them a home," Jill urged. "Just come on. We're nearly there."
When they arrived at the hill, they took a moment to observe it.
"It's so...steep," Jack noted.
"Well," Jill switched the hand holding the pail, "let's get up to that well."
Then Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water.
They made it up to the top where the well was. The grey bricks made up the structure. There was no hood or roof on it. Just the bricks in a circular form with a rope hung up on the side.
Jack grabbed the rope and tied it to the pail. Jill looked down the well and gazed at the sparkling water.
Jack went over and lowered the pail down the well, using the rope. Jill watched as the pail reached the water.
When the tin pail reached the surface, a sudden loud noise came from within the well. Jack quickly untied the pail from the rope and they both backed up.
The creature that emerged to the surface was dark and drenched. It had long dreads and stood tall, hovering.
Jill stared at this being in fear as Jack continued to back up. He lost his footing and fell back.
Jill didn't notice for a few seconds. It wasn't until she heard a crack that she spun around and notice he wasn't there. She ran a few feet down to see him, then everything seemed to go in slow motion.
She knelt beside her injured brother and held his head. "Jack?"
He grabbed her hand. He was struggling to breath because of his broken ribs and bones. He had a hard fall.
"Can you get up?" Jill tried.
"Ow!" Jack grunted.
Jill looked into her brother's eyes as he whispered "Keep on hoping for your happy ending."
Jill looked at him confused for a second, until his grip relaxed and his eyes closed.
"Jack?" She shook him, "Jack!"
He was gone, but she didn't want to accept that. Jill screamed and cried. She held her dead brother and cried some more.
An hour later, the water creature was making a noise. Jill wiped her tears and went back up the hill. At the top, the noise was a bit clearer.
"You have taken water from here." The creature said.
"I was told to come here. I made a deal-" Jill said.
"That water is not meant for he who you made the deal. Nor for your dead brother." The creature said.
"I came all this way... I never should have come," Jill regretted.
"Your journey was not a total loss," the creature spoke.
Jill looked up at it in confusion. "How?"
"You may keep the water, but you cannot give it to the dark one." The creature instructed her. "This water is meant to save another. Not your brother, but your friend back at the shoe."
"Wait. Are you saying they're in danger?" Jill rushed.
"But the water in a small container," the creature said as Jill pulled out a small flask and put some water from the bucket in there. She put the small container in her pocket and dumped the rest of the water back in. "This is not the brother you are meant to save. You have another who you must discover."
Jill stared at the being. "Are you saying I have another brother?"
"He is older and of this land." The creature ended with, "Save who must be saved, not who you want to save."
Jill turned around and ran back to the shoe.
As Jill neared the shoe, she heard a scream. When she got there, she saw the old woman standing next to the dark one. Her heart was in his hand.
"Ah, look who's decided to show," Rumplestiltskin turned to Jill. "You're late dearie."
"No don't hurt her," Jill urged.
The old woman gave her a look of surprise. Jill went behind her and made the deal.
"Did you retrieve what I asked?" He demanded.
"The creature of the well forbid it. She said that whoever you were going to save was gone for good." Jill half lied.
"I didn't ask what she said. I asked you to retrieve the water." He grew impatient, still holding her heart.
"The creature wouldn't even let me save my brother," Jill tried to connect. "Maybe you should go kill the creature yourself."
"I didn't ask for your opinion. I thought you would succeed. You seemed motivated." The dark one said, "but I was wrong. We had a deal and you failed. That won't go unpunished." He crushed the old lady's heart.
"No!" Jill cried and ran towards her but he pushed her back.
Pippi was hiding nearby and backed up, crunching a branch. The dark one heard her and caught her. "It's nice to know that I don't have to kill the ones who wronged me," he said as Pippi struggled. "Just their families." Jill watched as Rumple took out a dagger and stabbed Pippi in the gut.
Rumplestiltskin backed away after throwing Pippi down and set fire to the shoe before disappearing.
Jill ran over to Pippi. "I'm so sorry," Jill kelt down.
"The kids got away," Pippi assured her. "She saw him coming and told us to flee. They'll go to the town and hopefully someone will give them shelter."
"Please don't go," Jill pleaded. "I'll be alone."
"It's time," Pippi whispered before dying.
Jill stood up and screamed. She tossed beaches around and hit her arm against trees.
Jill sat with her knees near her face. It was almost dark now. She suddenly remembered the small flask.
She stood up and took out the small container. She recalled the creature's words. "Your friend." Not the old lady- the friend. Pippi.
Jill went over to Pippi and put the water in her mouth. Jill waited several seconds for it to work. She looked at the flask. Was it enough water?
Then, Pippi awoke with a gasp. She breathed heavily and asked Jill "what happened?"
"I saved you," Jill smiled.
Jill and Pippi headed to the town the following day.
"I really hope the children are alright," Pippi worried. "I had to stay back to watch over Helga."
"I know," Jill said as they ran. Jill and Pippi had a long talk after Pippi was saved. Jill explained where she went and that she made a deal with the dark one. Pippi was shocked but understood. When Jill blamed herself for Helga (the old woman)'s death, Pippi assured her she wasn't to blame. The dark one killed her and destroyed their home.
They heard some laughter and saw two of the kids from the shoe. The kids were playing with other children and looked happy. Then, the kids went with one of the parents. They found a home-a family.
Pippi turned away, feeling a bit jealous. The kids she took care of found someone else. Plus, they found a home. Pippi's home was burned down.
She looked up slightly, and noticed something glowing. It was small and blue. A Whisp!
Jill watched the children a minute longer, until she and Pippi were knocked out.
Jill woke up in a cell, next to Pippi. Outside of the cell, was a blank grey wall. The sun shines from an up high window in the cell. They were underground and trapped!