Chapter One: Caged
Rumplestilskin was a madman, anyone could tell you that. But no one messed with him; he was a madman, yes, but he was very clever and very powerful. Everyone knew that only the desperate made deals with him, for they almost never turned out well for the desperate soul. Only, no one could ever see that Rumplestilskin himself was a desperate soul.
Long ago, he had just been an ordinary man, who had been hell bent on protecting his only son. His only solution, become powerful fast; and so he had. But that power later cost him what he loved most. This loss is what had begun his search for a way out of the enchanted realm, a way back to his son.
It had been years before he had found a powerful enough curse to take him there, and then had found the perfect pawn to cast it. Rumplestilskin knew if he had been the one to cast it, he would never be able to the cursed town once the spell broke. No, it had to be Regina who would cast it. And now, she had a very good reason too. Rumplestilskin had ensured that her enemies, Snow White and Prince Charming, better known as David would defeat her. And they had; he knew that now the time was ripe for the Evil Queen to unleash the curse.
Unfortunately he was currently stuck in a prison the dwarves and fairies had created for him; a prison that helped Princess Ella break her deal with him when she had whined to Snow and Charming.
Rumplestilskin sighed heavily, and stared at the parchment on which he had written over and over in black ink, Emma.
Soon after being trapped in the prison, Snow and David had come to him to ask how they could stop the curse, and in return they had told him their daughter's name, his sole loophole that would allow him to remember his old life once they got to the town.
He ran his scaly thumb over the letters of Emma's name. He wondered what she would look like when she came to town, or how soon she would arrive.
"If she does at all old man, your plan may fail," a quiet voice of doubt whispered from the back of his mind.
Rumplestilskin shook himself, the solitude was getting to him, he was beginning to hear voices in his head.
"Hello Rumplestilskin," another quiet voice said. Rumplestilskin didn't bother to look up; he guessed it was the Queen, here to gloat about "her curse".
He snorted; she would have never gotten it, had it not been for him.
" Why don't you look at me Sweetie," the voice purred in a silky tone.
To his absolute shock, he felt himself relax. Obediently Rumplestilskin looked up to see the Blue Fairy standing beside the bars, a cruel look in her eyes.
Rumplestilskin grinned his madman grin, and said with great flare, "I didn't expect to see you down here Dearie," as he spoke, he used his hands to gesture and ensure that his point was well known.
"Oh come now Rumple," she purred, "I have the Dark one caged, do you really think that I'll let Regina change that?"
Rumple was about to reply when the fairy pulled a small bag out from behind her back and shook it. Little specks of dust flew from it; no, not dust, Poppy pollen.
Unfortunately he realized this a little too late, for the pollen was already starting to tickle his nose, and force its effects onto him.
His eyelids drooped, and a sudden sleepiness overcame him. The parchment slipped from his fingers as the room began to lurch and spin.
"Thank you for your manipulative abilities Rumple, it makes things so much easier" Blue said in a silky voice. She reached through the bars, and stroked his cheek in mock affection. "Poor Rumpy, you must be so sleepy. Time for bed!" Rumple jerked away from her touch, and ended up falling off the stool he'd been sitting on.
Now that he was laying on his back, he felt the powerful lull and promising temptation of sleep. He tried to push himself up into a sitting position to force himself to wake up, but his body refused to respond. Instead he just lay there, until holding his eyes open became too much and he fell into a deep, and dreamless sleep.
Killian Jones stood in the middle of a small camp, where tents were scattered all around him as the owners tried to prepare for the oncoming curse.
Killian Jones was a handsome man, with black hair and stunning blue eyes. It was one of the reasons his late girlfriend, Milah had fallen for him. That and unlike her cowardly husband, Killian loved adventure.
Though his quest for revenge was an adventure he wished he had never had to take. Years after he and Milah had left her village to sail the world, her cowardly husband had returned and after a heated argument between the two, the ex-husband who had somehow become the Dark One, had ripped Milah's heart out right in front of Killian's eyes and killed her. Then when Killian had tried to kill the Dark one, he had gotten his right hand cut off. He had soon after replaced his hand with a hook, which he hoped to use to kill his enemy.
"You're not very patient are you?" An older woman with dark hair pulled into a bun asked, walking over to him. A smug smile on her face.
The woman's name was Cora, and it was her daughter Regina that would be casting the curse. For the next twenty-eight years until the curse was broken, everyone in the camp would be asleep.
"How long will it take for the bloody curse to break so I can exact my revenge on the crocodile?" Killian asked the older woman.
"Patience Hook," Cora said, "And you'll be able to kill Rumplestilskin."
"Yes, in twenty-eight years," Killian snarled angrily. He glared at Snow White's castle which shimmered silver in the distance. It was where Rumplestilskin was being held prisanor.
"Oh, so you do remember?" Cora raised an eyebrow mockingly. Killian snorted and walked off; he didn't want to deal with Cora just now. So instead he decided to walk along the edge of the camp, near the forest.
He was still fuming about the curse taking so long to break when he heard a soft giggling from nearby. Killian turned and slowly, quietly walked towards it, curious.
He pushed his way past a couple of tents to a more secluded area and peered pas the bushes. What he saw made his stomach clench up, and his blood boil. It was Rumplestilskin.
The Dark One was laying on a cot, with a blonde haired woman leaning over him, a cruel smile kissing her lips. She was caressing the side of Rumplestilskin's face very gently, then moved her hand up to play with his hair. It took Killian a minute to realize that Rumplestilskin was fast asleep. He had a peaceful expression on his face.
"You'll be very useful Rumpy," the woman purred, still caressing his face. Killian's blood ran cold, his breathing quickened in anger. This was his chance!
Killian lunged forward and fastened his remaining hand on Rumple's throat; squeezing hard. Rumple choked and began to twitch helplessly; the power of sleep keeping him from waking up to defend himself.
"You're mine Crocodile! This is for Milah!" Killian hissed, tightening his grip. He was engrossed in killing Rumplestilskin that he didn't see the woman come up behind him and place a rag coated in poppy pollen against his mouth and nose. Killian took one deep breath and fell asleep on top of Rumplestilskin's chest.
The woman smiled satisfyingly. Her boss had said to cage Rumplestilskin so he would be around when she needed him, so why not give him some company; after all some company was killer.
Far away, at Snow white's castle, a huge and terrifying cloud of purple smoke began engulfing the land, the curse had been cast.