The White River
By JailQueen
I grew up near a forest that was very much like the ones in John Bauer's artwork. The old trees, the moss covered boulders and the trolls hiding just out of sight. The fairytales that went with those pictures are pure, and I hoped to perhaps bring some of their magic into this story. This is the first fanfiction that I publish, so be nice. I do not own Once Upon a Time, nor will I ever do.
It was a bright day but not the brightest day by far, but indeed bright enough by any means in The Enchanted Forest, Jiminy observed briefly whilst droning lazily through the air on his way back home after a long night and morn spent searching for a very special enchantment which he was certain would consist more or less of a single word spoken just right and at the perfect time, rather than a long and arduous spell or curse. The enchantment in question he needed to aid the child he had taken upon himself to raise into a man, (who was indeed now a man nearing his seventieth birthday Jiminy observed with a sense of mild dread and denial) in his quest to raise a child himself.
You see poor Geppetto and his wife had never been able to conceive, and now that old age was on the doorstep it seemed increasingly unlikely that they ever would. He had asked Jiminy to search for an answer, and there were indeed many of those flying around the ether, but none that would satisfy. Jiminy knew the simplest solution to their problems were also the most dangerous one. There were two people who could fulfil such a request. One was beyond devious and the other equally elusive in that she disliked answering the call of one she had already helped. The Blue Fairy was by all means on the side of good, but she would die to maintain her principles and nothing anyone else said or did could make her doubt her ideals. If you didn't stand by her you were nothing.
Rumplestiltskin on the other hand, though unpredictable, had the unfaltering habit of giving people exactly what they deserved for taking the easy way out. Jiminy secretly dreaded there was more to Rumplestiltskin deals than chaos and dismay. He'd always suspected that some centuries old plan were in the works; slowly building towards some final strike that will send them all to their doom.
Jiminy shook the intrusive thoughts off as he flew gracefully through the forest brushing past emerald green leaves and hanging moss. Above him chirping birds flew, catching flies with their hard beaks. In the beginning he had feared them and hid whenever they were near, but he soon learned that they were equally scared of the magic talking cricket as he were of their sharp bills and claws. Cats were another thing entirely. They'd chase and try to catch him, oblivious or insouciant to his yells. Sometimes he would catch a look in their eyes and he'd almost believe he was looking into the face of the Dark One again after all these years. The thought soon passed but the doubt would remain, lingering like a cancer in his mind. What if he was never free of the mistake he'd made?
His thoughts were suddenly interrupted when he was incased in a hand reaching through the air, grabbing him tightly. The shock of being snatched out of the air soon relented and Jiminy began to kick and bite his fleshy prison. All it got him was a slight headache as his captor shook his fist violently whilst giggling mischievously, effectively giving himself away.
"Rumplestiltskin let me go!" shouted Jiminy and though his voice was muffled it produced another hysterical giggle to come his way. "If you don't let me go I'll…"
He never got to finish his empty threat for the next he knew he was staring into Rumplestiltskin's wide eyes whilst lying in a crumpled heap in his palm. Jiminy looked around and saw that Rumplestiltskin was seated on a rock next to the White River which ran through the western forest. The sparkling silver water purled down the stream tranquilly from a waterfall, dancing around the rocks and boulders that obstructed its way towards the Endless Ocean. The river was surrounded by ancient trees covered in lichen and stringy moss hung from their skeletal branches like the finest hair untouched by the solemn autumn breeze.
Jiminy looked back at Rumplestiltskin and saw that he was still staring at him with his intense somewhat manic glare. Jiminy clambered shakily up into a sitting position and stared at his captor who looked back at him with mild interest. Rumplestiltskin's skin appeared to glimmer in shades of bronze and copper in the golden glow and the silver streaks in his brown hair reflected the undying light of the river. Jiminy knew the river was created by magic and that in the presence of Rumplestiltskin's power it thrived and allowed the rays of the sun to dance across the clearing and make even the darkest things brighter.
"So…" Jiminy said hesitantly while crossing his arms, feeling that well-know and reliable sense of panic building up in the face of certain death. "Was there something you wanted to talk about? I know we don't technically know each other very well, but you having been such a prominent feature in my early years I feel we have a certain connection. A connection that might not have made a great difference to your life but it has certainly made a big difference to mine. Not that I'm blaming you for what happened, oh no not one bit! It was I who made the mistake and I've long since come to terms with the part I played in that dreadful thing that happened to little Geppetto's poor parents. I should never have made that deal. But I'm not blaming you! I'm just…"
"Jiminy dearie, you really need to shut up now or I will bite yer head off." Rumplestiltskin sing-song voice cut him off and Jiminy started turning his ragged old umbrella over in his hands until he felt Rumplestiltskin suddenly tilt his hand sideways. Jiminy was taken by surprise and would have fallen to the ground if he hadn't he had wings.
"Thank you." Jiminy gazed up at Rumplestiltskin before hesitantly flying up and landing on his knee. The imp grinned at him and Jiminy noticed that he had something else captured in his right hand. Jiminy could see some pink fabric and brown hair stick out from between his bony fingers. Small sounds could be heard as well, not unlike growling mingled with pathetic sobs.
"Um…" Jiminy began, looking from Rumplestiltskin and back to his hand. "Um, you know I don't think the Blue Fairy would be very happy if she found out about that. Maybe you should…"
Jiminy fell silent again at receiving a look from Rumplestiltskin that could have frozen deserts. But his cold eyes soon brightened and he grinned his predatory grin at Jiminy once more, while squeezing the captured fairy slightly in his hand making it squeal.
"Could you perhaps not do that?"
"What's it to you?" Rumplestiltskin snarled through his teeth. "Don't tell me you feel some kind of allegiance to these pesky little…vermin." He drew out the last word and spoke it with such distaste it made Jiminy cringe.
"Was there a specific reason as to why you grabbed me out of the sky?" Jiminy asked, his patience running thin. Rumplestiltskin merely shrugged and then continued to slowly squeeze the fairy to her death with a maniacal smile on his lips. Jiminy decided on a different tactic and sat down more comfortably on Rumplestiltskin's knee.
"Do you mind if I ask… There's something I have always wondered. How old are you really?" Jiminy swallowed and flinched when Rumplestiltskin fastened him with his indecipherable stare.
"Oh, I don't really know, dearie. Some hundred years, give or take a few centuries."
"So, somewhere between one- and six-hundred years then? You never counted back to see how long you've been around?"
"What on earth for?" Rumplestiltskin grin faltered somewhat and he shifted slightly on his rock, gazing out across the river. Jiminy followed his gaze and noticed a small troll pretending to be a rock on the opposite shore. It had the look of someone perpetually trying to ignore the fact that one has been discovered. Its long ears almost touched the ground and its bulging eyes were staring obstinately into the sky hidden above the tree crowns.
"Why would I want to scrutinize all the frightfully many years behind me when I have so many ahead to dread? Nothing will change that which has passed and not much will come to alter that which stands before me. Before any of us." Rumplestiltskin's eyes turned back to Jiminy and his voice turned into a whispered hiss. "What will come, will come. Try not to think too hard on it, little cricket."
"Do you know what will happen?" Jiminy could hardly keep the awe out of his voice. He rose on his four unsteady feet and looked into those golden-grey eyes. Rumplestiltskin slowly bent forward until they were mere inches from each other's faces. His voice once again sounded gleeful and amused. "Only my own deeds, dearie."
"How do you know your plans will be completed? What if something unexpected were to happen?"
"That's were plan B comes in, my dear."
"And if plan B fails?"
"Oh, don't worry yourself. I have about seven hundred plan B's." Rumplestiltskin laughed his insane crackle and then continued on to gently squeezing the fairy. The prospect of Rumplestiltskin's seven hundred plans did nothing to calm Jiminy's nerves however. Suddenly a question he'd been pondering for many a year came to him.
"Can I just ask one more query?"
"Just the one, dearie?"
"The cats… are you controlling all the cats in this kingdom?"
Rumplestiltskin snorted and then cast him a look that clearly stated that he thought he was an idiot.
"Control…cats?"
"Yeah, I just mean they have this look in their eyes when they look at me…"
"What look is that? 'Dinner's here'?"
"No. Like they know me and want to tease me to death and then drag me away to their master." Jiminy answered somewhat affronted.
"Ye can't control cats! No-one can! They're so soaked up in magic that they can barely keep all four paws on the ground. Ye ever tried to tame a dragon?" It wasn't really a question so Rumplestiltskin continued on without waiting for an answer. "Well, ye can't. The same goes fer werewolves, howlers and certain witches. Control cats!" Rumplestiltskin shook his head in disbelief and disgust.
"There's a saying: The ignorant person is the one who doesn't know what you just found out."
"It's common enough knowledge, dearie, dear." Rumplestiltskin answered in his sing-song voice, sending shivers down Jiminy's spine. Shivers of both discomfort and anger.
"Why are you here anyway, Rumplestiltskin?"
Rumplestiltskin raised his right hand shaking it with distaste, making the fairy whimper. "I found this buzzing about my garden, spying through windows and crevasses in the walls and ceilings. I caught it in the oak tree I planted when I moved into the castle, hiding in the branches. So I decided to see if it would drown or just get soggy."
He sniggered while he spoke and splashed his foot in the water making the fairy yelp. Jiminy could feel his heart go out for the poor creature and he sight in exasperation. Rumplestiltskin fixed his attention on the cricket again.
"You were looking for something in the faraway lands, weren't you, dearie? An enchantment of old and dreary paths will soon follow. Do you not yet see what comes out of magic? The price is always greater than the request. Tell the old man you still feel is a child to love his puppets and forget about what he cannot have."
"I can't do that, Rumplestiltskin. I promised Geppetto that I would do whatever I can to find him a child of his own. And whatever the price is I will pay it."
"No you won't. They will. The boy and…her."
"Who?"
But Rumplestiltskin didn't answer. He looked out across The White River, deep I thought. Thoughts of the future and of the past. Deals to be made. Prices to be paid. His musings were however cut short when the fairy bit him again. Rumplestiltskin glanced over at Jiminy who sat watching him, impatient and worried.
"I'll make you a deal. Go to Reul Ghorm and make your request. Take this thing," he indicated the fairy in his hand," to her and tell her you rescued it. It won't be a lie since I planned to kill it. She'll do what you ask."
"What about you? What do you get out of this deal?"
"I want you to tell that crowlin' ferlie something."
"What?"
"Tell her: one year, seven months and six days. Tell her that I know where he is."
"Why? What happens in a year?"
"Oh, you'll find out in due time, dearie. Do we have a deal?"
Jiminy knew the risks of making deals with Rumplestiltskin better than most, but it seemed to him that for once the deal was all it implied. It was a deal for information, not for magic. Jiminy nodded and Rumplestiltskin grinned mischievously. Jiminy fluttered out of the way when Rumplestiltskin rested his hand on his lap and opened it, revealing a very scruffy looking fairy wearing the remains of a pink tutu. Her dress and wings were torn and she was filthy and bruised. Her eyes shot daggers at Rumplestiltskin who just smiled at the irate fairy. She stood up on shaking legs and tried to fly away but quickly fell through the air into Jiminy's waiting arms.
"I made a deal with him. I'll take you home."
She stared at him disbelievingly for a moment but then nodded. She closed her eyes and whispering something like I want dreamy. When Jiminy looked up Rumplestiltskin had gone, taking his magic with him and the golden light. The White River seemed troubled by his passing and the troll on the other shore turned to stone.