The King of the Playground
Written by: Adventure-Seeking-Juliet
When: Listening to very good music...
Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time. I do not own anything at all.
A/N AU baby!Storybrooke. Eleven ill-behaved toddlers are set free in a terrifying new land, with only one goal, to control the merry-go-round. Please review?
Part One
It was a truth universally acknowledged that the ruler of the playground must control the merry-go-round, at all costs.
And it went without saying, that the children of Storybrooke Preschool were the bloodiest power seekers in town. No other group of pre-school aged children behaved as wildly as the toddlers who attended the infamous day care facility.
Though the matriarch of their little school, Mrs. Lucas, lovingly referred to as Granny, was known for her strong will and conservative ways, try as she might, she could not always control the little buggers who she watched.
Granny was determined that the only way for some of the children to learn was from experience, and so, with an anxious mind and a worried heart, Granny left the children to learn the rules of courtesy on their own playground...
Which is, of course, how the story begins.
Once Upon a warm fall day in October, Granny's eleven worst behaved students were set free on the playground. She might as well have set a pack of dragons free on an innocent city.
The first of the children to make her way onto their newsest frontier was four-year-old Belle French, which came as no surprise to the others. Despite her calm and caring nature, Belle was easily the bravest of all the children of Storybrooke Preschool.
She stumbled out onto the sunlit play area with an expression of awe on her face that was common for curious children.
Belle clutched her small book to her chest, though she tried to stay out of all of the typical battles of toddler triumph, she was very proud of her ability to read. At her meanest moments, Belle could be found lording her abilities over the other children. She was a very proud little monster.
She always carried a book around with her, so as to not let the others forget her one triumph. If any of the children needed something to be read, they came to her.
So, it was with great thought that little Belle French, the bravest of them all, chose the largest golden slide, on the very edge of the playground, for her fortress.
Belle threw her book up to her tower so that she could climb up the steep latter. Her new dominion was well protected against the other children. None would bother her, so with little thought about the others, she curled up with her book.
Belle so enjoyed watching the other children fight.
From her perch she watched as the ten remaining children entered the new land and chose their dominions.
Of course, the second two to rush out the door were Rumpelstiltskin Gold and Regina Mills.
They were the only five-year-olds who still attended the preschool, and were Granny's worst students. Rumpel and Regina hated each other.
Belle climbed as close as she could to the edge of her slide, just to see the battle taking place below.
Rumpelstiltskin was small for his age...and Regina was tall, so the two were nearly even in every way. Regina got the head start...sprinting toward the pinnacle point, the merry-go-round.
But Rumpel was more cunning then Regina...and he was a faster runner. He caught up to little Regina, and with a malicious giggle, yanked on her bow.
Regina turned around, mouth gaping in shock, and that was the only distraction Rumpel needed to pass her.
With a grin of accomplishment, he sat upon the spinning throne of the merry-go-round. Rumpelstiltskin seemed to be the King of the Playground, but Regina's angry glares told another story...
Though she chose to rule the ever-changing Land of Swings, she clearly would not allow Rumpel to reign supreme for long.
Belle smiled down at her book, she was glad Rumpelstiltskin had won the merry-go-round instead of Regina. He was always uncommonly nice to her, and she found his manic giggles...endearing.
From her perch, Belle was able to watch all of the others take their respective places.
Snow and Charming took the sand box, so they could spend their time making "real" castles, made of sand. Still, Belle could see the discontent on their faces. Neither Charming nor Snow were cruel or overly ambitious, but they knew that the law of the playground could not rest in Regina's hands.
Or Rumpelstiltskin's.
Emma, Snow's best friend, valued her privacy, and took shelter in the small play house, in the corner directly opposite from Belle's Golden Tower. Belle liked Emma well enough, but she was new to the playground, which meant she couldn't be trusted. Not until she proved herself.
Jefferson, one of Belle's only friends, chose to spend his time as near to Emma as possible. He sat on the ground a few feet away from the play house, and watched Emma as he stuffed as much dirt as possible into his silly hat.
Belle couldn't help but roll her eyes at her old friend. She couldn't understand his fascination with Emma. She wasn't at all interesting or endearing. She was nothing like Rumpel.
The other new arrival to Storybrooke Preschool, young August Booth, chose to control the wooden castle, making him a formidable player in the game. He controlled the other slide and the extra set of swings...
Belle would have to watch out for him.
Ruby and Hopper took up residence underneath the wooden castle, at the tire swing.
It was really a silly place to end up, especially considering Ruby's feisty attitude, but Belle knew Ruby would have hated to leave little Hopper alone, he was only two.
The only one who didn't stake a claim was Ella, she chose to sit next to Granny at the table, which didn't surprise Belle in the least. Ella had always been a teacher's pet.
Once everyone had taken their places, it wasn't long until the fighting started.
Rumpel had been using his advantage to force the other children into dealing him their toys. It wasn't hard to do- all of the children wanted to ride the merry-go-round, and Rumpel was happy to grant their wishes, for a price.
Regina could only watch from her Land of Swings, which was visited by none, except for Sydney Glass, but he was a baby, so he didn't count. (Granny had to take him back inside, when Regina pushed him off a swing.)
The real problem started when Emma was asked to ride the merry-go-round by both Jefferson and August.
Regina went around telling everyone about it, which pushed Jefferson to decide to duel August. From Belle's point of view, the whole matter was silly, but she was as nosy as the next toddler, so she left her tower to watch the fight.
All of the children of Storybrooke had gathered in a circle next to the merry-go-round, even Ella.
Jefferson was wearing his dirty hat still, but he had also found a nice stick, which he promptly used to whack August in the arm.
August was slow to react," Why did you do that?"
Jefferson was all glares and mean faces," You took Emma from me!"
He struck August again, this time in the other arm.
Now August was angry," Emma isn't your girlfriend! She's mine! Right, Emma?"
Emma, who was standing in between Snow and Charming, looked confused," I thought you were both my boyfriends?"
Regina waltzed up then, looking far too happy with herself," It doesn't work like that! You can only have one! You're stupid."
Hopper and Ella both gasped, looking scandalized.
"You can't say that word!" Hopper accused," It's mean."
"I'm telling Granny!" Ella yelled, walking back toward her previous seat.
Ruby rolled her eyes," Don't be such a tattle-tale, Ella. Emma can like both boys if she wants to. It's not stupid."
Hopper gasped again, but everyone ignored him.
"Why does it matter?" Belle asked, wrinkling her nose," Boys are icky. 'Specially August and Jeff."
August frowned at her, looking confused," Who are you anyway?"
"I'm Belle." She clutched her book closer to her chest, trying to ignore the annoyed look Jefferson shot her way.
"Go away, Belle. You're just jealous." Jefferson put his hands on Belle's shoulders and shoved.
Belle tumbled to the ground, causing her book to fly out of her hands. Luckily, Rumpel was there in time to catch her, just before her head hit the rocks.
Belle gaped up at him for a moment, shocked at his actions," Thank you, but I can take care of this by myself."
Rumpel automatically released her," Whatever you say, dearie."
Belle paused to brush her blue shoes off, then marched up to Jefferson. She snatched his hat off his head, and threw it into the mud, sticking her tongue out at him the whole time," You're a meanie, Jeff. I never want to talk to you ever again!"
Jefferson was too busy crying over his hat to notice Belle's escape back to her tower, but Rumpelstiltskin watched her with lots of interest. Something about her bravery was endearing.
Belle decided she was never venturing onto the playground again. She was much happier in her golden tower, far far away from the silly merry-go-round and stupid Jefferson.
Unfortunately, the problems of the playground decided to come to her after that.
Emma and Snow came up and asked her to read books to them, then the annoying tattle-tale, Ella demanded Belle write her a love note to give to her "boyfriend" Thomas. (Belle was sure Ella had made him up. Who would like a fearful little girl like Ella?)
And then, out of nowhere, Rumpelstiltskin paid her a visit.
Belle was reading her only book, a condensed version of Beauty and the Beast, when he launched himself off the latter.
"What are you doing here?" Belle asked, jumping back in surprise when his boots clattered on the edge of her golden slide.
"I want to make a deal," He said simply, plopping down next to her.
Belle reluctantly put her book down," Oh? And what do you want? I don't usually make deals..."
He pulled a pink letter out of his pocket," I need you to read this."
Belle plucked the letter from his fingers," Who wrote it?"
"Regina. I think she wants to take the merry-go-round from me." He sighed, looking anxious.
Belle rolled her eyes," Why did you leave the merry-go-round then? She could take it while you're gone. She's stupid like that."
Rumpel giggled," I left Ruby to guard it. And...Regina is too busy spying on Charming and Snow to pay attention to what I'm doing."
"Right," Belle nodded, blushing at the sound of his giggle," And what will you give to me if I tell you what the letter says?"
"You can have free rides on the merry-go-round?" He offered, watching worriedly as Belle scooted closer to him.
Belle shook her head," I don't really like the merry-go-round. It's boring!"
Rumpel looked annoyed," Well, what do you want then?"
Belle batted her eyelashes," I like books."
"I can do that," He said, smiling," Can you read it now?"
"Nope. I want something else, too." Belle said, smiling brightly.
Rumpelstiltskin was very angry now," What else do you want, Belle?"
"You must come have tea parties with me, like Jefferson used to! Please?"
Rumpel just stared at her for a minute, looking contemplative. He seemed torn between the horror of girl cooties and his genuine like for Belle...
"Fine. Just read the letter, please."
Belle unfolded the pink letter, which seemed to have been scented with rose perfume...
And she giggled.
"I...can't read this, Rum."
He snatched the letter back, annoyed," What do you mean? I thought you could read!"
"I can read," Belle said, rolling her eyes," But Regina can't write! Those aren't words. They're all made up!"
Rumpel looked livid," She's stupid. I'm leaving!"
He was already descending the stairs when Belle asked," What about our deal?"
"I never break deals, dearie."
He was gone then, leaving Belle alone to read Beauty and the Beast for the tenth time. Maybe confining herself to the tower wasn't such a good idea after all...
Her thought was proven true a moment later when an angry Regina stomped up to her Golden Tower, glaring and yelling out all kinds of mean words.
Belle crossed her arms," I didn't say you could come up here. Leave me alone."
Regina casually stepped closer to Belle, ignoring the younger girl's words. Regina was scary up close. She towered over Belle, and her mouth was twisted into an evil smile that gave Belle the creeps.
Regina definetly had cooties.
"I want to know what you were telling Rumpel a few minutes ago!" She stomped her feet, making the Golden Tower shake.
Belle took a step back, glaring at Regina," I only told him that you can't write. Stupidhead."
"What did you just call me?" Regina screamed. She ripped the book out of Belle's hands and tossed it off the slide, smiling at the thud the book made when it hit the ground.
"You heard me! You're a stupidhead!" Belle said, raising her voice. No one could throw her books but her!
She pinched Regina on the arm, but Regina was too strong for her. Belle had barely grabbed the older girl, when Regina pushed her backward.
Belle screamed as she followed her book to the ground...
A/N Oooh, part two tomorrow, yes? Let me know what you think?