Dividing Paths
A Short Tale from Rumplestiltskin's Travels through Wonderland
By JailQueen
Author's note: I felt like writing short stories about Rumplestiltskin's encounters with various characters from the show. I thought it would be fun if Jefferson and Rumplestiltskin had met at some point.
I do not own either Once Upon a Time or anything related to Wonderland. The world Athera, which is mentioned, belongs to Janny Wurts.
Rumplestiltskin gazed up into the emerald sky. Above him flew a variety of bizarre creatures. Tiny winged rocking-horses neighing at the brightly yellow dragonflies with auburn wings circling around their heads. He reached out his hands and his fingers brushed against the impossibly tall weeds and talking flowers. Wonderland was a strange place indeed. He had just passed through OZ and Athera. Both lands were in stark contrast of each other. OZ shone like a beacon with its bright fields and colourful people, while Athera was hidden amidst mist and the darkness of a realer world.
Rumplestiltskin was travelling through the worlds looking for information about how to journey to one outside the grasp of magic. It was easy for him to go to the magic lands since they were only separated by a thin veil. The lands without magic weren't connected to the spider webs of worlds, but stood separated by a proverbial brick wall. He was cut off from them because he was a creature of pure magic and could there for not exist in those worlds. He would have to find a way around it and then bring magic into that world after he got there.
The smell of mushrooms was almost overwhelming. When Rumplestiltskin looked down from the sky he found himself in a clearing lined by massive mushrooms. The golden light from the sun beamed through the spaces between the caps and shredded the rays into thin streaks which danced upon the mossy ground.
"Who are you?" A small, sharp voice asked, hiding in the undergrowth.
Rumplestiltskin wondered if it had been one of those pesky flowers or a person. His question was answered when a young girl crawled out from under one of the flatter mushrooms. She was smaller than her age allowed and he suspected she'd been chewing on something that didn't agree with her. When she stood she only reached his knee and the maroon cloak she wore covered her face. Rumplestiltskin snapped his fingers and she was surrounded in purple smoke. She shrieked when she began to grow but looked disappointed when she reached her full height. She pushed the hood of her head and grinned at him.
"You shouldn't be out here alone, dearie. The Red Queens soldiers are searching the…" He waved his hands, searching for the right word to describe their surroundings,"…forest."
"I'm not alone. Papa's with me." Just as she said it there was the sound of running and a man grabbed her and lifted her into his arms. The man had a wild look to him and was out of breath as he stared at Rumplestiltskin. His eyes were mingled with fear and anger.
"Hello, papa. Did you find it?" The girl chirped.
"You lost something, dearie?" Rumplestiltskin looked from the girl to the man who suddenly looked uncomfortable.
"Only our way out." The man said looking at his shoes.
"We lost papa's hat." The girl added helpfully.
"Ah…" Rumplestiltskin nodded though not quite following how one thing related to another. But then again people rarely made sense in Wonderland.
The man glanced at him reproachfully before setting his daughter down on a low mushroom. He crouched down in front of her and took her hands in his.
"Grace, I told you to stay hidden. It's dangerous out here."
"You told me to hide from the knaves. You said nothing about strange sparkly imp-men." Rumplestiltskin giggled making the man flinch and Grace grin widely. "You see, he's not dangerous. He even helped me grow back to girl-size."
"I thought there was something different about you." He patted her on the head and stood, turning towards Rumplestiltskin. "Who are you then, to have so easily gained my daughter's good graces?"
"Rumplestiltskin." He answered while taking a deep bow. "And I'm pleased to make your acquaintance."
"You're not from here are you?" The man stepped between Rumplestiltskin and his daughter, shielding her behind his back. "What land do you hail from?"
"I'm just a traveller going from land to land." Rumplestiltskin smirked as Grace looked out from behind her father's cloak. "But I started out from the Enchanted Forest."
Grace's eyes turned wide and she began tugging on her father's cloak. The man shushed at her before turning back to Rumplestiltskin.
"You have a way to travel there?"
"I do," At the man's hopeful eyes he quickly added, "but I can't take anyone with me. Such are the rules of magic. It will carry only one on its back."
The father and daughter both looked crestfallen and he sighed. He had not come here to make deals or save fugitives. They had nothing he wanted. The girl looked close to tears and he cursed his own weakness. He had walked over the corpses of heroes and turned cities to ruins, but he did not want to have another child's misfortune on his conscious.
"There are other ways to travel. Other paths that you might take."
The man sighed and took Grace's hand. "We had a way but we lost it on the Lake of Remembrance. I've been trying to fish it out, but the memories are to strong and won't let go."
"Such is the nature of memories, dearie." Rumplestiltskin smiled solemnly as a stream of memories of smiles and eyes from his past washed over him, and how they were lost to him. He missed his spinning wheel. "You don't have to stay anywhere or be anyone forever."
The man shrugged absently while looking at his daughter's blond head. "Well, we would appear to be stuck here."
Making up his mind Rumplestiltskin said, "Appearances might be deceiving."
"What?" The man looked up from his study of his daughter's hair. "You know another way to get there?"
"I know magic, dearie."
The man suddenly looked suspicious. "Why would you help us?"
"I'm not helping you. I'm helping her."
The man nodded thoughtfully. "I'm Jefferson and this is my Grace."
"Indeed you are." Rumplestiltskin smirked.
Jefferson looked worried. "I have nothing to pay you with. No gold, no land or power. All I have is my Grace and I'm never letting her go."
Rumplestiltskin thought for a moment. "How about a promise?"
"A promise?"
Rumplestiltskin pointed at Grace with two fingers. "Yes, a promise that you'll never let her out of your sight again. Your time together is precious, and before you know it…it's over."
"I can do that." Jefferson nodded and hugged Grace close against his side. "I can make that promise."
We shall see, Rumplestiltskin thought. Already your future is darkening. You should never make promises unless you know every path time might send your way.
"What do you need to get us to the Enchanted Forest?" Grace asked, tugging at Rumplestiltskin's sleeve making her father cringe. "We don't have any more hats."
"There are other ways to travel then by hats, little dearie; maybe not as glamorous but still equally efficient." Rumplestiltskin looked back at Jefferson. "Do you have a mirror?"
"Uhm… yeah, somewhere in here." He began digging through his pockets, dumping their contents in Grace's upturned hands. String, safety pins, buttons and crumpled pieces of paper flowed through her fingers. "Uhm…right here!" He held up a tiny mirror the size of a coin.
Rumplestiltskin chuckled. "Sorry, dearie. I'm going to need a slightly bigger one."
Jefferson patted his pockets thoughtfully before snapping his head up. "I know just the place!"
xzxzxzxzxz
They followed an attrition running through the undergrowth, ducking the rings of mushrooms and flying rocking chairs. The narrow path worn by animals soon widened and changed from grassy to stone chequered like a chessboard. The mushroom forest ended and the found themselves looking out over a graveyard. But instead of tombstones there were mirrors raised at the head of the graves. Only in Wonderland, Rumplestiltskin thought smirking. As they slowly walked through the maze of reflections Grace clung tightly to her father. There were so many mirrors there. Small, large, shimmering in tones of red and green, with ornate metal frames and plain glass.
Rumplestiltskin finally stopped in front of a large mirror with a gothic black and golden frame. Grace grabbed her father's hand and walked up to stand next to Rumplestiltskin, dragging Jefferson with her. She gazed up at Rumplestiltskin and smiled hesitantly. He smiled back at her while reaching out his hand and placing it on the surface of the mirror. The moment he did the glass curled around his hand like water just touched. When he took it away again a shimmer like electricity passed over the once smooth surface of the glass. Rumplestiltskin took a step to the side and indicated that they should step forth.
"Are you sure it's safe?" Jefferson asked, reaching out his hand and touching the glass. It felt like slightly harder water and seemed to pulsate.
"Oh yes." Rumplestiltskin frowned. "But you must hurry, the doorway won't remain open for very long."
Jefferson nodded and tightened his grip on Grace's hand.
"Thank you."
Rumplestiltskin smiled almost sadly, like he'd never been thanked before. Jefferson kissed Grace's hand and they stepped through. Rumplestiltskin waved them off and as soon as they were through the doorway turned back into a mirror. He gazed at the ornate frame and tilted his head in thought. This would look good in my dining room.