Winter Wonderland
Rumplestiltskin always won. It was a fact of life; people didn't argue with him, or get the better of him. They might try; in fact, he expected it. But they didn't win. So why was it that right now he couldn't seem to win at all? Probably a great deal of it had to do with who was getting the better of him. It seemed a simple enough thing, all he wanted was his beautiful Belle to marry him immediately if not sooner. She had agreed at the Midsummer Ball, accepted his proposal in front of everyone. At the time they thought they would have plenty of time to plan. They had more or less agreed to some time in spring, the traditional time for marriages back home. She had started to look at dresses; decided a few things, it was early days yet. They weren't planning a big wedding, but his Belle was so popular and he was so...well, he wasn't hated, which was more than he had been before.
Then everything changed. Belle was pregnant, having his child. He was excited, frightened and overwhelmed, and he wanted her to be his wife now. This wasn't the old world; a woman had freedoms here. It was acceptable for couples to date, to live together and to make love without being married, without even being betrothed. Otherwise they wouldn't be in this situation in the first place. He'd never been able to deny her. Not after all they had gone through to get here, and when she had drawn him to her, well, he hadn't had it in him to resist. It happened in the old world, of course. Any number of betrothals had gone from contract to cleric more suddenly than planned, but it was not as common. He was not that man. Already there were so many things against them, and he didn't want this to be one of them. Belle should have a perfect wedding, not one where she walked down the aisle heavily pregnant with their child.
But while he wanted it tomorrow, Belle wanted to wait until after the winter holidays. He couldn't argue with her, not that there was any point. She reminded him that this was their first winter holiday properly together, something to be celebrated with friends and family, and of course, despite her condition, Belle was right in the middle of it all. It didn't help that, while he knew what to do with an infant, he had been away at war throughout Milah's pregnancy, so this was the first time he had ever lived with a pregnant woman.
Only a week after Thanksgiving he had accompanied her to the hospital where she had been subjected to
an ultrasound. They had seen a rather blurry and odd looking image that was their baby, while the nurses, doctors and technicians walked very carefully around them. Nervous fathers they could handle, but no one had ever written how to handle this in any manual. He'd been good though, and everyone had come out of it in one piece without violence or accidental transformation. He didn't know exactly what to make of it, but it was nice to be able to see their child. Of course, he knew that she (and it was a she, his magic had told him that) was perfect. How could she not be with Belle for a mother? That he was the father couldn't be too much of a draw back; after all, Bae had turned out better than he could have ever expected. Still she was tired, and the morning sickness arrived at all times of day, but she was so happy. She exuded happiness and amazed him. Then there was the other side of it. His lovely Belle was having some...interesting reactions to the hormones. Not that they had ever had a less than intense physical relationship, they had too many years to make up for. But recently he only had to look at her for her to turn amorous and he was only to happy to comply (or even to encourage). The Doctor had warned them about that particular effect, causing him to blush for what must be the first time in...well, longer than he cared to count.
He dragged himself away from those thought forcefully before he went down to the library and did something that he was pretty certain would result in him losing his library card at the least, and being banned from his lovely wife's place of work all together, those thoughts could wait til tonight. Still, he spent more time that was probably healthy worrying, about her, about the baby, about...actually about everything. But top priority right at the moment was getting their wedding planned, while trying to put up with all this...holiday stuff. Mostly he was leaving that stuff up to Belle, helping her with the heavy lifting so she didn't hurt herself, but letting her make all the planning decisions. At least planning didn't require climbing any ladders. Instead he tried to look at the list of things for the wedding he wanted to accomplish. It should be easy enough to get flowers taken care of when his prospective father in law was the only florist in town, but the relationship there was...unpredictable.
Maurice French had just settled down to accept that his beloved only daughter was marrying the last person in the world he would have chosen for her when she told him about their current situation. To say he had been under excited would be putting it politely. Belle had invited him over the day after Thanksgiving for a little sit down leftover dinner to tell him the good news (well they both thought it was good news, though Rumplestilskin was still in a state of shock). They had been treading very carefully since the engagement, and to give the man credit, he was trying to act like he didn't think his daughter was making the biggest mistake of her life. Still, finding out that they were having a child had put him in a state.
"You can't," he had stuttered. "It's not possible."
"I assure you it is," Belle told him. "The doctor confirmed it. A spring birth," Belle had told him, smiling at Rumplestiltskin with such warmth that he had been afraid her father would have a heart attack right in front of them.
"You, you've done this," he shouted at Rumplestiltskin. "You took my daughter and now you've ruined her. Probably part of some evil plan to keep her chained to you. You're not even human; how is it possible?"
"Father," Belle said sharply. That was enough to get him to quiet for a moment; she never called him Father unless she was upset. "He didn't do anything," she started. He thought about saying something for a moment, but there was really nothing he could say that would make the moment less than awkward.
"You mean he isn't the father? Because otherwise..."
"Yes, no, I mean, of course he's the father, but he didn't..." She trailed off as she realised that there was no way of saying anything that wasn't going to make it worse.
"Do you even know if this...if it's going to be human?" he said. His tone only made Belle angrier, and Runmplestiltskin had stepped in to calm her down. Not that he hadn't been angry; it had taken a hefty loan on his three hundred years back log of self control not to throw the man bodily from his home just for upsetting her. But either Rumplestiltskin's tone had shown him how close he was to ending up something slimy in the back garden or he realised how close he came to shutting his daughter out of his life for good. He calmed down, and while he wasn't happy, and probably never would be (though Belle was certain once he saw his grandchild he would change his mind), he had at least accepted that nothing he did would change things. Grudgingly, he had accepted her wishes to be a mother, and Rumplestiltskin's reassurance that while he might not be as completely human as he once was, the fact that this child existed was proof that he was close enough.
If anything had come out of the conversation, at least Moe was on his side when it came to the wedding. He was all for his daughter marrying as soon as possible, preferably before the entire town knew what happened. Having a daughter pregnant out of wedlock was probably more of a shame than having her wed to the most feared sorcerer in all the kingdoms at home. But it didn't make a good basis for a working relationship. Before the old florist left, he had taken Rumplestiltskin aside for a few words about what had and had not been in the contract that his daughter had agreed to when they made their deal. His reassurance that nothing had happened between them before they came to this world nor until after the curse had broken only seemed to mollify him somewhat. Still, he had forced himself to tell Maurice that he loved Belle, and had done since before the curse had fallen. That seemed to, if not reassure him, at least lessen the man's anger.
"I'm not happy; you are old enough to be her father," he told him as Rumplestiltskin was showing him out.
"Dearie, I'm old enough to be YOUR great grandfather at least, but unfortunately true love is a magic even I can do nothing about." For some reason, the revelation about his age actually seemed to calm the man even more, or perhaps he was just accepting that there was little to be done about them at last. Still, it didn't make calling him to talk about wedding flowers any easier.
Maybe he should start with finding someone to marry them? There were any number of people who could officiate at their wedding in a way that would make it binding in both worlds. The blue fairy was the obvious choice for a lot of people. He had settled some of his differences with her. She had actually sought him out to apologise after Bae came back; telling them both that she knew he would never go through the portal; it was something about fairy magic and destiny that he took to mean a little bit of seer power that was probably as useful as his own. However he still wasn't comfortable with the bloody fairies, even while he was forced to work with her trying to find a way to get them home. Prince Charming was also a valid choice and more likely to agree than any of the others he could think of right off the bat. Adding in family ties that were only chaffing a little, and he was willing to ask the man to do it. He was looking at his phone, trying to decide whether a call to Charming or a trip to the florist shop was the best use of his time, when the doorbell rang.
"Prince...er...David," Rumplestilskin said, opening the door to see the Prince he had just been thinking of calling standing on his doorstep. The Prince had been trying to get him to be less formal when it was just the two of them, especially as he wasn't all that thrilled that the town had taken up Snow White's pet name for him. Unfortunately James hadn't suited him any better since it hadn't really been his own name but rather that of his dead (not to mention unknown and definitely unloved) brother. He had asked the sorcerer to call him by the name he was accustomed to, especially, as he put it, since now they were family. Gah, this town doesn't have family trees, it has family strangling vines, he thought a little bitterly, but tried to smile. "To what do I owe this visit? I'm afraid if it is about plans for the holidays, you'll need Belle."
"No, no," he said distractedly, shaking Rumplestiltskin's hand and making his way into the foyer of the pink house. "Not exactly anyway. I...that is...Snow wanted to ask you something and, well, I got deputized. I looked for you in town but the shop was closed."
Rumplestiltskin directed the prince into the living room where he had been sitting before the fire. The man looked a little nervous, and he sighed internally, wondering what trouble exactly the princess wanted him to save them from this time. He hoped it wasn't a change of location for the holiday dinner. They had agreed to a small party at his house (by they, he meant that Belle had agreed and he hadn't disagreed with her), but put his foot down on hosting the actual Christmas dinner considering Belle's condition. He didn't want her tiring herself. The Charming house was more or less finished, and they were moved in. Besides, as far as he could see, Snow was looking forward to showing off their new home. "I had some things to do today, and there was a bus full of those tourists coming into town today, so..." he shrugged and the Prince nodded. Gold's Pawn and Antique shop was something of an attraction for the sort of people that came on those jaunts, and they both knew what an annoyance it was to him.
"Yes, I know that this is the side effect of us being open to the world, but sometimes I wish..."
"That we still lived in a shielded bubble?"
"Pretty much, but..." David shrugged and the older man just nodded as they took seats before the fire.
"Drink?" he offered, as he rose to pour himself a scotch. The prince being so visibly uncomfortable while visiting meant that whatever he was about to be asked, he probably wasn't going to like.
"No... nothing, thanks. I can't stop long, I just..." Rumplestiltskin poured himself a large measure. The prince had never been intimidated by his power and the two had been getting on well, so whatever it was, he was betting that it wasn't going to be pleasant.
"What is it? Spit it out, dearie," he said falling back on old patterns out of concern, though he knew it didn't make anyone but Belle and himself feel any better.
"I'm sure you know by now about the parade and carnival for the holiday?" he started carefully. Okay, so nothing to do with threats or danger, Rumplestiltskin relaxed just a little. Probably just needed him to lend his hand to do something, well, not that unpleasant, surely, but not enough for this level of nervousness. The town was still trying to sort between traditions of their old world and this new world's 'Christmas' holidays. He'd read up on them. Many of them were similar to their world, though some just confused him, especially the ones that involved a fat fairy in a suit that went around giving presents by coming down chimneys in in the night. With luck, the only thing he'd ever caught coming down his chimney was a chimney sweep, and he certainly wasn't going to have any truck with male fairies in his house! He could take care of the presents himself. He wouldn't even begin on all the things wrong with those shepherds. But the rest, greenery, food, presents, drinking too much, that was similar enough not to be discomforting, though why the twenty fifth he couldn't fathom.
So Snow and Charming, with the help of Belle and various other town worthies (they had tried to involve him but he had managed to refuse) had sat down and tried to find a way to make things work together. He knew, more or less, that there was a parade, a carnival that would last the day, and a bonfire at night, all pretty much just like home on the night of the solstice. Then there would be the Christmas Eve party, (their house), and Christmas Day dinner (Snow and Charming's house), and finally it would be over, except for some clap trap about celebrating this world's New Year's Day, which fell on a completely arbitrary day that had no astronomical significance at all. Maybe he was just over thinking things, but it seemed right now that this world was annoying him. Why it hadn't annoyed him this much before the curse broke, he didn't know. Maybe it did and he just hadn't thought much about it, since he had spent the holiday time alone, spinning in the basement and dreaming of the days to come. Realising he had drifted off into his own thoughts, he turned back to the Prince. "I have, at least some of it. I am sure you are aware that I'm not much for holidays."
"Yes, I did, but...well, Snow thought..."
Oh, Gods, here it comes; finally, he thought. At least once he had asked, Rumplestiltskin could turn him down politely, then ask him about important things, like marrying him and Belle. Perhaps he wouldn't turn him down flat, actually. Not if he would agree to marry them. After all, where two people both need something, an agreement could always be reached. "...and you are the only one that could really carry it off. I mean, we could hardly ask Marco, or..."
"What?" Rumplestiltskin asked, aware that he had gotten distracted and missed the point. "Repeat that please."
"The winter King," David said, looking confused and not a little concerned. It had been hard enough to ask the first time. The man wondered if this was some special sort of punishment he was being put through.
"Yessss," Rumplestiltskin responded slowly, waving a hand for the young man to continue.
"Snow...well, we would like you to be the Winter King in the town parade," he said, hoping he sounded confident and not as terrified as he thought he sounded.
The Winter King was the archetype of winter, the representation of the old year. In most of the known kingdoms back home the role was filled by the oldest, wisest, or richest (depending on local tradition) man in the village. There would be a mock battle and of course the Prince, archetype of the new Sun, would always win. That part varied much more, being played in some places by a young boy, others by a youth just old enough to grow a beard. It was a simple bit of fun, enjoyed greatly by all concerned, and ended with the young prince being crowned by the queen of the festival. The last part was a bit like a beauty pageant and he remembered vaguely just when Bae was getting to the age to hope for the part, the queen of the festival had been a girl who was a particular friend of his son. Bae had wanted desperately to be the young prince, but hadn't even bothered to try, too afraid that he would succeed or fail to because of who his father was. He knew for a fact that the tradition had changed little over time, and now they wanted to bring it here. Regardless, Rumplestiltskin wasn't particularly interested in doing it. Still he couldn't help but make the young man squirm a bit. "Trying to say something about my age, Dearie?" he said with an exaggerated move of his hands.
"No, not at all, really. But we are a bit short on appropriate men. Marco is too shy, there's Moe, but...well, he just couldn't pull it off, and...well, you have the wisdom?" he finished questioningly.
Rumplestiltskin thought about it for a moment, really thought this time. His first reaction was to turn Charming and his wife down flat, but he did need the man. It would be much easier if he would agree to marry them. Plus, while he hated to admit it, he was the oldest man in town, and if age equalled wisdom...well, he'd never thought of himself as particularly wise but he certainly had made enough mistakes in his life to learn from them. Still, while he had used to love his dramatics, this was not exactly the sort of thing he wanted to do anymore. He knew Belle would probably urge him to do it. While they were neither one as social as say, Snow White, and both completely content with only each other for company, she thought they should participate more. "Who is the Prince?" he asked, just to have something to say.
"Well, there is some question as to whether it will be a Prince, here, honestly. They decided that it could just as easily be a Princess, what with Emma and all," he told him. "And neither Snow, nor any of the others was comfortable with the traditional 'Queen as beauty pageant' aspect, so they just decided that they would put all the names of the children in the school in a hat and pick one for each, I suppose they will have to change the titles a bit."
"Not a Prince? I see their point but still, could be a bit awkward," the older man mused. "Still, it does cut out the usual nepotism and favoritism."
"The Principal is pulling the names, actually probably already did," he said, looking at his watch. "Snow said they were having an assembly this afternoon, so I suppose we will know soon..." Before he could finish, the door bell rang for the second time that afternoon.
"See what you have started?" Rumplestiltskin said, though he was more resigned that angry. After all, there were still very few people who would ring his door bell, especially if they knew Belle wasn't home. He stood and went to answer the door. At least this was someone he genuinely wanted to see, he thought as he opened the door with a smile to his grandson Henry.
"Grandpa, I got it, I was chosen!" the boy said as soon as he opened the door, giving his grandfather hug. "Grandma Snow said I should run right over and tell you, especially since she said that the two of you were together."
"I'm sure she did," he said. He wanted to be suspicious of this turn of events, but he knew Snow and the rest far to well; they just weren't that...sneaky. More likely she sent him along as further leverage against his resisting.
"So are you really going to be the Winter King?" his grandson asked. "I mean, it would be awesome, you know, because you're kind of perfect for it, and with me. It would be fun."
My undoing indeed, Rumplestiltskin thought with a sigh. He had always thought it would involve getting killed in a great battle or losing his power, not turning into an every day man who could be swayed by the entreaties of his fiancee or playing a role in a town pageant to please his grandson.
"Perhaps, we could...make a deal?" he said as he turned to David.
"What do you want?" the Prince said, always cautious of making a deal with Rumplestiltskin. While he knew that the man would always be dangerous, at least at the moment, he thought it was as close to safe as it would get.
"Just something in the nature of a favour."