Hello everyone. It's been a while, hasn't it? I want to thank those of you that are here because of alerts as well as people that are not aware of my work. Welcome to this little journey.
I also want to let those of you know that are subscribed to alerts that I haven't forgotten my previous stories. I think of them often and my Star Trek one is always in my mind. It's been 5 years since an update, but it WILL be complete. If not for my personal closure, but for those of you still interested in it. Thank you for your interest.
Let's get this show on the road then, shall we?
Disclaimer: I only own Lina (out of character) and her personality, not the story she comes from. In addition, I don't own Once Upon a Time, Rumplestiltskin, real estate in the Enchanted Forest, or an apartment overlooking Granny's in Storybrooke. Please enjoy.
Chapter One
The tavern had never seemed noisier, but that's what the tiny bartender always said. Every night, the townsfolk would leave their children home and waste away under the dim candles in sconces on the walls. They always wanted beer and mead, never minding that the small woman could hardly carry the items to them at the bar. They were all drunk enough to imagine that she was the same size as everyone else and attempted to buy her drinks to pass the time. Though she never indulged, it was still nice that some of them even asked.
"Little Thumb! I needs me another!" someone shouted to her, making her wince. He was beside her and spittle flew into her face. Her ears were ringing by the time she was pushing his mug toward the barrel. "An- don't fall in, would ya?" The man and his friends laughed, remembering a day early in her time there that she accidentally fell into a mug while filling. Now, she just asked Jacob, the second bartender, to do the work for her.
Brushing her dark hair from her face, the small woman reflected on how she got there. To that tavern in particular. She didn't have time to really dawdle around, so she pushed the mug of beer toward the customer and held out her hands. "Same price, Hugo," she said loudly for him to hear in his drunken state, and he held out a large silver coin to her in payment. He wasn't a bad guy, just too loud for her tastes.
Turning from the large man, the girl spotted a new patron at the end of the bar. She tilted her head curiously, grabbed the skirt of her dress, and weaved around the mugs of bear and food to get to the somber face in the corner. Soon enough, she saw someone that she recognized from around town, but never saw him drink. Though she'd seen his wife dozens of times.
"What can I get cha, dearie?" she asked, moving around his clenched fists to look up into his face. The men around the bar laughed when they heard her talk to him, but with a small glare, they went back to their own business. The man in question looked upset and she was the only one that could see that.
The man looked away from his hands then, staring at her in the face. His eyes widened a fraction of an inch, but the same broken hearted sadness still engulfed them. He seemed to bite his lips for an instant before he was looking away from her in a huff. "Aren't ya a bit small to be working in a place like this, lass?"
"Don't confuse small for naïve," she shot back instantly, already having had her fair share of patrons ask the same question. She was small, yes, but she could do a lot around the bar and the others took a liking to her for it. They said she had spirit, considering her circumstances. "My name's Lina."
"I know who you are. Thumbelina, they call ya-"
"Don't ever call me that again, spinner," she hissed and gathered her skirts again. "If ya want nothin', then I'll go elsewhere," she added before turning away from him. She was about to stomp off when a warm, calloused hand made a barrier in front of her. She turned to the owner and glared.
"Ah'm sorry, mah wee lass. I just…," unshed tears appeared in the man's eyes and made her soften instantly.
He was in pain, just as she thought. She turned back around to face him and patted his hand. "It's alright, dearie. What can I get ya, Rumplestiltskin?" she asked again, a bit less gruff.
He gave her a small watery smile and sighed. "Yer darkest ale would do fine, lass," he said quietly, but even with as much noise as there was, she heard him clearly. His sadness made him look so much older than he was, a broken man that she could only assume had to deal with his family.
Lina knew of Rumplestiltskin just after she moved to town, having heard stories from bar patrons of the coward spinner. She never spoke up, but she understood why a man would run from a war that would leave his loved ones without a father, a husband. He permanently disfigured himself in order to help his family and she couldn't be disgusted by that sort of behavior. It took bravery to hurt yourself for someone else.
Another reason that she knew of the poor man had to do with his wife, Milah. Lina had tended bar enough to know that Milah was a regular and gloated about being out while her husband stayed home. That was a person that disgusted Lina to the point that she refused to serve her. The larger woman always looked at her curiously and surprised when she got a glare in return, but never started any problems over it. The opinion of someone that could never even be full size meant nothing.
But now, Rumplestiltskin was here and Milah was not. A moment of confusion and clarity happened upon Lina as she pushed the full mug toward the man in question. When she got there, tears were streaming down his face and she immediately grabbed a small rag to give to him.
"Here, dearie. Take the time ya need, okay? If ya need-"
"She left me. She left our son," the man sobbed, clenching his fists against his eyes, making her gasp slightly. He sounded so broken and she couldn't help but move closer to him and rub his arm. "She left with a bloody pirate!" he growled, making her jump a bit as he slammed his hand into the bar. To her, it was a small earthquake and she fell to her backside next to his fist. She wasn't hurt, but a small jittery apology came from above. "Wee lass. Ah'm sorry. I didn't hurt ya?" he asked, loosening his hand and holding it out for her.
She laughed slightly and grabbed hold of his fingers to get herself up. Brushing her dress a bit, she shook her head, green eyes bright in amusement. "I'm alright. Don't worry about me. Take a drink, it'll calm your nerves a bit," she said and pushed his drink toward him again. His eyes softened as he took a drink and had to bite back a wince. "The darker the better in helping forget problems."
"I spin to forget. But in my weakness…"
"I understand. Believe me. But if you ever decide to make yourself a regular, I'll keep this seat warm for you," she said gently and when he nodded to her, she went back to taking orders from the other drunks. Every so often, she couldn't help but glance his way as he nursed the mug. He looked just as broken from the opposite side of the bar as he did when she was face to face with him.
"Lina, didja get coin from the cripple?" Jacob asked, passing her on his way to hand out mugs. She winced and put on her sweetest smile as she turned to face him. "Lina… Ya can't go around givin' free drink ta beggars."
"He wasn't a beggar. His wife's gone, Jacob. The man's hurtin'," she hissed at him, making him shake his head with laugher in his eyes. "What?"
"Ya got too big a heart for such a small body. Fine. This once. Next time, he pays."
Lina smiled triumphantly and turned to look toward her new favorite customer to see an empty mug and a vacant seat. She frowned a bit and moved to the other side of the bar to clean up the area. As she stepped in front of the mug, she noticed a small copper piece under the bottom. She sighed and shook her head before trying to get a glimpse of him leaving. She thought she saw a smaller man brush past one of the larger drunken regulars, but he was gone before she could blink. Taking the copper, she dropped it toward the tip can to remind herself to seek him out later to return it.
