Warnings: Feels ahead!
It was a Saturday night in Storybrooke, the town where she had moved to, recently, with her fiancé.
'Me and my former fiancé', Hope thought to herself. Now, she was out of a home and was staying at Granny's Inn for the night, or, quite possibly, the entire week. Hope Greene had signed her name in low, meticulous cursive lettering into the guestbook, after meeting the, apparently, elusive Mr. Gold at the inn. It was bizarre, but she had felt as if she knew the man. Hope shook it off. She needed to clear her thoughts now on the way to the pawn shop, and stuck the headphones in her ears to clear her mind. The MP3 flicked to a song by Kansas.
….
The woman in green robes rowed gently, singing a lullaby to herself.
'Hush, child, the darkness will rise from the deep and carry you down into sleep…' she sung.
"You called?" A high-pitched yet distinctly male voice chirped. The lean woman jumped up in response, her long dark curls being revealed by the fall of her hood. Her matching, slightly large green eyes gazed into his topaz ones, her round, child-like cheeks lifting along with her thin lips into a smile.
"Ah, Esmeralda, the famed witch. What, of all people, brings you here, Dearie?" His fingers wriggled against his own.
"I'm a sorceress…much different than a witch. You see, I use my powers for good." Esmeralda defended, raising her chin slightly, her small nose turned up like a child's.
"As for your other question, Rumplestiltskin, I came here because there are things that even I cannot do. I am still very much a student of magic."
"That's very surprising, considering you're part… 'Fay'." The man smirked.
Esmeralda rolled her eyes.
"I don't want to talk about my lineage to that woman. She may be my blood, but she is not me. She used my father for her own selfish needs. Do you want to know why I'm here, or not?" She answered.
"Go on." He said patiently.
Esmeralda looked around.
"I need you to make me forget about something."
"About what?" He asked.
"Well, someone, I guess." She looked down sadly.
"Ah. A broken heart. The worst of maladies." He said.
"Yeah, no kidding." She answered.
He reached into the water and cupped the water into a bottle.
"What will you give me in return?" He asked eagerly.
Esmeralda looked around. She didn't want to be tricked like the people her grandmother, Morgan Le Fay, had tricked. Not like her father, Mordred had. She licked her lips.
"One day, Rumplestiltskin, there will be a day where magic offers you no relief from your pain. When that day comes, as life surely has it, call upon me. I may or may not be able to help you, but I will stay by your side through it all."
…
Hope finally reached the pawn shop, which was just about to close. As she opened the door with a 'ding!', the man she was looking for looked up from his book.
"Ms. Greene! What a surprise! What brings you here?" He asked, his Scottish accent lilting.
Hope bit her lip awkwardly.
"Mr. Gold…hi. Call me Hope. I… came about this ring…" She slipped it off of her ring finger.
"…I was wondering if you'd like to take it off of my hands." Hope said, setting the ring down on the counter.
Mr. Gold gazed into the woman's eyes sadly. 'There must be a long, sad story behind this, best not to ask…,' he thought.
"I'm pretty sure it's cubic zircona, probably not worth a lot." She admitted.
"Are you sure about this, Miss?" He asked, concerned.
Hope fought back tears. "Yes."
…
"So you're offering me…companionship?" He asked the woman, slightly laughing.
'Well, what did you expect me to offer, my firstborn?" Esmeralda asked jokingly.
He raised his eyebrows.
"Oh…" She said.
"No, it's just…I've never had anyone offer me that before. Usually it's something shallow. You really are what they say." He said, looking into her eyes sadly.
"What is that?"
"Benevolent…wise…intuitive." He took her hand. She embraced him in a sympathetic hug.
"It's okay…I know your pain. When they find out you have magic, they all go away, afraid…" She said.
"But they have reason to be. I killed their guards, burned the castle, stole…"
"Yes, yes, I know that. I know everything." Esmeralda comforted.
"…and yet, you still chose to be my companion?" He asked.
"The past means nothing. It's the present that really counts. You feel guilt at what you did, what you are. You would have taken it all back. That's how I know that you wouldn't do it again."
"Thank you. Thank you so much." He sobbed into her shoulder. She clung to him tighter.
"Now go. Forget all that you want to forget about. One day, we will meet again. You may be the only friend I have, but you're the greatest." He said, walking away.
…
The next thing she knew, she was being held by a man as tears streamed down her face.
"I want to forget…I want to forget everything…and that's why I came here. I just want to…forget." Hope sobbed.
"There, there. I know a desperate soul when I see one." He held her tightly.
She wiped away her tears, standing up from the floor.
"I'm sorry…I am not really one to show my emotions, it just kind of all came out at once."
"I understand…and you never were." He said.
"What?"
"…One to show your emotions." He answered.
"…Have we met before?" Hope asked.
"You don't remember, do you?" Mr. Gold asked.
"No, apparently not." Hope answered.
"Allow me to show you." He said, putting his hands on either side of her temples. She gasped as she pulled away.
"Rumple? What? I haven't seen you in forever! We are together at last!" He spun her around the room, kissing her in the process.
She touched the place where he had kissed her.
"Um…"
"UH.."
"Wow."
"I—um.."
"You know what? It's been centuries. If I don't confess now, I never will. I love you, Esmeralda." Mr. Gold said to her.
"I love you too, Rumple!"
Needless to say, the cubic zircona ring was thrown away in the pawn shop trash can, never to be seen again.