Before we start, I would like to let everyone know that I am releasing this prologue as merely a test. I've been quite obsessed with all things Once Upon A Time lately, so this is an idea I've been brewing for a while now, but have been too nervous to actually do anything about it. So, I scribbled down a prologue one day during school (when I, admittedly, should've been working) and thought about testing my luck online.
So, if you guys like it and want more, I will do my best to give you more. If not and this is an epic fail, oh well. I can still write it out for my own pleasure.
Also, I apologize if it all seems confusing and just...weird. As I told a friend, I want identities, -besides canon characters, of course- names, origins, backstories, everything to be a mystery. For now, at least.
Anyway, enough of me and my rambling. Please, read all the way and let me know what you think. Like I said, this was kind of heat-of-the-moment writing that was written about a week and a half ago, so it can honestly be better, but it's better than the drivel I have been writing before, in all honesty.
"We don't have the luxury of time, sister!"
"We can't rush this, either! He'll be here at his time. She's trying as hard as she can."
A shriek of pain interrupted them, followed by a weary moan. Her daughter was suffering and there was nothing she could do about it. Nobody could.
A hand laced itself in hers and her eyes quickly found the owner; that was their specialty, after all. David flashed her a smile, in hopes of easing her troubled mind, but it didn't reach his eyes. They were a mirror of the turmoil brewing in her own. She sighed and placed her head on his chest, his arms instinctively wrapping themselves around her in a tight embrace.
"This wasn't supposed to happen, David. All that we've done, we've done for her to have her best chance. Now she's suffering the same way we did. It was pointless to send her away."
David gently pulled her away and looked into her eyes. "It wasn't pointless, Snow. None of it was. We did give her her best chance. She's the Savior, she's doing her job and the Savior has to make sacrifices."
"This isn't a sacrifice, David! It's forced abandonment! This was their future and now it's being torn from them...again!" Snow rebuffed, squirming out of his hold.
David was silent as those around them separated to give them space. Granny, Grumpy, and his brothers found a place to sit in the corner. David hid his face in his hands and gathered his thoughts. The muted screams from their daughter echoed around them. There was barely a soul in the building. Many chose to be with family and friends, just in case.
Finally, David looked up from his hands, tears in his eyes. "What else can we do? We've tried for the past eight weeks to do something and we couldn't find a single option. Our only chance was destroyed and now we're left with this." He said defeatedly with a shaky voice.
Snow visibly softened and hugged her husband. "I'm sorry. I just...I'm tired of Emma suffering. I thought this was their happy ending, the future they've fought so hard for. I just wanted them to be happy. Now that's all over."
Before David could respond, a feminine cry broke the solemn quiet of the hospital. This one was different from the others. The air around them grew tense. Henry sensed it as well; he jumped up from where he was sitting with Violet and stood beside Snow and David.
Another, smaller, cry joined them. It was strong and powerful; it was strong enough to make them all weak at the knees and brought tears to their eyes.
"He's here," Henry gasped, as if he had just ran a mile. David placed a hand on his grandson's shoulder. It was obvious Henry was conflicted, joy and despair took turns dancing across his face.
"And just in time."
A new voice joined them and the heroes spun around. Mr. Gold stood before them, a black-and-white bundle in his arms. The bundle screamed and squirmed in his arms, clearly uncomfortable.
Henry's jaw tightened. "Gold."
"Is that...?" Snow started, unable to finish, eyes never leaving the panicking bundle.
"Another piece in the puzzle, yes. A piece that's going to take your new grandchild where they need to be." Mr. Gold quickly answered and walked through the small group. Right towards the only closed door.
Doctor Whale and several nurses came piling out, all refusing to make eye contact with the Charming family. Mr. Gold waited outside, a few feet in front of the Charmings, until a tall, leather-jacketed figure stalked out; his head hung low and he shook with the electric energy from his own jumbled emotions. Bright, pale blue eyes looked up to search for family, but all he found was Gold.
"Early to ruin another life, Crocodile?" Killian hissed in a soft, agonizingly-solemn voice.
Mr. Gold glanced down at the bundle in his arms - the white-as-snow, cherubic face staring up at him with nothing but terror in its eyes- and then looked down at the former pirate's own bundle that he carefully cradled in one arm. The hook that was normally attached was discarded hours ago. With his one good, and only, hand, Killian tucked the gray, fleece blanket closer around the whimpering child in his arms.
"As much as you heroes," he sneered, "like to think of me as evil, I'm actually doing you a favor. This is the kinder option."
Henry took a step closer to Mr. Gold, "You're forcing my mom and Killian to give up their baby. What could be kind about that!"
"Henry, " Snow and David both warned, but Mr. Gold still responded as if they hadn't said a word.
Mr. Gold walked a few feet closer to the boy, the bundle squirming with a soft cry. "The less contact you have with it, the easier it is to let go, my boy."
"My sibling is not an it," Henry ground out.
Mr. Gold was done with the conversation and walked past the Charmings and Henry, and stood beside Killian. With one hand, Gold pulled back the blanket in his own arms and the cherubic face blinked up at him.
Appearing in a red, mystical cloud, a needle was placed between Gold's fingers. Carefully picking up one tiny, chubby hand, he quickly jabbed the needle into the baby's index finger.
Snow, David, Henry, and Killian all jumped, ready to pounce, but Mr. Gold lifted a hand. With that hand, he dug out a tiny vial from his suit pocket and squeezed the infant's pricked finger until a pea-sized drop of blood slid down the vial. Mr. Gold turned to Killian, the bundle shrieking from the pain the needle brought them.
"What did you do to it?" Snow asked, voice cracking with emotion.
Gold turned to the voice. "The thing that's going to keep Miss Swan and Hook's baby safe and on the right path. With the combination of the babies' blood endued with magic and with an object, your grandchild will be safe from the darkness."
"And what of this darkness?" Killian asked, holding his child closer to his chest.
Mr. Gold grinned humorlessly. "In all due time, pirate. Now, which one of us is going to get its blood?"
"Why do you need it?" Killian sapped, taking a step away from him.
"Did you not hear me say combination? For this to work and for your child to remain safe, they must be tethered to another innocent, blank-slate soul. This baby," he paused to glance at the one in his arms, still crying and with the wave of his hand soothed their crying and healed the tiny wound, "is your child's only hope. Not just for remaining good, but for the child ever coming back to you."
Killian looked down at his child, eyes wide open from all the noise. Their eyes were still dark, but he saw flickers of green. Emma's eyes. Tears filled his eyes, but he blinked them away. He refused to cry in front of the Dark One.
He sighed in defeat and held up one tiny hand. "Make it quick...and it better not hurt for long."
Mr. Gold just cackled and produced a new needle, throwing the old one over his shoulder. Just as quick as the last one, he pricked the baby's finger and allowed the blood to trickle into the vial. The child shrieked at the impact and Killian yanked him away from Mr. Gold.
Killian was ready to protest, but Mr. Gold silenced him with the wave of his hand. The thin wound sealed itself shut and the blood disappeared just as smoothly. The child still whimpered, but his crying had already stopped from the sudden, overwhelming sensation of the magic.
Mr. Gold walked up to Snow and shoved the baby in his arms into hers, "Here, hold this." He said straightening his suit jacket.
The whimpering child hushed in Snow's arms as she gently bounced him. She peeled back the blanket to get a better look at his face and smiled. "Whose baby is this?" She asked quietly, searching for any kind of similarity in their features.
"That's unimportant. The only thing that matters is that they were given to me willingly. He has a blank slate and an origin and future that can't easily be tracked down. He has all the possibility of becoming either evil or good. He has an incredible power that made him an outcast, but the perfect and final piece of our puzzle. He's the key of your child becoming good and coming back to save you, restoring your memories once they're gone." Mr. Gold answered as he pulled another vial from his pocket, along with an odd, seashell-shaped locket.
"This is the source of his magic. As long as it's intact, he will have power. He will always be connected to your child. The same goes for this one," he paused to pull out another necklace. It wasn't a locket this time, but the pendant at the end of the chain was a transparent heart with something that resembled silver vines that grew halfway from the bottom, "with both of these objects they will forever be connected, even at times when they don't want to. They won't understand it, but they will never be able to leave each other. This child will be a guide and mentor to your grandchild and, in Charming fashion, your grandchild will do the same and deliver his own hope speeches."
The new vial was filled with clear liquid that seemed to have a life force all its own. It swirled and danced in the tube, impatiently waiting to be released. Instead of releasing it into the wild, Gold took the two vials of the babies' blood and added it to the liquid.
The liquid and the blood mixed itself together to form a sparkling, magical potion. Taking the clear, heart necklace, he sprinkled half of the potion onto the necklace. The family watched as the potion settled onto the heart and changed from a clear to a dark, crimson red.
"It works similar to a locator spell, except for it searching for someone, it holds together. So, even if one of the children move or run away, they will always find each other." Mr. Gold explained, glancing over at the Charmings.
Tears sparkled in their eyes. As long as they were alive, they would always find each other. Now, their grandchild was going to share the same bond with this other child.
Mr. Gold took the golden seashell locket and wrapped the chain loosely around the baby still in Snow White's arms' wrist three times. The baby cooed in awe at the new, foreign artifact. Gold did the same to Killian's baby with the heart-shaped necklace.
"So," Gold started after pouring the rest of the potion on the seashell locket, "let's get this over with."
Killian held his child closer, watching as his faint, green eyes searched for something or someone to look at. The baby's eyes found him and gazed at him with such intensity. It hit him at that moment, the reality of the situation. He would never get to see his child again. If Gold was honest, he and Emma wouldn't see him for a very, very long time. Even then, they wouldn't know who he or she was.
Snow, Charming, and Henry appeared around him, all gazing upon the newest member of their family. The baby Mr. Gold had with him upon arrival still in Snow's arms.
"We don't know if he's a boy or a girl. He doesn't even have a name." Snow said solemnly as she caressed the baby in Killian's arms with a touch as light as a feather.
"That doesn't matter. His fate is up to him. The only way for him to be your Savior is without you. This is why we're doing this, remember?"
"Just give us a minute," Killian snapped, tearing himself away from his baby.
Gold smirked, but complied.
Killian and Gold stood in the center of town, one wide crate lined with sheets lay in front of them. Gold had already placed the baby he brought with him inside.
Gold turned to Killian, hands held out. "You and the heroes already said your final goodbyes, this has to be done in the next five minutes or it's never going to work. Your child will be taken by the darkness then."
Killian's jaw locked. "I'll do it," he muttered pushing past Gold's hands. He held him close, one last time, and smiled a sad smile. Tufts of light blond hair stuck out around the blanket. He or she looked so much like Emma.
"Four minutes," Gold interrupted, mocking his heart ache. Killian tucked the blanket tighter around the child's delicate, small frame and maneuvered him beside the other child. A shrill cry broke the silence of night around them and Killian flinched when it echoed and landed on his ears.
The child screamed as Killian stepped away and joined his family, standing at Henry's side. David held Snow close as they watched Gold take Killian's place and waved a hand over the crate with the screaming children.
Over the years, they all got used to magic and how it worked, they had already seen dozens of people, friends, family, and strangers alike, leave thanks to portals, magic, and portals created from magic. There was always something special. They always left with a big show of their departure.
This time was different. One second, the crying were there and the next gone. All that could be heard was the sound of crickets' mournful melodies and the distant hum from homes filled with guests.
The feeling of emptiness was overwhelming, Killian stared at his empty arms; he could still feel the warmth from the little life. A warm, beautiful life that he and Emma created. Now it was gone.
"Wh-Where are they?" Henry asked timidly, watching the tear sliding down Killian's cheek.
Mr. Gold turned around, empty vial in his hand. "To a place where no one, good or bad, can find them. No one has found a way to get there by magic."
"But you just sent them there," David stated. He and Snow looked and felt as defeated as Killian.
"That wasn't me, deary. I told you the other child was the last piece of the puzzle," he explained matter-of-factly, "You will see the both of them sooner than you think." Then, he was gone in normal Rumpelstiltskin fashion - in a cloud of red smoke.