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The Price of Magic

Oneshot - Complete

Neal knew what had to do. He had come this far. Emma had been furious at first. First at herself for still loving him these 10 past years. A quick glance at the yellow Volkswagen bug echoed this loudly in Neal's and Emma's brain. Then for hurting Henry who looked utterly betrayed. A mom was never to lie to her child. He simply could not understand why.

Neal had found him in the spot where the castle had once been. Henry looked up stifling a sniffle. The reddened eyes, blotchy nose and cheeks, and trembling chin gave the tell-tale sign of crying. Henry's lips quivered threatening to break into another soft wail of sobs. Neal's heart broke knowing what it looked like to Henry who had loved fairy tales.

"She lied to you to protect you."

"Lies don't protect," Henry said matter-of-factly, "they destroy."

Neal smiled slightly and had to give props to his son for having such a pure heart. "Then she did it to protect yourself."

"Why?" Henry asked confusedly.

"I hurt her real bad and she has never really gotten over it," Neal explained. He then went into further detail about how they had met, their time together, and what had happened. He recounted his conversation with August and that looking inside the box he knew he had to let Emma go, hurt her so that she could save the inhabitants of Storybrooke.

Henry narrowed his eyes, his gears thinking for a moment, "You believed so fast. Are you from that world?"

"I am, sort of..."

Henry's eyes widened at the revelation. He broke out into a teary grin, "So my mom found the one person who was from fairy tale land?"

Neal smiled, "Sort of."

Hearing it phrased like that Neal could guess what his conclusion was. Neal and Emma were meant for each other. They were each other's true loves. A love that would surpass the constraints of time, space, and curses. Henry looked up at Neal and in a serious tone, "You have to tell her, you have to make her understand. My mom doesn't believe it all easily... it took her a long time to believe me about the curse. It is going to be really hard."

"I know kid," Neal said, "But it has to be said."

Neal thought for a moment and realized that Henry had to know his story of where he came from and his ancestors. He removed a large manilla folder and unclasped it. He took a steady breath and took out the pages.

"You know how I said sort of?" Neal said quietly and slowly. Henry nodded.

"Well I am a descendent of a fairy tale character. He was my great grandfather. He lived for a ridiculously long time and would tell me stories of his childhood, and his time here. I thought he was crazy but I still wanted to keep his story alive. I wrote it all down. For you."

He held out the pages to Henry who quickly took and began to read. His eyes widened. It was the story of a boy of fourteen named Baelfire. He continued to read while Neal watched the expressions of his face went from surprise, to a complete eye-wide surprise learning Baelfire's connection, to extremely saddened to read of a boy separated from his father. Henry then came to the part that made him hitch his breath. Here was the real story of Peter Pan, the book he had read countless times.

Baelfire was his name. He was a boy of fourteen years of age. He was Rumpelstiltskin's only child. Rumpelstiltskin had a son! In that time there was a horrible war between the ogres. The sky reddened by the blood of countless soldiers. Henry shuddered at the gruesome mental image and felt so sad for the countless lives lost, and the families that suffered for it. He continued to read and gasped that children fourteen years of age were expected to fight ogres. They were only four years older and already had to wield a bow and arrow, a sword and who knew what else. Henry only paled when he realized that had he lived then there would have been a chance he would have fought in the war. How horrible it was.

He read the part where Rumpelstiltskin would do anything to help his son escape the terrifying fate of a soldier. Rumpelstiltskin did not want his son to experience the terrors of war nor did he want him to die so young without a chance of marrying and starting a family. His plan to escape thwarted by chief knight and the Dark One..

"Dark One," Henry said slowly, "there was more than one?"

"It was a nasty, evil ancient curse maybe even before the Blue Fairy's time."

It seemed that initially that Rumpelstiltskin wanted to control the Dark One. A beggar he had met by chance had told him a plan of stealing the dagger that controlled the Dark One. Burn the duke's castle he said. Grab the dagger he had told Rumpelstiltskin. Use the dagger he commanded. Rumpelstiltskin had done what he was told. However it was a trap intricately laid by the beggar. In the end the beggar had outsmarted Rumpelstiltskin. The beggar could only laugh maniacally and told Rumpelstiltskin that he could always recognize a desperate soul. It was then the revelation was revealed. Rumpelstiltskin had become the Dark One. The symbols and edges moved and groaned with a dark energy as it bore a new etched name.

Baelfire had become frightened at the monster Rumpelstiltskin had become. No longer did he need to sleep. No longer did he have the limp and the ridicule that accompanied it. No longer was Rumpelstiltskin the ostracized cripple. He had a power that he never once tasted. The poison seeped through his body, mind and soul. Then came out a monster Baelfire had never seen. He had been so afraid that he remembered to call this beast "papa", to somehow hide his nightmares or blaming the once held fear of being drafted into the army, his mind recalling the horrible deeds his father did under the falsehood of wanting to protect his son.

What had resulted was that Baelfire had loudly shouted in his mind for Reul Ghorm, or the blue fairy. He wanted a way to save his father. He wanted to rid of the Dark Curse to have his Papa return to the man he once was. His soul shattered when he was told that she could not lift the curse. There was an alternative. Go to a land without magic. A magic bean would transport Baelfire and Rumpelstiltskin to a new world. Yet when the vortex opened up Rumpelstiltskin's cowardice, and fear of losing this immense power meant that he was thrown back by the force of the vortex or as Baelfire woefully wondered if Rumpelstiltskin had let him go. Through the vortex he gone. His body felt crushed by the energy, unable to breath, or think. Then he entered the world Henry, Neal, Emma and the rest of Storybrooke had later entered.

Baelfire had entered this world so long ago but on the island of Neverland. It was a real place with a special magic all of its own. Henry smiled at he at once recognized the story. Baelfire was Peter Pan. He continued to read and noticed that Baelfire had spent a rather long time in Neverland. He looked up to Neal.

"Did Baelfire wait there hoping that Rumpelstiltskin would find a way here to find him?"

"Yes but as time progressed he believed that Rumpelstiltskin loved his power too much to find him," Neal said hoarsely remembering the pain he saw in his great grandfather, "He then met a girl of twelve named Wendy. He immediately fell in love. By the end of their tale, Wendy urged Baelfire to talk to her parents about something sweet. Back then that meant marriage. He grew up as a ward of the Darling family and received the loving guidance so that he could function as a member of society. They were married when they were seventeen and Baelfire had kept the name Peter and worked with the Darling family. Wendy and Peter, my great grandparents shared a true love that were only found in fairy tales."

Neal smirked especially when he finally believed the tales and realized why their love was so pure, so true, so eternal. It was the way it worked in Fairy Tale land. Not like in this place where a love like that was nearly nonexistent and anything near it was as impossible to find. The love that existed here was an unsatisfying journey. Like being stuck with frozen dinners and being content because that was all that was known but then realizing that a feast actually existed which made Neal want to experience his own true love tale.

"He grew up and they had eight children and those eight children had their children. One in particular Richard had given birth to a son named George who was my father. I think that because we were descendents of Baelfire meant that we had our own chance of true love."

"True love," Henry mused for a moment then let a large grin, "Like you and my mom?"

"Like me and your mom."

Henry looked at the pages again when he heard Emma and Rumpelstiltskin call out to him. Emma because she was absolutely furious at Neal entering the picture again and suspicious at his angle. Rumpelstiltskin because he had grown both curious and suspicious of who this man that was Henry's father might be.

"What the hell, Neal!" Emma said angrily, "You think I'd allow you to take my kid?"

"Our kid," Neal corrected her, he then nodded to parchment, "And I was telling him about us." It caused a worried look from Emma who worried the lie would shatter Henry. She could only wonder why Henry had a mischievous smirk and a sparkle in his eye. She also worried why his eyes flickered to Rumpelstiltskin and saw a momentary of sadness flash on his face. What was going on she said growing more frustrated by the minute.

"I was giving my story," Neal said, "I am connected to Fairy Tale land."

Both Emma and Rumpelstiltskin jolted at the revelation. Both wondered who he was and where he had come from.

"I was telling him of Baelfire's story." This caused Rumpelstiltskin to limp over as quickly as he could. Regret, sadness, relief and hope filled him. He placed a gentle hand on Neal's shoulder and let a small cracked voice trying to stifle his urge to sob loudly.

"Baelfire?"

Neal looked into the man's eyes. He yearned to lie to the man and reprieve him of his agony. He remembered the utter pain of his great grandfather who died never knowing if Rumpelstiltskin cared more about his power, and if he had let him go. He looked past Rumpelstiltskin toward the landscape that beyond the trails, the dapping of trees on the horizon laid Storybrooke. So many lives uprooted, destroyed, pained all for Rumpelstiltskin to find Baelfire. Even so Rumpelstiltskin had brought magic to this world. He still craved the power of the Dark One. He still used it as his crutch. He knew that it had to be said.

"He was a good man."

Was. Past tense. Rumpelstiltskin realized what it had meant. He had failed Baelfire in the most horrific and painful way. He had allowed his love of power and fear of the unknown to control his feelings to the point that he could not go with Bae. He had allowed Baelfire to live believing that he had not cared for him. Believing that he was beyond redemption. Maybe it was true in many ways. He was beyond redemption. Was the true curse he wondered? Would he hurt Belle much in the same way. He crumpled the ground and began to sob quietly. He took the parchment, his hands trembled violently as he read Bae's story. He gasped painfully realizing that Bae had never forgotten his papa, and that he had lived with the pain throughout his life.

Neal sat down next to the old man. "I'm Baelfire's descendent.. of Peter" Rumpelstiltskin looked up sadly, regret and bitterness about his choices, about the curse of the Dark One taking root deep in his heart and soul. Neal could only whisper what had needed to be said.

"Magic always comes with a price."

Rumpelstiltskin looked beyond the ocean. How right had Neal had been he thought ruefully.