So, if you're reading my others stories this is an idea that has distracted me from those. It just kind of took over so I wrote it. I hope you guys enjoy it and please tell me what you think!
Belle sighs as she is finally left alone in the guest room of the LaFleur castle. The last thing she had wanted to do was come here. She hates spending time with King Gaston. He's selfish, rude, arrogant, and unfortunately seems to want to make her his wife. On top of all that, her father thinks it would be a good idea for her to marry him. She wishes this trip was over already, but they just got here and there is no telling how long she'll have to stay.
Belle decides it's high time she stops moping so she starts unpacking her bags. Soon she has everything where it should be, everything except her books. There isn't an empty book shelf in here and that disappoints her. Of course, most people don't bring tons of books everywhere they go, but Belle still wishes they would have some place in here for her to put her stuff. She supposes she could just stack everything on the desk, but she had kind of wanted to be able to use the desk. She'll just have to stack them all in the corner for now.
Just as she's finishing piling up her books she hears a knock at the door. "Come in," she calls, straitening as her father opens to door.
"I really wish that you'd let the servants help with stuff like this," he says when he sees what she's been doing. Belle sighs. This is a well-rehearsed conversation and she really doesn't want to go through it again. Her dad must have similar thoughts, because he luckily changes the topic. "They weren't expecting us to get here early so I wanted to tell you that you can relax until dinner," he informs her. Belle knows most parents would have just sent a guard to tell her that. It makes her happy that she and her father have such a close relationship even though her odd behavior confuses him most of the time.
"This is the first time I've visited Gaston's castle instead of him visiting ours. I was actually going to explore," she informs her dad. He chuckles.
"I knew it was either that or reading. Just make sure you're in time for dinner and dressed appropriately," he tells her. Right now she's wearing a traveling dress and she knows Gaston would probably take offence if she showed up to dinner in it. Okay, he wouldn't. He doesn't really seem to care what she wears except that he thinks everything too modest for her. But the other nobles would take offence, and Belle doesn't want to make enemies unnecessarily.
"Of course," she says as she moves past him. "I'll see you at dinner."
"See you then Belle," he says, walking back towards his room. Now Belle is left alone to look all over the castle. She's walking down the hallway when she hears voices. It's Gaston and some of his friends, from the sound of it. She really doesn't want to run into him just yet, especially if he's with his friends. He tends to brag more than normal when other men his age are around. So, she ducks down a servant's hallway instead. Her dad would probably be annoyed if he figured out that she was exploring servant hallways, but she always found them more interesting than normal hallways. She takes random turns until she realizes that she has gone down more stairs then she intended and she hasn't crossed any other hallways in a while. Just then she comes to the end of the hallway. She's about to head back when she hears a man sobbing. So she does what any curious person would do; she peeks out of the door at the end of the hall.
She instantly realizes that she has accidently made her way to the prison, but this is no ordinary prison. This is only one small room and there is only one man inside. He's chained hanging from the wall, his long hair falling forward and covering his face. That's about all she can make out; the only light is coming from behind her in the hallway. Her shadow is blocking him from most of the light. He stops crying the minute she opens the door, and she realizes that he must have heard it open. "Hello," she says cautiously. She's not sure why he's down here, but they must think him extremely dangerous to keep him alone and chained to the wall like this. He looks up when she speaks.
"Who's there?" the question comes. Belle isn't sure how much she should tell this man.
"My name is Lacey," she says, using her maid's name instead of her own. "Who are you?" she questions curiously. The man gives off a rather high pitched and spooky giggle, making her take a step back. Now she's beginning to think the man is crazy.
"Who? I'm not a who," he informs her in a high pitched voice to match the laugh. "I'm a what." She can't help but wonder as to why he only started using this voice now instead of when he asked his first question. Maybe he's hiding something.
"You look human to me," she tells him. That just elicits another laugh.
"Are you proposing that you can see me clearly in this lighting, dearie?" he questions. "Because I highly doubt that."
Naturally, curiosity gets the better of her. "I'll be right back," she informs him as she steps out into the hallway to get a torch. She has the urge to tell him to wait right there, but that would be stupid since he can't move. Instead, she just hurriedly grabs a torch and makes her way back into the room. When the light illuminates him, she's in shock. His skin looks rough and golden, his teeth are pointy and rotting, and his eyes are large and reptilian. She gasps and takes a step back, almost dropping the torch. He giggles again. Half of her wants to run out of the room in terror but the other half is extremely curious. So she takes a step closer. He gives her a look that shows he clearly hadn't expected that. "Okay, then what are you?" she asks, amending her question from earlier.
"A beast!" he exclaims gleefully, obviously trying to intimidate her. Well, she won't have it.
"Don't you have a name?" she questions. Even if he isn't human, she refuses to call him beast.
"Haven't put everything together yet?" he questions. She racks her brain, trying to figure out what he's talking about. "I'm the Dark One." She stares in horror. She's heard all about the murderous evil Dark One, but she had thought he'd died years ago.
"But… but everyone's said you died," she tells him.
"Sorry dearie, but it looks like the world's not that lucky," he tells her, an evil smirk on his face.
"Gaston's father said…" she protests weakly. Not that she should even be trying; how can you tell a man that they're really dead when they're looking you right in the eye?
"The king," he interrupts, amusement in his voice. "You really think the king would have killed me? Oh no dearie. He was too power hungry for that, as is his son."
"What do you mean?" Belle asks in confusion. None of this is making any sense.
"Why do you think I'm down here, dearie? To be stored and use whenever the king has need of me," he informs her, a hint of bitterness and anger creeping into his voice.
"But why would the old king have lied about killing you?" Belle asks in confusion.
"The plague twelve years ago," he states matter-of-factly. "Or the fire five years ago."
"You caused those?" Belle questions in shock. "We all thought those were natural disasters!" The high pitched giggle is her only response. It makes sense for the king to keep the fact that he had captured such a powerful being now. He could use the man to wipe out all his enemies and no one would be the wiser. But one thing is still bugging her. "Why do you listen to them? I mean, you're more powerful than them." He contemplates an answer.
"I'd tell you, but it's a rather long story, and you're already late for dinner!" he informs her with glee and yet another giggle. Of course she is going to be late. This is just perfect.
"Bye," she tells him hurriedly before dashing out of the room, making sure to close the door behind her and put the torch in the proper place. She isn't sure how she feels about this man or the fact that he's locked up. It seems like it might be a good thing for him to be locked up seeing as he demonstrated that he doesn't really care about others. But at the same time Gaston and his father only use him to do terrible things. Well, she'll have plenty of time to think on it latter. Right now she has to rush to dinner and hope the reading excuse will work. She knows if Gaston discovers that she knows his secret, things won't go well at all.
He watches her dash out of the room like she probably should have done the minute she heard him giggle. He hadn't expected anyone to find the secret prison he is in. Gaston keeps it a jealously guarded secret as did his father before him. That girl is the first person besides Gaston that he's seen in years. He frowns, wondering why his scaring off tactics didn't work. The girl was just too nosy and persistent for her own good. If Gaston ever found her down here… well, he doesn't want to think about that.
He closes his eyes, remembering the moment when he could see her face clearly. Maybe it was the fact that he hadn't seen a woman in years, but she looked absolutely stunning. It was her bright curious blue eyes that captivated him the most. He is startled when he suddenly realizes that this is the first time in years he has seen the color blue. It's kind of unnerving, but he savors the memory and uses it to enrich the colors of his other memories that had begun to fade with time.
He's thinking about the girl way too much. He knows almost everyone in the world would probably find it creepy, but he can't help it. The only things he has to choose to think about are the girl and his past. His past is too dark and depressing, so he's thinking about Lacey. Or more correctly Not-Lacey. He knew the minute she spoke that name that it wasn't hers. Not that it really matters. He will never see that girl again. And that's good. Because… because she'd get in trouble if Gaston found her down here. Right. Perfectly good reason to snub the first chance at positive human interaction he's had in years. After all, he still remembers how the king had first stripped him of all meaningful relationships. He doesn't want anything like that to ever happen to him again.
He ran as fast as he could, glancing back briefly to catch sight of his pursuer. This wasn't good. The guy was gaining rapidly. He couldn't let himself be caught. He had to escape. A grin spread across his face when a plan suddenly popped into his mind. He made it around the corner before leaning against the wall. By the time his pursuer had rounded the bend, he had used his magic so that he was completely camouflaged by the wall.
"Come on!" the person yelled in frustration as he saw the empty hallway. Rumpelstiltskin snuck up behind the guy before tackling him to the ground, laughing. "No fair!" the boy cried out, giggling as his papa tickled him some. "I'm too old to be tickled," Bae complained.
"No, I believe twenty is the age limit," he argued back. "Only five more years to go!" he stated gleefully. He son pushed him in mock exasperation and he willingly collapsed flat on his back next to his son.
"I love you, Papa," Bae stated, causing him to smile over at the boy.
"I love you too son," he replied. "More than anything." Father and son shared a knowing glance before the boy snuggled in close to his father. They lay there on the floor of the castle, just relaxing and catching their breath. But that's when everything changed.
"Papa?" Bae questioned when his dad stiffened. Fear threatened to overwhelm him as he turned to look his son in the eyes.
"Someone just took my dagger."
The minute Belle enters the dining room, all eyes are on her. Most people are giving her disapproving glares, but Gaston just looks glad to see her. She swiftly but gracefully moves to her seat at the head table which is the chair on the left of Gaston. "I apologize for my tardiness," she tells everyone. "I was reading and lost track of the time." Her father frowns at her from the other side of Gaston. He probably remembers that she had said she would go exploring. Gaston, however, takes the bait.
"Well, all that matters is that you're here now," he tells her with way too much syrupy sweetness forced into his words. He is totally trying to flirt, and Belle hates it.
"Anyways," her father says to Gaston, "about that trading problem…" Soon the men are discussing problems in the kingdom, but Belle just lets her mind drift. It immediately wanders back to the Dark One. She's rehearsing how she got to his room so she'll be able to find her way back when she remembers that he had been crying. His crazy laugh and voice had totally made her forget that detail. He is a clever one, trying to make her afraid. But she's no fool; the Dark One isn't as all-powerful as he wants everyone to think.
"We could always make a merger," she hears Gaston say. This causes her to spit out her soup. She instantly covers for the poor manners with a fake cough. "Are you alright?" the king questions.
"I'm fine," she tells him, catching her breath back. Only, she's not fine. She's furious. The king wants to use her as some piece of property to be traded in a business transaction. That is far from fine. Luckily her father glosses over that detail, knowing how she feels about it even if he doesn't understand that, and starts suggesting some other deals, but Belle's anger doesn't abate. Who does that arrogant, selfish jerk think he is? She eats the rest of diner and leaves as soon as it is polite to do so. She's glad her father isn't going to make her marry the man. She can't imagine spending the rest of her life with him. It would be the worst kind of torture imaginable.
The guards who captured his dagger dragged him into an ordinate throne room. One guard presented his dagger to the man seated on the throne. "We have the dagger, King Richard," the man stated. The king smiled and took the offered knife. Rumpelstiltskin shuttered as he felt his life shift from one had to the other.
"Now I control you, Dark One!" the man exclaimed, obviously overjoyed with the newfound power. "I can make you do anything I want you to," he stated. No duh. If the family name had been Vious than the man's parents should have named him Ob.
"Sir, there is one more thing," a guard stated. "There was a teenager with the Dark One who claims that the monster his is father." The king frowned and looked down at his prisoner.
"What did you do to that poor boy?" he asked, sounding angry. Rumpelstiltskin pulled forth his best crazy giggle, causing everyone to take a step back.
"I killed his parents and took him," he stated in his unnerving high-pitched voice that he almost never used around Bae but always put on for everyone else. He didn't want everyone to know that Bae was really his son. A brainwashed teen was someone everyone could identify with and feel sorry for, but the son of a monster? He wasn't even sure what they would do to him let alone to his son who they would not find useful since he had no magic. It was better if they believed this even if it hurt to say Bae was not his son.
"Don't worry beast, we'll set that right in due time," the king said, giving him a glare. "Until then, take him too his new chambers. I hope you like them, because you'll be there until the day you die."
"I'm immortal," he said with fake glee.
"Then you'll be in those chambers for all eternity," the king countered before he waved his hands to dismiss him and the guards. Rumpelstiltskin got the feeling that being handed down through this family line forever would be the worst fate anyone could ever experience. He had to figure out how to get his dagger back; the sooner the better.
Gaston comes in with breakfast. Rumpelstiltskin doesn't even look up. "Let yourself down," he master orders. The chains are instantly unlocked with magic and he lands nimbly on his feet. "Have you learned your lesson?" comes the question.
"Never talk back to the master," he replies with a simple phrase the neither confirms nor denies whether he has indeed learned the lesson. He wishes he could use his high voice to try and intimidate that man, but he's been forbidden to do so.
"Good," the idiot replies. "Now bring your furniture back." He does as he's told, and the chair, table, bed, wardrobe, spinning wheel, and the rest of his few belongings come back in an instant. King Gaston sets his bowl of porridge on the table. "I have a task for you," the man says. This is the first time in ages that the king has required something from him, and the first time ever Gaston has asked for anything. "I want you to make a girl fall in love with me," he states. Rumpelstiltskin can't help the chuckle that escapes from his lips. However, it doesn't make Gaston happy, and the brute slams him back into the wall. "What's so funny?" he hisses. The Dark One realizes he'll have to play this carefully if he wants to avoid punishment.
"Even magic has its limits. It can't bring back the dead or make someone fall in love," he recites the ancient laws. Gaston growls in frustration and let's go of him. He's really tempted to give off a cheeky 'Lady problems?', but common sense and self-preservation instincts cause him to refrain. Maybe he should mention that magic can make someone think they're in love. But no; it's much more fun to see Gaston not get his way.
"Isn't there anything you can do?" he questions.
"I can't break the fundamental rules of magic," he responds. He watches the anger and frustration overtake his boss with no small amount of amusement. He wonders how long it will take his master to come up with a way around this problem. In all honesty, he wouldn't be surprised if the man never did.
"Then what good are you!" the jerk yells. There are plenty of responses to that question, but none of them seem to end with Gaston happy. Besides, it's obvious the question was rhetorical, because Gaston turns away from his prisoner and kicks the table to vent. Rumpelstiltskin just stands and watches the temper tantrum in amusement. "The one thing I want, you can't get me!" The king is glaring at him angrily now, and the Dark One knows some kind of response is required if he doesn't want to be used as a punching bag.
"I apologize, master," he says, forcing as much sincerity into the statement as possible. "If you would like me to make you some more gold or a potion to make you the luckiest man in the world for a few hours…" he suggests, trying to make Gaston see he still has uses so the brute won't consider killing him.
"A luck potion," the king interrupts. "I want that. Then, when I propose to Belle, she'll accept." Rumpelstiltskin holds back the smirk. Yes, the poor girl that had caught Gaston's fancy would probably say yes if he asked after drinking the luck potion. Only, the minute it wore off she would come to her senses and call the whole thing off.
"An excellent idea, your majesty," he lies. Gaston grins. "If you allow me to use the magic required for summoning ingredients and making the potion, I can have it done in three weeks."
"Three weeks?" comes the angry roar he had expected. He does well the refrain from smirking.
"The potion must be made under the light of a full moon," he responds, watching as Gaston seems to calm down a little. He knows he shouldn't be so happy when Gaston gets majorly frustrated as he is always the way the man releases his emotions. However, it's just too fun to see his dimwitted master fail at life.
"I guess I can wait three weeks," the man replies sulkily. He's like a kid reluctantly waiting to have dessert until dinner is over. "You can use magic to get whatever ingredients you need in the meantime." This is much too easy. He can now get whatever ingredients he needs for whatever potion he wants since the fool didn't specify.
"Thank you master," he says, artfully concealing his joy.
"Right, well I have to be going," Gaston tells him. "I have a kingdom to run, you know," he states.
"Yes master," he replies, watching the man leave. He had always suspected getting the younger LaFleur to slip up would be easy, and he was right. Now that the man needs him for something, manipulating him is turning out to be child's play. He goes over to the table, pushing his bowl of gruel off to the side. He has too much planning and potion making to do to think about eating.
"Stop!" the loud cry echoed in his ears. He winced and turned around, stopping in the middle of making a potion. "What are you doing!" the man bellows.
"Making a potion," he was forced to reply truthfully. He'd been so close. If the king had come in just a few minutes later…
"How did you get these ingredients?" came the livid reply.
"Magic," he said in his fake gleeful high pitched voice even though he feels anything but happy. The king looked confused.
"But I forbade you to use magic," he stated. Rumpelstiltskin just giggled in response. The man had only forbidden him from using magic to do certain things, not from using it altogether. "How did you do it?"
"Weren't you listening," he said, using some of his signature hand moves. "I used magic!"
King Richard looked absolutely livid. "Don't fight me, with magic or otherwise," came the harsh voice before the man stepped forward and slammed his fist into his prisoner's gut. Rumpelstiltskin groaned in shock and pain before throwing an invisible shield around himself. He pretended to grunt in pain with the next blow and used magic to make it look like it had found its mark. "Now…" he said, punctuating every word with a blow from his fist and a scream from Rumpelstiltskin, "tell… me… exactly… how… you… got… your… potion… ingredients."
"I used magic to teleport them here," the curse forced him to reply. "Your orders weren't specific enough," he revealed. The king grinned in triumph.
"Good, then I forbid you from using your magic unless I give you permission to do so," the man stated. His protection and illusion spells dropped as he was again forced to comply. "You were faking your injuries!" the man yelled in anger. Fear clawed its way deeper into his heart as he realized this new command would leave him completely defenseless. "Conjure up a whip and a pole to chain you to," the king told him. He was forced to comply. "You will learn to never trick me again."
Belle looks both ways down the hallway before slipping out. The last thing she wants to do is run into Gaston. She is still completely livid with him and she doesn't want to make him mad, which she would surly do if she were to talk to him at the moment. After all, they have a treaty they have to keep with the king. Belle shudders to think of what would happen if he got mad and decided to break it, especially now that she knows the Dark One is under his control. Speaking of, that's where she's going now. She's too curious to stay away. She knows what people say about curiosity killing the cat, but that's not all it has done. It's also made invented the wheel and made medical advances. And besides, she's not a cat.
Soon she comes the prison and throws open the door. She's quite surprised to find the room well lit and furniture lining the walls. The Dark One turns from where he's standing at a table. He's holding a knife in one hand and a potion in the other. It's enough to make her instincts scream at her to run and hide, but why listen to them when curiosity is telling her to stay and learn more? "Hello dearie," the man states. "Back so soon?"
"Well, I had to thank you for reminding me about dinner last night," she tells him, trying to keep the fear at bay. He steps closer, studying her. As he does her eyes instantly drop to the knife he's holding. One of his crazy giggles comes out and she can suddenly see her life flashing before her eyes.
"Scared dearie?" he queries, moving his hands in a flamboyant gesture that only draws more attention to the weapon.
"Maybe a little," she admits, forcing herself to look into his eyes instead of at the knife.
"Well you should be," he says in that slightly darker tone he used last night. "Tell you what, give me some of your blood and I won't kill you," he says.
"What?" she asks in shock and horror, stepping away from him. He giggles at her distress.
"I need maiden's blood for a potion," he informs her, his reptilian eyes boring into her.
"What's the potion for?" she questions. She most certainly does not want her blood to be used in some evil scheme that could hurt people.
"You know," he says as he steps closer, setting the potion down. "I could just kill you and take all the blood I want." Fear threatens to overwhelm her before what he said settles in. That seems like the course of action that would bring the Dark One the least amount of trouble.
"Then why don't you?" she asks with curiosity in her voice. He freezes and she can tell he's defiantly not going to kill her.
"The blood has to be given willingly," he admits after a minute, making Belle grin in triumph. "But if you won't give me the blood, you are of no use to me," he tells her, eyes flashing violently.
"Tell me what the potion it will be used for and I'll consider it," she states stubbornly. He stares at her for a minute and Belle can tell he's shocked that she's being this brave.
"It's a potion that will make someone fall into a deep and peaceful sleep," he reveals, watching for her reaction.
"Why do you need that?" she questions.
"Sorry dearie but that's all the information you're getting," he tells her. "Now, do we have a deal?"
Belle thinks for a minute. There is really no way that kind of potion could hurt anyone. Or okay, there are several ways that could be harmful, but it isn't as harmful as some other stuff he could make. "Yes. We have a deal." The Dark One giggles as he comes forward yet again. Then, he hands her the knife.
"Cut yourself, dearie," he orders.
"What?" she asks in shock. "I thought you were going to do it!" she says. It is one thing to let him cut her, but cutting herself? There is no way she's going to do that.
"It has to be you," he informs her with more weird hand gestures. "Otherwise the magic can't tell that it was given willingly."
"Fine," she agrees. She can't go back on her deal now. She takes the offered knife, hands shaking. Suddenly his hand is there, holding hers steady. She gasps in surprise when he touches her. She had expected his skin to feel rather rough, but it's actually quite smooth. She looks into his face as he walks to a better position to support her hand from. He's completely focused on her hands. "Right," she mutters to herself. "Do the brave thing and bravery will follow." She closes her eyes and hold her breath as he helps guide her right hand to cut her left. She cries out and pulls her hand close to her as he takes the dagger from her grasp. She looks up a second later to see him going back towards the table. She has the feeling that he wants her to leave, and her instincts are totally agreeing with him. But curiosity is still calling and she's never been able to resist its pull. "Why were you crying last night?" she questions. He stiffens instantly before whirling around.
"Whatever gave you that impression?" he asks.
"I heard you," she responds, determined not to be deterred by his intimidating demeanor and angry glare.
"No you didn't," he dismisses, turning back around to his work table.
"I know what I heard," she tells him, starting to get angry. He doesn't even turn around. "I'm sorry," she tells him with fire in her voice. "I didn't realize that the Dark One is just a big five year old." He rounds on her again.
"And I didn't realize that you have a death wish!" he yells at her.
"There's the temper tantrum," she states coolly, watching as he fumes. He practically has smoke coming out of his ears.
"It's not wise to upset the Dark One, dearie!" he screams at her. Or maybe it is common sense yelling at her instead. She decides maybe she should listen to it just this once.
"I'm sorry," she apologizes sincerely this time. "I just hate it when people ignore me," she informs him. Luckily, this seems to calm him down some. He mutters something that sounds an awful lot like an apology before he abruptly turns back around. And the funny thing is, he didn't even use his high pitched voice. "Well, I better go get this tended to," she states as she looks down at her hand.
"Good day, dearie," he says with a little less sarcasm then she would have expected. She leaves in an extremely contemplative mood. The Dark One seems like one giant mystery to be uncovered and Belle can't wait to get started.
He was lying on the small bed in his room, careful to not role over onto his back. The king had truly done a number on him with that whip. Just then the door opened and he shot up out of bed, not wanting to seem weak or something. When he saw that the king had brought Bae down with him, his blood went cold. "Papa!" the boy exclaimed before running over to him. Rumpelstiltskin pulled him into a hug, holding onto him as tightly as possible and ignoring the pain caused by Bae putting pressure on his aching back. He instinctively knew that this would be the last time he'd get the chance to do so.
"Hello beast," the king greeted him. Bae turned to glare at the man and Rumpelstiltskin clutched his son closer. "I am going to make you set things right with this boy."
"There is nothing to be set right," Bae proclaimed angrily. The king looks at the boy with pity in his eyes.
"Go on, tell him beast," the king stated.
"I killed your parents," he responded, looking down into Bae's deep brown eyes.
"I know you're making him lie," the boy told the king without even a hint of uncertainty.
"Alter his memories," the king ordered. "Make him see that this story is true."
"No!" Bae cried desperately as he realized that there was nothing his papa could do to resist the order. He knew that he would now believe this false story. His papa turned him around and placed his hands on his head to start the spell.
"I love you," he said in a broken voice, knowing full well that he was about to make the only person who truly cared about him hate him.
"I love you too, Papa," the boy sobbed before Rumpelstiltskin was forced to complete the order. Bae went unconscious due to his mind needing time to assimilate the new memories and so he gently lowered his son to the ground, sinking to his knees. This, he knew, would be his last chance to cradle his boy.
"Move away from him," came the harsh command. He gently lowered his son's head to the ground before getting up and stepping away. Two guards that had come down with the king stepped forward to carry his boy out. Tears began streaming down the Dark One's face as they took his son away. Then, anger set in and he looked at his captor with a livid, tearful glare.
"One day, I will get my dagger back," he threatened. "And when I do, you and your descendants will regret this day."
"Perhaps," the king said in a tone that showed he doubted that it would ever happen. "But that day is not this day. This day, you shall be punished for threatening your king. Conjure a whip and pole again. It's time to punish the beast."
He adds the last ingredient to his sleeping potion and watches as it turns the proper shade. He allows himself a tired smile as he corks the potion bottle and walks toward his wardrobe. He eases open the door and gently places the potion in the back corner. Gaston will never look in here. His small smile turns into a smirk as he goes over his escape plan. Everything is falling into place better than he could have ever hoped for. He remembers the promise he once made to King Richard. "The time is nearing," he whispers to himself. "Your evil deeds will not go unpunished. Soon your line will rue the day you captured me and turned my son against me. No one crosses the Dark One." Then he lets off one of his crazy giggles, continuing to plan his escape.