To those of you who read Always and Abomination, read my profile. I'm rewriting those chapters now, but I needed a break and wrote this one shot.
My first attempt at a Once Upon a Time fanfic. I'm not a huge fan of the show, but the last episode made me love Rumbelle. If you haven't seen it, this might be confusing. Sorry if there's any mistakes. I wrote it pretty quickly.
Chipped Cups and Empty Hearts
"Such a sentimental little keepsake."
He held his breath, scarcely daring to breathe, as the one thing left in the world that he cared about dangled before him. Only inches away, he could almost feel the smooth porcelain under his fingertips, the same smooth porcelain that he had traced over every night since the night he had lost her. Smooth until the chip, and then it became jagged and real. Once upon a time, she had been real too. But now she was gone.
Whenever his fingers skimmed the cool ceramic, it was so easy to escape the truth. He could almost pretend that she was there beside him. Until the sharp chip would slice his finger and tiny droplets of red would spill out, ending the blissful blur with a painful reality. To others, it would appear to be just a cup. Even to him, years ago, it had been just a cup. But now, it meant everything. He could barely see the face that was sneering at him. He only saw hers instead. Dark hair as soft as silk, rosy cheeks flushed with life, and clear blue eyes that held no secrets.
"I-I'm so sorry...but it's chipped. You can hardly see it."
He remembered the incredulity he had felt then as she quivered before him, those blue eyes wide with fear. How could anyone be so worried over a cup? It was just an object, something that could easily be replaced, something he could create effortlessly with a flick of his fingers.
"Oh, it's just a cup."
The irony tasted bittersweet on his tongue. It wasn't just a cup. It wasn't replaceable. Not all the magic in the world could create another just like it, just like not all the magic in the world could bring her back. There had been a time when he had believed that magic was the solution to everything, but it was nothing. Everything was nothing without her.
He realized that his hand was shaking, whether it was from the memories or that voice, he didn't know. He hated that voice, the very voice that taunted him as she brandished the cup closer to him, her amusement ringing throughout her every syllable. Whenever he heard that voice, it took him back to the day when a mocking laugh had shattered what was left of his dark, dusty world in a thousand pieces.
"After her stay here, her association with you, no one would want her, of course. Her father shunned her. Cut her off and shut her out."
"So, she needs a home?"
He remembered how his voice had trembled then, how he could barely utter the words that he so desperately wanted to believe. For one glorious moment, he had felt hope again. It had shot through his veins, bringing more life to him than blood ever could, life that was only her.
"He was cruel to her. He locked her in a tower and sent in clerics to cleanse her soul with scourges and flames. After a while, she threw herself off the tower. She died."
He had lost her that day, but he wouldn't lose what was left of her memory. As his fingers closed over the porcelain brim, he allowed himself to breathe once more. He didn't regret that he had given away his name, that he had revealed the bitter truth, for what seemed to be just a cup. It was a small price to pay, when he would have done anything to get it back.
Because without that chipped cup, all he had was an empty heart.