A/N: HELLO EVERYONE! I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update, I'm so surprised how many story watches and favorites I have gotten in the few weeks since I posted the prologue for this! It's so amazing for a writer to see so many people interested! But there weren't enough reviews! I'm a review-whore! I really really like them! Even if they are critisism, I'd appreciate anything you have to say about Nameless Jewel.
About updates: I will try to update regularly, not as long as it took me for this. This chapter was a combination of hard literary issues and the fact I was swamped with work. (I'm doing a Big Bang fic as well as this so...) But if I don't update sometimes don't fret, I'm trying my best to bring everyone a great chapter.
I have something important to ask everyone after this, so please check the A/N at the bottom when you're done! Thanks, and enjoy the story!
The morning dawn rose slowly, sun taking its time as it began to illuminate over the horizon. Slowly everything began to glow with a solid golden light. The inhabitants of those trees were waking just as sluggishly; sparrows taking their time to chirp from their nests, and small woodland creatures poking their heads from their dens only when they had to. The dew upon the grass began to shine its brightest before it was whisked away by passerby animals that disturbed it's natural balance.
Morning had arrived in typical fairy-tale fashion to a typical fairy-tale wood.
But in the distance of the wood, right in it's very heart, a cottage was, and had been, a-bustle with excitement of a much more sinister nature for quite some time, if it's inhabitants were anything to go by.
"But dad!" she called angrily, storming down their steps with a huff and whipping the auburn hair from her face as she continued on. Her father, Max Allenforth, continued on without paying the slightest attention to her words. His thin gold spectacles were dangling dangerously from his nose, but he disregarded it in favor of continuing his frantic search for his selling case. He was fidgeting awkwardly, eyes darting across the room in pretend worry, while he truly just could not look at the beautiful young woman his daughter had become.
"Dad, Father, please listen to me!" she stopped in front of him to force his attention. She placed both hands on her hips in annoyance.
"I told you my final decision dearest. I'm sorry but I must do this!" Max insisted, reaching around her to grab the faded brown leather of his selling case.
He placed it on a nearby table to look through it's contents, his hands digging through pockets and satchels of beautiful jewels in order to find only the most precious. All were easily the perfect jewel for a woman to behold, but he was very picky in his tastes.
But she was adamant in her desire to win the argument, and thus stopped him from continuing his check of inventory by slamming the case shut. Quickly Max yanked his hands back while glaring angrily.
"Sweetheart, I'm really sorry, I am! But you know I have to do this!"
"You don't have to leave Father." She scorned him. "And especially the day before something so important!" crossing her arms in disappointment, Max sighed sadly.
"My sweet, dear little gem." He stroked her cheek, and his daughter slumped her back. "You know this is an opportunity I simply can't miss! The Prince has announced his engagement, which means royals will be flocking the palace for parties and congratulations. This could be my opportunity of a lifetime, love. You have to trust me on this."
His daughter groaned in exasperation, stepping back from his concerning gesture.
"You succeed in every business venture you attempt, dammit." She flinched inwardly. She knew her father disliked her using curse words, but she felt they were necessary at the present. Max too recoiled, but only because her choice of words was so familiar and sad and heart-wrenching that it only naturally brought out the action in him. "But tomorrow is my birthday. And you're missing it for a jewelry opportunity you don't even know is there."
Max opened his mouth to speak, but she held up a hand to continue.
"I would understand if we were in such desperate need for the money, but we have food growing out in the back farm. We have money to last us through many winters of barely any fire and a shortage of wood, which we won't find here in the, you know, woods." She gestured wildly to the area around her. "We are not poor, or hungry, or in danger, is what I'm saying. So you could at least miss this one little thing. Just for me. For my twenty-first birthday."
Sighing, Max bit on his lip and worried it around. She noticed her father was fretting about more than usual, sweat gathering on his tunic on a particularly chilly day. She watched as he wiped sweat from his brow. Obviously something more was going on. Her father was very talented in his trade, and had no need to worry about his sales possibly being in jeopardy. Something else was obviously bothering him.
She placed a hand on his shoulder, steeling her expression away from the anger she felt more towards a small crease of worry in her brow.
"Are you alright?" she asked. "Is something the matter?"
He looked up at her, and for a moment she swore there was a look of pity in his eyes.
Pity for her.
"D-Dad?" she words stumbled, for the depths of his icy blue eyes were swimming in a look she had never seen from him.
"I promise to be back in three days sweetheart." He said with a scary calmness. He shook off her gaze, looking out to the trail that began from the steps of their home out into the forest.
He took that road every time he left. It was no different this time, she tried to tell herself.
But she couldn't believe it, no matter how hard she tried.
She took to her duties like nothing was wrong.
She began with sweeping the cottage, trying not to think about the emptiness around her as she grasped the handle and worked on her daily rituals. But it was impossible. The silence seemed to be more palpable around her than usual, like a dark cloud hanging over her head with some kind of evil force just waiting to spring forth. It made her uneasy, even in the usual manner of which she performed her activities. No matter how hard she tried to seem lax, and calm, and like her usual upbeat self, but she couldn't. Her hand trembled as she gripped the rough wooden handle of her broom. Her eyes kept shifting to the windows and doors as the shadow of the smallest creature blew by, causing the hairs on the back of her neck to stand up.
Nothing had ever unnerved her this much.
She hated it. She hated being afraid.
The rest of the entire day was spent in silence. She didn't even speak to her horse when she fed him, even though he seemed just as on edge. She petted his nose silently, biting her lip in deep thought while he munched on the oats clustered in her hand. And as she sat in her usual chair in the kitchen with a steaming mug of cider in her hands she still felt that something was changing in the winds of her forest, and she couldn't think of anything else the entire night.
Or the next.
Or the next.
Or the next.
Or the next.
In five days, she had not uttered one word. Her mind was too preoccupied with other things. With that same essence of darkness cloaking over her and her entire home.
He had promised to be back in three days time. And her father never broke his promises.
Her throat was parched, not with lack of nourishment, but with lack of use, as she sipped her usual glass of cider.
"Alright then, time to figure out what all of this is about." She said to herself in a hushed whisper.
Cloak drawn around her like the night she stood in, she huddled into her wrappings as she made her way into the barn. Rain had begun a few hours ago, and even though it was the middle of the summer season it pounded furiously on her as she hurried along. Her horse shook its head and turned quickly watching her as she strode in. It whinnied and stomped its hooves, shaking even more as lightning struck the outside around them.
"Hush now, Crumbles." she said as she began to tie his saddle around him. "I know the weather is rough, and I know I haven't been the best of friends lately, but we have to go and get my father."
The horse made another noise and tried to shy away from her advances, which in turn sparked her frustration that had been building up the entire time.
"You listen here horse, we're going out into the rain whether you like it or not!"
But alas, the last part of her sentence had been drowned out by a large clap of thunder that preceded a strike of lightning like no other. It caused her to whip her head around to watch its majesty, but instead of seeing the empty gateway she left behind, there stood a figure in her midst.
"Well well well…" It said above the noise clamoring around them. "Venturing out at this time of night? How very… predictable… for a heroine such as yourself."
Quickly she grabbed a rake beside her and held it aloft as defense.
"Who in the bloody realm are you?" she cried out with gritted teeth. The last thing she needed right now was someone in her way.
The bad feeling that had been settling in her stomach seemed to blossom into a worse feeling, like dread was settling into her very bones and turning her inside-out. This thing, this person was the source of all of her worry. She had been wondering what exactly would happen, what would change everything about her, and she didn't like it at all.
Another flash of lightning and the figure stepped into the dim light of the fire-lamp she had placed at the entrance to the barn. Thunder seemed to follow its very steps as it flounced in with a terrifying jolliness much unaccustomed to dark wizards or evil sorcerers.
Sparkles of gold enhanced sunken-in facial features. His eyes were round and unblinking, the murky brown color filling almost the entire eyeball. He wore a suit of finely tailored leather with a high collar that tried to hide his thin and equally gold-tinted neck along with scraggly unkempt hair. All of this man seemed to unsettle Crumbles, and it did the same to his owner, because the grip on her makeshift weapon tightened visibly.
It was the smile that upset her the most. It had a certain charm to it, like something any unsuspecting person would fall for, but she knew better. That smile was like the combination of a troll's hungry grin, a witch's scheming smirk, and an imp's lecherous snarl all mixed into one being. It was devious and mischievous, all of the man's secrets hidden behind a row of dirty browning teeth.
"My name, my venturous little heroine—" he giggled as he spoke, tapping his dirty fingers and in turn long and clawed nails on a stable door.
He bowed then, gesturing his hands wildly as he kicked out a mud-soaked heel.
"My name is Rumpelstiltskin!"
A/N: So, what did you all think? I hope it was good, personally I didn't think it was my best but I wanted to get out something for you all and this was what I had in mind.
There's something peculiar about this fic that I haven't tried before. You don't have to know my writing style to see it, if you are a very insightful reader you will probably notice it right away. If you find it out, I'm willing to do something a little fun. Have a character in Once Upon a Time that you don't want to write out but one you have in mind? I'd love to put it in! If you can figure out in this chapter, or even all of the next, then I will do just that for you.
All you have to do is Private Message me what you think is very odd about this fanfiction. It can wait, this will last until I get to that part in the story. But if you're good, you might notice right away. If you get it right, you get to develop your own character to feature in the story.
So how about it? Up for a challenge?
And don't forget! Reviews are loved and appreciated!
