Araya
Gold glanced over at his daughter as he drove through town on their way home from the shop. She had been unusually quiet during the drive and had not even argued when he asked to drive home. "Are you sure you're alright, sweetheart?" he asked quietly.
"Hmm?" she snapped back from her daydream. "Oh yes I'm fine."
"You've been quiet," he observed. "And you sounded distracted on the phone. What did you and Henry talk about?"
"Oh that…" Nicole trailed off. "It was nothing…a bit crazy, but nothing."
"It's obviously something," he pressed gently, stopping at the red light and turning to face his daughter. "What's wrong, darling?"
Nicole sighed. "Henry has this book of fairytales," she began, "but the stories were different."
"Different how?" Gold asked in a measured voice.
"Well, there were some I've never heard of," she explained. "He showed me one about a girl that went to live with a man with gold skin and a spinning wheel."
Gold stiffened beside her as he continued to drive.
"She had a window that was magic," Nicole continued, not noticing the change in her father's disposition. "She was watching the sea…"
"What did Henry say about the book?" Gold asked carefully.
Nicole forced a laugh. "He said that the characters were real, and they were the people in this town. He thinks the Evil Queen used a curse to bring them all here."
"And he thinks you're this young lady with the magic window?"
"Yes he does," Nicole replied. "He says you adopted me there too."
"So I'm the man with the gold skin?" Gold forced his own laugh. "That boy certainly does have an imagination."
"You think it's all in his head, then?" Nicole asked in an attempt to be offhand about it.
"Nicole," he sighed, and Nicole turned to him in surprise, for rare was the occasion when he used her name. "The alternative is believing we are all fairytale characters brought here by an evil curse and forced to forget who we really are," Gold explained. "I know we all want to believe in magic, but this is the real world, and in the real world-"
"There are no happy endings," Nicole finished glumly. "I remember, Daddy."
They made the remainder of the drive in silence. When they reached the house, Nicole reflexively helped her father from the car and up to the door. "Blasted ankle!" she heard him curse under his breath.
"I don't remember you getting hurt, Daddy," Nicole said sympathetically. "When did that happen?"
"It happened years ago," he replied with a slight grunt of pain, "before I adopted you."
"Can't the doctors help at all?"
"No there's nothing they can do for it. It would take magic to heal it," he chuckled darkly. "And we both know that doesn't exist here."
"I know it may sound insane, but part of me wishes Henry was right," Nicole admitted as they entered the house. "I wish magic did really exist, and we were part of some great fairytale."
"Why would you wish that?" Gold practically whispered.
"I don't know. It would be fun to live in a castle," Nicole giggled. "The fancy dresses, the balls, the adventure…is that crazy?"
"Not for you," Gold laughed. "You've always been one for adventure and something beyond this world. I wish I could give you what you want."
"Oh Daddy, no!" Nicole gushed instantly. "I wouldn't trade what I have with you for anything! I love you, and that's all I need."
Gold hugged her tightly and fought back his tears. "I love you too, sweetheart." Pulling away, he smiled again. "Now, why don't you head to bed?"
"I think I will, actually," Nicole said gratefully. "It's been an interesting day. Good night, Daddy." She leaned in and kissed his cheek before pulling away completely and climbing the stairs to her bedroom.
Once he was sure she was in her room, Gold sank down on the couch and sighed. He wished the curse would end so he could have his beloved daughter back in every way. Regina had been kind and let him keep her, but she wasn't entirely herself. The name Nicole felt all wrong on his lips, and he never used it if he could help it.
With the news that the boy had found the book, he knew that Emma would be arriving soon, but he still could not wait until the day when his child would look at him with her true memories back in place. He also wanted to introduce her to her brother once he found him. The truth of who they were was getting harder and harder to conceal, but he knew he had to keep up the act for just a little bit longer…
Several nights later, Nicole and Gold were sitting in the living room together after dinner, each lost in their own reading but still enjoying the other's company. "Did you hear about the stranger Sheriff Graham arrested last night?" Nicole asked suddenly.
"No I didn't," Gold smirked. "What happened?"
"Apparently she ran into the town sign on her way out last night. I heard she had been dropping Henry off and was a little tipsy thanks to Auntie Regina."
"Oh so that's the woman I met at Granny's earlier this evening," Gold observed. "What was she doing with Henry?"
"The rumor is that she's his birth mother," Nicole shrugged. "I guess Auntie Regina was not happy with the situation."
"Henry left and found his birth mother and brought her here?" Gold clarified, barely daring to hope that he could have been right.
"According to the story flying around town," Nicole nodded. "It caused quite the talk today, whatever really happened. It's the most exciting thing to happen in forever!"
"Yes I suppose it is," Gold agreed, already lost in his own thoughts and plans.
"Well, I think I'll head to bed," Nicole announced with a yawn. "Good night, Daddy."
"Good night, sweetheart," he called over his shoulder as she slowly climbed the stairs. He could scarcely believe it was finally going to happen. Finally, Nicole would realize who she really was, and he would finally have his precious-
His thoughts were interrupted by a loud scream from upstairs. "Sweetheart!" Gold cried as he sprang to his feet and hobbled up the stairs as fast as he could go with his bad ankle. "Sweetheart what's-" he gasped as he hurried into her room.
Nicole ran to him and seized his arms in a mixture of shock and fear. "Th-the clock!" she whispered. "It's moved! I saw it move, I swear!"
Gold gently freed himself from her grip and went to the window. Staring up at the clock tower, he could indeed see the minute hand no longer resting at its position at a quarter past. The curse was beginning to lift at last!
"Hey, now that's nothing to be frightened of," he soothed, gently stroking her hair. "It's alright."
"I-I guess it just caught me so off guard…" Nicole trailed off, fighting to even out her breathing. "I'm sorry I made you run up here for nothing."
"You being frightened is not nothing," he assured her. "I don't care that you're over twenty – you're still my little 'Ray of Sunshine', alright?"
Nicole nodded and smiled. "But I was scared by a clock," she laughed. "First I'm talking about magic, and now this. You'll be locking me in the asylum before long."
"I couldn't be away from you like that whether you were crazy or not," he teased. "But just between us…"
"Daddy!" Nicole cried in mock indignation.
Gold chuckled. "I'm only teasing, darling. Now, get some sleep, and we'll see about the clock in the morning, alright?"
"Alright, thank you, Daddy. I love you."
"I love you too," Gold replied with a smile as he left the room. "And soon you'll know just how much again," he added to himself under his breath.
Flashback
Rumpelstiltskin sat at his wheel spinning and trying to forget the guilt that still gnawed at his heart about Baelfire. No matter how many centuries went past, he knew he would never forgive himself He hated that some deep dark part of him constantly taunted him, declaring that he truly was no better than his own father after all. Wishing was a waste, he knew, but he sometimes couldn't help himself from dreaming of a second chance to show he could be more than a coward.
As he continued to spin, he felt someone run through his magical wards surrounding the castle. He frowned in confusion. People who wanted to talk to him about deals usually just called his name in desperation…not even the most desperate came knocking at his door, and the only other visitor he had was Regina who would simply magic herself into his main hall. Curious, Rumpelstiltskin stood and flashed himself to the front door of the castle.
Ordering the doors to open, he glanced outside in confusion upon seeing no one until a small blur whooshed past him into his castle.
"What-?" he cried as he spun to see the shape now curled under a table and shaking in obvious fear. He cautiously approached the figure and realized it was a child…a girl to be more specific. She was hiding her face in her arms, but her black curly hair gave it away. "What are you doing here?" he asked quietly.
Her head snapped up at the sound of his voice, and he could see the unadulterated fear in her eyes, but they were not directed at him. She shakily raised her arm to point past him and outside before she buried her face in her arms again.
Rumpelstiltskin frowned. What could possibly be out there that was so frightening, this child was willing to come to the Dark One for protection? He glanced back at the child and noticed a thin strand of gold tied around her wrist, and something clicked. Opening his mouth to question the girl further, he heard someone else crossing the bridge to his castle and turned sharply to face the intruder.
Standing at the door was a man shrouded in a cloak with a deep hood that hid his face from view. "Well now, dearie, it's dangerous to approach the castle of the Dark One especially when you don't show your face."
"How I look is of no importance to you, Dark One," the man growled in a low voice. Rumpelstiltskin noticed the girl curl further away at the sound. "It is only my name that you will need to remember because it is the name of the man that will kill you."
"Oh I highly doubt that, dearie," Rumpelstiltskin taunted. "You can't kill me just like none of the others who have tried can. Besides, if you did actually manage to kill me, you would wish you hadn't."
The man laughed darkly. "You honestly think I would go through all the trouble of finding the Dark One to kill him without knowing that I would take his powers? I want those powers of yours to make myself the most powerful sorcerer of all time! Now where is your dagger?"
Rumpelstiltskin laughed his high, insane laugh. "You really think I'm going to tell you when you've just admitted you want to kill me? You're crazier than you look, dearie."
"I've just destroyed an entire village to prove my point, and I will continue to prove myself until I have what I want."
"I don't care what village you destroyed," Rumpelstiltskin scoffed. "You may think that becoming the Dark One will make you all powerful, but until that day, you will never be able to defeat me."
"Then at least give me that child that's hiding behind you," the man smirked. "She escaped from her village, but she is quite valuable, so I would be glad to take her off your hands."
Rumpelstiltskin glanced over his shoulder to see the girl's eyes widening in fear as she struggled to move further away from the man. "Mhmm…let me think about that for a minute…NO!" he giggled again. "I may be the Dark One, but I draw the line at killing children."
"Who said I was going to kill her?" the man laughed. "Did you not hear me say she was special? I could find a use for her."
"The answer is still no, and now I suggest you get out of my castle," Rumpelstiltskin growled. He snapped his fingers, and the man flew backward across the bridge. With another snap of his fingers, the doors boomed closed and magical wards shot up around the entire castle.
Once he was certain the intruder would not be able to return, Rumpelstiltskin turned his full attention to the girl still huddled under his table. He walked slowly over to her and knelt in front of her with what he hoped was a kind expression.
"Are you alright?" he asked, noticing that the imp voice he had become so accustomed to, had vanished. When the girl didn't respond, he moved closer and noticed for the first time that the hem of her dress was slowly turning the ugly copper color of blood. He carefully lifted the dress just enough to see the beginning of a jagged cut across the side of her leg as though she had run past something sharp. Without truly thinking, he waved his hand over the cut and watched as it healed before his eyes.
He scooped the child up as soon as he was sure she wouldn't start bleeding again and flashed them both to a spare room he had upstairs close to his own. He lay the child down on the bed and looked closely at her face. The gold strand around her wrist was definitely from him because it looked like all the other gold he spun, but he couldn't seem to place the girl in his memory.
Suddenly, she shifted against the sheets and slowly opened her eyes. "Y-you saved me?" she asked slowly.
"Don't worry. He can't get in here," Rumpelstiltskin assured her, still in his normal voice. "You're safe as long as you stay within the protection spell."
The girl reached down to her leg where the wound had been and looked up at him in awe. "You healed me too? How did you do that?"
"Magic," he replied. "May I ask you something?"
The girl nodded.
"Where did you get that?" he pointed at the gold.
She looked at him in confusion. "You gave it to me just like all the others," she replied as though it was obvious. "Every time you walked through my village, you would leave me a piece of gold to wear on my wrist. That's why I call you Mr. Gold."
Rumpelstiltskin could've smacked himself in the head. How had he forgotten this child? "Where are you parents?" he asked after a moment. "Do you know if they escaped the town as well?"
The girl shook her head. "My father left years ago, and my mother left not long ago. I was living alone in the village, and that's why I was able to get away."
Rumpelstiltskin sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "No one in the village took you in when your mother left?" he asked incredulously.
"No one wanted me," the girl replied, tears forming in her eyes. "I'm a monster there."
Her words reached Rumpelstiltskin deeper than anything had in a long time. This girl had been abandoned and left completely alone just as he had…and just as he had left Bae. Perhaps this girl would be the second chance he had been dreaming of.
"Well, in that case, you should stay here," he said finally.
"You're letting me stay?" she asked in amazement.
"Would you prefer I left you for the wild animals in the forest?" he asked, slipping into his imp voice unconsciously.
The girl giggled. "No," she said. "But I don't want to be a problem."
"Oh no problem," Rumpelstiltskin stuttered. "Just…just stay away from my work room and anything that looks like it could break," he warned.
"Thank you," the girl yawned.
Rumpelstiltskin awkwardly stood and crossed to the door. He was about to leave when something crossed his mind. He turned back to the child. "One more thing. What is your name?"
Without opening her eyes or moving at all, the girl breathed out her response: "Araya…" before falling sound asleep.
"Araya," Rumpelstiltskin repeated, enjoying the way the name sounded. "Good night, then…Araya."
Well, there's another chapter! I hope you like the story so far, and thanks to the people who have already favorite/followed! I'll have another chapter out soon, but until then, please continue to fav/follow/review and make me happy! Thanks everyone!
