Chapter II

A/N: I forgot to put in my reason as to why this story is a M rating. It is because of violence, sexual situations and death. As you can tell in this chapter, I will be putting a little italic caption to where the scene takes place.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the recognisable characters.

Storybrooke, Maine

Everyone remembered. She had broken the curse. The daughter of Snow White and Prince James had broken the curse, like he had predicted. Did it work on everyone? Mr Gold had poured the most powerful love potion into the well. Magic had been brought into the land too. He needed it. Two reasons: to help his wife but mostly to find his son. It is known that he had never broken a deal both as Rumplestiltskin and as Mr Gold. He broken a deal once. With his son. That broken deal cost him his son.

He knew where his wife was but he had to wake her. He walked to the hospital without any pain. With magic, he had no limp. With magic, everyone was twice as afraid of him. They knew he was Rumplestiltskin. He had found Belle, the only person not afraid of him and cared for him, as the corrupt man he was and is. As for his wife, she had disappeared after the birth of their son. There had been a letter saying she had left him because of his cowardice but that was false. She would never have left their son behind.

He walked into Storybrooke Hospital and straight to the Intensive Care Unit. He nodded to the nurse there, who was staring at him in shock. She still couldn't believe that she was in a completely different world. But she still stayed at her post caring for the only patient in the Unit. He stood at the edge of the bed of the only patient. The breaking of the curse had not awoken her. "Oh Katrina." He sighed and sat in the chair next to her. "Why hasn't it worked?"

Enchanted Forest

Katrina lifted her skirts slightly and walked to the manor. She could see her father trading with the wool merchant. Her father made his fortune through farmland. It was only recently had he started using his inherited fortune to extend his wealth by using the land as farmland. The farm had sheep, cows and horses. The sold the sheep's wool and the cow's milk. The horses were used to control the sheep and also their foals were sold for profit once they were old enough.

She walked into the courtyard to come face-to-face with the wool merchant's son. "Oh hello." She smiled a little.

"Hello Katrina." Her father greeted her. "This is Rumplestiltskin. He has taken over his late father's business."

"Oh." Katrina spoke softly as she linked her arm with her father's arm. "I am sorry for your loss."

"Thank you, my Lady." He gave her a shy smile, bowing his head. "I shall return tomorrow to pick up the wool." He bowed to them both and left. Leading his horse and cart out of the courtyard. Both Katrina and her father watched him leave. Rumplestiltskin dared to look back at them, his eyes meeting Katrina's. Her cheeks seem to burn as his eyes bore into her soul.

Storybrooke, Maine

"How is she?" Mr Gold asked the nurse. He couldn't remember who she was. His hand was wrapped around his wife's.

"Still the same. There has not been any changes since she arrived here." She spoke nervously, not taking her eyes of the man.

"Who did this to her? Put her in this state?"

"No one knows." The nurse shrugged her shoulders and checked the woman's stats. "Her breathing and heartbeat have been regular ever since."

"If anything changes. A slight rise blood pressure. Anything. No matter how small it is." He lifted her hand and kissed it. "I'll be back again." He let go of her limp hand and stood up. "What happened to you, Katrina?"

Enchanted Forest

The next day for Katrina began again. All the same. Her life so routine. She sat at her vanity table and brushed her long brown hair. She stared at her reflection, wishing herself to be beautiful like her sisters. It was pointless. Even her dark blue gown could not help her to look or feel beautiful. She stood up, left her room and broke her fast. It wasn't very early as her father was awake and her brother was on the estate. As was the woollen merchant. She stood in the doorway as her father and Theodore spoke with the man. She watched them for a moment, especially the man. "Katrina? What are you doing standing there gawking?" Her brother asked, giving her a glare.

"Just watching." She stepped out of the doorway and towards them. "Father, I'm going to the river." She kissed her father's cheek and brushed past her brother, leaving the three men to their business. It was a man's world and she was just in it. Her path led her to the river, to her favourite spot and she lost in a world that was her own.

"'Ello missy." A voice sneered nearby.

Her head shot up and she saw two bandits stalking towards her. "I'll scream if you come any closer." Sitting up quickly, her book in her hand.

"I doubt that." The second bandit grinned as he held his sword out towards her. "By the time anybody arrives here, you will be long gone."

Katrina stepped backwards. She quickly glanced behind her to see that she was very close to the river. She couldn't swim, so jumping into the river was not an option. "What do you want?"

"A pretty girl to keep us warm at night." The first one laughed and reached forward to grab her but she was quick. She swung her heavy book at him, striking him in the head. "Bitch!" He groaned as she ran towards the house. "Get her, you idiot!"

Katrina ran but the second bandit was faster. Now she could scream. "Help!" She screamed at the top of her lungs.

The man caught her, clamped his hand over her mouth and pulled the first bandit. "Got her." He held her tightly as the first man stalked towards her. "She screamed. We best get moving."

"Scream again, missy and I will cut your throat." He held the point of the sword close to her throat. She held her breath, fearing that the sword would cut her if she did. "Let's go, quickly." The two men dragged her towards two horses. The first man mounted his horse. "Give me the girl." She was harshly lifted onto the horse, in front of this bandit, who held her tightly and kicked his horse's flanks.

She struggled against his grip but he held her tightly. "Let me go!"

"Katrina!" Her father shouted.

"PAPA!" She screamed in fright, looking over the bandit's shoulder and seeing her father running after her. "Papa!" He stopped running, catching his breath. "Theodore!" She screamed when she saw her brother chasing after them on his horse, followed by Rumplestiltskin, on his own horse. It was useless. The bandits rode into the dense forest and she could no longer see her brother.

After an hour's hard ride, they came to a stop. She was roughly pulled from the horse and dragged into a camp. There were 3 other men there, sitting around a fire. Her hands were bound, her ankles tied together and gagged. She was terrified. As much as she didn't get along with her brother, she desperately wanted to see him again. She knew he would find her and take her home. She was placed away from the fire, up against a tree, where she was in view but not in the way.

- - - - - – - - - - - - - - - – – - - - - - -

"We have to find her!" Theodore insisted. He had tried to follow their tracks but nothing came of it. He and Rumplestiltskin returned to the manor, to find his father had collapsed in the courtyard and was ill in bed. Theodore had messaged his brothers, in order for some help.

"I know where they will go but it is uncertain." Rumplestiltskin spoke up. "I can find her."

"You!" Theodore sneered. "You are part of the plot. The distraction." Whirling around to face the younger man.

"I am not!" He stood up for himself. "My father used to deal with them but stopped when he found out they were murderers." He glared at the older man, who was actually only about 4 years older than him. "They were the ones who murdered my father!"

Theodore stood there in shock. "Where are they?"

"Let me go. If you approach them, they will surely run or kill Lady Katrina." He places his hand on Theodore's shoulder. "My Lord, please. Let me prove to you that I am not a bandit."

Storybrooke, Maine

Rumplestiltskin left the hospital with a heavy weight on his heart. He wanted Katrina to wake in order to know the truth. Did she leave him because of his cowardice? Or did she not want to live a pauper's life? Or was she forced to leave? He climbed into his car, unable to shake the human side of him away. His hands gripped the steering wheel, where he was drawn to his wedding ring. He had never taken it off. He would never take it off.

He tried to imagine what their lives would have been like if she had not left. Would he have been normal and not become the Dark One? Would they have had more children? Would her family have accepted them back? There were too many 'Would' questions. He started the car and returned home, where Belle was waiting for him. They had settled into a little routine. She would help in the shop and around the house. He liked it. Her presence soothed him.

Enchanted Forest

Katrina watched as the men laughed, ate and drank in front of the fire while she leant against a tree tired, hungry and cold. Tears fell down her cheeks at the thought of never going home again. She heard a snap of a twig behind her. She froze thinking it was a wolf or a bear. She couldn't call out to the men and they were too distracted to take any notice of her. They thought she was safe where she was. Occasionally one of them would look at her. They would look at her with a look of lust. She was innocent in many ways but she knew what that look meant. They were going to harm her, force themselves on her for their own pleasure and she would be ruined.

A hand clamped over her mouth. She looked at the owner and saw Rumplestiltskin. She gave a sigh of relief but panicked when he hid behind the tree. She looked towards the men, one of them was slowly standing up. He ignored her, moving into his tent. Rumplestiltskin reappeared. He quickly began cutting the bonds around her ankles. "Shhhhh..." He whispered in her ear as he quickly cut the bonds from around her wrists. "Quickly." He held her elbow and she crawled around the tree to meet him. He pulled the cloth away from her mouth. "We have to run."

"Yes." She whispered as he helped her to her feet. She kept hold of his hand as they started running. He led her away from the camp, where the shouts had begun. They had discovered she was gone. "They're coming." She gripped his hand a little tighter.

"My horse is not far." He said as he held her hand tighter. He was right. There was his horse, waiting obediently for his master. He mounted first and helped Katrina on behind him. "Hold on."

She nervously wrapped her arms around his waist and held herself against his back. He kicked his horse and they were away but they were not going in the direction of her home. "Where are we going?"

"Going a different route. They will go straight to the manor." He called over his shoulder to her. "That is the first route they will think of." She nodded against his back. She had to trust him. He had rescued her from a terrible fate. But she barely knew him, how could she trust what he was saying? She couldn't but she had to.

A/N: Going to try and get this story finished before 30th September! Cannot WAIT for the new series! Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter. Any improvements needed?

Responses from chapter I:

Friend: Thank you. Yes, she is Baelfire's mother. That's no secret as you can tell in this chapter with Mr Gold at the hospital.

Ethlena: Thank you very much. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The story popped into my head as I was frustrated with not knowing about what happened to Baelfire's mother. So I have done my own version.