Henry shifted from foot to foot nervously as he waited for someone to answer the door. He had thought about just leaving his gift on the front porch and taking off after ringing the doorbell, but he owed his grandparents more than running off like a thief in the night. They might not be willing to speak to him, but he could at least let them say that to his face. He figured the brave thing to do would be to face them, even knowing the reception he was likely to get.
He was certain they were home. After doing some checking around, he had found out that Belle had contacted Leroy and asked him to deliver some baby furniture to the house. Recent events notwithstanding, it seemed that they were planning to remain in Storybrooke, at least until after the baby was born.
Henry had watched from down the block, a storybook clutched in his hands, when Leroy had shown up with a couple of his brothers – including Dopey, who had finally been turned back from the tree he had become when trying to cross the town line after dark curse version Camelot – and had carried assorted boxes into the house. He had been too far away and at the wrong viewing angle to tell who had answered the door, but given that the dwarfs had not wasted time with idle chit chat, merely taking the boxes into the house before leaving again, he suspected it had been his grandfather.
Waiting another half an hour after they left in order to build his courage, he had finally walked the final block to the house and rung the bell. When no one answered the door in what felt to him like forever, Henry was ready to give up and just leave the book on the front porch when the door finally opened.
"Henry," Rumple said, his tone indifferent. If he was surprised to find his grandson on his front porch, he did not show it. "To what do I owe the honor?"
To Henry's surprise, the question lacked the usual biting sarcastic tone his grandfather used when talking to – well, to pretty much everyone who was not Belle. He took a moment to study his grandfather. He looked different. Rumplestiltskin was dressed more casually than Henry had ever seen him, but then again, he could count the number of times he had seen his grandfather at his home on one hand. He was dressed in dress pants and a silk shirt, but minus his usual tie, vest and suit jacket. He supposed that the last thing his grandfather had been expecting was company or he would have been fully dressed in his usual suit. His hair was also much shorter than usual and under other circumstances, Henry might have asked out of extreme curiosity about the story behind that since his grandfather had worn his hair long for pretty much his entire adult life as far as he knew.
He had spent the half hour he had delayed coming to the door trying to rehearse what he was going to say in his mind, but now that the moment was here, he was at a loss for words. "I, um…" he stuttered.
Great, look like an idiot in front of your own grandfather, he berated himself. Some author you are, unable to string a few simple words together. Not that what he wanted to say was simple. Not at all.
To his surprise, Rumplestiltskin let him off the hook for the moment and pulled the door open, motioning into the house with his hand. "Do come inside," he said.
The unexpected invitation had the effect of finally loosening his tongue. "No, that's okay," he stammered. "I don't want to intrude. I just wanted to drop something off. Something for the baby. Well, I guess for you guys, too…"
"Rumple," a familiar voice called from inside the house, "who was that at the door? Did the dwarves forget to drop something off?" Henry's heart squeezed painfully in his chest as Belle appeared behind her husband, wrapping her arms around herself to ward off the chill coming in from the open door. "Oh, hello, Henry."
Her tone matched Rumplestiltskin's in its indifference, which hurt Henry coming from her, reminding him anew of what he had blithely done. Belle usually welcomed everyone and if she could not muster a smile for even him…
It was obvious from her body language that she knew everything that had happened, either from what Rumplestiltskin had told her – although Henry suspected that he might have tried to downplay certain events so as not to hurt her any more than necessary – or through her own deductions. Knowing that she knew what he had done brought everything to the surface with a heart-crushing pain, and he found himself blinking back tears.
He pushed the book towards them, forcing Rumplestiltskin to reach out suddenly to grab it before it could fall and hit someone's foot. "I'm sorry," he said, his words coming out in a jumbled rush as he stepped back, ready to flee. "I just wanted to drop this off and now I'll get out of your hair. I'll just…"
"Oh, Henry," Belle said in a softer, more emotional tone as she reached out to grab his arm. He found himself being wrapped in a warm hug like the ones she had always given him before. Without her usual high heels, she was quite a bit shorter than him now and he had to lean down slightly to return the embrace.
Belle pulled back after a long moment during which they said nothing, taking his hands in hers and pulling him into the house. Rumplestiltskin closed the door behind them before following them into the living room. Belle sat down on the sofa, patting the cushion next to her. Almost reluctantly, he sat down next to her. His grandfather sat down on her other side, setting the book down on the coffee table in front of them.
For a long moment, no one said anything, Henry taking advantage of the silence to study Belle. She looked more tired than usual, her eyes puffy and rimmed with dark smudges, which did not surprise him, having had his own experiences with nightmares after a sleeping curse as well as being trapped in Pandora's Box. Around her neck on a simple leather cord she wore an amulet similar to the one his grandfather had made for him to protect him from the fiery room, which was expected. He was sure his grandfather had prepared the amulet and had it ready as soon as they had returned from the Underworld, even before he had approached Moe French about waking Belle up.
She had obviously been awake from the curse for some time, as she looked visibly pregnant. The entire point behind the curse had been to freeze her pregnancy in time and it was not hard to figure out when she had conceived based on their separation and his grandfather's coma (although Henry tried not to think about that part too hard). He really had nothing to judge against – the only pregnant women he had really been around had been Ashley and his other grandmother, but that was only at the end of their respective pregnancies – but he guessed that she was now about four to five months gone. It had been nearly six months since the events in New York.
"I, well…" Henry began, twisting his fingers nervously in his lap, "I don't know how much you already know…" He trailed off uncertainly. He definitely did not want to rehash everything that had happened during the Underworld and afterwards, but he had a feeling that his grandfather especially was not going to let him get off with just a few vague words of apology, either – at least not as far as what had happened to Belle was concerned. To be honest, he could not blame him if he was thinking that. Belle deserved better. They could both definitely agree on that.
"It's okay, Henry," Belle said, patting his knee gently. She turned to look at her husband. "Rumple, why don't you go prepare some tea for all of us – and maybe bring out a plate of those cookies we made yesterday, if there are any left?"
"I've been craving sweets a lot the last few weeks," she explained after Rumplestiltskin had left the room. "While we were traveling, sweets were certainly available, but there were times I would want something specific. Your grandfather has more of a sweet tooth than I do, so I learned how to bake a lot of different deserts when we were at the Dark Castle together before."
Henry managed a weak chuckle at that. "I'm trying to imagine the Dark One with a sweet tooth," he admitted at the questioning glance Belle shot him.
"It doesn't quite fit the Dark One image, does it?" Belle said with a sly wink and a smile. "There aren't a lot of people who see that side of him. Regina certainly never did – before he would have me hide away so she didn't see me, he would have me prepare only a basic tea tray for her visits. Jefferson, however, did see a little bit of that side."
"The Mad Hatter?"
"Yes," she replied in a fond tone. "I don't know that I would say that they were friends, but Rumple was certainly friendlier with him than with most other people. I'd say Jefferson was probably more like the relative that you tolerate because you can't quite figure out how to get rid of them. He liked to linger a bit when he came by, especially if he had just finished some errand for your grandfather. He would even invite himself to meals on occasion. I have to admit; it was nice sometimes to be able to talk to someone besides Rumple."
"It sounds like you have a lot of good memories of your time there," Henry said.
"I do, Henry," she replied, smiling. "Not so much at the end there, of course, but now that I know why he did what he did, reacted the way that he did, it's easier to accept and forgive." She studied him for a long moment. "Not that it is that easy."
"Of course not," he mumbled.
"Do you want to tell me why?" she asked in a gentle tone, drawing the conversation around to the reason for his visit.
He sighed heavily, staring down at his hands in his lap. "I'm not even sure I know anymore," he admitted. "I tried the whole 'destroy magic thingy' before – I don't know if you know about that. It was around the time after Hook had shot you and the whole Lacey thing that my mom put you through. It didn't work then, so I don't know why I thought…and then I found that notebook at Dad's place in Manhattan. I guess I thought it was a sign…"
His voice trailed off as he heard the soft clink of china as his grandfather carried a tea tray into the room. "There are no cookies left," he informed his wife, his tone a bit indulgent. "You had the last this morning after breakfast."
"Oh, yeah," she said with a bright smile. "I forgot. I guess we'll have to bake some more later."
"Henry, let me ask you something," she said, drawing his attention back to the topic of conversation while Rumplestiltskin set the tray down and began preparing cups for each other them. "When was your dad working on this grand plan of his to destroy magic?"
"I…I don't understand," he said uncertainly. He noticed his grandparents exchange a look that he could not quite interpret when Rumplestiltskin handed Belle her cup of tea.
"Your father thought he was in a land without magic, right?" she said. Henry nodded slowly, not quite sure yet what she was leading up to. "As I understand it, he did know about the curse – but not your grandfather's part in it – when August convinced him to leave Emma before you were born. He knew when the curse was broken, because August sent him a post card when it happened."
Henry nodded, still uncertain. His dad had told him this in the brief time they had together before Neverland when trying to explain why Emma had been so mad at him. He just could not figure out what that had to do with anything right now. "I guess," he replied with a shrug.
Belle gave him a nudge and he realized his grandfather was holding a cup out to him. He took it with a murmured thanks, picking up the spoon on the saucer and stirring his tea. It was soothing, helping him to focus his thoughts just a little.
"But what your dad didn't know at the time," she continued as she took a sip of her own tea, "is that Rumple was here. He didn't know that he was in the land without magic looking for him, not until all of you showed up at his apartment."
A gnawing feeling began in the pit of his stomach. Belle was trying to get him to realize something. He had a feeling he was not going to like what it was. "I guess not," he said.
Suddenly, he remembered something his dad had said during the trip back from Manhattan and that sick feeling in his stomach grew. "Dad once said it had never occurred to him that Grandpa would have gone looking for him. He assumed after Grandpa had let him go, that was it. He had hoped Grandpa would show up while he was in Neverland, but…"
Out of the corner of his eye, Henry noticed his grandfather suddenly go still at his words. "I'm sorry, Grandpa," he said quietly.
"It's of no matter," he replied, waving him off.
His grandparents exchanged another look and Henry knew there was something he still was not realizing, some conclusion to which his grandparents had already come. He tried to think, knowing they were probably not going to spell it out for him, at least not without giving him ample chance to figure things out for himself. Suddenly, he remembered the first question Belle had asked him to open the conversation. When was your dad working on this grand plan of his to destroy magic?
He gasped as the dots finally connected. "He didn't even know there was any magic to be destroyed," he said slowly as it came together in his mind. "He only found out after we showed up. In the short time before Hook attacked Grandpa, Dad spent most of that time getting to know me and being mad at Mom and Grandpa."
The nauseating feeling in his stomach grew and he thought he might be sick. "When we left Manhattan," he realized, "that was it for Dad. He never returned. Tamara shot him and he fell through that portal, then after we returned from Neverland, the curse was reversed a couple of days later and you guys went back to the Enchanted Forest. We all eventually ended up back in Storybrooke, but then Dad died."
"It was all very convenient," Belle pointed out. "You wanted to destroy magic and the exact tools that you need just happen to show up."
"The notebook in Dad's apartment, the black grail at the library," he said. Now that he thought about it, it really was too much of a coincidence. There was still one thing that did not make any sense. How had someone known exactly what he was going to do, where he was going to go, how he was going to react?
He glanced at his grandfather, surprised to see the corners of his mouth quirked upward in a slight smile. Suddenly, he realized something. "Someone with some kind of Seer powers?"
"Most likely," Rumplestiltskin replied with a nod. "Also someone who has at least some familiarity with Storybrooke and its residents."
"Well," Henry said bitterly, "whoever it is certainly knew enough to play me." He glanced from his grandfather to his grandmother. "But I was still the one who acted, who almost destroyed magic, almost...I'm still responsible for that."
"Yes, you are," Rumplestiltskin agreed. Henry was surprised that his tone was neither angry nor censuring. Belle had been the one most hurt by what he had done, after all – Belle and her unborn child.
"And we know that you're the one who will have to live with that," Belle added. She set aside her tea cup and squeezed his shoulder gently.
"I do … I am," he stuttered, "living with it, I mean. I've thought about it constantly for the last few months, trying to figure out how to say I'm sorry."
Belle smiled as she wrapped her arm around his shoulder and hugged him. "I think you just did," she said. He rested his head against her shoulder with a sigh. "Anyway, we already knew that. You did help to fix your mistake. I hear you managed to get a bunch of cynical New Yorkers to believe in magic for a moment."
"Yeah, I guess I did," he said with a chuckle. "At least long enough to open the portal so that my grandparents, Hook and Zelena could come through and Grandpa could go find you." He was dying to ask what had happened, how his grandfather had found Belle and woken her up. He had tried using the Author's Pen, but it did not always write what he wanted it to – not for lack of a lot of trying – and that story had been one the pen had not deigned to share yet.
He did have to ask one thing. "But you're okay, right?" he asked. "You and the baby?"
Belle nodded, placing her free hand on her swelling stomach. "Yes, we're fine," she assured him. She glanced at her husband with an indulgent smile. "Your grandfather checks on the baby with magic every day, sometimes multiple times a day. She's fine."
Henry lifted his head, pulling out of her embrace. "It's a girl?" he asked.
Belle laughed. "Yes," she confirmed. "Rumple determined that when he first checked the baby after he woke me up from the curse. I had thought that maybe it should be a surprise until I give birth, but your grandfather kept teasing me about knowing something I didn't." She rolled her eyes. "Kept driving me crazy until I broke down and let him tell me."
Henry smiled at that, feeling something about his off-kilter world settle back into place. His grandparents were together and happy, reminding him of how they had been right after they had gotten married. At least they seemed to have found a happy ending, even if there was still a problem hanging over all of them in the person or persons who had led him into screwing things up so badly.
His smile faltered at that. That probably was why they had come back to Storybrooke. They were still looking for whoever had set everything up and it had lead them back here.
"Henry, don't worry," Belle said in a reassuring tone as she patted his shoulder. "We'll figure out who is behind this. Whoever it is will be sorry for messing with our family."
"Are we," Henry blurted out without thinking, "still family, I mean?"
"Oh, Henry," Belle said with a sigh, her eyes watering. "Of course, you are."
"You are Bae's son," Rumplestiltskin added in a quiet tone.
Henry was shocked. With Belle, not so much. She was by nature a very forgiving person – she had to be in order to love Rumplestiltskin. He had expected it to be a lot more difficult to regain acceptance from his grandfather, however.
Rumplestiltskin seemed to realize the direction of his thoughts. "Do you remember when you first asked to work in the shop?" he asked.
"You mean when I was spying for my mom?" he could not help saying. He knew that his grandfather had known – Regina had later told him about their conversation when they had watched Robin cross the town line with Roland and the fake Marian – but they had never had a chance to discuss it amongst themselves.
Rumplestiltskin shrugged. "No matter now," he said, "unless you didn't mean it when you said that Bae tied us together."
"Yes," Henry said emphatically, "I did mean that. I still do want to know about him. Mom has told me some, and so has Tink, and Belle…even Hook has shared some stories." He tried to ignore the brief grimace the crossed his grandfather's face at the mention of his old nemesis. "But you knew Dad for the first fourteen years of his life. You are the only one who knows what he was like when he was my age. I'm sure you have a lot of stories to tell the baby about her big brother. Maybe you can tell me, too?"
"Yes," he replied, nodding. "I can do that."
"Speaking of the baby," Belle interrupted, motioning towards the book lying nearly forgotten on the table in front of them, "you said that was a gift for the baby?"
As his grandfather let out a sigh, Henry realized what Belle was doing. Baelfire was still an emotional topic for Rumplestiltskin, always would be, and she was trying to distract him before it became too much so.
"Oh, that," Henry said, pulling a pen out of his jacket pocket. It wasn't the Author's Pen. That had seemed much too impersonal for what he had wanted to do, especially since he had not figured out yet how to make it write in his normal handwriting instead of a font which looked like it had been typeset. He had used the Author's Pen for a few illustrations in the book, but he had used a regular pen for what he had written inside. He had wanted this to be a gift from the heart, not of magic.
"I know everything has been so crazy," he explained as he reached for the book, flipping through the pages until he found a particular one. He made a small correction, then flipped back to the beginning of the book. "I didn't think you had a chance yet to think about a baby book."
At his grandparents' confused looks, he backtracked. "Oh, I guess that wasn't a thing in the Enchanted Forest. Here, people buy books when they have a baby so they can keep track of important milestones in the baby's life – what happened when they were born, first smile, first word, things like that."
"Like a journal," Belle said in understanding.
Henry nodded. "Yes, you could call it that. People write down all the important stuff that happens in the first year or so of their baby's life. There haven't been a lot of babies born in Storybrooke yet, so I couldn't find anything in the store. I wanted something a little more personal anyway, so I got one of the blank storybooks from the Sorcerer's Mansion and created my own book."
He handed the book to Belle, who held it in her lap as she flipped through the pages, Rumplestiltskin looking over her shoulder. "There are places to put pictures," Henry pointed out, "keep track of how she's growing, that kind of stuff. I've already added a few pictures. I hope you don't mind…"
Belle paused on the page Henry had just corrected, starting to read what he had written. "Henry?" she asked.
"When I started this, I wasn't sure if you were going to stay in Storybrooke," he explained. "Actually, I wasn't sure how I was going to get this to you if you didn't ever come back…" He trailed off uncertainly.
"We were always going to come back," Belle said. She shared a significant look with her husband. "We're not exactly ready to jump back into whatever the magical crisis-du-jour is. We have a few things that we are already researching on our own. I think it will be a long time before we want to have much of anything to do with the rest of the town. While it has been nice being able to travel a bit the last few months, we decided that isn't really a life for our baby. Maybe when she's older and is able to appreciate it, but…"
"What your grandmother is trying to say," Rumplestiltskin continued with an indulgent smile directed at his wife, "is that she is, as she has called it, nesting, and it is hard to do that when we are constantly on the move."
"And we still do have the shop and the library here," Belle added, "although from what we've seen and heard, someone has been taking good care of them while we've been gone."
"It helped keep me busy," Henry said. "Anyway, I figured I should get a head start on the debt I owe Grandpa."
"What debt?" Belle asked. There were a few things Rumplestiltskin had not told his wife, apparently.
"The money I stole from the shop safe," Henry admitted with reluctance, glancing away briefly in guilt.
Belle swung around to look at her husband in surprise. "You didn't tell me Henry had stolen some money," she protested.
"It is a matter between myself and my grandson," he said, waving a hand to dismiss her concern. "One which seems to be well in hand."
"I am sorry about that, Grandpa," Henry said. "I really am."
"Thank you, Henry," Rumplestiltskin said. "Just do not do it again."
"I won't," Henry promised.
"It was just another reminder that I need to work on the protections on that safe," he continued. "I realized that when you mother used a sample of your blood to break in and steal my squid ink when she was the Dark One, but have not yet had a chance to do anything about it."
Belle tapped the book in her lap with a finger, drawing their attention away from topics probably best left for another time. "You were going to tell us about this…well, it looks like a letter."
"Yeah, that," Henry said as they began to read what he had written. "As I said, I wasn't sure if you were going to stick around, so I wrote a letter to the baby. I wanted to make sure she knew the truth about our family…"
To my new aunt,
I guess I should introduce myself first. I am your nephew Henry, which means my Dad – he's Baelfire, of whom I am sure your Papa will tell you all about once you are old enough to understand – is your brother, your older brother. Technically, your half-brother, but that part doesn't really matter in this family, because your Mama told me once that she loves my Dad as much as if he had been born hers. If you try to think too much about our family tree, it will give you headaches, so I will try to stick to the basics as much as possible. As your elder, it's my job to teach you things and not to confuse you too much, so I don't want to throw in a bunch of branches off the main tree, with all the step something-or-anothers or second marriages and all that.
Your Mama once told me that my Dad started teasingly calling her "Mom" during the year while they were stuck in the Enchanted Forest, but that she didn't mind because she knew how long Rumplestiltskin – that's your Papa (and my Grandpa), by the way – had looked for him and that he would want the two people whom he loved most in the world to love each other like family. Sadly, it was mutual grief which tied them together, as everyone thought your Papa was dead then, which is a long story for another time.
Even though you are younger than me (usually aunts and uncles are older than their nieces and nephews, although not in this family – my Mom has a brother who is younger than me, too), your parents are my grandparents. I know that will be confusing, so I'll try to explain as simply as possible, since someday you will actually be able to read and understand this and our family tree is a bit of a tangled snarl of knots. You'll either be able to sort it out, or you will throw up your hands in defeat. Knowing how intelligent your parents are, I'm sure you'll figure it out on your own eventually, but not without some headaches along the way.
Everyone has two sets of grandparents, one set for each of your parents, so if you have two parents, you will have four grandparents. Your dad's parents are your paternal grandparents and your mom's parents are your maternal grandparents. Your parents are my paternal grandparents, since they are my Dad's parents.
You have grandparents, too – the parents of your Mama and Papa. Three of your four grandparents have been dead for a while, so I won't dwell too much on them. Your parents will be able to tell you more than I can, anyway.
Your paternal grandparents – meaning your Papa's parents – were a couple named Malcolm and Evanna. They would be my great-grandparents. Evanna has been dead since your Papa was a baby, although I do not know much about how she died. I asked your Papa once and he can't remember her, so whatever happened, it happened when he was too young to have any memories of her and there was no one around to tell him much about her.
He was raised, more or less I suppose (he will probably tell you that it was less, which is entirely accurate), by his father Malcolm until about the age of seven or so. Although Malcolm died not all that long ago – even I had the misfortune of meeting him – he was hardly a presence in the life of his son, so there is little that your Papa would be able to tell you about him if you were to ask and what little there is you probably do not want to know anyway. Trust me on that.
When your Papa was about seven, Malcolm took off, abandoning his son to a couple of elderly spinsters. They were kind to him, taught him how to spin so that he would have a useful trade when he became an adult and did their best to make sure that he was loved. The few times your Papa has spoken about that time of his life, it was with a certain fondness, so it seems that they were decent, kind people. I think a lot of the underlying man beneath the man everyone thinks your father is is because of them.
On your mother's side of the family, there is not much I can tell you about your maternal grandmother, Colette. She was the Queen Consort of a small kingdom on the edge of the Endless Sea and was widely regarded for her intelligence and book-learning. Scholars from all around flocked to the Royal Library in Avonlea to study the ancient texts stored there. Sadly, she died in an Ogre attack about four years before the first curse was cast, protecting your Mama from harm.
I do know that your Mama got her love of books from Colette, which I am sure she will pass on to you (both of your parents read a lot, so expect books to be a large part of your life). She is one person in our family whom I can say that I wish I had a chance to meet. We didn't see her in the Underworld (another LONG story), so I'm sure that wherever she is now, she is happy and at peace.
Although there had been skirmishes against the Ogres for several years before Queen Colette's death, her death seemed to be a turning point of the war with the Ogres becoming more aggressive in their advances on Avonlea. Eventually, the King of Avonlea, your grandfather Maurice, was forced to seek out a dark sorcerer who had a reputation with Ogres after having ended the First Ogre War in the Frontlands several centuries earlier. More on that later…
King Maurice, your grandfather, is still alive. He runs the flower shop Game of Thorns here in Storybrooke and goes by the name Moe French. A lot of people have two names – you just have to get used to it. The King was said to have taken an interest in the planning and maintenance of the palace gardens back home, so the curse twisted that and made him the owner of the flower shop here in Storybrooke.
How to describe the King, your grandfather? It is hard for me to say, really. I have only met him a handful of times, so much of what I know of him is what your Mama has told me. There is tension between the two of them, so they do not see each other as much as they might. Your Mama might tell you more than she has told me, since he is only my step-great-grandfather and we have never developed a relationship, even after your parents got married.
And now, we come to your parents. Your Papa – my Grandpa – is Rumplestiltskin. Entire books could be written about him and only scratch the surface of who he is, so I suppose I must choose my words carefully to portray the picture I want you to have (and so that this doesn't get TOO long).
I know there will be a lot of people in this town who will try to tell you a lot of different things about your Papa. Listen to what they say or not – that is your choice (although I would suggest "not" most of the time) – but always make sure to tell your Papa so that he can tell his own side of the story and then listen to your heart. A lot of people have had dealings with your Papa, but almost none of them can actually say that they really know him.
I can say this about him, based on my own experience (and I have known him my entire life, although it was not all that long ago that I found out he was is my Grandpa) … no matter what else he may do in his life, his number one priority will always be to protect those he loves. You are lucky that you will be born into that small select circle for whom your Papa will do ANYTHING.
Some people may try to tell you that he always has other motives for the things he does, but don't listen to them. Family is always the bottom line for him. This I can tell you from firsthand experience after I did something really STUPID recently that almost hurt you and your Mama. I am sorry about that, by the way. Best get that out of the way now, as I am sure you will hear the story from someone eventually (and don't listen to anyone who tries to tell you that I was not wrong in what I tried to do – I WAS wrong and I now know that I should not have done what I did).
He once spent over 300 years trying to find your brother Baelfire (another LONG story – as I am sure you can tell already; we have a lot of those in this family). I was lucky enough to be there when he finally reached the end of that journey. I know he was really very nervous about it and initially, things did go as badly as he feared, but eventually he and my Dad were able to work things out between them and the last words that my Dad said before he died were full of love and admiration for your Papa. I wasn't there when my Dad died, but my Mom Emma was there with your Papa and it was my Mom who told me later what my Dad said.
Your Papa is also a very powerful sorcerer – the most powerful in all the realms, according to my other Mom Regina (I know that this sounds repetitious at this point, but it's another long story. She was a student of his, so she would know). I imagine you might have some kind of magic yourself – either because you inherited it from him or because you are a child of True Love (or both) – so you will probably be hearing this one a lot. ALL MAGIC COMES WITH A PRICE.
Some people like to forget that (me included, I am sorry to say), no matter how many times your Papa tells them that. They then get upset with your Papa when he tries to enforce the price of the magic. A lot of trouble could be avoided if people just listened to him in the first place, so think about that when other people try to tell you some not-so-nice things about your Papa.
And the price of magic has to be equivalent to what you want from it. If you want magic to change your life, the price must be life-changing as well. For example, if you want to get rid of Ogres threatening your kingdom…
Which brings me to your Mama, my Grandma. She has told me that I don't have to call her that, but I do anyway because I love her as my Grandma. I also do it to tease her. She always smiles when I say it and she has a really pretty smile. I don't think she really minds it as much as she claims to.
Anyway, the Ogres are how your parents first met. I mentioned earlier how your grandma Colette died in an Ogre attack. They were threatening to overrun your grandparents' kingdom of Avonlea and things were very desperate. Your Mama had done some research (she does that A LOT) and read about how the Dark One had stopped a previous Ogre War. I'm sure you'll hear that story someday, as it involves your brother, my Dad.
So at your Mama's suggestion, a message was sent to the Dark One asking for help against the Ogres. They had offered gold, but your Papa can make his own gold.
I forgot to mention that, didn't I? One of the things your Papa is most known for is being able to spin straw into gold. That story has survived even in the "fairy tales" in the Land Without Magic. I haven't seen him do that – although according to my book, your Mama has. Maybe someday you can ask him and he can show both of us.
Your Papa said he didn't need Avonlea's gold – which is really a good thing anyway, because the kingdom needed the money in order to rebuild from all the damage that the Ogres did. What he did ask for was your Mama, for her to come to his castle to be the caretaker.
I know that sounds kind of weird and other people will try to twist the story in all kinds of ways, but it really is a nice story, although bittersweet at the end until they found each other again when the original Dark Curse was broken.
When you're old enough, I'm sure your parents will tell you the story – their story. It's in my storybook, so you could read it there, but given some of the things that the last author did, I'm not entirely sure that it's completely accurate as presented. One of these days, I need to sit down with the Author's Pen (yes, another long story) and rewrite the stories from my original book so they are accurate and maybe add some stuff that might be important but is missing from the book.
Your grandfather the King did not want to agree, but your Mama is very brave – one of the bravest people I know, really – and she made a deal herself with your Papa. She would go with him forever if he would get rid of the Ogres. They're still together now in their forever, but it's not just because they made a deal. They're True Love.
Everyone says that True Love is the most powerful magic in all the realms. True Love is also very rare – except in my family apparently (LOL). My other grandparents are True Love, too, which is how my Mom Emma got her magic (we don't know yet if my Uncle Neal has magic yet as he is still a baby). My parents – Emma and your brother Baelfire – were also True Love before he died, so my Mom told me. I have a different type of magic than my Mom – I have the heart of the Truest Believer (I'm still trying to figure out exactly what that means – your Mama has helped me do some research, but we've only found a few vague references to previous Truest Believers. I guess it must be something kind of rare if even your Mama is having a hard time finding information about it) and I am also the new Author, responsible for recording everyone's stories (and doing so accurately and without influencing the story in any way, which is where the previous Author got into trouble and where I got into trouble myself recently by using the pen for other than its intended purpose).
Since your parents are True Love, you'll probably have some type of magic, too. As your Papa once told me (when I asked what it meant for me, being the son of the Savior and grandson of the Dark One) - "only time will tell." Some people will try to tell you that your parents aren't really True Love, but they don't know what they're talking about.
Trust me on that. Your parents' True Love was strong enough to almost break the curse of the Dark One and if there is any curse that resists being broken, it is that one. Your parents ARE True Love and that makes them – and you - very special.
Anyway, about your Mama. It's hard to put her into words, too. She's beautiful (in one of the languages here in the Land Without Magic, her name Belle literally means "beauty"), but she's also very smart. She's the town librarian here in Storybrooke and she spends a lot of time researching magic for everyone. If your Papa doesn't already know enough to answer someone's question (and he definitely knows a lot, especially about magic), then your Mama can usually find the answer in one of her books. They make a great team that way.
She's also a very good listener. I have gone to her a lot in the past when I really need to talk about something, and she's always been very good about listening to me. Sometimes, I wish she could give me the answers to my problems, but she always tells me there are some things that I need to figure out for myself, rather than be told. It's one of the hard lessons of life, she tells me. Since it's coming from your Mama, I'm sure she's right. I need to make sure to tell her that.
Actually, the best summation of who your Mama is comes from your Papa. I apologize in advance if I don't have this quite right. I heard the story from my Dad, so I'm gonna blame him if it's not 100% correct. I'm sure your Papa can and will correct anything that I have gotten wrong.
Your Mama is a hero who helped her people. She is a beautiful woman who loves an ugly man, really loves him. She finds goodness in others and when it is not there, she creates it. She makes your Papa want to go back to the best version of himself and he told her that had never happened before.
Your Papa is right about her. She's also almost unfailingly kind, even to people who have hurt her. She has one of the most forgiving hearts I've ever seen. Even I've done things I shouldn't have which hurt her, but people tell me that she'll forgive me because that's who she is. I hope I can be worthy of that forgiveness, because I really am sorry for what I have done. I could say that I'm a teenager and that teenagers do really stupid things a lot, but that doesn't excuse anything. I'm sure you will figure that one out the hard way someday.
Anyway, I had better end this now before there is no room for anything else in this book. I need to make sure to leave plenty of room for your parents to put in lots of stuff about you once you're born.
I hope that someday, when people try to tell you some not-so-nice stuff about your family, you will remember this and recognize the truth. I hope that I'm also there as well to answer any questions you have and if you're anything like your parents, I'm sure you will have plenty.
So welcome to the family, my little aunt.
With love,
your nephew, Henry
As they reached the end of the letter, Henry reached over and made one more correction with a murmured apology when he bumped Belle's arm.
Without a word, Belle closed the book and set it back on the table. Henry glanced away, hesitant. Although it had made him feel better to write all that at the time, now that his grandparents had seen it, doubts were creeping back into his mind. There was a reason why part of him had wanted to just leave the book for them to find and then leave.
"That was…" Belle began, her voice full of emotion. Henry risked a glance at her to find her blinking back tears. "That was really beautiful, Henry. Thank you."
Rumplestiltskin nodded, clearing his throat. "Yes," he said quietly. "Thank you, Henry."
"I just…" he began, gesturing nervously. He did not have to tell them why he had written the letter – he knew they had already figured that out for themselves. It had not really been that hard to write. Once he had started, the words had just seemed to flow. It was just that now he was facing having to talk about it all.
He wished he could go back a few months to when he had been so positive about building a relationship with his dad's side of the family. In spite of his dad's recent death, things had seemed so much simpler then. Now everything was so screwed up, tied into so many knots that it was hard to know if it could ever be set right.
"Are you hungry, Henry?" Belle asked suddenly, jumping up from the sofa. She laughed as she picked up the tea tray. She waved off her husband when he tried to stop her, motioning to him to stay put. "I'm hungry all the time now, but I've read that's normal. Rumple and I were talking about lunch after the dwarves left, but we had just barely decided what we wanted when you showed up. You're welcome to stay if you like. We were just planning to call Granny's for some takeout. That's one of the things we've missed not being in Storybrooke all these months – hamburgers from Granny's."
"Sure," he agreed without stopping to think about it. Now that the hard part was over, his heart felt lighter and he could not think of anything better right now than spending some time with the grandparents he had not seen in months.
"I'm going to call Granny's and place our order," Belle said. "What would you like, Henry?"
"I'll take a burger with everything on it and some onion rings," he replied, then added hopefully, "and maybe some of Granny's chocolate cake, too?"
Belle smiled knowingly – she knew his moms were not likely to approve of cake in the middle of the afternoon unless it were a special occasion – but she did not protest. From what she had said earlier, he was sure she would not mind a piece of cake herself.
Belle left the room, leaving Henry alone with his grandfather. Some of his good humor suddenly left him. It might have been difficult talking to his grandparents together, but now he had to face his grandfather one-on-one. He could not help remembering that the last real words they had spoken to each other before today had been in anger, from both sides.
"Grandpa…" he began hesitantly, but Rumplestiltskin waved him off.
"You have already said you are sorry," he said, not unkindly. "You needn't belabor the point. I can trust that you will not try something like that again, hmm?"
"Of course not," he agreed. "No more trying to destroy magic – at least not from me. After what we just went through with Hyde and the Evil Queen…magic does have its uses."
"Yes, we heard about that," Rumplestiltskin said. What was left unspoken was that it was Rumplestiltskin who had given Hyde the way into Storybrooke in the first place. A lot of people were angry with him about that. He suspected that it was only Belle's obvious presence at his side after their return to town which had prevented people from confronting him about it so far, assuming that most of them had even stopped to consider the pregnant woman's feelings.
If what Hyde had claimed about his deal with Rumplestiltskin was correct (and Henry was inclined to believe it, given what he knew about his grandfather), then he could not blame his grandfather one bit for leaving the town to Hyde. It had come down to a choice between Belle (and the baby) and Storybrooke. For Rumplestiltskin, that was no choice at all. That was part of the reason why Henry had half-expected them not to return to Storybrooke at all.
They had finally – and just barely – defeated Hyde and the Evil Queen. It had probably taken at least twice as long as it should have without his grandparents to help out. He had heard more than one person comment how this or that might have gone better if Belle had been there to do the research they needed (despite Hook's previous bragging, he really was not that good at research, and even Snow, who had been made a teacher by the curse, was not that good at it either) or if Rumplestiltskin had been there to handle a potion that it had taken Regina several tries to finally get right (even she had admitted that the patience required to make the potion correctly had never been her strong suit).
"You know," Henry said, his eyes fixed on the book in front of them as he tried to avoid looking at his grandfather, "there were times when we could have used your help. Almost everyone mentioned it at one time or another. I wish I could say that would mean people would be more grateful in the future for any help…"
He now risked a glance at his grandfather, finding his expression nearly unreadable except for the fire which flashed in his dark eyes. "No, that may be too much to expect, even now," Rumplestiltskin said evenly. "Of course, your grandmother has always been a lot more forgiving than I am, but even she has been somewhat frustrated on that score recently."
Despite the calm tone, Henry recognized the warning inherent in his words. Everyone's lack of consideration had started getting to Belle and any previous tolerance was at an end, especially now. "Don't worry," he said. "I don't know that they'll listen to me, especially if they think they need something, but I'll try to warn them away. She should be taking it easy now that she's going to have a baby, right?"
That should be a good enough excuse, he hoped. He did not want it to come down to a war between the two sides of his family, but he knew it might end up that way if the recent treatment of Belle continued. Rumplestiltskin might be capable of a lot of patience – at least when it suited him to be so – but if Belle was as frustrated as he was hinting, even she might not be able to convince him to hold back. She might not even want to. Everyone had their breaking point, he supposed. From what he had heard about when she had asked for help after Emma had kidnapped his grandfather, he guessed that she had finally reached hers.
"Quite right," Rumplestiltskin agreed, declining to say more when Belle returned, purse in hand. They both stood, exchanging a quick look, agreeing silently to keep their conversation to themselves.
She glanced from one to the other, as if trying to figure something out. "Everything alright here?" she asked.
"Of course, sweetheart," Rumplestiltskin replied. "My grandson and I were just having a little chat."
"Of course, Grandma," Henry agreed with a cheeky grin, getting a sigh and a roll of her eyes in return. At least it seemed to distract her before she could ask about their topic of conversation. "I'm hungry. Don't we have some food to go pick up?"
Belle laughed, any remaining tension in the room seeming to dissipate. "You're a teenager," she teased as they headed out to the car. "Aren't you always hungry?"
"His father certainly was at that age," Rumplestiltskin commented. Henry smiled wider at the hint of the boy his father had once been.
"By the way," Henry said as they got into the Cadillac, "I had your car washed inside and out, Grandpa. I thought you'd appreciate that."
"Thank you, Henry," he replied. "I do appreciate it. And I hope that the next time, our good sheriff and deputy sheriff will remember that theft is still a crime, no matter who is doing the stealing."
Author's notes – I was vague about what happened with Hyde and the Evil Queen on purpose, as it is not really important to this story and this is already longer than I had planned. Although it is not mentioned in the story since the topic does not come up in Henry's conversation with his grandparents, in my head canon for this story, Rumple did wake Belle up with True Love's Kiss without breaking his own curse.