Next one up.

Couldn't wait as I'm really looking forward to writing this story and so had the second chapter written. Thank you to those that have already followed and Favorited, hope you all like reading if it really isn't to much trouble, could I get a little feedback... maybe a few comment's just to see how people are enjoying it... or hell if their not.

If so then what would you like to see, I have an outline planned which is a completely different from cannon so that will be changed, but if you'd like to read something or think something needs changing than by all means please tell me.

Enjoy.


That night and with the words of Rumple still fresh in her mind Cora's paranoia grew to the point of overwhelming. Every maid that came through the door she would watch like a dog with a bone. Every movement scrutinized, trying to determine if anything funny about them she could spot, if they were looking around for weak points in the room or more importantly, at the baby herself.

It unnerved the servants so much that they took to avoiding the wing for as long as humanly possible unless directly ordered to go by the lady or the lord themselves. She sat in her chair at the side keeping her attention firmly on Regina and then to the window before cursing the imp who had her so unsettled. How she longed to just rip his heart out and crush in front of him.

Of course it wasn't always like that. She had loved him once. He had saved her, taught her everything, and made her life more than what it had been. For that she would always be grateful but it wasn't enough as her now heartless body proved. She suspected she would have been happy with him. Would have made a good life with him at her side like he wanted, but each time she tried to picture it the image of princess Eva crept up, and the way she had tripped her before forcing her to apologize.

It boiled her blood and that above all, had won out over love. The need for revenge the desire to see Princess Eva at her mercy became so strong that she outright brushed him off when the night they supposed to run away came.

After a last night of passion of course

This therein laid the problem it had presented. After their last illicit encounter and they had parted ways, she had begun to feel sick. Each morning would be the same; she would wake and have the urge to throw up, it became like that with each meal and it wasn't long until it dawned on her that she was pregnant.

To her utter distress. It wasn't with Henry.

The prince had been out with his father on diplomatic travels and had barely been home returning one or two nights before leaving again. He wasn't due back for another two days and she was already showing symptoms which the help was starting to see.

This child was Rumples.

Panicking she had thought straight away of getting rid of it cut everything that associated with the imp out of her life completely, but realized that over half the castle had seen her either rushing from the room that contained food, or touching her stomach. They would be bound to tell the prince once he got back out of congratulating him and she couldn't very well do away with an entire castle's worth of staff, Henry might have been unobservant sometimes but he would notice that.

Pacing her room she nearly brought herself to the point of madness trying to work out what to do until it came to her, Henry had left the day before she was to run off with Rumple. They hadn't married yet and it wasn't like he couldn't find himself a new bride… he wasn't pure he had bedded tons of women so it wasn't a case of saving themselves for marriage either, she could claim that she had conceived the baby the night he had left as they hadn't wasted the night they had together.

No one knew about Rumpelstiltskin. No one apart from her had ever seen him come and go from the castle. She could say that this baby was her husbands and no one would be any the wiser. That was her plan and that was what she had stuck with when her husband finally got back and so told him the good news, h was so happy that the king had ordered a feast in celebration of the future arrival.

The good king knew about the imp, he had surprised her with that bit of knowledge. It was the he in fact that had changed her mind all together. She stuck by her prince whom she had no feelings what so ever for and gained the power and status that she had craved ever since Eva had looked down at her and smirked.

She hadn't seen nor heard anything from her old lover when the pregnancy was announced. And not even when she was born… until tonight, and he knew, he knew the moment he held her that the little girl was his. She was stupid to try deny it but deny she did and was adamant that he wasn't getting her even with the slight change in deal. If he didn't like it than she really could care less, but either way Regina was hers.

That saying she had incurred his anger. By blowing him off and breaking the bargain they had, she had broken an important contract… if there was one thing Rumple hated more than being called a coward it was when people broke his contracts. It wouldn't be that last she saw of the glittery skinned man of that she had no doubt. He may have taught her all she knew, may have been stronger magically, but if there was one thing he wasn't ever getting, was the girl who would become the queen.

She would make sure of that.

Which was why she had the nanny bring Regina to her, normally she would have her own room. The nursery away from her bed chambers, she couldn't stand the crying. But with the tricky imp floating around she wasn't taking any chances and so had the little baby brought to her room and placed in the crib next to her bed. She saw the look the nanny gave them and before the other woman could even raise a question – a single arched brow in her direction sent her scurrying out the door.

It wasn't like it was going to be an everyday occurrence. Regina wasn't staying with her every night – just until she could be sure that the threat of Rumple passed than she would send her back to her own room as she started her nightly ritual on preparing for bed. She sat at her vanity and glanced at the gurgling baby as she brushed her hair the door soon opened and she looked over to see Henry make his way in.

They didn't share a room but since she had been visited by the unwelcome guest. She had sent word to him that she would allow him to see the baby and watched as he smiled at her before moving to the crib where his child lay, bending over smiling like the idiot that he was. She rolled her eyes when he laughed a little at the happy sounds the small tot made before glancing over to his wife.

He wasn't looking at her on a whole but more asking a question which she could see in his eyes and so nodded her silent agreement. His grin widened as he bent lower as soon his arms were full of a wriggling baby as he held her to his chest. Still watching them she saw the way he interacted lovingly with the child, whispering to her and pressing kisses to her head further more baffling the older woman.

He wasn't like other royals, that she could tell the moment she saw him. From the first glance she knew that he didn't care for power of the title of prince. He was a man who liked to help, liked to be able to make a difference to the kingdom he lived in and soon rule. He didn't care for fancy balls or the other royals who visited, he was a simple man… furthermore he didn't even seem to care that his child was a girl and not a boy that every other royal in the kingdom, seemed to crave.

He was peculiar, and if he wasn't so vital to her plan… or the only one who was unmarried at the time. She would have scorned him for being weak. He bounced the now wide awake baby up and down a bit before blowing a small raspberry making her laugh.

And to think this man might one day be king.

"I'll be retiring to bed soon." He looked up and gave her a small nod. His smile fading slightly as he bent back to focus on the little girl, she really did seem to make him so happy that she almost felt guilty for deceiving him so, but it wasn't like he was ever going to find out Regina wasn't his… no one was. So really his happiness wasn't at stake so whatever... discomfort, she had went away.

She gave them a few more minutes before deciding he had been in her room long enough. She stood up which seem to bring his attention back to her and moved closer to them as he gave her a look that she knew was one of resignation and held back a smirk as he gave the raven haired baby one last lingering kiss before placing her back in her crib.

"Have the arrangement's been made for the announcement?" She asked as he stood back up straight and nodded. Though she was mainly in charge of the whole upcoming event she had allowed him to be the one to send the invitation's yet another weird thing she found about him but didn't have time to explore further; she returned the nod silently both of acknowledgement and that she wanted him to go, he moved away reluctantly from the crib but not before glancing down one last time at the baby.

He moved to give her a kiss which she allowed as his lips pressed against her cheek. Once they parted he gave her a hesitant smile before bidding her goodnight and leaving the room. She waited until he had closed the door before wiping her hand over the spot he had kissed and made her way to the bed, she stopped to pick up the stuffed rabbit that had been left on the chair before placing it next to the baby in a rare showing of affection before sliding under the covers, she glanced at the baby who was slowly falling back to sleep now the excitement was gone before laying down and blowing out the light.

She had placed a few wards around the room and one near the double doors as precaution. She would wait a few days before re-doing them as she had a feeling he would make another visit sometime during the week. Feeling slightly content she closed her eyes and listened to the snuffles coming from the side of her as she drifted off to sleep feeling suddenly a lot more tired than what she had first thought.

So tired in fact, she didn't hear the sound of the catch on the double doors lift up a few hours later as they gently blew open despite there being no wind and a few seconds later, Rumpelstiltskin appeared. He looked to the bed to see the heavily sleeping woman and grinned, she should have known better than to try to keep him out. Not when he knew all her tricks.

He wasted no time and made his way over to the crib where the sleeping baby lay. He peered into the basket to see the small girl clutching the rabbit he had imbibed with a sleeping spell the night before. Knowing Cora like he did she would have cursed the king in full few of the court in daylight if she thought it would keep him away and so had to take measures to ensure that she wouldn't interfere.

His dark beady eyes gazed over the small face intently. She sniffled a little and scrunched her nose a bit making the slightest of smiles reach his face. Something that hadn't been malicious or full of glee ever since becoming the dark one… but a real, honest genuine one like he had before with his family.

He knew that this little girl also was his family, which is why he felt something akin to guilt given what he was about to do. But this was a must. Not only to teach the oblivious woman lying next to him that he was not one to be messed with but also… in some way, he was giving her the chance to be free.

Free from the older woman that he once loved. Free from what she had become. Free from the misery that sure was to follow and the lost childhood she was sure to endure if she stayed with Cora; the woman would be relentless in her drive for power. And the fact that the baby was in all a princess, she would do her utmost to get as high in the ranks as she could, using her daughter as a tool to exploit.

She wouldn't care that it could potentially break her. She wouldn't care about what scars it would leave. As long as she got what she wanted out of her life plan than everything else was disposable… even her own blood eventually.

Nothing less than perfection was what she was after, and so if he made it that her precious Regina was anything but that it would put one hell of a stop in her plans. He was counting on her superficial nature and all round shallowness to ensure that little girl grew up relatively happy. He would have taken her with him but she knew where he lived and would have had no problem sending the army's forces after him to get her back.

Plus he wasn't in any fit state to look after a child. He was the dark one… those that knew of him came to soon hate him and so any life she would have had would have been a dangerous one… something she would have already had living here and he wasn't going to put that on her shoulders. No, it had to be this it was the only way, giving how little she cared for life around her and what he already knew about her past he was sure that once she found out that she was too late to stop him from enacting his threat. She would do anything to prevent it from getting out that something was wrong with the royal baby.

She wouldn't dare put Regina in the spotlight after tonight.

A loud snuffling had him looking down again to see her fidget slightly before stilling and so brushed aside his thoughts for the moment as he set about to perform his curse. He wasn't going to go as far as so she would become a hideous beast… something physically horrifying to look at she was after all, his blood to. He may be cursing her but he wasn't set trying to ruin her life any more than he would have after this night.

The curse would be there alright. Cora would come to see it eventually, it may be in small increments… but she would see that he was true to his word. He pulled a small bottle from the inside of his jacket, this would start the first half of the curse as he opened the dark vial and swirled the deep red liquid inside. He peered at the sleeping baby whose mouth was a little open and with gentle drops, as to not choke her, he poured a tiny bit of the content's down her throat stopping each time he thought her about to cough until eventually, she had consumed half the bottle as some of the viscous liquid trickled down her mouth.

He waved what was left of the bottle away before pulling out a second more smaller object. He lifted the small stone up to the moonlight to see it glow slightly, he had gone a long way to procure this which, when the time came for Cora to discover the truth... she would know just how serious he really was.

He placed it on her little chest and waved his hand over the stone which split down the middle as a dark green gas seeped from the crack and lifted, coming to form a small cloud before it moved downwards to its new home which was the tiny girl. He watched as the entity made it's way in to her body, fully absorbing into her chest leaving the once glowing stone now empty.

He removed the object from her chest before finishing the last part of the curse, which was to add his own magic to ensure that the witch couldn't possibly remove the curse... not that she could anyway, it wasn't like she would know what he had used and he wasn't about to tell, so gathering his magic. He pooled it all so that it bubbled just underneath the surface of his reptilian skin before letting it loose. A small black and slightly purple cloud erupted from his body and washed over the small sleeping child, who lay sleeping and not knowing that her life had, from that point on… changed forever.

Once the mist had settled and absorbed inside its new home of the tiny vessel. He watched her once more closely; she really was a cute little thing. He just hoped that his actions would lead her to living a somewhat normal life without the proverbial chain around her throat. And if he had planned it to the exact detail, than hopefully where she would end up would be far more beneficial to her life than her current home would ever be.

Bending slightly, he mimicked the older woman's actions the night before and slowly trailed his finger down her little cheek. It may be years before he saw her again… by which she would never know he was the one to have cursed her... unless she was smart and figured it out, or was her father, and he had to re-work his entire plan but he hoped he had given her what Cora never would.

A life

She may not see it yet. But she would come to realize just how lucky she was to have escaped the woman, who birthed her...

the curse wasn't complete. A spell of that magnitude was something that never was... even for him and so would take a few more days to fully take hold and knowing that he couldn't come back every night to recast it, searched for an alternative mean's of ensuring it would. Eventually he came across her beloved toy horse that she seemed to favor more than the rabbit and picked it up.

He sunk his magic and the spell into the woven fabric of the toy saturating it with the curse. He also did the same to the rabbit and a few other items that the baby might be in contact with. As long as she was holding or near these things then the curse would be allowed to fully fester until it had done its task, the best part being the Cora would never know.

Pulling back he decided it was time to go. The sleeping spell may have been set for the night but he didn't fancy sticking around, he had things to do and new plans to make. So quickly turning and moving silently back to the window he glanced once more at the two across the room. He was smug in his victory over the bitter woman but just like her, got it at the expense of his daughter.

He disappeared on that thought. The doors slowly shutting and locking themselves once more with the room showing no sign of it having had any visitor other than the prince.

The next day at first morning light Cora roused from her sleep. She blinked a few times before becoming coherent once more and sat up quickly her attention going immediately to the crib, her heartless chest returning to normalcy once more at seeing the raven curls peaking from the blanket as Regina slept on, it seemed her wards had worked and so she slid from under the covers and over to where her sleeping child lay.

She picked her up ignoring unhappy noise made by the baby on being woken and held her close to her chest. She moved to the window staring out over the kingdom idly rocking her side to side. She had kept her safe this night but it was only a matter of time before he got through her wards, he was the strongest magic user she knew and so even for all her own prowess, it all came from him.

If she wanted to keep him at bay than she would have to come up with a new plan just as a knock at the door had her turning before shouting. The door opened the reveal the nanny who had arrived to take the baby as she got ready for the day; Cora nodded her forwards and held Regina out to be taken as the other woman gently relieved her of the sturdy baby.

Her task done for the night she waved them both away with her watching as the nanny took Regina away and far from her for the day as she turned around to get changed. Just a few more days of this before the announcing ceremony and Rumple would be as good as gone… she had to scoff at the imps parting words.

He couldn't do anything. He may have been feared by a lot of people but she wasn't one of them. He had loved her, she was pretty sure deep down he still did, and as he did guess right about the baby, she was certain that he would never bring himself to do any harm to her.

He was a lot of things but when it came to children, especially his own. He might as well have stayed a coward. Empty words that's all they were to try to scare her, but it didn't matter. She fixed her dress and sat at her mirror as she picked up her brush. Soon he would be gone from their lives, Regina would flourish and when the time was right. Become strongest queen Cora would make her.

And there was nothing Rumple could do to stop that.


Hope everyone liked. Until the next chapter :)