No One Mourns the Villains
Once upon a time, there were many realms unlike anything you could ever imagine.
Some were beautiful and wonderful, like the stuff of fairytales while others were great and terrible like one's nightmares. No two realms were the same and some were more memorable than others. One of the greatest of the realms was the one that was the home of the Enchanted Forest.
The Enchanted Forest was a majestic and beautiful forest that housed many magical creatures beyond imagination as well as great cities and villages, and of course, magic. For many of its residents, practicing magic came almost as natural as breathing and for those didn't practice the craft, it was a part of their lives in ways one would've expected and ways one could never imagine. But despite this all, there was one thing everyone knew about magic: be it light or dark, all magic comes with a price and if you were willing to pay it, the consequences could be a great blessing or a great burden.
And it was such a blessing that was causing happiness in the Enchanted Forest on that fine springtime day. Homes were brightly decorated, music was playing, delicious food was being served, and people were cheering and dancing.
Everyone near and far, in city and in town, be they poor or rich, a member of the royalty or a commoner, or even a magical creature be they of goodly or dark nature was celebrating. A great and terrible villain had been vanquished. Good had once against conquered evil. It was truly a happy time. And at the center of the greatest kingdoms, that of Snow White and Prince Charming's, there was the biggest celebration of them all.
Citizens of the Enchanted Forest
Good news! He's dead!
The Dark One of the West is dead!
The evilest man of them all
The enemy of all of us, big and small
Is dead!
Good news!
Good news!
At that moment, a young boy happened to look up at the sky and he cried out in delight, "Look! It's Captain Hook!"
Everyone ceased their celebrating and looked into the sky and saw that the boy was right. A great flying ship was coming down from the heavens and docking at the pier near the city and standing in the crow's nest was Captain Killian Hook, a protector of all the realms—not just the Enchanted Forest. He was a man of great looks with his neat dark brown hair, dark brown eyes and fine features. He wore the finest sailor's attire in all the realms and he possessed great bravery and skill. He was respected by his friends and allies for his firm belief in good form and honor and feared by his enemies for being a force to be reckoned when crossed wrong.
Killian descended from the crow's nest and met with the crowd that had gathered. "Citizens of the Enchanted Forest," he said. "We've been through a terrible time, which has finally come to an end, thank heavens, and I'm sure you must all questions but I can assure you that all is well. And you mustn't let my presence interrupt your festivities. Please, continue, for we have much to be thankful for today."
Let us be glad
Let us be grateful
Let us rejoice that goodness could subdue
The evil workings of you-know-who
Isn't it nice to know
That good will conquer evil?
The truth we all believe will by and by
Outlive a lie
For you and…
"Captain!" interrupted a woodcutter. "Exactly just how dead is the Dark One? How did he die?"
"Well, according to my reports which were made by a very reliable source along with my own personal investigations, the Dark One was slain by his own dagger at the hand of the witch hunters just a few hours ago," said Killian. "The Dark One is now dead and buried."
"Pardon me, Captain, but how can you be so certain that he won't come back?" asked the woodcutter's wife. She looked both terrified and worried. "The Dark One's powers are—or were—unmatched in all the realms! How do we know the Dark One's truly dead? How do we know the next villain won't try and resurrect him?"
The crowd began murmuring in agreement.
Killian chuckled. "My lady, magic can do much but not even the Dark One could bring back a soul from the grave. Trust me, we'll not see the likes of the Dark One ever again."
Killian's explanation satisfied the crowd and then one by one, everyone began scorning the Dark One and those like him who followed the path of darkness.
Granny Lucas
No one mourns the villains!Red Lucas
No one cries "they won't return!"All Enchanted Forest Citizens
No one lays a lily on their graveGrumpy
The good man scorns the villains!Ella & Aurora
Through their lives, our children learnAll Enchanted Forest Citizens
What we miss, when we misbehave
In all the voicing of scorn for the Dark One and those who were evil, no one seemed to notice the pained look on Killian's face or the grief and regret in his brown eyes at their harsh words. He concealed it quickly when all eyes fell upon him again and with great difficulty, he kept his voice calm and steady when he spoke again. What he said next surprised them all, for it was neither harsh nor judging and nor was it an addition to their celebration. Killian
And goodness knows
The villains' lives are lonely
Goodness knows
The villains die alone
It just shows when you're a villain
You're left only
On your own
Killian's words stirred something in the crowd's hearts, for they began to realize that perhaps things weren't that easy for those who took the wrong path. Enchanted Forest Citizens
Yes, goodness knows
The villains' lives are lonely
Goodness knows
The villains cry alone
Nothing grows for the villains
They reap only
What they've sown
Those who were evil rarely, if ever, had friends or family; they were alone in just about every sense of the word. They knew no real happiness or joy, only anger and pain and their lives were empty. No one wanted that kind of life and none would've wished it on even the one they despised most.
As the celebrations went on, Killian ended up having a drink at the nearest pub while trying to enjoy himself with the others. He'd just finished his drink when he felt a tug on his sleeve. He looked down to see a young boy and his sister, no more than seven and nine years of age, looking at him with both admiration and curiosity.
"Well, hello, laddie, little miss," said Killian, kindly. "What might your names be?"
"I'm Hansel, sir, and this is my older sister Gretel," said the boy, smiling. "We were just wondering…you've fought evil before, so do you know why evilness happens?"
"Are people born villains? Or do they have evilness thrust upon them?" asked Gretel.
Killian sighed. Such a difficult question. How was he to answer it?
After a moment, he said, "That's a very good question. But it's not one that's easily answered."
"Why not?"
"Because no one knows for sure and hardly anyone answers it the same way," replied Killian. "But personally, I stick by what a good friend once told me: evil isn't born, it's made. It's not something that happens as easily or quickly as lighting a candle. It's the choices we make."
"And it was the Dark One's choices that made him bad?" said Hansel.
Killian inwardly winced but nodded. "Yes. But some people like the Dark One, their lives were hard from the moment they were born. After all, the Dark One wasn't always the way he was. He used to be like anyone else. He even had a father and mother, as so many do."
"Really?" said Gretel, surprised.
Killian nodded. "He used to be a queen's son, if you can believe it. But it wasn't easy for him. Every family has their secrets and from the moment he was born, he was…different."
XXX
It was a dark and stormy night as fifteen-year-old Queen Cora of the East brought forth her first-born child into the world.
Cora was a woman to be feared. She was once a common miller's daughter but her ambition and thirst for power had led to her marrying a young prince and ascending to the throne. Her marriage was a loveless one but that didn't matter to Cora. All that mattered to her was her wealth and position and her desire to have children and have the family she never knew.
Suddenly, a baby's wailing was heard, causing the three in the room to smile. A child had been born to the royal family. Now there was an heir to inherit the throne and a precious baby for the king and queen to spoil and love.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty!" said the midwife, as she wrapped the baby in a blanket.
"You've brought me such joy!" said Jonathan, happily. "It's a healthy, lovely little—"
The room, once dimly lit, became brighter when the midwife lit more candles and all at once, the midwife and Jonathan stared at the infant prince and their happy expressions vanished.
"Ahh!" cried the midwife.
"What is it? What's wrong?" demanded Cora.
Her heart was pounding with fear and her mind raced with every possible explanation as to why the midwife and her husband were in such a state. What was wrong with her baby? Was it sick or had something far worse occurred? Had it died or did one of the baby's looks give away Cora's secret?
Neither the midwife nor her husband responded. They were too busy gazing upon the infant child in both horror and shock.
"How can it be? What does it mean?" murmured Jonathan.
"It…it's atrocious," said the midwife, with wide-eyes. "It's obscene!"
"What is? What's wrong with the baby?" yelled Cora.
Jonathan swallowed painfully and then brought the baby over to Cora. "My love, I'm sorry, but like a rusty, dusty coin of old, the baby is unnaturally…gold!"
Cora looked upon her infant son and was repulsed. The baby's eyes were not a soft blue like any other child's and nor was its skin pale or rosy red. Instead the baby's eyes were dark reddish-brown and its skin was scaly in texture and the color of dust-covered gold.
"Take it away," said Cora, as she turned away from the baby. She felt sickened and couldn't even bring herself to look at the child. This was supposed to be a happy moment and yet Cora felt no joy. Her child…if it was even that, was like nothing she'd ever seen and definitely not normal. What atrocity had she brought into this world?
"But Your Majesty, he needs a name. You must care for him. He's your—"
"I said, TAKE IT AWAY!" yelled Cora, as angry tears streamed down her cheeks. "His name will be Rumpelstiltskin. But I do not wish to see him nor claim him as my own at this moment! TAKE HIM AWAY!"
The Queen's orders were obeyed. The child was given the name of Rumpelstiltskin and he was taken away from his mother. But what kind of a life, would the child have when his own mother didn't love him, no one could say.
XXX
But even though Killian admitted to those who listened that the Dark One—Rumpelstiltskin—had grown up disfigured and unloved by even his own blood-kin, everyone still considered him the vilest of beings ever to exist and since he was a villains, he deserved his fate. Villains were evil and they didn't get happy endings and nor were they mourned. All
No one mourns the villains!
Now at last, he's dead and gone!
Now at last, there's joy throughout the land!
And goodness knows
We know what goodness is!
Goodness knows
The villains die aloneKillian
He died alone
It was true. The Dark One had died alone in his castle. No one was there to hold his hand when he passed from this life into the next or comfort away his fears when he passed away. But even though it was such a tragic fate, everyone was glad he was gone as the Dark One had been evil and his defeat was proof that good always won in the battle against evil. Enchanted Forest Citizens
Woe to those
Who spurn what goodness is
They are shown
No one mourns the villains!Killian
Good news!Enchanted Forest Citizens
No one mourns the villains!Killian
Good news!All
No one mourns the villains!
Villains!
Villains!
At that point, it had become late and Killian felt tired and desired to return to his ship for some much-needed sleep.
"Well, everyone, I must say I've enjoyed myself immensely, but I must return to my ship and rest. Tomorrow I have a lot to attend to, what with Pan's unexpected departure from Neverland. So, if there are no further questions…"
"Captain Hook!" cried the woodcutter. "Is it true you were the Dark One's friend?"
Suddenly, the celebrations ceased, everyone's eyes fell upon Killian and gasps were heard throughout the courtyard.
Killian, having been prepared for such a question, stood firm and replied, "No. We were not friends. We just knew each other at Misthaven University and were colleagues when we were quite young lads, nothing more."
Thankfully, the crowd believed him and after a little more chitchat, Killian was able to slip away and return to his ship.
Once he was alone in his quarters, Killian downed a glass of rum and then wiped his eyes of the tears that fallen as he gazed at an old photograph of a time long ago. Everyone else was celebrating the Dark One's demise and everyone though Killian was happy about it too, but Killian's 'happiness' had been a lie. Inside, Killian's heart was broken and he was devastated.
Not knowing what else to do, Killian plucked a special unused journal off his shelf along with a bottle of ink and a fine feathered quill. The journal was enchanted so that none but Killian could read its contents. He dipped his quill in the ink and began to write a story that would never be told to the public.
I made you a promise, mate, and I intend to keep it. But even if the world doesn't know our story, I don't intend to forget it. I will never forget how things were before we were the Dark One and Captain Hook, when we were just Rumpelstiltskin and Killian Jones…
