The rage and surprise that bubbles inside of Rumpelstiltskin when Belle, his Belle, had told him that it was Regina who had hidden her from him for 28 years, is nothing compared to the adrenaline and excitement that burst through his veins as he pours the vial of true love magic into the town well. His plan is coming together and the imp side of him that was buried, but is always there, sneers and giggles in agreement. Soon, soon, they will be awoken and his plan will be halfway complete, as long as Emma, Snow and their little band of misfits don't interrupt the process. He can feel Belle's curiosity beside him as the purple mist begins to flow out of the well and creeps towards the town. The mist moves towards the sky and Belle moves closer to him, he relishes the first contact he's had with her in more than 28 years.
"I-I don't understand…", her distinctly accented voice stutters as the well is completely hidden by the magical mist. He leans on his walking stick and wraps his arms around her.
"You're in a land without magic, Belle, and I'm bringing it. Magic is coming!" he replies, grinning like a child in a candy store. She turns and looks at him in confusion, her eyes flicking towards his face and back at the well rapidly, like she can't believe her eyes. She probably can't, considering she remembers where they come from and is all of a sudden thrown into a word completely different to the one she was born in. He continues to grin as the mist swirls around them; he is playing with it, feeling it start to fill up the empty stores within his mind. He directs it towards the hidden cave where the Soldier and the horse still slumber. He starts the magical process whilst staring into the mist.
"Why?" She continues to stare at him, as if looking into his soul. She probably is trying to, not that she would find anything other than darkness there, nothing good survived after she left and Bae… entered the portal to a world without magic. He had hoped it was this one, but his searching was for naught, he couldn't find him.
"Why? Because magic….", he turns and stares at her directly into her blue eyes, "is power!" A crack of thunder accompanies his speech, ringing out across the whole town, like a harbinger of misfortune.
Rumpelstiltskin isn't sure he can do what he promised Belle, not give into his hate for Regina and kill her. Wasn't it a saying, promises are made to be broken? He can't stop the process now, as he stands in the cave that has housed these two for over 250 years, watching the mud drip onto the ground revealing skin, armour and fur. He remembers asking a fellow magic user in the guise of a young witch, what happens when you put someone to sleep for a few centuries. Her statement was quiet profound, if you wish to control the person you are going to do this to, so be it, but remember that if a portion of themselves remain it can help keep them on your side. So he is going to persuade them to join him in his quest for revenge, even though he promised Belle he wouldn't. The last section of mud dripped away revealing a young woman's face.
He isn't easily surprised, but this throws him for a loop. He wasn't expecting a lady under all those clothes, really. The horse snorts and the woman's eyes narrow at him, and he takes that as a signal for him to start talking before he gets gouged in someplace he would rather keep.
"I assume you are wondering why you are awake?" He queries as he makes a slow journey closer to the pair, his crooked leg causing him to limp. He keeps the woman's eyes in his line of sight, as she tracks his every twitch and movement.
"Well, dearie, you've been asleep for about two hundred and twenty eight years and now it's time to wake up because I have a job for you." He grins as he speaks; picturing Regina's surprise as someone resembling her own black clad soldiers came galloping down the main street of her modern town.
"And why should I do this job for you, whoever you are?" Her voice has an accent that is lilting and rugged at the same time, her voice muffled slightly by centuries upon centuries of no use. Her hands flexing towards her sword, he sighs inwardly. Why must everyone think he is going to hurt them? The beast still lives within him, but even it wouldn't hurt anyone unless they back out of a deal.
"Because you were, are, a soldier and soldiers protect people. There happens to be a witch that is causing all sorts of pain and suffering for the poor people of this land. Including myself, I might add. I am not forcing you to do anything, because I know you won't do anything you don't want to do." The horse stamps one of his front hooves against the solid rock ground and sparks fly in all directions. The armoured hand rose to rub the only uncovered part of the neck of the horse.
"A witch you say? I would call you a warlock. I can feel the magic stirring around you. But, you have not attacked me yet or tried to enchant me into doing your bidding I may accept your offer. What's in it for me if I do this?"
"Oh, well…" He brings his hand up and rests it on his cheek, grinning like a Cheshire cat, he laughs to himself at the hilarity of it all. "The chance to kill an evil queen, restore unity to a land and…the ability to have whatever you would like in this material world that we do so stand in right now."
There is a sceptical look in her cerulean eyes and a sneer on her lips that doesn't suit her in the slightest. Slowly, after a matter of seconds, her lips spread into a slow growing grin. "You don't know I have magic myself, do you?"
"What are you talking about, dearie?"
"I have innate magic, from my land. It is stronger than what you would normally get in a low level witch in your world." She enunciated clearly, as if teaching a child.
"Ah, I see. That's all well and good, dearie, but this witch is evil. And I know evil. Whatever magic you have is nothing against her. But, we are not here to argue over magic. You're off to kill a queen and I'm off to see my love." He smiles a warning to her not to argue with him.
"Fine, warlock, imp, whatever you are, I will do it so long as you call me Soldier and not 'dearie'. I hate it." She threw a half-hearted salute his way and started walking out of the cave opening and into Storybrooke Forest.
"Wait! How will I find you, Soldier?" He partially sneers the name, treading carefully around the puddles of mud and towards the opening which she had already exited.
"You won't find me, imp. I'll find you and that is the way it shall always be."