Sorry for the long wait! This chapter's on the short side but hopefully I'll be writing them longer from now on :) I've planned out a lot of chapters in advance. Thanks for the lovely reviews! :)
Rumpelstiltskin had been ushered into a carriage that waited a little outside the village. He'd struggled to keep pace with the Dark One - although small, she seemed to dart about quite quickly.
"Hurry up, Spinner, before I change my mind and go after your little son," she warned, a menacing little giggle at her throat. Rumpelstiltskin shivered. He'd not thought it humanly possible to make what was meant to be a sound of joy sound so terrifying. But then again… she certainly wasn't human.
The carriage was comfortable enough, though as it rocked along the forest path each stone under the wheel seemed to make it shake. Often, Rumpelstiltskin's ailing leg would hit against the door at a jolt, causing him to wince in pain. Sometimes, he became aware of the Dark One's stare, but he was too afraid to look her in the eye. Instead, he contented himself by looking out the window at the passing trees, imagining Bae was beside him. All the while, she sat motionless, staring at him.
After a time, the Dark One sighed, moving at last.
"Time moves too slowly, doesn't it, dearie?"
"I-I… yes," Rumpelstiltskin replied, looking at his hands.
She regarded him for a moment, as if sizing him up.
"Best hold on to something," she warned quickly, before snapping her long, scaly fingers.
The world around him seemed to shimmer for a moment, a zap of electricity shot through the air and hit him in the gut. When it ceased, Rumpelstiltskin realised his eyes had been closed. Upon opening them he felt as though he would be sick.
Raising a hand to his temple to combat the dizziness, he realised the carriage had halted and the Dark One stood outside, tapping her boot impatiently on the ground.
"Come now, dearie, we haven't all day. You couldn't be slower if you were a snail." She leaned around the door, staring him straight in the face. A cruel smile adorned her lips, "Although, that could certainly be arranged…"
Realising the threat, Rumpelstiltskin jumped up, hitting his head on the carriage roof. Red-faced, he managed to hobble out, carefully stepping on one stair at a time so he wouldn't trip and worsen the situation. He had no idea of what she was capable of, and he had no desire to find out the extent of these capabilities.
"I'll take you to your room," she said with mock sincerity, causing alarm bells to ring in the back of Rumpelstiltskin's mind. Her very words were always laced with ice and deception; he found it very hard to tell if there was ever any truth in them.
Nevertheless, he had little choice but to follow her into the castle. The rooms were big and empty - they smelled musty. The air was cold and damp, the like of which suited that of some long-lost cave. He almost smiled at that. He recalled Bae telling him a story about a beast that lived in a cave under the sea; so far from anyone he thought he'd never learn to love.
"We'll have adventures together one day, won't we, papa?" Bae had pleaded, his brown eyes sparkling beneath a mop of unruly curls.
"Spinner!" the Dark One called in a singsong voice, disrupting his reverie.
"Hurry up, now!"
Gulping, Rumpelstiltskin followed. They reached a heavy door at the end of one of the long corridors, and the Dark One motioned to it with a smile.
Hobbling towards it, he peered inside. It wasn't a room… it was a cell - a small, bare little place with some straw on the ground and a ledge with a mouldy looking blanket.
"My… my room?" he queried hesitantly. He barely had time to turn around before the Dark One pushed him inside, sending him sprawling onto the stone floor.
He heard her customary giggle as the door was bolted shut behind him, leaving him shrouded in darkness.
"Well… that sounds a lot nicer than dungeon!" her words, along with her fading footsteps, were muffled through the thick iron door. No one would hear him if he tried to call out, he knew they were isolated in the castle. With a sinking heart, Rumpelstiltskin left his cane on the floor and curled up on the ledge. He wrapped the blanket around him for warmth. It didn't smell as bad as he'd feared, but it scratched against his skin.
He felt a cloying sadness well up inside him, realising the gravity of what he'd done that day. He'd abandoned his son, just as he'd abandoned his wife just two years earlier, and the soldiers in the ogre war. He knew that nothing he could possibly do would ever change that one constant certainty he'd ever had: Rumpelstiltskin was a coward.