DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything of once upon a time, just the twist in the plot and Elizabeth…and her father.
The night air was thick with humidity and clocked with smoke from the forge.
Elizabeth had been sitting by the back door for over an hour, just waiting for the right moment to sneak out and help Malcom.
As the drunken snores of her father, or as the town like to call him Joseph the blacksmith, filled the air Elizabeth took her chance.
She quickly grabbed the wooden bucket outside the door and ran to the back side of the forge where the well was.
With expert movements Elizabeth quickly grabbed the well's handle and stated to crank up the bucket full of water.
She then proceeded to pour the water from the well's bucket into her own.
Elizabeth then quickly, slow enough not to spill the water in the bucket, walked into the back door of the forge and made her way into the side room.
In the side room rested Malcom; he looked awful his chest was covered in burns and cuts with blood oozing out of them.
His breath came in shallow intakes as if he had a difficult time breathing with his lungs. "Malcom" Elizabeth whispered, this was not the first time he had been beaten by her father but it was one of the few times he had difficulty breathing afterwards.
Her voice brought Malcom out of the light sleep he was in, "Hey how much time do we have before he wakes up?"
Elizabeth crouched down next to him, "not long he only drank a bottle and a half. We are going to have to hurry."
With that said she got up and went into the inner parts of the forge to grab one of the cleaner rags.
Elizabeth having been to the forge so many times during the night already knew where everything was.
By the time Elizabeth returned Malcom was sitting in more of an upright position.
Elizabeth couched back down in her position by his straw bed and proceeded to put the rag into her water bucket.
"Just the front this time, he didn't do that much damage to my back this time," Malcom murmured.
"What happened this time?" Elizabeth whispered back as she started to clean the cuts on his chest.
Malcom winced as she went over a bruised rib, "oh just the usual I say or do something he decides he doesn't like and then beats me until he think I had enough. Oh but this time he used a tong that he put into the burner so that's why I got all these longs burn marks."
It was Elizabeth's turn to wince now, "you could've fought back this time. Don't give me that look I know I say that every single time this happens but I'm still going to say it. You could've fought back."
Malcom just shook his head, "no I can't because if I try to fight back he will then unload his anger onto someone else. And that someone else just happens to be you Miss."
Elizabeth looked up at him and smirked, "no it wouldn't because unlike you I follow the rules."
"Oh really and what rules are they Miss Elizabeth?" Malcom asked with a half-smile.
Elizabeth set down the rag, "the rules are to the game of life. You play your part don't say anything and you'll get out just fine. That is how I'm going to get us out, I'll keep playing the game until one day when he is less watchful over me we will take our big brake and run for it."
Now Malcom had a full smile on his face, "oh really that's all, just a simple game. Well Miss Elizabeth you keep playing your game and I'll keep drawing his attention away from you."
Elizabeth glared at him, but she knew better than to argue with him once Malcom had his mind set to something nobody was ever going to change it.
She picked up the rag again and went back to cleaning up the burns and cuts.
Someday she thought he is going to go too far and daddy is really going to hurt him...again.
Elizabeth just hoped that someday will come later rather than sooner or they were going to have a big problem.
Her father though could be very unpredictable when he wanted to be, and if he ever found out that she actually had feeling for Malcom there would be no Malcom anymore and she knew that.
But she still wouldn't give up meeting and helping him, Malcom was the only good thing that happened in her life in a long time.
Ever since her mother left Elizabeth and her father Joseph was cruel and mean.
Before Malcom ever came he used to hit Elizabeth, but then one day the royal court had a visitor come they happened to be selling slaves and her father bought Malcom.
Now whenever Malcom or she made a mistake or happened to mess up Joseph would take it out on Malcom.
It just wasn't right at all to abuse Malcom or make him stay out in the forge all the time, sometimes he didn't even get anything to eat.
But of course Malcom didn't care, as long as she was fine he would take whatever came his way.
Malcom didn't even like it when she worried about him, and that was just silly.
But she had to worry about him or nobody else would.
Malcom's gasp of pain brought Elizabeth out of her thoughts.
"Oh my goodness I'm so sorry," she whispered.
"It's okay that just really hurt, what were you thinking about?"
Elizabeth paused her cleaning, "how do you know I was thinking about something?"
"You get this look in your face only when you are thinking of something important but it doesn't happen often," Malcom said with a smirk.
Elizabeth playfully slapped a part of his skin that wasn't mauled, "I'll have you know that I am always thinking important things."
Malcom just rolled his eyes at her.
"Hey it's true, but anyways I was just planning about what I'm going to do tomorrow. You know I do have a game I have to play and games are all about strategy," Elizabeth lied.
Malcom rolled his eyes again at her but never lost the smirk on his face, "sure keep up then game. But you don't want to cheat the game now that will just make you have a bad form."
Elizabeth began to giggle, "how can you cheat at the game of life?"
Malcom grabbed the rag out of her hands and awkwardly threw it into the bucket to avoid hurting himself more.
He then grabbed both of her hands, "no Elizabeth darling if you think life is a game then you can cheat because you can cheat with any game out there in the world."
Now Elizabeth was laughing out loud.
Malcom started to laugh with her but his ribs hurt too much that it just made the whole ordeal painful.
But he was content with just watching her laugh; it really was a wonderful site.
Their joyful time was cut short by a large bang.
Elizabeth could feel all the blood drain from her face with sudden realization what that noise was.
Her father had finally woken up.
Elizabeth started to grab the bucket but Malcom beat her.
"Elizabeth go now, if he catches you in here again we are both dead. Now go sneak out the front while he comes through the rear," Malcom whispered to her.
Elizabeth nodded to him knowing that her father always goes through the rear.
She quickly made her way to the front, she could hear the pounding of her heart in her chest.
Oh god she thought the last time he caught her in here Malcom nearly died and she was locked in her room for days.
She walked around the tool table and went to the door lifting the latch slowly not to make any sudden movements.
She opened it just wide enough for her to slip out.
Elizabeth then ran as fast as she could in her long dress to the back door of the house.
She heard the forge door slam open and shut, every now and then she could hear shouts and curses.
She paid them no attention though, Elizabeth kept reassuring herself that Malcom would be fine as long as she got to her room and into her bed.
She knew Malcom would lie saying she was probably asleep and so that is just what she'll have to do.
Elizabeth slipped into the house and up the stair case and into her room.
She laid down on her straw bed and wrapped a blanket around herself.
Breathe in breathe out, was all she could think, about breathe in breathe out.
It was not long before the door to the house slammed open, Elizabeth quickly shut her eyes and waited.
Joseph was stumbling up the stairs and into her room.
It took every ounce of bravery Elizabeth had when her father stumbled over to her not to flinch.
"Damn bastard was telling the truth, the bitch is sleeping," Joseph murmured.
With that said he stumbled back out of her room and down the stairs.
Elizabeth nearly wept with relief, he must just been drunk enough to believe that little charade they just did.
That was to close she thought way to close.
Why did she have to play such a dangerous game?
But she already knew the answer to her own question, it was so Malcom and she could get a better life.
Yes, as long as there was hope they could still get out she would continue to play this game of life and fool her father.
A better life and with that thought Elizabeth went to sleep knowing she would have to start this all again tomorrow.
I know Malcom/Peter seems a little OOC, but remember this is before Peter Pan and everything. So review please the more you review the more updates you'll get.