Author's Note: This is the second chapter. I hope you're already invested!
The following afternoon, Eve was asked to fetch a supply of firewood that would last for at least three days, which meant that Eve had to drag the cart through the off-trail part of the woods – which she knew, would take her until nightfall. Luckily for Eve, as a result of a storm which occurred in the previous week; many twigs and branches were a part of the damage, meaning that Eve's job became a lot easier and a lot quicker to complete. She was finished just before sunset and carried the cart into the farm house.
"Mother, I've finished with the firewood." Eve called through the door way to their small cottage.
"Already?" Eve's mother appeared in the window.
"Last week's storm left a lot of debris on the forest floor" Eve explained with a small smile.
"Oh, well in that case, consider yourself a free woman for the rest of the evening."
"Really?" Eve's smile grew – this was not a frequent occasion.
"Of course! You've been working non-stop since your father left for the war – both at the market and on the farm. You deserve a bit of time to yourself."
"Are you sure, mother? I can help you with..." Eve began to protest, but her mother gently took hold of her chin.
"Go somewhere and relax, or take a walk; I don't care. You're taking a break, Eve."
"Thank you!" Eve hugged her mother. "I think I'm going to take a long walk in the forest and see how much damage that storm did...I probably won't be back until late."
"You're a grown woman, my love, do what you want. But please take a cloak and a lantern with you in case you're later getting back than planned."
Eve rolled her eyes, reading in between the lines. "Mother, I'm not going off to meet a boy."
"Sure you're not! It's not like you're always so eager to disappear into that forest just for the good of your health!"
"Goodbye mother!" Eve shook her head and laughed, turning away with a cloak in one hand and a lantern fastened to her waist.
Eve's walk became a lot longer than planned. The storm had blocked the main route Eve took on her evening hikes, and so she had to find a new route over the rivers and trenches within her beloved forest. It was nightfall by the time she took a rest by a small stream. She sat down on the rock and untied the lantern from her waist.
If Eve was a normal young woman, she would have had to start a separate fire in order to light her lantern; but luckily for her, this wasn't the case. Placing that open lantern on the rock next her, Eve tried to concentrate on setting the thing alight. Some days, Eve could be successful within half an hour, but because this was the first alone time she had had in weeks, the whole process was taking much longer.
"You're putting too much emphasis into the hand gestures, dearie"
Eve leapt to her feet with a start and whirled around, only to find Rumplestilskin on a large boulder lying down on his side. The moonlight reflected in his eyes and created a pale blue glimmer in his usually golden skin.
"I'm surprised to see you again, Sir." Eve greeted him with a friendly smile.
She watched Rumplestilskin roll onto his back. "I was bored, and thought I'd pay the lovely Eve a visit!"
With a giggle, he suddenly appeared at Eve's side; making her jump.
"Plus, it's positively painful to watch you fail at such a simple task!" He teased, gesturing to the unlit lantern.
"Hey!" Eve protested with a laugh. "I'm working on pure instinct, it's not easy!"
"It is actually," Rumple replied matter-of-factly, and stepped in closer to her.
Wordlessly, Eve watched him as he grabbed hold of her chin and gently turned her head in the direction of the lantern. With his other hand, he took her wrist and raised her arm outwards in the direction which her eyes now followed.
"You just need someone to show you how." He finished softly, and Eve made a big effort to remain still and wait for further instruction.
"Rather than letting your wrist do the work, let your willpower be the thing to guide the magic. Think of it as a journey from your core, travelling up into your arm, down to your wrist until finally, you start to feel the tips of your fingers start to tingle. Do you feel that?"
Eve let a smile play on her lips. "Yes, yes I can feel it"
"Good" Rumple grinned, "Now tell the magic what you want to do, and push the magic out of your hand entirely."
A moment of silence passed before a wisp of golden dust escaped Eve's hand and swiftly flew through the air. As soon as the dust made contact with the lantern, the flame lit within.
Rumple began to giggle with delight and Eve couldn't help grinning; magic never failed to give her a rush. It took her several moments before she lowered her arm and looked over at Rumple, who was standing close enough to make her blush.
"You're a quick learner, dearie." The creature hummed, taking a graceful step backwards to create some space between them.
"And you're a good teacher" Eve replied, not bothering to mask her surprise.
The two of them shared a comfortable silence as Eve turned back to watch the glow of the lantern.
"Do you really think that my magic doesn't come with the same price as other magic?" Eve spoke softly, glancing at the creature.
"I've seen it before. Any consequences you have will be yours; not your magic." Rumple replied with a grin.
Eve observed Rumplestilskin, and he observed her in return. "I think I want to accept your offer, Sir."
"It's about time, dearie!" Rumple threw his arms in the air.
"On one condition though..." Eve began.
"Go on?" The creature waggled his eyebrows in suspense.
"My family must never find out about my magic"
"Where are we going today?" Eve asked, meeting Rumplestilskin at their spot in the forest.
"I thought we could venture out a bit farther than usual, my dear. You could say we're on a quest!" He replied with glee.
"Sounds like fun." Eve grinned at his enthusiasm.
Rumple had been giving her lessons in magic for the last two months, and already her magic had advanced more so than it had in the first 24 years of her life. As well as her magic, the relationship between the two had grown and Eve couldn't help the development in her feelings for the creature. She genuinely didn't feel frightened around him, even when she had seen him lose his temper and for some reason, she felt like Rumple was feeling something along the same lines as her. But with saying that, she had made a promise to herself that she wouldn't be the one to act on those feelings. After all, he was the Dark One and Eve was just a farmer's daughter who happened to be born with magic.
"So how far away is this place?" Eve asked again as she watched Rumple fiddle with a suspended orb of water from the stream.
"Far enough that we'll have to use a less common form of transport!" He answered, flinging the orb in Eve's direction.
"Hey!" Eve flung her hand out to cover her face before impact, but upon opening her eyes she discovered that she had successfully brought the water to a halt in mid-air.
"You're getting better every day!" Rumple sang giddily and Eve let the orb of water splash onto the forest floor.
"Lead the way" Eve requested with a soft laugh, strolling to Rumple's side.
Without warning, Rumple grabbed her hand and Eve's vision was replaced with a cloud of thick, purple smoke. She was about to call out Rumple's name, until the smoke quickly dissolved and she realised their surroundings had completely changed. They were now standing on a beach with a wall of granite 50ft high and a mile long down the coast.
"You should have seen your face!" Rumple cackled, skipping ahead along the white sand.
"A bit of warning would be nice next time!" Eve called after him, taking a moment to let her vision return to full normality.
Jogging to his side, Eve glanced up at the granite cliffs in front of them and noticed the series of caves within its grand structure.
"Why did you bring us here?"
"You see those caves? Inside those caves lives a foul beast!"
"Okay...And why should that affect us?" Eve asked hesitantly as they edged closer to the nearest cave entrance.
"I agreed to slay this so-called beast for the locals as part of a deal. And you're going to help me do it!" Rumple let out an excited giggle.
"You need my help to slay a monster?" Eve asked doubtfully.
"Well okay fair enough...Put it this way; you're going to slay the monster, and I'm going to be the one helping you."
"What?" Eve's eyes widened. "You think I'm ready to go around cutting off heads of monsters?!"
"Tut-tut, dearie. We don't cut off heads, we're sorcerers! We go around crushing things with magic instead of using unreliable things like swords and spears."
"Rumple..." Eve began, coming to slow halt on the beach.
"Don't tell me you want to give up now, dearie?!" Rumple frowned, turning to her. "You've been doing so well!"
"I know but..."
"But nothing!" Rumple cut her off. "Every wielder of magic has to face beasts every now and again – it's no matter! With practice, you'll be like me; not even batting an eye lid at such a task!"
Eve looked at the creature for a moment. "Okay...But before we go in there, can I ask you to do something?"
"I'm listening" Rumple looked intrigued.
"If something does happen to me, and you can't do anything to stop it; will you tell my family? Not about the magic, or how I died – make something up. I just don't want to leave them spending the rest of their days hoping for the chance that I'll return one day. If I'm dead, they need to know that."
Rumplestilskin tilted his head, peering into the girl's grey eyes. Even after spending this time with her, Rumple couldn't help admit that she still managed to surprise him.
"You have my word" He replied, with a small bow. "Now let's go in and see what you're really made of, dearie!"
Lightening the mood with a roll of her eyes, Eve stepped to Rumple's side and together they entered the cave. The entrance itself was a mere 8 ft high, but only after several minutes of walking among the walls, the cave opened into a gigantic cavern with a ceiling so high that it was hidden from darkness. At the bottom of the cavern there was a small lagoon that seemed to glow in the darkness...a darkness that Eve only realised in that moment.
"How can we see so clearly right now? It's as clear as day but at the same time...I'm aware that we're in complete darkness." Eve asked under her breath, fearful of the beast hearing them.
"Don't you just love magic?" Rumple whispered back, somehow managing to sound deliriously excited in hushed tones.
"Now then, time to wake the beast and get the party STARTED!"
Rumple's shout began to ring through the entire cavern in a series of thundering echoes, and Eve was about to open her mouth to question Rumple's yell, but she was cut off by the blood-curdling roar.
"Rumple..." Eve yelled over the sound, but when she looked over her shoulder, Rumple was nowhere to be found.
"You're on your own dearie! Time to show yourself what you're made of!"
Rumple's voice echoed so badly throughout the cavern, it was impossible to find the source of the sound. Eve had no choice, she was on her own.
Running forward, Eve made her way deeper into the cavern and soon realised that before the lagoon came a maze-like series of jutting boulders at the cavern's bed. As she continued to run through the maze, something in Eve told her that she should make her to the lagoon as fast as her legs could carry her.
After several moments of running, Eve was beginning to wonder when she'd actually see the beast; just as she saw a flash of white fur in the corner of her eye. The sight of it sent a new rush of adrenaline through Eve's veins as she continued running – sure that the beast was running parallel alongside her. With a deep breath, she skidded to a halt and as she did so, thrust out her palms and an invisible force smashed through the boulders, and into the beast itself.
Stealing a glance at the large mass of white fur as it cried out in pain, Eve continued running through the maze with the nagging feeling that the lagoon was her destination.
As minutes went by, Eve felt her lungs tire and her legs ache, and she stopped; sure that she was several seconds ahead of the beast judging by the un-timed pounding of its paws against the cavern bed. This told her that she definitely injured it.
Continuing the marathon once again, Eve leaped through the maze until suddenly she felt a shadow over head and watched as the white beast landed in front of her. The creature stood on four massive trunks of white fur with claws that she didn't need to touch to know how deadly they were. It had a long slender snout and a set of teeth that consisted of a range of swords to daggers. It's eyes were the deepest black, standing out against the white body.
Eve had no choice but to come to a halt before the beast, and it let out a roar to announce its triumph to the caves. Taking a few steps backwards, Eve held eye contact with the creature as it waited for her to start running again; knowing that it craved the chase. With a moment to gather herself, Eve stopped pacing and raised her hand out in front her, directly at the beasts head as it began snapping its mouth open and shut. Channeling the magic up through her arm and into the palm of her hand, she pushed at the air and-
Nothing happened.
"Huh?" Eve frowned, looking up at the beast horrified as it took a step towards her.
And then it hit her, the lagoon. Whatever was in that lagoon was going to help her kill the creature.
With a deep breath, Eve ran towards instead of away from the beast; catching it off its guard long enough to sprint safely between its legs. She didn't look back as the beast wailed with anger and proceeded to run after her.
Eve knew that it would only take a matter of seconds for the beast to catch up to her, judging by how tired she felt already. Chancing her arm...literally, Eve pushed her palms towards the ground and successfully leapt into the air – covering much more ground as well as getting a decent view of the lagoon up ahead. It took five jumps before she was at the water's edge and the beast appeared a full 30 seconds after her.
Not completely understanding the purpose of the lagoon, Eve hesitantly waded through the water until it reached her knees and to her surprise, she saw the beast growling at the waves threatening to splash against its gigantic paws. Whatever was in that lagoon, the beast was afraid of it.
Without wasting another moment, Eve gathered an orb of the lagoon's water that was big enough to cover the beast completely. Throwing both her arms outwards, the water crashed into the beast and the creature's cries began to shake through the cavern as its furry body began to dissolve. By the time Eve had waded back onto dry land, all that remained of the beast were a few white hairs in a very large puddle.
"Now that," Rumple appeared several feet in front of her "was quite the show, dearie!"
Eve folded her arms across her chest and walked past him in the direction of the cavern exit without saying a word.
"Problem?"
"You failed to mention the part where the beast was impervious to magic; the very thing that you told me only moments beforehand was what I'd use to crush it" Eve replied evenly, continuing to walk until Rumple suddenly appeared in front of her.
"And I didn't lie to you, dearie" He waved his hands in front of her. "Magic can come in many forms...including magical instinct and sheer intellect!"
Eve opened her mouth to reply but the flash of white fur cut her off.
"Look out!" She cried, shoving Rumple out of harm's way without hesitation.
Unfortunately, the beast still made contact as Eve felt a giant claw slash across her right side; slicing through a section of her cheek, neck, shoulder and collarbone. However, with adrenaline delaying the oncoming pain; Eve flipped onto her back and jumped to her feet. Just as she was about to attack, she felt a shadow cast over her and watched in confusion as a giant orb of water drenched the creature standing only yards away. She leapt backwards and watched the creature reduce to a puddle.
After a moment of silence, Eve turned around to search for any sight of Rumple but to no avail; until he appeared behind her and walked to her side.
"I took the liberty of searching the cavern. I can assure you that there's no more..." Rumple trailed off at the sight of Eve.
"Huh" Eve managed, and then her legs gave out.
Before she fell to the ground, Rumple caught her by the waist. He proceeded to lift her into his arms and began walking as Eve's skin began to burn. She did her best not to cry out and managed to minimise it to a groan. Whatever was coating those claws, it definitely didn't bode well for her and she knew that.
"Well this is just typical" Eve breathed a shaky laugh through clenched teeth. "I slay my first magical beast, only to die minutes later."
"Yes, yes, now stay still, dearie" Rumple replied coolly as he lowered Eve to the ground where she could sit with her back against a boulder at the lagoon's edge.
"Excuse me" He murmured after a moment and proceeded to tear away Eve's cloak and shirt, exposing her in a skimpy under vest that was now soaked with blood.
Struggling to breathe, Eve did her best to watch Rumple as he produced an empty wooden bowl, and a clean rag. With a flick of his wrist, an orb of lagoon water floated into the bowl in which Rumple dipped the rag into.
"Apologies, I didn't know" Rumple said quietly, as he brought the rag to the wound on her shoulder.
"Didn't know what?" Eve asked, biting her lip in reaction to the pain.
"That there was more than one of them down here."
Eve saw anger flash in his eyes as she felt the wound on her shoulder begin to heal rapidly.
"Very unlike you...to miss information like...like that" She commented shakily as Rumple started on her neck.
"Oh believe me, I know, which is why a certain village will be burned to the ground very shortly." He replied with a devilish grin and a vengeful look in his eye.
The two of them sat in silence for a few moments as Rumple finished healing the neck, shoulder and collar bone wounds. It was only when he started healing her cheek that Eve started to feel the atmosphere change.
"Why did you try to save me?" He asked softly as he dipped the bloodied rag into the last of the lagoon water.
"In hindsight, I realise that you would've survived that pretty easily..." Eve admitted sheepishly, preparing for a lecture.
Rumple paused, and looked Eve square in the eye. "That doesn't answer the question, dearie."
Eve looked down, feeling slightly breathless as she felt the last of the wounds begin to heal.
"I guess I just have heroic reflexes...I didn't even think about it."
Without reply, Rumplestilskin stood to his feet and then bent down to help Eve stand on shaky legs.
"Well, reflexes like that will get you killed in no time dearie" Rumple murmured sternly as the purple smoke enveloped them.
Instantly, the smoke cleared and they were standing in the usual spot of the forest. Eve leaned away from Rumple and used the nearest tree to support herself, creating a much-needed distance between them.
"I'll bear that in mind next time..." Eve replied, and then looked up at Rumple. "...If there is going to be a next time, that is?"
Rumple folded his arms across his chest and tilted his head to the side with a quizzical expression. "You think I want to end the lessons?"
"Don't you?" Eve frowned in confusion.
Finally returning back to his usual self, a giggle erupted from Rumple's throat. "Not for a moment, dearie."
"Oh" Eve couldn't help smiling. "Good."
