Chapter III
The man looked funny, but Eliza held back any comments that might have offended him. He'd been right - the wall was only a few feet high, and with determination, Eliza had managed to climb it. He'd been waiting for her on the other side. He had scaly green skin and huge, milky eyes. His hair was a strange color that Eliza couldn't quite place, but as strange as the man appeared to be, she could tell just by looking at him that he possessed great power.
"You're the butterfly." Eliza said. It wasn't a question.
"That's right," the man said in awe, his eyes drinking in the sight of Elizabeth ravenously. She was the most beautiful thing he had seen since his son was that age over 300 years previously. She was the perfect mix of both of her parents, taking in the best traits of each and then adding her own unique touch. As he watched her stare at him as politely as she could, he began to feel a reason to become a better man again lodge itself into his heart. "I was the butterfly, Elizabeth. I wanted to meet you without frightening you."
"Why should I be frightened?" asked Elizabeth nervously, shaking a bit from the cold and a bit from fear. The man who stood before her noticed this, and without a moment's hesitation, offered her his own cloak. It was much larger than hers was.
"Here," he said, handing her the cloak. "This will keep you warm."
Eliza took it from him, and wrapped herself in the warm material. She instantly began feeling better, and calmed down a bit. After all, this man had shown her nothing but kindness as of yet.
"Thank you." And then, Elizabeth smiled at him gratefully. He felt his heart constrict.
"You're welcome." he replied genuinely, giving a small bow. Elizabeth laughed a bit.
"Are you going to tell me who you are now?" Eliza asked, curiosity beaming in her gaze. She saw the man watch her doubtfully for a moment, before seeming to come to a decision.
"Yes, I'll tell you who I am." he told her quietly, his voice barely a whisper. It was almost lost in the whipping winds, but Eliza was able to hear him. "Elizabeth, I'm your-"
"Elizabeth!"
Eliza and her new friend both turned to see a disheveled Belle running towards them with fury and conflict in her eyes. The man was too stunned by her presence to speak, but Eliza, of course, didn't have that problem.
"Mother, come meet my new friend!" Eliza called excitedly. The man tried to shake his head, but it was too late. Belle was already marching to where they were, her hands balled into fists.
"Eliza, get in the house." said Belle angrily, not even sparing a glance at her husband. She didn't need to see him to know he was there.
Elizabeth's eyes welled with tears. "But mother, he was going to tell me his name. He was going to teach me magic!"
If possible, Belle became even more agitated. Tears springing to her own eyes, she said in a thick voice, "Elizabeth, go inside now!"
Eliza's head slumped down, and she hopped from the wall. She turned back once in an apologetic way, and whispered, "I'm sorry, Butterfly."
And then she ran off in the direction of the estate.
Belle worked up her nerve for a moment, and then turned around and came face to face with the broken shell of a man who stood before her. She began to cry, but not out of weakness. Weakness would have been running away and not speaking with her daughter's father at all. No, this was strength.
"What are you doing here?" asked Belle, her tone short and clipped. The wall that separated her and Rumple gave her great comfort, and she realized with a start that he'd built a similar wall between them at the start of their marriage. It was all so symbolic, in a way.
"Belle..." he whispered brokenly, sounding every bit like the tortured soul she'd fallen in love with all those years ago. This time, however, Belle refused to fall for his tricks.
"I asked you what you're doing here!" Belle demanded, her voice rising. Her face was cold, though tears were falling rapidly down her cheeks, blurring her vision.
Rumple's hand reached out as though to touch her, but then he thought better of it and the shaking limb fell back to his side. He admitted, "I just wanted to meet her."
"You have no right!" Belle shouted, her voice cracking with anger. And suddenly, she was back at the town line in 2014 in Storybrooke, telling Rumplestiltskin never to return.
"I have every right!" Rumple declared somewhat angrily. Though he looked like the imp who'd saved his son from the Ogres Wars, his voice was that of the estranged pawnbroker, Mr. Gold. "She's my daughter too, Belle!"
"No, she's not!" cried Belle. "You weren't there, Rumple! I was the one who raised her, I'm the one who soothes her and dresses her and plays with her!"
"But I would have been there," he argued miserably, his already veiled eyes becoming mistier. "You were the one who forced me away, Belle."
"No," disagreed Belle, her voice choking with a sob as she shook her head slowly. "You did that, Rumple. You were the one who drove me away. So I just returned the favor."
Belle began to walk away, and heard Rumple, who was gripping his side of the wall with such force it drew blood, call to her, "Belle, please! Belle, just say my name one more time, Belle, please...just say my name one more time!"
Belle turned only her head, knowing what he wanted. If his name was spoken three times, the enchantment that protected the French estate would be broken, and he'd be able to enter and leave as he pleased. So she merely said, "Goodbye," and she was gone.
Belle and Elizabeth didn't go to breakfast, but neither of them was very hungry anyway. Instead, Belle went to her daughter's room and sat on her bed with her, as they needed to have a talk.
For a while neither of them said a word. Elizabeth sat against her plush purple pillows and stared at the crystal light fixtures on the wall. Belle didn't offer any words either, content to sit there and play with the beads that were sewn onto Eliza's comforter. And then, finally, the child asked, "Who was he?"
"I cannot say his name." said Belle uncomfortably. Her claim did not deter her daughter.
"But who is he?" she wondered. "How do you know him? Why can't he come into our house?"
"I don't know how to tell you any of this, Eliza." admitted Belle, feeling like she was at a complete loss for words. After everything that had occurred since dawn, she was feeling very out of sorts. Her head was a jumbled mess she just couldn't make sense of.
"Is there someone who can?" Elizabeth asked innocently. Belle's heart shattered; the poor girl just wanted to know the truth.
"If I kept something from you to keep you safe, would you hate me for it?" asked Belle, recognizing that this conversation was one very seldom had between a mother and her six year-old.
Eliza knew that she could never hate her mother no matter what she did, but she felt she had to ask, "Who is deciding if it's safe or not?"
Of all the questions Elizabeth could have asked, Belle had not considered an answer to that one. She pondered in silence for a moment before saying, "I am. Because I'm your mother, and right now, I know what's best for you. Can you understand that?"
"Yes," Elizabeth sighed. "But I want to know. Can't I help?"
"Not this time, sweetheart." admitted Belle, kissing her daughter's forehead. Her lips lingered there for a moment, taking in the precious moment. She and Rumple may not have had a happy ending, but she would always love some part of him, as every good thing about him was evident in not only their child's appearance, but also in her heart. "I love you, Liza."
"I love you too, mother."
Belle informed the royal family of Rumplestiltskin's existence in the Enchanted Forest the next day. The only two not exactly shocked by this news were Emma and Regina, who both said that it shouldn't have been a surprise, since the imp had only been banned from Storybrooke, not the Enchanted Forest.
The first thing Killian thought of was how to keep the Dark One out of their lives completely. "Belle, do you not still have the dagger?"
But Belle had already thought of this. She'd torn apart the estate the previous day, but the dagger was gone. She hadn't used it since the day she'd banished Rumple, but she'd kept it locked away in case of an emergency. Unfortunately, it appeared that Rumple had broken in, or hired someone to steal it, as it was no longer in Belle's possession.
"Well," Snow White said after a minute of thought. "Belle, your home is protected, and so is the palace. We could dispatch Emma and Regina to the other subjects in our land and offer them protection as well? It won't get rid of him completely, but he wouldn't be able to do nearly as much damage if he can't get in anywhere."
"Why can't you make another prison for him?" Killian demanded. He didn't like the thought of the bloody crocodile roaming free. What if he went after Olivia?
"He won't be tricked again, Jones." said Regina, as if that was the most obvious thought in the world. "And he was only caught last time because he wanted to be. Cinder-wench wasn't a convincing liar whatsoever."
"Regina, stop." said David, a stern tone entering his voice. "I agree with Snow. Our top priority is our people's safety."
"What about my daughter?" Belle nearly whispered, tears springing to her eyes. Emma gave her a sympathetic look.
"She doesn't know, does she?" she asked.
As Belle shook her head the tears came, which most of the royals thankfully ignored. They understood how difficult this all was on poor Belle, and they couldn't imagine being in her shoes. "I couldn't tell her. He tried to, but I stopped him. She'd want to believe in the best of him, but I won't let her make my mistakes." Her words came out shaky and wobbled, small hiccups occurring in between breaths.
As Emma and Snow began to console the distraught woman, Regina said to herself, "It's his curse."
"I beg your pardon?" Killian questioned, having been the only one to hear the Queen's comment.
"Think about it," Regina said louder, her eyes widening with understanding. "The last time he cast a curse was to be reunited with his son. In Storybrooke, the imp wouldn't have been able to see Elizabeth. But if he knew of her existence, wouldn't he want to?"
"How did he know about her in the first place?" David asked, entering the conversation.
"Maybe he had someone on the inside?" Regina guessed. "There are infinite possibilities. My point is, he wasn't shocked to find her here, and if he wanted to take her away with him, this realm would have been his best chance."
"I think you're right, Regina." stated David firmly. "We must inform the people immediately."
"I'll send word to Robin to return from his journey," nodded Regina. "I'd like him to be home until this is over."
"If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go find my daughter." said Killian urgently, a protective gleam in his eye. "Not that I don't trust the nanny, but with the crocodile running around, I'd like to be the one protecting her." He kissed his wife quickly before dashing from the room. Emma's eyes followed Killian's form as it ran out the door and in the direction their daughter's bedroom. She sighed to herself quietly; she had to be with them. She had to keep them safe.
"I should go, too." said Belle, considerably calmer. "He got around the spell once by conjuring a butterfly to speak with Eliza. If I'm not home with her, he might try something again."
"Thank you for coming to us, Belle." said Snow, offering the woman a final hug. "Stay in touch, alright?"
"I will," Belle promised.
"And if you ever need a place for Elizabeth to be when you can't be with her, she is always welcome here." swore Emma, her eyes as serious as could be. "Liv would enjoy the company, and we won't let anything happen to her."
"Thank you so much." said Belle fervently. "For everything." After a series of goodbyes, Belle was on her way home with determination in her heart.
Killian Jones hadn't been this agitated in five years.
He'd been in quite a state during Emma's entire pregnancy, that was for sure. And when she'd delivered Olivia and he'd been told there were complications, he'd been completely inconsolable. It was the first time he'd ever cried in a public building. Everything had worked itself out, and she was perfectly fine, but those minutes when he hadn't known what was wrong had been the worst kind of torture imaginable. But now, all of those feelings of fear and anguish were completely overshadowed by the anger which his heart was swelling with at the news that the crocodile was roaming free.
It was no secret that there was animosity between the two of them, and while Killian was sure that the bloody Dark One's primary focus would be on his own daughter, he couldn't help but worry that in his spare time, he might feel like dishing out revenge and taking out his hatred of Killian out on Olivia.
Killian would not let anyone touch a single curl on his child's head, least of all Rumplestiltskin.
When Killian burst through Olivia's door and ordered her nanny away in a frenzied, almost maddened state, the little girl was startled to say the least.
"Daddy, what's wrong?" she asked fearfully, her eyes wide with concern. Killian lost himself in their blue depths. She had his eyes exactly, but they somehow looked more beautiful on her perfect face.
"Come here, love," said Killian in a soothing way, opening his arms in welcome. Olivia ran to her father, and wrapped her own arms around his neck. She squeezed hard, holding onto him for dear life.
"Daddy, why are you shaking? Are you cold?" Olivia's innocence was almost too much for Killian to bear.
"No, sweetheart." he told her. "I'm shaking out of anger."
The words did nothing to scare Olivia; on the contrary, she became only more concerned. "Who made you mad?"
"A monster," Killian growled, gnashing his teeth together. "A foul crocodile, Liv."
Olivia's eyes welled with tears. "Daddy, please protect me from the monster!" She squeezed Killian's neck even harder than before.
"Nothing is going to happen to you, Livvy." Killian swore. "Not as long as I'm alive. I'll skin that crocodile before he even gets a proper look at you."
"Thank you," Olivia whimpered, her tears staining her father's vest. Killian ran his calloused fingers through his child's hair in a protective, possessive way.
The battle between Captain Hook and his crocodile wasn't over yet.
That's it for chapter 3! Things are starting to get intense! I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Thank you to everyone who has read, followed, favorited, and reviewed, it means so much to me to hear what you all have to say! Whether you enjoyed or not, I would love to hear your comments, so please review. Thanks much everyone, and see you for chapter 4 :)
belle'sdarkangel: thanks for you review! I'm glad you are enjoying it. Yes, I definitely want to fully explore all of her feelings towards Rumple here since their relationship is so complex. Hope I'm doing them justice!
andria: I'm glad you like it so far, thank you for your comment! It took a while to get her small little conversation with Rumple just right (I was going to wait until later to have them speak at all but as I was writing this just seemed to work), and don't worry, there's plenty more where that came from! And if you like Emma and Killian, they'll be major players in this story too :) thanks again!
jamie,wan,kanobe: yes, Belle's intelligence is something I really want to keep going, I hate that she was so blindly trusting Rumple in recent episodes and "ignoring the signs" as she put it in the finale. Belle is a smart girl, and she will remain so throughout the tale. Thank you for reviewing!