Chapter Three: Deals and Dark Ones

Snow's hooded eyes taunted Emma from afar. She knew her daughter had not really changed, there was just that extra bitterness in the personality and the darkness only took over for periods of time. The Dark One's shadow energy would eventually control Emma's whole being but for now, there was only the Emma whose heart had shielded itself away from love after all those betrayals. "My offer is that in trade for the return of your freedom and your powers, you help me locate something."

Through all the time in Storybrooke when Emma's heart had started developing that hatred for her parents, Snow's own heart had darkened as well. Thinking of all the past things she had done―sacrificing Maleficent's daughter for the sake of Emma, murdering Cora―Snow would only smile now. There was no regret whatsoever.

"Why would I make a deal with you?"

"The Dark Ones are always tempted by trades and deals, aren't you all?"

"I cannot speak for the others, but I am not. I would not help you for anything, even my freedom. You cannot make me; torture would not work on me. So unless you have the dagger, don't even think that I would aid you in whatever it is that you are searching for."


"She is not helping," Snow mumbled to her husband as the two sat quietly at the conference table usually set for the representatives. "Where is Rumpelstiltskin? Does he know where the dagger is?" The dagger had vanished when Emma became the Dark One. Whoever wielded it now or if they found it in the future, had full access to Emma's dormant powers.

"His magic was cut away after he stopped being the Dark One. He is only a normal man now, and he's still unconscious after the transformation back." Charming looked bored. The couple had not been the same after returning to the Enchanted Forest. He still loved Snow, he knew that. But she was different, and his daughter was too.

A high arched dome rose up above them, sustained by carved columns on the four corners. Dangling from the center of the dome ceiling hung a chandelier from which candles lit the room. They didn't provide much light and it was too dark to read the book Snow held in front of her. She had to peer in close to see the rune pictures.

Belle had lent her the book so she could gain information on the generations of Dark Ones. The book recorded all the ones up until the early years of Rumpelstiltskin, before the Dark Curse had been enacted.

Before him, there had been Zoso who had tricked Rumpelstiltskin into killing him. It was a hard life, being the Dark One. You could easily be controlled if another took ahold of the dagger. And Zoso's dagger had been owned by the king at the time. The idea of death must have appealed more to him than the reality of having such an immense amount of power that could only be unleashed with his master's order.

Relea. That was the name of the one before Zoso. Her story was told vaguely and in short simple terms in the scrawled ink script of the book. Unlike the other entries which filled several pages at once. This one only took one paragraph with a single sketch accompanying it. A swan in flight.

When Relea had been only ten of years, her sorceress stepmother transformed her six brothers into swans.

Snow smirked. Swans. How ironic.

To break the curse, Relea remained silent for six years of her life whilst weaving sweaters using magical nettle from a nearby graveyard. The enchantment was broken. However when the brothers returned home to their sister, she no longer existed. There was only a darkness filled shell who had taken over the body of the teenage girl.

There was no further explanation.

Snow looked up. Charming who sat next to her had fallen asleep on the table. The girl Relea sounded so mysterious. How long ago had she been alive? There were no specific years for her as the book had listed for the others. Was she still alive now? Did Dark Ones remain immortal after the darkness had exited their body?

She yawned. This could wait. It was not as if the matter was more pressing than forcing Emma to aid her in their search. Snow pulled Charming up and they went to bed, not knowing that soon they would wake up to the frantic yelling of palace guards at their chamber door.