Author's note: At last: I've updated. Things take an R-Rated turn in this chapter, so I've upped the rating accordingly.
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Chapter Four
There was little difference between dreaming and seeing, but Rumpelstiltskin could always tell when either was happening to him.
His first clue was when he glanced down and noticed his hands. Instead of gold, scale-like ridges; there was only human flesh. Instead of claws: normal fingernails.
The sorcerer paused mid-step and brought his hands up to his face, just to double-check, and when his fingers came in contact with smooth skin, he took a deep breath and cautiously glanced to his right to catch his reflection in a nearby mirror.
A handsome, angular face was framed attractively by copper stands of nearly shoulder-length hair. His eyes were closer to a shade of amber than the dark, fathomless depths they typically were, and when he peered closer he noticed flecks of green in the irises.
He was wearing unusual garments: a white shirt made of a thin, unrecognizable material and dark blue pants of equally foreign origin that were as form fitting as his usual leather.
He stared at himself for a long moment, before deciding to just go along with whatever the dream or vision had in store for him and moved forward in the same direction he had started from.
His feet were bare and came in contact with cool, black marble as he continued on his journey, and as he walked, he glanced around curiously at his surroundings. From what he could tell: he was not in a castle but a large manor of some sort: filled with dark furniture and offering only the dimmest of light.
Upon reaching a staircase, Rumpelstiltskin hesitated, wondering if his destination lied elsewhere.
And that was when he heard an eerie whisper.
Rumpelstiltskin…
The common reaction to such a thing would have been alarm, but his instincts told him to follow the sound.
He climbed up the stairs and found himself at one end of a very long hall-way, decorated only by diaphanous, crimson-colored curtains that fluttered out towards him when he moved past.
He heard the voice again: soft and mesmerizing and oddly familiar, and most definitely calling for him.
So he continued on his way, doing his best to ignore the foreboding that was creeping steadily up his spine, until he reached a pair of huge doors made of ebony wood.
He studied the intricate carvings along the doorframe, trying to interpret a meaning from them, when the doors suddenly swung open.
The voice whispered to him again, inviting him inside, and the wizard inhaled shakily before doing so.
At first: he could see nothing, for the room was cloaked in darkness.
Then, as the doors closed behind him, several candles were magically lit: one-by-one until he was bathed in a warm, orange-yellow glow.
He spun around slowly, trying to discern if someone was lurking in the shadows, but there was no-one.
Finally, he found the courage to speak. "Enough games. Show yourself."
A feminine, airy laugh answered him. "You might try looking up, Rumpel."
Rumpelstiltskin went entirely still, waiting several heartbeats before peering upwards.
His eyes widened in awe when he spotted Regina lying, cat-like, on the ceiling as if it were her bed.
The Queen…his Queen, stretched lazily before smiling winningly in his direction.
Rumpelstiltskin continued to stare, rendered speechless by how wickedly beautiful she looked.
She was dressed in a sheer, filmy gown made of red silk, which seemed to float upon her unusually pale skin.
Her raven-colored hair was down and flowing across her bare shoulders and her dark eyes seemed to possess an unearthly glow that made a chill ease up his spine.
"Regina," he finally found his voice again and swallowed harshly. "How…how did you get up there?"
"Magic," her grin widened and he could swear that her canine teeth were sharper, but it could have been a trick of the light.
"Do you mind coming down?"
Still smiling in an unnerving manner, Regina stood: hanging upside down like a bat for a moment before flipping around gracefully and landing on the floor, only inches away from him.
"Better?" she seemed to glide across the floor, closing the distance between them.
That remains to be seen. He nearly forgot to breathe when her hands brushed over the fabric covering his chest, smoothing it out in order to feel the heat of his skin underneath.
Regina made a low, pleased sound and seemed to fixate on his throat. "There's no reason to be nervous love. It's just me."
"Is it?" he muttered, though he didn't hesitate to reach out and caress along her arms.
Her skin was ice cold, which prompted him to look at her in concern. "You're freezing."
She leaned forward and brushed her lips against his. "Then you'll just have to warm me up, now, won't you?"
Despite every bit of common sense within him, which was telling him to proceed with caution, he couldn't deny the fact that he loved this woman with all his heart, and it was pure instinct that guided his next action: to pull her close and claim her lips in a fiery kiss.
A wanton moan escaped the sorceress in his arms, and she pressed as close as possible.
He circled his arms around her waist as the kiss deepened, the chill of her skin tempering the heat of his when her fingers pressed against the triangle of flesh exposed by his unbuttoned collar.
He gasped when she nipped teasingly at his mouth, and when her talented hands began the task of popping open the buttons of his shirt: he did absolutely nothing to stop her.
Nimble fingers delved inside and danced over his bare chest once the thin white fabric was pushed aside, and he hissed in pleasure when she moved lower and stroked along the tone of his abdomen.
Pulling back from their embrace, Regina's eyes caught Rumpelstiltskin's, and she guided his hands to where the closure of her dress was.
He carefully drew down the unusual clasp, which was made out of some form of metal that fused together to keep the gown around her.
Red silk slid away easily and pooled around her feet, and he was suddenly faced with a completely naked Regina.
His gaze raked over her appreciatively: taking in every dip and curve until he could no longer stand to simply look and dragged her against him, his hands sweeping over her skin as he captured her mouth in another fervent kiss.
She wasted little time in ridding him of his clothes, and suddenly he was sinking back onto a bed that had appeared out of thin air, pulling Regina with him as their limbs entwined.
Her fingers laced with his, their embrace growing more and more heated as she pinned him against the mattress and straddled his hips, tugging away to stare down at him.
He swore, for a moment, that her eyes glowed red, but didn't dwell on it when she rotated her hips and arousal clouded what reason remained.
He growled quietly, twisting and trapping her under him as they kissed ardently, mumbling something incoherently against her mouth when she arched her body in invitation.
In the next instant, they were joined, and Rumpelstiltskin stilled as he adjusted to finally being one with the long-time object of his affection: reveling in the feel of her skin against his and how perfectly they fit together.
She gazed up at him as he pulled back for air, and he took the time to admire the lovely image she made.
Her dark hair flowed out in tousled waves, a stark contrast to the pure white fabric of the pillows and sheets, and her ruby colored lips curved into a sultry smile when he locked eyes with her.
She reached up and tenderly stroked at his cheek, and then whispered: "I love you."
His heart soared at her admission. I'm never questioning my dreams again. Ever.
"I love you too," he murmured, before dipping his head and initiating a kiss that expressed just how delighted he was and encouraged the motion of their entangled bodies.
It became clear, quite quickly, that they were as equal in the bedroom as they were in everything else: exchanging scratches and bites as eagerly as kisses while they built a perfect symmetry together.
Regina locked her legs around his waist, drawing him to her so that every possible inch of their skin was touching, and he smiled against her mouth before shifting and adjusting his angle.
She clawed at his back as their movements lost grace and a primal lust assumed control, until, at last: they fell.
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It took some time to regain his breath after the onslaught of passion, but eventually Rumpelstiltskin managed to lift his head from where it was resting on Regina's shoulder.
For some reason his lover was nowhere near affected as he was, though, when she caught his gaze, she offered him a bright, happy smile.
Propping up on one elbow, the sorcerer smiled back and reached out to brush her hair away from her eyes.
She caught his hand and brought his palm to her lips, kissing the more sensitive skin of his wrist lightly before bringing her eyes to his.
This time, he was certain that there was a glow to her dark irises that was crimson in color, and he furrowed his eyebrows before asking: "Regina…something is going on with you, isn't it?"
She smirked against his flesh. "If there is: does it change how you feel about me?"
He shook his head. "Of course not. But you've been acting very strange."
The smirk turned into a feral grin, and suddenly, with remarkable strength and speed: she turned the tides and flipped him under her.
The breath was knocked out of him momentarily when his back met the mattress, and Regina chuckled darkly before flipping her long hair over her shoulder and pressing her hands against his chest.
"You're very observant; my love…as it happens there is something going on. The question is: do you want me to tell you? Or show you?"
His eyes widened when he noticed that her canines were most definitely elongated, and sharper than her other teeth.
His heart skipped erratically in his chest. It's not possible…
Still grinning, Regina leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to the shell of his ear before she whispered: "I think I'm going to show you."
He was about to ask what she meant by that, but got his answer when there was suddenly a searing pain as she bit into the junction between his neck and shoulder.
He swallowed the sharp cry that threatened to escape, but as quickly as it started: the pain disappeared and was replaced by liquid warmth that spread throughout his entire body.
His eyes fluttered close as he gave into it, and before long he was drifting.
He was happy to give into the darkness, only to be called back by Regina's voice, and he opened his eyes again to find her extending her wrist out to him.
There were two puncture wounds marring her otherwise flawless skin, and she carefully pulled him up into a sitting position.
"Trust me," she murmured, caressing his hair before pressing her wrist to his mouth.
He tasted salt, but there was also a kind of sweetness, and for reasons unknown: it made him thirst for more.
Gripping her wrist tightly, he drank: letting the power of her blood consume him, and the last thing he recalled before darkness claimed him yet again was Regina's delighted smile.
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Rumpelstiltskin woke with a start and shot straight up in bed, the sheets pooling around his waist and exposing his bare torso to cool air.
His heart was pounding rapidly in his chest, and it took him several minutes before the dream's effects wore off and he was lucid enough to look down at his hands.
Gold-dusted skin greeted him, and he sighed in relief.
The goblin ran his hands haphazardly through his hair before casting the sheets aside, grabbing a robe from a nearby chair and draping it around his half-naked form.
He stood and walked over to the large glass door that led out to his private balcony, deciding that some fresh air was definitely needed.
His mind still dwelled on the events of his dream, which he knew was a warning.
Sighing heavily, he looked up at the stars that glittered in the sky, gathering his thoughts for a few minutes before heading back inside his room.
Grabbing a scroll of parchment and a quill, he scribbled a few words hastily and then used magic to make them invisible.
He walked back out onto the balcony and used a spell to send the parchment flying out into the night, knowing that it would reach its destination and that the recipient would know exactly how to read it.
Satisfied that it was the right decision, he went inside once again, but didn't head back to bed.
Instead, he left his chamber and walked a short distance to Regina's, opening the door as quietly as possible before moving silently towards her bed.
He halted at her bedside and gazed down at her: noting how innocent she looked when she was sleeping.
Smiling, he leaned down and pressed his lips to her forehead.
She shifted in the bed, but didn't wake, and judging by the smile that crossed her lips: she had appreciated the affection.
Rumpelstiltskin sighed quietly, and with a wave of his hand made a chair materialize that he sat upon.
Reaching out, he took Regina's hand within his and squeezed lightly.
With that: the goblin settled in to look after his sorceress for the rest of the night.