CHAPTER SEVEN - Of Wands and Wizards
Charming, Hook and Robin Hood trudged onward towards The Dark One's castle...
"We should be getting quite close." Hood said, "I haven't seen any game in at least an hour and you'll notice the birds have stopped singing."
"Snow says that animals can sense magic in a way that humans can't." David said, "They're drawn in by good magic and repelled by bad."
"Is that why the birds obey her commands?" Hood asked.
"Not really. Snow never had any magic, but I think the animals all just knew instinctively somehow that she was a good person. Maybe they just sniffed out that the bad magic was after her and wanted to help. And anyway she doesn't really order the birds around, they just like carrying messages for some reason."
"Magic was a bit less prominent in my land." Robin said, "But I did observe that the local animals preferred our home under the greenwood to Nottingham. Of course that could be due to the fact that the butcher's shop resided in the city, whist all we had for them to fear was Friar Tuck's insatiable appetite. "
"What about you, Hook?" inquired David, "Do you like animals?"
"I'm really more what you might call a 'people' person." Hook replied.
"Yeah, I've noticed that about you." David said, "So warm and soft and cuddly."
Robin Hood cut off Hook's reply with an upraised arm. "Be still." he said, "The castle is in sight."
"At last." Hook said, "Why didn't he just 'poof' us here anyway?" he complained. "This could've been over hours ago."
"Or conversely, based on your assumption that this is all a trap, you could've been dead hours ago." David said.
"Well there is that." admitted Hook.
"Well gentlemen." said Robin, "How shall we lure the Dark One from his castle?"
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Rumpelstiltskin waited quietly in the woods for his younger self to leave the castle, still enjoying the residual magical charge of turning Prince Jonathan into a pig. He'd forgotten what a heady feeling it could give him. Too bad Storybrooke wasn't more amenable to that particular kind of thing. He could sense the others arrival before he saw them, but he saw no reason to make himself known to them. Best to let them stand on their own six feet.
Rumple slowly and carefully extended his magic into the castle and probed gently for his former self. He could feel him at the wheel spinning ... spinning... spinning. Good. He'll be very angry indeed when they interrupt his spinning. The strong emotion should blind him for a time to what was happening under his very nose. Everything was going according to plan.
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"Rumpelstiltskin." David whispered, cautiously.
"Come on mate." Hook said, "You'll have to do better than that."
"I'm just warming up." he replied, adding a bit more loudly, "Rumpelstiltskin."
The three men stare expectantly at the distant castle.
"Perhaps we should all shout at once?" Robin offered.
"Worth a try." said David, "Ok, guys. On the count of three... one... two... THREE!"
"RUMPELSTILTSKIN!" the three yelled in unison.
"I heard you the first time."
The startled trio turned to find The Dark One standing behind them looking pissed, yet slightly amused. Like a cat who's had his nap interrupted by a mouse.
"Oh, hi... " David said, stepping forward in what he hoped was a friendly manner, "We were 'ah, looking for some help. Some magical help." he finished lamely.
"Oh are you now, are you now." the Dark One sang, pressing hands together and tilting his head.
"Yeah, we need... charms to... ward off an evil witch who has threatened our families."
"Hmmm... sounds like quite the quandary there. Witches are notoriously impossible to please. I'd suggest making out your wills and begging for a quick death." the Dark One said, "But that's not why you're really here is it... dearies."
"I don't know what you're..."
"What made you think you could just walk in here wearing one of MY spells and expect to get away with it!" the Dark One raged. "As for YOU," he turned to Hook, "Did you think I couldn't smell you under any magic... pirate." undoing the glamour spell with a wave of his hand and trapping Hook in a magical choke hold...
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From his hiding place older Rumple smiled, "Well, that should be distracting enough." he said, magically transporting himself into his old vault with a snap of his fingers.
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"Wait!" David pleaded with the younger Rumpelstiltskin as he slowly advanced to stand between the Dark One and Hook, "We really do need your help! Please!"
The Dark One flung him into a tree with a swipe of his hand.
Robin Hood swiftly raised his bow and aimed an arrow strait at the Dark One's dark heart (presuming he'd brought it with him), only to see the arrow freeze in med-air and slowly turn back around towards his own breast. Then suddenly just as the Dark One was about to release the arrow into Hood and fatally tighten his grip on Hook's throat... he paused saying throatily, "...someone is in my vault! ...YOU!" he snarled at the trio, "You're trying to distract me! Did you really think my pleasure in killing you would be enough to hide this from me?!" The Dark One snapped his fingers and instantly the imp and the three men disappeared from the forest as Hood's arrow fell harmlessly to the ground.
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In the vault...
The two Rumpelstiltskins regarded each other, one with unveiled suspicion and while the other looked positively smug.
"Ah... right on time." the older Rumple said. The newly arrived party didn't fail to notice that he was holding a magic wand in one hand and a glowing vial in the other. He turned to David, Hook and Robin, "Don't. Touch. Anything." he told them, not trusting them not to meddle with all the shiny objects he'd kept in his vault.
"This is impossible!" the younger Rumple twittered through clenched teeth. "What foul sorcery is this? Who are you and what makes you think it's alright for you or anyone else..." he eyed the other three men, "to touch my things..." he turned back to the other Rumple, "or wear my face!"
"I am you." Older Rumple said, "And I can prove it." He skillfully tossed the vial to David who caught it easily if a bit hesitantly given its unknown and clearly magical contents, after which he deftly tucked the wand somewhere inside his coat while simultaneously removing the dagger from the same spatially compressed magic pocket.
The younger Rumple went sudden pale in his golden skin, "How did you get that!"
"I told you. I am you. We're one and the same." older Rumple calmly explained, "We came from the future..."
"Impossible. No such magic exists. It is against the very laws of magic in this world."
"And yet..." older Rumple said, "Here we are."
"If you are truly from the future, tell me..."
"I found him." older Rumple answered without needing to hear the rest of the question, "And so will you." he added, trying to hide the pain in his voice at the sudden sharp stab of memory at the all too recent loss of his son.
"I find him..." the younger Rumple began his voice softened to a tender whisper, "Did he forgive me?"
The older Rumple nodded, emotion choking off the affirmative answer he'd been about to utter.
"And you need the black fairy's wand to return to him?"
Again the older Rumple nodded.
"And, how kind" younger Rumple said theatrically placing a hand over his heart, "you've prepared a forgetting potion for me so that my knowledge of this won't have any ...unpleasant effect on the future." he said, looking at the vial in David's hand and magically poofing it into his own. "Very well." he said, apparently having made up his mind, "Take the wand and go before you taint the timeline any further." he said bringing one hand to his head as if it was beginning to ach. "Just tell me one thing, why haven't I killed ...him yet?" he asked pointing his thumb at Hook.
"Time... can give a person new perspective." older Rumple said, "Besides," added in a low sing-song, "there's always tomorrow."
Hook's eyes narrowly slightly, but he wisely decided to stay out of this conversation and instead chose to ignore Rumple's earlier advice and fiddle with some nearby artifacts.
"Ah yes, tomorrow, tomorrow..." the younger Rumple sang, "The spinning wheel of time spins out her threads as she will."
"Wait," David interjected, momentarily forgetting the gravity of their situation, "I thought time was a delicate flowing river?"
"A delicate flowing river..." younger Rumple repeated, delicately tasting each word, "I think I like that."
"Great." David said, "Hey, feel free to steal it for future use if you like," he added looking bemusedly at the other Rumple.
Older Rumple rolled his eyes and with a flourish of his hand the four men vanished out of the vault, leaving the younger Rumple alone to drink away his most recent memories...
"...what the hell am I doing in here?" he asked himself looking in annoyance at his vault, when his last memory placed him miles away nudging the ogres off towards King Maurice's kingdom. He poofed himself back to his castle proper and pondered the obvious gap in his memories. Why was he turning the ogres towards Maurice's kingdom? Why do I do anything? He must possess something which I desire. Or something that I will desire. Or possibly something I desired in the past. Seeing the future can make everything in your life seem a bit... murky.
Rumpelstiltskin crossed to his wheel and slowly began to spin his troubles away...