Chapter 6: A Golden Champion

Clad in dusky golden armour that gave the illusion she was bigger than she really was, Norah was a titan among men. She had slain so many of the Dark One's beasts that her skills were beginning to become legend all around the Enchanted Forest. For two years, Norah had travelled with Rumpelstiltskin as his silent sword.

Village folk from across the land had already begun to tell stories about how his body guard came to be. Some said that Norah had been a man he found in a cave, raised by wolves in the mountains and unable to speak. Others said that it was simply a statue brought to life by the Dark One's magic, obedient, immoral, and unkillable, only able to do the Dark One's bidding. The Imp always cheered when they returned to the castle, excited that he couldn't wait for the day for everyone learned that his golden champion of monsters and beasts was merely a lucky little girl.

However, Norah wasn't a little girl. Her age rivalled that of the time the Dark One's energy had manifested itself into Rumpelstiltskin and even more so, he could still be killed. In all the time Norah had spent with him—a time that felt like decades, even though her third anniversary of being in his service was approaching—she still wasn't any closer to finding something to break her curse of immortality.

This was due to Rumpelstiltskin's disinterest in her problems. Although he had made the deal that led to her current indentured service, she saw very little progress on the situation. In fact, since those beginning days of chopping fallen storm branches in the cold, he had been rather mum on the entire subject.

In the midst of the Dark One's journey throughout the land with his golden champion at his side, there were two powers—royal families—who were on the brink of war. What began as a silly feud between the sons of the families was beginning to affect the local peoples. Instead of a generous exchange of food and other goods between the large cities, traders were being attacked by either side and when news of the impending war between the families finally reached the dark castle, some folks had been killed in a raid from one side that had burned down a few farmhouses.

At the root of it, the feud between the two lords had started much earlier than a spat between their sons Norman and William. Once related, the single family had a unique azure stone, nearly perfect, standing for a symbol of peace and harmony. But when the lord had twins, the both inherited the lands that were split. The brothers, when their father was elderly and ill, fought so often that before he died, the lord had a wizard crack the stone into equal halves using magic.

Yet, each brother swore that his stone was smaller than the other brother's and the feud began. Although it eventually became a jest and the marriage line was so muddied that there wasn't much relation left in their blood, the fight was still unspoken, until the two sons decided to fight over a woman who later became trivial to the whole situation. The two stones returned to the arguments, and suddenly it was one city against the other until blood was spilled.

Norah travelled with the Imp by horse towards the two cities. Rumpelstiltskin was not too hurried, but merely entertained at the thought that the two families were feuding and thought it might be fun to use his twisted deal making to get something out of it, or at least watch them burn each other to the ground.

When word of their travel reached each of the families, a rider was sent out to greet them, inviting both the Imp and his champion to a common meeting ground. The Dark One was ecstatic to hear the news and he and Norah soon arrived at the tourney grounds that was nestled between the two cities.

At the grounds, the two lords, both portly and with grey hairs that were beginning to turn white, were red-faced and arguing while the sons—Norah assumed were the young men in gleaming armour—glared at one another in silence.

"My lords!" Cheered out the Dark One after dismounting his horse and handing the reins to Norah.

As he began his deal making in a sing-song voice, Norah tied up the horses and kept the visor on her helmet down. She took her time with the horses, and by the time she sauntered over, the two lords were quiet and Rumpelstiltskin was enticing them now with velvety tones Norah recognized to be the voice he used when he had something especially devilish up his sleeve.

"Go on," one of the sons said, stepping forward.

"A contest," the Imp said, "right here on these very grounds. If your fathers want unite the stones with my magic, then you both will prove your knightly skills with swords against my champion!"

Norah tried not to appear surprised when he offered her up as the obstacle, but her head whipped around to face the Dark One, making her armour clink together in an unsettling melody.

Both the sons looked at one another, almost uneasy, but they both shouted in agreement.

"Aye, if Norman fights, I fight," said the son in bright silver armour that had a cluster of birds in hammered gold on his chest.

"Aye," said Norman, "If William fights equally by my side, we will defeat your champion and bring our families together once more.

Both lords, Elder William, father of Young William, and Norman's father, Jacob approved with nods and moved closer together to confer between themselves for a few moments.

"Yes," Jacob said, "we agree to your terms, Dark One."

Rumple giggled, spun around to Norah and clasped his hands together.

"Excellent! Let's get started!"

Norah almost stormed towards Rumple, lifting her helmet visor as the two men she was about to fight drew their swords and made sure one another's armour was secured.

"What are you playing at?" Norah whispered with great force.

The Dark One leaned in and whispered, "You are my undefeated champion, what do you think I'm doing?"

"When I said I would serve you I didn't agree to kill any—"

"You're not going to kill them…just…just knock them around a bit and they'll be a little worse for wear, we take the stone and we go."

Norah didn't like the passive, non-committal tone he had, nor did she like the situation.

"I don't like this, Imp." She said in a way she knew would sting him.

"Draw your sword and defeat them both and I'll help you rid your curse."

Without much more she could say, she slammed her visor back down and drew her short sword.

Furious, Norah started at them as soon as they drew their weapons. She knew that Rumpelstiltskin knew something about her had been off, but she didn't know if he figured out what the nature of her curse was. No matter, she was eager to defeat the two sons of different cities so that she could get the curse finally lifted and she could live out the rest of her already too long of a life.

The Imp was shouting something at her, but she was focused on the two who at first had come at her side by side, but were now starting to drift apart and Norah had to turn more and more to meet each of their blows with her sharp steel. Although it wasn't her first sword fight, and Norah had learned much being the so-called, golden champion, the two men were proving their skills as fighters, especially as a pair, with each attack and parry. Soon, Norah's attacks became hasty defensive moves.

As she finally heard Rumple's words, take them down now, she was kicked from behind and then slammed across the face with the hilt of the sword of the one with the golden birds on his chest. Dazed, Norah took to a knee, but in her attempt to recover her senses, the other son jolted her side, and then as she heard a flurry of shouts and whoops, the man with the golden birds on his chest plunged something sharp into her side.

Screeching, Norah collapsed under the piercing fire of her own dagger which had been grabbed by Norman and thrust into her by William. Norah could not hear as her blood surged through her head, clouding her vision. Trying to escape the abnormal amount of pain, she tore the golden helm from her head and cried out for help.

Blood ran down the seductive gold plating of her armour. William had left the dagger in her and the sons had already begun a victorious cheer to one another, but after Norah had removed her helm and grasped the dagger's hilt to pull it out, the two lords and the small crowd that had gathered together were gasping.

Rumpelstiltskin, who could hardly believe his eyes when he saw what was about to happen, was in a furious rage. He did not rush to Norah's side, but instead rushed towards the two sons and, using his magic, began to choke the life out of them simply by raising his hands out in front of him.

"I could kill you both right now for what you have done!"

Elder William and lord Jacob hurried forward to try and intervene, but Rumple pushed them back. The two sons tried to speak, but the Dark One was having none of it.

"She wouldn't have killed you, she was told not to kill you!"

Norah was in tears at this point, in a blinding hot pain she had never experienced before and was crying out to Rumpelstiltskin for help. When she mustered the nerve between the pain and her worry that perhaps her curse had been broken too early, she finally pulled out the dagger.

Although she wanted to pass out, she couldn't. The sinister blade remained in her hands and she called out again, begging for help.

Rumple heard, dropped the sons, and came to her.

"Norah..."

"Help," she said, holding the dagger out to him. She didn't know what else to say.

The Dark One turned to the lords and the sons once again.

"You promised," said Elder William. "You promised to unite our stones and bring us peace, Dark One. We have defeated your champion."

"Clearly there was a misunderstanding because defeat doesn't mean kill my only champion! I think this is violation enough for me to walk away and you all to keep having fun with your little feud."

"No," Norman said, stepping forward. "Fair is fair. We met your demands. Now you meet ours."

As the Dark One with voiced reluctance repaired their stone and berated them further about technicalities, Norah was positive that she was actually dying. Her wound was not healing, and the burning continued to pulsate throughout her body. She was sure that if not stopped soon, the pain would send her into a fit of convulsions. The feeling was starting to remind her of the first time she ever died.

After settling the idiotic families, Rumple teleported them back to his castle, right in Norah's quarters. Her armour was gone, and she was wearing the leather jerkin that she had underneath, blood seeping through from the wound in her side. Her face was as white as jasmine and even though she wasn't losing consciousness, she was in a constant state of feeling as if she were about to.

"Your dagger is magic and it's going to slowly kill you if I don't stop it."

In a snap of his fingers, a small bottle appeared in his hands and he made Noah lay down on the bed with her wounded side turned up towards him.

"Norah," he said with a somewhat serious and breathless tone. "If this doesn't stop the poison, you're probably going to die."

He emptied the contents of the bottle onto her wound which made it burn even hotter, and that was enough to send Norah over the edge. She passed out, leaving the world of pain and misery, knowing that she would indeed wake again, but not because of anything Rumpelstiltskin had done.

She woke feeling feverish and sick to her stomach. Norah sat up quickly, put her head over the edge of the bed and retched. A bucket had been placed next to the bed, and it caught the dark purple vomit. Although she was panicked for a second, she knew that the color had to be from whatever was poisoning her.

Norah couldn't remember if her body had ever encountered a poison like this. Traditional ones, perhaps, but never poison by magic and wondered if perhaps it was the counter curse she was looking for. She leaned over the bed and vomited again, this time with a force that made her think she might just spill her guts out along with it. After it was over and her body shuddered, cold and clammy, the door opened.

The Imp hurried in with a tray of bread and water, as well as something steaming in a mug. He set the tray down on her bedside table and snapped his fingers, clearing the bucket of what she had put there. He pulled up a chair, sat, picked up the mug and handed it to her.

"Drink this," he said.

Norah took it and took a few sips. The hot tea was soothing and after a few moments, her cold shuddering ceased.

"Does it still hurt?"

She put the mug back down on the tray and pulled her covers back. She lifted the side of her bloodied shirt and revealed that the bandage he had applied was seeping. Rumple pulled it off, revealing that the wound was swollen and purple, the same color that Norah had vomited just minutes before.

"Yeah, it still burns, but not as bad," Norah said, surprised to hear herself so ragged. Her voice was hoarse and cracking.

He grabbed the old bandage and tossed it into the bucket. Then he produced a new bandage from his robes and began to apply it.

"The poison has to work its way out of the wound before I can heal it. You're lucky the blade did not go too deep or else you would be dead."

For whatever reason, Norah felt like laughing, and she did even though it felt like she was being pulled apart with a hot iron.

"A silly blade cannot stop the Dark One's champion," she half laughed out, but she could see that he did not find it amusing.

"You lost the fight and the stone, and well…I've forgiven you for that, but don't push your luck."

Norah rolled her eyes. "If I have to endure your guilt I wish the blade had gone deeper," she said, and flopped back into her bed when he was finished with the new bandage.

"I have lots of work to do so I won't be able to check until late in the evening."

She nodded, understanding and preferred to be left alone anyway. Without another word, Rumpelstiltskin left.

Quickly, Norah reached into her table for her small dagger from home. One she knew was not cursed, and like she had done so many times, pulled the blade across her palm. Blood pooled in her palm and so she would not stain her bedclothes, she let it drain into the bucket. It dripped for a few minutes, and just when Norah was beginning to feel lightheaded, the blood stopped. Her hand was healed.

The Imp never checked back. That night Norah tossed and turned in bed, occasionally vomiting into the bucket, and then in the wee hours, her pain began to subside. In the morning, she felt strong enough to stand, heat some water, and then soak in a bath.

As soon as she slipped into the hot water, the purple poison began to ribbon through the water, trailing out from her wound. The bath felt so nice and eased her pain that she sat back against the basin and closed her eyes. Norah had dozed for five minutes or so, but when she woke up suddenly, the bathwater had turned a lavender, and her pain was totally gone.

Slowly, she put her hand to her side, and when she felt no trace of a wound, her whole body was put at ease. The water must have cleaned the wound and she wondered why the Dark One may not have thought of that, but perhaps it was because no one would be able to survive something as invasive. Perhaps on others, the poison worked deep into the tissue.

Norah finished her bath, put on fresh underclothes, her leather jerkin, and her cloak. When she went to put on her belt, the magic dagger was clean, and sheathed in it. There was a scroll of parchment attached that read, No more magic. Which made her believe that the dagger was meant for some future target Rumpelstiltskin had in mind.

He had given her the dagger not too long before they made their way to the two cities. The blade had been lying on his work table after she had returned from another mission. He caught her eyeing it, and thought it might be best that she have it. The Imp had joked not to cut herself with it, and with that foresight, now she knew what he meant.

Touching the walnut box that was nestled under her leathers, Norah made her way down to Rumple's workshop. When she arrived, he wasn't spinning straw, nor was he tinkering with his potions or treasures. The Dark One was standing at his worktable with his arms crossed, staring down, but he seemed off, like his attention was miles from the castle.

Just before Norah opened her mouth to say something, he spoke sternly.

"What are you doing out of bed?"

"I…I was feeling better…"

He stormed towards her, stopping with his face so close to hers they were almost touching noses.

Something had changed.

Norah felt strange, as if her chest had some great weight on it, keeping her from breathing normally. Her fingers tingled and itched to reach out to him.

Without asking, he put his hand under her cloak, pulled up her shirt and touched the place where her wound had been.

His hand was abnormally warm; his fingers danced across her skin, searching for some trace of where the cursed dagger had punched through. His muddy, golden eyes searched hers as his fingers fumbled, and then cupped her tender flesh with his palm.

"Not even a scar," he whispered.

Norah could not tell if he was angry or if he was trying to say something else, but being this close to him was making her anxious and she was starting to feel like she might lose control of herself at any moment.

He took his hand away and pulled her against his body. He put his lips to her ear and whispered, "Tell me the truth."

Norah, her heart now pounding hard in her chest, realized it was desire that was now coursing through her veins, making the hair on the nape of her neck stand up as she felt the heat from his breath on his exhale, waiting for her answer.

"I can't," she squeaked back.

Everything now made sense to her. For almost three years, she had stayed with him, took his every beck and call, and yet, had not asked for him to figure out how to break her curse. At any time, she could have walked away, but she didn't. There was some part of him, perhaps his wonton sense of adventure, and his relentless scheming that she liked. Mostly, she felt like he understood what it meant to live so long.

Although the Dark One was not immortal, he could live for a long time, and the man the Dark One inhabited, Rumpelstiltskin, didn't seem to mind that at all. He was comfortable with the way things came and went; he was even entertained by it. Norah had felt inspired by that and the three years she had spent just slipped away with ease. Norah liked to be around him because it made her feel as if her plight were normal. And, she didn't feel so alone anymore.

Rumpelstiltskin pushed her away and turned, but spun back around, his face riddled with fiery fury.

"Tell me the truth!" He was screaming at her. The anger in his face turned to hurt and Norah felt it surge through her chest.

"I can't," she cried out.

"You're not cursed," he said. "The first day I met you, I knew it wasn't a curse. You've got magic that I've never seen before."

He reached out, but drew his hand away. Visually, he looked torn and confused, trying to understand what Norah was.

"I can't tell you, Rumple, I want too, but I just can't."

Using magic and fuelled by anger, the Dark One produced a small blade and propelled it towards Norah, aimed for her heart. By instinct, Norah used her hand to stop it and it pierced through her palm, the same palm she had sliced into the day before. Norah pulled it out and threw it back at him, but he knocked it away. She held her hand out, blood oozing and covering the flooring in front of her.

"How dare you!" She yelled at him, tears in her eyes. "You want to know?! You want to know so badly what it is that you would risk my life to know my secret?" Norah stormed towards him with her bloody hand held out. When she got close enough, she grabbed one of his wrists with her unwounded hand and put it right into her bloodied one.

As their palms touched and Norah's wound began to close, she did not notice that the small walnut box resting on her chest began to crack.

Rumpelstiltskin's face softened as he felt the severed skin knit back together. In moments, her hand was renewed. He turned her hand over back and forth several times, wiped the blood off with the cuff of his ruffled shirt, gazing with astonishment.

Norah was crying.

"Please…" she pleaded. "Don't make me tell you."

"Norah, I…"

Before he could finish, the small walnut box came unhinged and fell through her shirt and clattered to the floor.

"No…" Norah whispered.

The room grew very loud and both the Dark One and Norah were thrown away from each other, from the point where the box fell. The floor began to open up, a swirling bright light, and Norah felt herself sliding towards it.

"Norah!" Rumple yelled, quickly rising to his feet.

"No!" She yelled. "I didn't break the rules!" She said, hoping the fairy that had originally given her the box could hear her, but there really was no point. Rumpelstiltskin had figured out her secret.

Air rushed past her and she had no strength in which to pull herself from the draw of the swirling pool. Her feet went in first, but mustering all her effort, she was able to grab on to the edge and hang on as Rumple rushed over. He tried to grab her, but a magic barrier blocked his hands.

"It won't let me!" He yelled. "Norah, you have to try to get out!"

She knew that she couldn't, though. She felt her feet being dragged further and her grip was slipping, but with all her might, she put her hand up, trying to reach through the barrier. Her fingers barely cleared it, and just before their fingers met, she lost her grip and got sucked in.

Norah heard his call to her and as she slipped into the abyss, she watched him dive after her, but she watched the hole close, hit the ground, and everything went black.