Once Upon a Midnight: Audrina
Chapter 06: And Nothing More
Wish-Realm:
A short time after the Karma Spell was cast:
The castle was cold, foreboding, and dank. Its walls stone decked with tapestries and paintings, and all other sorts of decorative objects. Most of which gave off the telltale scent of magic. The air itself was tinged with magic, enough to cause the hairs on prince Henry's arm to rise.
"All right." He swallowed and brandished his blade, his heart thumping wildly. Behind him were the remaining members of the royal guard, those he hadn't ordered to remain behind to protect his people.
"Are you sure about this? Seeking help from the Dark One..." Grumpy spoke up, brandishing his own weapon - his dwarven ax. His narrowed eyes searched around, cautious and terrified. "He may have helped to find the Evil Queen, but still..."
"I know." Prince Henry replied, stepping forward cautiously. His heart beat furiously in his chest as he continued down the corridor, trying not to think about the last time he'd been here.
"He's likely to ask for more than your father's portrait this time."
"I know that." He snapped, the sickening dread he'd felt in his stomach since arriving at the castle getting worse. It had nearly caused him to turn around and give up. "I...I'm sorry. Could you wait here? I'll be fine going on ahead."
"Not a chance." Grumpy replied, his eyes studying the prince. It was easy to see the fear in Henry and Grumpy had thought the prince was ready to pull back, but the prince's words were unexpected.
Prince Henry bit down on his tongue, the urge to shout at the dwarf to leave him almost overwhelming. Though he knew it was futile - Grumpy had promised to protect the prince as a final oath spoken over the King and Queen's graves. The dwarf's loyalty to his grandmother astounded Prince Henry, and though he was thankful, he was also terrified.
After what he discovered when he sought the Dark One's aid to find the Evil Queen, he had never wanted to return to this castle. Not after discovering that his father, the hero Baelfire, had been the Dark One's son. A secret that his father had never mentioned even once and had taken to the grave.
"I'm sick of secrets." Prince Henry muttered, scowling as he approached the large door leading into the castle's dining area. He pushed it open, not caring if he annoyed the inhabitant, or even triggered some sort of trap. "Dark One, Rumplestiltskin, come out. I want to make a deal."
His words echoed through the dining hall, and deeper into the castle. Yet there was no response. Just silence.
"Where is he?" Grumpy asked after a few more moments passed, his own fear giving way to annoyance. "Do you think that Audrina-witch's karma thing got...?"
"No. Whatever magic she used, I doubt it'd affect the Dark One." Prince Henry sheathed his sword and crossed the room, his eyes taking in everything. His heart thudded as he noticed the thin layer of dust covering the table.
"...it doesn't seem like anyone's here." Grumpy said, noticing the thin layer of dust on the table shortly after Henry. "I don't think anyone's been here for a few weeks at least."
Prince Henry swallowed. "He's got to be here. Or...at the very least there has to be some tome explaining Audrina's curse and how to break it somewhere in this castle." A shrill wind blew through a distant hall, causing a creaking sound that echoed back to them. It chilled the prince, who tried to tame his frightened breath and his overworking heart. "We should search the castle. But be careful, nearly everything here is enchanted, and there may be traps guarding some."
Grumpy and the rest of the royal guard nodded and fanned out, searching the closest rooms.
Henry continued forward himself, stepping into the next room. It was one he hadn't been in before when he made his first deal with Rumplestiltskin, and his eyes widened on the portrait hung snugly on the far wall. The same portrait that used to hang in the royal castle, his father's portrait.
Stilled into silence on seeing it displayed so prominently, Henry stared ahead, his mouth slightly agape. His brow furrowed. When he had traded the portrait to the Dark One for his help in finding the Evil Queen, Henry had caught how Rumplestiltskin gazed at the portrait. Sorrow. Regret. Pain. Why would the man just leave it there, gathering dust?
'Did Audrina's spell actually get him?' Henry wondered, his heart thumping. He shook his head, dismissing the possibility. It was then that he caught sight of someone standing beside the painting.
"Well, if it isn't the prince." Audrina drawled, sauntering lazily towards Henry; The Dark One dagger quite noticeably at her side, secured by a tightened cloth belt. "Let me guess. You came here hoping to make a deal with the Dark One. Hm. Well, how about I offer you one instead?"
Wish-World: Present
The first thing Rumple noticed as he entered Audrina's abode was the bareness of it. No tapestries, paintings, or statues, no wall carvings, or suits of armor. No flourishes to the wall edges or columns, no anything to lend some sort of art to the masonry. He wasn't sure there was masonry - the walls seemed too smooth and sharply angled to be stone. The floor and ceiling too seemed more crystalline than stone, though their milky white opaqueness made it difficult to tell. It could be he was standing on the most immaculate marble floor or the most opaque crystal one.
"Do you like?" Audrina asked, her voice bouncing through the corridor and growing louder from the echo. Her footsteps as she approached echoed as well, filling the corridor with deafening clicks. Wearing a fitted robe as dark as a starless midnight, lined around the shoulders and waist with the same crystalline material as the building, Audrina gandered at her visitor.
"It's a bit too banal for my taste." Rumple quipped dryly, waiting for the stranger to finish her approach. Once she was in view he froze, his eyes widening a sliver. Cheeks smooth and fair, and framed by dark chestnut brown locks; piercing eyes a deep azure-hazel mix and hiding a plethora of intelligence, Audrina stood before him. "You…"
"Name's Audrina. Owner of the whole Enchanted Forest." She introduced herself, tilting her head slightly in obeisance, though the cheeky smile and coquettish glance that accompanied her words made it seem less out of respect and more for jest. Both smile and glance vanished the moment she met Rumple's eye and the shrewd scowl he wore. Audrina stiffened. "...what?"
Rumple took a few moments before answering, his eyes roaming over the young woman's face. He muttered something to himself, his eyes reflecting anger and something else. Curiosity. Disbelief.
"You're...Audrina?" Rumple asked, shaking his head slightly when the young woman started to ask about what he had mumbled silently. "And you own this land?"
"Yes."
"Not much left in it, I'd wager. Considering its cursed state." He remarked, referencing the first thing he'd noticed about the realm. The stillness coating the forest and the accompanying silence had chilled him with their intensity. "...I take it you're the caster?"
"Yes."
"You do realize, dearie, that your spell has backfired?"
Audrina stiffened, her piercing eyes narrowing. "Karma spells don't backfire."
Rumple, prepared to respond to whatever refutation the woman offered, faltered for a moment. He scowled, mulling over the magic he sensed blanketing the realm. He shook his head and clicked his tongue. "That is true...only if you use your own, personal 'good' deeds to power the spell. You, dearie, have not."
"I…." Audrina swallowed, her confidence faltering for the first time since casting the karma curse. "It was my mother's spell...her saved good deeds, I just activated it."
"Your...mother?" Rumple asked, the pitch he used much different than before, especially as he enunciated the second word.
"Yes. Regina, or the Evil Queen as the citizens of this forest called her."
"Regi…." Rumple drew in a breath, pulling another face. "No wonder it backfired."
"It didn't…." Audrina frowned, the air around her suddenly feeling heavier. Her vision blurred briefly, and she bit her inner cheek sharply until the sense of vertigo vanished. Straightening her posture, she took out an elaborately crafted dagger and glared at the other. "It doesn't matter. Now, do you want this dagger or not?"
Rumple's dark brown eyes lingered over the proffered dagger, his lips spread in a thin and cold grin. It was identical to the one he used to have, before he tethered the magic of all Dark Ones to a new one. He took a few steps closer, mulling over his answer and the blade Audrina held.
A wry smirk formed on his face as he pointed at the dagger and scoffed. "I may not be this realm's Dark One, but I can tell that's a fake." He watched as Audrina pulled a face then slipped the dagger back in its sheath at her side. "Where's the real one? Show me it and then we'll talk."
"...I put it away. Just in case." Audrina gestured behind her, towards the far-end of the corridor where an opaque white door slowly opened. "Ever since I beat them to it, Prince Henry and his royal guard tried sending mercenaries after it. Never mind that none have made it far once they crossed the border into the Enchanted Forest."
"I bet. Is that simply because of the curse or do you help it along?" Rumple inquired, quietly reassessing the young woman. With how powerful yet recklessly designed the curse that Audrina cast was, he had thought she'd be more rash and her magic immature. The moment she'd mention using a Karma spell and he could sense the truth of it, he knew his first assessment was inadequate. She may be rash and reckless, but her magic wasn't novice-level. He'd been alive for centuries and he hadn't found a single magic user who could get a Karma spell to work. Furthermore, the only wizard he'd met who'd even attempted a Karma spell had come to him for help after it backfired.
"The curse does most of it. I just take care of what remains." Audrina shrugged, waving her hand at the opaque crystal walls and floor. "They make excellent masonry."
Rumple drew back a step, observing his surroundings anew; his dark-brown irises widened a sliver as he noticed the uber-low hum emanating from the crystalline-marble. "You built your palace out of the people you cursed?"
"They're still alive." Audrina replied, shrugging again though she did avoid glancing at any inch of the wall or floor or ceiling. Her blue eyes met Rumple's. "That's better than what some witches and warlocks do."
Numerous thoughts and retorts flowed through Rumple, though he voiced none. This wasn't his realm, and aside from what was necessary to get back to Storybrooke and make his doppelganger pay, he had no inclination to change or critique it. Getting involved in another's story, even if that story was connected to an alternate version of himself, was never a good idea.
"...what do you want in exchange for the real dagger?" He asked instead of offering his opinion on the fact that he was literally walking over the residents of the Wish-Realm's Enchanted Forest.
"I think…" Audrina paused and tapped her lips as she considered Rumple, her azure eyes lighting up a shade. "We both want the same thing. This realm's version of you back in this realm. So...you can have the dagger, provided you agree to return it to me once we have this realm's version of you back in this realm."
"I can work with that." Rumple replied, his lips twitching at the simple demand. It was an offer fully in his favor. "You got yourself a deal, dearie."
