I warn you this is a little short. Even so, I hope you like it.
Okay, we've come to the point where I've got to ask an important question-but at the end of the chapter! Watch out for it, I genuinelly want to know what you think.
-XXX-
"…Of course, the curse has to be enacted, of course," I poke the air.
The queen stands before me, livid. "Tell me what I did wrong."
"For that there is a price!"
"What do you want?"
I coo, leaning forward. "Simple. In this new land, I want comfort. I want a good life—"
"Fine!" She cuts across."You'll have an estate, be rich."
"I wasn't finish!" I snap. "There's more!"
"There always is with you." She grumbles, but lets me continue.
"In this new land, should I ever come to you for any reason, you must heed my every request. You must do whatever I say. So long as I say…" I let the thought suspend before tossing it to her. "Please!"
"You do realize should I succeed, you won't remember any of this?" She sneers.
Ah, clever girl, catching that part. However, would she think I would demand all this if I were to not see my reward?
"Oh, well then, what's the harm?"
"Deal." She smiles, clearly believe to have gotten the better bargain.
"Ah-ah-ha. Still not done!" I waggle my finger in her face. "In this land, this time, there is a girl. A bookbinder's youngest daughter. In this new land, I want her with me. I want her comfortable as well, away from her family and…content. "
The "t" is punctuated nicely. I darken my gaze, daring the queen to ask what I know burns inside of her.
"A bookbinder's daughter?" The queen asks incredulously. "For what cause?"
I examine my nails. "That is my business, thank you. Will it be done?"
"Yes," She decides. "Now, what must I do to enact this curse?"
I smile. The ball is rolling. It is only a matter of time.
-XXX-
Dark grey stone, a cold slate, covers everything. It is as if this place has been chiseled from a charcoal heart. I shiver as I pass the pair of giants that stand watch over the heavy iron door. Sleeping Dust does the trick for them—though it is a heavy dose—and I quietly thank our village herb woman for her talent with basic green magic. Now, on to the cage.
As I pass the torches, I feel the pity rise in my heart. This place is dank, cold, lightless, completely horrible. How could they just lock him up down here, and neglect him. Regardless of what he's done, he is a living creature. He needs air and sunlight just as the rest of us do.
The further in, the ceiling rises to add more height until one enters an antechamber. Thick spikes rise from the ground and ceiling, the teeth of a fearsome beast. At the top, there is a small window, letting in just a sliver of pale, clean moonlight. And in the shadows, curled in the corner of the miserable little cell—
"Hahaha, I told you everything you needed was already with you."
From that corner he creeps into view, eyes heavily shadowed. Teeth, which are far yellower than before, flash. In the dim and flickering light, his skin appears scaly, and glitters. The already mussy hair is lank and greasy. He's at the bars quickly, clinging to the spikes.
"My lovely little bookbinder's daughter," He breathes. "Come to visit her demon, her fearsome mage." There is mad laughter. "Why, beauty, have you come to me on this night? You know what night it is." His voice drops.
The entire kingdom has been in a furious rush of confusion for the past several days. We had a princess coming, and with her, a dark curse. Needless to say, things have been tense.
"How are you?" I approach, hesitant.
His expression alters to something a little more savage. "Two months. Two months, and I have had to pick and pry to find anything about this babe. They've not acted kindly—rarely a meal passes without some sedative being slipped into my drink." The ink in this last word is punctured painfully. "Makes the visions come far more frequently…yet they do not want to listen."
"And oh, to look about your most beauteous face…" A single finger is extended to trace my jaw. Unconsciously, I lean into the touch. "…I would fear I am dreaming, my dear, if I hadn't foreseen your coming. My most resourceful Ophelia."
He savors his moment. I come closer, wrapping my hands around the bars. "It is tonight, then?"
"Yes, yes, yes! Soon," He hisses. "We shall be gone from this place."
Hands find my waist and I am thrust into the bars. His hands burn feverishly. High above, the tiny window darkens. I strain my neck to see dark, smoky clouds ahead. A storm.
"It's here, it's here," He chants. Lips are pressed to my neck. I shudder into him. Cold has sweep over the cell. The clouds shift through the small opening in the ceiling to curl around us.
"Where are we going?" I ask breathlessly.
"Someplace horrible!" His cackle is broken. And I think, "What could be worse than this?"
The darkness begins to wrap around us, twisting to cover our bodies. Frighten, I push closer to Rumpelstilskin, who seems not afraid, but rather excited and energized. How can he be enjoying this? His hands roam my body, not offering much comfort. He takes my lips ferociously, saying as he pulls away, "Whatever world or land we find ourselves in, we'll be together. I promise you. You may not recall this life, but I shan't let you go. I swear it. We'll be together."
Confusion prevents my understanding. The dark clouds overtake my vision, forcing me to reach out to him. But empty air slips though my fingers and I am left screaming. Soon, the clouds fill my lungs as well, and it is all I can do to keep my mind awake wondering.
"Where?"
-XXX-
Strick asked a good question: Will this go into Storybrook?
The answer is yes, naturally! I'm at chapter 20 now. I was wrong, the bulk of this (or at least more than half) will take place in the "real" world. I now must ask if you prefer I separate the Storybrook section into it's own story, another piece under a different title, or continue it here?
As I might've mentioned before, once the story reaches a certain point, I am going to either end it on "neutral" ground in terms of the fate of Storybrook as awhole, or wait for the TV series to end before completing the piece with a more legit ending. This isn't going to change. Just giving you a heads up. We're currently at a stand-still point. Where things go will be up to you.
Thank you for the feedback! Now...the review button is right...over...there! Good job!
