Chapter 10: Going Up Against The Dark One
Merlin was heading to the parlour to see how things were going when he saw Paige leaving with Rumple and Belle. He had never seen her with such a bright smile and he couldn't help but smile gently. It seemed only yesterday that she was still the tiny baby who had been placed in his arms.
Rumple smiled at Paige,
"Thank you for a lovely afternoon tea Paige" he said and Paige nodded as she smiled gently,
"You're welcome" she said gently before turning to leave and Belle smiled as she linked her arm through Rumple's,
"I must show you the library later" she said with a bright smile and Rumple smiled at her before glancing at Paige's retreating form and smiled once more at Belle,
"Actually Belle…. I'm afraid I'm busy this afternoon" he explained and Belle looked puzzled,
"Really? Doing what?" she asked curiously and Rumple smiled before looking back towards Paige,
"I believe I promised Paige a spinning lesson" he said and Paige paused in her tracks before turning with a stunned expression,
"Really?" she asked softly and Rumple smiled before shrugging his shoulders slightly,
"Only if you really want….." he tried but Paige had suddenly ran back to him and was hugging him tightly,
"Yes! Yes… more than anything" she said and Rumple couldn't help but chuckle as she hugged her back gently and Belle couldn't help but smile.
Paige was standing in front of a mirror in the tower waving her hand repeatedly. Changing her outfit with a look of worry and Merlin chuckled when he entered,
"Nervous?" he asked and Paige turned with a look of worry,
"I…. I just want him to like me… I want to make him proud" she admitted and Merlin smiled before approaching and placed his hands on her shoulders,
"He already likes you Paige… He and Belle both do" he assured before hugging her gently,
"But remember…. You can never tell them who you are…. They'll find out….. In time" he said sadly and Paige nodded,
"I understand" she responded quietly.
Paige was delighted to find Belle would be joining her and Rumple. Belle smiled gently,
"I hope you don't mind" she said gently but Paige was quick to hug her and Belle was surprised but hugged her back with a smile and Paige pulled back quickly managing to keep calm,
"Sorry… I don't mind at all" she said and Belle smiled. Rumple did the same before waving his hand causing a spinning wheel to appear,
"Shall we?" he asked.
Rumple passed Paige some wool,
"Spinning the wool into thread is the tricky part" he explained after giving her a demonstration but Paige had a look of hard concentration on her face as she pulled on the wool gently before quickly twisting the small strands of wool and little by little it became thread. Rumple watched with amazement as Paige looked at him for feedback,
"Like this?" she asked and Rumple smiled proudly,
"You picked that up very quickly" he praised with a chuckle,
"You're a natural" he said causing Paige to smile bashfully before shrugging her shoulders gently,
"Must be in my blood or something" she said softly and Rumple nodded,
"Well it's either that or you're a born natural" he commented causing Paige to smile softly as he went on to teach her the process of turning the thread into gold.
Belle smiled brightly as she admired Paige's sparkling gold thread and giggled,
"I think your title has been taken Rumple" she teased as she took the thread gently from Paige and watched how it sparkled in the light that came from the windows and Rumple rolled his eyes with amusement but Paige couldn't help but blush gently,
"Here…." She said gently before taking the thread back gently and waved her hand causing a piece of light blue cloth to appear along with a needle and Belle watched curiously as Paige threaded the gold thread through the needle before starting to sew an elegant pattern into the cloth and Belle felt tears come to her eyes as Paige used magic to tie the knot in the thread when she was finished before holding it up for her to see. The gold thread spelled out: 'Rumplestiltskin & Belle' in elegant script with a stitched rose next to it,
"Gold thread with blue fabric seemed fitting for the both of you" she explained gently with a smile and Belle looked at her stunned with tears in her eyes and Paige was stunned when Belle suddenly hugged her,
"Thank you" she whispered as Paige hugged her back gently.
After the spinning lesson. Paige offered to show Rumple and Belle her favourite place in the whole castle. The conservatory of sound.
Belle smiled brightly as they entered the conservatory and admired the roses that bordered the windows,
"Oh it's so beautiful" she murmured as she listened to the beautiful melody that filled the air and Rumple smiled before bowing politely,
"May I have this dance Mrs Gold?" he asked and Belle giggled as she curtsied back before taking his hand as he pulled her close before beginning to dance with her.
Paige smiled softly as she watched them. Her hand brushed against the white chip that hung around her neck when she looked up startled when Rumple held out his hand to her,
"Your turn" he offered and Paige smiled bashfully before shying away and shook her head gently,
"Oh no….. I….. I don't dance" she admitted awkwardly and Rumple looked confused,
"Why not when you love this place so much?" he asked and Paige blushed with embarrassment,
"I…. I can't dance" she confessed and Belle stepped forward with a look of confusion,
"You've lived in Camelot nearly all your life. A kingdom that holds a ball every night…. And you don't know how to dance?" she asked gently and Paige shook her head gently, feeling embarrassed,
"I was never invited" she explained with a sad tone so Rumple smiled gently before taking her hand and helped her up and she looked at him confused,
"Want to know a secret?" he asked gently and Paige nodded hesitantly and Rumple smiled as he placed her hand on his shoulder and took her free hand in his other,
"I don't know how to dance either" he admitted softly and Paige felt herself smile softly as she began to dance with her father.
Merlin was working on an experiment with the dark one's dagger when green smoke swirled around his head and he breathed it in before falling into a deep sleep. Emma stood behind him wearing black leather and her hair was completely white,
"Sleep well sorcerer" she whispered as she took her dagger in hand and smiled sinisterly,
"I've taken care of the organ grinder… Now it's time to take care of the monkey" she whispered with a smirk.
Paige couldn't help but feel slightly silly and giggled as she danced with Rumple and he twirled her around but she stopped quickly with a look of concern as she looked over Rumple's shoulder,
"What's wrong?" he asked before turning and his expression became concerned when he saw that the roses where dying around them,
"Excalibur" Paige suddenly said before running out of the conservatory. Rumple and Belle were quick to follow,
"Paige!" Rumple yelled after her.
Emma had hypnotised hook into doing her bidding and smirked,
"Now my love….. Remove Excalibur from its stone for me" she whispered and he nodded slowly due to his trance like state before approaching the stone that rested within the centre of the round table. Hook used Arthur's chair to climb up onto the table before starting to reach for the sword when Paige burst into the chamber,
"Enough!" she yelled firmly before throwing a sphere of magical energy, causing Hook to freeze in mid stance,
"Only a true hero of willing nature can remove Excalibur from its stone" Paige said firmly as Rumple stood in front of Belle protectively and Emma smirked at Paige as she continued to glare,
"If Hook touches that sword then he'll be destroyed" she said firmly and Emma smirked with sinister amusement,
"Well you can't make an omelette without cracking a few eggs" she said simply,
"And it looks like I just found my next egg" she said with a sinister firm tone but Paige just smiled,
"I'm not afraid of you" she said simply as she stepped forward,
"You're not getting your hand on that sword….. Not so long as I'm around" she said firmly and Emma smirked,
"Is that so?... Well then" she said before going to slam her hand inside Paige's chest but she winced when Paige suddenly grabbed her wrist and smirked,
"Nice try dark one…. Never mess with a girl who has fast reflexes" she said firmly and Emma glared at her,
"I won't be beaten by some weak witch" she growled firmly and Paige smiled,
"Oh I'm no witch….. Like you…. I'm a product of true love with the blood of the dark one running through my veins which makes me an absolute equal to you" she finished with a smile and Emma suddenly looked scared as she tried to pull her wrist free and Paige smiled gently,
"Don't fight it Emma… This isn't you. Let me help" she said gently as her hand began to glow brighter and brighter and the light engulfed them both. Rumple and Belle had to shield their eyes from the light and as it died so did Hook preservation spell and hypnotic trance and he turned quickly to find Paige helping Emma to stand and she looked exhausted,
"Wh… What happened?" Emma asked weakly and Hook quickly jumped off the table before rushing to her side,
"Emma!" he said as he helped her to stand and Paige smiled innocently,
"Oh just a simple enchantment I've been working on with Merlin" she fibbed,
"The darkness is gone… You're free" she said with a gentle smile and Emma looked shocked before smiling brightly at Hook as she hugged him tightly.
Charming came running into the room with Snow who was carrying Neal, followed by Merlin,
"What happened?" Charming demanded as Snow looked concerned,
"Are you all alright?" she asked and Emma smiled finally pulling away from hook and ran to them before hugging them both tightly,
"It's gone….. The dark one's gone. I'm free" she told them and they both smiled relieved before hugging her back tightly and baby Neal gurgled happily.
Merlin watched the happy family feeling proud when he saw the dark one's dagger suddenly rise from the floor and went flying towards around the room searching for its next host,
"Paige!" he yelled and she acted quickly,
"Now I command sword to my hand!" She yelled causing Excalibur to fly from the stone to her hand and Charming looked stunned as she used it like baseball bat to hit the dagger away,
"What?! Merlin made the sword I made the stone" she admitted before seeing the Dagger fly towards Rumple and her eyes widened,
"LOOK OUT DAD!" she yelled before jumping in front of him and held the sword in front of her and lightning erupted from the blade as the dagger finally became whole with Excalibur and Paige sighed with relief as she allowed the sword to fall to the floor and she stumbled but Rumple was quick to catch her,
"Whoa easy there" he said as he helped her up before looking at her curiously,
"Dad?" he asked and Paige looked at him speechlessly.
I Hope you all enjoyed chapter 10 :) Please review and let me know what you think in order to unlock the final chapter :D
Kind Regards,
TheAuthor1996