Chapter 10

He woke up in the same prison he'd been in before he'd met Mirren. The place where they'd met. He frowned, realizing that the spell had taken him a lot farther back then he'd intended to go. The theory behind this spell was that Mirren and he were apart because she was a queen. If Mirren was no longer a queen, they could be together. I suppose you need to know the history of southern kingdom to understand what he did. The Rapunzel family had not always been the only kingdom in the south. There were two at one time. The Hernacks ruled one, and the Rapunzels the other. The Hernacks had gone to war with the Rapunzels, and lost. They were banished, and the Rapunzels ruled the only southern kingdom. So his spell altered one simple thing: the winner of that war. In this new reality he had created, the Hernacks were the victors. They ruled the southern kingdom. On the throne that Mirren Rapunzel was supposed to occupy, sat Dora Hernack.
He wondered how he was going to get out of this now. He looked at the wall, and found that there was no hole. An idea popped into his head, and he moved his shirt so he could see his shoulder. The brand M was there, freshly burned into his skin. So he'd just gotten here. He leaned against the wall, feeling a horrible despair. Ten years, he would have to stay here, until Mirren came, if she even did. He should have been more careful. His thoughts were cut short as a semi-sharp object poked him in the back. He pulled it out from behind him, recognizing the twisted piece of metal that he would use to create the hole that he would later escape through. He sighed, and started scraping away at the mortar.

10 years later

The Red Guard hauled Mirren through the halls, kicking and screaming, though she knew it was pointless. They were going execute her tomorrow, and there was nothing, nothing that she could do to stop it. But she would damned if she didn't give her executioners hell while she still could. They threw her into the cell at the back, and she rushed to the bars, clawing at the guard's face as he locked the door, scrambling away from the crazed girl.
"Get back here you fucking ass!" she screamed at him. He and his fellow guards walked away, relieved that their work was done, at least for now.
Mirren continued to scream insults at them, and Rumpelstiltskin watched from the back of the cell for a few minutes, frozen for a two reasons: He was tremendously relieved she was here. Both that she was finally here, and that she'd come at all. Also, he had never heard(Or heard of) anyone with such a... creative way with words.
She stopped after a few minutes, actually panting for breath from yelling so much.
"That was quite impressive missy," he said, taking care not to call her Mirren. They hadn't been introduced yet, after all.
She spun around, surprised at the presence of another person in the cell.
"Who are you?" she demanded.
He held out his hands. "I am Nameless," he said.
She narrowed her eyes at him. "And why are you telling me so easily?" she asked.
He chuckled. "Because you seem like the kind of person who would find out soon enough anyway," he said, truthfully.
She still didn't relax. "How do I know you aren't lying to me?" she said.
"Does it matter? How could my telling you I am Nameless possibly bring me gain?" he asked.
She relaxed, just a bit. "I suppose it couldn't. Why are you here?" she demanded.
She was just as imperious as when she'd been heir to the throne. Maybe more so now, he thought. "I was framed for murder," he replied.
She tensed. "Murder? Who did you- Who were you accused of killing?" she asked.
"My mistress," he said. "She was never fond of me, and one day, she came home, commanded me to kill her and her physician, in front of friends. She was dying, an incurable disease. The last thing she did was make sure I rotted in this place," he said, indicating the cell.
Mirren sighed, sitting down across the room from him. "You could be lying," she said, more to herself than to him.
He shrugged his shoulders. "I could be," he said.
She started laughing loudly, almost cackling. He cocked his head to the side. "What's so funny?" he asked her.
She waved a hand at him. "Not funny Sir Nameless, ironic. You are accused of Murder, and you rot in a cell. I am caught stealing and am scheduled to be executed tomorrow."
"You are to be executed?" he asked, alarmed.
She nodded. "Yes I am Sir Nameless," she replied.
"People call me Rumpelstiltskin," he said.
She looked at him funnily. "Oh fuck, you're an Imp?" she said, a look of intense hatred coming into her eyes.
He held up his hands. "No no, I am quite human Missy. I was raised by Imps," he said quickly. She really looked like she would take great pleasure in strangling him.
She relaxed a bit. "Oh, well, I suppose that isn't so bad." She paused, laughing again. "You know, if I wasn't going to die, I would be asking you if you could get the Imps on my farm to leave my chickens alone."
"You don't have to die," he said.
She looked at him. "I don't?" she asked, soounding confused.
He shook his head, motioning for her to come closer. She did, walking right up to him. "Come down here," he said.
She complied, and he moved over, showing her the hole. She looked from the hole, to him, to the chains on his hands and back up to his face.
"You want me to get you out of here too," she said. He nodded.
"You're chained to the wall. I can't take you with me," she said.
"But you know how to pick locks?" he half asked, aware of the fact that she was different. Not raised by Royals. Peasant born.
She nodded. "Yes, But I have nothing to pick a lock with," she said, and he looked at her hair, noticing that it was down loose.
He thought for a minute, chewing his lip, and then looked back up at her. "If I let you out of here, would you promise to come back and get me out?" he said. She nodded. "Yes, I promise," she said.
He moved aside, and she wiggled out, leaving him alone in the dark cell.

The guards didn't comment on her absence the next day. They just muttered about inaccurate ledgers, and went on about their business. He waited, his heart sinking by night. She wasn't coming. She'd lied and left him here. He supposed he should be upset about this, but he wasn't really. He just felt empty. Like there was nothing. He fell asleep.
He was woken a while later, by someone shaking him. He woke with a start, and saw Mirren in front of him, her face close to his. She held a finger to her lips, telling him to be quiet. She drew away, and he was frozen for a minute. She gestured impatiently, wanting to get out of there before she was caught. He held up his hands, and she went work on the chains, and they came away almost immediately. She looked at him, and he knew exactly what she was thinking: These chains are shit.
She picked the other chain, and then crawled out of the hole. He followed her, running to catch her as she ran through the forest surrounding the castle. She was fast, and she wasn't wearing a dress this time. He ran as fast as he could, running silently after her. She kept running, and he ran after her.
They ran for a while, until the forest around them thinned into woods.
She sat down on a log, panting. He sat down next to her. "You came back for me," he said, breathless.
She looked at him funnily. "Of course I did," she replied.
"Why?" he asked, curious.
"I promised, Rumpelstiltskin," she said, as if this should be obvious.
He just sat there for a minute with her. "You have Imp problems at your farm?" he asked her.
She nodded. "Yeah, they crack the eggs over the chickens heads, among other things," she said.
He chuckled, and she glared at him. "What?" he protested. She shook her head at him, her expression changing from anger to curiousity. "You are Nameless?" she asked.
He nodded. "What is your talent?" she asked him.
"I spin straw into gold," he replied automatically, stopping abruptly as he realized that it may have not been the best thing to tell her. It wasn't. Mirren moved more quickly than his eyes could follow, slamming into him, knocking him off of the log. They rolled, and Rumpelstiltskin was thinking just one thing: Not again.

When Mirren heard that he spun straw into gold, she knew she had to get his Name. Her farm was going to be taken by the king if she didn't pay her long overdue taxes, and she would be executed. She had three days to begin payments, and that was why she had been stealing. But now, she had a chance to pay everything back. She lunged, slamming into him, and knocking him off the log. They rolled, and he was fighting back, but half-heartedly she thought. He was trying to get her off of him, but she was stronger, not having been imprisoned for ten years. She would try to get this done with out hurting him. He was the reason she wasn't dead, after all. But she needed money, and he could give her that. They ended up him on top of her, with a hold on her right wrist, but she rocked to the left, throwing him off of her. She grabbed him, trying to get on top, but he was fighting hard, seeming to have given up trying not to hurt her. She managed to get atop of him, but he was squirming violently underneath of her, and it was all she could do to mantain this advantage. They struggled with one another for a few more minutes, niether one gaining much, though Mirren managed to stay on top. Mirren opened her mouth, about to blurt out a spell, but he expected this, and let go of her wrist to cover her mouth. She clawed at his eyes with her free hand, and he yelled, flipping violently to the side throwing her off of him. He quickly scrambled atop her, pinning her wrists above her head as she struggled violently. She opened her mouth to try to hurl out a spell, and he, being at a loss for a better solution, kissed her. She froze, in shock, and though he had meant to stop the kiss after she seemed sufficiently subdued, found himself unable to stop. She struggled more violently than before, and he twisted her hands so he could hold them both with one of his, and covered her mouth with his hand, breaking off the kiss.
"Stop, Mirren, I don't want to hurt you," he said.
She froze when he said her name.
"Are you going to curse me if I take my hand away?" he asked.
She shook her head. "Do you promise?" he asked. She nodded, and he tentatively took his hand away from her mouth.
"How do you know my name?" I didn't tell you," she said.
He froze, realizing that he didn't have a good answer for her. "I guessed," he said. It wasn't the best explantaion, but it was better than nothing. Maybe. "Why did you kiss me?" she asked.
"How else was I going to stop you from cursing me?" he asked.
"Good point," she said. "Will you let me up?" she asked.
He nodded, and let go of her hands, relaxing a bit. Immediately, she shoved against his chest, knocking him off of her. She moved quickly, before he rocovered, trying to get atop him again. He shoved her off of him, standing a ways away from her.
"I thought you said you wouldn't try that again," he said.
"I said I wouldn't curse you Imp," she said.
That hurt, her calling him Imp. He realized that right now, she hated him. She saw him as a way to get gold for her own purposes. She was a poor farmer's daughter. She didn't have the high morals that the Mirren he had known had possessed. She would have no problem ordering him to spin for her, unitl he dropped dead. He made a decision, transporting himself away, the first time he'd been able to in ten years, leaving her alone in the woods. Mirren sighed, turning to walk towards her farm. Her betrothed would be waiting for her, and she didn't want to keep him waiting.