Chapter 10
The Rescue
"Knock, knock." Rumplestiltskin jeered sarcastically. He wore black leather pants, knee-high brown leather boots, and a gold-toned shirt with puffy sleeves underneath an embroidered golden vest with a high collar. His hair fell in waves to his shoulders. His right hand was up by his head as though he was presenting himself to those assembled. The mottled-gray skin on his face and his odd-colored eyes were a mask of controlled rage as he stepped further into the room.
"Don't worry…we won't be disturbed." he informed menacingly.
Every heart in the room thudded in fear…save one, and that one leapt for joy.
"Mr. Stiltskin!" Lynae cried out in joy. Across the room Rumplestiltskin did a magnificent arm flourish before bowing at the waist.
The other three men in the room clutched the handles of their swords tighter. Any gesture made by The Dark One should be considered a threat.
Lynae started to run to her benefactor, but was blocked by Darius' out-stretched arm.
"Move!" she barked at him.
Darius' dark eyes pleaded with her. "I'm trying to protect you."
She was hearing none of it. "Get out of my way!" She shoved past him and ran straight for Rumplestiltskin. She slowed her pace just enough so she wouldn't completely bowl him over as she threw her arms around his neck. She buried her face in his chest, felt his chin on the crown of her head, the warmth of his hand on her back as he returned her affection.
Darius' chest burned with resentment and anger.
"You're alive..." Lynae was blathering over and over again into Rumplestiltskin's vest.
"What made you think otherwise?" he asked in mock seriousness. He finally pulled her arms from around his neck and set her back. He wiped her tears away and gave her a once over.
"Nice dress." he commented. The sour look on his face made it clear he thought the outfit was hideous. He snapped his fingers and pointed at her. A gust of dark purple smoke surrounded Lynae. Believing that Rumplestiltskin was attacking her, Darius started to rush forward, but was grabbed by Idrus.
When the smoke dissipated, Lynae saw that the dress was blissfully gone, replaced by the outfit she was wearing the first day she'd come to the Dark Castle. Her hair was no longer in a braided up do, but hanging down her back and around her shoulders.
Rumplestiltskin lilted a laugh and rubbed his hands together in satisfaction. "Ah, much better."
Lynae squealed in delight. "I'm so glad you're back!" She threw her arms around his neck again.
"Yes, yes, I'm alive." he parroted in that whiny voice she'd missed so much. He edged her to the right. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm trying to terrorize people here."
"Oh, sorry." she replied, dropping her arms and moving out of the way. "Forgot myself for a moment. Carry on."
Rumplestiltskin turned his focus back on the others in the room. "Ah…if it isn't the farm boy turned king and his fairest little wife." he said, rubbing his palms together and moving closer. "Aren't you two living happily ever after." He mocked, wiggling his black-tipped fingers at them.
James pointed his sword at him with one hand while keeping his wife safely behind him with the other. "Why aren't you dead?"
Rumplestiltskin shook his head at him and tisked. "And after all I've done for you."
Coming to close for James' liking, he swung his rapier in the air between them. His adversary stopped, but not from fear.
"Calm down, loverboy." Rumplestiltskin whined at James. "I'm not here for you." He turned his sinister gaze on Darius and Idrus. The brothers drew their shoulders back and raised their chins, on the defense. "Why don't you and your lovely wife leave while you still have the ability to?" He suggested, his eyes still on the dual kings.
James shook his head vigorously, his sword up. "I don't run from battles."
"Go." Idrus told him. "Get your queen to safety."
James started to protest, but Snow White was pulling him along. "Let's go get help." she suggested. With a sigh, James lowered his weapon and led them out of the room.
Rumplestiltskin rubbed his hands together. "Now-" he said, glancing from one man to the other. "Which one of you naughty little kings shot me through the heart with an arrow?" His voice was neither nasally or whiny, but low and dangerous. Idrus' forehead crinkled and Darius' eyes narrowed, but neither said a word. "Come, come. Don't be shy now."
Idrus stepped forward. "I did."
"No!" Darius protested, stepping up as well. "I shot you."
Rumplestiltskin sneered. "How noble." he said drily. "Such brotherly affection. Moms and Daddums must be proud."
Quickly, Darius pointed the tip of his sword at his foe's scrawny neck. "What do you want with Lynae?" he demanded to know.
The gray-skinned man cocked an eyebrow at him. "Certainly not the same thing you want with her." He waggled both brows lasciviously then looked over his shoulder to his ward. "Lynae, my dear, haven't you wondered why he calls you 'shahla'?"
Darius stared at the man with wide eyes, wondering how he knew that. A few paces away, Lynae had her thumbs hooked on her belt loops watching the proceedings with interest, trying to ignore her headache. She frowned in confusion. "…Um…"
Rumplestiltskin turned back to Darius, whose sword point was still at his neck. "You'll have to forgive her. She can be a bit-" he wiggled his fingers next to his temple, crossed his eyes, and made an unintelligible sound. "Not her fault." He looked back to Lynae again. "Congrats on your betrothal!"
Lynae's eyes went all buggy as she looked from her benefactor to Darius. "Excuse me?"
Rumplestiltskin lilted. "That's what shahla means in the far away land of Valinmoro. Engaged."
Lynae set hard eyes on Darius. She marched right up to him and knocked his sword aside. "Is there something you want to tell me?"
The king started to speak and then stopped as if he didn't know where to start. Finally, he took a breath and said, "I…was going to ask you to marry me after you were freed from whatever spell he had you under. I thought that's what was making you so resentful of me."
She finally understood the look of utter disbelief on Darius' face- and his subsequent anger- when the Blue Fairy told him she wasn't under any type of charm. He must have assumed that once the enchantment was removed, the veil would be lifted and she'd see him for the courageous hero that had saved her from her terrible fate at the hands of the Dark One.
"I was resentful because either you or your brother shot my friend!"
"Lynae, he is not your friend!" Darius countered. "He doesn't care about you. He doesn't care about anyone but himself! Why can't you see that?"
She looked at him with disgust. "You can drop the righteous act, Darius." She jabbed a finger at him. "You were never going to let me leave here with Snow White and James. You planned on keeping me here with you for the rest of my life."
"Because I love you!" he shouted, his voice echoing around the ballroom.
Lynae shook her head at him and held up a palm. "If that's your definition of love, then I'll take my chances with Mr. Stiltskin. At least I know where I stand with him." She tossed him one last sour look before turning and walking away.
"Shahla, no, please…" Darius started to follow, but in a blink, Rumplestiltskin jumped in front of him and grabbed his throat.
"I think she's made her choice." he growled, all mirth and merriment gone from his voice. Snapping into action, Idrus raised his sword. Before he could bring the weapon down, though, his neck was caught in a vice grip as well. Both of the brother's swords clattered to the floor. They clawed at their adversary's exceptionally tight hold, gasping for air and for freedom. The Dark One soon had them on their knees before him.
"I'll make you both a deal." Rumplestiltskin said to the two choking men, falling back on his old ways. "If the one who truly shot me with an arrow confesses, I'll let the other live." He loosened his hold on their throats, but only enough for them to inhale just a whisper of oxygen. "Generous offer, I'd say. Just think of it: no more sibling rivalry. The throne of Valinmoro will be yours alone." He glanced from one brother to the other.
"Whaddaya' say, Your Majesties?" he pressed, voice merry once again, his brows up, his funny-colored eyes roving over each of them in turn. "Do we have an accord?"
Darius and Idrus held the other man's gaze bravely. Neither so much as twitched a facial muscle to accept the deal.
"Then die together." Rumplestiltskin said his voice evil once again, his clutch tightening. The brothers' eyes squeezed shut against the pain and lack of air. They scratched like madmen at their enemy's fingers fruitlessly.
Rumplestiltskin's own face was contorted in a rage so fierce that the power of it flowed down his arms and hands and into Darius and Idrus. "You have no idea what you took from me." he growled at the kings. The anger of The Dark One manifested on the two men's pain-etched faces, turning their skin the same ugly shade of gray. Malevolence settled over the three of them like a heavy blanket, blackening out the windows, the walls, and the floors. He could feel the men's life draining out of them, just as he felt his own life seeping away in the ditch on the side of the road. He reveled in the sensation.
Abruptly, a calm as peaceful as a blue sky after a thunderstorm descended out of the gloom with just a touch. Only two other people could do this for him- one was dead, the other was in a different world. Lynae was at Rumplestiltskin's side, her hand wrapped around the crook of his right arm. He looked down into her honey-brown eyes and the blanket of rage lifted.
"I want to go home." she said quietly, her eyes pleading. He held her gaze for a moment, struggling to come to a decision. Finally, he turned back to the kings.
"She just saved your life." he hissed. He shoved them, releasing his hold on their necks. Darius and Idrus fell onto their backs, sucking in precious air. They coughed and gagged and clutched at their sore throats. Rumplestiltskin turned himself and his ward away from the dual emperor's. Grandly, he led them out of the ballroom.
On their way through the high-vaulted ballroom doors, he peered down at Lynae and smirked in irritation. "Anyone ever tell you what a fun-stealing buzz-kill you are?"
She laughed.