Emma stares blankly ahead at the sight before her. There stood Rumpelstiltskin, accompanied by his lady Belle. Though she had invited them to the wedding, it was a bit of a surprise that they had actually come. Especially considering that he was lying low and keeping off the grid in the forest. Coming to a place full of people, most of which who wanted his head, was rather unexpected.
James instantly steps forward in front of his wife and daughter, sword now drawn. He held the tip of the blade out towards the man's throat. But the fellow doesn't even flinch at the sight of the weapon, he only smirks slightly in amusement. Charming glares it him. "Rumpelstiltskin." He says disdainfully.
"Ah if it isn't the parents, Queen Snow and King James. Lovely to see you as always dearie." Rumple says, with a slight bow, all while grinning that ever so impish grin of his. He makes sure to emphasize the word "King" as to remind James of their past dealings together.
A low pitched growl of annoyance escapes the King's mouth at the teasing remark. It was obvious that the man was enjoying toying with the him, trying to rile him up. "Tell me what you're doing here!" Charming demands, his patience running thin.
Sensing her father's temper flaring, Emma takes a step towards him in an attempt to calm him. Between a failed wedding and a kidnapping, the last thing they needed was a murder as well. "Father it's alright, I invited them." The Princess explains.
Charming stares at her incredulously, his eyes wide with shock. "You invited them? When did you even meet him?" The fact that his daughter had already had a run in with Rumpelstiltskin before made him even more worried than he had been previously.
"It's a long story, but we meet them on the way to the Prince's castle." She gives her father a look of reassurance that no sort of deal making had occurred on her first encounter with him. That helped relieve the King's nerves slightly, but not by much.
The blonde then turns back to the older gentleman, "You know a way I can help get the Huntsman back?" The princess asked hesitantly, but still curious. She was entering dangerous territory here, she knew to be careful.
Rumple nods his head. "Indeed I do. And I can tell you how, for a price of course."
Emma groans, she should have seen that one coming. She contemplated whether she even really needed his help or not for this. But with the Queen's magic, it would be far from a fair fight, even if she had a whole army helping her it still might not be enough.
"Emma you can't, working with Rumpelstiltskin is too dangerous." Snow warns, grabbing her daughters arm. The brunette knew from past experience just want he was capable of, she didn't want Emma involved in any of this man's dealings.
The Princess stares back at her mother conflicted. The situation would be dangerous either way she chose to do it, she was uncertain which way would be less damaging.
"I know first hand what it's like for the Queen to take the person you care about." Rumple glances over towards Belle before continuing. "The sooner you get them back the better."
At first the blonde couldn't tell if he was trying to play on her emotions just to make a deal with her, or if he was actually being seriously genuine. But given the look he had exchanged with Belle, she knew he was being honest.
After giving it some thought, Emma sighs. "What do you want?"
Rumple scratches his chin for a moment as if thinking it over. Taking a step closer to Emma, he reaches his hand out and grabs the necklace she's wearing. Pulling it close to him, he runs his thumb over the pendent, as if analyzing it or something. The blonde pulls back slightly and watches him suspiciously.
"That's not up for trade." Snow warns sternly. That necklace had been something long passed down in her family. It had been her late mother's, there was no way she'd let him take that.
"Very well then. I want you to remove me from your "Wanted" list of criminals." He states plainly, turning towards James. For over two decades a warrant had been out for Rumpelstiltskin's arrest. The man had always manged to elude any attempts of capture though.
"Out of the question!" Charming roars. This man had caused them enough trouble over the years, he would have had him arrested on the spot if they were back in their own kingdom. There was no way he was going to give this man a pardon after all the things he had done.
"I but want a peaceful life in our home with my dear Belle." He says innocently. There seemed to be a hint of truth to that, but it was obvious there were other motives behind it aswell. Despite the brunette having softened the man up some, there was still a level of cunning beneath the surface. He still always liked to have the advantage.
Charming snorts in disbelief.
Rumpelstiltskin gives him a focused stare. "As long Regina has magic then she'll have the upper hand, dearie. Letting your daughter go in unprepared is like throwing a sheep into a wolves den. You should know that never turns out well, shepherd." The man tilts his head slightly and smirks.
He was right. As much as James hated to admit it, he was right. Emma was stubborn and would go through with the mission either way. If she at least knew something that would give her an advantage with her confrontation with the Queen, then he needed to give her that chance of having it.
"Fine." The King mutters unhappily. What other choice did he have?
Rumple grins rather pleased. "Excellent. Then we have a deal."
The man goes on to explain. "Magic is a fickle art. It can be used on things and other people, but never directly on one's self. It's one of those pesky little rules." He informs them. "If the Queen is hit with strong enough of her own magic, it's possible that it can canceled out her powers, permanently."
Emma stood there shocked by the revelation. The question was, was he indeed telling the truth or not. Surely it couldn't be that simple could it?
"He's right." A new voice confirms. They all turn to see the Blue Fairy hovering in the air a few feet above them.
"Blue Fairy." Rumple said acknowledgment, venom soaking her name as he spoke it.
"Rumpelstiltskin." She cautiously greets in return.
The two share a tense staring match between one another, issues from the past still very much prevalent in their opinions of each other. It isn't until Emma steps in that the two finally break their gaze.
"So how exactly am I suppose to do that, reflect her magic back at her?" It's not like Emma had any magic of her own she could use to do so.
Belle puts her hand on Rumple's shoulder and he relaxes under her touch before responding to Emma's question. "That dearie, is all up to you. But if two opposing forces should meet, the stronger force will win out." He explains cryptically.
"Stop speaking in riddles!" James grumbles in frustration. You never got a straight forward answer from this man. With is daughter's life on the line he had no time for games.
Emma sighed, so basically she'd have to figure out how exactly to reflect Regina's powers back at her on her own. She didn't know how she was going to do it, but the one thing she did know was that she was getting the Huntsman back, no matter what.
Once everything was settled with Rumple, Emma had one more person she need to deal with. The Prince.
She turned to Anderson, hand on one hip with an impatient stare on her face. "Spill it Prince, why did you do it? Why were you working for the Queen?" From the looks of it he too had been a pawn in this little game of hers.
"I..." He stammers awkwardly, staring down at the ground.
She crosses her arms and raises an eyebrow at him. "Let me guess, she seduced you didn't she?" He shrugs sheepishly as the blonde hits the nail on the head. Emma shakes her head, 'Unbelievable.' As much as part of her enjoyed the fact that he had gotten played just like he had done to her, this wasn't the time for that.
"I won't fall for that again." He says curtly, clearly disappointed in himself for falling for the Queen's trap. If there was one thing Anderson hated, it was being made a fool of. "Look, I'm sorry about this. To make up for what I've done you may use my family's horses and whatever else you need to get your Huntsman back." The Prince adds, "Just make sure you make her pay."
With a quick flick of his wrist, a servant appears speedily at his side. After giving the man a set of instructions, the servant is off once again, just as quick has he came.
Emma blinks a few times before nodding. "Uh... thanks."
Suddenly Emma felt something cold and wet pressing against the back of her calf. She turns around to find none other that the Huntsman's wolf sitting there. "Hey boy." The Princess greets, accompanied by a quick scratch on the animal's head. The wolf wines slightly. "We'll get him back, don't worry." The girl assures him.
She was not only fighting to bring the Huntsman back for her, but for his wolf brother too. With that in mind, the young blonde returns to her room for a change of clothes. She couldn't possibly go on a rescue mission in her wedding dress. Throwing on her tan trousers and red blouse, she ties her hair back preparing for what lies ahead.
Elsewhere, the Huntsman stood with his back against the stone walls of the Queen's castle. He has chained shackles around his wrist that held him in place.
"What are you going to do to me?" The Huntsman asks as the Queen impatiently paces back and forth. She stops upon hearing him speak and walks towards him.
Regina grins smugly. "You're the bait to draw the Princess here my dear boy." This may not have been her original plan, but she found she might just enjoy this way better. Completing the deed with her own hands.
The hunter stares down at the floor, "How do you know she'll even come?" He was simply but a wandering Huntsman, why should a royal Princess even care what happens to him. Not to mention the fact he was simply used to being abandoned by people. Even though he knew Emma was different and not like the others who had done that to him before, those insecurities from his past were still prevalent. Who would want to save a nobody?
"Oh she'll come alright. If she's anything like her mother she'll be here." The Huntsman looks way from her. As much as he wanted to be free, part of him hoped Emma wouldn't come, because that would only put her in more danger
Regina roughly grabs his chin and pulls his face forward to look at her. "You fancy her don't you?" She asks him with a smirk on her face. "Well I'll let you in on a little secret Huntsman, hunters don't get girls like that, even if the girl feels the same." The woman gets quite a minute before adding "And neither did stable boys."
Releasing her grip on him, she gives him a slight shove backwards before returning to her pacing.
The Huntsman shakes his head and sighed. His heart aches in his chest as he thinks of the young princess with golden blonde hair that he met one day in the Enchanted Forest. Little had he known then he'd care about her so much.
A/N: So sorry this took so long and that it's rather short. I've realized that when Emma and the Huntsman are separated, it's far more difficult to write those chapters. Speaking of, I'm also sorry for the lack of Emma and the Huntsman stuff in these past two chapter. But believe me, next chapter will be chock full of stuff for them. So hopefully it'll be well worth the wait. Once again thank you all so very much for the reviews and for continuing to read my story!