Chapter 10

The Golden Man

"The slickest way in the world to lie is to tell the right amount of truth at the right time-and then shut up."

― Robert A. Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land

Emma and Killian with their mates had been at Rumplestlikin's home for weeks. The princess's training was going extremely well. The only problem was the male counterpart who was with her.

She got along fine with Iaoch. In fact, it was kind of nice to have another female around. They were amicable souls towards one another and had plenty of intriguing conversations before and after training. Of course that was only when Emma could have a break, which never came often.

Since the incident with Jones though, Emma had been avoiding him like his room like he was the plague. The reason was obvious, and it was something Emma was still struggling to come to terms with.

She had almost killed him.

She had almost killed someone.

Emma, after the incident had gone back to her room only to sit on her bed, staring at her hands in fear. Who was she? A woman capable of such darkness? Her hands had then closed into fists, squeezing in tight that faint crescents appeared when the slim fingers uncurled.

It was such a surreal thought, the truth resting on her as a heavy burden, as if she was carrying a bag full of rocks on her back.

The blonde sighed and shook the thoughts away from her head. She could dwindle all day on the what if but as Rumplestlikin said, she stopped her anger and Jones was fine therefore there was no need to focus on the past. Emma couldn't help it though; she figured it was her parents' natural worry that seemed to shine through her like a beacon causing her these uncomfortable feelings about the man.

"Aer, it is time."

Emma nodded and scooted off her bed, leaving the room and walking down the dark hallways to meet with the gold man in the ballroom. There was more training to do and she needed to clear her mind of the dark thoughts that seemed to consume her.

…

Killian laid on his bed, tossing the ball towards the ceiling and catching it as it fell back towards him. He kept on doing it, completely unaware of his mate's gaze on him. It was methodical and soothing, and allowed the blue eyed man to focus on his thoughts, the thoughts about him almost dying at the hands of Swan, which by the way was absolutely bloody terrifying.

It wasn't so much her actions though; it was how she looked when the darkness inside of her took over, if only for a moment. She was illuminated by a black glow while her skin became paler. Her eyes became a fierce shade of violet while purple mist oozed out of her hands. Her hair even lost its sunshine, becoming a dull and darker shade of its normal blonde.

He didn't like that look on her. She became a cold beauty, almost as if she was made of stone.

He really didn't like it.

"Aqua you are brooding."

Killian caught the ball and sighed, pushing himself up to lean against the pillows behind him. Because of his injuries, the man was bed stricken until his ribs healed as well as his other broken parts.

"I suppose I am. It's not like I can do much else."

"It does not do good to dwell on what happened."

"She lost control Iaoch. I think I understand what Grace was referring to earlier."

"I agree. She needs to be monitored so it doesn't happen again."

"She needs to learn to keep her emotions in check."

"Anger can be quite powerful and blind anyone to the truth. You saw what it did to her and it isn't as if you tried not to goad her."

"You're blaming me for her going insane?"

"No, I am saying you need to be more careful with what you say if you do not want her to succeed in killing you. You were lucky she came back to herself."

"I suppose. I just…it terrifies me Iaoch. The darkness that was on the horizon back home, it matched the glow of her in that moment. That can't be a coincidence."

"I have a feeling you are right and it is not a good one."

…

Snow sat by her vanity brushing her long locks. She sighed, and set the brush down, unable to remain happy in these moments of trial. The queen could feel tears threatening to burst forth, heating her eyes as they began to fill with the salty water.

A faint knock erupted on her door and she sniffled, wiping away the tears that had escaped and quickly looking in the mirror to make sure she was presentable. A little red, but no one would notice.

"Come in."

The large white door opened, revealing Regina in a red velvet gown with her hair half up, the rest going perfectly down her back in a straight line. Lace covered her chest, lying inside a v of the crimson.

"Snow are you alright?"

The white queen sighed. "No. I'm not. I feel that Charming is right and I was wrong. What was I thinking?"

"You were thinking like a mother."

Regina approaches the sad woman and waves her hand allowing a chari to appear so she can sit on it beside Snow.

"She left Regina. I don't know if I can live with that. I caused her to leave her family…I just…I can't."

"You can and you will live with that. We all make mistakes, look at my life. Do you realize how much guilt I have to live with because of what I've done? I have slaughtered thousands; I have destroyed the homes of many. If you hadn't stopped me then who knows who else would be dead? Snow, you are a queen, your duty lies with the people."

"But I'm also a mother who's duty lies with the her children."

"And Emma is 28. She is a woman who doesn't need her mother coddling her anymore. She hasn't for years. She knows who she is. She would have come around as soon as you and Charming had passed, quite possibly even sooner."

"She doesn't know who she is Regina. She never has."

Regina looked in the mirror at Snow who looked back at her. She leaned back in her chair, crossing her legs and stroking her chin.

"You're wrong."

"What do you mean?"

The red queen closes her eyes and rubs her temples. She didn't want to ever have to tell her friend this, but it seems she doesn't have a choice.

"There's a prophecy about Emma that has only begun to come true now. I found it when I raided Maleficent's to stop her from letting another curse occur. I have no idea how she had it but it was before Emma was even born. You were about six months in and as I read the words I knew I had to keep it from you. If you or Charming ever knew, you'd prevent the prophecy from coming true. I'm not saying you'd do it intentionally, but you'd never let Emma leave you're sight. You'd expect more from her than you do now, and she'd live with a pressure that would send her to the darkness and not the light that she is.

"Regina…what are you talking about? I can't…it can't be true…"

Regina then closed her eyes once more, and began to speak the fabled prophecy she hoped was only a fake.

"A tale far and true

Let this be a warning to you.

A darkness will rise,

And will turn the tide

Making that of pure heart

Into that of black art

Until a Saviour will rise

Two to be precise

Mates born as outcasts

Forced to bend to many tasks

They will learn what it takes

Until it breaks

The fate that they have entwined with

Those of the fifth

And only then will we be

Truly and absolutely free"

Snow's mouth was agape as she looked towards the older woman.

"What does it mean?"

"It means the fabled darkness is no story. It's real and it's coming and the only person who can stop it is Emma."

…

Emma's eyes lit up with a neon green as she focused her magic on the earth around her. Wind swept through her body like a current, whipping her hair all around her. The blondes arm was outstretched, aiming for the golden man before her.

They were fighting one another and Emma had to admit that her magic was growing more powerful.

She was pretty sure Rumplestlikin was impressed too.

The saviour dashed to the side, rolling on the ground and jumping up as quickly as possible. His last attack was too close for comfort. Emma gritted her teeth and smashed her fists together, sending a massive wave of air shooting towards Rumple who disappeared and then reappeared to the side.

He raised his hand and Emma's own hands slowly lowered themselves. Their training was done for the day and the blonde couldn't be more thankful. Her breaths were hard, and her limbs weak from the constant dodging. She could swear she had an excessive amount of bruises on her back as well from hitting the dirty ground so many times.

"Very good. You are improving greatly. A few more sessions and you, hopefully, will be ready."

"A few more? I thought I needed to learn my powers…there's no way we've done enough!"

"You understand the basics but your true power will not come until you're in a desperate time. Magic is a fickle thing dearie, you best remember that. Now go, clean yourself up and eat. You need you be ready for tomorrow.

With that Rumplestlikin waved his hand and disappeared, leaving Emma alone in the courtyard, wondering if she was really as ready as he thought she was.

She severely doubted it.

…

Erue rested his head against the window sill as he watched his mate's training. The golden man was right. She had greatly improved since when she first began. But the dragon could see in Emma's green eyes that she didn't truly believe the words he spoke to her.

And Erue knew that would be her downfall.

He sighed, smoke coming out of his nostrils. He cherished Emma more than anything else in the world, but he often worried about her soul. With her parents' latest actions towards her, their betrayal, it only increased the chance of darkness.

Luckily the blonde was still aware of right and wrong and for now that was enough.

But Erue had seen in Emma's sleep that she could be much worse than the minor incident that occurred with the man in the other room. She was capable of much more but what way would her magic take her.

It seized Erue's heart with fear every day.

But it wasn't just Emma's magic that could become dark, it was his own too. He and the blonde were bonded and because of that he had sensed Emma's dark magic appearing, and his own mind and heart became cloudy with a dire sense of destruction.

Erue sighed and rose himself off of the window as his mate began to head inside the palace. The green dragon moved towards the large entrance in front of him. He wondered, for a moment, why the golden man had such a big entrance when he was the only one here…what could it possibly mean?

It seemed odd that the man himself was covered in scales and yet had no mate. Unless…no it couldn't be…could it? The dragon's brow furrowed as his mate walked in.

"Erue, what's wrong?"

Erue lifted his head and turned it towards his mate.

"Do you not find it odd how our trainer is covered in scales, lives in a palace with entrances large enough for a dragon yet has no mate?"

Emma's own brows furrowed to match her mate's and she turned her eyes to the window. Her emerald eyes come back to her mate's and then they go wide.

"You don't think?"

"It makes sense does it not? But we must make sure before confronting him. There must be something we can do."

"His room. We'll search his room. There'll have to be traces of his past in there."

"Then let us go and search. We must be careful though Aer, he is far more powerful than either of us. We must tread carefully."

Emma could only nod in agreement.

…

Snow paced the throne room while Regina sat on the golden chair giving the other queen a droll look.

"You need to stop. You're making me nauseous."

"Sorry. I'm just nervous. What if Prince Walsh doesn't find Emma? What if he sees through our act and confronts us? Oh how dreadful this turned out to be."

"You're surprised? Good grief Snow you put the girl in an arranged marriage. How did you think she'd act? No one wants that."

Snow sighed and sat down beside Regina on her husband's throne.

"I only hope Charming hears from the prince soon."

"Have you met his mother yet?"

"No. She is supposed to arrive when he gets back."

"Wasn't she supoosed to be here already?"

"I believe so, but apparently that changed. I understand though. It will be easier to have a gateway to us meeting her than to simply appear. It would be awkward."

Regina leaned her elbow on the armrest to the throne, pondering what was just said. Something seemed off about the situation, something seemed quite off but she couldn't place her finger on it.

"Regina, you need to tell me more about this prophecy. How could it possibly be Emma?"

"Think about it Snow. Who else could possibly fit in that description?"

"But how could you know before she was born?"

"I have magic. It allows me to sense things in the future. It rarely gives me specifics though but it certainly told me that your child and her mate would be the ones the prophecy referred to."

"I hope you're wrong. For her sake, I most certainly hope you are."

…

Emma and Erue snuck into the bedroom of Rumplestlikin only to gasp at the sight. It was a mess with the furniture being broken and askew across the room, the curtains being torn into shreds. The glass on the window was shattered leaving a cold breeze4 to drift through the window causing Emma to shiver. Her mate pulled her close into his warmth, those scales of his being crinkly but incredibly soothing to her core.

Once the blonde was warmed up she left her mate's side and scanned the room, searching in things and around them. Erue walked into the room, noticing that the entrance was once again big enough to let a dragon through.

The room was humongous; in fact it matched the size of their room back home. As Erue looked around he noticed that while there were things for Rumplestlikin to sleep with, there was also a large empty room with wrecked carpet that lay in the middle.

A bed for a dragon.

"Erue…"

Emma approached her mate and raised a hand to her mouth to cover it. They pair stared wide eyed before them because not only was there a dragon bed, but before them lay a portrait, torn yes, but the picture could still be made.

It was of a man and a golden dragon.

…

The pair dashed out of the room with the picture, running towards theirs again to hide it and later confront Rumplestlikin. They slid to a stop though because the room was open, and sitting on her bed was none other than the man himself.

"So now you know dearie."

Emma set the picture to the side, putting the torn canvas back to its original picture to reveal the man in the painting.

"Why didn't you tell us earlier?"

"Because it wasn't for you to know."

"You're kidding right? You're…you're Aurum! You're the one who started it all!"

"AND I'M THE ONE WHO CURSED HIMSELF AS WELL. I am the reason the kingdom makes sure to never have something so disgraceful happen again."

"Wait a minute…you're…you're the one whose bond went sour?"

"That's right dearie. And as a result my mate and I became one. You're looking at two souls trapped into one body, battling for dominance for the rest of eternity and there is no escaping the fate that befell us both."

…

A/N: I'm sorry I haven't updated in forever but University is so busy! Did anyone see this coming?!

Please review guys! I need to know if I'm doing an okay job so far!