Hat Trick
Piper was impressed.
Something Gold had felt the need to point out to her as he walked with her from his shop to the police station only a few hours later, Emma having gone back to her apartment to try and see if there was anything else that could help, any other evidence. She was so rarely impressed by much, well…he took a smug satisfaction in knowing she was quite impressed with him, with his methods, with his determination and with his thoughtfulness as well. He had never ever given her a gift or allowed her a 'one-sided deal' that she wouldn't use, that wasn't useful to her, that didn't mean something. There were two rather important things he'd given her that she carried with her even now though neither was visible. Many other gifts she still kept on her, those were more visible. To Piper, the more important it was, the more it HAD to be hidden, for safety.
He always found it amusing though, whenever she was genuinely impressed with something or someone it was rare enough indeed. So he took great joy in pressing that she was impressed with Emma Swan especially.
"I see a likeness in her," Piper shrugged as they walked arm in arm down the streets, a few stragglers eyeing them in the darkness.
The people were still wary of her, still gave her cautious looks, but Gold smirked nonetheless, he rather enjoyed it whenever the people would look away, whenever they'd glance at Piper either asking themselves why she was with him or what was so dangerous about her that HE was with her. It meant that no one would dare lay a finger on her for fear of incurring his wrath. Fear was an effective tool, a lesson he'd imparted on another pupil of his that she'd used to the fullest. He liked knowing that Piper was safe, their deal, what had started off as the simplest of deals, truly there had hardly been any effort in for him yet a world of sacrifice for Piper…had morphed into one of the greatest exchanges of his life.
His wife had run off, had left him for a pirate, and all he could remember thinking was that love was a weakness when he saw to it that that loose end was tied up. He'd thought it and felt it with every fiber of his being that love was just the greatest downfall of them all. The only use it had was in true love being able to break a curse, but really what was true love but just another method of manipulation? It left SO many options open to him, created such a desperation to save the other person that it was almost all too easy to get a deal out of it. The Charmings had proven that repeatedly, put one in danger and they'd be willing to risk everything to save the other.
He'd thought for so long that it was pointless, that he was better off without it. Until a paradoxical blonde girl stumbled upon his home and carved herself into his blackened heart. There was one difference between him and Piper and many others that claimed love…they both had the power and independence to be able to focus and see to it themselves how things turned out. He had seen it so often with true love, how it blinded a person, how it made them desperate and short sighted, how plans could go awry and turn and change because suddenly someone was in danger, oh no! He found himself chuckling darkly at that, as though he and Piper would ever be so disillusioned as to think the other needed rescuing at all times.
Yes, there had been a handful of times where they'd each gotten into a situation where they needed the other's help. But the other didn't sneak around or follow them or stalk them to see if it was needed. They stuck to plans, they didn't deviate if one was captured, that was a trick with true love. It needed trust as much as it needed challenges to make it real. They trusted each other that, if they couldn't escape on their own (which they often WERE able to do) then they knew the other would come for them in the end. But that they'd come with an actual plan and not some half-baked notion of storming a castle because true love would prevail and good always won. No, they were the plotters, they were the planners, they were the sort to see their ends through and then double back for what might have been lost on the way. They both understood the necessity of seeing a plan through, they both understood the consequences that could arise from allowing their minds to be clouded with worry.
If they felt it, they crushed it, they buried it and turned it into delicious dark fuel that they would use to extract and free the other person, cutting down anyone in their way.
He had saved her life, had heard her calling to him and gone to her, rescued her as was part of their deal. But the day that SHE had rescued HIM…of her own free will and so…easily, so nonchalantly, as though a handful of Black Knights lying on the forest floor bleeding from every orifice was natural, had simply stepped over their dead bodies and reached out a hand to him, looking right at HIM as though he were the focus of her world…that was when he knew that she truly was his true love and that it was not a weakness to feel it. She could handle herself, he could handle himself, if they needed help they would ask for it, they didn't always need the other to save them from danger…because they saved each other in a different, more meaningful way. And having her in his life…it wasn't like the small smidge Belle had managed to work in, it wasn't like with Belle where she tried to take his power and break his curse or 'heal' him or 'make him better' or whatever nonsense there was.
She didn't ask him to change, she didn't try to make him kinder or gentler, she truly did love him just as he was, darkness and all, cruelness and ruthlessness and all. If anything she was nearly worse than him at times, more so when those she cared for were in true danger. But he realized that he saw her as an equal then, as someone as dark and hurt and strong as he was and that was something he needed. Someone to see HIM and all he was and accept it instead of constantly try to change him. She let him be who he was and, somehow, in doing that, she made him a better man all at the same time. She expected him to be himself and that…he wasn't used to that, it had touched a part of him that was still human in a way and he knew it was the same for her. She hadn't always been as guarded and distant as she was, he touched a part of her that felt safe around him, that allowed the woman she had once been to shine through.
They could both easily drown in the other's darkness in the best way, but equally so they were the buoy of each other's humanity in many ways.
"A likeness to who dearie?" he asked with a smile, already knowing the answer.
"Snow White," she mused, "So determined, so willing to fight, so faithful."
"I would have said more like you," he remarked, "We both know dear Snow wouldn't deal with the likes of me if she could avoid it. She wouldn't go as far as either you or Emma would."
"Perhaps," Piper conceded, "We do not know how far she shall take it though," she pointed out.
"We shall just have to test it then," he grinned.
"Not TOO much," she warned, "She IS family after all."
He nodded, lifting her hand that was tucked into his arm to kiss the back of it, "Anything for you Pip."
She smiled warmly at that, a softness in her gaze at his action. He always told her in the Enchanted Forest, had been suspicious of it for ages that she had somehow enchanted him that first night, that she had a…hold on him, a control of him, a power over him. He hadn't realized it was love, he had truly thought she'd managed to entrap his mind as she did so many others, had bent his will to hers, till she reminded him that if she had, she would have made him make a deal that was less confining for her, that gave him less control over her. Once he'd realized he wasn't enchanted though, he'd been more than a bit distant as he tried to work out what sort of hold she had on him. There hadn't been anyone before her that could manage to get him to hold back, to change his mind, and she did it all too easily, FAR too easily to him.
It was just the same in reverse though, he had ways of convincing her to do things just as she had ways of getting him to agree to others.
They looked over as they neared the station, seeing Emma walking towards it from the opposite end of the street, the three of them meeting near the doors only to see Henry sitting there outside it.
"Henry?" Emma frowned, focusing on her new-found son before her new 'partners in crime,' "What are you doing here?"
"I came to congratulate you," the boy smiled at all three of them.
"For what?"
"Your genius plan."
"And what plan would that be, Henry?" Piper asked, managing to refrain from smirking at him, knowing full well what the boy had likely discovered in the station.
Henry frowned at that, "I thought you were both in on it, since you're her friend and lawyer..." he looked at them, "You don't know?"
Gold gave a thoughtful look before holding out a hand to Piper, "Come along, Pip," he took her hand and led her into the station to see if their suspicions were correct, knowing Henry would still want a word or two with his mother about the brilliance of 'the plan' before Emma could enter.
Piper smirked, seeing the empty cell before them, the door open, Mary Margaret nowhere in sight, "I knew it," she breathed, nodding to herself, knowing the woman would have run the first chance she got despite how it would look to others.
Gold chuckled, "Very good guess Pip."
"Was not a guess," she stressed, "I know her. I know how she reacts to being locked away."
"Sheriff, could you join us, please?" Gold called as Emma walked in, stopping short when she saw the door to the cell hanging open as well, "She's gone."
"Henry, what did you do?" Emma turned to the boy.
"Given his belief that it was OUR plan," Piper cut in, "I believe he did nothing."
Henry nodded, "She was gone when I got here."
"Her arraignment's tomorrow," Gold reminded Emma, a note of seriousness in his voice, "If she's not there…"
"She's a fugitive," Emma cut in, "Doesn't matter if she's convicted for Kathryn or not, she's screwed."
"Well then it appears you had best find her before someone else notices her missing," Piper remarked.
"Like Regina," Gold agreed.
"The arraignment's at eight A.M," Emma grumbled, "I'm sure she'll be here bright and early to celebrate her victory."
"Then you have until eight A.M.," Piper smiled, "Best be off."
"What about me?" Henry asked, "How can I help?"
"Go home," Emma told him.
"Emma, if she leaves Storybrooke…" Henry shook his head, worried about the consequences of the curse. He didn't know exactly what would happen, no one really did because no one really had a desire to cross the town line…except Kathryn but it seemed she'd been stopped. He didn't want to find out what would happen if Snow White left.
"Not now, Henry. Now go."
"Let him stay," Piper cut in, "I could watch him for you. I doubt you would want him around Regina any longer than necessary."
Emma looked between them, of Regina and Gold, Gold was the lesser of the two evils at the moment. She'd actually SEEN him care for someone besides himself, Piper.
"Fine."
"Yes!" Henry cheered, high-fiving Piper, amusing the woman.
He knew he should probably feel weird about liking being around Piper, even more about feeling comfortable being around Rumpelstiltskin, but...there was something familiar about her, in her eyes...like she would protect him from the Evil Queen and that she wouldn't ever let Gold harm him. He knew there had to be something else about the Pied Piper that he was just missing. He'd read her story a hundred times after realizing she had come to Storybrooke and he'd noticed something odd…she never actually ever gave her name, she always just said 'They call me the Piper,' but that wasn't the same as a name. Maybe if he could figure out who she was, it would help.
"Miss Swan," Gold continued, "I know time is of the essence, but if Miss Blanchard doesn't return… her future's in jeopardy. And if you're caught helping her, so is yours."
"I don't care," Emma grabbed her keys, "I'd rather lose my job than my friend."
"If you will excuse me," Gold turned to go sit down at Emma's desk, "I have some calls to make."
Piper smirked, "Henry, would you like some ice cream?"
"Sure," he shrugged, following her out as Emma hurried for her car.
~8~
When Emma failed to return to the station by dinner time, Henry knew something was going on, even more so when he had tried to call Emma up and the woman hadn't answered her phone. Despite not having known him long she was trying to make an effort to be a part of his life, get to know him, be a bit of a mother to him. She wouldn't not answer, especially not when Gold called from his shop as it could have been something for the case or to let her know Mary Margaret had been found. A little poking around, a bit of tracking of Emma's car upon request of Henry, and the three of them were sitting in Gold's car outside a rather large mansion in the woods, where Emma's yellow bug was sitting right out front.
"So what do we do?" Henry asked, leaning forward in the back seat, "Who lives here?"
"Jefferson," Piper began, Gold knowing where every occupant of the Forest lived and worked in this town, "You know him best as the Mad Hatter."
"Wow."
Gold gave a small smile, "I've had dealings with him in the past," he offered, "I can certainly make an impression on him now despite my lack of magic."
"No," Piper reached out, gently placing a hand on his arm as he moved to get out of the car, "I HAVE met him a handful of times as well Rummy," she reminded him, "He never thought much of me till that very last meeting."
Gold started to smirk, recalling that moment. Not many people knew that the Pied Piper had come to work for him, he kept her to the shadows for a reason, she was his secret, his weapon, his treasure and he didn't like to share. But more so…it was just better to keep her hidden, to allow her her deals under her title and have her as the role of 'business partner' and 'caretaker' when all other souls were around. Jefferson had been in the middle of his own quest and run into her in the middle of one her deals, the reaction of the man when he realized the woman that had been moving around the Dark One's castle, cleaning and polishing was the Pied Piper…
He'd never seen Jefferson quite so jittery and disturbed, to realize he'd been around a woman where, if he'd said the wrong thing, made one wrong move, could have him a mindless drone or incapacitated or very well dead in an instant had startled him.
"May I?" Piper smirked at the thought of seeing the man again.
"By all means," gold gestured at the doors.
Henry frowned, a little confused as Piper got out and Gold just sat there, letting her go, "Wouldn't he be more afraid of Rumpelstiltskin than the Pied Piper?"
"Your book Henry," Gold shook his head, "Can only tell you so much and even then…it IS a book of fairytales, hardly something that would contain the true magnitude of the things she's done."
"So…she's scarier than the book makes her out?"
"Infinitely so," Gold turned, his eyes on the house as Piper approached it, pulling out her pipe from her boots on the way, wishing quite terribly he could be a fly on the wall of that confrontation.
Fear was an effective tool after all.
~8~
"Hello Jefferson," Piper smirked as the door to the large manor-like house opened and Jefferson, otherwise known as the Mad Hatter opened the door. His eyes widened when he beheld who was standing on his doorstep and he quickly tried to shut it again but Piper put her hand on it, pushing it open. She tilted her pipe that was in her hand this way and that in a tsking motion as she advanced into his home, "Would you care to tell me what you are doing with Snow White and Emma Swan tied up and drugged?"
"G-Gold told you?" he stuttered, backing away, eyeing the pipe warily. All he'd done was what Gold had requested of him. So…he may have kidnapped Snow White while she was wandering the forest and he MAY have tricked Emma into his home and drugged her tea, but it was all a part of his plan.
"He told me that you had plans to try and jog Snow's memory, get Emma to believe," she countered.
It wasn't the entire truth. They both knew of the plan and Jefferson's methods. They had both planned and plotted for Jefferson to find Mary Margaret and eventually get Emma there. They truly wouldn't have come there and interfered if not for Henry's worries. They hadn't expected the boy to be at the station and had thought he'd be with Regina at the moment. When Emma didn't return the boy got worried and they had to put on a show of trying to help find her. Gold had been the one to meet with Jefferson in the first place, but now SHE was going to ensure that the man didn't harm t hem.
Gold had mentioned on the way over that he felt Emma and Mary Margaret were safe, for Henry's benefit, that Jefferson was one of the very, very few who remembered the Enchanted Forest and that, perhaps he was merely trying to get Emma to believe as Henry had been trying to do. That was all Henry needed to hear to agree not to storm in there and get Emma and Mary Margaret out there, it was another plan that might work. And they had promised that, come 7am, if Mary Margaret wasn't back, they'd know where she as and they'd 'storm the castle' then.
"I have been keeping a very close eye on all those who remember since I arrived," she warned, "Regina, you, August...I must admit though that I am surprised YOU are the first to try and harm them."
"I'm not going to hurt them," he swore, he could see the protectiveness in her eyes, the danger, he was not so mad as to not recognize when he was on the verge of being on the bad side of the Pied Piper. That was not a place anyone wanted to be. In the Enchanted Forest, there had been a bit of a rumor about her, that her power was growing stronger since the Queen took over. Even the strongest of wills bent to her wishes and he didn't…he didn't want to lose control of his body like he'd lost control of his mind.
"No?" she raised an eyebrow, feigning disbelief at it. She knew he wouldn't dare harm them but that didn't stop her from wanting to put a healthy dose of the fear of god in him.
"No!"
"Hmm...why do I not believe you?" she eyed her pipe, trailing a finger along it, "Perhaps some persuasion..."
"No please!" he shouted, holding his hands up, "I'll let them go! I swear, I'll go right now and..."
"If that was what I came to do you would be dead already and them freed," she cut in, stopping him.
"But..." he blinked, if she wasn't here for them then what?
"I come to offer you this one warning Jefferson," she stepped closer, "Harm them, and I WILL kill you. Tie them up, drug them, talk, be silent, I cannot bring myself to care what your methods are so long as they are not harmed," she gave him a long, hard look, "Do I make myself clear?"
"Of course, your highness," he bowed his head.
"Do not call me that where others can hear," she nearly hissed at him, having almost forgotten he was one of the incredibly rare few who knew who she was behind the title of 'the Piper,' and all because he'd made a hat for her once, "I have put far too much effort into convincing Snow that I am dead and the Queen that I am only the Piper for that to be ruined by you."
"Yes ma'am," he nodded, shaking.
She smirked, "Very well then. Do be sure Snow is returned by 7:30 tomorrow morning though or I shall be back."
And with that she walked out of the house, back to the car, "Did it work?" Henry asked the moment she was back in.
She nodded, sliding in and shutting the door, "He will not harm them. They are safe."
"Good," he smiled, "Thanks."
"I do not want them harmed any more than you Henry."
~8~
"Are you sure they'll be ok?" Henry asked as he sat with Piper and Gold in the station, waiting for Emma to return with Mary Margaret, it was nearly time for the arraignment and if they weren't there soon…everything would be for nothing.
"They will be just fine Henry," Piper assured him, brushing her fingers though his hair a moment, a familiar gesture she'd often done with August when he was nervous. For how confident and near cocky he was now, he'd been quite the nervous child, always fretting that he'd turn back into wood till she'd reminded him that this world had very little magic and that he was safe so long as the curse was in effect, once it was broken they all assumed magic would return and then he'd have the fairies to help him if there were any wooden issues, "I know them, I know Snow and she will fight for Emma even if she does not realize why she is fighting so hard. And if Emma is anything like her mother, she will know just what to say to get Snow back," her expression turned thoughtful at that, a small smile on her face, "She always knew what to say."
She looked down, feeling someone take her hand, Gold, such a simple gesture but coming from him it meant a world of comfort. Times like this, she missed what little family she had left, though it had admittedly grown a little more even with the curse active, it still hurt to know she'd been separated from them and Gold for so long. 28 years, 28 long years on her own with August, having to learn about the new world, survive in it, raise a child in it, all the while never stopping her search for him and her family, all the while growing stronger in heart and spirit as she fought for everything she had.
It was something she'd struggled to do in the Enchanted Forest, just after Regina took power. She'd run, she'd tried to fight but hadn't known how. For all her personality as a girl, she hadn't been prepared for the life she'd faced after, and because of that she'd been hit all the harder. She'd had to claw her way out of the darkness, fight for every single breath she took at times, till she'd found solace in her music and protection in Rumpelstiltskin. Still, it didn't erase the fact that she'd had to be thrown back into much the same straits upon entering this world.
But she was resilient, and her heart was strong.
She wasn't the same girl the Evil Queen had hunted all those years ago and she was there to prove it, to save her family, and get them back.
"I suppose she is just like her mother then," Gold remarked, watching as Emma and Mary Margaret ran into the station from the back, Mary Margaret dashing into her cell, and quickly sitting there as Emma shut and locked the door, both women panting as they cut it remarkably close. It was only 2 minutes to 8 but they were there.
"Here," Piper handed Mary Margaret a newspaper, helping her both hide her upper body as she tried to regain her breath and also make her look nonchalant, as though she hadn't tried to escape, the woman taking it gratefully and opening it up.
"Let's go kid," Emma called to Henry, glancing at the clock, "You've got school and Regina will be here any minute, we can't let her find you."
Henry sighed, "I'm glad you're back Miss Blanchard," he smiled at her before running off after Emma.
Only a minute later Regina entered, smirking, smug as her eyes immediately sought the cell, an expectant look on her face as though she knew what she'd see there...but the look was quickly replaced by shock when she saw Mary Margaret back in the cell, casually reading a newspaper.
"Madam Mayor," Mary Margaret greeted as though she were merely passing her on the street.
"Good morning," Regina swallowed, trying to rein in her shock.
"Mr. Gold if you would?" Piper called, gesturing to Regina.
Gold stepped up to Regina, "Excuse me, but my client is not having any visitors besides myself and Miss Lynn."
"Of course not," Regina's eyes narrowed as Gold led her off.
"I'll see you out," he brought her to the hall, when she stopped, yanking her arm out of his hold and spun to face him.
"What is she doing here?" Regina hissed, anger seeping into every word, irritation on her face.
"She came back," Gold said simply.
"You said this was going to work. That she'd take the key I had you give to that Lynn girl, that she'd go."
"And she did," he nodded, "But, it seems that Miss Swan is rather more resourceful than we thought. Fear not, Your Majesty. Miss Blanchard is still guilty of murder. You may yet get what you want."
"Oh, I better. The only reason I made a deal with you, Gold, is because I wanted results."
"And results you shall have. See you at the arraignment," he smiled as Regina stormed off.
"What is truly incredible is that she cannot see the truth before her eyes," Piper remarked, stepping into the hall with him, having heard ALL of that, "As though you would ever HELP her."
He laughed softly, placing a kiss to her temple, "It was lucky you knew Mary Margaret would run and Emma would return her."
"I know my family," she said simply, before smirking, "And it will only be a matter of time before Regina's world crumbles," she eyed Gold, "When do you think she will realize we are setting her up? That everything happening to Mary Margaret can be traced back to her?"
He chuckled, "When it's too late."
And that was what happened when you threatened his true love as Regina had. For all that she had done and all that she'd led him to believe, revenge was truly sweet...especially when she was digging her own grave.
She smirked, "Perfect."
A/N: This was a bit tricky to fit Piper into since I sort of didn't want her to be kidnapped too. With Jefferson knowing who Piper is and that she remembers I couldn't see him taking her, and it would mean incurring Gold's wrath as well lol :)
Also, I'm going to put a poll up at the end of the week for the pairing name for Piper/Rumpelstiltskin(Gold), so if anyone has any suggestions for one, let me know in a review and I'll make a list and put them up for the vote ;)
Some notes on reviews...
I actually have it up on my FF profile the sequel is (hopefully) set for 2015 :) I can't say more about it as I've only recently decided to do it :)
The finale definitely killed me too :') I think it might be the first thing that's actually made me seriously consider writing a 'canon' one-shot for Robin and Regina lol :)