It was around three in the afternoon when everyone returned from their tour. Belle greeted them and listened for a short while as Henry went on about the town. He was filled with the excitement of childlike wonder for a new world. Neal handed her a gift which she thanked him for and he helped her put it on.

She listened with alert ears as he explained to her what happened when Henry fell and how Calum fixed his arm. Neal asked her if she found any information about the elves or magic or anything that could send them back to Storybrooke. Belle shook her head. She wondered if Neal was secretly hoping for everything to be true as well because like her, he wanted his father to be a better man. Even if he had forgiven his papa and accepted Rumplestiltskin back in his life, that hope that the curse would leave their lives was always there. Now that the Dark One was gone, Neal was hopeful. But he didn't seem disheartened when Belle told him that she found nothing worthwhile.

She let him join the others. They looked like they had a great day. She wanted to say that she regretted not going, but she didn't. Almost. The information she found today was too important but she wondered if she would have found it another day had she gone on the tour. She shook her head. It didn't matter. She wasn't ready to tell Neal about what she read, even if he already knew about the book. She was still trying to wrap her own mind around the information. She knew Rumple would want to know what she read about Ruel Ghorm but Belle didn't think he was in any right mood for it. She still hadn't seen him since this morning.

After her short conversation with the queen Belle decided to have her own tour around the castle. It was breathtaking but she hadn't found any secret passageways or hidden doors to wander behind. After what Neal told her, she wondered if they were all hidden by magic. Every castle had some sort of hidden stairway or passageway in case of an invasion. The Dark Castle did, even though Rumplestiltskin could protect himself at the time. Surely this grand palace had one as well. Especially since the castle had no moat or drawbridge and wasn't protected by high mountains or hills. Only forest.

She spent a few hours walking around the castle after leaving the library and she had not yet found Rumple. She thought about going and looking for him but decided not. She knew that when he informed her of the library that he wanted to be alone, despite her insistence that she could help. As hard as she tried, she couldn't bring herself to even be irritated by the trick. She understood, but she would be lying if she said she understood completely.

Once Neal left to join the others she decided to look for Rumple again, but as she was leaving she caught Calum slipping past a hallway. She wasn't curious to where he was going. He was after all the king's representative. Perhaps he was going to tell Eoin about Henry's fall. She wasn't sure. But she wondered what would make him look so worried.


"Ruel Ghorm? Are you sure?" Aisling asked Calum.

Calum had decided that he held off this particular discussion long enough. He also knew he was in trouble for not telling Aisling and her husband when he first returned. And despite his reasons for doing so, it didn't help matters. He had informed them that a fairy entered the Midlands, due to his own faults, and her location was currently unknown. Though if he had to guess, it wouldn't be hard to figure out where the fairy turned nun had gone. And that thought made the situation even worse.

"You should have informed us of this sooner Calum!" The king argued. "We could already be having elves searching the lands for her!"

"I understand Your Majesty. I apologize for my mistake."

"It wouldn't help darling." Aisling said. Calum wasn't sure if she heard his apology or if she was blatantly ignoring him. He figured it was the latter. "Even if we sent out troops, she could hide as she wishes."

Eoin sighed. He knew she was right, but he still didn't like it. Right now a fairy had found her way into their realms, and he would punish Calum later for it, but the real problem was who the fairy was. Ruel Ghorm. Everyone knew who she was and many whispered her name like the natives of the Enchanted Forest whispered his son's name. He shook his head to rid himself of the memories. Now wasn't the time to dwell on guilt and resentment.

"If she found her way to Gryphin, this war just got worse." He said.

"Should we expect them to attack soon, sir?"

Eoin looked out the window, leaning against the frame with a bent arm. He thought about the question. It would make sense, but he knew it wasn't Gryphin's style. The last time he attacked the main city was hundred of years ago, and he knew why. Ever since then all he had done was minor damage. Attacking outer cities and small villages across the realm. But his main goal was Eliron and that was the king's main concern. There wasn't much he could do for the rest of the realm, no matter how much it hurt. Gryphin's army was rising in number and every time Eoin sent out his men, very few returned. He couldn't afford to keeping losing troops. It wasn't just the Goblin King's army that was multiplying; it was Gryphin's power.

After the Goblin King's last attack, Gryphin had spent many years healing. Eoin thought back to that battle and the weapon he had forged. Perhaps he was foolish for making a weapon that could kill them both, but he had no other choice. His big mistake was losing the sword in the process of the battle. Now it was in Gryphin's possession. But Eoin knew he wouldn't use it. No, Gryphin was saving it for the king. The goblin was a vengeful soul and quite adamant. Nothing could stop him. Except their son.

"I think Gryphin is smart enough to hold off, but for how long...I don't know."

"Do you believe that sir?" Calum asked the king after he finished his musing.

"Gryphin may be a goblin, but that's not his full nature. He's clever."

"So is our son. He has shown that." Aisling said.

"Yes, but he's not ready to know."

"They will find out eventually. They are already very suspicious. Especially the Evil Queen."

"That would be your fault Calum."

Aisling held back a smile. She knew that while neither of them were happy with Calum's rather large mistake, they both liked him too much to be severely angry with him. And if they were going to fix this issue, they needed his help. So they couldn't punish him and send him out of their sights. Not yet at least.

"Your Majesty, may I ask a question?"

The two royals looked at him. The tone of his voice had them curious, but his expression made them nervous. He spent a few seconds that looked like he was deciding how to word his question. No matter how much they liked him, Calum knew there were some questions that he couldn't ask. This might be one of them.

"Have you thought about telling Rumplestiltskin why you sent him away?"

Eoin and Aisling looked at each other. They were right. He didn't have the right to ask that question, but they both knew he was just trying to help. He cared about them just as they cared about him and his sister, and their city, but this was more delicate than they thought.

"No, you may not ask that." Eoin said. He ordered the boy to leave so it was the king and queen. He turned his attention to the window. He didn't want to think about that. He knew how Rumple would react. He laughed out loud.

"What is it?" Aisling asked, curious to her husband's sudden change of mood.

"We are the King and Queen of the Elves. Yet we are nervous to tell our son the truth. Look at how he reacted when he realized we were watching his life as he grew up. Everything he had been through, we knew about it and we didn't do anything to help."

"Sweetheart, we couldn't interfere. We both know that."

"He doesn't. Even if we told him, he wouldn't believe it"

He turned to look at his wife. She had gotten up from the table and was now standing just a few inches from him. There was that look again.

"Do you regret what we did?"

"Do you?" She asked.

"I want to. I really do. But we had no idea if we could survive. It took us years to rebuild the city. Lives were lost. It wasn't a chance I was going to take with our son. I just wish I could have saved everyone else, but it's a price every king must pay."

Aisling kissed him. Their race was always known to be wise, but she always believed her husband was the wisest. She thanked his father for raising Eoin that way.

"I will say what I have always said. I rather know our son is alive, even if it is without us, than have him dead in our arms. Whether you see it as abandonment or saving, is that a mother's crime?"

Eoin kissed her back, adding more passion. They had both lived long years, even before their son was born, and it was spent in regret and pain. Guilt and sorrow. They lived without their child when they could have had him. In turn, he suffered far greater than anyone. And while his life without them was spent in emotional torment, they knew one thing for certain. He became a far better man than they could have hoped for. He just didn't know it yet.


Belle finally found Rumple, standing between two marble posts under a canopy aisle. The sun was at its evening stage and it provided a nice warm lighting on his face. She smiled. Rumple might not think he was beautiful but she did. Beautiful and handsome and perhaps it was in this particular lighting, but he certainly resembled Eoin at the moment. Upright, a bit stern looking, and regal. She made sure not to tell him any of that.

"Rumple," She smiled walking up to him. "What are you doing here?"

"Enjoying the view." He said. At this spot of the palace most of the city was in plain sight. There were vendors and houses, woven among canals and trees. Surrounding it all was the forest, a majestic frame for the city horizon. He might not like the fact that he was practically tricked here, but the land was beautiful.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" She asked.

Rumple spun his head towards her, concealing his shocked expression quickly. It was nearly the same wording as Eoin's when the king found him in the study. "No, I'm afraid not."

Belle pursed her lips, inching closer to Rumple and wrapping her arm around his. He seemed calm but she wondered what storm was raging inside of him. She knew love gave one the ability to read their significant other like a book, something she was quite good at with Rumple, but she couldn't imagine what he was going through right now. Surely it was a lot.

"What are you thinking?" She asked. She didn't look up at him but out toward the city. Minutes seemed to pass before she heard an answer. Before it she felt his body move up and down so slightly, telling her he let out a breath that he must have been holding since she asked him.

"Magic."

"What about magic?"

He didn't answer. He didn't tell her about his short conversation with Eoin or the anger he felt when he was asked who he was. He didn't tell her about the jump in his heart when he told Eoin he wasn't his son. Hope. He always felt hope around Belle and Baelfire, but never around another person. Not even Cora when he believed she loved him. It was nice though. It felt refreshing having another want to share his bed and enjoy his touch, no matter how he looked. He liked the idea that someone could actually want and love him. He didn't feel hope when he was teaching Regina her magic, knowing she might bring him to his son. That part he was certain about. There was no hope needed.

But the ever slight hope that someone, anyone else, could be his real father was scary. At the beginning he would admit that perhaps Malcolm wasn't so bad, until he abandoned his son for an island. Any parent would be better than that. But then Rumplestiltskin remembered his own faults with his son. He laughed. If Eoin was his father, he guessed it wouldn't change the family history. Fathers who abandoned their sons.

'None of which is 'your son'.' He remembered telling Eoin.

"You know Rumple," Belle sighed. "If you want me to help you, you have to talk to me."

He let out another breath, looking back at her. "Belle, I'm fine."

"You keep saying that but it's clear you are not."

"How so?" He said, a bit louder this time. She was asking too many questions and while he admired her care for him, he couldn't help but feel tired. He wasn't in the mood to fight with her, especially on this matter.

"I can't imagine what you're going through Rumple, but it's not going to get easier if you just ignore it."

"What do you want me to do Belle? Accept it all? Would that be easier?" He sneered, though not as fiercely as he did with Eoin.

"It's a start." She said. Her arm wasn't linked around his anymore. She was standing firm and looking straight in his eyes. She wasn't going to back down no matter how much it hurt him. He had to deal with this some way, but ignoring it wasn't the right one. Why couldn't he see that she just wanted to help him? No matter what she wanted for him.

"Yes, a start to being your prince."

Before he spoke the last word, he knew it was a mistake when he thought of it. Anger shined in Belle's eyes and she turned around, her frustration with him radiating off in waves.

"Belle, I'm sorry." He was relieved when she stopped and looked back, but she didn't return to his side. "I am, but you can't imagine how hard this is."

"I can if you let me." She said.

He wanted to growl, but he wasn't the Dark One anymore. Perhaps that why it was easier to talk to her. Just a little. He stared at her, waiting for her to come back to him, but he knew she wouldn't. As he expected Belle gave him one of her looks that said she would wait for him, but not forever, and walked away. Leaving him alone once more.


Rumple nearly slammed the door to his room closed. Belle was offered her own room when they arrived. While she slept with him last night, she decided to give him some space and took the extra room. He was mad about their fight, no matter how small, and he wanted to apologize. To truly apologize. Not so she would stay in his company. But he was too proud and stubborn. He couldn't understand why she couldn't leave the matter at hand alone. Why couldn't anyone leave him alone? It always seemed like people were after him for some reason, mostly revenge, and yet no one wanted him around. Now people were saying he was someone else other than what he was. He wanted to yell at them and push them out of his way, but he was always too cowardly to do so. Afraid they would push him back down. That was his nature, unfortunately. Why did these people think otherwise?

He took off his suit jacket and laid down on the bed. It felt empty and cold without Belle. Despite his frustration with her at the moment he knew he would be crawling back, begging for forgiveness. She meant well. She always did when it came to him, but she never gave up. It was her best quality, and yet it irritated the Dark One in him.

Or former Dark One, he thought. If having Belle and others constantly insist that he was a prince wasn't aggravating enough, losing his powers were. He felt more empty than the bed. In fact, he was surprised he wasn't going through withdrawals. He was an addict when it came to his magic and yet he has gone three days without it and hadn't had one episode. No shaking or hunger. No headache. At least not one that was brought up from the withdrawals. He questioned why that was until he decided to answer it later. Right now he just wanted to rest.

But sleep had to wait when someone knocked on his door. Rather rudely he figured. Thinking over the people who only cared about their own needs over what he was doing at the moment, a few names came to mind. Of course only one of them won the prize of seeing a pissed off Rumplestiltskin when the door opened.

"Regina, what may I do for you?" He grumbled.

"Well you're in a good mood."

He smirked. "Yes. Being teleported to a new realm full of people who believe you're their prince does wonders to your mood."

Regina brushed aside the sarcastic response. It wasn't one of his best ones, but if he was feeling as he looked, she didn't blame him. She wondered if he had looked in the mirror recently. His face seemed paler and his clothes almost drowned him. She chalked it up to the loss of the curse. Surely, after having a father like Peter Pan, his ex-wife run off with a pirate who was now swooning over the women his son still loved and mother of his grandson, Rumplestiltskin would know how to handle drama.

"Whatever." She pushed past him and entered his room.

Aggravated at the intrusion, though in her nature, he sighed, "Come in."

"Listen, I need to talk to you about magic."

"I do believe you know how to use it." He said, closing the door and taking back his spot on the bed.

Regina held her breath, forcing herself not to sigh. She wasn't stupid. She could see this was a hard time for her former mentor, but what she had to tell him was also important.

"Listen, something happened in the town today."

"If I wanted to know Regina, I would have gone with you."

"That wasn't it." She didn't hold back this sigh. Why was he being more difficult than usual?

"Henry fell and broke his arm."

"Is he alright?" He asked, though not as worried as she was hoping. Did he think she would have healed him?

"He's fine. Calum healed him with magic."

Rumple looked up at her, giving her his full attention. She smirked. She knew that would catch his interest.

"He has magic?"

"Yes. That's what I wanted to talk to you about. His magic…I didn't understand it."

"What do you mean?"

She let out a breath of frustration, but it wasn't towards Rumple. She leaned against the post of his bed and canopy, crossing her arms as she thought how to explain what she saw.

"Well first of all his magic was yellow."

"The color of magic is associated with the user. Miss Swan's for example is white with her being the Savior."

"Well I know that."

He smirked. Of course she did, else she wouldn't have mentioned it.

"When I see people use magic, you or me, often times it comes out from their hand, right?"

Rumple nodded.

"Well, his magic came from his forearm. Like he was using the bone in his arm to heal Henry's. Is that possible?"

Rumple remained silent for a moment, thinking about the concept. "It would be extremely difficult and complex to do. That's assuming one would want to heal another by using their own body and energy."

"I guess he thought healing the grandson of the prince would do him some favors."

When he didn't give a response back she apologized. Seeing that he wasn't in the mood made Regina realize just how tired Rumplestiltskin must be.

"I assume you already know about their magic? The elves?"

Rumple almost didn't answer her. Honestly, he hadn't gotten much research done today. Instead he was only filled with more questions and less answers.

"Actually no. I now know as much as you do."

"What do you mean?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We know the only elves in the Enchanted Forest were the small mischief ones. The kind people associate with Christmas elves. While I do not know much about their magic or history, it's safe to say these elves are more of the Fae class."

"The Fae?"

Regina heard legends of Fae elves. They were beautiful and dangerous and not to be messed with. Even someone at her and Rumple's level shouldn't mess with them. Crossing one of the Fae would only get you in trouble. If Rumple was right about that assumption, it wasn't a good thing. But if Rumple was their prince, she had no idea what could happen.

"So Fae or elf, they are powerful. Right?"

He shrugged. "How should I know, dearie? You saw the magic."

She bit her lip as she contemplated. The magic she saw Calum perform was powerful. She could feel it, and he made it look easy. Like when she would make a fireball. It was her best and favorite magic 'trick', and even that took her a few weeks to do on the spot. She wasn't sure if that said something about her magic, or the elves.

When Rumple didn't add more to the conversation, she knew it was time for her to leave. But she wasn't going to go without a jab.

"Well if you're not going to be any help I'll just go.

"Thank you."

She looked back, shocked he didn't retort back. She left the room without another word, closing the door behind her.


Neal stopped at the corner, catching Regina leave his father's room. He didn't want to think about what they were doing, but from the look on Regina's face it probably wasn't good. She didn't look pissed off or angry, more like frustrated and he wasn't surprised. His father had a knack for aggravating people, especially Regina. Contemplating whether he should talk to his father or not, Neal decided to turn around and give his dad some space. He had also seen Belle go to her extra bedroom and if they weren't spending the night together, he knew his father needed to be alone.

Not ready to go back to his own room or to Emma, mostly because she was spending time with Hook, he wandered around the halls. He found a nice balcony and leaned against the railing, enjoying the cool night breeze that was coming.

Today was a pretty good day, which was more than could be said about the last few…years. He watched the moon above the trees and thought about those years. Peter Pan and Neverland, finding Henry and Emma, and getting to know Belle. Most importantly, learning to forgive his father. But he knew it hadn't been years. It's only been a few days if not weeks. He sighed. Had he truly forgiven his father that quickly?

He knew the truth now. Neal knew his papa was afraid when he let go of him and he fell into the portal. After hearing the tragic life that was his father's, Neal knew he had the right to be afraid. And with that thought, an anger began to boil inside Neal. Calum told Emma that the king and queen were watching. Even his father picked up on that during dinner last night. Meaning if they were watching, they knew. They knew exactly what Rumplestiltskin had been through and they waited until now to come and find him. To come and bring him home.

"How could they do that?" Neal asked out loud.

It sickened him, but he knew most of that rage was still from his own guilt and resentment. He didn't have the right for his father's forgiveness for his attitude. Sure, he was a teen for a few hundred years, but that was long ago. He grew up from that. He grew up and found a job and was doing pretty good in New York. Then Emma came along with his father. Neal shook his head. No, he couldn't be angry again. All that happened in New York was before he knew the truth. Before he knew his father's story. He understood now and he didn't need to be angry with his father anymore. But what exactly had he done to earn his father back?

If anyone else knew their story, they would tell him that he didn't need to earn his father back. Emma would certainly say that. Neal scoffed. Perhaps he didn't need to earn his father back, but what gave him the right to practically spit in his father's eye and throw away the love he knew his father was handing to him. To throw away the apology he was given?

Perhaps he had a little right, but he wasn't a teenager anymore. He was a grown man with his own son and it was time to start acting like that. This wasn't about him anymore. Neal let out another breath.

Now he felt like yelling at the king and queen. He laughed. They still had no solid proof that any of this was real and he was ready to give them a piece of his mind. He guessed he was tired of people beating down his father and using him. Not that that was what the king and queen were doing. No, they just took him away to another realm, claiming they were his real parents, and all just a few days after his nearly died killing the man he grew up with as his father. Now Neal wasn't sure if anger was what he was feeling. He was pissed but there was something there. Something he couldn't quite place.

Neal looked out to the forest and thought about Eliron. It was a nice place to live.

Home. That was it. For years Neal kept looking for his home. He was taken away from his home because of a bean. Than he thought he found one with Wendy and her family. Than it was taken away again by Pan. He wondered. If he had been searching for his home for along time, how long has his papa been searching for his?

Rumple's father abandoned him for a reason far less than fear. He spent years alone and while he said the Dark Castle was where he lived, it wasn't home without his son and then Belle came. Rumplestiltskin wondered if he could have that home again. Then she was taken away. Neal realized that he and his father had both been searching for some sort of home all their life, but his father's life was far worse than his ever was. And now there was one major difference.

Neal had a home. He had Emma and Henry and his father back. Sure, they kept jumping into portals and going to different realms, but they always found each other. His father had his son back and Belle, but he never felt loved. What was home without love? After what his father told him, Neal gathered that everyone he believed loved him had abandoned him, except Belle, but it was still difficult for him.

Neal let out a grunt of frustration. Now his father was feeling like he was abandoned once more! Why couldn't anyone leave him alone?

Another long breath. It was a good day, but it was a long day. A few long days. Neal headed back to his room, his rising anger towards the king and queen even more evident. Guilt of his own reaction towards his father coming up once more. When he finally reached his room he fell onto the bed. It was a long day and he was tired.


The border of the realm appeared to be a line hidden in the forest. In truth, the Midlands was not broken off from the Enchanted Forest. That's just what was believed so no one would go looking for it. The Midlands was actually a pocket realm, hidden by a truly powerful cloaking spell. If you didn't know how to enter, one would never know they were stepping into the midst of another realm. To that person, they would still be in the Enchanted Forest.

Blue stepped up to the large waystones. They weren't anything special. Just two gray stone boulders pointing upwards. There were a few smaller boulders around the land as to not draw too much suspicion, but noticeable enough to still be able to locate it. After all, these boulders were located in both the Enchanted Forest and the Midlands. Though it wasn't for the sake of those who lived in this realm. It was for the outsiders. For her.

She smiled as she recalled watching many people try and figure out what this stones were for. Trying every spell and cast they knew to open what they believed to be a portal to the heavens, or some other nonsense like that. But they always failed. There were only two types of people who could open the portal. The elves…and her.

Ruel Ghorm brought back her attention from the past and to the boarder. She was here for a reason and she couldn't waste time thinking about things that didn't matter. She raised a hand to one of the runic carved stones and muttered just a few words. Words that existed only in the beginning. Words that existed for this purpose. Soon a small quake shook the ground, but it didn't go further than the stones so no one but her would know what happened.

A faint blue shield appeared between the large waystones. She waited a few seconds before the magic settled. She raised a sharp fingernail and made a sliver in the shield. Even though she knew where it was and how big, once she pulled her finger away she couldn't find the cut. She smiled. She placed her hand back on the stone and whispered more words. This time the shield hid itself again.

Now that their first step was done, Blue left back to the Goblin King's castle.


Next in Chapter 12- Ode to Silence, the Four Seasons Through: The Charmings and Regina talk in private, Belle has lunch with Aisling, Regina thanks Calum, Rumple has another short conversation with Eoin with unexpected surprises, and someone wonders into the forest.

I'm not so certain yet but the chapters might be getting longer as we progress. I started out doing around 4,000 and a bit over (with the exception of the first chapter which was 4,900-but it was the basis for the story it had to be long), but now the chapters are starting to get up to the 5,000's.

Also, feel free check out my tumblr to look at the photos I used for inspiration for the set and characters. The link is in my profile.