Bae:
He stared in horror as Rumplestiltskin came back to the room, Mama not in hands. Lacey was still crying in his arms, and nothing he could do would stop her. Ignoring Rumplestiltskin, he hurried down the stairs to the dungeon. When he got there, he quickly handed Lacey to Belle through the bars. The baby latched onto Belle and stopped crying. Belle turned slightly from him to start to feed the baby.
"He captured you too," Bae whispered sadly. Belle smiled brokenly at him.
"He did, but at least I got something out of it. And I got to see you and Rose again," she whispered. Bae moved close to the bars, hugging his mother through them.
"So…Robin Hood?" Bae asked, trying to lighten the mood. Belle nodded.
"I was Robin Hood, yes. It was so amazing, Bae, to be able to liberate people, to have people look at me and not see someone beneath them," Belle said quietly.
"And you gave it all up to see us?" Bae asked, feeling a sting in his gut. Once more, he had ruined his Mama's life.
Belle took in a sharp breath.
"I know that face. Bae, I was coming for you two anyway. This is not your fault," Belle told the boy, emphasizing her words. Bae couldn't shake the guilt. He knew she would try to talk him out of it, but it was still going to remain there. And he didn't know how long he would have before Rumplestiltskin would come and drag him away.
"How long were you here? In the dungeons?" Bae asked, changing the subject. Belle's face shattered at his words. She quickly tried to recover, but Bae could see the damage.
"Oh Mama. How long?" Bae asked softly.
"I don't know. Too long. Much too long," Belle told the boy. The words didn't help Bae. Lacey finished eating and Belle pulled her out, burping the tiny child carefully. As soon as she had, she handed the already almost asleep baby back to him. Bae tried to shove the infant back into his mother's arms, but she refused.
"It's much too cold down here for her. Please. Keep her upstairs. You remember how to take care of a baby?" Belle asked. Bae nodded hesitantly.
"Good. Just….please bring her down often. And to eat. Don't let her drink anything he gives you," Belle begged. Bae nodded without thought.
"Never. I'll send Rose down with a few blankets for you. How often does she get hungry?" Bae asked, eyeing the baby.
"Every three to four hours," Belle said before she yawned. His Mama was exhausted. Bae quickly shrugged out of his cloak, thrusting it through the bars at her.
"Here. Take this. It's too cold. Rose'll bring you blankets in a few minutes and then you can sleep," Bae told her. Belle nodded, heavy eyes lingering on Lacey as Bae slowly turned.
He trudged up the stairs, wishing harder than anything else that he could find a way to free his mama and his sister from Rumplestiltskin, and keep his newest sister from being touched by his evil.
When he locked himself in his room, he realized there was a bluish glow. He spun around quickly to see a blue fairy in the room.
"I can help you," she whispered. Bae's eyes widened.
"How did you get in here? Rumplestiltskin'll kill you!" Bae breathed. She put a finger to her lips.
"Which is why I'll be quick. I have something that can help you and your family. I have the start to a magical bean. It will take a few months to grow, but if you take care of it, it'll grow into a magical bean. The magical bean can take you away, to a land with no magic. You can take your family there. But, unfortunately, it will cost you something," she said, handing him the tiny seed. Bae took it carefully, mindful of the sleeping Lacey in his arms.
"The portal will only stay open for thirty seconds. And once you pass through, you will lose all memories of any people you've met here, outside of your family. You will remember the land, your home, the events, but not the people. You will all still remember each other, but any other memories will disappear," the blue fairy said sadly.
"Why are you doing this?" Bae asked, almost in shock.
"I swore to help your mother when she was accepted into King Midas's family. She will remember them as well, since they have become her family also. I must leave. Don't let Rumplestiltskin know the plan," she said, quickly disappearing.
Bae tucked the start into a little pot of dirt he had in his room, where his sister had given him a flower a few weeks back, not realizing that the flower needed roots to live. He tucked it under his bed before heading downstairs to find Rose, a small, hopeful smile on his face.
He was going to be able to save his family.
Rumplestiltskin:
Bae came down from his room carrying the child. Rumplestiltskin felt an ache inside of him at the sight. He longed to hold the child that was by blood his own. Bae walked to Rose and told the girl to bring blankets down to Belle.
Rumplestiltskin felt the slightest bit of remorse. The dungeons were dreadfully drafty, he was sure. But he had to make a point. Unless she took back the portion about him being allowed to touch the children, he would not let her leave the dungeon.
As soon as Rose left the room, Bae spun on him.
"You really are a bastard, you know that?" Bae asked calmly. The baby was waking up. Lacey. His Lacey.
"Oh?" Rumplestiltskin said with a giggle, trying to detach himself. If he didn't, he may rage. And he didn't want to accidentally harm the child in any way.
"Yeah. You really are. You just locked my Mama away in the same area she spent God knows how many months locked in. On top of that, Rose now has to see her mother behind bars. Poor child already watched the man she considered her father turn into an impish beast. Now she has to watch her mother slowly waste away in the castle dungeon," Bae said angrily. Lacey started to cry in his arms. Rumplestiltskin moved closer instinctively, causing Bae to step back. The boy rocked Lacey in his arms, murmuring sweet nothings into her ears.
He had never got to hold his son like that. And now, he wouldn't get to hold his daughter either.
And he saw red.
"You want to know what is truly beastly? The fact that I've been cheated out of raising my first son and now will be forced to watch my daughter grow up, alongside my other daughter, and not be able to hold them. I did everything for you children and Belle. Everything. And what did I get? Nothing. She can rot down there! Until I am allowed to hold MY children, she will not leave that dungeon!" Rumplestiltskin roared.
Lacey was crying extremely loud by that point. Rumplestiltskin, when the red faded, wished he could take it back, if not for Bae's sake, but for Lacey's. He had frightened the poor child. Rose appeared right in front of them, causing Lacey to squeak. Rose tugged the child from Bae's frantic arms, nearly dropping her. Bae quickly pulled Rose to the floor, showing her how to hold the girl.
Lacey all but stopped crying at the sight of Rose. She looked so much like her mother.
"Sh. It's okay Lacey. You're safe. Papa won't hurt you. He loves us," Rose reassured the girl. Rumplestiltskin refrained from smiling at the girl's words. Rose still loved him. Despite everything, Rose loved him.
That was almost enough for him. It was enough to hold onto the shred of his humanity, albeit how small that shred was. If it wasn't for Rose's love, he would have lost himself to the Dark One in the beginning.
He turned briskly from them, stomping his way down to the dungeon, fury mounting with each step. When he got to the bottom, he threw himself against the bars of her cell.
And his anger just…dissipated.
He didn't know where it went, but it faded. She was asleep, shivering, surrounded by the blankets Rose had just brought down. He couldn't feel the cold. He couldn't feel much anymore. But he did feel something stirring inside of him. Guilt.
He settled himself down onto a conjured chair, watching her sleep. She was different than she was before. But so was he. They were both different.
It wasn't long before she woke up. She woke up quickly, as if sensing he was there. She shot out of the bed, eyes scanning the room. When they landed on him, she pulled the blankets tighter, glaring at him openly.
"What do you want?" she asked, irritated. Rumplestiltskin tilted his head, staring at her.
"You changed, dearie," he observed. She tilted her head, mimicking him. Mocking him.
"You've changed as well, dearie," she shot back. He hid the scowl that tried to form on his lips.
"Don't you like it? Shimmery skin is the newest fad," he said with a giggle, spinning around for her. When his eyes landed back on her, he realized his little twirling had the opposite effect. He had expected it to disgust her, but she seemed to be holding in laughter.
"I daresay you wear it in a way few have worn it before," she shot back with a straight face.
"And you seem to have taken on a new identity as well. To think, before we were King Rumplestiltskin and Belle, and now look at us. The Dark One and Robin Hood," he said wryly. The happy look that had almost manifested on her face slid off at his words.
"Some of us had to adapt to survive," she all but hissed at him. He observed how her body seemed to recoil, curling in on itself to shut him out. So the Belle he'd known was still there, somewhere.
That was all he needed to know.
"Nevertheless, dearie, I have a deal for you," he trilled, trying to hide his inner triumph.
"I don't feel like making any deals with you," she retorted.
"Ah ah ah. But I do. And if I do, it goes," he said, his voice going high as he did. Fury lit up her eyes. Belle stood, dropping the blanket. She made her way to the bars, gripping them as if they were there to help her instead of hinder her.
"Does it now? You know what I'd like? I'd like for you to go to hell," Belle spat at him. Rumplestiltskin threw himself from the chair. His face was inches from hers as he gripped the bars as well.
"I'm already there, dearie," he spat. Belle, instead of moving back as he had expected her to, moved even closer, her gaze defiant.
"You mentioned a deal. So I still have something the mighty Dark One wants," she mused coyly.
"I want my children," he hissed, his anger returning from before.
"Funny. I want my children too. So I'm keeping them. If staying here until I die is the price I pay to keep them safe from you, so be it," she responded vehemently.
He had no control over his next actions.
One moment, he was glaring back at her, and the next he was attacking her with his lips.
His hands had clasped her hands, pulling her so she couldn't pull back. The bars were pesky. It took nothing to move them slightly apart, wide enough for his head and hers to fit through. She struggled against him only for a moment before thrusting herself at him with the same amount of violence that he pushed at her.
It was not a kiss of love. On the contrary, it was kiss of nothing but hatred. And hatred they poured into each other, viciously pushing at one another. She managed to get one of her hands from his and it immediately found itself around his neck.
She was trying to suffocate him with one hand. The thought made him chuckle darkly. His hands left hers to grab her waist, pulling her tightly against him. Her other hand made an attempt to wrap itself around his neck, but his magic kept her from her success.
"Mama, Lacey's hungry and….what the hell are you doing to her?!" Bae shouted. Rumplestiltskin ripped himself from Belle, spinning around just in time to see Bae miss the next step.
It was as if he was watching it happen in slow motion. He couldn't catch Lacey. The magic of Belle's deal would prevent it. Bae's head slammed into the wall faster than Rumplestiltskin could react. The only thing he could think of doing was magicking Bae's currently unconscious body under where Lacey was landing. He magicked a pillow under Bae's head before it hit the ground and another two pillows on top of him to soften Lacey's fall even more.
The moment she hit the pillows, Lacey began crying loudly. He took a quick step forward but was thrown off balance when Belle rushed past him. Rumplestiltskin whirled around, glancing at the door. It was still locked. But the bars he had rearranged so he could sexually assault her….she'd slipped right through them.
Fury ripped through him, but stopped when he noticed Belle holding Lacey to her, whispering to her even as she felt around at Bae's head, seeing for any damage. Her hand came back bloody. Rumplestiltskin knelt next to her, his hand hovering over Bae's head. His magic healed the boy but he remained unconscious. No, sleeping.
Unconscious was bad. Sleeping was healthy.
That's how he saw it, anyways.
"I'm willing to compromise, dearie," Rumplestiltskin said, eyes still on Bae, scanning the boy for any other injuries.
"Talk," she said stiffly, but he could tell what had happened had shaken her immensely.
"If something is happening, emergency-wise, such as this, to either child, I have automatic permission to save them," he said. She nodded.
"As long as you do not cause the accident. No getting around that," she said bitingly.
"I want an hour each day with Rose and an hour with Lacey," Rumplestiltskin said. It was a poor compromise in his opinion. Very poor.
"No. Not with both," she immediately countered.
"Forty-five minutes with Rose, an hour with Lacey," he altered slightly. He wasn't going any lower.
"I have to be in the room," she added.
"No. With Rose I can be alone with her," he said instantly. Belle's face darkened.
"And what do I get from this?" she asked lowly.
"I'll let you out of the dungeon. God knows this place can't have too many pleasant memories for you, can it?" he asked. Her expression darkened even more, if that was possible.
"Clarify letting me out of the dungeon," she said, her voice even.
"You'll be allowed to roam most of the castle," he said.
"Deal," she said, jutting her chin out slightly. Rumplestiltskin stood, magicking Bae to his room. He grabbed Belle by her arm and dragged her up the stairs. He was more gentle than he had been before.
"Feed her so I can have my hour with her first," he ordered. Belle waited until they had stopped walking and sat in a chair, tucking the child under her shirt. She watched him carefully as she fed the child.
Rose came running down the stairs, eyes wide in horror.
"Papa, something's wrong with Bae!" she cried. When she saw Belle out of the dungeon, she magicked herself right in front of Belle. She launched herself at Belle, causing Lacey to cry out in protest.
"Mama!" she cried happily.
"Bae's fine. He tripped," Rumplestiltskin said, slightly miffed that she had ignored him the moment her eyes rested on Belle.
"Why are you out?" Rose asked suddenly, eyes turning to Papa.
"Did you let her out for good?" she asked excitedly.
"I traded with her. I get to hold you for forty-five minutes a day and Lacey for an hour a day and she's out of the dungeon," he told her, feeling slightly giddy at the knowledge. The moment the words left his lips, Rose ripped herself from Belle and all but tackled Rumplestiltskin. He lifted the girl, hugging her closely, running his fingers through the girl's unruly curls.
"You didn't brush your hair today. Why not?" he asked sternly. The girl giggled into his shoulder. Belle was not happy. She seemed confused. She was staring at them, almost sadly at her girl and hurt directed towards him.
"But when I don't brush my hair, you do for me," Rose said happily. Rumplestiltskin sighed and sat down, turning Rose around so she sat facing away from him. He ran his fingers through her hair gently, tugging out the knots in the curls.
Belle finished feeding Lacey and pulled her out, checking what he assumed was a cloth diaper. She looked slightly irritated when she did. He assumed that meant it was full. He waved his free hand, making a new diaper and some wipes appear on her lap next to Lacey. Belle jumped at the appearance, but she said nothing as she laid the baby out on her lap.
Rumplestiltskin focused on Rose as Belle cleaned Lacey. For half a second he felt like a father, like a father of a family, his family.
Rose turned around in his lap as soon as his fingers stilled. She wrapped her arms around him tightly.
"I didn't realize how much I missed hugging you," she said quietly. He hugged her back as well. He didn't even protest as her fingers wove themselves through his hair. The Dark One inside of him fumed at the action, but not even the Dark One could tell Rose no when it came to what she wanted.
That was one of the first things he discovered. Despite the Dark One's control, Rose had more. Whatever Rose wanted, she got.
Even the Dark One agreed with that philosophy.
All too soon, he felt the magic separate the two of them. Rose sighed, her bottom lip quivering as she climbed off of his lap, the lap she was now slightly hovering over. She padded over to her mom, climbing into her lap. Rumplestiltskin reached out for Lacey. Belle reluctantly allowed him to take her from his arms. He sat back down in his chair, staring down at Lacey.
She had his eyes. And his nose, he noted wryly. But he could already see that her hair was going to be just like her mother's hair. The hair wasn't long, but it was unmistakably the same color as hers.
He rocked the child, noticing how her eyes stared into his with fire. He almost chuckled. She was going to be a spitfire. He could tell. And he couldn't wait to watch her grow up.
Regina:
Nothing was going right. Everything had completely fallen to pieces around her. If she hadn't had Henry, she didn't know what she would do.
If only her mother hadn't come back from…wherever she had been. Daniel was gone now, all because of her mother. Her father had also been killed in Cora's rage. She was so glad Henry hadn't been nearby when it'd happened.
Still, whatever had happened, it had to do with Snow White. When Regina had asked Cora how she had gotten there, she said something vague about Snow White. That infuriated Regina.
When Maleficent suggested she create a curse, a curse to end this world and throw them into a place she could have her own happy ending, she had hesitated. She could still be happy there, she believed. She had Henry. And Henry loved her. As long as Henry loved her, everything was fine.
So she had turned Maleficent down. But something in Maleficent's expression told her that she wasn't too disappointed.
Maleficent was planning something. And Regina wanted nothing to do with it.
Maleficent:
She left Regina's castle, irritated but otherwise not deterred. It would have been easier if Regina had agreed to cast the curse, but it didn't matter. There was still Anna.
She knew Anna would agree to cast the curse. Anna had enough hatred in her. She just would have rather had Regina cast it. Maleficent felt she would have had a better place in the new world, had Regina cast it.
Hell, Maleficent herself would have cast it, had she had someone or something she loved. The Seer had been very clear that she could not cast this herself. The curse would require two sacrifices of things one loved most. Two. Maleficent didn't even have one. Anna, on the other hand, had two parents.
She knew now that she just had to wait. The Seer had explained patiently that this would be a long ordeal, if she wanted to go through with it. She had to wait for Rumplestiltskin's accident to happen so she could go to him to create the curse. Only Rumplestiltskin could create a curse so dark, and the only way he would do something like that would be if he lost the last of what he cared about. His family.
She grinned as she thought about it. In this new land, she would be able to punish Aurora, Philip, and Belle to her heart's content. The first step was oh so exciting. She hadn't realized impersonating the Blue Fairy could be so much fun. The boy had ate her words up. Now, in a few months, she could move on with her plans.
She magicked herself into Avonlea's castle, resting in the chair in Anna's room.
Yes, her plans were going to be magnificent. And although it may take years to accomplish, she would finally be able to avenge Adam's death properly.
1234567890-098765432123456789098765432124568909875 4321235790-08675321235789
I know that was an incredibly long wait, and this is a really short chapter, and I am sorry. I have had some stressful weeks and it was impossible to find time to write!
Don't be mad!
It may be another two weeks for another chapter. I'll try hard to get it up sooner, and make it a bit longer, but I make no promises. I only stopped this here because I felt I owed you guys something. Thanks to everyone who hasn't given up on this.
And for those of you who are worried about what I'm doing with the story: It's okay. I am glad you guys care about the story enough to be worried. And I take all of your words to heart, believe me. It took a lot of internal debate and external debate with some of you before I decided on adding the Dark Curse. If there are any clarifications y'all need, don't hesitate to ask. I may not tell you, if I plan on clearing some of it up soon, but I will try.
Be prepared, in the next few chapters, for some complexities. I have a few plans, and I will do my best to get them to line up perfectly! And for those of you hoping for Rum to have a break, don't worry. I can't leave Rum and Belle permanently sad! Remember that as you read. There is hope. ;)
Now, please review and tell me what y'all think of this shorter chapter! I'm hoping for some good feedback!
~Andiya
