Chapter 12: The Dark One's Tale
Rumple now kept a barrier around the basement door that prevented Marina from escaping as he couldn't likely carry her heart around with him all day. He had returned her heart and made sure she knew fully well she wasn't allowed to leave unless she wanted her precious pirate to run into grave danger.
Rumple was bringing Marina her daily food but as he approached the table the bottom of his cane snapped causing him to fall due to his injured leg and the distraction caused the barrier on the door to break and gave Marina the chance she had been waiting for to escape. She quickly stood and took a step towards the door but sighed before coming to Rumple's side, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and she helped him to stand,
"Are you ok?" she asked gently as she helped him to sit down on his chair and he looked at her stunned,
"Why didn't you run?" he demanded suspiciously and she smiled gently with a simple shrug of her shoulders,
"You needed help. I wasn't going to leave you lying there on the floor" she said simply before picking up his broken cane and used magic to repair it before placing it in his and helped him to stand and he was shocked at her tender nature,
"Are you ok from here?" she asked and he nodded slowly,
"Yes….. Thank you" he said and watched as she picked up the fallen tray before placing the items back on the tray and Rumple coughed before walking back towards the door,
"I'll make you something else" he told her and she looked at him surprised thinking he wouldn't bother,
"You don't have to" she said gently and he glanced at her over his shoulder before walking up the stairs,
"Yes I do" he murmured secretly to himself.
Marina was surprised when Rumplestiltskin actually brought her a hot meal instead of the porridge he usually served her. She watched curiously as he spun straw into gold thread while taking sips of tea every now and again as she ate,
"Your tea cup is damaged" she pointed out curiously,
"Would….. Would you like me to repair it?" she asked gently but Rumple simply sighed,
"I prefer it this way" he said simply and Marina looked confused,
"Why?" she asked gently and Rumple looked at the teacup sadly as he brushed the tip of his thumb against the handle,
"It… It reminds me of…. Of someone I used to know" he told her and Marina frowned seeing how sad he was and stood before coming to his side,
"They were dear to you?" she asked gently causing him to look up at her and was surprised to see that she was genuinely concerned and he nodded gently,
"Yes…. She was very dear to me" he told her causing her to smile gently before sitting down next to his spinning wheel,
"What was her name?" she asked gently and he couldn't help but smile softly as he remembered,
"Her name was Belle… She… She was the only one who….. Who saw goodness inside of me… But I let her down" he said sadly and Marina frowned before placing her hand over his that held the chipped cup,
"I'm sorry for your loss" she whispered gently and he looked stunned before nodding in thanks gently,
"This tea cup is my one prised possession" he explained as he placed the now empty cup on the table,
"I keep it to remind me of her" he explained as he looked at the delicate porcelain cup and after a moment he waved his hand at the door causing the barrier to vanish,
"Go" he ordered simply and Marina looked surprised but before she could speak he looked at her gently,
"Please… Just go. You're my prisoner no longer" he said gently and Marina frowned before standing but as she reached the door she looked back at him gently,
"This never happened" she said gently causing him to look at her confused and she smiled gently,
"I guess when the curse was broken everything was returned to normal as if it never happened" she said gently and Rumple smiled as he understood,
"Thank you" he said as he watched her leave.
I hope you all enjoyed chapter 12 :D Please review and let me know what you think in order to unlock the next chapter :)
Kind Regards,
TheAuthor1996