Chapter Twenty-One: Dealing With Loss

The clear bean in his hands, it was done. Bae showed his mother the bean, and she stared at it with awe. She remembered those from a very long time ago. The Blue Fairy was wrong though. That was not the last one. She knew Merlin still held a few.

When he ran up to his room, her eyes filled with tears as she went up after him.

"Bae, I cannot go with you," she said after she closed the door.

"Why? Mom, you have to come. All of us do," Bae pleaded.

"Baelfire, there are reasons why I cannot. Please, listen." Maria told him that the main reason she could not leave was because she was bound to an agreement with someone else, not Rumpelstiltskin. She lied the entire time, but Bae took it harshly. Maria did her best to be strong as she held him tight.

"Bae, don't worry. I will be fine. You and your father must go together. I cannot leave. I just can't. I'm so sorry Bae. I know you two will be fine. You've managed so far without me."

The boy looked at the floor, tears in his eyes as well. They both cried on each other, and thankfully Rumpelstiltskin was not in the house at this time. The two made a pact that when they saw each other again, they would never part after that. Baelfire agreed to this, hoping that his father would come with him. He remembered the agreement he and his father made.

The rest of the day, Baelfire spent with his mother. He knew that since he was not to see her again for a long while at the very least, he would spend his last moments here with her until then. Rumpelstiltskin came home later that night. Maria was sure to take her leave before then.

"Come on, we have to go," Bae said.

"Where are you taking us?" his father panted after him. "What kind of a world is without magic?"

"You know you're getting worse. Come on, Papa, we can be together. Power won't matter-"

"Bae, I can't."

Bae threw the bean down, pulling his father behind him. They were in a war of strength, and it was only Rumpel's fear that made Bae gain on him. The green vortex was vast, wide, and knowing that his power would be taken from him, even with Bae, he resisted.

"Come on!" Bae shouted.

"I can't! No, I can't!" Rumpel shouted again and again. Bae was enraged by this. They made a deal! Now, he was backing out.

"You coward!" Bae shouted at him as he pulled his father harder into the vortex. "We can be together, we can be happy!"

"I can't Bae."

Rumpelstiltskin, seeing the look of anger in Bae's eyes, grew afraid. He saw the two sides against him, and he pulled the dagger from his pocket, thrusting it into the ground. The two were literally dragging themselves into the vortex, but Rumpelstiltskin wouldn't have it.

The wind was sharply hitting their faces in the depths of the night where Rumpelstiltskin made the greatest mistake of his life...

He let his own son go. He let him go into the vortex by himself to a land where there was no magic. He sighed in relief for a few moments that the vortex was gone and that his power was still with him.

Then that spark reignited within him.

"Bae?" He asked into the air, over and over until his voice grew with rage and sorrow as he screamed at the top of his lungs.

"BAE! I'll come with you!" Rumpelstiltskin dug hopelessly at the ground, hoping the vortex was still there. It was this moment he saw that he truly was cursed. This power had overcome him to the extent of which he just chose it over his own family. The thing he loved most was gone forever because he wanted his power.

He was nothing. He felt like nothing, even with his power now. Baelfire was gone, and he had to figure out how to get him back.

Instantly, he conjured a meeting with the Blue Fairy, where he nearly stumbled back at her arrival.

"There has to be a way, a rip through the dimension, a spell, a curse," he pleaded, and he saw her expression alter at the last suggestion. He pointed at her.

"A curse! A curse will do it," Rumpelstiltskin exclaimed, and that's all he needed to know. If he could conjure a curse, then it could bring Baelfire back. His son went to land without magic, so that meant he had to create a curse that created a place without magic.

Knowledge truly was the power of all things. The Blue Fairy and he argued some more, and basically she blamed him for what happened to Baelfire. Although he knew it was true, he could not accept that he just let the person he tried to protect go so simply.

Maria had just returned to their soon-to-be-old place, finding no one in the house. She figured Rumpelstiltskin may have actually gone with Baelfire. When she considered the option, she sighed in slight relief. She'd miss them both terribly, but at least she knew he was not that heartless. If she really wanted to, Merlin could probably-

Then, all her thoughts were defied as someone barged in through the door. Rumpelstiltskin!

Maria's eyes widened. He'd been with Baelfire, she knew it. But, he was not here. Oh no...

Rumpelstiltskin, weakened to the point of exhaustion, lifted his head slowly up to see Maria standing in shock at him. His knees hit the floor, and he felt that odd twist in his weaker leg. She saw his tears hit the floor. She herself sniffled. Bae had gone by himself to the other world, without magic.

"Bae..." he said through his gasping for air and all the tears. "He's gone. I let him go!"

"I know..." she said. "Shhh, don't talk."

Maria rested her chin upon the top of his head.

"But-But-I can find him again," he said. "A curse will do it, a curse will bring him back."

"The deal you made with the queen-" she began.

"I just have to strengthen it," Rumpel confessed. I couldn't believe this! All he had to do was make the curse stronger than he already had, to make it even worse than what he'd first given to her (which he admitted was quite lame to begin with, even for him).

Then, the tears came back. So what if he had a way out? That would be a very long time to come. Bae was gone now...

Maria cried silently, trying to keep it to herself. So he really didn't go with him. She was right, but she couldn't leave him. Her own anger rested all on him, but if she left him alone, she'd be no better than he was when he decided to let go of his own son. They stood up and walked into their bedroom, lying on the bed together.

In a few weeks, the castle's construction would be completely finished and they would finish moving their things inside. Neither of them would be willing to go into Bae's room, but Maria knew it would have to be her. For now though, she held Rumpelstiltskin closer and closer as they both cried on each other for the loss of their son...for now.

News quickly reached the town about Baelfire's disappearance. Morraine's eyes swelled with tears...she never got to tell him... All she could do was tell his parents before it was too late. That is, if they would have her. She was deathly afraid of Rumpelstiltskin, but his mother, according to Bae himself, was almost entirely different. Morraine hoped he was right.

There were plenty of nights where Maria had to sit up with Rumpelstiltskin, and after two days, he made it sound as if Bae could be found again. He began leaving the house for hours and hours, sometimes without eating anything the entire day. Maria looked after him hopelessly as she watched him leave every morning and every night come back with nothing but a sore body and a broken heart.

He was looking for Baelfire, literally out there, where the Blue Fairy told him that night he would never be found. Rumpelstiltskin did not want to believe it was true. Each day, he'd set out, sinking to his knees by a tree when his body gave out to rest for a few moments. Rumpel would call out his son's name in desperation, just wanting there to be any sign of Baelfire that he could find.

One night, he came to the pit where he last saw his son. He sank down and pounded his fist as hard as he could into the ground. Even with magic, the hole was still a hole.