With no other plans the castle in Arendelle quickly became their summer home. Gideon spent his days playing with Anna and Elsa's children and she spent time with Anna, reaffirming her belief that if they'd been given time they would have been great friends. And all the while she and Rumple spent their time planning day trips, taking Gideon to see the various sights Arendelle had to offer, sometimes with the royal family sometimes without. They spent days away from the castle but always came back and told them of their adventures. A month before they were due back in Storybrooke Anna came up with another location for them to visit over breakfast.
"You'd love it! It's a magnificent well and the waters are said to make you look younger but I think that's all talk! It's probably only a mind trick! I've never lost any grays at least. But you should definitely go see it, gardens have sprung up around there and it's absolutely beautiful! They call it-"
"The Spring of Eternal Life!" they stated at the same time.
"Yes!" Anna beamed. "You've heard of it already!"
She nodded. In a book she'd read as a child she'd heard of the spring and the river that supposedly fed the spring, but had never actually known it was here in Arendelle. She always dreamed it would be in some long lost Empire, not across the sea from her former summer home in Avonlea!
"Yes."
"Yes…so have I," Rumple commented almost dazed. She was nearly dazed too. Though he'd been pleasurable since they arrived here, he was usually quiet at breakfast time. "That's here?" he questioned with more curiosity than he'd shown in the last three weeks.
"We've done our best to keep it quiet, especially now that we're in your world again. It's about a two day journey from the castle, not far," Elsa commented from the other side of the dining room. Olaf had been having a bit of a fit and she'd finally seemed to get him to calm down and to sleep. The toddler was asleep, dead weight in her arms but that didn't stop her from continuing to pace, or rub his back, or bob up and down in a soothing rhythm. She glanced at Gideon and straightened his hair. She missed those days. "You should see it while you are here, and the view of the river is stunning. They call it-"
"The Guardian of Wishes."
This time it had been Rumple's turn to duplicate the words and she stared in shock at the two people before her. Rumple and Elsa and Jack…they were the quiet ones. Most of the conversation since they'd been here had been her and Anna and Kristoff and of course the children. But to see these two suddenly engaged in the conversation made the room tingle.
"You've heard of that, too. I can send some guides along with you, make sure you arrive safely," the Queen offered as she set her calmed son into her husband's arms.
"Mother can we?!" Gideon begged looking over at her.
She nodded immediately, unable to think of a reason they couldn't do such a thing. "Of course, but we can take ourselves, it shouldn't be too much of a problem."
"No…a guide might be useful Belle." She looked over at Rumple and felt her brows furrow in confusion. They hadn't needed a guide for any of their trips thus far. In fact, every time the royal family had volunteered to provide them with one, they'd refused. Why on earth was he insisting on one now?
But before she could ask Elsa confirmed: "then a guide you shall have."
Preparations were made and they left only a day later with a promise to Anna that they would return soon. Their guide was a kindly old man, who brought his own horse and his own pack and was content to lead them into the mountains with their horses and wagon loaded for camping again. He was impressed by their camping gear, tents they'd brought from the city of New Storybrooke were something the guard had never seen, and if memory served and Arendelle was one of the Kingdoms Regina was having a difficult time getting to accept electricity, might not ever see in his life again. He marveled at the way they repelled water. She had a feeling that they would be leaving him with one of them before they went back home but what she didn't have a feeling for was her husband and why this trip felt different than the others. She tried to put her finger on it, to identify the strange behaviors and the feelings she had but she couldn't. And when she tried to talk to him about it, all he replied with was a reassurance that all would be clear soon enough. It was confirmation at least that something was going on, but what it was exactly was unclear. He wouldn't even give her hints!
Finally, after two nights of sleeping in tents and foraging, they made it to the place where their guide stopped them. "The bridge across is just through those trees," he pointed.
She drew her shawl closer around her arms and looked at the sky. "Should we set up camp and wait until morning?" she questioned. The sun was beginning its descent, and it would be night in barely an hour.
"Oh no, Ma'am," he argued. "This is the best time to go, sunrise and set are the best views of all, and when you get back, the camp will be ready for you."
"You're not going to come with us?" she questioned.
He shook his head. "I'll stay to set up camp. The path is clear from here."
"Let's go," Rumple insisted quickly at those words. She stared at him in utter shock as he got off the wagon almost as quickly as Gideon did. She hadn't seen him this excited since…well…as long as she'd known him!
"What's going on?"
"We're seeing a well," he offered her as he raised his arms to help her down from the wagon seat. Riddles. When he spoke in riddles he was unlikely to tell her exactly what he was thinking, so she fell into his arms and let him help her to the ground. He was antsy as she dug through their things for the camera and placed it around her neck as their guide dug through their tents and bags in the back.
"Are you sure you don't need us to help pitch the tents?" she clarified.
Once more he shook his head. "You all go on ahead," he assured her. "I can manage here just as you can manage the road ahead."
"Belle, please, let's go!" Rumple insisted as Gideon bounced up and down behind him. She sighed as she took his hand and they began their hike forward, her only thoughts were that she hoped all of this would become clear by the time they got back.
Gideon was excited and unable to let them have peace as they made their way up the path. His ramblings were filled with stories and facts he had heard from the palace about this place and directions the guide had given them. "Through the trees" he'd said. It was truly more like through the trees and up the hill, but even with her suspicions that something was going on it was impossible not to smile as she took in the quiet and serenity of the woods which was confronted with her son's utter excitement. He was happy. Rumple was eager. And confused as she was, she was having a good time with her family just as they always did. Until Gideon stopped her and went suddenly quiet with wide eyes.
"Do you hear that, Mother?! It's rushing water. We found the river! The bridge is just on the other side! Race you!" Gideon was off before she even had time to prepare herself, but she bolted after him playfully a few steps before she had to fall behind. She wasn't as young as she once was, perhaps a drink from the Spring of Eternal Life would do her some good. But it wasn't just the well they were here to see. The entire country was beautiful and it was easy to forget that they were still in this world, in Storybrooke. But if Gideon kept running like that he'd miss it.
"Gideon! Gideon, wait! Wait!" she called as they the trees finally broke to reveal a river and a bridge over it, which Gideon promptly threw himself at and ran across without stopping to consider what he was missing. She shook her head at him. When had he gotten so old that she couldn't catch him?
"He's just excited," Rumple excused as Gideon made his way across and she laughed.
"And so am I," she confirmed as the pair of them made their way up and over as Gideon had, though at a significantly reduced speed. Gideon was excited to see the well but she was already taken with the beauty of everything around her, the setting sun, the river, the stone bridge, it was perfect. She turned to face her husband as they reached its peak. Gideon may have run ahead but he was still there to enjoy it with her. And she wasn't about to let the significance of this place be lost on him the way it might have been on Gideon.
"Did you know that some books say this bridge is older than time itself?" she commented reaching out to rub his arm. "Thousands of years people have made sacrifices here. Throwing their wishes in this very river. Can you imagine that kind of ancientness?"
She could, and she couldn't imagine it all at the same time. She could picture snap shots. Lovers coming here with a wish to be together, knights dropping their swords in the river asking for peace, boys throwing their last penny into the river hoping for wealth, women leaving their tears behind, hoping to get back loved ones. She could imagine it, but the knowledge that those snapshots were only fractions of just what had taken place here was overwhelming. How many people had stood where they once had? Different scenarios, different emotions…it was breathtaking.
"I don't have to. It's not the only one to see the generations come and go," he stating giving a small playful pull on that streak of white hair by her left eye. She didn't mind it so much but not for the first time she found herself wondering if he did. And fearing what that meant for her beloved husband.
"Oh, Rumple-"
"Belle." He grabbed her, put his hands against her arms before she had the opportunity to fling her arms around his neck to comfort him. All she could really do was hold on tight to him as he was to her. "I've been alive for many, many years, and of all those years the last ten have been the happiest I can ever imagine."
She forced a smile. That was a wonderful declaration, one that would have brought tears to her eyes if she hadn't been considering what he'd said before. What would come of him as she grew older?
"Well…we're only just beginning," she settled for whispering instead. They both had to think happily and positively, not focus on the inevitable end to their happiness.
"I know," he muttered. "But there is only one way I want to live this life from now on…as a mortal."
Her heart was racing, and she knew her hands were pressed too tight against his arms. Was it possible to feel confusion and excitement all at once?
"What are you saying?" she questioned. It wasn't possible; he hadn't found a way to safely rid himself of the curse, had he?
"I have a confession. This isn't just another stop in our uh…adventure," he shrugged letting go of her so he could pull the dagger free. "This dagger has been a burden to me for too long. I've been a slave to its power and now all I can hope is this river can grant me my one and only wish…to live a singular, natural life, with you." His hand rested on her arm and it held her steady as she feared she might sway from what he'd just said. All these years, all the quiet and the time they'd spend together…he'd finally said the words she didn't know she'd been longing to hear. To get rid of the dagger, to shed himself of his curse and grow old together, that would be a beautiful thing! To not have to worry about what would happen to him after she was gone because he'd age with her…she'd never known how sweet death might be until this moment. Suddenly it was far more beautiful, far more relaxing than the sight around her. This was why he'd been acting strange. This is what he'd hoped this place would do for him.
And before she could say anything, before she could question or smile or find the words to articulate what she was feeling she watched as he held his dagger out over the edge of the bridge and let it fall into the river. She knew how heavy that dagger was, and yet to her it seemed to fall slowly as if it were weightless. She held her breath as she watched it fall and finally plop into the river her mind thinking a million different things. Would it work? How would they know? Was this what that book had been about? What would they tell Gideon? Would he feel different?
"Rumple that was beautiful!" she cried turning to embrace him with tears in her eyes. He would have hugged her back. In fact, she had the sense that he was reaching to pick her up and swing her side to side with joy when suddenly she felt tension flood his shoulders and back.
"No," he breathed. She watched as he reached down toward his boot and his face twisted into horror or as he pulled the dagger free from where it had magically reappeared. His name was still written across it. It hadn't worked.
"Hey!"
"No!"
"Hey!" she urged trying to calm him as she swallowed the meaning herself. It hadn't worked. After all these years he'd finally been ready, put his faith and trust in something and it had failed him. She could see the sadness in his eyes and weight that she'd never noticed before. How long had this been a burden to him that he'd kept secret from her?
"We can't be discouraged now, okay," she urged, shaking him and forcing him to look at her and not at the dagger he held once more in his hand. These past few years had been a dream come true and they were so different than they had once been! It was a burden and they would carry it just like they had all their other burdens through these last ten years. Together. With a plan and actions that followed. If this was truly what he wanted, what they both wanted, then they would figure out a way to make it work. Ten years with him had taught her anything was possible. Even freeing the Dark One from his curse. "We will find a way to do it," she assured him.
"And you would go on that journey with me?" he questioned sadly, pulling her into his arms. How could he ask such a question? How could he doubt her now?
"There's nothing I'd rather do," she whispered back with a smile. How could she not want to do this with him? How could she not support him after all he'd done for her? "All I want is a life with you, Rumple." No matter how old and gray they both got, how weak for frail their bodies became, she wanted all of it by his side. And to know he wanted it too was satisfying in a way she hadn't expected. As if on cue he nodded and allowed her to draw his head to her own so she could hold him and finally kiss him atop that ancient bridge.
A sacrifice in exchange for a wish. This was hers. Her wish was his own. That he would live one life with her, that they would grow old together and watch their son grow up…and if the sacrifice she had to make to see that happen was a journey then so be it. With him at her side it was no sacrifice at all. They already had ten years behind them, what was another fifty?
"Mother, father!" They both looked over her shoulder to see Gideon on the other side of the bridge his chest heaving from lack of breath. "Come on! You're going to miss the well!" he shouted at them before running off again.
She turned back to the man before her and took the dagger from him, placing it back in its boot where it always was before she wound her arms around his neck once more.
"We'll tell him soon!" she promised.
"Soon," he echoed as she put her hand through the crook of his elbow and they continued on their way.
Here we are! We finally made it back into some of the 7x04 scenes. Seems like it's been a while right. Not too much to say about this since the scene is pretty straight forward. I hope you enjoy it and I hope that you like how I introduced this scene. It kind of continues into the next chapter.
Many thanks to Grace5231973, Jennifer Baratta, Adaasgard, and Rumbellefan for the reviews that you left for me! I'm glad that we're all happy with the reunion of Anna and Belle! It was one of those happy things that I was excited to write for you all. Peace and Happy Reading!