Part 26 Curses

A/N Closing in on that all important ending. I hope you've enjoyed our journey together. It's been a blast for me.

When Gold and Belle finally came up for air, the room was empty; the vortex closed. Belle blushed. "Have we been standing here that long?"

A genuine smile, the kind that only Belle seemed able to pull out of him, covered Gold's face, causing his eyes to sparkle as he looked at her. "I …have absolutely no idea."

Belle grinned. "We should probably go."

He sighed, but gave in and held his hand out to her. She paused for less than a second before placing her hand in his. Together they walked out of Jefferson's house.

Emma and Ven were leaning against her cruiser. Emma looked completely annoyed. Ven just smiled at them. "Well damn, we thought you'd rented a room."

Belle had the grace to blush again; Gold simply grinned like the Cheshire Cat. He leaned closer to Belle and whispered. "There was plenty of room on the sofa."

Ven started laughing as she watched her brother whisper something and Belle turn several deeper shades of red. It was nice to see her brother smiling. Even if there was a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. Not evil, she noted, not anymore. He had changed so much. She had watched from afar through her crystal globe as he grew to manhood, got married to that horrible bitch Glacories, and had his son, her nephew. She smiled. She'd never considered that.

She had seen him turn to the darkness with the best of intentions, only to allow it to consume him. She was glad he'd met Belle. She was, perhaps, the one thing that kept him human, even after her 'death.' He held that love so deeply in his soul that her light, or as Ven kept telling them, that magic that made them so beautiful together, continued to burn. Perhaps down to a glowing ember at times, but always, always there. He was unable to completely pass into the dark. It was not Charming and Snow's hair that made the True Love potion. Their hair was the ingredient, his love the catalyst. Someday she'd explain that to him. She searched his face as he and Belle came down the stairs to join them. On the other hand, maybe she didn't need to.

Emma seemed to have adjusted to the idea of Gold being affectionate to another person. Granted, she still looked seriously freaked out, but she was dealing and that was a good thing. People in this town needed to get used to it. Jefferson hadn't flinched, looked, gawked or even seemed to care. Perhaps he had known something Emma did not.

"So, are we going to break the curse or what?" Ven laughed and caught a glare from Emma. "What?"

"Impatient much?"

Gold could see Emma getting ready to blow. "We need to return to the shop. I've something you're going to want. I'll explain everything on the way."

When he turned toward his car, Ven shook her head. "Oh, I don't think so." Gold pinned his sister with a death stare, which Ven brushed off. "You drive like crap, Rum. Can we at least ride with someone who has a driver's license?" Ven paused and looked at Emma. "You do have one, right?"

"Yes, of course I do."

"Super." Ven opened the passenger side of the cruiser, got it and closed the door behind her, leaving Gold, Belle and Emma to follow, which after a moment of staring, they did.

#

"I have to kill a what?"

They pulled up to the door of the shop and Gold helped Belle out of the car. "The potion we need is inside the creature Sheriff. It's only a wee dragon."

Emma scoffed, following them inside. "Yes, I'm sure it's very 'wee.'"

Gold and Belle disappeared into the storeroom. Emma watched them go and sighed, looking at Ven. "Think they'll ever come back?"

"Eventually," Ven said, laughing. "Come on, Sheriff. I think it's wonderful to see him happy."

"Yeah well, it just gives me the creeps."

"Why?"

Emma actually gave it some thought. "I have no idea. It just feels …strange."

Ven nodded. "Residual memories."

"Uhm …what kind of memories?"

"Snow and Charming are your parents, right?"

Emma sighed. "That's what they tell me."

"It would be normal for any …bad, or frightened memories your mother had to pass to you. Especially if she saw my brother while she was pregnant."

"I don't understand."

Ven shook her head. "It's okay. It's too hard to explain. Let's just say that babies are very perceptive, and are capable of feeling what their mothers feel."

"Ooooookay. Let's just say that then."

"Say what?" Gold emerged from the room holding, for all the world, what looked like a guitar case.

Ven waved him off. "Nothing of dire importance. What's that?"

Gold laid the case on the counter and looked up at Emma as he opened it. "Your father's sword."

Emma looked behind him. "Where's Belle?"

Gold didn't look up at all. "Getting dressed."

Ven burst into laughter. "Rum, stop teasing the Sheriff. She's going to have nightmares."

Emma put one hand on either side of her head. "Too late. Scarred for life."

That was enough to send Ven into another fit of laughter and Gold smiled. Belle came out seconds later and one look at her confused face caused Ven to choke and gasp for air. Belle looked from Emma to Gold to Ven and then pinned glittering blue eyes back on Gold. "What did you say?"

Ven choked, gasped and reached for the counter to steady herself. "It's fine, Belle. He was joking."

Belle shook her head. "Shouldn't we be explaining to Emma what she needs to do?"

"I have explained it."

Emma snorted and Gold turned toward her. "What?"

"Take the elevator to the basement and kill a dragon ...oh sorry, a 'wee' dragon …those are not instructions that exist in my world."

"That is exactly my point, Sheriff Swan. We don't come from this world. You may have been raised here, but you are from my realm, as is Belle, and Ven and your parents."

"So my destiny is to kill a dragon?"

Gold shook his head. "Not really, that's just a bonus. Your destiny is to retrieve the potion. Then we will break the curse."

"What's going to happen? Won't everyone go back to your realm?"

"Honestly," Gold answered, moving over to Belle and taking her hand again. "I don't know.