An icy stillness washed over them at the sound of the high voice. There was something... fearsome about its aura and so they watched warily, hands tense against their weapons as the laughing shadow emerged from the darkness and stepped into the firelight, finally revealing themselves.
An inaudible gasp escaped from Emma's mouth at the sight of their new company. For whoever had joined them looked neither man nor beast, but a disturbing mixture of in-between. Yet whatever it was, it took more of the form of a man, though with large bulging eyes and sickly green skin; long, thin fingers and ragged, matted hair. And by the way the man-creature was looking at them - a sinister yellow-toothed grin spread across his face - Emma had a strong feeling he was not good business.
"Who are you?" she called out.
In response she received a high-pitched giggle, a sound that sent uncomfortable shivers down their spines. But Emma had a feeling she already knew who this man-creature was. She glanced at Hook beside her, whose wrath was practically radiating from him right now, then back to the man-creature. By the looks of the unknown man-creature's scaly skin; the icy, blatant hatred in Hook's eyes, it could only be one person... 'The Crocodile'...
"Rumplestiltskin."
The hiss that left Hook's mouth seemed to be a trigger for all of them, as they all simultaneously lunged forward, prepared to attack. But before Emma could completely unsheathe her sword, a strange sensation overcame her, and soon she found herself, along with her three company, completely frozen.
"Oho," Rumplestiltskin said gleefully, finger still raised in the air from the freezing spell he had just enacted. "Ohohoho! What do we have here?"
Unable to move, they watched as he walked towards the closest frozen body, whose metal hook was still raised in the air, gleaming against the firelight. Smirking, Rumplestiltskin leaned towards Hook.
"Never thought we'd meet again this soon, Lieutenant."
He giggled then jumped back, clapping his hands together. "Oops, never mind! I meant Captain. Is that right?" He looked up at the ceiling as if in deep thought, then clapped his hands together again. "Of course it's right - because your brother, the former Captain, is dead."
Rumplestiltskin let out another high laugh. "Nasty little accident, that. My uh, sincerest apologies," he said, far from sounding sorry. "But at least dear Liam's death hasn't left you with nothing." He glanced down at Hook's metal contraption pointedly with a sly smirk.
"Enjoying the hook replacement,Killian Jones?"
Although he was still completely frozen, it was obvious from the muscle twitching in his jaw that Hook was trying to lunge towards the taunting man-creature in front of him. Rumplestiltskin noticed this as well, though it seemed to make him all the more amused.
"Nice try, but I'm afraid the point of a 'freezing spell' is to, well, freeze," Rumplestiltskin said. Then he looked at the four of them thoughtfully. "Hmm, but let's make things more interesting, shall we? I get rather bored talking to myself. So let's unfreeze, say, your mouths."
With a wave of his hand, they all felt their entire heads and faces relax, allowing them to speak and move their heads freely.
"Hook-"
"Swan, whenever you can, you must leave -"
"How noble! How valiant! How honorable." Rumplestiltskin clapped his hands together, looking between Hook and Emma in mock awe. "But I'm afraid no one's leaving until I say so."
A tense silence filled them once again as Rumplestiltskin left his spot in front of Hook, walking towards the other three. "A company of four, I see," he observed. "Never really liked the number four."
He whipped around towards Ruby and Graham, hands raised in the air, and with the blink of an eye, the werewolf and the huntsman disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
"Much, much better. Remind me to thank Regina for conjuring up a way to force you to come here."
Enraged, Emma turned to him. "What did you do to them?!"
"Have you heard of the saying, 'See you on the other side'? Quite applicable to them at the moment."
"Bring them back," she demanded through gritted teeth.
"Relax, dearie, they're still in the White Kingdom. If you want to see them again, however..." He gave her a hard, serious look before finishing.
"That depends on whether or not you succeed."
Both Hook and Emma opened their mouths - to retort or insult or spit at him, who knew - but Rumplestiltskin was not having any of that. Especially not here. Sending them another wicked smile, he lifted his hands in the air, causing a cloud of smoke to form around them, and before they knew what was happening, they felt the sensation of the freezing spell leaving them, along with their vision as the cave around them began to blur into nothingness, swirling around and around and around...
They stopped abruptly, stumbling at the impact, and they looked around their new surroundings, anger slowly rising as the realization washed over.
Rumplestiltskin had transported them.
It appeared as though they have been poofed into a strange room filled to the ceiling with magical objects. Emma clenched her fists - even though she currently despised him for separating them from Graham and Ruby, she felt an intense hatred of him on Hook's behalf. The loathing and pain mixed within Hook's expression at Rumplestiltskin's jeering, and the way his brother's death was laughed upon by the unapologetic murderer himself...
Yes, the Dark One was worse than the stories. Much worse. And even if she understood Hook before, she could see even clearer now why he hated the man so much.
"I've no time for games of hide-and-seek, Crocodile," Hook suddenly growled. She turned to see him glaring at what looked like ragged curtains. "Come out, you coward."
Emma squinted at the curtains and saw a hint of a silhouette hidden behind it. In response to Hook, the shadow giggled loudly, making them clutch their swords tightly. Then suddenly, the curtains flew apart, revealing a myriad of lit candles and in front of it, a smug Rumplestiltskin.
"Risky choice of words, Lieutenant Jones," he sneered.
At his words, Hook made as if to lunge towards him, only to be stopped by Emma.
"Hook, wait - are you crazy-"
"No, Swan," he growled, eyes flashing icily as he glared at Rumplestiltskin. "I've been waiting for this moment for far too long."
Raising his cutlass in the air, he gently pushed Emma out of the way. "For Liam," he declared, pointing his sword at Rumplestiltskin's chest as he slowly walked towards him. However Rumplestiltskin simply remained where he was and rolled his eyes.
"You're here to get your revenge and to kill me," he said in a bored voice. "Well tough luck, laddie, there are more important things at stake. Like the ruin of the Enchanted Forest and all of its inhabitants - including you, for example."
"And you think that will stop me from getting my revenge?" Hook scoffed. "I'll deal with that problem after I kill you."
He stopped a couple of steps in front of Rumplestiltskin, a look of pure hatred blazing in his eyes as he glared at the man-creature in front of him. Never leaving his eyes off of Rumplestiltskin, he turned his head slightly to the side to speak to Emma, who was staring at the exchange, rather speechless.
"Swan, leave now. I don't want you to see this."
Emma gave him a disbelieving look and opened her mouth to retort, but was cut off by Rumplestiltskin's high laugh.
"You're a fool. A pirate and a fool," he said. "You don't even have the Dagger. What makes you think you can kill me, the Dark One?"
Hook laughed darkly. "I may not have the Dagger, but I do have something else." He lowered his cutlass and reached into his pocket, pulling out a small bottle with black liquid.
"I paid Tiger Lily a little visit, you see, and your precious student was kind enough to leave this lying around her room," he said, pouring two generous drops of the liquid onto the tip of his cutlass as he balanced the weapon in his belt. He gave Rumplestiltskin a smug smile.
"Even the Dark One cannot survive Dreamshade."
At the sight of the poison, Rumplestiltskin widened his eyes and let out a yell of fury. With a flick of his hand, he conjured a ball of fire and whipped it at Hook, who was quick to dodge it. Swiftly, Hook leapt to the side as he avoided another ball of fire, and began driving towards Rumplestiltskin, sword pointing towards the man-creature's heart.
However Rumplestiltskin refused to have the pirate defeat him. He lifted one hand in the air, fingers closing into a fist as if choking something. Then, before Hook's sword could touch Rumplestiltskin's chest, he froze abruptly, and much to Emma's complete horror, Hook began levitating in mid-air.
"Hook!"
Hook let out a strangled yell and began grasping at his throat, as if trying to pry open invisible fingers that were now choking him. Struggling as he may be, however, he still managed to glare down at Rumplestiltskin, whose face was scrunched up in wrath as he continued to have Hook in his invisible chokehold.
"You've never changed, haven't you?" Hook managed to rasp out. "Face me like a man, Rumplestiltskin. Otherwise you're just what you always were: a cowardly crocodile hiding behind his dark magic."
This only made Rumplestiltskin increase the force of his spell on Hook's throat. "And you haven't changed a bit. Overconfident fool of a man," he spat. "A life for a life, Hook! A brother for a brother. You killed mine, so it was only fitting that I killed yours."
He snarled, an icy, inhumane gleam in his eyes that was nothing compared to the threatening hiss that came next.
"But I was wrong, laddie. I should have killed you."
Hook let out a loud, strangled yell as the tightening around his throat increased, evidently choking him.
"HOOK!"
Holding her sword tightly, Emma rushed towards him, but the Bounty Hunter was not quick enough for the Dark One. Rumplestiltskin used his other hand to stop her, lifting up his arm with his palm facing her. Contrary to her expectations, however, Emma was not frozen, but rather it seemed as though there was an invisible barrier preventing her from taking a step forward.
"No, no..." Panicked, she looked around and then back at Hook's floating figure, trying to figure out a way to save him. There must be something - anything... Everyone had a weakness - even the Dark One must have one. It's like what Ruby said, was it not? 'Magic has limits, too.'
She decided to take another step forward again, but was pushed back slightly by the invisible barrier. Cursing under her breath, she moved to the side to take another path towards Hook, however Rumplestiltskin's palm followed her movements, preventing her from proceeding any further.
"ARGH!"
At the sound of Hook's pained yell, she looked up to see his face reddening at Rumplestiltskin's invisible death grip. Below him she could see Rumplestiltskin's face twisting into something mixed with unnatural glee and utter hatred, as his fingers gradually closed in further and further.
Emma's heart thumped wildly in fear. No, no... She couldn't let this happen. The Dark One will not kill Hook. She refused to have the pirate die at the hands of anyone but her own.
"S-Swan..."
Hook's voice came out raspy and harsh, a sound that pierced through Emma's chest. And what was even worse was the pained, resigned expression in his eyes as he looked down on her. Emma's breathing became even more erratic when she stared back at him, and at that moment she felt as though she were choking herself.
"Jones, don't you fucking dare give up on your revenge now."
Her words seemed to spark some strength into Hook as he began struggling to move again, arms lifting up towards his throat. Rumplestiltskin shot her a distasteful glance before looking back at Hook, curling his fingers further, causing Hook to gasp out in pain as his arms fell back down to his sides.
No, no… Emma wrung her hands frantically, helplessly staring at Hook's dying figure. She refused to let him die. Dammit, she may deny it again and again, but now... She could no longer refuse to admit it to herself. It was the blatant truth: she cared for Hook, grudgingly but deeply, and there was no way in hell she was going to let the stupid, perverted, stubborn pirate die.
But how can I protect you…
And just as the thoughts crossed her mind, she felt a lukewarm prickle in her chest. It was odd but it was not strange. It was a familiar sensation, one that she felt earlier when she fought Regina's guards and spotted Hook's shadow. And now that she noticed it, it began to tingle through her chest and towards her core, the heat increasing and spreading as she tore her eyes from Hook and looked down, the feeling now travelling towards her fingers –
"What," Rumplestiltskin said, staring at her hands. "Is that?"
Emma's own eyes widened as she looked at her hands, where a soft, glowing white light was now radiating from her fingers. She shook her head.
"I-I don't know…"
What the hell is going on? Was this- did she…?
Her fear for Hook's life was slowly replaced by realization, then utter, complete shock.
She had…. Magic?
She looked up at Rumplestiltskin, whose hand was still holding Hook in his choking spell, though his triumphant smirk was now replaced with bewilderment and fear as he stared at Emma's glowing hands. Although she was dumbstruck, Emma decided to worry about that later – she'll take Rumplestiltskin's reaction to her advantage.
"Let him go."
At her demand, the glowing light in her hands intensified, and a stream of light burst directly from them, breaking through the invisible barrier; the light travelling straight towards Rumplestiltskin's palm. As soon as it touched his skin, it appeared as though the light had burned him, as smoke began to rise from his hand. Hissing sharply at the pain, Rumplestiltskin dropped his palm and glared at her, though his other hand continued to keep Hook in his strangled state. Emma gaped, dumbfounded that she did that to the Dark One. But she needed to focus. She shook her head and stepped forward, even more stunned to find that she could walk through easily.
"Curious. Very curious, indeed..." Rumplestiltskin glanced at her glowing hands then to her face."So you really are her. It seems the product of True Love has found something just as interesting herself."
"Quit the nonsense talk, prune face," Emma snapped, raising her glowing palms towards him. "I said, let him go."
"I question your taste in men, Princess," Rumplestiltskin chided back. "But I'll fulfill your wishes. Perhaps this new... development will be advantageous for you."
With a sly smirk, he looked pointedly at the white ball of light on her hands, then looked between Hook and Emma. Then he quickly dropped his hand, sending a gasping Hook to the floor with a thump. Breathing out in relief, Emma quickly rushed towards him. Thank god for whatever the hell happened with her hands, that was too close –
"Not so fast, dearie," Rumplestiltskin warned, waving his hand to prevent her from touching Hook. Pushed back by the invisible barrier, Emma fell to the floor. She whipped around and glared at him.
"What the hell do you want?!"
"I may have agreed to letting go of the pirate - for now," Rumplestiltskin replied, sending a deathly glare towards Hook. "But if you orthe piratetry even once to attack or escape me, I assure you that there will be severe consequences."
He slowly grinned at her.
"Like killing your precious friends, the huntsman and the werewolf, for example."
He gave Emma and Hook's enraged faces a loud, triumphant cackle. "So what will it be, hmm? Let the Captain here have his attempt at revenge or will you sit down like good children and listen?"
Hesitant, Emma glanced at Hook, whose face was contorted into pure hatred as he glared at the Dark One. Could he resist trying to kill his archenemy for a few moments? Although he proved to her that he could be trusted, Emma doubted that Hook would back down from his revenge for Graham and Ruby's sake. The man had striven to have this moment for three centuries…
"Tick tock, tick tock!" Rumplestiltskin sang impatiently. He turned to Hook. "Revenge or the friends of your newfound beloved? Choose now, Lieutenant! You know well I'm not fond of waiting."
Hook snarled at him. "This is our fight, Crocodile. Leave Swan out of this. She has nothing to do with - "
"Tsk tsk, but I'm afraid you've got it all wrong, laddie," Rumplestiltskin interrupted. "Miss Swan has to do with everything. In fact, I actually need her, so don't you worry about me touching a hair on her pretty little head."
Hook's lips drew into a thin line and he seemed to struggle with himself for a moment, his jaw clenching as his fist tightened around the hilt of his cutlass. Then he glanced quickly at Emma, who was now looking down with an unreadable expression, before finally making his decision.
A wicked grin spread across Rumplestiltskin's face when Hook unclenched his fist, slowly sheathing his sword.
"Wise decision."
With a flick of his hand, the invisible barrier between Hook and Emma vanished, allowing Hook to reach for her.
"So?" Emma demanded. "What do you want?"
"Why, your services of course," Rumplestiltskin replied. "And to forfeit whatever deal you have with the Black Fairy."
"Well lucky for you, that has already been done. The deal was a sham. I'm here on my own terms, not Tamara's."
"That's what she calls herself now? Interesting..." He shook his head then looked back at Emma thoughtfully. "So if you're not here on Lilith's orders, then that must mean... That must mean that you know."
She narrowed her eyes. "Know what?"
"That you're the Saviour."
Beside her, Hook made some sort of choking sound, causing her to briefly remember that Hook had no knowledge of her conversation with August before focusing back on the Dark One. Shock momentarily flickered through her face until she hastily schooled her expression back to indifference, but Rumplestiltskin was quick to notice it.
"So you do know. Well then, this makes things much easier! But do tell me, who told you, hm? The Blue Fairy and her sisters?" Then he paused thoughtfully with a deep frown before adding, "Lilith doesn't know about this too, does she?"
Lilith? Geez, how many names does the Black Fairy have to have? Emma shook her head, deciding it was no use to deny anything.
"No, she doesn't know. And..." she paused, unsure if it would be wise to reveal her source, but she had a feeling she shouldn't lie to the Dark One. "The Blue Fairy didn't tell me. Someone working for her did. A guy named August. Or Pinocchio." She shook her head. It was so damn hard to keep up with everyone's multiple names nowadays.
Rumplestiltskin clapped his hands together in glee. "The former puppet convinced you to come here then... Who would have known..."
Emma looked at him cautiously. "How...do you know Miss Blue? And how do you know that I'm... the Saviour?"
Rumplestiltskin paused and slowly turned to her, looking at her curiously. "So it appears the Saviour knows she has some saving to do, but does not know the reason why," he said, almost to himself. He gave her a long, serious look.
"You don't know the whole story, do you?"
At Emma's subsequent stiff expression, he let out a gleeful giggle and clapped his hands together.
"Storytime, dearies!"
Before Hook and Emma could exchange a baffled look, Rumplestiltskin snapped his fingers, causing a cloud of grey smoke to quickly envelope them. Once the smoke cleared, Emma found herself, to her utmost surprise, sitting on a wooden chair.
She gave Rumplestiltskin an unimpressed look. Storytime? Really?And he's supposed to be the Dark One?
Rumplestiltskin ignored the annoyed look on their faces. "Many years ago," he began. "There was a prophecy, one that declared that there will be a Dark Curse, and because of it, all that is loved will be lost. But only one person can break this curse - a Saviour, born from the purest Kingdom of the land - and once it is broken, all that was lost will be found, and all those separated shall be reunited..."
He trailed off thoughtfully, staring into the distance as if recalling a memory. But before Emma could make more of what was clouding over his eyes, he continued.
"I later discovered that one of those reunions will be me with my son, so naturally I took interest," he said. "And upon discovering this interesting fact, I also found out that the curse must be enacted in order for me to find him, therefore I devised a plan to have one person enact it."
Emma's stomach dropped, her insides twisting uncomfortably. She had almost forgotten that Neal was his son. So the Dark One had been looking for him all this time...? However she decided to shake the thoughts away and keep that knowledge to herself, in case it triggers something nasty out of the unpredictable Dark One as it was evident how much he still cared for his son.
Her mind went back to Rumplestiltskin's words: 'One person to enact it...' Well, if Cora got the curse from Tamara, and Tamara was the Dark One's former student...
Emma snapped her head up.
"The Black Fairy."
Rumplestiltskin grinned at Emma's quick deduction. "Precisely," he replied. "My lovely former student seemed interested in getting revenge over those who had stripped her from her wings, so I made the curse myself and gave it to her. But as you can see, she had other plans. She too somehow heard about the prophecy and the Saviour. So she gave a small... prototype, as she called it, to her student Cora, to enact on the White Kingdom in order to trap the Saviour so she may find them and destroy them. Of course Cora agreed, and thus she cast the Dark Curse over the Kingdom to make her daughter, Regina, the Queen."
"But the Black Fairy's plan was flawed," he continued. "I was clever enough to make sure the Saviour escaped the curse, therefore I informed the Three Fairies of the entire story and instructed them to keep you alive and safe, and hence they flew from the curse along with the newborn Saviour."
Emma knitted her eyebrows in confusion. "But how did you know that I was the Saviour?"
"Remember, dearie: I made the curse," he reminded her with a cluck of his tongue. "With the help of a strand of hair from each of your parents, I made sure the Saviour was embedded in the curse, making the Saviour the only way to break it." He stopped talking for a moment then looked at her straight in the eye.
"You see now, dearie? I made you the Saviour."
At his words, there was a heavy pause. Then a drop. Heat. And silence.
Emma stared at him blankly.
"You made me the Saviour?" she said in a quiet, disbelieving voice. "You're telling me that you made me an orphan; dropped into thishellhole of a life; made me miserable for 28 fucking years, just so I could break a curse that you made?"
She was trying to remain calm; to maintain her cool and composure, but now the sickly heat was spreading, boiling, and there was no more keeping it in any longer. Because this was 28 years too long - 28 years of suffering, misery, and empty loneliness that she kept inside. And it was all because Rumplestiltskin wanted to make her the Saviour.
"You're telling that you did this to me?!"
Emma was standing up now, her hands balled into fists as she seethed at him, the anger rolling waves from her body. She didn't ask for any of this bullshit - none of it. And from the looks of Hook's now red, angry face, she wasn't alone in the furious sentiment.
"You bloody, cowardly Crocodile-"
They were both standing up now, glaring at him, but before any of them could reach for their weapons in the impulse of the moment, Rumplestiltskin held out his hand in front of him, sending them both slamming back into their chairs.
"I regret nothing, Miss Swan," Rumplestiltskin said, ignoring their cursing when ropes suddenly appeared, tying their arms to the chairs. "Your parents happen to have True Love, something extremely rare and difficult to come across."
He waved another hand to stop Emma, whose free legs were now kicking around ferociously, by tying her legs. "True Love is the most powerful magic of all, dearie!" he sang shrilly. "Now imagine someone who is the embodiment of it."
She opened her mouth to deny that she was such a thing; that he was lying, but Rumplestiltskin didn't even let her speak - he was clearly fed up with their resistant behaviour.
"Have you noticed any strange... abilities that have been surfacing from you lately? Powers? Magic?" He looked at her hands pointedly, and Emma stiffened noticeably, clearly recalling how she stopped Rumplestiltskin earlier.
"You see?" he said, noticing her silence. "True Love is powerful magic, thus the product of it must possesseven more so. That is why I made you the Saviour, the only person who can break this curse."
Although still taken aback by his comment about her possessing magic, Emma kept her eyes narrowed. "That still doesn't excuse you for what you did to me."
He scoffed. "If anything, I did you a favour. Would you have met this insufferable pirate if this didn't occur?"
He gave Hook a look of pure loathing, something the pirate captain was quick to return. However, to both of Emma and Hook's bewilderment, his eyes suddenly softened, the expression almost akin to pensiveness, as if he was considering something.
"Curious..." Rumplestiltskin said quietly, still staring at Hook intently. "I wonder what great magic will occur if the product of True Love has it herself..."
He shook his head out of his reverie and clapped his hands together. "We'll find out soon enough!" he chirped gleefully. "Nevertheless, I need your help, dearie. You must break this curse."
Emma glared at him. "I'm not interested in breaking any curses."
"Then why are you here?" He looked at her incredulously, then paused for a moment to study her.
"Ah, this isn't about being the Saviour or the Black Fairy's deal, isn't it?" he said when Emma's lips drew into a tight line. "Orphan. Right. You want to find your parents!" He wriggled his hands together in triumph, as if he'd just spotted his treasure.
"How about I make you a deal? If you agree to work with me in breaking this curse, I will tell you exactly where and how you can find your parents."
Two words and Emma's eyes instantly snapped back to his, fully attentive.
Sensing her change in demeanour, Hook turned to her quickly. "Swan, don't listen to him. His deals are a trap."
Emma felt her fists clench, the temptation of Rumplestiltskin's proposal already having its effect. Orphan. Abandoned. Lost. Your parents…
A strong temptation, but she had to be wise.
"Do you even know how exactly this curse will be broken?" she decided to shoot back.
She wanted nothing more than to wipe the responding smirk off of Rumplestiltskin's face. "I have a few theories up my sleeve," he replied.
She scoffed. "Then how do you expect me to want to work with you? How do I know this doesn't end up in failure or even worse, my death?"
"It won't, because it was written. Being the Saviour and breaking this curse is your Destiny." He smirked at the frown on her face at his words. "Besides dearie, if you don't comply, I will kill off everyone you hold dear-" he leaned in close to her, shooting her a wicked grin. "-one by one."
Emma spat at his face. "Fuck you."
Luckily, the Dark One was willing to be patient as he simply wiped the spit from his face and continued as if nothing happened.
"So what will be, Saviour? Hm? Will you take up this deal with me?"
A long pause followed, and Emma remained silent, weighing his proposal. Clearly the Dark One left no room for much thought, as she knew well he would follow through with his threats. Struggling, she glanced a Hook in the hopes he may have devised some clever plan out of the Dark One's deal, but to her dismay he had a grim look on his face, suggesting the odds were not in their favour. Emma gritted her teeth - well, there was never a choice anyway, was there? Destiny and Fate and the Eye and all that... She finally looked up and gave Rumplestiltskin a long, hard look.
"If there is any deal I will take up," she said. "It will be on my terms."
Rumplestiltskin grinned widely at that, and Emma felt immensely disgusted with herself.
"First, you won't harm Hook in any way -"
"-as long as the pathetic fool doesn't trying anything."
She glared at him. "And secondly, you will tell me exactly where and how I can find my parents, and you will do this right now." She paused, making sure the implications were clear in her eyes.
"And then I will help you with this... curse."
A sour expression passed Rumplestiltskin's face. "And what if I don't agree on some of these terms?"
To everyone's surprise, Emma laughed at his expression - actually laughed - because the realization dawned on her as quickly and clearly as day.
"Let's face it," she said. "You need me, Rumplestiltskin. That's why you haven't tried to kill or harm me. I'm the only way to breaking this curse and therefore the only way-" she paused, insides churning uncomfortably at the thought of Neal. "The only way to find your son." She stopped to lean back in her chair, looking at him coolly.
"So you will agree with everything I just said."
To her delight, the smirk on Rumplestiltskin's face completely vanished, twisting into what could only be frustration. "Fine. Fine! I will comply with this," he replied with a hiss.
Emma smirked triumphantly and glanced at Hook, who was now looking between her and the Dark One, a mixture of loathing for the Crocodile, and awe for Emma on his face.
But then Rumplestiltskin leaned forward, a dark look in his eyes as he spoke.
"But listen closely, Saviour," he hissed. "If you try to double-cross me, I won't hesitate to kill your two friends and your pirate and even–"he lowered his voice into a dangerous hiss. "Your parents."
A cruel, purely sinister look gleamed in his eyes as his voice lowered into a harsh whisper, a deathly glare that sent an icy sensation down Emma's spine, and in that moment, as he spoke the next words, she could understand exactly why Hook warned her about his deals, and exactly why he was called the Dark One.
"Because no one breaks a deal with Rumplestilskin."
A/N: Let's be real, Rumple totally ships CS here.
Next chapter - Hook & Emma journey to the White Castle to find her parents. Banter & deep talks ensues. Many feels if you're an Emma stan, and of course, more CS development... ;)
Thank you so so much for your reviews everyone! They really do motivate me to keep on writing :) I always appreciate it.