CHAPTER 27: CURSE

Regina had me locked in a bedroom for numerous days while she prepared the rest of her nefarious plans – whatever they may be. At least she had left me alone for the most part in a rather luxurious room. There was a lavish bathroom attached and servants would bring me my meals. It was very much like a gold gilded cage. I wonder if this was some residual sentiments from when we were friends.

Several times, when the door opened, I thought I'd caught a glimpse of Graham, but the door would quickly shut after the trays were slipped in. I couldn't be sure if what I saw was my mind playing tricks on me or not. Was the friendship we had completely fake or did he really care at one point? I couldn't believe that I even allowed myself to be kissed by him despite my better judgment. He just seemed so kind. He'd be a wonderful professional actor.

When the time finally came for me to be brought to the Dark One's castle, I thought the kaleidoscope of butterflies at the pit of my stomach was going to rip me apart. The only saving grace was that I didn't have to endure a prolonged bumpy carriage ride. Instead, Regina had my arm in a tight grasp before teleporting the two of us. At least one of us seemed to be an adept student of his.

The outside of the castle loomed in front of us, as grand as I remembered. It was beautiful in its own old, worm out way, very fitting for him.

"Come on, let's get a move on. I don't have all day." Regina tugged at the long chain attached to my handcuffs. They were supposedly magic proof, but I couldn't exactly tell. Regina must've thought I could actually do some sort of magic to save myself. I wished that that was actually true.

When we were inf ront of the door, Regina gave the thick wood a firm knock, which rather amused me. The Evil Queen knocking instead of just charging in or destroying any obstacles? Rumple must've enchanted it.

The door opened by itself. The entrance was dusty, much more so than I recalled. I wondered what Regina had done to Rumple's housekeeper lover.

"Rumplestiltskin, I come with another trade that I'm sure you won't be able to refuse!" Regina's voice echoed down the stone corridors.

Immediately, I saw something move from the corner of my eyes.

"Really?" I had nearly forgotten what his voice sounded like. "It didn't work last time. What makes you think you'll ever find anything of value for me?"

"Really," she replied with a smirk on her face. "I have an offer that I'm sure you'd like to consider."

It was then than Rumple had finally noticed me. His face showed disbelief as if I was a mere apparition. "Anna…?" I could see his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed hard before he schooled his face back to a much more neutral expression. "And why do you think you'd be able to get anything with her?" There was a tinge of disgust on his face that shot through my heart. After the initial shock, he was finally revealing his true feelings for me.

Had he come to hate me? He had no right!

Regina merely smirked. "Then I guess you wouldn't mind if I ended her pitiful existence? Everyone knows she's nothing without you, anyway. One of my guards found this lost, little rabbit drenched and homeless. Perhaps you should even thank me for bringing her back to her owner.

I frowned and glared at her. I had been completely self-sufficient before everyone thought it'd be a good idea to kidnap me for one reason or another. Really, why did they think the Dark One would trade anything for someone like me? Someone he was obviously no longer interested in. I'd very much like them to all just leave me alone.

How did Regina even ended up hating Rumple? It was because of her that I left him. Her and his insistence to teach her. It sure backfired on him, didn't it?

"I can perfectly take care of myself. Thank you," I snapped, feeling like my patience had finally run out after everything that seemed to have happened at once. "It seems that I'm really not the bargaining chip anyone thought I'd be, so if you'd just – "

With a snap of a finger, Regina had sealed my lips shut.

"Yes. She's not a bargaining chip!" Rumple nodded in agreement. "Now, if you'd lead yourself to the door, we can all go back to our lives." As he was about to teleport away, Regina stopped him, not ready to let it go just yet. She thrust a hand my way and it felt as if her fingers were curled around my neck, squeezing tighter and tighter.

Clenching my eyes shut, I tried to grip at the hands that were not there. My lips were still clamped shut as I tried to desperately take in as much air as I could with just my nose.

At this point, I could no longer hear anything but the blood pulsing through my head.

I tried to open my eyes one last time. Perhaps it was to plead for him to save me, or perhaps it was just to see if he was going to idly watch without caring an ounce about what we once had.

Unfortunately, even with my eyes opened, my vision was completely blurred with black spots.

Maybe this was a sign that I had lived too long and it was finally time to let go. I was so tired of everything. Was there even anything left for me to live for?

Annie…

Anna!

Rumplestiltskin watched in horror as her violent thrashing lessened and then, stopped. Her body fell limp against Regina's hold, but still, the Evil Queen did not let her go.

"Regina…" he uttered before he could stop himself. He wanted so desperately to believe that he had rid her from his blackened heart, but as he stood watching, it was as if Regina also had a tight grip on him. It was painful. It was the same pain as when he lost Baelfire. It was the same pain that crippled him. It was the same pain that he thought he'd never have to experience again after becoming the Dark One.

"STOP!" he roared. He felt his magic involuntarily coil around the castle, knocking over trinkets and ruffling the curtains. He brought them all together and shot Regina back against the stone wall.

Anna's motionless body fell like a ragdoll. He was breathing heavily as he waited for her to do the same, but there was nothing. She was completely still.

Despair began to squeeze his own life out of him. Was she really gone? He had driven her away all those years ago. He tried to fill that dark void with endless deals and even another woman, but nothing had eased the loneliness and regret. Every day without her had moved at a snail's pace, but there was always hope that he'd see her again after he foolishly tried to replace her – after she had seen him betray her, again. There had always been hope because he knew that she didn't have the short lifespan of humans. He thought he'd had more time.

Every night, he'd kept himself awake by thinking of ways to get her back and he'd fall asleep with her in his dreams. Now… Now, he ran out of time.

What was the last thing he had said to her?

He swallowed the sob that was clawing up his throat. He still refused to show any weakness to the Evil Queen. "Leave, Regina," he growled, no longer in the mood for games.

"I knew you wouldn't be able to – "

"LEAVE!"

Regina had a look of shock on her face when her body was engulfed with smoke and she disappeared, only to reappear in the middle of the woods. Her scream of anger could be heard echoing through the Enchanted Forest, but Rumple heard none of it.

He knelt by her pale form and brushed the strands of gold away from her face. She was as beautiful as he remembered. How could he have ever let her go? He had allowed his confidence to drive away one of the only good in his life.

With a deep breath, he gathered his magic into the palm of his hand and gently pushed it into her chest. There was a jerk, but nothing else. He took in another deep breath and gave her heart a harder jolt.

Her entire back arched before she opened her mouth in a gasp. She fell still once more, but he could see the subtle rise and fall of her chest. She was alive. That was all that mattered.

He couldn't believe that he was that close to losing her forever.

With a hand running through her hair, the wheels in his head began to turn. He couldn't let this happen again. He had been foolish to think that he could turn back time and have her back whenever he wanted.

He wrapped several locks of hair around his fingers. It wasn't impossible. When he had sealed her powers away, he had trapped it in her hair. It was the reason he now had a collection of it locked away in a box, but it wasn't enough. He had tested it several times. Each strand was only equivalent to a couple of seconds after he weaved them together in his spinning wheel. He'd have to have a full head of hair to make any real use of it.

For the next hour, he spent the time gently stroking her hair and enjoying the peace of having her by his side. Was she angry at him for what he had done? He couldn't' tell her that it was all just to have Regina right where he wanted. He couldn't tell her that he intended to make Anna's friend dark just so he could find his son – his Baelfire. She wouldn't understand, but he missed him so, so much. If he ever found his boy again, he promised to be a better father. He'd be a better man for both his son and for her.

With a sigh, he went to work.

I groaned at the immediate feeling of agony when I regained consciousness. It took a long moment to remember what had happened. Surely, I was still alive judging by the pain drilling into my head.

Opening my eyes, I saw that I was in an unfamiliar room inside familiar walls. Did he carry me here? Did that mean that he had saved me from Regina?

As I sat up, I noticed something odd. I felt different – lighter. Maybe Regina had done something to me.

I tilted my head and something caught my eye. Frantically, I reached for my hair and saw that shorn off locks. They were shorter. They only came to the top of my shoulders, now.

"Ah! Good, you're awake!"

I looked up to see him standing there with the usually mischievous grin on his face, but I could see the fatigue in his eyes. "Rummy…" Now that I wasn't in imminent danger, I could feel all my emotions hit me at once. Tears filled my eyes and I sobbed into my hands.

Rumple began to awkwardly try to comfort me as he did before. The attempt was absolutely pitiful, but it drew a laugh from me. The continuous stream of tears sliding down my face and the sound of laughter only confused him further.

"Wait! Wait! Here!" He thrust a box of chocolates in front of me.

I breathed deeply before calming down enough to take one of the bittersweet delights. It was delicious. I took another and another rand another until the entire box was gone, but he immediately materialised another.

I swiped the box from his hand and set it down on the bed. "Thank you, Rummy." His face lit up and his expression was of utter glee.

"Couldn't just let you…" He made some silent gesture for death.

We fell into an awkward silence where neither knew what to do or say. What we had had changed. We had changed.

He placed his hand atop of my hand and laced his fingers around mine. The same feeling of elation and completeness swelled up from within me. At least, that never changed. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. This couldn't possibly be healthy for either of us.

"I… I…" I looked up to see him struggling with his words. "I – I'm sorry…" there was true remorse in his eyes.

"I know." I gave his fingers a squeeze and he suddenly burst into a fit of giggles. I frowned. "What are you laughing at?"

Still laughing, he replied. "You look like a lion with that hair!"

I pursed my lips and glared at him. I had no doubts who had caused my change in appearance. "And whose fault is that? Why did you suddenly chop off all my hair?!"

"Not all!" he retorted. "Just most of it. I'll need it to do a bit of experimental magic!"

I tilted my head, but didn't ask. I really didn't want to know what kind of madness went on in that head of his. Instead, I yawned widely and fell back on to the fluffy pillow. It was just so fluffy…

"Anna?"

"Hmm…?" I sluggishly replied. I was tired. I must still be recuperating from nearly dying because I knew I wasn't dead with him around. Surely, he was immortal.

I couldn't quite hear what he said as I slipped into a deep slumber.

When I next woke up, the room was empty. There was a thin strand of gold tired to my left wrist. I slowly followed it into what appeared to be a shrine dedicated to Baelfire. It was as extravagant as the rest of the castle, but showed how much Rumple missed his son. It had little bibs and bobs. My eyes trailed up the gold thread, which was wound around a scarf. It was the one that belonged to Baelfire. Beside it was the gold necklace that Rumple had given me. I had left it in my room when I left. Knowing that he kept it made me smile. Perhaps I wasn't as forgotten as I thought.

Beside the necklace was a rolled up parchment paper wrapped with a silky, red ribbon.

"I have gone to the Evil Queen," it read, making me frown. "I need to find Baelfire and the only way to do so is to go to a land without magic. Regina is already planning to cast a curse that will sweep through the Enchanted Forest, but I need you to stay here to do a few things for me, so I have slowed your travel. Your hair holds the very magic that I cannot harness anywhere else – time. I will never gather enough to back and stop Bae from leaving, but I have something else in mine. Keep the thread around you."

The note stopped there. All that was left was his messy scrawl of a signature.

He left me… He left me, again! I never even had the chance to tell him that Baelfire was in Neverland! He was going to be searching for someone who wasn't even there! A land without magic…

I needed a way to either tell him or find Baelfire.

When I left the forest, I immediately knew that something was wrong. There was a breeze, but the trees were moving in slow motion. The birds in flight seemed as if they were floating in the air, rather than flying.

What exactly had he done? Why did he want me to stay here while he went away doing who knew what?

As I walked up a hill, I saw an enormous cloud of dark purple in the distance. Was that the curse? But it couldn't be, could it?

I squinted and saw that it was moving towards the castle, originating from the Evil Queen's lair.

Why couldn't Rumple tell me why I was still here?!

And just like that, I spent five days wandering aimlessly around the forest and cursing Rumple's very existence.

The cloud had travelled a quarter's way here and I was tempted to just meet it half way out of sheer boredom. It was terrible to have everything move only a mere fraction of my speed. I didn't even have anyone to talk to. If his plan was to drive me insane, I think he's done it. This was going to make me completely lose it!

I threw an acorn at a tree and watched it float in the air.

I hate him.

I hate him so much.

Another week had passed. I saw a familiar face lurking in the bushes – Hook. His face was one of alarm as he seemed to be staring straight at me. With a smirk, I sauntered over to his slow moving form and tipped him over before typing his boots together and stripping him of his clothes and hook. I climbed the tallest tree I could find and left his effects there. If only I could watch him suffer in normal time. This snail pace revenge wasn't satisfying at all.

Nonetheless, I did walk away a happier woman. Perhaps this wasn't so bad after all. One by one, I sought out his crew and did my mischief. Lastly, I left a sizeable hold in his precious Jolly Roger and transported a real crocodile into his cabin, under the bed.

Once done, I returned to the castle. It was boring, again. I wrapped Bae's scarf around me and buried my face into Rumple's pillow.

"Rummy…" I whispered, tears slowly soaking into the fluff. I hated being alone like this. "I miss you."

As I continued to drown myself in self pity, I heard a knock on the window. With a frown, I wiped my eyes and looked curiously at the purple velvety curtain. It was far too high up for any normal visitors. Who could it be?

I flung the fabric to the sides and my eyes widened. "Ombre?!"

Indeed. Pan's shadow was hovering just beyond the glass. I quickly pulled the window open and it flitted in – in normal speed! Of course, it was from another world. It must be governed by its own time, or perhaps this is just Neverland. Time ran much differently there. Who could really tell?

I tightened Bae's scarf around my neck. Could I leave whatever plan Rumple had for me behind or should I find Bae, again?

Biting my lips, I reached towards the dark hand extended towards me. Rumple wanted to find Bae, I would bring his son to him.

The shadow took off with me in its arms, soaring through the day that had finally began to darken and the stars twinkled in the slowly dimming sky.

The second star to the right – the brightest star of the night. I could feel the excitement bubbling within me, not only to see Bae, Pan, and Felix again, but to leave the limbo that Rumple had bestowed upon me.

"I need to get Bae…" I mumbled

We flew higher and higher until the clouds impeded our visions, but just as quickly, we began to descend. I was expecting to see the ominous skull island and green forests of Neverland. Instead, we were still in the Enchanted Forest. The shadow looked behind us, then looked down at me. Before I could react, I was free falling through the air.

My hand was reaching out towards Ombre who stayed for only a split second longer before it vanished from sight.

The gold thread that was still wrapped around my wrist seemed to shorten. How did I not notice that it was slowly disappearing? What did this mean?

The ground was much closer than I was comfortable with, now. I looked at the brightly shining star one last time.

The thread faded into nothingness and I was swept away by the dark purple clouds and knew nothing more.


AUTHOR'S NOTE

I had contemplated stopping the story here, but decided against it for a couple of reasons. Firstly, a few of you might kill me. Secondly, I never established a definitive pairing. Thirdly, I wanted this part of the story to come to a full circle at Storybrooke, so it will end there. There might be one more chapter after the next, but I haven't decided yet.

Thank you Shiko-Rae, BrownEyedDreamr, Mikki18, KilalaInara, samanthatm, misocute, TwoHeartedMarauder and guests (Guest and D) for reviewing!

Mikki18: Haha! A foursome would make an interesting story, but I'm not sure I'll be able to manage it. Maybe I'll still put little implications everywhere after the poll is over.

KilalaInara: Some AnnaxRummy for you here!

TwoHeartedMarauder: The trip was brilliant! As expected, I spent more than I should've at the Universal Store on Harry Potter merchandise.

Thank you as well to everyone who has favourited and followed this story! I'm kind of sad this part is coming to a close, but I already have the next part partially planned. I've been writing as much as possible during my breaks from work, but starting something, whether it's a continuation or not, has always been a bit challenging for me, especially since I haven't even given this story an end, yet.

Love interest poll:

1.) Graham = 106

2.) Peter Pan = 8

3.) Rummy = 131

Reminder: One vote per review per chapter

This is the last chapter to vote and then I will be writing the conclusion to this part.

I think I might actually be able to pull off 100k words for this story! Yay!