Chapter Thirty-Five—"Control the Center"

A month passed, and then two, as the Grand Alliance's armies eradicated the few remaining pockets of resistance. Slowly, the tens of thousands of people sheltering in the Dark Castle and the surrounding areas began their long treks towards their respective kingdoms, heading home to lands many had not seen in over thirty years. Meanwhile, although the fragile shell of the Grand Alliance held—various older monarchs chafed under Snow and Charming's leadership, shooting barbs over time spent away, their bastard grandchild, and Regina's continued presence as their friend—but the closeness of the allies began to fade as distance opened between them. Some kingdoms remained close, such as King Midas, who remained a firm ally of Snow and Charming, but others such as King Francis, Queen Leah (still regent for her daughter Aurora's kingdom), and King Hubert seemed determined to immediately assert their independence.

Rumplestiltskin, however, paid the politics little mind. Snow and Charming were more than capable of trying to keep the Grand Alliance together, and he was only interested in the fact that the alliance continued to exist. He was grateful that the Dark Castle was slowly emptying out and that his home was his own again, instead of the headquarters for the largest alliance in the history of the Enchanted Forest, but in the grand scheme of things, that seemed rather minor. Much to Belle's surprise, he made no move to hurry their unwelcome guests out or even complain about their continued presence. No, he had far more pressing matters on his mind.

While the Grand Alliance struggled and fractured, Rumplestiltskin did what he did best. He manipulated, planned, and threw markers out to make sure that what he needed was accomplished. This time, however, the stakes were even greater than a world-altering curse. Now he was playing for greater stakes than ever before, and assembling an alliance of his own, one designed to counter the growing power of the fae. Regina, Emma, Tinker Bell, and Maleficent were only the first members. Slowly but surely, he drew others in, some more minor magic users and others of greater power. None were his equal, or even Regina's—but uniting human magic users was what mattered.

First to sign on was Iron John, a two hundred year old sorcerer who Rumplestiltskin had avoided for years in return for the cranky old bastard returning the favor. Surprisingly, John's old enemy Loelei, better known as the current Lady of the Lake, followed suit, probably to make sure that Iron John couldn't gain too much influence too fast. Ursula was less of a surprise (Rumplestiltskin had dealt with the Sea Witch before and knew to keep Regina away from her), as was Tink's old friend, the Sugar Plum Fairy. Lord Soulis brought Lord Cedric into the fold, making a matched pair of evil and entirely amoral sorcerers on their team. Mother Goose and Ali Baba were less eager to sign on, but at the end of the second month Rumplestiltskin was able to convince both, convincing Mother Goose himself and leaving Ali Baba to Tinker Bell, who was both more diplomatic and less well-known for having concluded the deal that left Ali Baba in exile decades previously.

Most of the members of this new alliance were none too fond of the man who had appointed himself as their leader, but they recognized his power for what it was. None of them wanted to become slaves of the fae, and none of them were willing to put their fates in the hands of Ruel Ghorm and her fairies, either. So they, and others, signed on, slowly but surely coming to the Dark Castle to affirm that they would play their parts. Yet Rumplestiltskin never called them all together at one time, not wanting to tip his hand until it was too late. Most of the others did not know who their own allies were, either, or at least not all of them—only he knew the extent of the alliance; only Rumplestiltskin knew the pieces he had in play.

Slowly, however, word came back to him that the fae were courting magic users as well. Doctor Facilier came to Rumplestiltskin on his own—the minor trickster being one sorcerer who Rumplestiltskin had consciously chosen not to include in his initial sweep for allies—to tell the former Dark One that several fae had come to him, promising riches and power beyond his wildest imaginings. Rumplestiltskin promptly turned him into another double agent, knowing Facilier well enough to know that he'd look out for himself before anyone else, but perfectly happy to use the other man. Maleficent's place on the inside was secured already, but it didn't hurt to have a pawn in place to back her up. Facilier, of course, made outrageous demands about gold and power, but Rumplestiltskin reminded him that there were more than a few heroes willing to take him down, and the good Doctor wound up settling for a promise of gold instead.

After all, everyone knew that Rumplestiltskin always kept his deals.

Snow White and her intrepid allies might concentrate on royalty and the leadership of various kingdoms, but Rumplestiltskin dug deeper. He focused not only on the magic users—though he gathered those first, and used them in his next step—but also on the vulnerable power brokers who usually worked behind the scenes. Soon enough, he'd had Mother Goose and Mushu assemble a network of informants across each important town in the Enchanted Forest, informants who often had no idea that their information was ending up in Rumplestiltskin's hands. The towns he chose to watch were not always the bigger cities or the well-known ones, but they were always significant for magical and/or historical reasons. Most of those towns sat on untapped power reservoirs he preferred to keep out of fae hands, but some were just legendary enough that their loss to the fae would sting particularly fiercely.

His minions had assembled that network within the first month, and Rumplestiltskin also backed Belle's efforts to build a second, entirely separate, spider web of informants amongst the minor nobility and those she'd befriended in Storybrooke. His time in the Land Without Magic had taught Rumplestiltskin important lessons, after all. Knowledge was power, and if he was going to keep their world safe—a laughable thought, still—Rumplestiltskin would require power beyond that of even his immense magic.

"You're wasted in politics," he said now, looking Regina in the eye. His old pupil had finally torn herself out of Snow and Charming's castle to come visit him two and a half months after leaving the Dark Castle. The irony of the Evil Queen living and working with her old enemies was lost on no one, but her presence there did tend to ruffle feathers with the other royals.

"Well, I'm glad to know how you feel about our efforts to keep the world from falling apart," Regina snapped waspishly.

Rumplestiltskin rolled his eyes. "Oh, save the posturing, dear. We both know you're bored."

And it went without saying that although Regina was excellent when it came to intimidating Snow's more obnoxious allies, the ones who didn't need a good fright were often unhappy to find Snow's stepmother intimately involved in their affairs.

"If you have something you want me to do, Rumple, just get to the point," she countered with a knowing smile. "You know I'm always willing to help. For a price."

Damn the woman and the twinkle in her eyes.

"And what price do you have in mind?" He'd taught her too well, and turnabout was no fun.

"How about you owe me a favor this time around?"

Rumplestiltskin snorted. "How about I let you keep what you find instead?"

"No deal." Regina scowled. "I'm not in the market for a pet dragon or something equally heinous. And I'm done running around and doing your bidding without compensation."

"Not even a genie?"

"Not a chance!"

Pity. It would have been an elegant way to control a wild card that Rumplestiltskin wasn't particularly interested in inserting into his deck, but he'd been prepared for this eventuality. Owing Regina a favor might be uncomfortable in the short term, but it was a price he was willing to pay. After all, Regina had almost as much to risk as he did, and their desire to protect Henry would always unite them like nothing else could.

"Fine," he relented, waving a hand like a favor was nothing of consequence. Regina, of course, knew differently, and her smile turned naughty. She sat back, folding her hands.

"Well, then," his protégé purred, "why don't you tell me exactly what it is that you want."

"I want you to take a trip, dearie." If his voice grew a little sharp and reminiscent of the imp he'd been, it was only because Regina knew better than anyone how to get under his skin.

"To where?"

Now it was Rumplestiltskin's turn to grin. Regina wanted that favor, and it was bait enough. "To Wonderland, of course."

"You're out of your mind. Once was quite enough, thank you."

Rumplestiltskin only kept smiling. And waited.

Finally, Regina growled: "And why would I want to go there?"

"I want you to find a certain genie for me, and bring me his bottle. You can have the wishes if you like—"

"I'm not that stupid," she interrupted, and Rumplestiltskin's smirk turned into a genuine smile of affection. Regina had indeed learned her lessons well.

"Well, then, offer him a deal. His services against the fae in return for his freedom. Which I can provide."

"Why me?"

"Your outlaw knows the White King. Take him with you and things should be easier."

"Oh, so you're not content manipulating one world and want to add Wonderland to your collection, too? I didn't think you were that ambitious," Regina retorted.

"I think you know me better than that," he reminded her softly.

Regina's eyes met his, and he could see her putting aside sarcasm and setting her formidable mind to work. Regina was no fool, and she knew better than any of them what he was up to—though even Regina didn't know everything; Rumplestiltskin liked to keep his cards too close for that. Still, she'd faced off against the Black Fairy and thus understood exactly what they were up against. Regina was just now starting to physically and magically recover her strength after that duel, and she was not stupid enough to want to repeat the experience.

Neither was Rumplestiltskin, particularly given the year he'd spent as Danns' a'Bhàis' prisoner. He knew that the Black Fairy was sniffing around even now, expanding her power base as he moved to block her. Their chess game had started in earnest these last months, quiet though it appeared to be to anyone outside the ring. Regina, however, clearly took the hint.

"If you fail…we'll all go down with you," she pointed out.

"If I fail, Regina, we'll all already be doomed." Me more than any other.

Their eyes met again in silent understanding, just for a moment.

"Fine," Regina snapped without a trace of ire in her voice. "I'll do your dirty work. But I still want that favor."

"Of course you do, dear."

"It worked!" Emma shouted across the entirely too spacious chambers she occupied in her parents' infernal castle. "Neal—Bae, whoever you are—it worked! Look!"

She'd turned away as the magic crackled out, only to wheel back when Henry's voice pointed out:

"Um, Mom, your rose is uh, growing. I think it's trying to eat—"

Emma spun to see that the single rose she'd transformed out of her now-broken wristwatch was now an ever-growing rose bush. Or a rose tree. It was sprouting vines like crazy, with sharp thorns bursting out of the now-thick stems. Vines? The single rose had become a dozen, all winding wildly around one another. It only took seconds to turn the watch into a rose, but now the transformation was out of control. Now the one rose had become two dozen, and it was continuing to multiply. Rapidly.

"Emma, I was—holy shit!" Neal swore, backpedaling out of the doorway leading from the next room, where he'd been before Emma had called to him in her excitement. The roses were trying to chase him, now. "What the hell?"

"Mom, you've got to stop it!" Henry cried, dodging a sudden branch of four more roses.

"I'm working on it!"

Desperately, Emma cleared her mind and called magic to her hands, focusing on the family she had to protect—and yes, even on Neal, who'd somehow wormed his way back into her walled-off heart. She'd spent the last two months learning magic and magical theory from Regina while she and Neal hadn't been travelling the kingdom and writing wrongs, and until this stupid single rose escaped her control, Emma had been doing pretty well. But the damn thing just wouldn't—

"Oh."

Her anger had spiked, and suddenly the bush that had been creeping hungrily towards her son turned back into a single rose, the extra vines vanishing into thin air, leaving a shower of lose red petals behind. Henry, oblivious to any danger he'd been in, beamed.

"Way to go, Mom!"

"Is it safe to come in, now?" Neal peeked around the doorframe, making Emma laugh.

"Not if you keep acting like that!" she teased.

Grinning, her lover/boyfriend/father of her child came back into the main chamber. "Y'know, if you ever do want to actually get rid of me, I hope you use something more creative than a rabid rose bush. Getting killed by that thing would have been seriously embarrassing."

"Ha. You're tougher than that," Emma shot back. "Or you'd better be, if you're going to keep up with me."

"Dad's tough," Henry chimed in. "He killed a dragon."

"With your mom's help," Neal pointed out, though they exchanged knowing smiles as their thirteen year old continued:

"It's still so cool that both my parents are dragonslayers. And one Grandpa. Or maybe both. Has your dad killed a dragon before, Dad?"

"I have no idea, but don't get too excited, buddy," Neal cautioned him before Emma could say something similar. "You're a bit young for this stuff."

"I'm almost fourteen."

Emma rolled her eyes. "Thirteen and a half isn't almost fourteen, kiddo. Why is it that you always think I'll forget your birthday? I was there."

Their cheeky child only grinned. "Gramps is still teaching me to swordfight."

"Better him than me," Emma breathed.

Her relationship with her parents was still a little awkward, and probably always would be—but having lived in their castle for two plus months helped even things out a little. Oh, she escaped as often as possible, taking advantage of her rank and Neal's knighthood to become something of a pair of traveling troubleshooters. It wasn't so different from being Storybrooke's sheriff, and they really were making a difference in people's lives, which Emma found she liked doing. Her parents were so busy trying to put the kingdom back together and keep the Grand Alliance from shattering that they often missed out on the smaller details.

Emma could never have become some stay at home political princess, and she knew it. But this way, she got to do something useful…and the longer she spent travelling and living with Neal, the happier she was with her choice. Hook had chosen, rather surprisingly, to abandon his piratical ways and head up their kingdom's new navy, which kept him both busy and sadly out of touch. While Emma would always think of him as one of her closest friends, she couldn't imagine how they might have made a relationship work in this world. But they still wrote to one another, and he'd promised to teach Henry to sail when the current crisis quieted a little further. Hook's last letter had even hinted at a new romance, and Emma was happy for him.

She also hadn't missed the fact that Ruby had looked very smug lately and Granny was constantly grumbling about so-called gentlemen and their expensive tastes. It was a wild and crazy life here in the Enchanted Forest, but Emma was slowly growing used to it…and finally starting to feel at home.

Mulan looked so ill at ease in the Dark Castle that Belle had to work hard not to laugh. The young warrior woman sat uncomfortably in Belle's favorite sitting room, clearly trying not to look lost as she sipped a cup of tea.

"Relax, Mulan," Belle told her old friend. "Rumplestiltskin's not going to jump out and curse you. He's not even home right now."

"I don't know how you live in this place," the other woman replied feelingly. "So much magic makes me uneasy, and the stairs tried to bite me."

"I'm sorry about that," she said sincerely. "They're usually better behaved, but the castle does have a wicked sense of humor. Rumple denies it, but I'm sure it's at least partially his fault." She smiled fondly. "It usually is."

Mulan grimaced. "I know you love him, Belle, but…Philip said his father still won't trust him, no matter what is said or done. I'm still happy to help you, but…"

"I understand." Belle reached out to squeeze her hand. "Really, I do. I know that Rumplestiltskin is on our side, and that he's changed since his curse was broken, but I appreciate the fact that it's hard for some people to accept."

"We even heard of him in my village, growing up. The Dark One was the demon that mothers used to frighten their children into behaving, saying that they'd make a deal to have him take them away if they were bad," Mulan replied.

"So far as I know, the only children he ever made a deal for were ones he was sending into a new home."

"That doesn't help a lot," her friend replied frankly, and all Belle could do was shrug. Still, it was Mulan she was talking to, so the other woman squared her shoulders and changed the subject. "I did hear something you'd probably be interested in, though. It might just be a rumor, but…"

"Even rumors usually have some basis in truth," Belle pointed out logically.

"This one was about fae prisoners, so I'm not even sure if we can say that. I heard it from a furs trader, who heard it from some other merchant, who apparently got it from some woman who a fae had seduced and left with child, but no one would tell me who she was, so I couldn't verify anything. I would have written it off as people telling stories, but then I thought of Grumpy."

Belle's heart clenched, thinking of the dwarf she'd met as Dreamy and who had always been her friend. She'd tried to provide what comfort she could when Grumpy had lost Astrid, but Belle knew from personal experience that there really was nothing anyone could do for someone who had lost their True Love. Like her, Grumpy had buried himself in the war effort and just tried to work away the pain, but unlike her, Grumpy didn't have the ultimate balm of finding out that his love wasn't actually dead at all. There was a hole in his heart that would never mend, and Belle had not been surprised to hear that he'd attacked the fae who had killed Astrid. Grumpy had been captured, but Belle knew he'd been hoping to die.

And yet she couldn't leave him there. What Grumpy did with himself after rescue was up to him, but Belle was not the type to leave a friend to the fae's mercy, particularly considering what she knew they had done to Rumplestiltskin. Getting her love to talk to her about his nightmares was next to impossible, but she had seen the shape he'd been in when they'd found Rumplestiltskin, and Belle was no naive fool. There were reasons that the fae were so feared in legend, reasons people still made superstitious gestures to ward off evil fairies.

No, she wasn't leaving Grumpy in their hands. Not a chance.

He kept not finding the right moment to ask her. Over two months after his grandson had provided a much-needed pep talk, Rumplestiltskin still hadn't found the right moment to propose to Belle in. In fact, while he'd been busy assembling his network of informants and Belle had been constructing one of her own, they'd barely managed to see one another—there had been a total of twelve days together during those sixty-seven that had passed, and now duty (or something like it) was about to separate them again.

"I've talked to Snow and to Ruby. They're willing to come—Mulan can't, since she's expected back with Philip to finish defeating the rebels in Hubert's kingdom, and we both know what'll happen if he realizes she's been feeding me information," Belle told him with a resigned smile.

Rumplestiltskin sighed. This was what he deserved, he supposed, for being in love with a woman who was even more driven than he was. Although Snow White was the leader that the royals of the still-faltering Grand Alliance looked to, Belle had become the one that the others listened to, and it was her contacts that kept the alliance together when Snow's fellow royals got shifty. Belle knew, like Rumplestiltskin did, that the battle was far from over. The Wicked Witch of the West might have gone done, but the Black Fairy and her followers were far more dangerous, and it would take a lot more than just Excalibur to take the fae out. Belle's behind the scenes work kept towns and villages informed of both the threat and, more importantly, kept as many innocent people out of the line of fire as possible. Her own network of informants was far bigger than Rumplestiltskin's interesting alliance of sorcerers, and so far, had borne more fruit, at least in an immediate sense.

He was so proud of her, but the fact remained that Belle was away from the Dark Castle as often as he was, and even when they were together, they were busy. He'd kept waiting and hoping that there would be a day or so where he could sweep her off to somewhere romantic and find the perfect proposal, but Rumplestiltskin's plans on that front had yet to pay out. So, now he only smiled for her. Belle was fierce and determined, and he would not have her any other way.

"It's not much of a lead," he pointed out.

Belle shrugged. "It's all we have, and Mulan's not the only one who told me. We also heard it from the mayor of Caer Dallben that the nearby forest has suddenly turned into a hotbed of the fae…and that he suspects they're keeping prisoners there. I think it's worth checking out."

"Particularly if Grumpy is there," Rumplestiltskin sighed again. He wasn't particularly fond of any of the dwarves, and he'd always liked Grumpy rather less than the others, but he could sympathize with the dwarf who Norco had taken prisoner. Both for his current situation and his loss of his True Love.

"Exactly." His love smiled gently, and took Rumplestiltskin's hand. "I can't leave him there, Rumple. Caer Dallben is right on the border of Snow's kingdom, so she'll meet us there with a battalion of men. If the fae try anything, we'll be ready."

Worry welled up in him; although Rumplestiltskin knew Belle could handle herself—and she'd proved it a dozen times over—he couldn't shake the apprehensive feeling growing in his gut. "I wish you'd wait a few days."

"I'm not sure Grumpy can afford for us to wait a few more days. Can you take me there? I know you have to—"

"I'll take you," he interjected. There was no way he was letting Belle make that long ride on her own, and besides, she wouldn't make it there in time if he did. "Just…promise me that you'll call if something seems to be wrong. Anything at all."

"Of course." Dimples showed as Belle smiled, and she leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek. "I've never been too proud to ask for help. At least not when it's you."

Her answer didn't exactly calm Rumplestiltskin's nerves, but he was able to smile back at her. He didn't want to be overbearing and offer to tag along, particularly since he did need to be somewhere different. Of course, Snow would have offered her support now, just when Rumplestiltskin was off to investigate rumors that Lord Cedric was flirting with the fae. Had he not promised Soulis that he'd be there, Rumplestiltskin would cheerfully have left Cedric for another day, but the last thing he wanted to happen was losing Soulis out of the sorcerers' alliance, also. Soulis wasn't the fool Cedric was, but both would be equally comfortable with the fae. He thought Soulis was properly intimidated (and too smart to change sides), but Cedric was far more arrogant.

Did the rumors turn out to be true, Rumplestiltskin fully expected he would end the next day having killed Lord Cedric, while Belle was busy trying to rescue a dwarf and whomever else the fae had collected over the last year or so.

"Good," Rumplestiltskin replied, forcing thoughts of murder aside. "Now, unless you have other plans…?"

Belle grimaced. "Actually, Doc and Dopey should be here about now. Can I take a rain check?"

She knew him well enough to know that he'd been hinting at something, but obviously didn't know what, so Rumplestiltskin managed a crooked smile. "Of course you can, sweetheart."

It would keep. It always did.

A/N: Next up is Chapter 36: "Hope for the Future", where Regina and Robin head into the Underland, Rumplestiltskin pays someone an unexpected visit, and Emma practices magic—without the results she was looking for.

Thank you for reading, and please let me know what you think!

Oh, and if you're interested, please check out my new (shorter) fic "The Vault", centering on Rumplestiltskin's time in the Vault...but with an interesting link to this story.