Thank you for your reviews my faithfull - Twyla Mercedes, orthankg1, Grace5231973, Guest
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A cool breeze brushed the fresh green grass and this year's first yellow and purple flowers. Spring merrily pushed the cold winter away. Days became a little bit longer and a little bit warmer as time passed slowly by. But for the family of one particular infant, time seemed to move too quickly. Myrddin was now almost half a year old. His first tooth had already appeared with a lot of pain, his hair was growing fuller and longer, light brown locks like his father. His energy seemed to never want to falter and the child loved to explore the two worlds he was learning to know – the Dark Castle and its Gardens.
Baelfire was alone with his little brother in the castle. He had grown used to his papa and Belle being away and ended up relishing the time he could spend and tutor his young sibling. Today was the loveliest day since winter arrived. The air was still chilly, but the sun caressed the world with its soft warmth. So the teenager decided to bring the happy infant outside to enjoy the way nature slowly changed and gained new life. Baelfire giggled at the way the little boy rolled and squirmed on the soft grass, in an attempt to move around by his own. Myrddin was a very active baby. Soon he would crawl and would become unstoppable. Baelfire closed his eyes relishing the midday sun, the sweet scent of the fresh grass, the singing of birds and of course of Myrddin's babbling. But all at the sudden, the infant silenced itself.
Baelfire opened his eyes to look down at his little brother and smiled when he noticed the way the blue eyes were fixed intently on a black crow that stood just a few feet away from the baby. The teenager thought it funny the way the bird seemed to be observing the infant. Suddenly, his heart jolted. Observing. A chill ran down his spine. Baelfire realized the danger he and his brother could be. If ravens were Regina's spies, the chance crows were too, was big. He quickly stood up and the black bird immediately flew away. Myrddin remained unusually silent, which worried the teenager greatly. He scanned his surroundings before picking up his brother. He knew that not all ravens (and crows or other birds) served the Evil Queen, but the boy was too aware of the necessity of keeping his brother's existence a secret. The fact Myrddin wasn't making any sound only increased his concern. He was about to turn around and head to the castle when he heard a ruffling coming from the other direction, at the edge of the garden, where the woods started.
He gasped from fright and instinctively held his little brother closer to his chest. The sound repeated itself. He waited in dreadful anticipation, silently praying it was Ruby paying them a visit. Soon he could the discern the sound of feet stamping the ground. The steps seemed to grow not only louder but also in quantity. Baelfire felt his heart sink when he realized it were several people heading his way. Myrddin, as if sensing danger, started crying. The teenager quickly cradled him while he softly shushed against his sibling's little ear. He would swear he had heard a man's voice. Baelfire decided he wasn't going to wait to see who it was, preferring to hide in the castle behind it's fortified walls and heavy doors. He had taken only a few steps when an arrow hit the ground, right next to his foot.
Baelfire halted in shock, his brother's lamenting transforming into loud wail. He looked at his left and saw a small group of men come from behind the trees. Some held long swords and sharp knives, other axes and bows. The teenager turned to his right and there too, emerged another group or heavily armed men. The boy turned around and everywhere he looked at, he saw men holding weapons and looking ferocious. Baelfire was terrified for he realized he was completely surrounded. There was no escape. Myrddin cried like if he shared his brother's panic and Baelfire held him close to his skin. He took a deep breath and decided he wouldn't let fear dominate him.
"Who dares to trespass the Dark One's property?" Baelfire questioned, his voice coming out surprisingly strong and clear. He warily shrunk his eyes when some men moved away to clear the path for a tall man holding an axe. He looked powerful and decided. The scar on his face only made him look the more vile and invincible.
"My name is Norman, Hunter of the Forest, descendant from the Spears and the Woods." The Fearless Woodcutter eloquently spoke while he halted in the space between the two brothers and the circle of Hunters. "I belong to the Order of the Hunters, the Guardians of the Enchanted Forest. For centuries we have watched over the realm and strived to protect it from the Primordials."
Baelfire swallowed dry and instantly became pale. They were here for his father. He could feel all the air leave his lungs, while his heart seemed to want to jump out of his throat. Surely they wanted to hurt his papa, worst, to kill him, going by the weaponry. The teenager could feel his whole body shake, tremors travel under his fingers that held Myrddian with force, tremors travel down his legs weakening them. He needed to warn Rumpelstitlskin, but he didn't know how. Baelfire refused to succumb to this merciless fear. He needed to win time.
"I have no idea what you are talking about, but whatever made you come here, I strongly advise you to let it go and leave this place. You do not wish to face the Dark One's anger." Baelfire darkly spoke while he looked directly at Norman, his expression one of daunting courage. The Fearless Woodcutter grinned and Baelfire held his stance, despite feeling absolutely terrified.
"You are a brave boy. It's rather a pity having to kill you." Norman said and his voice sounded almost sincerely regretful.
"K-Kill…What- What are you talking about? Why kill me?" This time Baelfire failed in hiding his fear, as a new wave of panic swallowed him up. He stared frightened and confused at the many man that stared back at him. Some with pity, some with loathe.
"You are the child of the Primordial. You have no magic, but your children will have. I'm truly sorry. I wished there was another way." Norman explained while he gestured some man to seize Baelfire.
His heart beat madly under his chest. His ears were ringing from Myrddian's loud crying. A horrible sense of dread took over his body. For a few seconds Baelfire was paralyzed in shock, his brains having a hard time in processing Norman's words. But when he heard the steps coming closer to him, he snapped out of his state of shock. Adrenaline ran fast in his blood as all his cells were wakened by the instinct of survival. Baelfire, terrified for his fate and his brother's, did the only thing he could think of doing.
"Rumpelstiltskin! Rumpelstiltskin! Rumpelstiltskin!"
One single second after the calling, a puff of purple smoke appeared right opposite Baelfire. Myrddian immediately stopped crying. The Hunters that were approaching Baelfire froze in their spots. Norman lost all the blood from his face. Everybody and everything was still. Even nature seemed to grow silent at the unexpected arrival of the Primordial. The purple smoke quickly dissipated, revealing Rumpelstiltskin. He stared at Baelfire surprised and confused. His oldest son had his eyes widened in terror. His mouth was slightly agape and he breathed too fast and loud. He never had seen his son this frightened before in his life. And then he saw the men standing behind Baelfire.
Rumpelstitlskin took a step back and slowly turned around, in all directions. His eyes perceived the ring of Hunters, their shocked expressions, their weapons in their hands. Rumpelstitskin could feel his heart and lungs work double time. It took him very few seconds to realize what was going on. Feeling an uncharacteristic anger boil under his chest, he slowly took a couple steps away from his sons, turned his back to them while his eyes searched for the leader. Rumpelstiltskin spotted the scarred man standing in the center of the circle, between the children and the Hunters. And sneered. Norman's eyes grew wider and the Fearless Woodcutter experienced an unprecedented fear when he saw the shorter man's eyes change from brown to golden green. He heard the suppressed gasps around him, the nervous breathing of his army, a few steps betraying their hesitance to flee.
This was a turn of events the Hunters had not foreseen. They were already days spying the Dark One's inhabitants' movements. They already had reached the bitter realization they had not only to kill a teenager, but also a baby. Despite the deep reluctance of many Hunters, they still went on with their mission. Two lives for the lives of many more. Two sad sacrifices for the safety of the realm. And once they understood the Dark One and Rumpelstiltskin's daily movements, the Hunters knew all they had to do was wait for the moment the boys were alone. Never had they expected that there was a magical code to summon Rumpelstiltskin. It had been a grave lapse, an unforgiving mistake not to investigate further the Primordial's powers. It was a fatal move.
"What is going on here?" Rumpelstitlskin asked with his teeth clenched. He could feel the fire heat up his veins until they burned. He could feel the anger build up in his chest, his heartbeat pound in his ears. He stared directly in Norman's frightened eyes but his reply was silence. "What. Are. You. Doing. HERE?!" He shouted in repressed rage, his voice high pitched and yet rough at the same time. Most of the Hunters flinched at the sound, the desire to flee increasing by the second.
"They want to kill me, and Myrddin, because our children will inherit your powers." Baelfire spoke instead, his trembling voice stained in fear and revolt. His father turned around to face him, his widened eyes already larger than normal in his pre-transformation. His expression was one of blank shock. He failed to understand the nature of those words. He failed to understand the whole concept of it.
"Kill you?" He whispered appalled. Baelfire nodded. Rumpelstiltskin swallowed dry while he lingered in the faces for his two boys.
"They call themselves Hunters." The teenager added.
At hearing the name, everything made sense. Rumpelstiltskin had by now read the Book of Beginnings countless times. He knew by now all its stories, protagonists, antagonists, heroes and villains by his heart. He knew the race that murdered his ancestors. The cowards that hated the magic of the First People because they didn't understand it, because they envied it, because they could never have it or dominate it. The cowards that organized sickening persecutions on innocent children. The cowards that sought to destroy the creation of Life and Magic because of their wish for dominance and for superiority.
Rumpelstiltskin turned to face Norman again and this time his face was expressionlessness. With a swift movement of his right hand, he made Baelfire and Myrddin disappear from behind him in a purple smoke. The teenager stared around surprised but relieved when he recognized the castle's walls and furniture. He walked to a window and could see his father and the Hunters from the distance. He gulped. They were many men, but he knew they were no match to his father's fury. These men were about to meet the Primordial's rage. A part of Baelfire thought they deserved it.
"Hunters." Rumpelstitlskin whispered, while the men stared paralyzed as the slender man's skin started to glow, till it became golden.
They watched rooted as his straight hair curled up, as his teeth became dirty and rotten, his nails long and black. They had grown up with the tales of the First People. They had listened to the description of the Primordial, how it looked, how it moved, how it killed. And to witness the legend become life was beyond terrifying. "Cowards… Murderers…" He spoke a bit louder, his voice high-pitched and clear to all ears. "You would spill the blood of innocents to conclude a quest from an ancient past?"
By now, some Hunters had finally succumbed to their fears and made a run to escape the rage from the Primordial. But they halted in sheer terror when a blast of fire burned their way out. An arm of wild fire stretched itself until it formed a perfect yellow golden ring, encircling all Hunters, trapping them in this cage of doom. Baelfire watched from the window the flames of heat and decided he didn't want to see the rest. He knew how this would end. He could not blame his father. But he could not take any pleasure in watching these condemned men meet their end, no matter how horrible they were. So, the teenager carried his little brother to his room, tears of fear, dread and relieve run down his face.
"Now, before I cook you all alive…" Rumpelstiltskin said in a theatrical tone while he made a fake scared face. "How did you find out about me and my boys?" He murmured in a sneer, his angered eyes piercing Norman's.
The Fearless Woodcutter closed his mouth, lips making a fine line and the Primordial understood his refusal. He lifted his right hand and a ball of fire formed on it. Norman flinched, but he refused to show fear in his face. Rumpelstiltskin grinned wickedly and emitted a loud crazed laughter. "Oh, how brave! Well, bravery will not save you from my wrath!" Rumpelstiltskin threw the fire ball in Norman's direction and the Fearless Woodcutter managed to dodge just in time. Yet, he had felt the angry heat. He realized they were all going to die a horrible death.
"Please, not all Hunters agreed with the idea!" Norman begged and he stared horrified as a new fire ball was formed in the monster's hand.
"And yet, they followed you." The Primordial spoke clearly upset and then grinned crazily. "Now, let me make myself clear – How did you find out about me and my children?"
The fire ball flew to Norman, and despite his swiftness in moving out of the way, some flames bit the skin of his leg and the woodcutter released a pained yell. The other Hunters watched agonized as the man rolled on the floor in sheer pain, while he grasped to his glowing leg. "Anybody?" The Primordial asked in a clearly impatient tone. "Well, if hurting you won't do the trick…"
Golden green eyes searched the crowd of scared faces and he spotted a young man with ginger hair, not much older than his son. He smirked devilishly and the boy emitted a chocked yell as he realized he was the Primordial's target. A large redheaded man put himself in front of the boy.
"Leave my son alone!" The strong warrior shouted while he pointed his sword to Rumpelstiltkin. "He's just a boy!"
"Ah, how ironic. And just moments ago you and your boy were about to kill my sons!" Rumpelstitlskin wisely replied and a new fire ball emerged on top of his hand.
"Stop! I'll make a deal with you!" Norman shouted. The Primordial turned back to his first victim.
"A deal? I'm sorry, you must be mistaken. I'm not the Dark One." He turned around to face again the large redhead, balanced his right arm and…
"The Evil Queen! It was the Evil Queen!" Norman yelled and the fire ball dissipated from Rumpelstiltskin. He turned around looking shocked.
"Regina…" The Primodial whispered to himself.
The image of the woman who tortured him for months, the woman that had already tried to hurt Baelfire once; filled his mind completely. Her dark corrupted eyes, her mean red lips, her gorgeous face that embodied evilness. His large golden green eyes scanned the many frightened faces that stared back at him. Regina had dared to summon the Hunters to get to him. To get to Belle. For revenge? Power? He almost chocked at his own saliva when he realized Belle had been right all the time. Regina never deserved her second chance. Her heart was as black as coal. Evil to its core. She deserved nothing more than to die.
"Let the men go, and the Order of the Hunters will leave you children in peace." Norman proposed, awakening Rumpelstiltskin from his thoughts.
"How do I know you aren't lying and will come back later on with a larger army?"
"We are loyal to the Code. Once a deal is struck, we don't break it."
"You expect me to believe that?"
"Take me then! I was the one that summoned the men. I was the one who organized the Hunt. Take me and let the men go! And no harm will come to your sons from us in the future. I promise!"
The Fearless Woodcutter offered and dropped to his knees as a sacrifice. Many Hunters started protesting, not wanting or allowing their leader to sacrifice his life like this. But Norman signed them with his hand to halt and looked directly into the golden green orbs of the magical creature. Rumpelstiltskin stared back at him, his expression hard to read. His eyes were fixed on the woodcutter's and he read both courage and determinacy in them. He shrunk his eyes slightly and made a swift gesture with his hands. Norman flinched but immediately released a sigh of relieve, when he saw the hot flames of fire encircling the Hunters instantly die out.
"Go!" Rumpelstiltskin commanded.
After some hesitance, most the Hunters slowly retreated, their steps first unsure but after a while they broke in a run not believing the chance that had been given to them. Only few lingered longer, their hearts heavy as they were unable to leave their leader behind. But when Rumpelstiltskin gave them a murderous look and yelled them to leave a second time, fire exploding behind him, they too hurried themselves to safety. The edge of the woods and the gardens fell to a strange silence. Even birds and crickets had lost their voices.
Norman breathed in and out. He had failed in his mission. He had failed his ancestors. He had failed his family, friends and people still to come. But he succeeded in saving the lives of many men that were, in fact, not prepared for this battle. The lineage of the Hunters had forgotten long ago what it was to fight and face the terrible creatures the Primoridials were. He himself, despite having killed a monster of a wolf, had not been prepared to face Rumpelstiltskin. His powers were simply too great, too vicious. They were unlimited.
Norman watched immobile as the Primordial summoned a fireball on his hand, his face severe. The Fearless Woodcutter closed his eyes. He breathed in and out. He silently prayed for forgiveness. To his ancestors for not being able to make them proud. To his daughter, for never seeing her again and tell her, yet another time, how much he loved her and how much he was proud of her. And accepted his fate. This was his punishment for trying to kill two children. In the last seconds of his fragile life, Norman realized, this was not the right way to deal with the existence of Primordials.
He heard the sound of fire flying to his direction. He felt the heat warm up his face. But felt no pain. Norman opened his eyes. His heart jolted a few times, his lungs worked double time and he could sense the sweat run down his temple. Rumpelstitlskin was staring at him impassively. The Fearless Woodcutter slowly turned his face and looked to the side. He could see the burn mark on the ground next to him.
"You missed. Why?" Norman asked, bitterly surprised, hope and regret filling his heart.
"I will not make you a martyr." The Primordial stated. "You will not be worshiped as a hero. You will not become an inspiration for the Hunters or generations to come. No. You will instead carry this shame and regret to your grave. This burden is my punishment to you."
"T-This wasn't in the deal!" Norman bitterly yelled. Death was preferable than losing his honor.
"But the deal was never struck." The Primordial wisely explained. "I merely chose, at my own will, to spare your miserable lives. But I warn you. I will not be this merciful a second time. Now leave!"
Norman stood up and stumbled away in the woods' direction. He did not look back. He stumbled his way out until he started running faster and faster. Tears cascaded down his face. The words of the Primordial had imprinted themselves in his soul like a burn mark. He felt cursed by his words. He would carry shame all his life for his failure, for his sins. Rumpelstiltskin had been superior in all ways. In magic and in moral. And so the Fearless Woodcutter wondered, who was the real monster?
