There was time enough before the duel to tell the Ogres the plan. Rumple let the Ogres know when and where they could collect Gaston. He spent some time working with his sword, Taliesin's lessons coming back to him easily. He might not normally have use for a sword, but he hadn't let his skills with it grow dull. He wasn't famed for his swordsmanship, but he was confident enough that he could handle Gaston. Belle found him with his sword, and watched him a moment before speaking.
"Remember what I told you. He won't fight fair."
"I'll remember," he told her. "I gave my word, no magic. And I will keep my word as long as I'm able to. That doesn't mean I'll stand for him breaking his."
She nodded. "You mentioned you're a father. You have your children to go back to. And- your wife. You need to protect yourself for them." He hadn't even thought about her assuming he was still married.
"My wife's been dead a long time, Dearie," he said sadly. "She died of a fever days after our son Bae was born." He decided not to elaborate farther.
"Oh! I'm sorry," Belle said, her hand flying to her mouth a moment. "I didn't mean to bring up-,"
"You didn't know," Rumple told her. "It was hard for a long time, but I had to keep going, raise our son. And now I get to enjoy time with his children."
"You said a long time," Belle said, thinking on something. "And you mentioned you and your best friend fought in the First Ogre War. That was-"
"About three centuries ago," he finished the thought.
"And yet you still look like a man in your prime," she said, then understood. "You said Fae was as good as your native language."
"And in some ways, it is," he agreed.
"Because you're part Fae," she guessed.
"Yes. My mother is a fairy. My father was human. I never knew him, and from what I heard about him I'm glad I didn't. But anyway, I speak Fae because it's part of who I am. It's part of why I have magic, and why this could easily be as old as I ever appear. It also makes me harder to kill. Unless Gaston gets in a single killing blow, there's nothing he can do to me that I can't heal. So don't look so worried. I'll be all right, but I won't forget what you said about him."
The first sign that Gaston would not fight fair was when he arrived with LeFou beside him. Rumple glared at him.
"We agreed we would each come alone," Rumple reminded him.
"It's a duel. Of course, we can have our seconds with us. I had expected you to bring yours."
Rumple knew of course that there had been no misunderstanding. The agreement had been clear. Still, it wasn't as if LeFou posed too much of a problem. It wasn't something Rumple enjoyed doing, but he could alter LeFou's memory if he had to so he'd believe Ogres had taken Gaston.
"Shall we begin then?" Rumple asked, raising his sword and holding it at the ready. Gaston did the same, and the duel began. With the Ogres coming, it would be a short fight, but Rumple watched Gaston's every move, prepared for a trick. He watched LeFou as best he could, guessing whatever trick Gaston had planned involved him.
Gaston had expected that if Rumple did have any knowledge of a sword, which he doubted he did, he would be like other men he had faced. They would yield and advance in turn, trying to find an opening to strike. Taliesin had taught Rumple to let the other man do the footwork at the start of a duel. He didn't take a step forward or backward, blocking Gaston's blows where he stood. That confused Gaston, who tried to draw Rumple forward by backing up. Rumple stood firm, making Gaston advance again. He tried to force Rumple back. Rumple blocked him. It sent a clear message to Gaston. Rumple was in complete control of this fight.
"I would have thought at least you'd know enough about swordplay to know you can't do it standing in one spot," Gaston said
"Thanks for that lesson. I thought all there was to dueling was putting the pointy end of the sword in the other guy," Rumple taunted.
Gaston was growing more and more angry. That was just fine as far as Rumple was concerned. Angry men tended not to think clearly. His strikes became more random, as if he just wanted to cut any part of Rumple he could. That made him all the easier to block. With his anger growing, Gaston forgot to strike with the sword and grabbed both of Rumple's wrists. Rumple twisted, using his elbow to knock Gaston back and force him to let go. Gaston lost his footing, nearly falling backwards.
"Now LeFou!" he called, but the servant looked uncertain. He was frozen on the spot for a moment. Then he pulled out a bottle. Rumple didn't have to guess twice what was in it. Knowing he was going against a mage, Gaston had made sure to bring squid ink. Lefou uncorked the bottle, hesitated, then came forward as if to splash it on Rumple. The mage almost expected he would for a moment. Then LeFou tripped, the ink splashing harmlessly to the ground.
"You idiot!" Gaston shouted at him. But Rumple had seen something in LeFou's eyes. He hadn't accidentally spilled the ink. He'd made a choice. Rumple didn't make the mistake of letting himself be distracted by what LeFou had done for long, and such a mistake would have been disastrous.
Gaston had no more magical weapons, but he wasn't out of tricks. Pulling out a knife, he came at Rumple with a weapon in each hand. Rumple struck him on the hand with his blade, forcing him to drop the knife. Rather than continuing to fight with just the sword, Gaston made the mistake of reaching for the knife. Before he could pick it up, the point of Rumple's sword was against his throat.
"I thought you said you didn't know how to use a sword," Gaston said, accusing Rumple of a lie.
"I said I've never had much use for one," Rumple reminded him. "There is a difference. And don't accuse me of not fighting fair. You would have had your man paralyze me and kill me in cold blood. And using both a knife and a sword at once isn't exactly fighting fair either. Count yourself lucky I kept my word and didn't use magic."
Gaston didn't consider himself lucky when he heard the Ogre roar. He looked at Rumple, and knew he'd been tricked.
"You tortured one of their children," Rumple reminded him. "The only reason they attacked Avonlea is to have justice. This ends the war before it even starts."
"You're not doing this to end the war," Gaston snarled. "You could kill he ogres with a wave of your hand if you wanted. You're doing this because-"
"Because I see no need to harm a family for protecting one of their children," Rumple cut him off. "Ogre or not, they have that right. And if I wanted to kill you, I could have. The Ogres are going to be merciful enough to let you live in their service, as long as you don't cause any more harm. That's up to you, but I'd advise against it. You won't last long if you try anything foolish with them."
He gave a nod to the Ogre, who picked Gaston up. The Ogre was as careful as a human would be lifting an egg, but that didn't stop Gaston from screaming in fear.
"Mercy!" he shouted.
"This is mercy," Rumple told him. "More mercy than you showed that Ogre child."
LeFou watched in terror as his master was carried off, but made no move to defend him. Rumple wasn't sure if that was because LeFou feared the Ogre, feared what Rumple would do, or simply saw that Gaston was not being punished any worse than he deserved. Or maybe he was finally sick of Gaston's secret. It was probably a mix of all those things, but Rumple had to be sure LeFou wouldn't tell.
"He'd have murdered you," LeFou said before Rumple spoke. "A duel is one thing. It's expected one won't come back. But paralyzing you? Hiding an extra knife? That isn't a duel, and I want no part of that."
"Thank you," Rumple told him. "And what about what happened with the Ogres?"
"He bragged in front of me," LeFou told him. "About how the young Ogre screamed. He delighted in it. If the Ogres want justice for that- well even any animal will protect their young. I can't blame them. As far as I'm concerned, the Ogres came unexpectedly during a duel and carried him off. It's true enough." Then he hesitated. "The Legumes will want rid of me. I think they only put up with me because Gaston wanted me around."
"And he only wanted you around to admire him," Rumple added. "Don't worry. It will be easy enough to help you find a new place if you want me to. The Ogres will be relocated too. I've already asked my son to help me hide them."
"I think I'd like that," LeFou said. "If there's a choice, I'd rather not serve the Legumes."
"There's always a choice," Rumple told him. And he'd be eternally grateful he'd made the right one and not used the squid ink. It must have been a hard decision, given his devotion to Gaston, but the little man no one thought much of except as a source of admiration had finally become his own man.