Chapter 1: Welcome to Storybrooke
A/N: There are going to be some changes to the plot later on in the series, I also plan to include a story arc for my own character later on.
Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time, only my OC.
The Enchanted Forest
The cavern's corridor was eerily deserted and dimly lit, the only sources of light were the torches ensconced on the walls. At the end of the corridor, there was a cell with a single occupant… Rumplestiltskin, the Dark One, himself.
Inside his cell, he was laughing with glee, the Charmings had just left, he had gotten what he needed, the name of their unborn child, the name of the Savior.
He was waiting for someone, an occasional business associate, whom he had agreed to share the Savior's name with, after all, they had been in this together for quite some time.
"Any time now, dearie. It's just us," he called, gleefully.
No sooner than he had spoken, a figure appeared in a swirl of blue smoke.
He was tall, fairly slender, and broad-shouldered, he wore a gray shirt and light blue trousers, a set of black cuffed boots, and a light blue tunic with gray embroidery at the hem and wrists, and a dark blue cloak, clasped to his shoulder, with the hood up, which cast his face in shadow, hidden underneath his cloak was a sword on his belt, in his hand, he held a staff of pale gray wood.
"Ah, excellent, the Blue Sorcerer finally appears, come, come closer, and take off that ridiculous hood." said Rumplestiltskin.
The stranger stepped towards him, and pulled his hood down, revealing the face of a young man in his prime, with a head of dark brown hair, and deep, piercing, alert blue eyes, his face solemn, wise, and thoughtful.
He spoke, "So, I take it the newlyweds paid you a visit, did you get what you require?"
The Dark One grinned, "Indeed I did, I told them what they wanted to know, and they gave me the name of their unborn child."
"Ah, that's the failsafe, so what is it, what's the child's name?" He asked.
"Ah ah ah, not so fast, dearie. It's gonna cost you something in return."
He rolled his eyes and sighed, "What's your price?" He asked wearily.
"Information."
"What kind of information?" He asked, cautiously, if there's one thing he had learned in all the time he had known this particular Dark One, it's that there was always a catch with him.
"Simple, one question."
He shook his head, nothing was ever simple with him, "Which is?"
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Even before I came to you offering to make a deal, you were obsessed with reaching the Land Without Magic, why?" Rumplestiltskin queried.
The stranger looked away, lost in thought as memories came to mind unbidden, his face was that of a young man, but his eyes showed he was much older than he appeared to be.
After a few moments, he answered, "I have my reasons, for me, it's a chance of finishing something I started long ago."
Rumplestiltskin nodded, he figured that was as good an answer as he was going to get, "I see."
The stranger looked at him again, "I've answered your question, now answer mine, what is the Savior's name?"
"Emma." the Dark One said.
"Emma." the stranger repeated, before holding out his hand for him to shake, "Thank you, Rumplestiltskin, pleasure doing business with you."
He took the proffered hand through the cell bars and shook it, "Likewise Azuron."
Storybrooke, Maine: 28 years later
"Pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Gold." said Mr. Indigo.
"Likewise." said Mr. Gold, as two of the most wealthy and influential men in Storybrooke concluded their transaction.
"Would you care to come by later for a game of chess?" Mr. Indigo offered, casually. He and Gold were business associates and occasionally rivals, but they shared a mutual respect for one another.
"I'll think about it." Mr. Gold said.
After their business was completed, Mr. Indigo left the pawnshop and made his way home for the evening, as that agreement with Gold was his last deal for the day.
Mr. Indigo wore a light blue shirt, a dark blue two-piece suit, a blue tie with gray stripes, black oxford shoes, and walked with a pale gray wooden cane. He was a tall young man, with dark brown hair, a sharp face, and keen blue eyes. He gave the appearance of a man who was well-educated, well-mannered, even-tempered, and meticulous, yet he possessed a quiet underlying sense of power.
As he walked, he thought back on what had happened earlier that day, the Mayor's son, Henry, had caused a stir, when he had run off for parts unknown. The sheriff, Graham, was doing his best, but it was clear that wherever Henry was, it wasn't in Storybrooke. In some way, he suspected that whatever the cause for his disappearance, it was connected to his recent obsession with a book of fairytales, he was convinced that everyone in town was a fairytale character, he had heard about it from his teacher Mary Margaret, who had given him the book in the first place.
He was about halfway home, when he encountered Archie and his dog Pongo out for a walk, a short distance away.
At that moment, something strange happened, a yellow bug with Massachusetts license plates pulled to an abrupt stop. No one came to Storybrooke, it just never happened… for some reason. As soon as the bug stopped, a woman with long, blonde hair, and blue eyes, in a red leather jacket, got out of the driver's seat. Out of the passenger seat, came Henry, carrying his backpack.
'Hmm, Boston, so that's where he ran off to.' Mr. Indigo thought, as he strode closer to them, they appeared to be conversing about something.
"I kinda went on a field trip today." said Henry.
"You have a strange definition of a field trip, my boy." said Mr. Indigo cutting into the conversation.
"Oh, hello Mr. Indigo." said Henry.
"Hello Henry, and who is this?" asked Mr. Indigo, referring to the blonde woman.
"Just someone trying to give him a ride home." the woman said.
"She's my real mom." said Henry.
Mr. Indigo immediately felt sorry for the woman, Regina could be vindictive at times, and given that this woman was Henry's biological mother, it would only add fuel to the fire.
"Ah, I see, word of advice, take care, the Mayor is not the easiest woman to deal with at the worst of times."
"Noted." the woman said.
"Yes well, good evening and good luck to you, my dear." said Mr. Indigo, continuing his trek home.
'I can only imagine how that particular conversation is going to go,' he thought.
As Mr. Indigo walked away, Emma and Henry got back into the bug.
"So who are they supposed to be?" Emma asked as they got back in the car.
"Archie, he's Jiminy Cricket!" Emma scoffed under her breath.
"Right. The lying thing. Thought your nose grew a little bit."
"I'm not Pinocchio!" He protested as they started driving. "Course you're not. 'Cause that would be ridiculous." Emma said, "So what about Mr. Indigo, who's he supposed to be?"
"Well, I'm not sure about Mr. Indigo, I don't know who everyone is, yet," Henry said hesitantly. "But I will."
Emma rolled her eyes as they turned onto Mifflin Street.
The whole town was abuzz the next morning. Henry's birth mother had crashed into the town sign, attempting to leave Storybrooke, and was now being detained inside the local jail.
Mr. Indigo decided to go down to the station to check on the woman to see how well she had survived Regina's anger and, for some reason, he felt that there was something about the woman that was important, he just couldn't understand what it was.
He decided to make his way to the Sheriff's office and proceed from there, once he arrived. Marco, the local repairman was fixing up a cabinet, and Leroy, the town drunk was languishing in another cell neighboring the mystery woman, who was laying on a cot. When she came to, she noticed the man from last night sitting in a chair in front of her cell.
"Welcome back, my dear." said Mr. Indigo.
The woman winced, probably more from the pain in her head than surprise, "Thanks." she replied.
"I did warn you about the Mayor's viciousness, in hindsight, I suppose I should have warned you about her cider as well." Mr. Indigo said dryly.
"That's what the Sheriff said too, but I wasn't drunk, it was a wolf, standing in the middle of the road."
"Hmm, I don't recall ever seeing any wolves in Storybrooke, but anything's possible I suppose." Mr. Indigo mused thoughtfully.
"By the way, I never caught your name. What should I call you if I were so inclined?" Mr. Indigo asked, politely.
"Emma Swan." the woman introduced herself.
Emma… Emma Swan… the Savior.
'Hmm, so it worked.' Azuron thought, as he remembered.
"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Swan." said Azuron.
"Swan, that's a strange name, sister." said Leroy gruffly.
"Hey, Leroy—manners! We have a guest! So you are eh, Henry's mother. How lovely for him to have you back in his life." said Marco, who chose to join the conversation.
"Actually, I was just dropping him off." Emma said.
"Tkh. Don't blame ya. They're all brats; who needs 'em." said Leroy.
"Well, I'd give anything for one. My wife and I, we tried for many years, but, uh... it was not meant to be." said Marco.
"Well cry me a river." grumbled Leroy.
The Sheriff entered, holding the keys to the cells, "Leroy! I'm going to let you out; you need to behave. Put on a smile, and stay out of trouble." said Graham.
The town drunk gave a forced smile and left in a huff.
"Regina's drinks; a little stronger than we thought." said Graham.
"I wasn't drunk; there was a wolf, standing in the middle of the road." said Emma.
"A wolf. Right." remarked the Sheriff, skeptically.
Just then, Regina strode in, frantic, "Graham? Henry's run away again, we have to—what is she doing here? Do you know where he is?" she asked accusingly.
'Twice in 48 hours.' Azuron thought, while watching the conversation.
"Lady, I haven't seen him since I dropped him at your house, and… pretty good alibi." she said motioning towards the cell bars.
"Yeah, well, he wasn't in his room this morning." Regina snapped.
"Did you try his friends?" Emma asked.
"He doesn't really have any. Kind of a loner." Regina replied.
"Every kid has friends. Did you check his computer? If he was close to someone he'd be emailing them." Emma said.
"And you know this how?" Regina asked.
"Finding people's what I do. Here's an idea; how 'bout you guys let me out, and I'll help you find him." Emma bartered.
"Well, good luck on the trail, Nancy Drew, I have work to do." said Azuron, as he left.
He would have to be very careful, he couldn't afford to reveal himself just yet, he would need to play it smart. And he had a pretty good idea where Henry might have run off to this time…
His castle.
As he suspected, Henry was at his castle. His little secret hiding place wasn't as secret as he thought it was. It appeared Miss Swan had discovered her son's hiding place too. As he came upon them, they appeared to be conversing with each other, about her past; Henry attempting to convince her that her parents hadn't 'abandoned her' as she thought.
'If only she knew.' Azuron thought as he approached them, choosing to enter the conversation.
"You know lad, with all these recent disappearing acts, you could very well become the next Houdini." Azuron remarked dryly.
"Mr. Indigo, what are you doing here?" asked Henry, startled.
"Looking for you lad," said Azuron "But it appears your mother beat me to it."
"Never mind, it's good that you're here, I think I might have figured out who you are." said Henry, reaching for his book.
"I should hope you know who I am lad, given that you've lived here since you were an infant." said Azuron, feigning ignorance.
"No, I mean, who you were in the Enchanted Forest." said Henry.
"Enchanted Forest?" said Azuron, faking confusion, then recognition, "Ah yes, your little fairytale theory."
"Exactly." said Henry, smiling, beside him, Emma rolled her eyes.
"Alright, lad, I'll bite, who am I supposed to be?" asked Azuron.
Henry flipped to a page and handed the book over, "You're the Blue Sorcerer."
'Clever boy, and not a bad likeness either,' Azuron thought, as he looked at the picture in the book. It was a picture of him wearing his Enchanted Forest clothing, holding his staff, looking out over a castle balcony, his face wearing a melancholy expression.
"The Blue Sorcerer?" said Azuron feigning curiosity.
"You're immortal. You were also one of the most powerful magic users in the Enchanted Forest, but you're a bit of an enigma," said Henry.
'Enigma? Hmm, apt choice of word. mused Azuron.
"Hmm, I'll admit, I do see a slight resemblance," he acquiesced, "But I'm hardly immortal, Henry."
It was then that Miss Swan chose to intervene, either to save herself or her son, from any further embarrassment in front of a stranger, "C'mon, Henry. Let's go get some ice cream." she said.
"You'll see, Mr. Indigo." Henry said as they went.
It was later in the day, Azuron was at his home settling down for the evening with a kettle of tea on the stove, fresh biscuits, and a book. Suddenly, the doorbell rang, getting up to answer it, he opened the door and came face-to-face with Gold.
'Rumplestiltskin, is he…?'
"Evening dearie. I don't suppose that the offer of a chess game is still open?" he asked.
'He is.'
"Certainly. Would you care for some tea and biscuits?" Azuron asked politely.
"Most welcome, thank you." said Gold.
Getting the refreshments put out and the board set up, they sat at opposite ends of the table, in silence for a few moments.
"I take it you've met our new arrival, Emma Swan." said Azuron, breaking the silence.
"Indeed I have, she was purchasing a room at the Bed and Breakfast." said Gold.
'So she's staying, that's good.' thought Azuron.
"So right now, we're both awake and Regina is, so far, unaware of that fact.' he said.
"For the moment, yes.' Gold mused.
"And what of Miss Swan, how do we want to play it with her?" asked Azuron.
"I think for the moment, we should wait and see what she does, and wait until she needs help to offer it." Gold said.
Azuron nodded, "I had the same thoughts."
Turning to the board they had set up, he asked casually, "Black or white?"
"I would have thought that answer was obvious." remarked Gold wryly.
"Black, of course." said Azuron, turning the side with the black pieces towards Gold, and the white side towards himself.
"Most appropriate, don't you think." said Gold.
Suddenly the two men heard the sound of the town clock tower, chiming for the first time since anyone could remember.
"It's your move, Rumple." said Azuron moving one of his pawns forward.
A/N: I apologize if my writing feels dull or lackluster, this is one of my first attempts at writing, so I'm hoping to improve as we go. Next chapter, we'll get more background with regards to the 'partnership' between Azuron and Rumple.