Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. This is a work of pure fiction. All characters and events depicted in this story are entirely fictitious. Any similarity to actual events or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Tags: *Belle/Rumpelstiltskin, *Regina|Evil Queen, *Baelfire, *Grace, *Jefferson|The Mad Hatter, *Snow White, *Prince Charming, *Dark Castle, *Winter Palace, *Enchanted Forest, *All the Angst, *Regina at her worst, *Mild non/con, *Dagger Control, *Mutual Pining, *Smut, *True Love *Psychological Manipulation/Torture/Trauma, *Adult Themes, *Adult Language, *Adult Situations, *So many triggers I can't name them all, *Really, you don't want to read this.

Summary: The Evil Queen, her destiny to cast the curse in tatters, sets out on a reign of terror the likes of which the Enchanted Forest has never seen. Rumpelstiltskin may be the only hope to restore order, but will the price be more than he's willing to pay? (NEW STORY!)

A/n: I'm quite aware there are many of my readers who are going to shudder with revulsion over what I have planned for this fic, but I can only write where the muse leads me. This is dark, challenging and a bit sick, but I'm not going to apologize. I've never read anything like this before, which is why I've convinced myself to see it through. There are triggers and heartbreak and perhaps even things which will have you racing for the exit, so I'm going to warn you now … reader discretion is advised.

The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.

~Robert Burns~

Best Laid Plans

By:

CharlotteAshmore

I

The smooth, polished wheel emitted a soft creak beneath his long-fingered, practiced hand, a sound which no longer had the ability to bring him even a modicum of comfort. Even the simple pastime of spinning reminded him of … her. He might have been able to banish her from his home, but he knew it would be futile to try to cast her out of his heart. Belle. Her name whispered through his mind, taunting and tormenting his tortured soul.

The dark demon who shared his body quailed at the memory of her, holding his blessed silence. His acerbic barbs had only fueled Rumpelstiltskin's ire and left naught but ruin in his wake.

The evil entity would never admit it … but he missed her, too. There had been those few who had meant something to the spinner since he'd taken on the curse … Milah, the treacherous wife and Cora, the evil termagant with her incessant, unbridled quest for power … they both paled in comparison to the princess from Avonlea. Since the dawn of the Dark One, there had never been a living soul who had embraced the darkness such as Belle had. She'd loved the spinner unconditionally and without exception. She'd thought she had been helping him by freeing him of his curse. It had been the demon's own fear and panic which had driven her away. He'd forced Rumpelstiltskin to realize he would never find Baelfire if he let the girl steal away his magic and power with true love's kiss.

Now, he could only hope his host would forget and refocus his attention on his lifelong quest. Despite the humanity which still clung to Rumpelstiltskin's soul, he was single-minded in his purpose to find his son. The wake of chaos he'd left behind over the centuries was proof of his determination. If only the spinner could let go of his love for the girl. Which wasn't very likely as even now her voice echoed through the Dark One's mind.

"Can't you see it's true love!"

"Why won't you believe me?!"

"All you'll have is an empty heart … and a chipped cup."

Rumpelstiltskin dropped onto the stool behind the wheel and let his head fall forward into his hands. "Oh, Belle," he wept pitifully, tears coursing down his weathered cheeks. "I'm so sorry."

The demon growled low in his throat at the spinner's weakness. True love, he thought viciously, might be considered the most powerful magic of all, but it went against his very nature and sickened him to the point of madness. How were they to get any work done if his host were a blubbering mess? He could understand lust, and would be the first to admit he'd desired nothing more than to have the spinner give in to his baser urges and take the chit to his bed. No amount of pleading - on his part - had been able to sway the man, however. More's the pity.

The queen had just made it worse when she'd come to call, relishing her tale of Belle's death. It had fairly destroyed Rumpelstiltskin, much to the demon's disgust. He hadn't been happy about the girl's death, but even with all his power at their disposal, dead was dead. There was no possibility of resurrecting her.

The darkness reached out to the spinner, tickling the back of his mind with his cajoling tone, trying to distract him from his despair. Think of Bae … your beloved child. The threads have been woven into the tapestry of fate, the curse upon us. You must not deviate from your path. He felt Rumpelstiltskin shudder and bit back a smile. The girl would have wanted you to find your precious boy.

Belle … she wouldn't have wanted the curse cast. She would have tried to find another way.

A task which has bedeviled you for three centuries. There is no other way! Lock the girl away in your heart and focus on the things you can change. Baelfire lives … he needs his papa. Belle is lost.

Manipulative fuck! You couldn't care less about either of them, so spare me your presence and your oh-so-well-meaning advice.

The demon growled darkly as the light in the spinner's heart glowed just a bit brighter as his thoughts were swept away into images of the girl once more. We shall see …

*.*.*

Rumpelstiltskin's lip curled into a sneer as he sensed the carriage which had just entered the pass. Potions of all manner littered the table of his work room, all to be transferred to a chest which would be carried over to the land without magic when the curse was cast. It was mind-numbing work he'd thrown himself into in order to stop dwelling on what he'd lost. He was in no fit state to entertain Regina. Everything was in place and she was nearing completion with her phase of the preparations. Really, there had been no plausible reason to interact with her since she'd disrupted the Charming's wedding months ago.

He rolled his eyes and transported himself to the Great Hall to take up a casual seat next to the hearth. Surely, the queen must be bored. He strengthened the wards on the castle at the last moment simply to cause her frustration. There was little he could do to keep her out if she really wanted in. She'd learned her dark magic by his own hand and the wards recognized her as an ally. It would take more spell work than he had time to create and he had things to pack and final details to prepare.

The mage couldn't help the little giggle which slipped past his lips as the queen threw open the great double doors, her hair a bit singed and her form-fitting ebony gown reeking of ozone and darkness. She glared in the face of his amusement.

"You did that on purpose," she accused.

"Was it not you, dearie, who claimed my locks were flimsy?" he countered, the smirk slipping from his lips as a pang of loss twisted the blackened husk within his chest.

Regina patted her coiffure and smiled wolfishly. "Touché, Rumpel."

The demon growled as he watched her make her way to the tea service set at the far end of the table. He should have thought to poison it. Nothing which would kill her, of course – she was needed, after all – just enough to make her regret making the trek up the mountain to bedevil him in his grief. If she dared mention his beloved Belle, however, all bets were off.

"What is it you want, your majesty. I'm sure you have some reason for coming … whether you're welcome or not," he huffed, weary of her fidgeting with the tea pot.

The queen popped the silver teaspoon into her mouth and grinned around it, white teeth gleaming like a shark. "You're vexed with me again?" Rumpelstiltskin rolled his eyes. "Well, with Maleficent incapacitated – so to speak – you're my only friend."

The Dark One giggled so hard at that, he snorted. "What have I told you about such delusions of grandeur, your majesty?" He sobered as she perched a hip against the table next to his chair at its head … much as Belle had once done. "I've no time for your games, Regina. So, I'll ask again … what is it you want?"

Her grin widened. "You've completely lost all sense of social decorum, it seems. It must be hard to remember when you're constantly locked up in this mausoleum without your precious maid here to keep you in line."

Rumpelstiltskin remained perfectly still, petrified in his rage as he felt the demon ram against the bars of his cage. Kill her, spinner! Tear out her loathsome heart and grind it to dust beneath your boot! His teeth gnashed as she inched closer, her hips sinuous and snakelike as she moved.

"Don't be cross, dear. It's unbecoming … especially when I've brought you a gift."

"I want nothing from you!" he spat, his eyes darkening to a rich bronze, the darkness welling within him.

Regina's lilting laughter echoed through the cavernous room, a manic gleam sparking to light within the depths of her dark ocher eyes. "You'll want this," she assured him, reaching into the deep vee of her bodice and removing a small scroll. "Then again … maybe not."

The mage's entire being went on alert as he recognized the finished copy of the Dark Curse. He shook his head, watching her with avid wariness. "And why would you think I needed it back? Have you changed your mind about casting it?" He would bloody well kill her if she thought to cross him in such a way.

She slinked away from him, edging closer to the blazing fire in the hearth. "I really thought it was the answer … a way to achieve my happy ending, but I just don't know if it's what I want anymore."

"What are you saying?"

"What does it matter, Rumpel? Making Snow and her precious prince miserable will suffice, but for how long? A decade? Two? What does any of it matter without Daniel? Why would I want this new life without him to share it?" Her eyes closed with an unfettered look of pain before they narrowed and snapped up to fiercely meet his gaze. "The problem isn't Snow per se. It's love. Love is weakness and pain and betrayal. It needs to be banished from the realm. This one."

Rumpelstiltskin clasped his hands before him and regarded her steadily. "And that will make you happy? My dear Regina, there is no darkness without the light, no hate without love to counter it, no evil without good. The perfect balance of the universe."

"And I refuse to accept that! I will spread darkness throughout the realm and crush anyone who tries to stop me," she hissed, the vulnerability she'd shown for one minute second disappearing behind a cold mask of rage. "It's time I won, and this is the only way I will succeed."

Before he could stop her, she unfurled the scroll and ripped it in two before tossing it into the fire to burn, the flames flaring higher with a purple hue.

"NO!" the Dark One shrieked, reaching out to the burning parchment, centuries of hard work, all his machinations, his schemes, smoldering to ash before he could pull it from the blaze. The demon howled in triumph as he was loosed from the cage, his hand shooting forward, talons digging deep within the queen's chest in search of her heart. There was nothing to stop him from killing the witch now. Except …

The Dark One stared down stupidly at his empty hand, Regina's shrill laughter striking him like a nest of vipers. "Really, Rumpel, did you think I was stupid enough to make a move against you while still in full possession of my heart?" Her smile was smug and condescending in the extreme as she brushed imaginary lint from the bodice of her gown. "You must have forgotten who my mother is."

"As if I could possibly forget. Had a nice little chat with mommy dearest, did you?" Rumpelstiltskin gritted out through his clenched teeth. His rage burned hotter than the deadliest fever, but he somehow managed to keep his wits about him. "Get out! I have no patience left for you, your majesty."

Regina hummed in amusement as he turned away from her, letting him stew in his fury for another moment or two before she proceeded to once more prod the beast. "I suppose I really should give you your gift now," she purred in a sinister tone.

"There's nothing more I want from you, dearie, and I suggest you heed my warning to leave before I lose the tenuous hold I have on my temper and destroy you utterly. You're no longer of any use to me." He cursed inwardly, his rage fueling the darkness flooding his veins. How could he not have foreseen her change of heart? Cora could have influenced her, he had no doubt, but she lacked the power to shield Regina's plans from him. Could there be forces helping her of which he was unaware?

When she spoke, her voice sent a shiver down his spine, his belly clenching with fear. "Not even your beloved son … Baelfire? Mother had quite a lot to say about your motivations for casting the curse. They came as quite a shock, to be honest. Who would've thought a woman would debase herself enough to give you a child? You must have truly loved my mother to share so much with her." She slinked closer to his petrified form and tilted his chin up to close his gaping mouth. "You really should be more careful with your secrets, Rumpel. Or rather with whom you share them."

He pushed her back with a burst of magic, his breathing ragged as he imagined his son in her vile clutches. "He's where you can't touch him, dearie. Not even you could reach the land without magic without casting the curse."

The queen smiled darkly. "But what if he wasn't? Your father sends his regards, by the way," she chuckled.

No, no, no! It's not possible for Bae to be in Neverland … just a portal away. He schooled his features into a blank mask. "You're lying."

"Am I?" she taunted, one imperious ebony brow raised challengingly. Another ominous chuckle flitted past her lips before she turned towards the door and called out to the guard she'd left waiting in the foyer. "Claude, dear, please bring the Dark One's gifts in, won't you?"

Rumpelstiltskin felt his entire being tremble as her guards roughly pushed two prisoners into the room and forced them down to their knees, hands bound behind their backs and burlap sacks covering their heads. There was no denying the taller of the two was the hatter. How he'd managed to get himself caught up in this nightmare, he couldn't fathom. A better question would be as to how the queen had retrieved him from Wonderland, but he found he couldn't take his eyes from the figure beside Jefferson.

He felt his stomach roil with dread as she circled her prey with a confidence he'd never seen her display before. Almost as if she knew nothing could touch her. Regina was almost gleeful as she ripped the sack off the hatter's head. "Surely, you remember Jefferson. It took quite a while to negotiate with Mother over his release, but I won in the end. It was worth carting a corpse to Wonderland through the hat to have him back. He's so useful, after all."

The Dark One had to look away from the abject fear and horror in the hatter's eyes, knowing it would take all his cunning to defeat his former pupil. There was no humanity left within the depths of her dark eyes, and he couldn't afford to underestimate her.

"I'm sure she wasn't happy," he trilled, refusing to let her see the panic which was slowly beginning to wrap itself around his heart. "Cora never did like for others to touch her things."

The queen flourished an elegant hand and shrugged. "Then it's a good thing she will no longer be a problem."

"Oh, and why is that?"

"Because she's dead."

Nothing the queen could have said would have shocked him more. All her life, all she'd wanted was her mother's acceptance, her mother's love. Well, it seemed that ship had sailed. "And by your own hand it seems."

"After your betrayal … well, I couldn't let that stand, now could I?" she smiled almost wistfully. "Over the last several months, I went on my own search for power … anything to help me further my agenda to destroy Snow. It led me down paths I doubt even you would tread, but I found a way to harden my heart, Rumpelstiltskin. It was the only way I could finally get past everything which has been holding me back from achieving my revenge. Finally, I just took a page from Mother's book and simply removed my heart and everything became clear."

The breath hitched in his throat as she whipped the sack from the boy's head, feeling as if the world had dropped away beneath his feet. He wanted to run to him, to envelop him in his arms and protect him from the evil in their midst, but he knew how effortlessly the queen could twist things to her advantage. He wouldn't put it past her to have created a golem in his son's likeness. Yet it was so hard to look into wide terrified eyes so like his own, to see the gag in his mouth and his body restrained.

"It's a trick. That's not my son," he insisted, turning away before he completely lost the thin thread of his composure to which he still clung.

"Really, Rumpel? Would I have gone to the trouble of retrieving the hatter from Wonderland to send him for a mere doppelganger? And that miscreant father of yours was more than happy to be rid of him, too. Said he wanted no reminders of his own failure to produce worthy offspring."

The mage shook his head, wanting so much to believe. The more he gazed into his son's eyes the more hope coursed through him. He took a tentative step towards him. "Remove the gag, Regina."

The queen's eyes were alight with victory, and she didn't hesitate to comply. Baelfire swiped his tongue over his dry lips and sucked in a deep breath. "Papa –"

Rumpelstiltskin held up a hand, his teeth gnashing together. "Who was your closest childhood friend? Who was the man who came to take you from me to bring you to the front? How many silvers did we average on market day?" he rattled off questions only his son would be able to answer.

"M-Morraine … Hordor … seven," the boy answered without hesitation.

"Bae!"

The truth broke him, and there was no magic Regina could have pulled from her bag of tricks to stop him from dropping to his knees before his son and taking him into his arms, his tears soaking into the boy's unkempt curls.

Rumpelstiltskin fell forward, his nails catching in the rug as he caught himself on his hands. He roared with fury as he quickly gained his feet and turned on the queen. He paid no mind as her guards dragged Jefferson from the room, too devastated to see his child after three centuries only to have him literally ripped from his arms. "Where is he?! What have you done with him?!" he spat at Regina.

The queen smiled smugly and clasped her hands in glee. "Now, now, my dear … we must discuss the price of his return." All hint of humor fled from her features, her porcelain face morphing into a dark visage. "My price."

For once, Rumpelstiltskin could feel dread emanating from the demon within, something he'd never before expected to feel from the darkness. "Name it, Regina. Cease your quibbling and tell me what you require to return my son to me."

His innards roiled with fear as the smile returned to Regina's blood red lips. "And here I had always thought you were so clever, Rumpel," she taunted. "There is only one thing in this world I would accept … your dagger."

The dark one screamed vile obscenities in his ear, fighting the mental chains he'd worn for the last century, enraged at the thought of being in thrall to the evil queen of the forestlands. He knew it was useless, knew which path the spinner would choose, and he could do nothing to prevent it.

The kris dagger, emblazoned with his name, appeared in Rumpelstiltskin's hand, but he didn't relinquish it just yet. "My son?"

"No harm will come to him, I assure you. He will be quite comfortable in my palace … the perfect leverage to insure your cooperation. It's not enough to control you, Rumpel. Oh, no … I want your complete and utter obedience. Baelfire will assure that," she laughed. "His status as my guest will prevent you from bedeviling me with some unforeseen loophole. Don't worry, dear. If you perform as I wish, I very well might allow you to see him from time to time."

Rumpelstiltskin could already feel the noose tightening around his neck as he thrust the dagger into Regina's outstretched hand. "Done!"