He was ready when dawn came, more than ready, perhaps. Once upon a time he'd cowered and quivered at the idea of talking to this pirate, now he felt excited anticipation settle into his skin at the idea of killing him. His heart was racing, his blood pumping as it hadn't since he'd lost Bae. If it weren't for the scales that covered him, he was certain his skin would have been red with anger. As it was, he was certain it was only the abilities of the curse that had allowed him to remain as calm as he acted, otherwise he would have picked up the first sword he saw and speared the man with it.
But he hadn't. He'd spent the night waiting atop an arch that overlooked the town square, unwilling to go home in any capacity lest Jones arrive early and weasel out of their duel by proclaiming he was the one who hadn't showed. So he'd summoned a sword from the castle he owned and spent the night high above the city living in memories of the last time he'd seen Jones, reliving every last humiliating moment of it, giving his anger kindling to burn. But he'd also spent time in his memories of Milah.
Knowing Milah was dead didn't affect him. He told himself over and over again that he didn't care anymore, and now it was true. It didn't matter. In his heart he'd already known she was dead, and so mourning all over again would be a useless waste of emotion. Hearing the words about what had happened to Milah didn't make him sad, but they did make him angry.
If Jones hadn't taken Milah, then there would have been someone else there to help him with Baelfire. Milah would have been proud of the power he took, of the way he'd acquired it, and all the things he'd done with it. What he was now was all she'd ever really wanted him to be. It would have been a dream come true for Milah. She'd have loved the castle that now sat unused, and with her help, they could have convinced Baelfire to love it too. They never would have returned to the village. Bae never would have gone to the Blue Fairy, and the three of them would be living happily now, the life that Milah always wanted.
But she couldn't live that life now.
Because she was dead.
And everyone knew the dead couldn't live.
But she could be avenged.
He could give her justice for a wrongful death at sea away from her family. He could give Bae justice by taking away the life of the pirate who had taken away the life of his mother. He could be given the life he was owed in Jones. He couldn't undo what had been done. But he could feel so much better about it than he did.
Jones arrived just a few moments before the sun, when the sky was still a dark blue, and the town looked gray because of it. He looked weary, and his gait was uneasy, whether from nerves or drink or perhaps even both. He didn't particularly care. Neither would change the outcome of today. And when he saw how his hand hovered close to the sword Jones had brought, a satisfying thought entered his mind, and he couldn't resist getting his attention by tossing the sword that he'd intended to use for himself down at the pirate's feet. It clattered, and Jones quickly looked down at it.
"Pick it up, dearie, and let's begin!" he called from his perch.
Jones gazed up at him before glancing at the sword. "There's no need," he muttered.
Oh, but there was!
For the moment Jones looked down to retrieve his sword, he called on his magic to pull the sword from its sheath, so it rested in his own hand, leaving Jones helpless if not for the one he'd tossed at him. Going over those memories had made this sudden change too sweet an opportunity it pass up, and as Jones stared at his missing blade bewildered, he appeared behind him.
"Sorry, but killing a man with his own sword was just too delicious to pass up," he explained.
He made a motion for Jones to pick up the blade and readied his stance as the pirate felt the weight of it in his hands. He was excited. He had no choice but to admit it as the pirate lunged, and he felt his heart flutter eagerly. He couldn't remember the last time he'd dueled with an opponent and a sword. In his younger days, during the war when he'd been trained, he hadn't been the worst swordsman, in fact he'd rather enjoyed it. And now, with the knowledge of dozens of Dark Ones running through his mind, he was an expert, a formidable opponent for a pirate who he had no doubt dealt with swords on a daily bases. If this were a fair fight with an uncertain outcome, it would be an interesting one. But the outcome of this fight wasn't uncertain. And he wasn't here to fight fair. Summoning his magic, he let Jones get close enough to think he would get him, then vanished and reappeared behind him.
"Ships that pass in the night…" he muttered, drawing him back to the battle. "Well, at least one ship…"
Again they engaged, and for a few strikes, he was content to think of this as just a fair battle to see what he could really do! He rejoiced when he sidestepped Jones and sent him reeling into a couple of barrels. He found he was having fun as their blades clacked and clanged, and light began to pinken the sky. He took a thrill in locking their swords and kicking and fighting the way men did, the way he couldn't have so long ago when Jones had taken advantage of a poor man's injured leg, using that as an excuse not to fight like a gambling coward!
With one final move Jones dropped his sword on the ground, knelt down to reach for it, and he stepped forward to put his foot over it and level his own sword at his neck…the victor.
"Go on," the pirate urged. "I'm ready for the sword."
He was the winner. It should have been easy. All it would take was one swift motion to end his life! But it wasn't easy and he couldn't do it. Because it was fair! Other than one magical move, he'd beat him in a fair game, and that was not the kind of justice he wanted. He didn't want fair. He wanted unfair! It was unfair what Jones had done to Milah. It was unfair what he'd done to his family. It was unfair, forcing him to tell Bae his mother was dead and make the boy live without a mother! A quick death by means of a sword, it was too fair for an unfair man! He needed something messier!
"No…" he growled through teeth clenched together so tight he thought they might crack as he stared down at the pathetic weakling he'd conquered, suddenly dreaming up a much better solution to their problem. The sword was too clean. "Do you know what it's like to have your wife stolen from you? To feel powerless to stop it?" he questioned as he held him in place. Words weren't good enough to convey pain, not when he had so many better options, options like this! "It feels like having your heart ripped from your chest…actually…let me show you."
Oh, it felt good, to plunge his hand into his chest and feel his beating heart against his palm. It felt good to watch the agony and discomfort on his face when he squeezed. It felt good to know he was responsible! It felt good to know this was unfair and that it wouldn't be a clean, simple death but rather-
"Stop!"
His joy ceased at the sound of the voice coming from the alleyway. Suddenly his once boiling blood chilled inside of him. It couldn't be a ghost he was seeing.
"Milah…" he breathed, looking her over.
Pants, black leather, trinkets hanging from chains around her waist and from her breasts and sleeves, and a necklace around her neck…eyes only for the man on his knees whose life he held in his hand. He had many powers, but he was certain seeing ghosts walk free wasn't one of them, and even if it were, the woman he'd known had never dressed like that. The woman he'd known, who had died, wouldn't have called out for him to stop antagonizing her murder, and certainly wouldn't have looked the pirate over with eyes like that unless…
Unless she wasn't dead…
Unless she'd never been in danger.
Unless she'd gone willingly.
Unless she'd stayed willingly.
For him.
"Milah…" he growled once more as the truth washed over him, and he removed his hand from the chest of…her lover!
It was so obvious. The way she looked at Jones, she'd only ever looked at Rolf with eyes like that. Never at him! She'd found her replacement for the soldier. Margery was wrong. Milah hadn't been taken against her will, she'd gone willingly! But…why?!
"How?"
It wasn't the right word. It wasn't the right question. But it was the only word he could get out as reality and anger tumbled over him, hitting him over his head like a waterfall. He'd mourned her. Bae had mourned his mother! He'd grown up without her! For what? For this?! For…Jones?!
"Milah, you have to run," the pirate exclaimed still laying on the ground.
"No," she insisted, looking down at him. "I'm not leaving without you."
Now the bitch was loyal?! Now she knew what commitment was? Wasn't a child good enough?
"Oh, how sweet. It appears there's more to this tale than I know. Tell it to me, Milah!"
"Please, don't hurt him. I can explain."
"Tick tock, dearie. Tick tock!" he screamed. He wouldn't have his time wasted on her. Not anymore, not after all the time he'd already wasted!
She swallowed hard before glancing down at the pirate, her gaze shifting between the two. She was scared. She wanted to reach out and help the pirate, but the way she eyed him told him exactly why she didn't. She was afraid of him.
Good.
"That first night, when Killian and his crew came into the tavern, he told stories about the places he'd been, and I fell in love with him," she explained, her voice filled with an emotion he hadn't heard for decades, not since Rolf had died. Emotion not for what she'd left behind, not for all he'd tried to give her and she'd rejected, emotion for the vile piece of filth before him.
He snapped the sword, taking control of it and shoving "the pointy end into the other guy" as Jones had once encouraged him to do. He'd thought it had been a duel for her virtue, he hadn't realized then that the pirate had been posturing as an opponent of a different kind.
"I didn't mean for it to turn out this way!" Milah pled as the pirate screamed. "I didn't know how to tell you the truth. I'm sorry."
That was it? That was why all of it had happened? Why Milah had been "taken", why he'd been humiliated, why Bae had grown up without a mother…because she didn't know how to talk to him?! It was the worst excuse he'd ever heard, and he'd raised a child. Alone. Because of that excuse…
"And so, here we are," he announced, still unwilling to remove his sword. He was unwilling to do a lot of things actually, including let her get off scot-free. Everything that had happened in his life, in Bae's life, could be laid on her shoulders just as much as the pirate's. She deserved to suffer just as he did. "You've come to save the life of your twoo wuv – the pirate. I didn't realize the power of true love before. It is impressive. I'd hate to break it up. Actually, no. I'd love to!"
He looked down and began to slowly push the sword into the pirate, counting the seconds until the lung punctured and breathing became ragged and-
"Wait," Milah urged. "I have something you want."
He resisted the urge to laugh as he listened to her and stared at the pirate. Something he wanted…she wanted to deal with him. Too late! What he wanted was his son, and since she obviously hadn't wanted him, he assumed he wasn't hidden somewhere in her bodice. There was nothing she had he wanted, except, potentially, the promise of a painfully slow death!
"Well, I find that very difficult to believe…" Or at least he did until she pulled free a floppy red had he recognized. It belonged to William Smee. It belonged to the man who was, at present, his greatest chance at finding his son. And that, really, was all that he wanted. Clever wench. "Where did you get that?"
"You know who I took it from," she answered confidently enough that told him she knew exactly what she held over him. "I may not know what the Dark One wants with a magic bean, but I have it."
And she wanted to make a deal…
"Oh, I feel a proposal coming on."
"The magic bean in exchange for our lives. Deal?"
That was a very, very high price. But was it fair? Potentially. So long as what she was saying was true. This was Milah after all, he had more reason not to trust her than he did to-
No, that was a lie. He had no reason to trust her. And he wasn't inclined to let the pair of them out of his sight until he was sure they could deliver on their promise.
"I want to see it first," he snarled.
"Milah!"
"Shh!" she shrieked at the pirate with every bit the anger she'd once hushed their son in the middle of the night when he wouldn't stop talking and go to sleep. It was good to know that somethings never changed, but at the same time it was too familiar, too intimate a memory, for all of this and it turned his stomach. How could she be this way? How could she barter with her husband in the same breath that she used to hush her lover, in the same tone she'd soothed her child. It was sickening. "If this is what it takes to save our lives…you'll have to follow me. And if he dies, the deal is off Rumpelstiltskin! You'll never find where I've hidden the bean, not without me, and if he dies, I'll die before I show it to you."
Why was she squabbling?! They'd already made the deal she just had to follow through. He had a son to get to.
"The bean for your lives…but only once I've seen it!" he repeated through clenched, angry teeth.
"Done. Follow me," she answered before stepping forward and then around him to help Jones up off the floor. She placed his arm around her neck and held him secure against her body, taking his current disability on herself as she never had with him, and it took every last ounce of control he had not to run her through right then and there. It took the memory of his son. And the promise of a bean.
Okay, in this chapter we encounter mention of two characters, Rolf and Margery. They were really important characters in the previous fiction and while we won't really mention Rolf from this point on Margery will reappear, sometimes by name sometimes not. So for those who didn't read the first two fictions in the Chronicles, small recap of who these characters are-before Milah married Rumple she was in a relationship with Rolf. She probably intended to marry Rolf but got Rumple instead. Rolf went on to marry a woman named Margery. Rolf and Rumple went off to war, Rolf died. Milah left Rumple for Hook who bears a striking resemblance to Rolf. Margery and Rumple started a "friends with benefits" relationship and Margery informed Rumple that Milah and Rolf never actually ended their relationship after they were married. Before Rumple became the Dark One, Margery parted with Rumple, pleasantly, and married another man. After he became the Dark One, Rumple found her to check in on her and found her happy and pregnant. There you have it.
Thank you to MerlockVonBaron, Grace5231973, Jennifer Baratta, Enomisje, and Fox24 for your reviews on the last chapter. I hope that this chapter was what you were hoping it would be with the reintroduction of Milah. This is not exactly my favorite of the Rumple episodes for so many reasons, but I know that after this episode the section starts to get fun! One more chapter of Milah and Hook, two more in this episode! Peace and Happy Reading!
