The Hovel was too much. Or maybe, without Bae to share it with, it wasn't enough. He couldn't be sure exactly what it was, but he knew that it wasn't right. After he'd returned to his village, back to his hometown with nothing but a hand and a spellbook to show for it, he began to see the town in a way he hadn't before. It was dying. He supposed he'd known that for a long time, but with Bae farther away than ever, he felt like he could see it clearly. Families that once lived around him were packing up and moving, some because their livelihood had gone away and others simply because they didn't want to associate with him. In town, the docks were growing dryer. The fish were migrating. People were panicking. And panic made ripe pickings for the Dark One. But he didn't want to be bothered by them, by their constant knocking and hounding and begging for deals he couldn't care less for. He wanted his son. And looking around the Hovel, he was constantly reminded of his precious boy! He was reminded of the times they'd shared, the memories they'd made, even his aunt's house reminded him of the times he'd left Baelfire sleeping in the Hovel to go work! Spinning thread. Making dinner. Plotting to steal the dagger. That was Bae's loft, and Bae's chair, and Bae's drawings, and his clothes. By the door was where he'd said his first words, the little wall where the wool used to be was where he liked to hide when they played, the table where he sharpened his coals, the floor he'd taken his first steps! It felt like his son had become a ghost, and it all tore deeper into his soul every time he so much as lifted a finger to do anything!

The Hovel wasn't his home anymore. It was his prison. It was a distraction.

He was never going to get Bae back living in a dying town where people constantly came and went, where every nook and cranny had him reliving memories of his son.

So he moved.

He did what, in his opinion, he should have done a long time ago, and moved back to his castle. He'd barely been there since Baelfire had left him. Mostly he'd just been there to pick up various items or look into books he hoped would help him. He'd used it to store the Dark One Chronicles. But beyond that, he hadn't returned. The cold, stone walls were perfect. Though Bae had once been here with him, he'd been so miserable that he'd spent most of his time by himself, hiding away from his father. Painful as those memories were, they worked in his favor now. There were only a few adjustments needed to make it easier. The chair Bae had once eaten at, he moved it to the fireplace, now, if he really felt like eating at the table, he could eat alone without feeling like his son was missing. The room that had once belonged to Baelfire, still stuffed with clothes and books that belonged to him, he closed the door to it. This way, he wouldn't have to look inside every time he passed by.

It was quieter in the castle than it had been before. He was the only occupant now. He didn't feel tired or grow hungry. He didn't feel things like hot or cold, but he'd lit the fires in the rooms he used anyway, and eventually, the smoke rising from the place was what must have given his return away to the village below. In good time, people began once again knocking on doors and asking him for trinkets, but with much less regularity as they did when he'd lived at the Hovel. He didn't send them away. He figured if they'd made the trek up the mountain, then they must have truly wanted what they came for, and he did his best to accommodate them in a way that suited what he might want. Always what he wanted, because what he needed, that felt like it was growing wildly out of reach every day.

Killian Jones's hand taunted him. It sat in that jar of preservatives in his castle, across from his chair waving at him, begging for attention! It was a reminder of just how foolish and arrogant he'd once been. A reminder of how Milah had got to him one last time and then cost him his son…again. He hated that woman. He hated that pirate and Smee, but he had yet to find either of them. His only conclusion was that they were together and hadn't parted ways when he'd left. For all he knew, Smee had been in on it with Milah and Jones. It was all a conspiracy to keep that bean from him! And now he wallowed in those thoughts every time he saw that hand.

He despaired. He wanted his son, but magic beans, though not as extinct as the Blue Witch had claimed, were hard to find. Meanwhile, who knew how much time was passing wherever Baelfire was. He'd read up on everything he could get his hands on when it came to crossing realms, and while he was surprised to find that there was a Land Without Magic, he was horrified when he'd read that time passed differently in other realms. Sometimes it moved at the same speed, sometimes it was faster, sometimes it was slower. It all depended where on the map the realm was in relation to a location called The Edge of Realms, where time moved the fastest.

How old was Bae now? Sixteen? Seventeen? Thirty? Eighty? For all he knew, Bae was dead and buried in the ground. He'd lived a life that he only ever had dreamt about without his father, and now he was doomed to live for an eternity alone…for all he knew.

For all he knew, but for all someone else knew…

He stopped staring at the hand in front of him at his thoughts. He knew what he needed. He needed assurance, he needed someone who knew more about this than him, someone who knew more about him than even he knew. He needed someone who could look into the future, who could tell him about Baelfire and then tell him about how he would find him! And fortunately for him, he knew of one such person from long ago.

The books were not the clearest on finding Seers, especially the one that he had found. Those who were blind, as the little girl he'd once met, were rare but true. Their sight didn't lie. If only he'd known that decades ago! After all, it seemed to be her prophecy and his knowledge of it that set all this into motion. He couldn't risk it happening again, but he couldn't stand not knowing. At first, he'd decided to take her prisoner. He'd come to the conclusion it was the only thing that would get him answers he could be sure of. But it took him months to locate her. It came from nearly a dozen different deals, from stalking pubs late at night and listening to conversations, but he had to admit that he was at a disadvantage. She seemed to be someone who didn't want to be found, and with her foresight, it often meant that she was gone before he even really found a clue. Empty houses, led to empty cottages with fires still lit. Rumors of a blind witch misled him, and by the end of the fifth month of his search he no longer cared to capture the girl, just talk to her! And that was when one beggar, a poor man who stood out on the street preaching of hope and joy he'd heard from the mouth of an eyeless witch in the woods, betrayed her.

In theory, this place seemed right, but he'd learned that she was a tricky beast. The beggar told him that his encounter with the witch had happened a day before in the woods, at a campsite where she was living. It was a simple campsite, he'd told him, simple so that she could flee at a moment's notice if need be. No wonder she'd been getting away so easily.

The place he'd arrived at was certainly a campsite, and the fire was still burning bright and hot. Someone had been here not long ago. And he hoped she was still here. He could use magic, go through her things, find a hair or drop of blood to track her deeper into the woods with, but he'd also been a soldier once, the last time they'd met as a matter of fact. He was certain if he looked hard, he could find some footprints, or hell maybe if he stood still he could hear her. Unless her eyes had moved from her hands to her eyes, then she was still blind! She couldn't get very far running through a forest with-

"I've been expecting you."

He froze at the female voice behind him. There now. Not far. Not when she'd know he was coming, not when she knew he wasn't a true threat, at least not anymore. Perhaps that was why it had taken him so long to locate her...

"Then you know exactly why I came here," he announced as he turned to see her walking behind him with one of her hands outstretched so she didn't trip on a log. He'd been right. She wouldn't get very far here. Foresight was the only gift she had working for her.

"What I foretold during the Ogres War has finally come to pass."

"Oh!" he chuckled. Sure it had, if that was how she wanted to look at it. Seers…they spoke the truth, but a bit of translation to their riddles would always come in handy! "Well, in a manner of speaking. I, uh, hobbled myself on the battlefield. Was branded a coward. My wife ran away and left me. Then, my son was called to the front. Oh! Then I became The Dark One. Then, Bae left me," he explained as he circled her, finally stopping just over her shoulder. She showed no reaction to his movement, not even to the news that he was the Dark One. Because of course, she'd probably known all that too! "So, yes. My actions on the battlefield left my son fatherless. But…it would've been nice to know about all that pesky detail."

"Knowing would not have made a difference," she insisted. "You still would have been powerless to escape your fate."

He giggled as he moved away from her. "Just…like…you." He raised his hand in the air and began to squeeze so that it was difficult for her to breathe but not impossible. He needed information; he couldn't have her dead! Which was probably why, unlike everyone else, she didn't put her hands to her throat to try and stop him. She knew what to do to make it stop! "Now, you know exactly why I came here."

"You want to find your son!" she croaked out.

"Indeed." His point made, he released her. For a moment, she gasped in the air around them, then suddenly stopped. She raised her hands in the air, and he took a step back, suddenly remembering what came with those familiar motions. Answers. Maybe this time, useful ones. Her hands opened, and those terrifyingly clear blue eyes opened to roll back into her palms as if in ecstasy.

"You will find him," she hissed out.

That much he knew. There wasn't any other option other than finding Baelfire. He wasn't here for those answers, to be told what he knew, he wanted details this time!

"How? And this time, don't leave out a single detail."

Suddenly her gaze, if he could call it that, shifted. She moved her hands to left as if she was feeling for something "It will not be an easy path…" She moved her hands to the right, still searching. "It will take many years…" -her hands were back to him now- "And require a curse." He watched as her hands began to shake and suddenly turned over. "A curse…powerful enough to rip everyone from this land!" she cried raising her shaking arms into the air and then-

All at once, it stopped. The magic he'd felt around her began to crack and dissipated as she began to shake and shiver, casting her head down as though she were sad and weak. This hadn't happened when she was a child. What was happening? He needed more from her!

"Yes, yes, there's more, I know it. Tell me!"

"You will not cast the curse…" she revealed, letting those blue eyes stare at him once more as her scarred face turned back to him. And then to the left again, as if she was feeling for something. "Someone else will! And you will not break the curse…someone else will!"

She was all over the place in a way she hadn't been when she was a girl. To the left to the right in front of her, before him. She moved her body, her hands, as if she was searching for where he'd hidden the words before shaking and slouching forward again. Her body still shook and quivered as if she was crying. It was obvious she was tired, and there was something big in her head, but what she'd given him wasn't enough! He didn't want riddles; he wanted answers. He needed more!

"Tell me!"

Her eyeless face turned back at him as she tried to catch her breath. She shook her head. "I don't know. Even my powers have limits."

Limits…now her powers had limits. It was difficult to tell on a being like her, she had no eyes he could look into to see if she was avoiding his glare, but he had the very distinct feeling he was being lied to. Of course, he couldn't prove it, but with Baelfire on the line, he'd do what he had to do to make sure every word out of her mouth was the truth!

"Ah, ah, ah. Not good enough, dearie."

She wasn't done trying to catch her breath, but he raised his hand once more and cut off more air from her lungs, let her get a taste of what lies resulted in. She gasped and struggled for air once more but didn't fight it in the way the others had. She rolled her shoulders, sought to make her body comfortable, but he did his best to make sure she never found it and wouldn't until she revealed everything she saw.

"If you want to see the path you must take, there is only one way," she croaked out. Suddenly, despite her struggling, she raised her hands toward him, palms toward the sky in invitation…but for what? "Take this burden from me!"

It was five little words, but it was clear enough to him. A deal. Her life for her power. The power of foresight! The ability to see what she saw! The ability to be free of her, to not have to seek her out or interpret her riddles or wonder if she was telling the truth or lying! Her powers had limitations. He wasn't sure if it was true, but he wondered what those so-called "limits" would look like mixed with what he already had inside of him. Ordinarily, he might take more time to consider the consequences, to weigh the pros and cons, but as far as he was concerned, there was no time to waste. Her power, the ability to see how he'd get Baelfire back, for her life…

"Mm, gladly!"

He grasped her hands tight and sent magic shooting from his body, into her own. The magic wound it's way through her body, seeking out her ability, hooking onto it, and pulling it violently back to his own body. For her, the effect was pain. Tearing her power from her was ripping her apart! He could feel it! But he only closed his eyes against the light coming off of him from the transaction. He squeezed his hands tighter over hers, fighting the urge to cover his ears against her screams but soon found both sight and sound drowned out by images and noise in his own mind!

"First born of Princess Cora to cast the curse to end all curses," the Seer's voice whispered inside his head.

A dark haired woman cradling a baby in her arms.

Another beautiful woman with brown hair at an odd angle.

A face hidden beneath a gray hood.

A dock where a woman with blonde hair stood.

A hero's burial.

He felt every shovel of dirt over that fell over the coffin.

"By summoning a Dark One…"

The book he'd taken from the home of Nana Odie, the one with his name written in it.

A family gathered around a table

"A twin will become a false prince…"

His face in the mirror not scared by this wretched curse.

Gideon.

Strange clothes.

A baby in his arms

A sunset.

A golden-haired boy.

"Storybrooke, Maine, United States of America."

A globe with landmasses unrecognizable.

Milah's Captain beside the blonde woman.

A checkered colored dress.

"Snow White and Prince Charming shall bear the Savior who will return to break the curse on her twenty-eighth birthday…"

A woman with skin as white as snow and black hair cloaked beside a man with a handsome face and sandy hair.

"I love you."

Roses.

A crystal necklace.

"And I love you."

Neverland.

"A precious debt from a woman of ash will find the boy of fire…"

A woman in rags and golden hair.

A dusty, poorly lit room.

Six wands lined up on a shelf in perfect order.

A pink house.

A form in the bed beside him.

A feeling of overwhelming love and desire and happiness.

A woman with a sharp nose and melodic laugh.

"The Final battle between good and evil will begin…"

He had to open his eyes. The images were overwhelming, and…anger roared within his chest as the noise and clutter continued. His head hurt. He hadn't had a headache since before his curse, and for what?!

It was all gibberish to him. It meant nothing.

"I can't…see…anything," he cried out over the noise, only just suddenly aware of how their bodies shook. "It's too much. It's nothing but a jumble.

"The future is a puzzle with many pieces to be sorted. In time, you will learn to separate what can be, from what will be."

Another curse!

He let go of her hands, and she crashed to the ground, no doubt just as weak as he would have felt if not for the magic coursing through him. Time. More time! In time he'd learned to use the Dark Curse, and now in time he'd learn to use these powers…it was a trick! No better than the one Zoso had once played on him! At the realization, he could hear his old ghost laughing somewhere in the back of his head, taunting him for what he'd failed to see yet again!

"This is why you wanted to give me your power. To free yourself from this torment!"

"In time, you will work it all out," she breathed.

Of course, he would. There was no other choice! She'd seen to that!

"Wait!" she called as he turned to leave her. Apparently, she hadn't lost all of her power. Her uncanny ability to see without sight still remained. She was lucky his head hurt as it did, otherwise he might have taken that ability from her as well. But if it meant losing his eyes and having them placed in the palm of his hands as hers were, even now…he was glad he hadn't. Everyone had a line. That was his. "As gratitude, I offer you one piece of the puzzle." He watched as she raised one of her hands off the ground and swirled it through the air once more. "You will be reunited with your son, and it will come in a most unexpected way."

Yes, yes! Enough riddles! Details he needed details!

"How?!" he demanded as he crept forward, just as desperate for her words as he'd ever been.

"A boy…a young boy will lead you to him. But beware, Rumpelstiltskin, for that boy is more than he appears. He will lead you…to what you seek. But there will be a price. The boy…will be your undoing."

He watched as the eye on the Seer's hands closed, her hand fell to the ground, and he twisted and turned to examine her body. Nothing. Her chest didn't rise and fall with breath, and there was no sound coming from that chest of hers. With her final prophecy, she had nothing left to give. And now she was dead. It wasn't sad. It was natural. After one served their purpose, what else was there left for them than death, which is why he knew exactly what awaited the boy she'd spoken of after he had served his purpose. For there was nothing that would separate him from his son again once he'd found him, not death and certainly not a child. The next time he found his son would be the first day of the rest of their eternity. And as for this boy she'd spoken of…

"Then I'll just have to kill him…"


I had so much fun writing "The Prophecy"! At least I did at first. This was something that I was constantly coming back to and tweaking as I wrote The Dark Curse (that's one reason why I refuse to begin publishing unless the whole thing is done). I wanted to get it just right for going forward. I wanted it to have the right amounts of hints without being too revealing so that I could keep the "limits" to the Seer's powers intact, which is why it's so fragmented. If you are reading that prophecy and asking yourself "who is that supposed to be?" or "what is that from?" but also having moments of "oh, I know what that is!" then I got it right. I wanted it disorienting, but familiar at the same time!

Thank you Grace5231973, Jennifer Baratta, and Fox24 for your comments on the last chapter. Always happy to point out small flaws like what existed in the last chapter! And there are more where that came from! Up next we have three chapters that feature Jiminy Cricket's story and we'll see how these powers all work together and how Rumple is adjusting to having them. Peace and Happy Reading!