Another escape attempt failed. He had to admit, Cora was doing a marvelous job keeping her daughter safe in the King's palace. She was constantly under guard. Though Regina had been given the Queen's suite, the very room that he'd once found the candle Cora had given to Snow for still unknown purposes, the future Queen was seldom alone. Best he could figure, it was only on special occasions that Cora let her daughter sleep there by herself. In fact, those times she did sleep in the room appeared to be limited to accident. They were often times when Regina was so tired she laid down and quickly dropped off to sleep in a matter of minutes; apparently, meeting royals from around the realm as well as dancing the night away at party after party was tiresome. But those nights that Regina wasn't exhausted, or falling asleep where she stood, she ended up in her mother's bedroom. Where Henry slept on those nights, he didn't know, but he was certain that Cora's watchfulness was the only reason that Regina had had so few opportunities to flee from this routine she so clearly despised. It was also the reason, he imagined, that she kept failing. Cora was around her all the time, and the rare times she wasn't, Regina tried to get away. It wasn't difficult for Cora to put together after a while that if she left the room and her daughter was alone, then Regina was bound to climb out the window.
This escape he'd figured at least had a little bit of merit. The King and Cora still let her ride, never alone of course, but over the grounds she was able to take one of the stable boys with her as she explored her new surroundings. This time around he'd watched as the stable boy's horse suddenly reared up at something or other on the ground and the boy fell to the forest floor as he galloped away. He couldn't hear sound, as Cora had cleverly thought to cast that same spell over King Fredrick's castle as she had the estate, but he watched as Regina said something like "we'll get him" and raced off after the beast. To be fair, she had gone after the horse, but only until the path leading away from the castle came into view. There, she'd stopped her horse, looked around, then with barely a thought, urged her horse down it.
Of course, Cora had caught her. It was two days before she was to be married, that woman was probably prepared for everything. In this case, it appeared she'd placed a powerful spell on the property line, probably with blood magic, using her own blood to trap Regina. At a certain point, the spell would alert her it was active, and it would enchant the trees around her to keep her in place until she disabled it. The Thieves Hold, the spell was called. And he knew it because that spell came from, of all places, one of the books he'd given to Cora himself.
He could have raged at that, could have roared, but he had other things to concern himself with. For the first time, Regina was within reach. Unable to take more of his blood, there was nothing keeping him away from her except for Cora watchful eye. But still he watched. He watched almost constantly, taking almost no time to eat or drink all because of a little voice in his head that told him Regina's time with him as the girl in the mirror was soon to be ended. He just needed one opportune moment. It certainly wasn't that night when she spent time with Snow White, despite the fact that she looked utterly displeased with it. It wasn't when she slept close to Cora or spoke with her father the next morning looking shaken and nervous, cold feet, he assumed. It was a fear her father seemed to cure just by talking to her by her apple tree. But then…
That night she was left alone, in her own quarters. Probably, he assumed because she was to be wed that next evening. That could have been it, the chance he was waiting for. Alone in her room and with no one to chaperone…except, she didn't stay alone in her room. He watched as she wandered the halls, back down to the room her mother was asleep in. For a moment, he feared she was about to wake her, but instead, he watched as she pulled something from underneath her mother's pillow.
His spellbook!
He sneered at the image, the knowledge that Cora slept with it under her pillow. If she wasn't such a heartless bitch, he'd probably be touched.
Well now, as she hurried back along the corridor to her own room, he knew he could appear at any time, but he was on the edge of his seat as he watched her, wanting desperately to know what she was going to do with it, far more desperately than he wanted to see her. In fact, as she hurried along back to her room, he took himself into that castle, into Cora's room where she slept and dropped the dust of a sleeping spell over her, ensuring that she would stay asleep, before returning to his own tower to resume his vigil. If what he thought was about to happen truly did, then he didn't want anything to interfere with tonight. She was standing in her room, paging through the book he'd once given her mother. It was perfect. It was fate.
There was no sound when he used the mirrors or the cauldron thanks to Cora's spells, but for the first time in all her life, he heard the sound of her voice. It echoed in his mind, operating as a call. A summoning…
"Rumpelshtil…Rumpelshtilshin, I summon thee."
He smiled.
It was showtime.
By the time Regina had said it, he was already there and prepared to enact the most important deal of his life.
"That's not how you say it, dearie," he pronounced as he felt a shudder pass through him. One of Cora's household had finally said his name out loud. A poor imitation, but written as it was the magic didn't differentiate. What had cursed him so long ago from their estate was gone. His shackles were broken, he could go there now. Not that he needed to. Not with Regina living here and Cora soon to be out of the way. "But then, you didn't have to say anything."
He heard footsteps behind him, and out of the corner of his eye saw Regina step carefully around the table so that she might look at him. "What are you?"
She said the words with a voice that was much higher than he'd anticipated after all these years. He'd expected it to be low and vibrate as her mother's did. In the vision he had of her in the future, the one where she threatened Snow's happiness, it was always lower. This was almost lyrical. Perhaps it had been done out of fear or surprise?
"What, what, what, my, my…what a rude question. I am not a 'what'," he stated before turning off the lounge to look at her for the first time since she was a baby. Regina…in the flesh and not just the mirror. He was so excited his legs hummed with energy, and he fought to contain it in favor of observing her. She looked just as he'd always seen her and yet seeing her in person was still mesmerizing. Long dark hair, darker than when Cora was her age, she was taller than he expected, her face softer and gentler than her mother's even as she cast her eyes down at her comment and started fidgeting as if she was embarrassed. There was a scar on her upper lip that was faded and much more prominent in person. It truly was a miracle she'd gone so far without Cora dashing in to heal it with magic.
"I'm sorry," Regina finally apologized, fiddling with her necklace, a family crest, as she avoided his gaze. "I… I don't really know what I'm doing," she smiled nervously.
"That much is clear. Allow me to introduce myself," he explained, hopping off the chair and circling around. Her gaze followed. "Rumpelstiltskin!" he said, introducing himself with his traditional formal bow. Across the room, he could see Regina gather her dress up in her hands and curtsy.
"And I'm-"
"Regina. I know," he filled in for her.
"You do?" she questioned with such surprise he had to hold in a smile. He knew far more than that.
"But, of course," he answered simply, looking up at her. Regina's face hardened suddenly, losing its look of immense impression. She swallowed.
"Because of my mother, Cora. You taught her?"
And he'd lived to regret it for the last nineteen years, but of course, that wasn't something dear Regina had to know. After all, he'd been watching her all her life, but he hadn't heard a single word from her lips until now; he had no idea what she knew and what she didn't know.
"My legend precedes me," he answered instead.
Regina smiled and held her head high. "People say I look like her when she was younger."
"Really?" he questioned, restraining a laugh. He took a step closer and purposefully scrutinized every inch of her face. He supposed that she did have Cora's cheekbones, but beyond that all he truly saw was her father. Even as she played along and turned her face this way and that he didn't really see much resemblance to the woman whose face he'd known so well. Cora's lips were thick; her's were thin. Cora's eyes almond-shaped; Regina's round. Cora had a nose that curved upward at the end, looking like she was always offended by the smallest of things, but he was pleased to see that Regina had not inherited that either. Their hair color wasn't even the same. If he hadn't watched Cora carry and deliver the child before him, if he didn't sense her magic running through her daughter's veins, he might have thought it was an elaborate hoax. A false princess, like the False Prince James! But no. For he'd seen magic in her that was strong. She didn't know much about it, but he'd watched as she'd stolen that very book and used the preservation spell within it easily in her distress. She was her mother's daughter. There was no doubt. But after the way Cora had treated her over the years, he didn't think that was the way to approach this first meeting.
"I don't see it," he finally admitted rising to his full height and moving away. "No, that's not how I know you."
"Oh? How then?" she asked. How then indeed. People, women, in particular, could be so touchy when they learned they'd been watched, and Cora had been doing it to Regina all of her life already. She didn't need someone else sticking their nose in her business; she needed a confidant, someone she could trust as they did family even if it had been a long time since they'd been around. Nothing inspired greater trust than memories long forgotten.
"I knew you long ago, dearie," he confirmed, circling her. It was a method he'd found quite helpful in making his victims uncomfortable and dizzy as they always tried to face him. To her credit, Regina stayed still. "It's been some time, but I knew this day would come. I've been waiting for it," he added, whispering over her shoulder. "And I'm so happy we're back where we belong."
"And where's that?" Regina choked out as he moved another step.
"Together," he whispered with a smile over her other shoulder. Her heart was racing, absolutely pounding in her chest, and it didn't take a magnifying glass to see that she was trembling as well.
"We've…we've met before?" she finally asked, her voice squeaking in the beginning as she clutched that book to her like a shield. Fear. He loved fear. He loved to be feared. But in this particular case, for what he had planned not only for her but for Cora, who was the immediate problem in his eyes, he didn't need fear. He needed her to trust him. He needed her to feel like he was someone who cared and wanted to help her, like a long-lost Uncle! Not a menacing figure.
"Oh, yes. I know everything about you, my dear," he admitted walking away from her and giving her a little room to breathe. "I held you in my arms. You were younger, more…portable. There is much history between your family and me. History both in the past, and in the future." He had to admit that he'd thrown the last bit in there as a sort of test. What she asked after finding something like that out could determine a great many things about her personality. Asking him what was to come would indicate laziness. Asking him how he knew these things would be curiosity. Ignoring the comment all together would be stupid.
"Then, can you help me?"
He smiled. Acknowledging it but not questioning…an indication that she recognized his power, but was too focused on her problems to ask questions about his motives. Considering he needed her to cast the curse, that would be perfect.
"Possibly, yes. You seek power!" he guessed.
But no trace of amazement or shock crossed her face. Only confusion. That wasn't it.
"The death of your enemies…"
More confusion.
"The death of your friends?"
"No!" she shrieked. "I don't want to hurt anyone."
Well now…there was a surprise. If he hadn't been watching her all her life, he'd have doubted once more that he had the right child, the firstborn of Princess Cora. And yet what he saw in her face was nothing like the gaze he'd known her mother to have. She didn't even look like her.
"Hard to believe you're from the same family," he muttered aloud before reaching out to caress her cheek gently. "So…kind. So…gentle. So…powerful!"
There it was. With the laying of his hands on her skin, he could see it all so clearly.
This woman, Regina, dressed in black with a piercing gaze; hard, nothing like what he saw now.
What he saw now…he could change all that. He'd have to change all that to get her in a position to cast the Curse. Remove sympathy, kindness and gentility were not necessary. He'd have to get her to discover that inner power that she had, the power he'd seen when she cast a preservation spell over Daniel in her rage. She had all the abilities, he could feel it inside of her just like he had with her mother, she just had to discover what she was capable of and want it as he did.
"You could do so much if you just let yourself."
Regina pulled away and looked at the ground sadly. "But, I don't know how," she admitted turning her back on him.
That much was obvious. If she knew the way, he certainly wouldn't be here. But fortunately, fate did know the way. Which meant so did he. What she wanted more than anything…freedom. He'd seen it in the mirrors and the cauldron time and time again. She wasn't ready to want things like death and revenge just yet; those were acquired desires, born from years of resentment, and if he was going to get this Curse to work it he needed her to begin with resentment for one person and one person only…Snow White. In the meantime, what she needed, what they both needed, was freedom. There would be time to teach her magic, time to root around in that soul of hers and pluck that resent meant free so it could grow into a desire to punish the entire realm…but not so long as Cora was around to meddle. And if Cora was still around for her to focus that resentment on instead of Snow White…it would be disaster! No. Now wasn't the time for death or destruction or even rescue, now was the time to get what he wanted and she needed. It was time to eliminate Cora from this world and insert himself into Regina's world.
He stepped up close to the retreating girl and pressed himself against her back. "Well, let me show you the way," he whispered in her ear. As he did he reached through space with his magic to retrieve the large mirror that King George had once given him. When it was in place and properly covered, he turned the future Queen around to behold it.
"How did-"
"Magic! It can set you free," he urged.
"I don't want to do that-use magic. That's what she does. I don't want to end up like her," Regina argued. Her voice cracked, it was as if she was on the verge of tears at the suggestion. Oh, they had a long way to go until he had the blackened beauty of the future within his grasp. But until then, he had to remain focused on the goal. Now wasn't the time to discuss what she could or could not do or what magic was or wasn't. Now was the time simply to convince her to do what he wanted. In the future, he'd need her to be pliant for his plans to work.
"No, no, of course not," he responded. "But that's the beauty of my gift. You don't have to. 'It' will do it for you."
She looked at him for a moment before turning back to the gift and squinting her eyes as if willing herself to see through the cloth. He held his breath, wondering if she would go and pull on the bow to release it herself. She didn't. She merely looked but didn't touch. He fought off a burst of laughter lest he frighten her, but if things went according to plan, that was all he wanted for her to do. Not touch! He couldn't have her getting any ideas about using it to escape.
"What is it?" she finally asked.
"A portal," he answered honestly. She was too kind now, too gentle to want to hurt anyone least of all her mother. Letting her believe it was something truly awful was the last thing he should do. A simple place she could send her mother where she would be alive and well but "away" was the best solution to this problem. "A passage between lands. This is a portal to a specific, annoying little world. Useless to me, but, for your purposes, perfect!" he explained as he paced and she watched, thinking. Oh, he had the poor girl. She was curious. And tempted. So incredibly tempted. Just one final, well…push!
"You're unlikely ever to see her again," he added as Regina began a slow walk toward the object before her, the answer to all her problems. "All she needs is a little push. The question is, can you do it?"
He didn't stay to hear her answer. Regina was already thinking about it, the clock and her mother would do the rest of the persuading for him. It was possible to oversell something, to seem too desperate to get away from it that the client became suspicious and distrusting. Thus far, he had appeared to Regina as an answer to all her problems on all her terms. He couldn't let her know that it was she who was the answer to his problems. So before she could answer him, before he could oversell his pitch, he vanished back to his castle and watched silently in the mirror as the girl he'd watched grow up considered a solution she hadn't had before.
This chapter was exciting to me just because it gave a sort of anchor point. Up until this point all of the previous "seen" things were sort of scattered about history. One chapter here, another ten years later, another five years later, another twenty years later...this chapter was the start of history really taking off for Rumple. And yes, there will be times when it slows down again and a year or two will pass by uneventfully, there will be times I have to fill in the blanks, but for the most part, this is the jumping off point in our timeline. Even if you aren't a Regina fan, you sort of have to be excited for that.
Thank you MerlockVonBaron, Grace5231973, MissAmande, Jennifer Baratta, and Alarda for your reviews on the last chapter. Always appreciated and I'm so glad that you like Jefferson and are really looking forward to him! You liked a lot of the same exchanges in that chapter that I liked too! I think this is going to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship! I hope you like this chapter too! Regina fan or not, I hope you'll like Rumple's inner thoughts here as he finally meets the Curse's caster for the first (well...second) time. I guess we'll have to find out what happens in the next chapter! Peace and Happy Reading!
