His proof wasn't proof at all, it was the main event. His plan was easy. Get the Dark Curse and then protect it. As for the women, it was his hope that at the end of this...test, there would be nothing left of them.
At Maleficent's bidding, he used his magic to carry not just himself but the three women right back to where he'd been days ago, the ledge of Bald Mountain. In that very spot, he'd first felt the drain of the natural magic and realized that what was coming might have been far more difficult than he realized. Now, with defensive potions rushing through his blood, he felt it less, but the feeling was still there, just dulled. They had to hurry and get the job done before the natural magic wore away at what he'd swallowed, and his potions broke down. They also had to get this done preferably before the women began to ask questions.
The door stood before them now, still uncovered by snow, just as he'd left it. A risky move, he knew, but the truth was that after his last encounter, he hadn't possessed the energy required to glamour it. He'd taken a bet on these mountains being deserted and, so far, it looked like the bet had paid off. He extended his senses, searching for obvious differences and especially for Fairy Magic that might have been at work, but nothing came to him. It all seemed just as he'd left it.
At his sides, he cast a glance at the women. Did they feel what he did? One of them, at least, was capable of feeling the drain of the natural magic that he'd first felt. But he didn't know if Maleficent was studied enough to pick up on it. Regina probably wouldn't have. She'd taken magic and made it her craft, whereas he was made of magic, only alive today because of it. It made sense that he could feel it more than them. Cruella, even if he knew whether or not her magic was that advanced, he didn't know if she was studied enough to feel it, and as for Ursula, well, she was the challenge. Part of the drain came from running water and salt, but the former Mermaid grew up in saltwater. He didn't know if it would affect her the way it affected him. But his questioning proved useless. As he looked from one to the other, he saw no difference in the way they carried themselves. When they first arrived, their gazes went from confusion to amazement, and that was where they stayed. If they noted the natural magic, they didn't let on.
That was good. It was why they were here. Their own natural magic was what he needed and should be undisturbed by the changes in the magic around them. This could work, so long as Maleficent stayed focused on not trusting him and not on what the magic she'd taught herself over the years told her. They had to move.
"The Curse resides here…Bald Mountain," he proclaimed to the women around him. He raised his arm but made sure not to take a step as he magically opened the doors to the tunnel. When they did, he could practically taste the salt and limestone that threatened to dampen his own abilities, but this time he'd prepared for it and didn't let them see what he felt. It was all a show, and he kept his magical mask in place. If he used magic now, they might not question his strength and power as they proceeded. It was just a magic trick.
Before stepping forward, he used his abilities once more to create a torch for the women, knowing that would be the last he used his magic until he had the Curse in hand. It was a simple feat but important. He didn't need to see in the dark, but they did. When it was time, and he left, he'd take their light with him as well. That would pose a problem for them.
"I don't see a curse," Maleficent drawled unimpressed as she looked over the mountain before them.
"Well, you didn't expect it to just be sitting there, now did you?" He stepped first into the crude tunnel that reeked of fairy magic and dwarves and listened to the sound of the footsteps behind him. They were following where he led. It was poetic and perfect. "It's protected by a variety of lethal magic obstacles-obstacles that suit your very specific talents."
Natural talents. Talents that would work even if he couldn't use his own. And the first was beginning to show now. The doors to the chamber were up ahead, and just as they had been earlier, they were covered by the beetle-like creatures he'd encountered first a few days earlier.
"Blood scarabs," he instructed as the three of them came to a stop. Chances were good that Maleficent and Ursula knew the dangers of them, if only by name, but Cruella he couldn't be sure about. Did they have these in her world? "The only thing stronger than their venom is their bloodlust. Cruella, I believe with your powers of persuasion, they'll be as harmless as puppy dogs."
Familiar or not, she sauntered over to the creatures, and he watched as she knelt down before the Sentinel who had smelled blood and picked it up in her hand.
"I've got a little job for you, darling." Her whisper echoed through the tunnel and back to them. "Now, run along and tell the others." The next moment, he saw the bug leave her hand with traces of a greenish glow on its back and wings. It joined its swarm, and the light spread quickly, then the bugs scattered, the door was revealed and opened before them. "That's how it's done, darlings," Cruella gloated as he walked past her and ushered the women into the chamber.
One problem down, three to go.
The room, just like the mountain, looked just as he'd left it. A round surface, large rocks of granite and limestone and salt, put there to hamper his magic, to stifle him. The Blue Fairy had never assumed he'd find her loophole.
"The Dark Curse…"
It sat just where he'd left it, on the opposite side of the room, following a long bridge raised above a cavern. Oh, to take it now! But at the opposite side of the room, fire suddenly erupted, bursting forth from nowhere at the detection of their presence. Soon the beast would awaken. They needed to hurry.
"Fire," he commented, tossing his own torch into the blaze. He was sure to them it seemed a harmless move, but now the die was cast. He had two hands to carry the Curse from this place, and they'd have no light. "Forged from the breath of dragons. Maleficent, I believe this is your area of expertise."
He stepped back and allowed Maleficent to step forward. The Dragon Queen was calm as she approached, taking her staff with her. She might not have trusted him and this little outing, but she, like most villains, couldn't resist an opportunity to show off. He watched as she held her staff in front of her and drew a breath so deep that even he felt as he watched her back expand. The fire drew closer to her, attracted by what she was. She used that ability of hers to control it, to contain it. Slowly it snaked itself around her and then into the mouth of the iron dragon that sat upon her staff. And then it was gone. And to the average individual, it might have appeared that was it. The fairies might assume that the fire and the scarabs and the Chernabog, wherever he was lying in wait, as well as the natural magic were enough to deter any who dared to enter, but they were wrong. With the fire gone, he could still smell the fairy magic in the air. It lingered in wait, a trap he hadn't figured out yet and wasn't about to learn. That was what Ursula was for.
"Next time, maybe something challenging," Maleficent remarked as she rejoined the crowd. He ignored her and kept his eyes on that prize. His mouth had gone suddenly dry, this was the day he'd been waiting for.
"And now...Ursula, if you don't mind."
The sea witch didn't comment, just walked forward as tentacles, long and green and somehow gleaming with something wet, snaked out from under her skirts. One lashed forward and grabbed the ball at the center of the podium, then recoiled back.
All at once, he felt something smooth drop into his hands. His heart skipped a beat.
"This what you're looking for?"
"Indeed."
Power. Oh, it was powerful. Bald Mountain was a place filled with natural magic, and he'd understood since he found it that they'd needed to camouflage it here, to keep him from sensing the magic too easily, but he was surprised even as he held the ball in his hand that it had worked. The power inside this ball was deep. It was fairy magic, without a doubt. He hadn't expected that. He hadn't expected to sense fairy magic inside of it, but that was what he felt radiating off it. It hummed in his hands, it purred for him as if it had found its mate. It was as if they both knew they were made for one another. He felt his hands shake, and his skin warmed to the point of burning just by touching it. He struggled to control his own heartbeat. If this was what it felt like muted inside Bald Mountain, he couldn't wait to get back to his castle and see what it could really do.
But they weren't done yet. Three obstacles down, one to go, literally for him, because it was going to allow him the time he needed to flee though with the ball in his hand…maybe not the way he'd planned. Feeling the magic coming off of the glass ball, he suddenly had a brand new plan.
Right on cue, he felt the mountain begin to tremble and shake, there was the sound of rocks moving above, but nothing fell. That was especially his cue to go.
"What the hell?" Maleficent cried out.
"What is going on?" Cruella questioned.
"I'm leaving with my prize," he answered, allowing his voice to rise. He threw out his hand as if preparing to cast a spell but didn't, not yet, at least. "And you? Uh, you're about to die. I forgot to mention there's one more thing guarding the Curse. The Chernabog...an ancient demon that feeds on evil. It seeks out the heart with the greatest potential for darkness and devours it. That's why I really needed you three. Adieu."
And then he drew on the power from the globe, he pulled it forth so that it's darkness met his own. His heart began to race. It pounded so fast he would have easily had a heart attack if he'd been human. Instead, he used it to overpower the natural magic around him and open the door to the chamber. He felt dizzy. His gaze skewed, and his vision pitched. He felt sick to his stomach as he managed to walk back through the door and used his magic to close and seal the chamber so that the women couldn't follow. He stumbled when he made it outside, he was deaf to what was going on inside that chamber but didn't particularly care. What did it matter to him if he never saw Ursula, Cruella, or Maleficent again? He swallowed as he held the globe up before him and peered inside. Its power was growing, and he knew it would continue to do so the farther he got from this place. And looking at it now, he knew the source of that wasn't a glass globe.
It was the scroll lodged inside.
Short but obviously, in the fiction entitled "The Dark Curse" it's probably the most important chapter in the entire thing. Rumple finally has the Curse he's hunted in hand! BUT, that does not mean we're done with this section. We still have two chapters left before we move onto the next section. One you probably know is coming as this is still, technically, "The Frozen Section" and there remains one Frozen scene we have not yet seen. The other scene, well...you'll have to read it to see what I've concocted.
Thank you Jennifer Baratta, Grace5231973, and Alarda for your very kind reviews on the last chapter. Glad you liked it. This is another one that I fear didn't translate so well from screen to page so I'm interested in hearing what you have to say about it. Ultimately there's not much here that we didn't see on the screen, but there was a lot of planning that went into it to make it that way. Hopefully, that comes through from Rumple's thoughts. Peace and Happy Reading!
