The sound of glass breaking upstairs shook him from his stupor. In half a second, he'd turned on his heel and run back up the stairs, his mind already going through all the possibilities. The Dark Curse was safely stored away in his Tower, there wasn't any chance that someone would take that from him before he got there. The glass sounded like it had come from right above, in the Great Hall. Likely, whoever it was, wouldn't get much farther than that before he stumbled onto them.
Not everyone in heaven and on earth, or even the Underworld, was interested in his Curse.
As he rounded the corner and peered into the Great Room, looking for the suspect, he managed to catch him in the act. What it appeared he was interested in removing wasn't the Curse, but it was something just as rare. The thief stood in his Great Room, a cloak over his face, before the pedestal where he kept his fairy wand, the one that he hadn' seen in his vision of the future. His fingers were removing it from its home as if it were made of delicate glass. He couldn't blame him for that, a wand did feel very delicate, but he knew from experience just how strong they really were. Being made of fairy magic could have that effect.
"Are you sure you want to do this, dearie?!" he warned with a sinister smile. There was no denying now that he'd been caught, but he was curious about how he was going to react. There was no possibility he was going to let the wand leave his home, and he probably didn't know it yet, but there was no possibility he was going to let the thief leave his home either, not without an explanation. He was no fool. No one attempted to break into his castle, no one was that stupid. And if they were they weren't going to just settle for a fairy wand. That meant that the thief had eyes only for that object and nothing else, which meant that someone had told him right where it was. He wanted to know who! And if he could help him, perhaps tempt him to make a deal and tell him who had spoken of the objects he had in his home, then perhaps the poor dear would be allowed to leave all in one piece.
Unfortunately, the man who pushed the hood of his cloak off his face and met his eyes did appear to be a fool, at least if the look on his face was any indication. He was smiling. It was almost as sinister as his own was. And he was looking him dead in the eye, which was only something that an idiot did. How else was he supposed to interpret a gaze like that other than seeing it as a threat?
"Pretty sure," the stranger replied, wand still in hand.
"If you don't know how to use that wand, it can do nasty things to you," he warned, but all the while his brain was working.
Something was familiar. There was something odd about the man, the whispers in his head knew it, even the Seer seemed to know it! But what was it? His face wasn't familiar, and he remembered every deal he'd ever made. The voice didn't ring any bells, either. But there was a magic about him that struck a chord, it was familiar. He'd encountered it somewhere before. But where?
"Well then, I'll stick to what I know works." The thief boldly slid the wand into the quiver behind him and exchanged it for an arrow. "Do you know what this arrow would do to you?"
Indeed, he did know what it would do to him. A bit of pain, maybe a moment of shock, but nothing permanent. He was, however, suddenly aware that Belle had followed him up the stairs and now stood behind him. He had no idea what kind of an archer the man before him was, but he knew that an arrow in his chest was a lot less threatening than an arrow in her chest.
"Has to hit me first," he taunted before using his magic to run quick and out of focus. With any luck the pair could feel him in the room but not see him, and it would cause enough of a stir that his intruder might focus on him instead of harmless woman in yellow.
It worked. When he finally stopped running, he was over by the far wall and it was clear that he held the man's attention, not her. He could shoot his arrow all he wanted now, but even if he was a terrible shot, it would take a miracle for him to hit the girl even by accident.
"Shouldn't be a problem," the man stated, taking a step closer and pulling the bowstring back to aim. "An arrow fired by this bow always finds its target…" The man paused for a moment and took a deep breath. "Don't you just love magic?" he questioned with a smile before taking proper aim once more and firing.
Yes, he did love magic, and this was why…
As the arrow freed itself from the thief's bow, he moved again, disappeared from view, and reappeared right behind him. Close as he was now, he could all too easily reach out and snap the boy's neck if he wanted, but all he did was extend his senses and take a deep breath. Magic. He could sense it easier now that he had something to investigate. There were two different spells at play here both of them familiar. The first was one that covered the thief, but the second was pulsing within the bow he held in his hand. An arrow fired by that bow would always find its target. That wasn't the work of an expert archer, it was the work of magic. It was that very fact that made him look up at where he'd last seen the arrow. He wasn't surprised to find it hadn't imbedded itself in the wall behind the place he'd been standing. Instead, it was turning, curling unnaturally in the air, and coming for him once more.
It wasn't going to stop until it found him. He didn't recommend it, but in the seconds before it hit, he directed his magic to the place in his chest it was going to penetrate, then braced himself as he allowed it to lodge itself into his heart. He barely felt it, but made a sound of shock and surprise just the same as it hit.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Belle begin to move toward him, but he ignored her as he watched the would-be assassin move to the door with his wand still in hand, or quiver as it were.
"I know I do," was all he said as he marched off, assuming he was a free man.
Fool.
Before Belle could make it to him, he disappeared once more and appeared right in the path of the Thief, stopping him before he could leave.
"As…do…I!" he cried as he pulled the arrow from his chest. With a wave of his hand, the arrow was gone, and the slight wound to his chest was healed. And that was all it took to get the fool before him to appear shocked and dismayed. He didn't know who he was, but clearly, he hadn't done enough homework before sneaking into this place, otherwise he might have come armed with squid ink, or something that might have actually worked to keep him at bay.
"But don't you know?" he yelled, advancing on him, enjoying the way his eyes widened, and his fingers twitched uselessly without anything that could defend him. "All magic comes with a price! In your case, that's me!"
With a thought, a simple summoning, thick ropes appeared and bent to his will, curling and coiling around his victim so tight he could neither move, nor yell, nor scarcely breathe more than was necessary. He fell to the floor and as he lay there squirming, he was quick to strip him of the quiver and bow that he held in his fingers.
There was work to be done with this one. Work that gave him a small thrill. He had to know who had sent him here, who had told him about that wand and why they wanted it? Was it the fairies? Ursula? Cruella? Maleficent? Was it someone trying to get back at him? Did he need to fortify his defenses? Was the Apprentice on to him? Was someone coming for his Curse?! He needed to know these things. And he was going to enjoy getting their spy to tell him everything!
But first, he removed the wand from the place he'd stored it in the quiver. With a sigh, he set it back upon its pedestal. It wasn't the Curse, but it was easily one of the most important items he had in his collection. He'd have lamented being rid of it. Fortunately, that hadn't happened.
He strode back over to his prisoner, still struggling against his bonds, and looked down, sneering at him. "Don't you just love magic?" he questioned again before pulling on the ropes that held him and dragging him back the way he'd come.
On his way out, he pushed the bow and quiver of arrows into his maid's cold and pale arms. Her jaw was open, that much he could see, but at the moment, he couldn't look her in the eye and knew he didn't need to. All he'd see was a woman in shock.
"Do something with these, Belle," he ordered before dragging her new neighbor down into the dungeons.
Ack! I wasn't happy with how this chapter came out. It was also super awkward in Moments. I think it's one of those that is heavy on the action and so it just doesn't translate well. The next chapters do translate much better, I promise. But, all that aside, if I've done my job right then this scene should make a lot more sense because I readded that deleted scene of Robin returning to the castle. We see here that there is magic on him that is familiar, he knows where the wand is, and just like last time when Robin snuck onto the property without Rumple sensing him right away, he does it again here. How? I don't know. He's a thief, I assume he has magic of some kind. That's not for me to solve, but rather for whoever does the Robin Hood version of Chronicles and Moments. I just set it up to make it work with the story.
Thank you, Jennifer Baratta, MissAmande, and Grace5231973 for your reviews. 2x19 is a journey all on its own and I hope that you are looking forward to going through it again with me, regardless of this chapter! I think you'll remember a few of the twists and turns in the next few chapters and I hope you'll like it all over again! Peace and Happy Reading!
