Chapter 33—"A Truer Life Begin"


His mother's voice drifted into him while Rumplestiltskin struggled towards consciousness. "I half expected it to hang around looking for another host. But it does seem to be gone. It could have gone either way. True Love's kiss might have been enough to transform it…or merely enough to free him. We won't know for certain until he awakes."

"…Transform?" Rumplestiltskin forced his eyes open as he spoke, surprised to find that he was lying on something soft. The couch. That's where I am.

Everything was so quiet. No one was touching him, and yet the voices were gone.

"Rumple!" Belle leapt into his line of vision, her expression a radiant mixture of worry and love. "You're awake!"

"How long…was I out?" His voice sounded strange to his own ears. Lower. Human.

With a start, Rumplestiltskin jerked his hands up so that he could see them, and for the first time in centuries, bare human skin greeted his eyes. He was human again. It had worked, and his power was gone. For a moment, he wondered if he could get it back, if there was some way to summon the darkness back to him—but Rumplestiltskin pushed that thought aside with an effort. I'm doing this for my family, he told himself. Power had always been what he needed to protect those he loved, but if he had to get rid of the power in order to find his son, he would do that a thousand times over.

"About an hour." Belle answered his question after he'd almost forgotten he'd asked it.

His mother, however, sounded far less concerned. "Not too bad, all things considered. It might have been much worse."

"What did you expect to happen?" Belle demanded, affronted on his behalf.

"Well, fainting is certainly better than the darkness tearing him to pieces, which was always a possibility. That would have created quite the mess in the castle for you to mop up, so let's be glad we didn't get that, shall we?"

"Fiona!"

Rumplestiltskin, however, saw the look in his mother's eyes and snickered softly. He'd always appreciated her dark sense of humor, after all. Fiona did come over to squeeze his shoulder.

"I am proud of you, my son. You have the strength that I have always lacked." Her smile was sad. "If I had given up my power in the beginning, you never would have had to."

Rage would have boiled up within him before. Now, feeling strangely free of that, Rumplestiltskin just shook his head. "What's done is done." He studied her. "Now, what exactly was it that you were saying about 'transforming' the darkness?"

"Ah." Fiona straightened, letting out a breath. "There is something else I must tell you. Something I have kept from you for some time, now."

Belle shot Fiona a hard look at that, but Rumplestiltskin managed to grab her hand before she could tell his mother off for keeping secrets. Rumplestiltskin knew how that worked. The deeper you delved into dark magic, the more important secrets seemed to be. Particularly if you'd been hurt by those you cared about, opening up was dangerous. His mother was usually honest with him, and never actually lied. She'd had logical reasons for keeping her plans to free him a secret, even if that did chafe. Fiona had been right, after all. If he and Belle had kissed unknowingly, Rumplestiltskin would have rejected his freedom. Probably.

"Such as?" A cough tore out of Rumplestiltskin as he struggled to sit up, and Belle helped him do so. I feel so weak. Was that a side effect of the curse breaking, or had he grown used to how being the Dark One made him feel?

His ankle burned, damnit.

"There was a prophecy." Fiona fidgeted, which definitely got Rumplestiltskin's attention. "I acquired knowledge of it secondhand, but the Apprentice ought to know what he was talking about, so here goes: Merlin prophesied that there would someday be a Dark One who could turn the darkness back to light. I hope that is you."

"Back to light?" Rumplestiltskin turned that one over in his mind, not sure how it fit. "Nimue was a creature of darkness from the beginning. She never shared much about her origins, but she always hinted there was an elemental darkness, something primeval, beneath the curse."

"Then she lied. The power she took originated from the same grail that Merlin drank from. Nimue twisted it to her own ends, but that is the truth. The Apprentice confirmed it for me."

"Before or after you turned him into a ferret?" Belle asked.

Fiona waved a hand dismissively. "Far after."

Merlin prophesied that there would someday be a Dark One who could turn the darkness back to light. The words kept running through Rumplestiltskin's head. Back to light. He could follow his mother's logic, even if everything he was—and had been—rebelled against it. He had been nothing, no one, before becoming the Dark One. Then he'd become darkness personified, despite how he usually managed to twist his curse to fit his own ends. Now he was nothing again…save for the love of a family who were worth everything to him. I was meant to be the Savior. Did that matter? Could it?

He felt cold. Only Belle's hand on his shoulder kept him grounded; without it, Rumplestiltskin felt like he might pass out again.

"Rumple?" Belle's voice was gentle. "Are you all right?"

He laughed, and how deep it sounded surprised him. "No." He forced a smile. "But I think I will be."

She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, and Rumplestiltskin almost melted. There was something in the back of his mind, something sparking with light and beauty—

"The question is," Fiona interrupted his thoughts, "if you can still do magic."

"I thought you said that he'd have to learn it again?"Belle sounded a little confused, but Rumplestiltskin's mind was still racing.

"Phooey. I said that to give him hope without overconfidence. He shouldn't need to learn it, assuming I'm right. He should already have it." Fiona waited a moment before prompting him. "Rumple?"

"I…I felt something." He was almost afraid to admit it out loud. The power she took originated from the same grail that Merlin drank from. That explained Nimue's origins, but if he had turned that power back to light… Rumplestiltskin swallowed hard. That wasn't possible. Not him. Never him. "But it can't be. I'm…well, I'm nothing, now."

"You are not, nothing." Belle shifted to grasp both of his hands in hers, squeezing them tightly. "Not being the Dark One—even if you don't have magic!—doesn't make you nothing. You are a good man, and you did the right thing, not just for yourself, but for the world." He gave her a blank look, but she smiled brilliantly. "Don't you realize what you've done? You've made it so that there will never be another Dark One again. You have freed the world from that curse."

Rumplestiltskin blinked. "I hadn't thought of it that way."

"You're not nothing," Belle repeated. "You're extraordinary."

"I—I wouldn't go that far." He tried a laugh, but it was as uneasy as his voice. And he'd stuttered, too. Damnation, was he at that again? He'd not been the Dark One for less than five minutes, and he sounded like the coward already.

"Rumple." Belle's expression teetered between fond and exasperated, but he could only shrug.

"Belle, if you're expecting someone special, I'm afraid that we just kissed that away—"

"Oh, do stop whining and try to do some magic before you go all doom and gloom on us." Fiona cut him off, crossing her arms and glaring meaningfully at Rumplestiltskin. "I'll grant you the right to piss and moan if you have no magic, but at least wait until you've tried before you start."

His mother's characteristic bluntness made him flinch, which it never had done before. I will not be this weak. Rumplestiltskin tried to set his jaw and draw on some of the courage that having magic had given him, but he knew that the effort was futile. He wasn't a strong man. Only power had made him strong. He wanted to be more, burned to be, but what if he failed? He'd be left with nothing. No magic, no standing in the world. What would Belle want in a man like that? Even if he'd done one singular thing and banished the Dark One from the world—and good riddance to it; now that he was free of the darkness, Rumplestiltskin was glad to see it gone—that wouldn't mean much for long.

"I…I'm afraid." He swallowed hard. "What if it doesn't work?"

Belle squeezed his hands again, but it was Fiona who answered, more gently this time. "Then you learn magic the hard way. You've fairy blood in you, my son. There's no logical reason why you shouldn't be able to do magic, and if your worthless father had bothered to tell you that, you could have had power without the darkness."

"I could have?" He hated sounding so weak and needy, but Rumplestiltskin hadn't ever thought of how life would have worked out if he'd known what his mother was from the beginning.

"Certainly. Do you think no other fairy has ever had magical offspring?" Fiona snorted. "They all have been magic, no matter how much Blue tries to hide them. Look at Maleficent. Her mother was a fairy, and she's hardly short on power."

"Maleficent's mother was a fairy?" Belle's eyes had gone round and fascinated.

"Oh, yes. Her father was a shape-shifting dragon, which accounts for her ability to transform, but not for her magic."

"Huh." Rumplestiltskin hadn't realized, that, either. Oh, he'd known about Mal's father, but all he'd known about her mother was that she'd died in childbirth. Was that Blue's doing? He wouldn't have been surprised if Blue at least refused to help Mal's mother survive the birth of a part-dragon baby.

"It's time to try, Rumple." Fiona's voice was firm, but not harsh. "And don't you use that coward excuse on us, either. We both know you're no coward, and I doubt you've ever truly been one. You were just desperate and out of options. Now you aren't."

Wide-eyed, Rumplestiltskin's gaze darted between his mother and his True Love before he was able to slowly hold out a shaking hand, summoning magic to his palm.


A magical ally would be ideal, although Killian preferred the idea of one with less power than Zelena. Really, they just needed to make a deal for some magical lockpicks or something, anything that would get them through the gates of that bloody fortress Rumplestiltskin called home. So, when they heard of a witch who lived not far from the border between Zelena's kingdom and the Marchlands, Killian and Gaston headed that way.

Madam Faustina was younger than Killian had expected, and much better looking. He'd expected someone scaly, like Rumplestiltskin, or for her skin to be some other ridiculous color. Instead, she was a tall woman with long blonde hair and brilliant blue eyes. Her fashion sense left a little to be desired, but after hanging around Zelena for so long, Killian wasn't particularly worried about that. At least she's not green.

"And you are?" she asked archly after introducing herself.

"Captain Killian Jones." He bent over he hand and kissed it, smiling when Gaston made a little strangled noise of objection. He wishes he'd gotten in first. Fool.

"I am Sir Gaston!"

"It's a pleasure to meet you both." Faustina's eyes swept over them, and then—much to Killian's discomfiture—settled on Gaston. "What brings you to my humble abode?"

"We were hoping that a lady of your great power might be willing to help us on a quest." Killian barely managed to get in before Gaston could say something foolish. He liked the other man well enough, under the circumstances, but no one would ever call Gaston clever.

"What kind of quest?"

"We wish to destroy the Dark One." Gaston puffed up, jutting his chest out like a blowfish. He probably thinks he looks heroic. "We're going to save the world from his evil."

"Is that so?" Faustina looked vaguely amused, and she looked Gaston up and down like he was a particularly nice cut of meat. "That is a mighty task."

"And one which we poor warriors need magical assistance to accomplish," Killian interjected smoothly, trying to take back control of the situation. "Is that something you can provide, My Lady?"

"Perhaps." She licked her lips. "Or I might offer you other strengths. You, Captain, are too old for my deepest magic, but the good knight here is just the right age."

Too old? How did she know? Killian felt a strange wariness creeping up his spine. Gaston, however, clearly felt no such worry.

"I am to please." He bowed again, trying to be gallant. Killian, who had seen him with barmaids, tried not to laugh.

"As do I. Tell me, Sir Gaston, do you desire eternal youth and beauty? I can give you that, and more." Faustina stepped towards him, her blue eyes burning with something dark enough to leave Killian uneasy. She almost reminded him of Pan—

"Of course I do." The oaf had no clue. "What must I do?"

"Ah, perhaps it's a mite unwise to be talking of eternal youth and beauty without discussing the price." Killian stepped forward hastily, his eyes on Faustina. "I know enough about magic, love, to know that there's always a price."

She waved a hand. "It's negligible. Nothing you need concern yourself with, dear Captain. A death is required, but it is naught to worry your conscience."

He narrowed his eyes. "And what do you get out of this?"

"It is my gift. I grant it to those I find worthy." She smiled, but the expression did not reach her eyes. "It is a true pity that you are too old."

"If it's all the same to you, love, I'll keep the pity and pass on the enchantment." Not shuddering took all of Killian's self-control. "Mate, you and I have a mission to accomplish. Perhaps we'd best be about that, and then return to see about that eternal youth."

Coming back here might be a good way to dispose of Gaston if that proved necessary, so Killian wasn't going to rule the possibility out. No price, indeed. Faustina looks less trustworthy than the last Siren I met, and twice as tricky. Gaston hesitated, of course, but a few not-so-subtle nudges from Killian got him moving, and before long, they'd put a decent distance between themselves and Madam Faustina. She reminded Killian far too much of Pan, just more polite and less likely to sick a shadow on you. She seemed to have a shadow, though, so this is likely some other bizarre enchantment.

I hate magic.


Fiona felt the explosion before it hit, and she reached out with her own magic just in time to pull Belle back from the blinding eruption of white and gold light. Belle crashed into her—Fiona had been more concerned with speed than finesse—yelping in shock, but it was Rumplestiltskin's gasp that Fiona listened for. Magic filled the room, bright and beautiful and light, and the buzzing in Fiona's ears would have told her what type of power this was had her eyes failed to identify it.

I did it, Tiger!

"What—what was that?" Rumplestiltskin still had a tendency to stutter, apparently, but that could be worked on. Or not. Fiona found it rather endearing, but even she admitted that, as his mother, she was bound to be biased.

"That was magic, of course. Your magic, now." The smile that tugged on her lips was fierce enough to hurt, but Fiona didn't care. She could see his magic now, see it swirling around Rumplestiltskin in that same white and gold. This wasn't the darkness that Nimue had turned the Grail's power to; no, this was the same power that Merlin had taken.

The urge to go fetch the Apprentice just so she could rub his face in this was overpowering. But she wouldn't turn him into a ferret again. Ferrets couldn't appreciate the enormity of what had just happened.

"But I—I—this can't be." Rumplestiltskin shook his head drunkenly. "Someone—someone like me can't…"

"You're stuttering again, dear."

"Fiona!" Belle twisted to glare at her.

"What?" She hadn't said anything terrible, had she? Rumplestiltskin had flushed a little, true, but Fiona was only pointing out the obvious.

"Be nice," Belle hissed before pulling away from Fiona and heading back to Rumplestiltskin to take his hands once more. Fiona wouldn't have done it—not while his magic was still going haywire—but Belle had always been too brave for her own good. That was no surprise.

Rumplestiltskin, on the other hand, looked completely spooked. But Belle's touch seemed to calm him, at least a little. "I have magic," he whispered, sounding confused. "How—I mean, I didn't expect this."

"I think that means your mother was right." Belle smiled.

"Damn right I was." Fiona's mutter went completely ignored, and if she hadn't just seen this woman break her son's curse with True Love's kiss, she would have been frightfully jealous.

"Tell me about this magic," Belle said when Rumplestiltskin fidgeted uneasily, staring at his hands, which Belle still held.

Good girl, Fiona thought. She wanted to know, too; she'd never met Merlin—he was far before her time—and she'd often wondered if he was everything legend said. After all, he'd let himself get turned into a tree by an ex-girlfriend. That didn't speak of complete and utter power. Either that, or he had terrible taste in women. Then again, that was Nimue… She was glad to see the last of that toxic fiend.

"It's powerful." His eyes flicked up to look at Fiona. "It's…I do think this is grail magic." An uneasy laugh. "You said that the Apprentice told you that that was behind the curse?"

She nodded. "Nimue drank from the Grail and turned that power to darkness. Now, what I hope is that it was her using light magic to murder—and taking it with dark intentions—that twisted it so, but the Apprentice had no idea. He's worse than a history book, in that way. He's terribly biased."

Belle snorted softly. "So are many books."

Rumplestiltskin still looked a little overwhelmed, although he was trying valiantly to hide it. Now was not the time to tell her son that his human face hid a great deal less emotion than it had while he was the Dark One, however. Fiona sensed that was still going to be a sore point for some time. The fool boy is equally powerful now, but change is hard. She forced herself to take a deep breath and be patient—after all, her son was free of the darkness. He need never be a slave to Nimue and her cohorts again, which made another thought occur to her.

"I suppose you can finally get rid of that damned dagger," she mused, smiling nastily. "Even if Zelena does manage to bring her blasted mother back, she'll never be using it to control you, no matter how hard she wishes."

Rumplestiltskin started, his brown eyes going wide. "I—I hadn't thought of that." A reluctant smile tried to tug on his lips, and Fiona felt her own expression softening.

"Well, there are some silver linings to this, aren't there?"

"Yeah." He looked like he wasn't sure what to do with such freedom. "I suppose there are."

"What dagger?" Belle looked between the two of them in confusion, centering on Rumplestiltskin. "Rumple?"

"Oh—uh, nothing." His face closed off, and Fiona could have kicked him.

Nasty old habits, I suppose. "Just a little perk of being the Dark One." She said the words as lightly as she could. "There's a dagger that could control him—or kill him. Not that anyone managed either."

Rumplestiltskin's small cringe reminded her how close they'd come, but Fiona was not going to let that dampen her enthusiasm.

"That's horrible!" Belle looked suitably offended on Rumplestiltskin's behalf, just as Fiona had known she would be. The girl loved him, after all. It was True Love. Fiona didn't particularly trust in love as a general rule—excepting familial love, which was a different beast than the romantic variety that had petered out on her—but True Love was of an entirely different breed.

"I suppose it doesn't matter, now." Rumplestiltskin looked thoughtful. "I can't hear the dagger, not anymore. Or the other Dark Ones."

Fiona walked over to the pair, bending to kiss her son on the top of the head. For once, he didn't bristle, and the brown eyes that looked up at her were clear and bright. "I'm proud of you," she whispered. "So very proud."

"Mother." His embarrassed growl was almost a whine of the little boy she'd never known, and Fiona was not going to let anyone on to how badly that choked her up.

She just grinned. "You were both marvelous. True Love wins out, and all those other ridiculously romantic mantras. You've made a believer of me."

"Mother!" Rumplestiltskin glared, but Belle's giggle undermined that as Fiona reached out to pull both to their feet.

"Now, what shall we do with our newly free little family? Shall we go see the Apprentice and make him eat his words, or do you two want to wed first?"

"Wait a minute, I am not letting you propose for him." Belle pointed a finger at Fiona brazenly as Rumplestiltskin's eyes tried to bug out of his skull. "We'll get to that in our own good time."

She shrugged. "Just be sure you don't take forever. I want more grandbabies." Both blushed furiously, and Fiona laughed merrily before turning back to her son. "And I'd like to meet the one I already have, preferably without a curse and a twenty-eight year wait."

"Yes." Rumplestiltskin glanced down at his hands, and magic sparked slightly from his fingertips. "Much though I don't want to wait, though, I think it behooves me to take the time to understand this magic." He grimaced. "Assuming we're going to return here."

"We had better." Fiona felt her lips curl up into a snarl. "Who wants to live in a world without magic? That would be terribly uncivilized."

Rumplestiltskin's shrug said more than he clearly wanted to say aloud, but Fiona let it pass. Her son was free, and they were going to find her grandson.

And then she could prevail upon the lovebirds to create grandchildren whom she could know from the beginning.


"Did you do it?" Robin's question didn't imply that he felt that Regina should or shouldn't have given her magic up, and his face was full of concern for her.

Looking at him made Regina feel strangely warm inside, and she almost jumped out of her skin when he reached out to take her hand. Forcing herself to focus took a moment; her heart was racing as fast as her favorite stallion could gallop. "I did. Zelena offered peace, too, much to my surprise." She took a deep breath. "I think she might have meant it, too. For the moment."

They both knew how changeable Zelena was, but Regina thought her sister had been being honest. This could change everything. Could they stop the war? It wasn't ideal, but Regina knew that most peace treaties signed throughout history were far from perfect. Anything that saved lives and ended the war was preferable to more people dying, particularly after they finished kicking King George to the curb. The man had become a tyrant in the last few years, and Regina would not be sad to see him go.

"Well, that's an interesting development." Robin looked like he wasn't sure if he thought he could trust Zelena or not.

"I know you hate her," Regina said softly, squeezing his hand. "She killed your wife. You have every right to hate her."

"And nothing will stop that." Robin looked away for a moment. "But that doesn't mean I'll oppose a peace with her if it save more lives. Mind you, I might be tempted to put an arrow through her eye if I get a good shot, but I won't do it if it dooms the kingdom. We've worked too hard for that."

"How have things gone while I was away?"

"Good! The army is almost at the capital, and our spies say that King George is contemplating running away rather than facing a siege."

"That's wonderful! Are Snow and Charming all right?" Regina hadn't imagined the news could be so good—no wonder why Zelena wanted peace! She couldn't be confident they wouldn't do the same to her.

"Just fine. In fact—Tink, what are you doing here?"

Regina turned, following Robin's suddenly confused gaze, only to find Tinker Belle glaring at her. Oh, no. She saw me at Zelena's and wonders what I was doing. Not that it's any of her business, but… This was going to be ugly. Very ugly.

"Regina." Tink all but ignored Robin, who frowned slightly. "Can we talk?"

Regina took a deep breath. "Sure." She looked at Robin, squeezing his hand again. "We'll be right outside camp. Will you let Snow know I'm back and that I'll see her soon?"

"Of course." He looked like he wanted to say something more, but Robin gave her a soft smile and headed off, leaving Regina alone with the ex-fairy.

"Why were you at Zelena's castle?" Tink asked before Regina had a chance to speak, barely waiting until Robin was out of earshot.

"I'm not sure I like your tone." Regina couldn't help bristling; Tink's abrasive manner was all but accusing her of treason.

"I'm not sure I liked what I saw." Tink glared back. "Did you tell her that I'm working with Snow and the others?"

"Of course not! What do you take me for?"

"Her sister."

"Excuse me?" Regina snarled the words before she could stop herself. "I have been fighting by Snow's side since before you decided you didn't want to be Blue's toady and decided to do something different! Zelena may be my sister, but that doesn't mean I'd betray anyone here!"

"Then tell me what you were doing." Tink crossed her arms.

"If you must know, I was talking to Zelena about making peace." Anything else wasn't Tink's business as far as Regina was concerned. Her mother certainly wasn't Tink's business. "And she might actually do it, too."

"Did Snow send you?"

"No." Regina shook her head. "I can't believe you're acting like this. I'm not some servant who can't come and go as I please. I saw an opportunity and I took advantage of it to try to save our people. Crucify me for that if you want."

"Regina, I'm not trying to say that you're—"

"Yes, you are," she cut her off harshly. "You don't want to say it outright, but you are trying to say that I am betraying my best friends. For the record, I'd prefer to hear accusations like that to my face."

"I just know that she can't be trusted!" Tink looked hurt, but Regina didn't care. If Tink didn't like this conversation, well, she shouldn't have started it. "I know she'll make promises and break them!"

"Of course she will. Do you think I've forgotten the three times she tried to kill me?"

Tink swallowed. "I honestly don't know what you're thinking. Particularly not if you won't tell me."

"I am telling you what I'm thinking." Regina bit back a snarl with all she was worth. Antagonizing Tink wouldn't help her cause, even if it would feel great. "I'm not an idiot. I know Zelena breaks as many promises as she makes. But if there's even a remote chance of peace, shouldn't we take it."

"With her?" Tink shook her head. "I don't think so. I don't think it'll be worth the price."

"Well, lucky for us, you're not making the decisions here, huh?" Squaring her shoulders, Regina headed into the camp to find Snow and Charming. If Tink was going to tattle, she planned on beating her to the punch.


A/N: It's TEA Time! The Espenson Awards on Tumblr are upon us once again, and I'm hoping to get this story (and a few of my others) nominated. So, if you have a tumblr, please check me out at toseehowthestoryends, and if you're so inclined, please nominate A Different Fate for Best AU!OUAT and Best Dark One.

Stay tuned for Chapter 34—"Kill the Beast", in which Bae meets someone from Belle's homeland, Belle tries to help Rumpelstiltskin discover who he is without the curse, Tink goes to Fiona for advice, Bae reads Tiger Lily's mail, and Gaston and Killian try to gather a mob.