Chapter 34—"Kill the Beast"
Bae had found another merchant who knew about his father, and talking to him had taken his mind off of wondering about Tiger Lily's mysterious trip that she still wouldn't talk about. Then he ran into Captain Thenardier.
"'E waltzed right in like he was aspect—expecting—to hear from us." Thenardier was more than a little drunk, and Bae had been happy to buy him another drink to get him talking. The Marchlands officer was in Port Mystic to visit some relative or another, but he'd obviously started drinking long before Bae showed up.
And complaining about my father. Bae swallowed before pressing onwards: "And then what happened?"
"Would you believe he swept the lord's daughter right off her feet?" Thenardier snorted angrily. "She was happy 'bout it, too. Strangest thing I ever saws."
"Wait a minute." Bae had to blink. "What?"
Thenardier hiccupped. "Granted, Sir Gaston was no price—prize. But t'pick a scaly looking giggly imp over him has to be"—hiccup—"madness."
"I'd say." How in the world did his father sweep some noblewoman off of her feet? Bae couldn't imagine any world in which that had happened. Thenardier had to be wrong.
"Rumor said she'd marry him. 'Parently her father was all worried 'bout it, but Lady Belle's always been a mite reck—well, stubborn." Thenardier blinked woozily at Bae. "Why I am telling you this again, boy?"
"Cause I bought you a drink?"
Thenardier threw him a suspicious look before stumbling off, and Bae didn't follow. He wasn't going to get any more information from the captain, even if he was drunk, and it was enough. Weird, but enough.
"How are you feeling?" Belle came to sit next to Rumplestiltskin on the couch with the same ease she'd displayed a few days ago; if his new face was throwing her for a loop, she hid it well.
"Still a little strange, I suppose." Rumplestiltskin couldn't help glancing down at his still-human hands. A good night's sleep hadn't provided any answers, although he found that sleeping was quite novel. He hadn't needed sleep in centuries, although Rumplestiltskin sometimes sought it to escape the voices in his mind. Now, however, the thought of going without sleep left him cranky and made him feel like someone had put his mind through a hand blender.
Her hand caressed his shoulder gently, and Rumplestiltskin had to use all of his self control not to melt into Belle. "It's so very different, isn't it?"
"Quite." Rumplestiltskin swallowed. "Everything is so…quiet."
"You mean because the other Dark Ones are gone?"
"Yeah." Did he miss them? Rumplestiltskin wasn't sure. Sometimes, he did. They'd been the only companions he had had for so long, at least until his mother arrived. And then Belle. Belle, who had changed everything.
"Are you all right, Rumple?"
He finally looked away from his hands and up at her. Her beautiful blue eyes were full of concern, and she wasn't looking at him any differently than she once had. That was good, right? His answer came out in a whisper. "I…I think so. It's so different."
"You look different, too." Belle's smile took away any sting those words might carry, but he still felt them prickle under his skin. "You're so—"
"Old?"
She swatted his shoulder gently. "Don't be silly. I was going to say handsome."
That took a moment to process, and when it did, Rumplestiltskin felt his mouth drop open. "You—you were?"
"Of course I was." Belle reached out to touch his cheek, and this time Rumplestiltskin did let himself melt into her touch, just a little. "Don't you realize how handsome you are?"
"I've never been handsome." He swallowed hard. "I was just a poor crippled peasant, with no prospects and nothing except my son."
"Peasants can be handsome, you know." Belle laughed gently. "Although I'd hardly call you a peasant now. Not with the castle and the magic."
"I suppose not." Rumplestiltskin hadn't really thought of it that way. He was still uneasy about his new—old?—magic, but he was glad to have it. So glad. He didn't know what he'd be without magic, aside from a father.
And Belle's True Love. Magic didn't make you into that. Your hearts did. That inner voice sounded a little like his mother, but it spoke truly enough, even if Rumplestiltskin was still inclined to be terrified of this new beginning.
"See?" She leaned in to kiss his cheek. "It's a new life, Rumple, and it can be a better one if you let it. You don't have to be afraid."
"I'm—I'm afraid I'm not very good at that, sometimes."
Belle drew back a little to study him. "Why not? You weren't afraid as the Dark One, were you?"
"That was different."
"How?"
"My magic—my magic was limitless, and the others…well, they made me bold, sometimes. Even when I didn't want to be." He couldn't believe he was telling her this, but if Rumplestiltskin couldn't trust Belle, who could he trust? She truly wasn't going to leave, not even now, and that thought left him warm and happy in ways that frightened him.
"You still have more than enough magic, don't you?"
"I suppose." If his mother was right, the magic was the same, just without the taint of darkness. And Nimue. Without her and the other passengers, too.
Belle squeezed his shoulder again. "Then what are you worried about?"
"I…for centuries I knew exactly who I was. Now I really don't know." He hated the way his voice shook. Hated the indecisiveness. Hated feeling like he might be a coward again.
"Of course you do." Belle smiled again. "You're Rumplestiltskin. You're a father, you're a son, and you're my True Love. Isn't that enough?"
Rumplestiltskin opened his mouth to say no, but stopped himself. What had he wanted from life, back when he'd been young and optimistic? He had wanted a family to call his own. A woman who loved him, and a son who could be proud to call him father. He'd wanted a good parent, too, although Rumplestiltskin had long since resigned himself to the fact that his father would never be there. His mother, however…she was here. And she had stayed with him through some of his worst moments before helping him find the courage to let his curse go.
"Yes," he breathed after a moment, turning to look into Belle's eyes. "Yes, it is."
This time he leaned in to kiss her, and again, Rumplestiltskin felt the spark of power in his soul when their lips met. He was a sorcerer, too, wasn't he? He wasn't just who he'd been—he was almost who he had been meant to be. I was meant to be the Savior. For the first time, that thought didn't hurt. Can you imagine me with those powers, Bae? I could get to redeem myself.
He could do that now, couldn't he? That redemption might be a few centuries late, but Rumplestiltskin could change his fate.
"So, what's next?" Belle asked when they finally broke apart. "Do we go find Baelfire?"
"First, I have to understand this magic of mine. Then we find a way to him, and we bring him home so we can all be a family." Even as he spoke the words, Rumplestiltskin knew they were a little optimistic. Bae would be angry, and rightly so. "If…if I can convince him to forgive me."
Not being the Dark One would be a good start, but Rumplestiltskin knew that would not be enough.
Belle just nodded. "I'll help in any way I can." She glanced at his leg. "Do you, um, think you'll be able to fix your leg?"
"What, don't fancy being in love with a cripple?" The words escaped before he could stop them, and Belle reared back, looking horrified.
"That has nothing to do with it!" Her glare softened after a moment, however. "But I know how it bothers you. You cringe every time you even think about it."
"Oh." He swallowed again. "Ah, being a crippled peasant was not a pleasant life. Not for me, and not for Bae."
"I don't care what you look like, Rumple. I'll love you no matter what," Belle said softly. "If you turned back into your scaly self tomorrow, I'd love you. If you remain this handsome, human version of you, I'll love that, too. And if you can't heal your leg, I will support you in any way I can."
"I don't deserve you," Rumplestiltskin whispered, feeling overwhelmed. How had he earned the love of a woman like this?
"Yes, you do. You fought for us. Now let me fight for you."
"I just don't know what she's trying to do," Tink finished explaining her friend's unexpected visit to Zelena, and Fiona tried really hard not to roll her eyes.
Since when was she a member of some morality police? Fiona didn't generally give much of a damn about right and wrong; she liked Tink, so she'd helped her a few times, and besides, Tink had helped her plenty in return. Friends were worth helping, worth having, but what did she care if Zelena's younger sister wanted to go have some silly tea party or another with her? Zelena could eat Regina alive and Fiona wouldn't blink. They'd never needed Cora's younger daughter, so she'd stopped paying attention to Regina as soon as Cora had been gone. Zelena was the one meant to cast the curse and Cora had been a threat to her son. Regina was just a nice girl who'd joined a bunch of outlaws.
Boring.
"Have you thought about asking her?" That was the most diplomatic answer Fiona could come up with, and she thought it was pretty good.
"I did. She just snapped at me. There's something she's not saying." Tink's chin jutted out like it did when she was stubbornly angry, and Fiona found herself wishing Tiger Lily was there. Tiger'd know what to say to her. Tiger Lily always knew what to say to people.
"Ah. Well, that's a bit of an obstacle, for sure." Fiona sighed. Was Tink really going to drag her into this outlaw-rebellion drama?
Tink groaned. "Tell me about it."'
"I thought I just did."
"That's not helpful." Tink rolled her eyes. "What do you think I should do? Snow's bound to react badly, and I'm sure Regina went to tell her her side first, but what if Regina lied? What if everyone is in danger?"
"Well, I'd tell you to fight fire with fire, but you're not really the destructive type." Fiona chewed her lip thoughtfully. Tink really did want her advice, as strange as that was. She wasn't entirely sure what to do with being someone that a good person turned to—aside from Belle, but Belle didn't count. Belle had always wanted help with Rumplestiltskin, who was as shady as Fiona had ever been. Or was. He's different, now, and it's so strange.
"Not really, no." Now Tink looked uncomfortable, and Fiona almost felt bad.
Almost.
"Then your choice is either to abandon your friends—"
"I can't do that!"
Her loyalty is almost adorable. Fiona really wanted to hand over this sickeningly sweet job of mentorship over to Tiger Lily, or even Belle—either one of them would be better suited to it!—but she was stuck. So, she shrugged. "Or tell them the truth. If they don't believe you, they never really were your friends in the first place. If they do, well, you've gotten what you wanted, didn't you?"
"I don't want to see Regina hurt, either." Tink's whisper was miserable. "I don't really think she's betrayed us."
"Then you're back to doing nothing." Fiona finally stopped resisting the urge to roll her eyes. "You do know that I'm the absolute worst person in the world to come to with these problems, don't you? I'm not terribly good at having friends."
Tink blinked. "I thought you were doing okay at it." She cracked a crooked smile. "The friends part, I mean. Not the advice part. You really do suck at that."
Fiona had to laugh. "I'm glad you noticed!" She really does think I'm her friend? How did I go from using her to being her friend? Fiona didn't understand that, not at all. Nor did she understand the fact that she cared about Tink, sort of like an echo of how she and Tiger Lily had been close, back in another life. "I'm rubbish at it."
"I don't know who else to talk to about this. All my other friends are involved."
"That's sadly true." She sighed. "You could ask Belle. She's terrible at subterfuge and not too subtle, but the girl's bright as the midday sun. When she's not mooning over my silly boy, anyway."
"I guess." Tink shrugged again. "Thanks, Fiona."
"All I gave you was bad ideas. Don't thank me." She wasn't sure what to do with thanks for being someone's friend. Aside from Tiger Lily—and she supposed Belle, although daughter-in-law was soon going to be a better title for that relationship—Fiona had never really had friends. What in the world was she supposed to do with one?
Tink just shot her a cheeky grin, and Fiona refused to feel warm inside. "So, how is your stupidly complicated plot going on the Belle and Rumplestiltskin front, anyway?"
"Oh, it's…going." She bit back a smile with an effort. Tink knew too much, really—why had Fiona blabbered about it so? Because I'm a bloody fool, that's why. Rumplestiltskin wasn't certain he was ready to let the world know that he was no longer the Dark One, so the lid needed to stay on that pot until he'd made up his mind. That, of course, meant Fiona had to keep her mouth shut, which was hardly her greatest talent.
"That good, huh?" Tink laughed.
"It could certainly be worse." She waved Tink towards the door. "Now, go on. Ask the honest person who lives here—and that certainly isn't me."
These days, even Rumplestiltskin tended more towards honesty than Fiona did, but she didn't mind the idea of being the darkest person around. Provided that isn't my son, I'll be whatever I need to be.
His magic was almost exactly the same, which Rumplestiltskin found the strangest fact of all.
He'd been prepared to have no magic once his curse broke, and Rumplestiltskin had almost been resigned to that fact. He hadn't liked it—in fact, he'd hated the idea—but the knowledge that being the Dark One was keeping him from finding Bae had pushed him right over the edge. He should have known that would be true, of course; Nimue had prattled on and on about how he needed the other Dark Ones to find Bae, but she'd never really said that they'd help him. True, the Dark Curse might have done the job, but how much of his belief in that was a result of the darkness that had so long stuck to him like manure? Rumplestiltskin wasn't sure he wanted to know.
"Magic first," he told himself quietly, sitting at his workbench and staring at the potion his mother had made. "Regrets later."
He would have regrets, too, wouldn't he? Banishing his conscience wasn't easy these days; it had been growing like mold ever since he'd admitted that he loved Belle. That thought earned the True Love potion a glare.
"And now I'm talking to myself. Lovely." But it was so quiet in his head that he didn't know how to cope. He'd carried those arrogant and bloodthirsty fools around in his mind for centuries. Not having them around was…strangely lonely.
"Or I'm talking to a glowing purple potion, which isn't much better." He tried the imp's laugh on for size, but it fell flat. "Note to self: do not do that again. It only makes you sound like more of a fool than you already are."
That last sentence had almost sounded like Zoso, but the others had been quiet ever since that second kiss. Rumplestiltskin shook his head, and then cringed as he caught sight of his all-too-human hands. He was mortal again, wasn't he? Or at least he thought he was. Rumplestiltskin would have to read up on Merlin, whom he'd never really been interested in before. Trees weren't threats, so Merlin's magic had been unimportant. Even if he was mortal, however, that wasn't the worst thing—Rumplestiltskin had lived long enough that he wouldn't regret death too much, not if it came after finding Baelfire—but he was ugly, too. How could Belle even want him like this? She'd called him handsome, but that was only love talking.
Could she truly keep loving him like this?
"Magic first," Rumplestiltskin repeated to himself as firmly as he could, hating the way his voice shook. "Worries later."
He needed to get his magic fully under control before someone like Zelena came knocking, otherwise everyone he loved would be in danger. Taking a deep breath, Rumplestiltskin raised his hands, focused on love instead of fury, and went to work.
"You see the raven that arrived earlier?" Bae asked as he stirred the bandages busy boiling over the fire.
Beans, who was folding already dry bandages since he still wasn't really back on his feet, scowled. "No. I don't get to see much when Tiger Lily won't let me walk around."
"It's for your own good. You don't want that leg healing wrong." Bae knew all about what happened when a leg didn't heal right. When he'd been younger, he'd tried to stand up for his father when the town's bullies knocked him over and kicked his staff away, but it had never helped. This world really sucks sometimes, but at least it's better than Neverland.
"So?" Beans' scowl only deepened. "At this rate, I'll never walk again. Can't I at least use a stick or something?"
"Not with your splint on. C'mon, Tiger Lily said it should only be another few days." Bae didn't know where Tiger Lily had gotten a set of magic bandages that helped the leg set faster, but he was glad that she had. Beans would have driven them both crazy if he'd had to stay off his leg for months.
"Fine." Beans groaned. "So what was it about that raven?"
"I dunno. It came to Tiger Lily, which is weird. She read the message and put it away."
"She's not home, and you haven't read it yet?"
Well, at least Beans hadn't changed that much. He was still trouble, and Bae liked that about him. The idea of reading a message meant for Tiger Lily made Bae feel a little guilty, but there'd been something weird in her expression when she'd seen the letter, and she'd left right afterwards, supposedly to go to the market. He was really afraid that it was someone telling her that his father was the Dark One, and that she'd gone off to get help. Is everything going to turn upside down every time I find a life for myself? Bae wanted to be wrong, but he had to know. If he needed to run, he'd have to do it before dark, and they only had a few hours.
"I was kinda hoping you'd keep a lookout for me. I'll tell you what it says afterwards, I promise." As long as it's not about me. If it was about him, Beans would be fine, and someone with a broken leg would only slow Bae down.
"I can do that." Beans shrugged. "I can't read good, anyway, so it's not like I'm gonna look at it for myself."
"Oh. I didn't know that."
"'S why I always made you read the ingredients. I can read a bit, but I kinda sorta ran away from home before my ma could really teach me, then they all died in the war, and…ah, you know the rest."
"Yeah." Bae felt bad for Beans; they were probably about the same age, and their lives had sucked. It was nice to have a friend for once, a real one. The first one since Wendy and her brothers. Bae swallowed. The Darlings were long dead. He shouldn't think about that, now. "You wanna watch the door?"
"On it."
Nodding, Bae crossed the small house to where he'd seen Tiger Lily slip the letter under a book earlier. She hadn't known he'd been watching, or she probably would have taken it with her, but that was her mistake. Quickly, he pulled the letter out and unfolded it, reading as fast as he could.
Tiger,
I've done it! I kept my promise to you, and now my son is back on the path he should have been. Come see us again soon—you can meet him now that he has a lot more to say than 'gurgle' and burping.
Fiona
Bae almost dropped the letter. It had nothing to do with him, but he remembered who 'Fiona' was. Tiger Lily hadn't seemed to like her much the last time they'd seen one another, but the letter was awfully chummy for enemies. It left a weird feeling in the pit of Bae's stomach as he re-folded the paper and tucked it back away, noticing that it was expensive paper, too. Weird. Do evil fairies kill people to get nice paper? That wasn't his problem.
"What's wrong? What was in it?" Beans had turned away from the window, so Bae scooted away from the shelf where the letter was hidden.
"It's from the Black Fairy." Bae felt his face screw up in confusion. "I knew Tiger Lily knew her, but…"
"But she's a good guy. Why's the Black Fairy writing to her? Is it a threat?"
"No. It's kinda like an invitation to come meet her son." Did fairies have kids? Maybe Beans would know. The giants had known a lot, after all.
"The Black Fairy has a son?" Beans' eyes were wide. "I think I've seen a vision about this…and it's not good. Or was that about Pan? I can't remember."
Bae just shuddered.
As luck would have it, Tink found Belle and Mulan together, which was probably the perfect solution. Between the three of them, they'd surely come up with something, so she told them the story of seeing Regina at Zelena's, and about how Regina was definitely hiding something.
"It does sound suspicious." Mulan frowned thoughtfully. "But could it be nothing? They are sisters, and a sister does make a good peace envoy. People are less likely to kill their relatives, even if they are enemies."
Tink frowned, too. "Except no one sent Regina. Which means she went herself, and she won't say why."
"That is suspicious."
"Look, would you trust Regina under other circumstances?" Belle asked after a moment.
"With my life." That answer was easy, or had been before yesterday.
Belle nodded slowly. "Then why does this change things? Do you think Regina's under Zelena's spell or something?"
"I don't think so, but she could have her heart." Tink hadn't thought of that before, and now she wanted to smack herself. That would explain everything. Maybe Regina hadn't wanted to be there at all! "If Zelena has her heart, she can force her to do whatever she wants."
"Like a puppet." Mulan was pale as she spoke, but Tink thought that was a good description.
"Pretty much. It's terribly dark magic. I've never seen it done, but I've read about it." She couldn't help glancing at Belle, feeling a little guilty. "I'm, um, sure Rumplestiltskin probably knows quite a bit about it."
Belle snorted. "I don't doubt it. But he's not doing that anymore."
"Right." Tink didn't believe a word of that, but she didn't have the heart to say so to Belle. Besides, she could always ask Fiona if she needed answers on that front, because she was quite certain that Fiona had ripped a heart or two out in her time. "At any rate, it really would explain everything."
Oh, that was quite delicious! Zelena put Mulan's heart down—she'd only been listening, anyway—to contemplate the beautiful opportunity suddenly before her. She could use this! If stupid little Snow White thought her bosom friend Regina had been turned against her, that fragile alliance could shatter. Zelena could drive a wedge right in between Snow and Regina, and use that wedge to tear them apart.
She'd offered peace, of course. Zelena knew she couldn't have it both ways; she could either have peace with Snow—which was the best temporary answer, since King George was so incompetent that he couldn't defend his own kingdom—or she had a chance at destroying Snow's alliance of rebels, outlaws, and disgruntled military leaders. If they felt they had a traitor in their midst, those naive fools might very well rip one another to shreds. Particularly if the 'traitor' isn't actually a traitor. Regina will fight against that accusation with all of her might, and they won't believe her.
Regina didn't have magic to prove that she had her own heart, either.
If I play my cards right—and if I'm not the villain—this could drive her right into my arms. Zelena didn't have to know her sister well to know how hurt Regina would be if her precious friends turned against her. And when their motherwas back in the world, well, Regina would want to know her, too. She'd already said as much, but Snow and the others wouldn't like that at all, would they? Their rejection would force Regina into a natural alliance with her sister against Snow and her rebels. I'll bring our family together, and Mother will be so proud of me.
She'd approached this wrong in the beginning, hadn't she? She oughtn't have tried to hurt Regina. Regina wasn't the problem. Regina's father had turned her against Zelena, but once they were with their mother, they'd be sisters standing against the world. And then Zelena would be able to make Snow suffer as much as she wanted to.
Zelena was going to win this.
Mulan swallowed hard. She knew she had to be careful, but she didn't think that Zelena was listening. The heavy buzzing in her ears that she'd come to associate with Zelena eavesdropping was gone; it seemed like Zelena had gotten distracted. So, she cleared her throat, trying not to be nervous. If I can say the words, she's not controlling me. And hopefully that means she's not listening.
"So, is there any way to tell if someone's heart is gone?"
"Probably?" Tink and Belle exchanged looks, but it was Belle who blinked in sudden understanding. "I can ask Rumple, if you want."
"It, uh, might be worth knowing." Mulan tried to give Belle the most significant look she could, and she thought her friend was starting to catch on. Tink wasn't; her mind was still on Regina. But that was all right. Belle was the one that Mulan wanted to let know. Belle was the one who could do something about it.
"That's a good idea." Belle's nod was firm. "I'm sure we have some books in the library on it, too. Tink, maybe there's a spell you can do to figure out if Regina has her heart?"
"If there is, I don't know it." Tink shrugged. "But if we can find it, that's better than me trying to convince Fiona to rip Regina's heart out to test the theory."
"Do you think she'd say no?" Mulan asked curiously. She hadn't thought of Fiona as the type to hesitate about that sort of thing.
"No, I'm sure she'd say yes, and that's what worries me."
Mulan snorted out a laugh, although she didn't find the situation terribly amusing. Or at least not her part in it. Hopefully, Belle had gotten the hint. Anything would be better than living like this.
The town of Caerleon was surprisingly prosperous. Killian found that strange—who would want to live in a town whose rightful lord was the owner of the Dark Castle? Then again, he knew enough about how peasants lived to know that most of them didn't have the means to leave, or the imagination to find a way. Milah had told him stories about that life, and while Killian had never lived like that, he knew how it worked. I'll take life at sea any day, particularly if it means not being beholden to a demon. But perhaps these people would not be beholden for long. Maybe they'd even see him as their savior. Wouldn't that be ironic?
"Come! Join forces with us and help oust the Beast who threatens your town!" Gaston was a decent public speaker; he'd probably done pretty well with armies against the ogres, too. He certainly had gotten into the part, and looked suitably passionate about taking down Rumplestiltskin.
"How stupid do you think we are?" The old woman peered at them from under bushy eyebrows.
"Are you all cowards? This is a war!" Gaston's chest puffed out. "You people will never be safe until the Beast is dead! Men, if you care for your children and your wives—"
"Rumplestiltskin's never harmed anyone here." This was another old woman, eying Gaston like he was an absolute fool.
He was a fool, but that wasn't the point. Killian cleared his throat, speaking up while Gaston stared at the old women like they'd lost their minds. "If that's so, Madam, you've been lucky. I wasn't so lucky when the Dark One came onto my ship, threatening my crew. He killed the woman I loved, just like he's killed thousands of others."
"Ellen's right. He's not killed anyone here." Now it was a kid speaking up, a boy who was maybe ten years old. "This is a safe town."
"Lad, have you ever been to another town?" Killian put on his kindest smile, but the kid stuck his tongue out at him.
"No, but—"
"No one can blame you for your fears, good people," Gaston cut in. "We certainly cannot. And we are not asking for much. We merely need a way into the castle, and then we shall bother you no more."
"Surely you bring food and other supplies up to the castle." Killian had hoped for a vengeful mob to distract Rumplestiltskin, but he'd settle for a way in. "You must have a means to pay your taxes to him."
"Taxes?" The first old woman cackled. "We don't pay no taxes. Told you. Rumplestiltskin's a decent lord. Looks right frightful, but ain't never hurt any of us. Doesn't let no one else do it, either."
"Pays for what he takes, too." Now it was a man who spoke up, and worse yet, this fellow looked reasonably fit and like he might be a real help if it came to a battle. "Not like the last lord I had, who always dug into our winter stores for some feast we weren't invited to."
The crowd murmured in agreement, which made Killian throw a worried look Gaston's way. This was supposed to be the easy part. Surely peasants toiling under the Dark One's whip would be quick to rise against him with some leadership? But these weren't frightened people. Killian had intimidated plenty of peasants—and lords, too—in his day, and he knew what downtrodden and beaten people looked like. Someone beaten into submission didn't glare at interlopers with defiance. They might resist being helped, but never with this much fire. There's no fear here. That realization made him swallow hard. Gaston, of course, missed the cues and plunged onwards.
"Good people, it is time to take action! The Dark One may seem benign now, but in time you know that he will wreak havoc on your village! We cannot let him wander freely." Gaston looked at the crowd as if he expected them to cheer, but all he received was stony silence.
"Eh, he's boring." Ellen spoke again, glancing at a man whom Killian presumed was her husband. "I'm going back to the bakery."
"Aye." Her husband snorted. "Good idea."
"Are you some traveling troupe of entertainers?" another woman inquired. "You ain't very good."
"We're not—" Gaston started to object, but Killian grabbed his arm. He could read the crowd, and they weren't happy. Not at all.
"Better be," someone else muttered ominously. "Waste o'time, otherwise."
"Might call on Rumplestiltskin to get rid of them." That was the first old woman, and Killian really wished she'd go away.
"Right on, Plumette." One of the men sidled up next to the old woman, eying Gaston maliciously. "All we gots to do is say his name three times, after all."
"That won't be necessary, sir," Killian cut in before Gaston could say something stupid. "As you say, we're merely members of an acting troupe. But, as we seem to have lost the rest of our fellows, we ought to be moving on to rejoin them."
Gaston looked miserably confused. "But we're—"
"Just leaving." Killian gave the crowd a strained smile before dragging Gaston back towards their horses.
Caerleon was trouble, that was for certain. He didn't know what kind of spell Rumplestiltskin had put over the village, or if he'd simply ignored them until the fool villagers convinced themselves that he was a decent lord, but that wasn't the point. Killian didn't give a damn about the town. He'd only wanted to gather allies who might know a way into the castle. If no one in Caerleon was going to provide that, they could go hang themselves for all he cared.
He and Gaston would simply have to find another way into the Dark Castle, and that was that.
A/N: The Espenson Awards on Tumblr are open for voting, and this story is up for Best AU!OUAT and Best Dark One. If you're so inclined to vote for this story, my tumblr handle is toseehowthestoryends. Thank you in advance! Voting ends February 3rd.
Stay tuned for Chapter 35—"Human Again", in which Fiona comforts her son, Regina and Tink have a bit of a disagreement, Belle tries to help Mulan, and Bae and Beans go to town and run into someone dangerous.
