Chapter 3: Just Another Tower


Amelia sat upon the edge of a stunning 4 poster bed that had rose vines wrapped around each corner pole, The pink blooms filling the room with a sweet fragrance as her father used his magic to decorate the chamber with other stunning items of luxury and he smiled at her,

"I was thinking that I could even conjure you a better spinning wheel" he suggested but frowned at the sight of her sad expression when she refused to even look at him and he sighed,

"Come now, Teacup" he encouraged gently,

"This home is much bigger and more luxurious than the last. You'll not only be safe but you'll never want for anything ever again" Rumple assured her,

"This isn't a home if I don't have the choice to leave" Amelia responded simply,

"That's the beauty of it" Rumple proclaimed with a bright smile,

"You'll be so content that you won't need or want too" he assured her, moving to sit by her side and she looked at him sadly,

"... It's not as if I have a choice either way... You conjured this tower so it doesn't even have a door. Just one chamber with a single window" she murmured, standing and moved to the very same window she was speaking of,

"... And it offers a view i'm all too familiar with" she murmured sadly at the sight of an even more ferocious storm than the one that had surrounded her island in The Bottomless Sea. Amelia heard her papa sigh,

"Amelia... I know my actions may seem cruel" Rumple began,

"You took my heart and used it to control me" Amelia interrupted,

"... But everything I have done. Everything I ever will do is for your safety and protection... Do you truly think I would have been doing what a good papa should if I allowed you to stay with that one handed monster?" Rumple asked her but it resulted in Amelia looking at him sharply,

"He's not a monster" she replied firmly before turning away from him once again,

"You said it yourself, Dearie. He would have killed you if he hadn't fallen unconscious first" Rumple growled in irritation before taking a deep breath to calm himself before waving his hand and conjured a ragged dreamcatcher,

"No matter... We'll have the bond we always used too soon enough" he told her as she looked at the Dreamcatcher in his hand,

"Haven't you taken enough from me?" she asked sadly,

"I have given you a lot more than I have taken" Rumple defended firmly,

"You took my heart, you took my freewill, you took my choice to learn more about the world... I am asking you... Begging you... Just please let me keep my memories of the one day of freedom that I ever had" Amelia pleaded as she looked into his eyes sadly and Rumple returned her sad expression before slowly shaking his head,

"I'm sorry, Teacup" he whispered, leaning forward and hugged her gently causing Amelia to suddenly fall limply into his arms as she fell into an enchanted sleep. Rumple lifted her carefully before laying her on her new bed in a caring manner,

"... When you wake up. I'll be the papa you deserve" he vowed before brushing the dream catcher's feathers against her forehead causing the artifact to be shimmering as Amelia's memories of her journey outside the tower and of the handsome pirate captain became latched within the enchanted web.


~ 1 Year Later ~


Amelia sat at her desk in front of the tower window as she read a book with a thoughtful expression,

"hmmmm... Papa, what does Happily Ever After mean?" she called gently causing Rumple to pause in his spinning and he looked at her confused,

"What?" he pressed, standing before approaching to see what she was reading and was confused to find her reading a book of fairy tales,

"Where did you get that?" Rumple asked with a tone that matched his confused expression,

"I was going to read the book on science you brought me again but I found this on the shelf beside it" Amelia explained as she looked at the stunning illustration of a prince and princess gazing lovingly into each other's eyes and she gently brushed her fingertips against the image of the handsome prince but Rumple quickly removed the book from her hold and closed it,

"Nothing but silly nonsense" he told her,

"Awwww but Papa there were more stories in there I wanted to read" Amelia pleaded gently but her father shook his head,

"Your teachings are more important" he reasoned before retrieving the book of science from the shelf, handing it to her before approaching the Tower fireplace where he proceeded to throw the fairy tale book into the flames as his daughter sighed, opening her new book and began reading it for nearly the 100th time.


Rumple had been spinning again when he felt someone calling his name, summoning him for a deal and he sighed prompting Amelia to look at him sadly,

"You have to leave again?" she asked, knowing that he always made that same sigh when he had to leave her,

"Unfortunately I do, Teacup" he told her with a sad smile before standing and hugging her gently as she came toward him and hugged him in return,

"Can I bring you anything back?" he asked her and smiled in amusement at her excited expression before moving to her bookself and retrieved a book on crafting, flipping through the pages before showing him a detailed set of images that instructed on how to build a ship within a bottle,

"Could I please have one of these things? I don't know why but I just always smile when I come across the pictures" Amelia explained with a pleading smile and Rumple couldn't help the reluctance he felt but sighed at his daughter's puppy dog eyes,

"... I'll see what I can do" he mumbled but smiled in amusement once again at his daughter's giggle before vanishing in a cloud of smoke.


~ On Board The Jolly Roger ~

Hook was examining a map within his quarters with a frown on his face as he used his namesake to scratch off another location,

"Where are you hiding her crocodile?" he mumbled to himself before sitting back in his chair, closing his eyes as he allowed himself to think... It was a long moment before he opened his eyes and stood from his desk as he made his way across the room and removed his Hook from its holster and used it to open his private safe and he smiled as he retrieved an empty glass bottle as well as a small sea shell pendant which he placed inside the bottle and moved back towards his desk, opening the window behind it. He raised the glass bottle to his lips,

"Find Amelia. Daughter of Rumplestiltskin... Speak to the shell, Lass" he called into the bottle before corking it and threw it out into the ocean and watched as it sank instantly, vanishing from sight,

"... It's a long shot but hopefully the gods will be kind and it reaches her somehow." he murmured to himself as rain began to fall from the heavens.


~ Back At The Tower ~

Amelia yawned in a bored manner as she finished another page of her science book, letting her head fall back in an equally bored manner when she heard a soft of splash from across the room causing her to look up and she frowned at the sight of a stranger bottle she'd never seen before, floating in a mop bucket full of water,

"... Well that's strange" she mumbled before retrieving the bottle and frowned even further at the sight of a small shell necklace that sat within and she proceeded to uncork it gently,

"Find Amelia. Daughter Of Rumplestiltskin... Speak to the shell, Lass" A voice erupted from the bottle causing Amelia to jump as she tipped the bottle, allowing the shell necklace to fall into the palm of her hand and she looked at it confused,

"Speak to the shell?..." she repeated in confusion before hesitantly bringing it closer to her lips,

"... Errrm... Hello?..." she said gently all the while feeling ridiculous. There was no way a shell was going to speak back to her... But then again she didn't think bottles could talk either.


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QueenOfDisney96