The moment the deal was struck, he knew that he should take Cora back to Henry's Palace, but he simply wasn't ready to let her go yet. And frankly, if Donna hadn't summoned him yet at this hour, now that the castle was surely asleep, that meant there was no reason to have her back so quickly. He took her to the only place that he felt appropriate. The Dark Castle. Specifically, he took her into his tower — the place he did all of his work and magic.
She was giddy like he'd never seen her before. Smiling broad and looking around the place he'd brought her to with a knowing look in her eyes. He watched her nervously. He'd felt nervous like this before only he was embarrassed to admit that it was over Milah. The first time he'd brought her into the Hovel that he'd built with his own two hands, he could remember being so scared she'd hate it his teeth nearly chattered. Now he watched Cora with that same feeling as her eye wandered over the tower, inspecting it, scrutinizing, and observing before she wandered over to the window to look out at the view, and he saw her shiver in the chill.
She'd given up her cloak, he recalled. He owed her a new one and a fire at the very least. With a wave of his hand, it was so. Firelight jumped to life in the fireplace, and when he set aside the fleece, he used his magic to cloak her shoulders and arms with an elegant new white cloak that matched her skin perfectly. He watched her sigh as she pulled it closer and finally glanced over at him from over her shoulder.
"So…this is what you do all day?" she questioned, turning back to the room. "And this is where you live…it could use a woman's touch, Rumple. And a fresh coat of paint…and a maid!" she chastised, running her finger over one of his worktables and quickly fidgeting away the dirt. If only she knew.
"Ah, well…I had a maid once, several actually. They all failed me in horrible ways and proved to be untrustworthy," he exclaimed as she moved closer to the fireplace. "And 'live' is a term loosely used for this castle. It's where I keep my precious treasures, priceless gems from my deal-making, but it's not where I lay my head if that's what you're thinking."
She smirked as she crouched down to warm herself by the fire. "It was actually. Are you saying you have another home somewhere?"
Well, now wasn't that a question that required a complicated answer. It wasn't what he was saying, that is it wasn't the point of his comment, but the truth was that he did have another home, somewhere. Somewhere he never cared to go again actually. But how to answer. He'd promised before they left her castle tonight that he'd be honest with her. He couldn't answer with a "no" or a "yes" to that question.
"I do, but that wasn't the point of my statement. What I meant was, I don't sleep."
She looked over her shoulder at him once more, her form looking more black than white against the brightness of the fire, but he could make out her furrowed brows easily enough.
"Really?" she asked.
"Really," he confirmed. "My magic keeps me going. I don't need many things a mortal needs. Not food, not sleep-"
"But I've seen you eat, Darling!" she combatted as she rose and rounded on him again.
"I can do both," he confirmed with a smile. "I just don't have to, and nor do I want to sleep. There's always too much to do. My mind simply doesn't shut itself off long enough for me to slumber. In my head I hear…voices…" he whispered, admitting for the first time in a long while that while he wanted to pretend they were his own entirely, they had never gone away. Not really. They'd just been absorbed and muted. But they were still there, ever-present background noise to all of his thoughts. "All the time voices…"
"Voices," Cora questioned, reaching up to move her hand over his cheek. There was no more curiosity in her voice. Only concern. Genuine concern. Concern for him? The thought that anyone would ever have such feelings for him…he wasn't used to it. "What kind of voices?"
He reached up to hold her hand in his own and kissed her fingers. They were like ice. "Previous Dark Ones as well as one former Seer," he answered, leading her back over to the fireplace and summoning up a couch for the pair of them to sit on so she might get warm. He hadn't worried about such things for years, not since he hadn't had someone to care for, not since Baelfire.
"Previous Dark One's…" she pressed as he held her hands forward to warm them. "You weren't the first?"
"Hardly," he smiled as he shook his head. "Just the latest in a long line of cursed men and women to bear this curse. Without it, I'm afraid I'm even more simple than you once were, far less impressive. A lame man from a small village with a talent for spinning that would never take him far enough to support his own son."
"How did you become this then? A deal?"
"No, it doesn't work like that, it's-"
There was a memory, an urging in his head that forced him to stop and think about what he was doing, about what he'd been about to say. Oh, she was a clever one indeed, able to get his guard down, and if she continued like this, she'd have him confessing every sin he'd ever committed before sun up! But before he could think of a change of conversation, he had to wonder…why did he need one? Could he trust her? He wouldn't have taken her deal-making with him if he didn't, so some part of him must have acknowledged that he trusted her. And if he trusted her with that then…why not more? They were the same person, weren't they. Both lowly of birth but had made themselves into more. They both powered their magic with revenge and anger, and they wanted the same things in life!
That image, the vision he'd had of the woman with brown hair in the bed beside him…it had to be someone, and it had to mean something…why not Cora? In the next breath, he couldn't help but remember that look that Theseus had in the woods with him earlier. He wondered if he had that same look now. With shaking hands, he reached down into his boot and drew out what he always carried with him. A dagger with his name scrawled across it.
"With this…" he explained. "The Dark One Dagger. My most prized possession. Whoever holds it has control of the Dark One-"
"Control? Control as in they make you a slave to them?" she questioned, sounding upset and insulted for him at the very notion. Somehow, it made his heart feel lighter.
"Essentially, yes. It's not a pleasant experience, trust me."
She didn't pry any further. Merely looked down upon the dagger and reached out to touch it with one finger. He watched as she slowly traced the outer edge then moved to each of the letters. R…U…M…P…
"'L' before 'e'!" she exclaimed, suddenly looking up at him. "But I thought you spelled your name-"
"Both ways," he answered before she could answer. "Though that is the way my father spelled it, the spelling I was born with and thus my true name. The alternative spelling is a bit of extra protection among other things. Some spells and summons require a name written, only those who possess the true spelling can use those spells against me," he explained as he slipped the dagger back into his boot. She followed up by scooting across the little couch to move closer.
"So if you didn't make a deal to become the Dark One, how did you become the Dark One."
"By killing the previous Dark One with the dagger. It's the only way a Dark One can be killed, but it's at a terrible price. Whoever kills the Dark One with the dagger takes their power."
"Mmm, sounds like a lot of power to me, if you were once worse off than me and now you're this."
"Certainly, but all magic comes with a cost. And the cost of this is invasion. It comes with the knowledge of all the Dark One's past. Endless…endless voices…"
His eyes fell closed as he listened, as he rarely did these days, to their murmurings. Anger. Anger and rage, upset at what he'd just told her. The seer's voice echoed that line over and over again, "the eldest child of Princess Cora…" The image of the brown-haired woman in bed. Baelfire. He had to find Baelfire.
He felt a hand on his cheek once more and opened his eyes to find Cora closer than she'd been before, a hand running through his hair and the other reaching out for the one on his knee.
"They're never quiet?" she wondered aloud.
"No…never…" he admitted as she leaned forward to kiss him. He accepted her affections, he let the contact move through his body and warm him in a way that the fire couldn't until he barely felt the chill from the outside world against his skin. There was only Cora. Only a beautiful woman who was far smarter than he'd ever given her credit for until tonight. The memories of her insertion into his deal this evening made him pull away with a smile. They were remarkably well suited for each other.
"You are a natural at deal-making," he whispered as she gazed at him with dozy eyes. He was happy to change the subject. Far more, perhaps, than she should have been. Was that a sign, he wondered.
"I'm a woman," she countered. "Anyone could see that fleece had no value to her, at least not anymore. She was just cold. What do you intend to do with that old thing anyway?" she questioned before wrinkling her nose and glancing over at it. "After you've cleaned it, of course. It's not as if you need golden wool to spin gold."
"No," he agreed. "But if you reach out carefully enough, you'll find that it is touched by magic. Hard to feel it over the filth, of course, but I've been searching for that golden fleece ever since I first heard the tale of it."
"And what tale is that, pray tell?"
"Oh, a remarkable one to be sure. It was said to give the sheep it came from the ability to fly. It used to save children from desperate situations-"
"Sounds like as much a fairy tale as the boogyman or the Black Fairy…if there can be dark tales, there can be good ones."
He nodded, and the corner of his mouth tugged up at the mention of his mother. Now there was a secret he wasn't ready to tell. "Even the scariest of stories are steeped in truth, my dear. This too. It was too much a temptation to let it go. I had to find it and discover for myself it's abilities."
Cora let out a breath in a very unladylike snort. "And you think it'll help you fly off to find your son?" she assumed correctly. And incorrectly at the same time.
Truthfully, no, he didn't expect it to do that.
But he could hope.
"Doubtful, but…it is worth exploring. Everything is…"
"I thought you could see the future. Can't you see how it's all meant to fall into place?"
"The power isn't my own," he said, shaking his head. "I see the future, but it's in pieces, like stepping stones scattered across a lake. I've got to discover how they fit together to get to the other side. I never lied to you, though. You play an important role in it, that was always true."
"Oh, but it's not me that is important, Rumple…" she sighed as she pulled away and moved to lounge across the other end of the couch. "It's my firstborn who is the one you truly want…that's why you made the deal you did with me."
He nodded, then reached across to grab her hand and gave her a small tug closer to him. "That's true. She will be important. But that doesn't mean her mother won't be either!"
He barely got the words out before he leaned over and kissed her again, letting his lips slip and slide against her own before letting his tongue dive into her mouth and his hands roam over her shoulders and chest…
Cora pulled away suddenly as a clock he hadn't even realized he owned until now chimed the hour. A very late hour.
"We should go," she muttered, looking him over sadly. Her pupils were wide, her lids heavy but not with tiredness. The urge in her eyes now wasn't one to sleep. And he had an urge his own all of a sudden, a call he hadn't had for nearly a hundred years. It was late. They were both adults and this castle without another presence here could, he had to admit, get quite lonely, and quiet…and cold.
"Perhaps, but then…you could always choose…to stay…"
His heart was pounding, hammering against his ribs as it hadn't for years. He could scarcely believe the words that came from his own mouth. He'd never made an offer like that. Not even to the village girl he'd gone back to check on. This wasn't like him it was…it was wild and untamed and so like Cora! He had to try, and yet, just as he'd felt after he'd told her about the dagger, he wondered if the words were the right ones. If he'd taken a step too far too soon. One hundred years old, and at the moment he felt as though he was a naughty schoolboy. His experience in these matters…even he knew they were severely lacking.
"Someday perhaps," Cora muttered. "But not tonight."
Too soon then.
He fought harder than he knew was necessary to keep his disappointment and embarrassment off of his face. But then she was there, right back beside him, her hands, warm once more caressing his cheeks.
"What kind of girl do you think I am, Rumpelstiltskin?" She asked the question with a smile, but instantly his heart raced at another dreadful thought. He'd done many shameful things in his life, and yet the thought of propositioning her had him in a panic and feeling as though he was the worst most licentious cur the world had ever seen. He opened his mouth to apologize…but quickly found it covered with her own.
"But…" she whispered between kisses, "I would like to try…to do something about those voices…"
Something about the voices?
"Something...what something?" he questioned with sudden hope and nervousness. What was she talking about?
She stopped kissing him and looked up at him once more, her lips red and chapped, her eyes big and interested.
"They're really never quiet?" she asked with curiosity as she reached up to undo the clasp of the new cloak he'd placed around her neck.
He shook his head without thinking, unable to focus on anything, but how low her gown dipped at her chest.
"They're really never quiet," he managed to choke out after clearing his throat and wetting his mouth. It had gone suddenly dry and he had the feeling that all the blood in his head had suddenly rushed to another part of his body, and suddenly she wasn't the only one with bulging body parts. She was just the one who had them out on obvious display. "I…I learned to deal with them over the years," he whispered as he watched her hike her skirts up. "Tune them out…spinning and deal-making…staying active helps, but laying my head down and closing my eyes only seems to make them grow louder."
"But that means you never rest…" she commented as she drew his mouth back to his for a moment before moving to the floor and kneeling, carefully moving his legs apart so she could fit herself in that space there.
"Spinning is good enough…"
Those were all the words he'd managed to get out before she pulled him to the edge of the little couch and kissed him once more, before she moved to push his jacket off his shoulders and push his shirt apart. He fought back a groan as she moved her lips over his jaw and neck and then at the base of his throat. Bloody hell, it was just kissing. He tried to remind himself of it, but the moment he felt her hands reach lower, to the laces of his breeches.
"I don't believe that…" she whispered as she worked at pulling the knots free. He hadn't felt drunk in years, but he did now. He felt light-headed and breathless, his vision felt cloudy, hazy. It made him want only to close his eyes and just enjoy what he was feeling, what she made him feel. He hadn't had sex in a long time and knew this wasn't it…but it already felt nearly as good. "In fact, I take it as a personal challenge to do what I can to relax you…" she whispered before kissing his neck- "…to ease you…" -she kissed the other side- "…to help you close your eyes…and shut those voices in your head out." She placed another kiss on his throat before she kissed his lips one last time.
"I don't know what could be done…" he managed to whisper. It was a miracle. And with those words, she used her hand to push him away just enough to see her dark eyes.
"I can think of one thing worth a try…" she muttered at the same time he felt the knot on his breeches break loose.
Don't freak out! I know you are wondering where we're going with this but trust me when I say this chapter is important in so many ways! As far as what they talk about, we were always going to need a chapter like this just like we needed a chapter for the globe. We needed it so that Rumple could not only share more information about Baelfire but also so that he could give her the information on the dagger. Throughout season two, Rumple makes it clear that Cora knows about it and how to destroy him with it. So we needed to see where that came from. In addition to their talk, I wanted the fact that he's talking about these things to be scarring all on their own. We know going forward this is a man who has issues with trust. When Belle comes along one of their frequent problems is that they don't communicate well. She has her reasons for that and now he has his reasons. It's sort of a bite me once shame on you, bite me twice shame on me, sort of thing. The fact that he's having these conversations with Cora and the fact that she's going to hurt and betray him so badly are going to have repercussions for his future relationships. It means every time Belle says "you can trust me, Rumple" somewhere in the back of his mind a voice is going to be saying "you once thought you could trust Cora too." As far as the physical aspect of this chapter, there is going to be more on that in the next chapter, but I did want to throw this in here because it makes Belle seem less random, in my mind. It's not just that Belle shows up and OMG she must be his true love. He's still a man at least partly. I wanted to show that he is still very capable of emotions like love and caring as well as sexual desire. And Cora...well...she kinda of seemed like the perfect character to bring that out in him.
Now, just a quick note, I don't post anything that would be rated above T because I just can't bring myself to do it...however, I do possess the unedited versions of this chapter and chapters to come. It's called Banishment, but because these chapters are NC-17 or MA, I won't release them to the public. If you are interested in reading Banishment Part I (which covers all TDOC: Before the Curse in addition to The Dark Curse), send me a PM or leave me a review and I'll tell you how to get what you need.
Thank you MissAmande, Jennifer Baratta, and Grace5231973 for your reviews on the last chapter. if you are interested in more of what comes after this chapter then I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that just like Moments had Exile, a special place for deleted scenes that I felt were too risque to put into a public fiction, Chronicles will have Banishment. The bad news...it's not going to be out for a while. Like Exile I don't want to release it before all the chapters contained within it are already out, to avoid spoilers. Part 1 of Banishment is going to cover scenes from the previous two fictions as well as this one and there are still at least two more places that contain posts for Banishment that we haven't gotten to yet. When we get there, I'll let you know. In the meantime, read on to find out how this encounter ends! Peace and Happy Reading!