Regina kept her word, he'd give her that. She'd said she'd wait until morning to execute David and she had...in a way. It was certainly past midnight when she finally summoned her guards to bring the prisoner to her for execution so...technically it was morning. All he cared about was that it gave the Hunter enough time to get a few things together for David, to have a plan in place. He had been listening at the door when he and Regina fought, just like he'd hoped he would be. He knew because the Hunter was well prepared when the time came. David managed to incapacitate two of the goons that had been sent to fetch him and ran away, but as soon as he rounded the corner, the Huntsman was there dressed as a guard. His face was hidden, but he knew it had to be him simply because no one else in Regina's employ used a bow and arrow. He pulled back on his arrow when David was in his sights and David stupidly turned to run, as if an arrow could be avoided, when another guard came around the corner.
"Shoot him!" he cried.
The Huntsman took aim and let the arrow fly, he knew before it landed in the other guard that the arrow wasn't meant for David, but dear Prince Charming was innocently shocked and looked back at him.
"Who the hell are you?"
The Huntsman removed his helmet. "A friend," he answered, finding a set of keys. "I don't know you. But I know Snow White."
David's eyes widened as the Huntsman came forward. "Is she okay?" he demanded as he unlocked his shackles.
"The Queen was traveling to meet her. Her fate is in a precarious place. You must hurry. Follow me." Ah…so he hadn't heard all of their conversation then. He hadn't heard enough to know she wasn't dead or cursed. Or maybe he just didn't want to believe it? "I can get you out. I'll try and stall the Queen. The rest is up to you," he instructed quickly. He moved to grab something by the wall. It was a black bag and David's sword. "Your weapon and some provisions. Good luck."
"You're not coming with me?" David asked, looking confused. He couldn't blame him. The Hunstman did just tell him that he should follow him, but now it was clear he meant for him to be on his way.
"I cannot. I gave up my heart so that the Queen would spare Snow's. Don't let my sacrifice be in vain. Find her."
David nodded, looked at the doors down the hall, then burst out of them.
Stall her. From where he'd stood he'd given an attempt that was pitiful at best. He could have guessed what he might try to do to "stall" the queen, the boy only needed to drop his pants and let his cock do the thinking for a few moments to stall her, but no. The Huntsman went right to her room and informed her of his escape immediately. Idiot.
"Where is he? The prisoner!" Regina demanded, pacing her room.
"Escaped." When she threw him across the room and against the wall with her magic, he thought that he deserved it. How the fuck was that stalling her?
"A palace full of guards, and you let him escape?!"
"I did my best."
"You failed. And do you know what happens to people who fail me, Huntsman?"
"I'll find him. You needn't worry. Leave him to me."
So that would have been his plan. He wanted to convince the Queen to let him go after David himself, where he probably would have given it a half-assed attempt. But it never came to pass, because at that moment, her genie let out a noise from her mirror that alerted the Evil Queen to look inside.
"That won't be necessary. He's mine," she'd sneered as she looked through another mirror and found Prince Charming in the forest. And then she'd done it, she'd cast her spell and sent him through a dark portal into the Infinite Forest. The Infinite Fucking Forest. That was her play! He practiced breathing in and out as his head began to pound, he tried to be calm and remind himself that it could have been worse. The Queen could have taken off, she could have tracked David down herself and instead all she'd done was send him to a Cursed Forest.
The Infinite Forest. A section of woods that by curse or by chance made the woods look too similar to navigate. Often times, victims inside the Infinite Forest made circles over and over and over again in the same place, unable to recognize where they were. It could be broken. All curses could be broken, and if this was a curse it was a weak one at that. It held it's victims only until they figured out how to use their heads and begin to mark where they'd been and were going in order to escape. But unfortunately he was unable to tell David that just running about the place wasn't going to get him anywhere. He rolled his eyes and prepared to wait, prepared to hear the harsh whispers of the Seer that ordered him to stay put and just see how things played out; she seemed to be fond of doing that these days. Instead what he got was a push.
For once, she wanted him to intervene. For once she wanted him to go and help David. She wanted him to cast a spell on…a ring? A green ring?
A ring. A green ring. It sat upon Snow's finger, and it also resided in a satchel David kept at his hip.
"To bring magic to a world cursed without magic…"
A golden egg, the one he'd been working on, was in his hands, with the remainder of the True Love Potion settled inside, safe. Charming forcing the egg inside the vents of Maleficent's dragon side. Maleficent shrinking back down to size, no idea it now lay in her belly.
"…all curses can be broken…"
A dark space, a cavern, The Swan holding David's sword, throwing it at Maleficent in another world; into Maleficent. The dragon burst into flame and turned to dust, but the egg endured.
"…True Love can break any curse…"
The potion was in his hand in a dusty room of wood. He hastily shoved it into his pocket at the sound of a voice.
A well, one he'd seen before in a vision, when the Seer had told him to preserve Lake Nostos magic. Magic that could return that which had been lost. A sense that the well would bring something good. The potion falling, falling, falling down into its dark depths. A thrill. Magic in a place that had no magic.
"…prepare for your future."
Oh…he loved it when a plan came together. He loved it when more than one plan merged perfectly and fit together so well he didn't even realize they were connected. It was a reminder, this curse was no small feat, if he wanted things to be done right, then he had to do them himself.
The green ring he'd seen on Snow's finger, the one that David had in his satchel…he recognized it. It was the ring that David's mother had given him before he left. It would be Snow's engagement ring. And as for the egg and the True Love Potion…that was an idea that had only just recently come to him, but hadn't thought through until this second. He took the gold egg that he'd been preparing for a moment like this. He'd known what he wanted to do with it the second he'd begun fashioning it as a vessel for the True Love potion. And he wanted the vessel stored inside Maleficent.
A dragon was an innately magical creature, safe inside of her it would survive the curse and hold onto it's properties. The metal would allow it to withstand the heat of a dragons stomach, the innards would protect it from outside forces, and the magic around it would allow it to grow and shrink as she did. Of course, he hadn't realized there'd been a problem with that plan until Regina had given Maleficent the curse and he'd realized that he couldn't get to the dragon to place it inside of her. The Seer, it seemed had thought around that little problem. It was up to David. And of course, his daughter.
But this was a delicate operation, requiring only one step at a time. This plan allowed him to get Charming out of the woods and back to Snow White while also getting his egg where he needed it to be. No silly deals for cloaks that nearly revealed he had much grander ideas in mind, this would be a solid deal. Literally. He just had to make sure it unfolded the way he wanted it to. With a final glance into Regina's chambers to make sure she wasn't watching David, he left.
With Snow White out of commission, it was up to him to break David's curse. Without True Love's Kiss, the only other way to break the curse was to take the victim out of the forest and deliver them to some place new or give them a guide. With magic on his side, he could do both.
"Lost, are we?" he questioned, perched happily upon a log. David was up ahead and turned back to look at him. There, on his hip, was the satchel he'd seen in his vision, the one in which David had placed the green ring. Oh, how he loved magic.
"What are you doing here?"
"I'm just here to help."
"Well, no need. I'll be fine."
"No, I don't think so," he stated before David could turn and run away again. "This is the Infinite Forest. There's no way out. Well, except…my way," he tempted.
"I want nothing from you."
With a bit of magic, he kept his mind on the ring he'd seen and used his magic to pull it to him. "Not even this?" he laughed, holding the ring up for him to see.
His jaw dropped and his eyes widened. "My mother's ring. It was just…" his hands and eyes automatically went to the satchel he'd taken it from, but he stopped before he even opened the satchel to confirm it was gone and stared at him. "How did you get it?"
"The same way I get everything I want-magic!" he stated, sliding down from the log. "The same magic that allows me to do…this."
He allowed the ring to flip several times in the air, a useless gesture, but it was good for show. When it landed in his palm again, he applied a tracking spell to it. Appropriately, it glowed. It wasn't bright, but it was enough to dazzle the prince, enough to show him that Snow was close.
"This ring is now enchanted. The closer you get to Snow White, the brighter it will glow. Interested?"
"Give it to me."
"Ah!" he snatched his hand back before David could steal it out of his hand again. But he liked the desperation he saw. That could be very useful. "It's not something for nothing, dearie. Time to make a deal."
"No!" the Prince cried, "no more deals!"
And then he drew his sword.
So part TV watching, part real scene. These few didn't divide up like I thought they would but I must admit that I'm actually quite pleased with the end result. I think this chapter is actually 1 1/2 prompts that ended up combined. Nope, don't regret it. Rumple getting to interact breaks up the monotony of the watching.
Thank you Alarda, Grace5231973, and Jennifer Baratta for your reviews on the last chapter. I hope you enjoy this one as well! Short as some of these may be, at least they're not just watching. Up next, Rumple gets back to his roots, Peace and Happy Reading!