The girl of ash was pregnant.
Her debt to him was secured.
Snow White and Prince Charming were probably pregnant.
The firstborn of Princess Cora had his Curse in hand as well as the ability to cast it.
And people said that villains never won…
He nearly felt like he was in heaven. His burden was still heavy, but now that he knew he'd be in the Land Without Magic by year's end, he felt lighter. He felt like he could breathe. He almost felt the same peace now that he'd had when he had Baelfire and Belle around him. He couldn't get his Belle back, only wrap himself up in memories of her and fantasies he'd made with her. But Baelfire was still out there; his son was waiting. He could settle for that.
Until one little witch had to go and make him nervous, well, perhaps "big witch" would have been a more accurate description.
He'd been keeping an eye on Maleficent ever since Regina had stolen the Curse back from her simply because the dragon hadn't given her much of a choice. After Regina had stolen the Curse, her magic had overwhelmed her. She'd turned herself into a dragon and flown into his own territory and, from there, made herself "busy." He was shocked to discover she found a male dragon to copulate with, but she had. She'd remained in dragon form for a long while, but a couple of weeks before Cinderella's wedding, he'd watched as she finally went back to her castle and transformed back into a human. Her first act had been to call on Cruella and Ursula. He couldn't hear what they had to say, not with the spells she enchanted her castle with, but he could see well enough. He could see first and foremost that she wasn't over her time in heat, not yet, but after a brief and desperate looking conversation with the other "Queens," he could see her attempt to muster herself out of her stupor. A foolish idea, really. She was a dragon, first and foremost. She could no sooner control the urges of her body than he could control the dreams he'd had when Belle was in the castle. But she did try.
They'd traveled on foot, something he found odd until he watched the dragon attempt to do something simple, summon her staff into her hand, and she missed by several feet. Her magic still wasn't working the way she needed it to. Still in heat with no assurance of magic, yet the four struck off on some important quest. He'd have been a fool not to watch. And he'd wondered what exactly had been so important that forced her to try, so he'd been watching, keeping tabs on the dragon and her friends. And then, several days after Cinderella's wedding, he understood.
They stormed the castle Snow and David lived in, and Maleficent used what appeared to be all her energy to cast a sleeping spell, one that sent the entire property into a deep sleep. When David and Snow finally returned from Cinderella and Thomas's wedding, they found bodies everywhere. Drawing swords to explore with caution, the pair stumbled across the Queens of Darkness. Words were exchanged, though none he could hear in the courtyard, and before he could transport himself there to hear what was going on, they were escorting the three women into the castle, into the war room, where at least he could listen to the conversation with the help of a mirror.
"A war room…how welcoming," Cruella drawled.
"You said there was trouble and you needed our help-"
"No child, we said there was trouble, and you needed our help."
"-This is where we come when there is trouble of any kind. So speak now, or else leave."
"I don't understand," Snow butt in before David could say anything else. "Why did you come to us?" the Princess wondered aloud, putting her emphasis on the "us" part of the inquiry. He couldn't blame her. At the moment, it was what he wanted to know too. Villains going to heroes when there was trouble…that was highly unusual.
"That threat Regina made at your wedding, about ruining your happiness? It wasn't all bluster. She has a way to make it happen."
He rolled his eyes. Stubborn dragon. She was a creature of evil; he didn't know why she couldn't leave well enough alone, and for that matter, why Ursula and Cruella listened to her and helped.
"How do you know?" David questioned.
"Because Regina just stole the darkest of curses from me," she snapped. A bit of a stretch. It had been months ago but then again, who knew how time passed when a dragon was in heat or dragon form. For all she knew, it really did feel like just yesterday.
"It's the Dark Curse," Cruella explained, "and it makes that poison apple thing she did to you look like child's play. It will punish all of the Enchanted Forest, including us."
"So what are you suggesting, that we storm the Evil Queen's castle together?" David questioned rashly.
"Oh, if only your wits matched your looks."
"There is a magical tree deep within the forest," Maleficent went on, ignoring her, "the fairies call it the Tree of Wisdom. It will answer any question asked of it."
"Including a query about how to defeat the Queen and her Curse," Cruella added.
"So why don't you ask it yourselves?"
"The tree's knowledge is protected. Its wisdom can only be unlocked by two of the most valiant heroes."
"Which is why you need us."
Maleficent stepped around Cruella and used magic to put a piece of paper on the table using magic. "The map to its location. We will escort you there for all of our safety." As she circled back around, David pulled Snow aside, and they exchanged words, words too low for him to hear, though he did catch a word or phrase occasionally. "Defeat the Evil Queen", "trust", "as bad as Regina", "curse", "what choice do we have?"
The five of them set off on an expedition then, though he wasn't sure if it was because they trusted each other or because Maleficent only promised to remove the curse once they'd gone with them.
The voyage wasn't easy. He tracked them as they moved together for well over a week, hunting, traveling, agreeing, disagreeing. At one point, Maleficent was able to use her magic to transform into a dragon and burn a bridge. The Charmings hadn't been happy about that, but it was clear on this journey that there was very little they were happy with. Though, frankly, if the glance that Maleficent exchanged with Ursula and Cruella after her transformation was any indication, she hadn't been happy about using that magic either. She must have been storing it up for something.
Finally, one morning, when dawn came but before the witches arose, he spied Snow and David rise early and run. They were close, maybe an hour or so from their destination. And they took advantage of the witches' sleep and their proximity. By the time the others would learn that they were gone, they were nearly there.
He bit his tongue, observing them on his crystal ball, realizing that something good might come out of this after all. They arrived and fit their hands into the handprints the fairies who created the tree had left for them. The tree glowed yellow. A happy sunny golden light shuddered up through the rocks they'd touched, to the roots of the tree, through the trunk, up the branches…and then it turned red; ugly, angry red.
They were confused.
He was ecstatic.
They weren't going to get their answer, not that day. Because the tree needed valiant heroes, people of good. He smiled as the others arrived, and they had a conversation that allowed them to put the pieces together that he'd already solved.
David was good.
Snow was good.
But it hadn't worked because there had been a third person with them, a third person who's story hadn't been written yet, who could go one way or another.
At last, he finally knew for sure, Snow White and her Prince Charming were pregnant.
The future had finally arrived! Confirmation that the Swan was now in existence, even if only in the belly of her mother, was enough for him. He could see the future, and in it, he saw all the things that he hadn't yet seen come to pass in a new light.
He saw the dark-haired man that Jiminy knew, who also knew Baelfire. He saw the little shop that he felt a strange sense of pride and adoration for. He could see the man beneath a gray hood and his own face not scaled from the curse. A baby in his arms and the form of someone in the bed beside him. An image of a globe with landmasses he didn't recognize. A pink house, the names Neal and Gideon with images of a man who had dark graying hair and one who had golden blonde hair. Roses and a crystal necklace, a voice that sounded like Belle's choking out, "I love you." He'd done it. It was set. Queens of Darkness or not, he could see his future and his son barreling down at him! And his future, in the time he had left in this land, he saw…a cell.
So, finally, we make it to that little fact. Rumple tells Emma in season two that the cell was where he wanted to be; ever think it was odd that we made it this far without mentioning the damn thing? Answers for that and more are coming up in the next section, which begins as soon as you click "next chapter".
Thank you, Jennifer Baratta, Alarda, and Grace5231973, for your reviews on the previous chapter. Maleficent was the most difficult character to work with in this fiction because she appears several times in different appearances and with different strengths. The more you unravel her story and put it into order, the less sense it makes. So, I'm choosing to use the excuse that being a dragon puts her in certain states of mind and messes with her magic. Is it a cheap, easy out? Yes, absolutely. But does it work? I suppose that's up to you to decide. 10 chapters and 1 section left. Are you ready for it? Then let's begin. Peace and Happy Reading!