Here's another new chapter!
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-FantasyWriterFoSho
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Summary of the Previous Chapter: Regina refused to help when Killian asked for it while Mary Margaret and David hit a deadend with the tracking potion, but things may have taken a turn in their favor when Regina suddenly recanted and told them that she would help; however, she has steep terms...
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Chapter Nine: Set Intentions
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Belle entered the Pawn Shop and immediately sought the eyes of her husband, who was in his usual spot behind the counter. Gold looked up when he heard the door's bell chime and when he saw it was her, he stopped analyzing several of the antique items on the desk and gave her a warm smile.
"I was wondering where you were," he said, slightly leaning forward. "How has your day been?"
"Eventful, to say the least," she responded with a head gesture. Making her way over, she stood directly in front of him then lifted the scarf she'd been holding. "Do you recognize this? It belongs to Emma," she continued, answering her own question before he had a chance to. "The one her parents used for the tracking potion…"
Gold raised an eyebrow when he straightened his form. "Then why do you have it?"
"Apparently, it didn't perform well for them," she explained, her fingers scrunching the material. "It just led them to her empty car and circled around it."
"Well, it couldn't have been my potion since it was made correctly," Gold's brows then knitted together in confusion. "If that's true, that's very...intriguing."
He met the eyes of his wife before traveling them downward to the scarf. His mind wandered but it was not about the potion. He was more thankful over the fact that she still had no idea about the dagger. It proved, at least for the time being, that the Captain hadn't spilled his secret—not even, it seemed, about Emma coming to him for her magical troubles.
Exhaling silently, he couldn't help but to feel relieved, especially since he had just removed the enchantment from his shop and hid away all of his necessary materials seconds before Belle arrived.
"Out of pure curiosity," he then said, meeting her eyes again. "Where exactly did it take them?"
"They didn't specify but it took them deep into the forest..."
A gnawing sensation clawed at his gut.
He had a sneaking suspicion that, in some way, the Snow Queen was involved in this mysterious disappearance. If a powerful witch had a magical hold over a person, that could potentially explain how an individual wouldn't be able to be tracked down by others.
Slightly apprehensive about his plan now, Gold returned his attention back to his wife, who was frowning at his intense expression, and gave her a reassuring smile. "Since it means so much to you, I'll properly assist them this time."
"Really?" she asked happily. "I was just about to ask you to do that."
"Well, then your wish is my command, my love."
Now beaming at the radiant expression Belle gave him, he took a moment to look at the clock. It was fifteen minutes away from being 6pm and he grimaced inwardly. He was running out of time if he wanted to continue with his plans tonight. Briefly touching his chest, he rubbed at a growing soreness. I'm definitely running out of time, his thoughts reiterated.
Clearing his throat, he then reached out to take the scarf. "While I'm handling this situation, what are you going to do?"
"I'm heading to the library," Belle stated, pacified at the fact that he was going to assist. "Elsa's actually waiting outside for me now. I'm going to help her try and find out the truth about her sister, her homeland and any other possible connections she may have."
"Typical Belle," he responded tenderly.
"But before I do that," she continued, reaching into her jacket's pocket for her phone. "I should let Mary Margaret know what you're going to do. She and David were quite upset over not finding Emma in the forest..."
Gold's blood ran cold. "There's no need for that," he began, thinking quickly. "I'll notify them when it's done and as I said, I plan on assisting them in any way I can afterwards. It's the least I can do. Besides, it may take a while. I do have to gather more ingredients from the back..."
Belle considered him for a moment before repocketing her cell. "Alright. Are you sure? Do you want some help?"
"I'll be fine," he responded, slowly moving from his position to softly pull her into an embrace. After kissing her forehead, he pulled away to look down at her. "I love you, Belle."
"I love you too, Rumple."
"Now," he began, winking at her before he let her go. "We both should leave now before we get further distracted."
Belle nodded her head, a blush creeping up her neck and into her cheeks at his insinuation. Leaning in to press a soft kiss against his lips, she then stepped away and walked over to the door but upon opening it, the pleasant feeling she had just experienced suddenly dwindled.
She now felt strange and uneasy.
Looking over her shoulder, she watched as her husband gave her a little wave before disappearing into their back room, the curtain settling behind him in a gentle waving motion.
It's nothing, she thought, shaking her head when she exited the building. He's changed. If there was something important going on, he would tell me...
"Is everything okay?" Elsa asked. She was standing a few feet away from the shop but came closer when she noticed the strange look on Belle's face.
"I'm fine."
"Are you sure?"
Folding a piece of hair behind an ear, Belle nodded her head, trying to convince herself that what she was experiencing meant nothing. Swallowing her emotions, she gave the other woman a weak smile. "Everything's fine..."
Elsa regarded her silently but didn't press her.
She just waited for Belle to approach before gradually trailing behind her, her mind tumbling over everything it could latch onto while being escorted to the library.
…
Gold waited until his wife had left before reentering into the main room. Scarf in hand, he then grabbed for his cane, which he had left behind the counter, and used it to support his weight while he analyzed the thick fabric.
It has to be her, he thought, his fingers rubbing at the item. Not even Regina would dare cause her to vanish, though, I suspect, she has recently considered it...
Humming indiscriminately to himself, Gold continued to gaze at the scarf, his eyes memorizing every line and detail of it as he searched for traces of residual magic. He didn't feel like creating another batch, so, he just lifted it up to his eye level and raised a brow, desperately searching for a sign that some of it was still alive. When he roamed down to one of the frayed corners, he released a breath he didn't know he was holding.
It was small...but he managed to see remnants of the tracking spell, which were littered about in tiny strokes.
Caressing the fading waves with several fingers, Gold continued until it grew warm then sparked beneath his tips, the sprouting magic hesitating briefly before spreading to each end of the scarf. The air stirred around it until it was able to lift itself up from his hand and hover—the spell once again in effect.
Smiling cleverly, Gold then stopped the item from soaring away with a quick twirl of his wrist, causing the fabric to freeze in midair. Using his magical knowledge and prowess to skip over the physical tracking part of the potion, he murmured a few words in elvish, which made the scarf glow a strange off-white color.
Reaching forward, Gold then laid his hand on top of it and was instantly transported to the last place Emma was allegedly at.
Now surrounded by trees, bushes and the dark of the night, the older man plucked the wiggling item from the air before lifting his free hand up, summoning a large ball of fire into his palm. Casting it away from him in smaller bursts of flames, he waited until he was standing in a bright, ring of fire before turning his attention to the abandoned car.
Brow scrunched, he slightly looked around, his eyes darting every which way. Narrowing them when he realized he indeed was alone, he released the fidgeting scarf from his grip and watched it float over to the vehicle, its movements light and airy.
Mulling over the possibilities, he waited to see if it would move in any other direction. Quickly analyzing then coming to a conclusion, he shifted his stance and waited nearly half an hour in order to see if his assumption was correct. He was soon rewarded for his efforts when he noticed the scarf gradually moving away from the car and over to a tree.
After hovering there for a couple of seconds, it then collapsed to the forest floor, creating a small heap.
"They didn't wait long enough to see this," Gold murmured, talking about Mary Margaret and David's journey into the woods. "Either they wandered away or their impatience drove them back into town..."
Raising a hand, he called the fabric back into his possession, the tracking spell now officially gone from its folds. "There's only one answer for her disappearance," he continued, his eyes sparking oddly in his lit surroundings. "She was magically taken, and given the circumstances, it had to be committed by the Snow Queen..."
Inwardly seething, Gold closed his eyes, trying to reign in his emotions. What am I going to do now? He thought angrily. Ms. Swan's magic would've solidified my plans. Now...I'm going to have to rethink everything.
His eyes then widened.
Or...do I?
"No," he quickly answered aloud, a devious smile creeping onto his face. "I can just tweak it instead."
Turning to look back at Emma's car, he swiftly skimmed over every detail, the wheels in his mind turning, each desperately trying to fit the pieces of the puzzle together.
Nodding his head after a few minutes, he soon reached a passable compromise.
Deciding to divvy up his original plan, after a lengthy internal debate, Gold ultimately chose to use his special device on Emma while gifting her captor, the Snow Queen, with his potion riddled dagger—which would definitely ensure that everything would work, accordingly—and by doing it this way, the latter will die, sating his need for vengeance in a permanent way.
His face then brightened...
...but it didn't last long.
His chest suddenly tightened and his heart began to painfully pound against his ribs at an alarming rate. Groaning, he rubbed at it, trying to gently stimulate the bothersome ache away before the rest of his body became affected.
It was getting worse.
As the days ticked away, so did the pulsating clock within him, alerting him to the fact that he was coming closer and closer to death.
Shutting his eyes, he waited it out, his lips falling into a straight line as he tried to stay upright. I'm running out of time. I need to get this done as soon as possible…
Breathing deeply when his agony dissolved into a dull ache, Gold opened then refocused his blurry vision. Gripping his cane and the scarf tightly, he snapped some of his fingers together and disappeared in a thick cloud of smoke.
When he materialized back behind his shop's counter, Gold dismissively glanced back up at the clock, which now read one minute past six. He had four more hours until he would've met with the fragile Ms. Swan, but that didn't seem to be an option anymore...unless he could locate the Snow Queen beforehand...
Deep in thought, he tossed Emma's scarf and his cane further down the table before, once again, leaning against it, his posture hunched.
It took him a couple of seconds, but when his rattled senses finally recovered and they were able to register everything inside of the room, he immediately got the feeling that something was off. A chill suddenly skittered down his spine, making him snap his figure and attention upward.
I'm not alone…
Instantly meeting a pair of cold eyes when he looked about, he snarled.
"Well, well...I was wondering when you would return."
Zooming in on the icy smile she was giving him, Gold rolled his eyes. "What an unpleasant surprise."
"I did knock but then grew tired of waiting."
"So, you decided to invite yourself in?" Gold inquired, silently remarking on the pure coincidence of seeing her in his shop. Dipping a hand behind the counter, he quietly summoned his dagger to him, a disturbing glint in his eyes. "How bold of you. You don't know how dangerous that decision was..."
An unreadable smile then curled her lips up when she took a step closer. "I can say the same about you. Tell me," she paused, tilting her head to one side. "Did you have fun on your little adventure, Rumple?"
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More to come! Stay tuned and thanks!