After all the stops and starts
We keep comin' back to these two hearts
Two angels who've been rescued from the fall
After all that we've been through
It all comes down to me and you
I guess it's meant to be, forever you and me, after all
Cher and Peter Cetera – After All (Rumple and Belle's love theme)
You ask me if there'll come a time
When I grow tired of you
Never my love
Never my love
You wonder if this heart of mine
Will lose its desire for you
Never my love
The Association – Never My Love (Archie and Az's love theme)
Lovers forever face to face
My city your mountains
Stay with me stay
I need you to love me
I need you today
Give to me your leather
Take from me my lace
Stevie Nicks and Don Henley – Leather and Lace (DG and Wyatt's love theme)
Storybrooke, Maine
Three weeks after the Final Eclipse
Belle was nervous as she walked into Game of Thorns. In the weeks she, Rumple and the others recovered from the severe magical drain they'd suffered she began to have second thoughts about cutting her father out of their lives. They were going to be having an Ozian wedding ceremony along with their Ozopov cousins and it was tradition that both the bride and groom be given in marriage by a family member from their houses. Bae would be giving his father away and though she'd had many offers Belle wished her father would be the one to speak for the House of Lavalliere.
Moe was working on a flower arrangement that he immediately set aside and stepped out from behind the counter, throwing his arms around his daughter, both in tears.
"He finally let you go! Oh, thank the gods." Moe exclaimed.
"Papa, we're still together..."
Moe released her. "Oh, Belle...why?"
"Because I love him...and I am going to be his wife." she replied.
"His wife? Darling, please. You can't marry that...that monster!"
"He's not a monster," Belle cried. "He may have done terrible things in the past but that's who he is anymore. He's the man I love and I am going to marry him. I'd like you to be there...to give me away as the patriarch of the House of Lavalliere. We are having an Ozian wedding Papa."
"I will not give you away to that beast again!" Moe raged. "And you need to come to your senses."
"Or what?" Belle challenged. "You'll have me dragged before the clerics again? You'd get the results you wanted this time for I have given myself to him Papa...body, heart and soul. I've done it because I love him. How many times do I have to say it before you can accept it and be happy for me?"
"I'll never accept it!" he raged. "If you want to marry that monster and rut with him, go on and go but know this: you are dead to me."
"You don't mean that!" Belle sobbed. "I'm...I'm your daughter and soon I'll be having your grandchild."
"I have no daughter. Now leave my shop, whore and take that monstrous bastard you carry in your belly with you!"
Belle raised her head, her blue eyes meeting his. "I once told Rumple that if he rejected my love, he would regret it...forever and have nothing but an empty heart yet he found the courage to come back to me. Now I say the same to you. I am your daughter. I have loved you all my life, done everything to make you proud of me, even sacrificed my freedom to save you and our people and you turn me away, denounce me as a whore...and now it is you who will have an empty heart."
Keeping her head held high, she walked out of the shop and down the street, fighting back her tears. She maintained her composure as she walked into Rumple's shop. He was not behind the counter as he usually was during the day. She finally found him the backroom sitting at his worktable with the parts of an old sewing machine scattered across the top, his head lowered as he tried reassembling it.
"Rumple..." she croaked.
"In a minute...damned thing," he grumbled.
"Rumple," she tried again.
"Belle, just a minute!" he barked.
The dam burst and she buried her face in her hands, sobbing brokenly. Rumple jumped out of his chair and pulled her into his arms. "Sweetheart...sweetheart I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to snap at you like that!"
"It's not you," she moaned.
"Who upset you like this?" he demanded. "When I get my hands on them..."
"Rumple, please...please promise me you won't do anything to hurt him again..."
"Again? It's your father, isn't it? What did that bastard do to you now?" He led her over to the cot by the wall and sat her down, gently wiping the tears from her eyes with his handkerchief.
"I...I asked him to give me away at our wedding and he...refused...he still thinks you're a beast and...I...your whore…he called our baby a monster."
"That does it!" he growled.
"Rumple!"
"I am not letting this stand Belle," he said firmly. He took out his cell phone and dialed a number. "Hello, Granny? Is your daughter busy? Oh...right...I've forgotten it's lunch time. No matter...no...no I'll uhhhh...try someone else." He disconnected the call and dialed a second number. "Hello, Ariel? Yes. Would you come over to my shop please? All right, we'll be waiting."
"What are you doing?"
"It's going to be all right, sweetheart," he murmured as he embraced her.
"Rum, what's wrong? You sounded stressed on the phone," Ariel said when she arrived half an hour later.
"I need you to stay here with Belle while I take care of something."
"Rumple, no!" Belle cried, clinging to him. "Darling, please...it's not worth it!"
"It is to me."
"What's going on?"
"That son of a bitch who calls himself a father had the audacity to call Belle a whore, our child a monster and threw her out of his shop. I'm going to go have a little chat with him."
Ariel cringed remembering Belle telling her their last chat involved Maurice being beaten within an inch of his life with Rumple's cane. "Don't you even think about it Rumplestiltskin!" she warned. "If he wants to be that way, it's his loss. Don't you understand, this is exactly what he wants you to do! He wants you to be the monster and Belle does not need that. She needs you to be the man she loves."
"What kind of man would I be if I didn't defend her honor?" he demanded. "A coward, that's what and I will never be a coward again!"
"Please, darling...promise me that if you go there, it will be just to talk to him," Belle pleaded.
"Belle, sweetheart, he's hurt you so much..."
"I know but I won't have you going to jail because of me," she said through her tears. "Promise me!"
"All right, sweetheart. I'll just go talk to him but do not expect me to be nice about it."
She stood up. "I'm going with you."
"Belle, I'm not sure that's a good idea," Ariel protested.
"Neither do I," Rumple agreed. "You and the baby do not need the stress."
"I'm going. If we're going to do this, we're doing it together."
"I thought I told you to get out of my shop and you dare bring that monster in here with you!" Moe shouted when she and Rumple entered the shop holding hands, a united front. Their joined hands were glowing as a protection spell was active in them.
Are you quite finished?" Rumple asked calmly.
"I've just gotten started."
"So have I! It's taking every ounce of self-control I have not to do a repeat performance of our little chat session when you decided to steal Belle's cup from me, you son of a bitch! How dare you call her a whore, our child a monster when you know she's nothing of the kind?"
"As long as she's with you, she is. You've cast a spell on her, seduced her."
"You fool! She's with me by her own choice. It always has been her choice, or have you forgotten that, dearie?" Rumple sneered.
"I told you before, Papa. Nobody decides my fate but me and I chose to be with Rumple...forever. At first it was to save our land and our people but now it is because I love him. Now I believe it was my destiny to be with him." Belle spoke up.
"You're delusional and belong back in that damned asylum."
"Or locked in a tower being tortured by clerics, I suppose," Rumple retorted. "You stood there and watched while they violated her for loving me and you call me a monster? I was willing to try to make peace with you for her sake but if you continue to treat her like this, you'll always have an enemy in me. I love your daughter and I am going to marry her. You can either stay here and swill in your hatred or you can put the past behind us and be part of this family. The choice is yours."
"Get out," Moe hissed.
"I let my son go once and I regretted it my whole life. If you let Belle go, you'll regret it too."
"Don't act all self-righteous with me, monster. Now get the hell out of my shop."
"We'll go," Belle said. "I love you Papa. I just wish you could be happy for me."
"Never!" Moe spit.
Rumple shook his head and they turned and left the shop.
When they got back to the shop Ariel was pacing the floors while Eric was attempting to calm her down.
"It's about time you got back!" she cried. "What...what's going on with your hands?" she exclaimed.
"Ozian defensive magic. It only becomes active when someone is being attacked but we haven't been...not physically," Rumple explained, the glow fading once he released Belle's hand. "Were we under a magical or physical attack it would throw a shield over us."
"He won't budge?"
"I'm afraid not Eric and it pains me that her own father refuses to stand with her on the day she needs him the most. He has no love left in his heart. Only hate for us and our child."
"You'd be proud of Rumple, Ariel. He kept his calm the entire time," Belle said, not disguising the pride in her own voice.
"It wasn't easy," he muttered. "That still leaves us without someone to give Belle away," he added sadly.
"No it doesn't," Eric declared. "We'll be happy to do the honors. After all...the two of you brought Ariel and me together and its only right that we should give her away."
"Oh, thank you! Thank you so much!" Belle sobbed as she threw her arms around the other couple. Rumple shook Eric's hand.
"I owe you a debt," he said softly.
"No, you don't. We are the ones who should be grateful to you and Belle...even Regina. I never thought I'd see my Ariel again and yet..here she is. You deserve your happy ending too and we're more than happy to help make sure you get it. Now what do we need to do?"
"An Ozian wedding, specifically an Ozian Guardian wedding is different from any other ceremony."
He gestured and the Book of the Ancients appeared on the table.
"This will tell you everything you need to know. I've translated it for you."
The couple sat down and began reading, excited by their new role in the friends' special day.
Storybrooke, Maine
May 11, 2011
7:00 AM
Five weeks after the Final Eclipse
Rumple was standing in front of his bathroom mirror on his wedding day, scowling at his appearance.
I look like I haven't slept in a week.
And he hadn't, not that much anyway. His nightmares had returned with a vengeance after he and Belle agreed to spend the week before their wedding in separate homes according to the old tradition. Several times they terrified him so much he went down to the wishing well to see if the curse was coming out of it or to his shop to check and see if the dagger had his name on it again. That morning his son found him huddled on the floor of his shop still in his pajamas, shaking with terror and babbling.
"Papa...are you all right?"
"H...He's not dead...he's going to find a way to come back...and kill all of you...make me watch...before he puts me out of my misery," he sobbed.
"No, no Papa...it's okay..he's gone," Bae assured him as he wrapped his arms around him and held him tightly. "You got rid of him, papa. You saved us. He's not going to hurt you anymore, he's not going to hurt us anymore." As he stroked his father's back comfortingly his hand started to glow. "Nothing can hurt us now that we're together again," he chanted, believing it.
As Rumple heard those words, he felt his anxiety fading away, replaced with the joy and love he felt for his precious son. "Bae..." he whispered. "You're here? You're alive?" he croaked.
"I'm here Papa, and we're never gonna get separated again," he vowed. "Come on, let's get you home and cleaned up for your big day."
Rumple smiled. It was a big day for him. At the end of it he would at last have his happy ending but not if he looked like he'd been living like a hermit.
Bae opened the wardrobe and pulled out his father's grey dragonscale leather suit. He would have burned it after they returned from Neverhell as they now called it if Belle hadn't taken such a liking to it.
"You might wanna shave the forest off your face, Papa or Belle's gonna get beard burn."
"Oh hush up and get yourself dressed!" Rumple picked up the can of shaving cream and sprayed his son with it. "You need to shave yourself too, boy!"
"Nope. Keeping mine."
"Fine but make sure you throw those dirty clothes in the hamper. You've worn that shirt for two days and I swear it's about to grow legs and walk!"
"I like this shirt."
"Son, if you have any chance with Emma or Tinkerbell, you're going to need to make some changes to your lifestyle. Do you dress like that when you decorate peoples' houses?"
"Zee, Angelo and I always wear stuff like this so yeah. We're up to our ears in everything when we're decorating so Aramani and Gucci won't cut it." He sighed. "Papa, I'm starting to think nothing's gonna change with Emma and me. We only talk because of Henry."
Rumple sat on the edge of the bed. "And Tinkerbell?"
"We made an agreement we'd hang out as friends, but I like being with her."
"If you and Emma don't work out perhaps you and Tinkerbell should make a go of it. Some of the best relationships start out as friendship."
"I wanna try again with Emma, Papa. I really do."
"I know, son. But you also have to spend more time with Henry too."
"I'm doing that but he keeps asking when I'm getting back with Emma and I don't have any answer for him!"
"He knows it will take time." Rumple glanced at the clock. "Lurline's underdrawers! I'm going to be late!" He jumped off the bed and limped into the bathroom.
"You look great, Grandpa," Henry complimented when Rumple came downstairs dressed in his dragonscale and leather suit. "Are you nervous?"
"A little...no...a lot," he confessed.
The boy smiled at him and patted his hand. "You'll do fine. C'mon Grandpa. Let's go get you your happy ending!"
Rumple ruffled his hair affectionately. "I've been waiting for this my whole life," he murmured.
McDonald's Farm
7:00 AM
David Molk, Jeb Cain, Elmer Gulch, Ambrose, Raw and the other deputies from the Storybrooke Sheriff's Department descended on the farm like they were executing a police raid. David, Edgar, Hildy, Terry and Elmer crept up to the VW bus and surrounded it. David peered inside and saw his brother sleeping on a makeshift bed in the rear of the bus. He raised his hand and began pounding on the side window.
"Police! Come out of the vehicle with your hands up!" he bellowed while the others laughed.
"Whaa…?" Archie groaned and sat up. "David, you idiot! You scared the hell outta me!"
"Well get your ass up! It's your wedding day!"
"I'm getting up now would you guys get outta here and let me get dressed." Archie yanked the curtains on the windows closed.
"Yeah, well I'm comin in," David said and pushed the side door open. "What do I smell in here? Were you smoking pot?"
Archie scowled. "How many times do I have to tell you that just because I want to live like a hippie that does not mean I smoke pot or shove coke up my nose? It's incense. Look!" He handed him a bowl with used sticks.
"Uh-huh. Where's the stash?" David demanded skeptically. "I know people use those sticks to hide the smell."
"I don't believe this! You know what today is and you wanna search me for drugs?"
"You're damn right. You're not getting married higher than a kite. Okay guys, get in here. We gotta toss the place."
"You are lucky you're my brother because you'd be an inch tall right now!" Archie grumbled and crawled out of the mattress holding the blanket over him. "Come on, wrap this up! I'm gonna be late for my wedding, dammit!"
"Nothin here, Molky. Just some sticks and a lot of flowers and man, they really do smell like weed!"
"Phlox," Archie clarified. "But you can't smoke it. Now the rest of you get outta here and let me get dressed!"
They were laughing as they climbed out of the bus. Moments later the brothers emerged from the van. Archie was wearing Jimi Hendrix inspired outfit with a tie dyed shirt with jeans, a brown suede vest, boots, a bandana around his head and his indigo sunglasses, while David wore a Jim Morrison inspired outfit with a white smock shirt, black leather jacket, pants and boots.
"Okay, let's go see if Cain's ready," Archie chuckled.
"Wakey wakey sunshine!" Ambrose chuckled, booting Wyatt's foot as he'd seen Cain do to Antoine DeMilo.
"Go 'way Glitch," he muttered and threw the pillow over his head.
Ambrose seized him by the arms and yanked him out of bed. "Cripes, you weigh a ton, Tin Man!"
"You're funny, Zipperhead. Now giddout and lemme sleep!" He detached himself from Ambrose and lay back down.
"I know how to get him up," Jeb chuckled and into the kitchen, pouring some water from the sink into a large mixing bowl and tossing a handful of ice cubes in. He brought it back into the bedroom and dumped it on his sleeping father. Wyatt howled and jumped out of bed.
"Dammit Jeb!" he growled.
"Well you better hurry up and get dressed or your gonna be late for your own wedding!"
"The wedding! Lurline's underdrawers! Dottie's gonna kill me if I'm late!" He grabbed his duster, blue striped shirt, tan pans and boots out of the closet and ran into the bathroom. Moments later he emerged looking as he did the day they were reunited in the OZ.
Storybrooke Library
8:30 AM
Belle sat in front of the window of her library apartment, gazing out at the town, wishing she could see Rumple's house, but it was too far away. She'd reluctantly agreed to the tradition that the bride and groom couldn't see each other before the wedding thinking it would only be a day or two, not a week. The seperation was painful as it had been so many times before. They still talked to each other on the phone, but it wasn't the same as having him there beside her. The nights were the worst. She hoped he would break their agreement and appear in her bedroom one night but he didn't. He vowed he would never break a deal with anyone in his family again and he was sticking to it much to her dismay because this was one deal she wouldn't have been angry at him for breaking. Thankfully it would end in a few hours when he placed his ring on her finger and made her his wife. Then they would spend the rest of the night and the days after making up for their week of separation.
"Belle, hun, are you awake?" she heard Ruby calling from the other side of the door.
"I am...come on in," she replied.
Ruby entered the room with her bridesmaid's dress draped over her arm. "Are you all right? You seem kind of down."
"Tell me how you'll feel after you've been apart from the man you love for a week," Belle murmured.
"I...ummm...don't really have one...not yet anyway."
"What about you and Victor?"
"We've gone out a few times."
"That's all? There's nothing more to it?"
"You're a hopeless romantic and of all people I would never have expected Gold to make you feel that way."
"Some loves are worth fighting for," Belle said softly, rising from the bed and taking her wedding dress off the hanger and went into the bathroom to change. When she emerged Ariel, Tinkerbell, Wendy and Snow had arrived to help her with her hair and makeup.
"You look so beautiful," Ariel said softly.
"Rumple is going to be speechless when he sees you," Snow said.
Belle decided to go against tradition and decided that her wedding gown would be an exact duplicate of the gold one she wore the day she and Rumple met all those years ago and requested that he wear the black and grey dragonscale and leather outfit he'd worn in Neverland. She'd been the speechless one that day when she saw him thinking how handsome he looked in it.
After the women finished Belle's hair and makeup they changed into their own dresses. They were simpler gold dresses with spaghetti thin straps.
There was a knock on the door. Tink opened it and found Regina standing on the other side with a box in her hands. "Have you all done the something old, new, borrowed or blue yet?" she inquired softly.
"No. You're just in time," Snow said.
"I'd like to give you something new, if that is all right with you, Belle."
Belle smiled. "I'd like that."
Regina stepped in front of the bride and opened the box to reveal a beautiful heart shaped locket with a diamond in the center. Belle opened and she smiled when she saw Rumple's picture inside of it.
"Rumple isn't the photogenic type but when Henry told him he wanted a picture of him for a gift for you he managed not to ruin it," she joked.
"It's beautiful," she whispered and embraced her. "Thank you Regina...and I'll be sure to thank my grandson when I see him," she added, fastening the locket around her neck.
"Belle, I am so sorry for what I did to you all those years ago. I know I can't take it back, but I can assure you, nothing like that will ever happen again."
"We're family now and we've come far since then."
Regina smiled.
"Do you have something blue, Belle?" Snow asked.
The bride grinned and pulled the skirt of her gown up to reveal a blue garter around her upper thigh. The other women giggled.
"Oh, I cannot wait to see the look on his face when he finds out he has to go get it." Regina chuckled.
"Actually, I think he'll enjoy it," Ruby said. "You have it up there high enough, Belle? You know...you could make him go after it with his teeth," she suggested with a smirk.
"Now that sounds tempting," Belle murmured.
"Oh my God! I would die laughing," Regina exclaimed.
"So would I," Snow agreed. "Are you going to do it Belle?"
"I may. I do owe him for making us stay apart all week."
"Well...does anyone have something borrowed?" Ruby asked the group. Wendy nodded and approached Belle with a smaller box in her hands. She opened it to reveal a gold and diamond bracelet.
"My Mum and Dad bought this for me," she said and fastened it around Belle's wrist.
"It's lovely. Thank you, Wendy. I promise to take care of it."
"I'd like to give you something old," Snow said and handed the bride a box with a pair of earrings in the shapes of hearts with diamonds in the center. "These were the first piece of jewelry I bought in this land. I don't wear them now so they're yours...and they match Regina's locket perfectly."
"Thank you, Snow."
"Well now that we've gotten you ready, the rest of us need to get ready! Hop to it!" Ariel commanded, clapping her hands.
"And we have to go over to Archie's place to help Beth and Aurora get Az and DG ready," Snow reminded them.
"Who will be giving them away?" Ruby asked.
"Ambrose," Belle replied. "He is DG's biological father, but I think having him represent the House of Ozopov is what Ahamo and Lavinia would've wanted."
"Archie's brother is giving him away and Jeb is giving Wyatt away." Regina chuckled. "David wanted Archie to stay at his house, but he's been sleeping in that old hippie bus out at MacDonald's farm. Wyatt's taken over the place since he got here."
"It doesn't surprise me," they heard Adora say when she appeared. "The farmhouse looks like the one Ahamo's parents own in Kansas. That's where he's taking DG on their honeymoon. Kansas."
Belle laughed. "Rumple is going to throw a fit when he finds out where Archie is taking Az."
"Where?" the others demanded.
"Exactly where he's been sleeping all week."
"WHAT?! Is he crazy! Az is further along in her pregnancy than you are!" Snow exclaimed. "She can't be sleeping in a bus. Oooh I am going to bop him on the head with that umbrella."
"Actually, it's a road trip. I'm sure they're going to stop along the way."
"I hope so!" Regina huffed.
Snow looked at the clock. "It's getting late ladies! We'd better hurry over to Archie's place!"
Archie's House
9:00 AM
"I wish Mother and Daddy could see us now," DG said softly while she and Az stood in before the mirror in their wedding attire. She wore a copy of the maroon dress she'd been given to gain access to the Mystic Man's club while Az wore a replica of singer Mama Cass's legendary 'sunburst' dress.
"They can. They're watching over us now Deege."
"You've waited a long time to marry Archie."
"And you've waited even longer to marry Wyatt."
"I can still remember us sitting by the lake at Finaqua burying our stone. You were thinking about Archie and you started telling me how wonderful and how scary falling in love was."
"And I remember you telling me that if love was so scary, you didn't want to be in it. Now you know its worth the fear."
"It's worth everything. And speaking of our stone…" DG held out her hand and the heart shaped stone appeared in it. "Do you know about the wedding day traditions over here?"
Az chuckled. "Of course I do, Deege. I was studying this realm's culture before you were born. You're talking about giving the bride something new, old borrowed and blue."
"Here is something old and new for both of us," She waved her hand over the stone and two heart shaped lockets appeared in it. Az opened hers to find a portrait of their family on one half and herself and Archie on the other half. Az picked up the other locket, waved her hand over it and opened it to a copy of the family portrait on one half and DG and Wyatt together on the other half.
They fastened their lockets around their necks and hugged.
"Looks like you've already started," Beth said when she walked into the bedroom followed by her mother, Regina, Ariel, Snow and Ruby.
"We've only done something new and old."
Ruby held up two blue lace garters. "Your something blue, ladies. Make them work for it."
Snow opened the small jewel box she held in her hand. "Something borrowed. My mother had these bracelets made for us." She fastened them around each bride's wrist. "I can't think of two people who should wear them more than sister brides."
"Come on, Az. Let's go get married…finally!" DG exclaimed and laughed.
All of Storybrooke was gathered in the forest, a large gazebo built over the wishing well to accommodate the three couples that would exchanging vows under it. Blue stood at the altar, the Book of the Ancients in her hands while the three grooms waited at the altar with the men representing their perspective Houses.
"Ready, Belle?" Eric asked her.
"I've been ready," she murmured, linking her arm through his.
She linked her arm through his and they began to march toward the altar to Peter Cetera and Cher singing 'After All', the song they'd chosen as their theme after hearing it play on the radio one afternoon in the shop.
"Always just beyond my touch
You know I needed you so much
After all, what else is livin' for?
After all the stops and starts
We keep comin' back to these two hearts
Two angels who've been rescued from the fall
After all that we've been through
It all comes down to me and you
I guess it's meant to be, forever you and me, after all…"
"Who gives this woman to this man?" Blue asked once they reached the altar and the couple faced each other.
"I Eric, representative of the House of Lavalliere, do give my friend Belle Lavalliere to this man in matrimony." Eric declared, placing Belle's left hand into Rumple's.
"Who gives this man to this woman?'
"I, Baelfire of the House of Strogoff-Gold do give my father Rumplestiltskin Strogoff-Gold to this woman in matrimony," Bae announced, placing Belle's right hand into Rumple's.
"You may now speak your vows."
"My darling Belle, for so long I believed myself to be a beast unworthy of love, to be lost forever in darkness but then I made a deal, a deal with a beautiful, intelligent woman who brought me out of my darkness and into the light again. You made me stronger. You believed in me when I no longer believed in myself and I will spend this life and every life we share together proving to you that I am worthy of your love and your belief in me.
Through the years we will stand together
For today we complete a bond that nothing will sever
And from our love many children there will be
For one heart forever now are we."
"My Rumple….for the longest time I thought the truest love there was only existed in my books but one day a man came to my castle and I made a deal to go with him…forever. I didn't know what Fate had in store for me when I made that deal but now I realize I had to make it to understand what true love really is. It's loving someone so much that no price is too high to pay to be with them. No matter what Fate brings our way in the years we have together, I will always stand at your side and I will defend you and love you in this life and every life after.
Through the years we will stand together
For today we complete a bond that nothing will sever
And from our love many children there will be
For one heart forever now are we."
"Rumplestiltskin Strogoff-Gold, is it your intention to bind yourself heart, body and soul to your bride?"
"It is my intention."
"Belle Lavalliere, is it your intention to bind yourself heart, body and soul to your groom?"
"It is my intention."
Blue waved her wand over Eric and Bae's hands. "Eric, representative of the House of Lavalliere, please remove the bride's heart."
Eric reached into Belle's chest and gently pulled out her heart.
"Baelfire of the House of Strogoff-Gold, please remove the groom's heart."
Once the hearts were removed Blue waved her wand over them and they split into two pieces, one in their hands, the other hovering above them. Rumple and Belle summoned the floating pieces over to them and held them in their hands.
"See as I see
Feel as I feel
Let our two hearts become one
Not even in death shall this bond be undone! Belle Lavalliere," Rumple murmured and released his heart piece.
"See as I see
Feel as I feel
Let our two hearts become one
Not even in death shall this bond be undone! Rumplestiltskin Strogoff-Gold!" Belle cried through her tears and released her heart piece. They merged them with the pieces in Eric and Bae's hands and the men carefully placed them back inside their chests. Rumple and Belle faced each other and joined hands, kneeling.
"Now I call upon the Guardians of the North, South and East to bestow your blessings."
"To our West this blessing we to give
A long and happy life will you live
Four beautiful children for you will there be
Two Daughters and two Sons of Light to carry on your legacy
Never again for you will the darkness come
For no magic is stronger than the love of two hearts joined as one!" they chanted.
"By the will of the gods and the state of Maine, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss your bride Rumple!"
There were tears in their eyes as their lips met in their first kiss as husband and wife. Out of the corner of her eye Belle could see her father hiding behind one of the trees, a scowl riding his face.
"Don't let him spoil our moment, sweetheart," Rumple begged.
"I won't," she murmured and kissed him again. All too soon they broke their kiss for now it was Archie and Az's turn to take their vows.
"Ready, Az?" Ambrose asked her. She nodded.
"A hippie wedding," Rumple chuckled from his place at the altar. Belle nudged his foot with her slipper.
"Oh, stop!" she giggled as The Association's 'Never My Love' began to play.
"What makes you think love will end
When you know that my whole life depends
On you
Never my love
Never my love
You say you fear I'll change my mind
And I won't require you
Never my love…"
"Who gives this woman to this man?"
"I, Ambrose Benu, Talon of Dragon of the House of Ozopov do give my kinswoman Azkadellia Ozopov to this man in matrimony."
"Who gives this man to this woman?"
"I, David Molk of the House of Ozopov-Hopper, do give my brother Archie Jiminy to this woman in matrimony."
"Archie, Azkadellia, you may now speak your vows."
"Dellia, I came into your life on the winds of a travel storm, resisting a fate that had been chosen for me before I was even born. I was charged with first protecting you, then loving you and in the years we've been together we've loved so much and lost so much. But I stand here now as I did every year for the past eleven years loving you not because it was what the OZ willed me to do. I loved you then and I love you now because I choose to.
Through the years we will stand together
For today we complete a bond that nothing will sever
And from our love many children there will be
For one heart forever now are we."
"Archie…." Az began, barely able to see through her tear filled eyes. "You've been with me almost from the day I was born. You've protected me, but most importantly you've loved me. You've loved me."
Archie's eyes filled with tears as she recited the very words he'd spoken to her the night of the first eclipse back to him.
"Even when I was lost in darkness, your light was always there to remind me whom I was and whom I could be. I always knew that the will of the OZ was that I would have a bondmate but I had already chosen you. I will always choose you.
Through the years we will stand together
For today we complete a bond that nothing will sever
And from our love many children there will be
For one heart forever now are we."
"Archie Ozopov-Hopper, is it your intention to bind yourself heart, body and soul to this woman?"
"It is my intention."
"Azkadellia Ozopov, is it your intention to bind yourself heart, body and soul to this man."
"It is my intention."
After David and Ambrose removed their hearts, Archie and Az summoned the floating pieces to their hands to complete the spell.
"See as I see
Feel as I feel
Let our two hearts become one
Not even in death shall this bond be undone! Azkadellia Ozopov!"
"See as I see
Feel as I feel
Let our two hearts become one
Not even in death shall this bond be undone! Archie Ozopov-Hopper!"
"Now I call upon the Guardians of the South, East and West to bestow your blessings."
"To our North this blessing we to give
A long and happy life will you live
Three beautiful children for you will there be
A Daughter and two Sons of Light to carry on your legacy
Never again for you will the darkness come
For no magic is stronger than the love of two hearts joined as one!" they chanted.
"By the will of the gods and the state of Maine, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Archie, you may now kiss your bride."
Archie laughed joyfully and swung his bride up in his arms, kissing her breathless before they moved to their places for DG and Wyatt's ceremony.
"Your turn now Doll," Ambrose whispered to DG.
"I'm ready!" she cried.
"You in the moonlight
With your sleepy eyes
Could you ever love a man like me
And you were right
When I walked into your house
I knew I'd never want to leave…" Don Henley sang as DG walked up the aisle to where a nervous Wyatt stood.
"Who gives this woman to this man?"
"I, Ambrose Benu, Talon of the Dragon of the House of Ozopov give my daughter Dorothia Ozopov to this man in matrimony."
"Who gives this man to this woman?"
"I, Jebediah Cain of the House of Cain give my father Wyatt to this woman in matrimony."
"Wyatt, Dorothia, you may now speak your vows."
"I've never been real good at this. I'm going to try anyway no matter how much like an idiot I'll sound. I'm not the easiest person to live with. No one knows that now better than you. I'm stubborn as hell, sometimes bitter as piss and vinegar, have a temper worse than the dragon I have in me and have at least twenty years on you but when you look at me, I forget all the things that make me think I don't deserve you and remember why you think I do.
We can't keep everything bad out of our lives Dottie, nor will we win every battle but we'll always be stronger together than we'll ever be apart. You always tell me that love is the strongest magic of all and I had a hard time believing that until you showed me what it has done for me and for us. Your love freed me from a prison I thought I'd spend the rest of my life in. Your love always brings light to the darkness I sometimes create in me by having my doubts about everyone and everything. I once told Ambrose I had to keep his wide-eyed optimism in check. You keep my bitter cynicism in check even when sometimes we have the same doubts. I love you Dottie and I always will.
Through the years we will stand together
For today we complete a bond that nothing will sever
And from our love many children there will be
For one heart forever now are we."
"Not good at this my ass, Tin Man." DG said as the tears of joy rolled down her cheeks. All these years there was always someone or something trying to keep us apart but somehow we always found our way back to each other. I know you're still afraid sometimes that you're not good enough for me but the years I spent without you made me realize that the only place I ever feel safe, loved and at home is in your arms and I never want to leave them. Just before I first came back to the OZ Popsicle told me that no matter where I found myself home was where my heart was. I was afraid I'd spend the rest of my life searching for it, but I found it the day I broke the lock on that damned suit and you fell back into my life like you'd never left. When our kids are born I know you're going to love and protect them as much as you love and protect me and Jeb. I am, however, a little worried that once our daughters start bringing suitors home I'm going to have to play referee to a pistol packing, sword wielding ex-Tin Man with a dragon in him who'll want to use them for target practice or...maybe a snack."
Wyatt, unable to control himself, laughed as did the rest of the guests. After everyone settled down she continued. "I need you to know that you're never going to have another cold, dark and lonely night again because no matter where you are now, part of me is always going to be with you to chase it all away. I love you, Wyatt. I can't say it enough.
Through the years we will stand together
For today we complete a bond that nothing will sever
And from our love many children there will be
For one heart forever now are we."
"Wyatt, is it your intention to bind yourself heart, body and soul to this woman?"
"It is my intention."
"Dorothia, is it your intention to bind yourself heart, body and soul to this man."
"Hell yes but we already did all that!"
"Deege!" Az groaned, facepalming herself. Archie chuckled. Rumple shook his head.
"I'm gonna have my hands full wi' that one."
See as I see
Feel as I feel
Let our two hearts become one
Not even in death shall this bond be undone! Wyatt Nicholas Cain!" DG cried, using the names from both his lives.
See as I see
Feel as I feel
Let our two hearts become one
Not even in death shall this bond be undone! Dorothia Gale Ozopov!"
"I now call upon the Guardians of the North, East and West to bestow your blessings."
"To our South this blessing we to give
A long and happy life will you live
Three beautiful children for you will there be
A Daughter and two Sons of Light to carry on your legacy
Never again for you will the darkness come
For no magic is stronger than the love of two hearts joined as one!" they chanted.
"By the will of the gods and the state of Maine, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Wyatt, you may now kiss your bride."
"About damn time," Wyatt muttered as he pulled DG into his arms and kissed her passionately while Jeb and Archie laughed and Az shook her head.
"Oooohhh," DG whispered to her husband as she returned his kiss. "Anxious, were we?"
"No, my knees were getting sore from all that kneeling. We should've just eloped. Less tiring."
"So does this mean you'll be too tired to enjoy our wedding night?" DG asked with a teasing grin.
"Hell, no! I hope you're not tired woman because I intend to spend the whole night making love to you."
"Then plan on leaving the reception early Tin Man because I don't think I'll be able wait too long..." she murmured, her body already aflame with anticipation.
"Ahem!" Archie whispered impatiently. "You two aren't doing anything until this ceremony is over!"
Wyatt groaned. "What more is there?"
"Oh, will you just be quiet and face the congregation!"
"He's enough to drive you up a wall," Wyatt muttered as he and DG faced the crowd.
The officers of the Storybrooke Sheriff's Department, Robin Hood's Merry Men and soldiers from the lost realms began to form two lines on either side of the red carpet leading from the altar to the couples' vehicles.
Ambrose stood at the end of the line of a new generation of Talon masters and apprentices. "Talons of the Dragon, form shield!" he commanded. The men and woman raised their Katanas high above them and crossed the blades in the air, forming a sword bridge.
Emma stood at the end of the line of police officers. "Deputies, form shield!" she shouted. Instead of using swords, they raised their shotguns in the air, crossing the barrels.
Sarah Jane, granddaughter of the famous "Boiling Belle" was sitting in a large tree stand, Belle's legendary pot full of ingredients that would make her grandmother proud. As the couples walked out onto the red carpet, Sarah Jane rang her grandmother's dinnerbell.
"It's dinnertime boys!" she cried as her assistants tipped the pot over, showering the couples with thousands of red rose petals. "I call this one 'Belle's Blessing'!" she cried as the couples kissed again.
"Launch the second course!" she shouted and the couples were once again showered with rose petals as they stood on the red carpet, oblivious to it all as they kissed, their bodies pressed so close together that they could have merged into one being.