A/N: Okay so I these two scenes kept me up last night, so I figured I would go ahead and post them. I know where I want this story to end (at least on the Enchanted Forrest front). It's just getting there that's holding me up. Next chapter I'm planning on some action (if the plot doesn't take me elsewhere) so hang in there! I just really wanted to discuss the laws of magic a little before jumping into anything where too much magic was used. Hope you guys enjoy!
Rumpelstiltskin awoke the next morning to an empty room. After checking the boy's chosen room and using magic to check the castle he concluded that Cheshire was gone. Of course, he left a voice that sounded like Zoso whispered in his ear, why would he stay with another monster. As much as Rumpelstiltskin wanted to dismiss the voice of his curse, this time he simply couldn't. He'd known the boy would leave, he'd prepared himself for it. But that couldn't help the surprising disappointment that gripped tightly at his heart.
Followed the corridors and stairs back down to the Great Hall, the imp turned his mind to the many things he would need to do in order to make the castle livable (and extravagant of course). Yet despite his best attempts, Rumpelstiltskin found himself unable to banish thoughts of the boy. Walking through the double doors leading to the dining hall he glimpsed a sight that momentarily stole his breath away. The boy who'd occupied his mind since waking was crouched next to the crumpled body of his former master. The sight was rather troubling in many ways, but the imp couldn't help the way his stomach flipped with joy at the rather macabre sight. The troubling thought about how his magic had missed the boy settled in the back of his mind, but the spinner wasn't focused on that at the moment. The child had stayed.
Yes, Rumpelstiltskin would now have to deal with whatever level of trauma the boy experienced from seeing his cruel master's body at his feet. Not my best moment, the imp thought, but still the boy had chosen to remain for now. For whatever reason, this child meant something to Rumpelstiltskin. Maybe it was simply pity at the boy's plight or perhaps it was the child's uncanny resemblance to Baelfire. For whatever reason the imp felt lighter knowing that Cheshire would be present for a little longer.
Thoughts of Baelfire reminded the spinner that he was dealing with a child. Furthermore, he was dealing with a child faced with the knowledge that his master was dead by the hand of the man Cheshire had helped. Assuredly the boy would be dealing with some form of guilt. In an instant Rumpelstiltskin's joy dissipated. Now that he had seen the handiwork of the Dark One, Cheshire would flee. The boy would want to leave now and if he was honest with himself, Rumpelstiltskin couldn't blame him.
"Sorry I meant to clean that up last night," the older man intoned quietly so as not to further startle the child. Though he wasn't exactly attached to the boy, Rumpelstiltskin knew that earning a child's fear would hurt the part of him that was still a father.
The boy turned slowly to face the intruder and for a brief moment Rumpelstiltskin saw something very dark glint in the boy's eyes. A shiver ran down the Dark One's spine as he considered that look, but before he could tell any intent the boy's face changed. Cheshire cast his eyes to floor and resumed his fraught air. Yet the boy didn't run from the imp. No abstract fear or terror in the presence of a monster crossed his features. The child was understandably distressed, yet – from what Rumpelstiltskin could tell – that distress was not aimed at the new master of the castle.
With a flick of his wrist the imp made the body and all evidence of the previous night's struggle vanish. "How about some breakfast?" Rumpelstiltskin asked, hoping to stave off the inevitable for a few minutes more. Your weak his curse whispered, the boy will betray or abandon you eventually. Just kill him now and be done with it. He shook away those dark thoughts once again and with a snap of his fingers a plate of biscuits and jam appeared on the table. He indicated for Cheshire to join him for the meal. Hesitantly the boy walked to the table and began piling a plate with food.
The two sat in silence while each ate his fill. Much to the boy's delight anytime the plate appeared to be running low more biscuits appeared. While Cheshire ate Rumpelstiltskin once more contemplated the young man in front of him. During the night he'd decided to help the child whose services he'd unintentionally inherited. Regardless of what the voices of his curse insisted the imp couldn't simply kill the boy or turn him out into the world without any aid. Generally speaking Rumpelstiltskin often lost these battles with his curse. However something very like a conscious reminded just how low such actions would pull him and this time the spinner reigned control from the darkness. He would help this boy find whatever family he had left and make certain that Cheshire was left in good hands.
Clearing his voice, the imp addressed Cheshire, "I spent the evening considering our predicament." The child's head snapped up and his eyes traveled to Rumpelstiltskin's general direction. "I've decided to help you find whatever family you have left. I'll make sure they have whatever they need to care for you of course, and I don't mind you staying here until we find them. But hopefully by the end of the week we'll have a new home for you."
The boy sat back in his seat, food forgotten, and silence reigned for a long moment. Finally, the boy broke his silence, "What if I want to stay here?"
Shock coursed through the Dark One causing him to sit in silence once more unsure of how to respond. The boy couldn't really want to stay. "I don't think that's a good idea," Rumpelstiltskin confessed.
"Why not?" When the imp didn't divulge further, the boy continued, "I don't have any family left. They'll have nothing to do with me."
"Then we'll find you a caretaker or an apprenticeship," the Dark One answered easily, leaning back and observing the boy over steepled fingers. The child could not stay here. He would only bring danger and inconvenience to the new master of the castle. Rumpelstiltskin didn't need his curse whispering in his ear to know that. Nevertheless, the part of the former spinner that had been lonely for the past five years yearned for even the hope of company.
"I've already had an apprenticeship and I'm past the age most will take on," Cheshire reasoned quickly. For the first time the boy looked up to the area around Rumpelstiltskin's face. He still refused eye contact, instead looking slightly to left of the Dark One, but the imp noted the effort of such an action. "Why can't I stay?"
"Ches-" he attempted weakly realizing that previous statement was the most he'd ever heard the boy utter.
"I can help you," the boy professed daring to cut of the Dark One, "I'll show you the ins and outs of the castle - it's tricky sometimes- and I can help you get it cleaned up."
"I've seen your cleaning skills and they leave much to be desired," the older man quipped even as he felt his resolve slipping.
"I rarely cleaned for Silas." Cheshire admitted looking down at his hands once more."I mostly was just his errand boy and cook."
"You can't stay here," Rumpelstiltskin repeated firmly. He tore himself from his observation of the boy by shaking his head and standing. With the decision made the imp moved to leave the room, before he could take more than a few steps the boy tried again.
"Please," Cheshire pleaded softly, "I'll be helpful I swear. I can be your apprentice."
"I'm not looking for an apprentice or help. Besides I'm far too busy for anything of the sort," Rumpelstiltskin was close to caving and the boy must have sensed that.
"What entertaining your many guests?" the child quipped boldly.
Damn this kid was quick, the imp thought as an involuntary snort escaped him. Despite himself, Rumpelstiltskin found that he liked the kid's wit and his moments of bravery. "What makes you think I don't have people coming to be with me?" He asked turning back to face the child and accentuating his question with a flourish of his hands.
"You killed a man to get a castle that can't be reached without magic or a lot of willpower for six months out of the year. I doubt you'll be hosting many balls." The boy was sharp, not even the Dark One could deny that. And it would be helpful to have someone clever around. "I've nowhere else to go," the last was said with such quiet honesty that the imp knew he could no longer deny the child.
"If I were to let you stay there would be contingencies," he intoned seriously.
"I'd expect nothing less. I've heard tell that you like making deals," Cheshire remained seated but an air something close to confidence surrounded him now. The kid could tell he was winning the argument. "Will you make one with me? I'll show you around and acquaint you with this place and the fiefdom -it's a small village at the base of the pass - that goes along with it. I'll help you clean and I'll even cook. In return you give me a place to stay and teach me how to control my magic."
A long beat passed as man and boy stared at each other weighing options and possibilities.
"I have business across the realms to attend," Rumpelstiltskin answered carefully measuring each word as he laid out his contingencies to this deal. "This business will take priority over everything. There may be days or even weeks where I'm gone. I won't divulge anything to you and you will keep your nose out of my business. Anything that you see or hear in this castle will not be repeated outside these walls." The boy nodded excitedly in reply. "You cook, clean, and show me around one exchange for magic lessons and a place to stay. You keep your nose clean and your mouth shut, and I won't turn you into something small and slimy. Is that the deal you're proposing?"
"Yes"
"And you're sure it's what you want? I can offer you little more than darkness and even further isolation," the imp warned.
"I'm good with that. It's not like I have anyone to disappoint anymore. Deal?"
"Deal"
Rumpelstiltskin was impressed with the boy. He had greatly misjudged the child. Cheshire had a keen mind and was clever enough to cajole the Dark One into a deal. While the curse that raged inside of him was equally impressed by the boy's show of intelligence, it raged at Rumpelstiltskin for agreeing to such a deal. It constantly called for him to kill the boy or at least send him far away. However, that was one impulse of the darkness that Rumpelstiltskin little no trouble ignoring. He might hurt others without so much as blinking an eye, but he refused to hurt an innocent child.
Sure, he was known for stealing first-born babies, but he always had a place for them in mind. Besides any parent who would willingly give up a child did not deserve to keep said child. Actually harming or putting a child in danger was the line he was unwilling to cross. He knew that if he were to cross that line the darkness would win, and he would most certainly lose what remained of his soul to the entity that had already taken so much.
Rumpelstiltskin also knew that he was now walking a precarious path with this boy. It was inevitable that Cheshire would one day leave, so he must not become attached to the child. But he could teach his new apprentice and maybe gain a few insights to his new home along the way. He would not get attached. He had Bae and that was the only person he had room for in his heart. He would not get attached.
The two companions of the Dark Castle fell into a rhythm over the next several days. They would wake in the mornings for breakfast together and then tackle some room or area of the castle for cleaning. As they cleaned the imp would answer the many questions the precocious child had about everything from magic to current events to books he'd read. Around midday Rumpelstiltskin would leave the boy to clean and head to the tower he had chosen as his work room. The Dark One would spend the rest of the day in his tower researching a variety of curses searching for the one mentioned by the Blue Fairy. He knew that there was a way to get to his boy, his Baelfire, and he'd vowed to do all in his power to find the curse that would take him to the Land Without Magic. He refused to allow this newest distraction to keep him from fulfilling his vow. Cheshire would find him in the evenings with dinner and the two ate while the imp instructed the boy in potions and magical items.
Despite his best attempts to distance himself from the boy, Cheshire was becoming adept at sneaking past Rumpelstiltskin's carefully constructed walls. In a few short days, the boy had become a constant presence that the spinner relied on and enjoyed. The Dark One's curse raged at him every time he let the boy get a little closer to the man behind the curse. But Rumpelstiltskin dismissed the voice in his head each time telling himself that he was simply helping an unfortunate child. In quiet moments alone in his tower he admitted that the boy was growing on him quickly. He'd always known he was weak and hated the idea of being completely alone, Cheshire's continued presence was just proof of that. While the boy could never replace Bae, Rumpelstiltskin found comfort in providing and (to a degree) caring for a child once more.
It was on one such morning about a month into his stay at the castle that Cheshire began asking more detailed questions about magic. "Rumpelstiltskin," the boy began as he and the older man swept a huge library. "Why don't you use magic to clean these rooms? Like you did for our bedrooms that first night?"
The imp leaned on the broom for a moment as he considered how best to answer the question. "All magic comes with a price. Regardless of what it's used for, the use of magic exacts a price on the user." Seeing that Cheshire wasn't completely following, Rumpelstiltskin continued. "Think about it like exerting energy. If I had taken the time to clean the bedrooms myself, I would have put a good deal of work and effort into the task. By using magic, I bypassed that work and the exertion on myself. The price for something like that was small in that it left me slightly fatigued. Even though it only took a flick of my wrist," he demonstrated the movement as he spoke, "I still had to pay for the exertion."
He looked over and saw Cheshire nodding slowly. Even after several weeks the boy still refused to make eye contact or even look him in the face for more than seconds at a time, but he was getting better at looking at his master as the older man spoke. The two had found some level of comfort with each other in these type of question and answer sessions. "Like the food we have every morning?" The boy asked, much to the imp's delight.
"So, you've noticed," the Dark One replied proudly with a trademark chuckle.
"I… I mean… it's good and all," the boy stammered realizing that there was chance his caretaker might find offense with this line of reasoning, "but it's got a weird flavor to it. Like it's not quite real."
"Exactly right," Rumpelstiltskin applauded. He found himself impressed with Cheshire's observation on the matter. "The food tastes off because it was made by magic. Since we put no work into creating it, it doesn't taste the same as a home cooked meal might."
"Is the price always related that directly to the magic used?"
This time even his curse was impressed by the child's insight. If properly educated, this boy could become a force to be reckoned with, the voices in his head whispered.
Carefully, Rumpelstiltskin answered the question with honesty. "It's not. Though there is usually some correlation between the act and the price. A practitioner of magic may choose a path for the cost. That's why I always trade in deals. If someone wants something that magic can provide, I charge a price for it. That way they are essentially trading for the magic. I can channel the cost into what I deem an appropriate price as long as the value of the price is equal or similar to what the magic demands," the imp reasoned noting how Cheshire was drinking in every word he said. "It takes some time to learn how to do it, but you can guide or divide out the price of most magic. For example, if a farmer wants fertile soil, I might ask for his prize cow or his first-born child. Something equally precious or of equal value to the magic provided."
He'd snuck in the first-born child bit to get a reaction from Cheshire, but the boy didn't even blink at the mention. Instead the child stopped his sweeping completely to continue his line of questioning. "Could you leave a deal open ended? I mean could ask for a favor or just tell them you'd return for the price later?"
The Dark One perked up at that question and the voices of his curse, Nimue especially, began changing its tune about the boy. "Yes," Rumpelstiltskin answered slowly weighing his words. "You could do that, but it's a foolish move by anyone who chooses to make such a deal. Never promise anything to someone. Always make them spell out what they want from you. But if you can get someone to promise you anything, then yes, that can be used to assuage the cost of the magic. As long as the favor you require is of equal weight."
"So, you've done it before then? You've asked a person for a favor to be used later when you actually need it?" The boy leaned forward excitedly his eyes fixed on a spot slightly to the right of the Dark One's face.
Rumpelstiltskin felt a drop of unease nestle into his stomach. Cheshire's mind moved to manipulation quickly and that worried the little bit of human left within the demon. While he would have been impressed with an older person jumping on the possibilities of challenging the cost of magic into something devastating, it bothered the imp to see that line of thinking in a child. Rumpelstiltskin shifted his weight to his left leg clenching the broom tightly in both hands. "I have. It benefits me at times to not let someone know the price. But you should always strive to tell someone what the cost will be, at least until you've had enough practice manipulating the price."
"Are there times when the price can't be manipulated?"
"You're full of questions today aren't you boy?" The Dark One challenged wondering if he'd let the boy know too much already. The paranoia inherent in his curse believed that teaching the boy too much about the manipulation of magics price would backfire on him one day, but even the spinner was concerned at these questions.
"Sorry," the boy stammered suddenly nervous again. He cast his eyes down to the floor and began sweeping once more. The Imps eyes however never left the boy.
"The price can almost always be manipulated, but yes there are times when the magic demands something specific. However, we won't discuss that until you're further along in your lessons." Rumpelstiltskin couldn't help the disturbed feeling that nagged him as he ended the discussion of prices with the boy. "That's enough for today Ches. I'll be in my tower for the rest of the evening. I'll be going out this evening so find yourself something to eat and don't wait up." With that he left the boy standing in the middle of the large room.
He didn't know how to feel about Cheshire's new-found skill. The Dark One was excited about the prospects of his new apprentice. If he could train the boy in some basic spells, he might even be able to send the boy out to do his bidding with minor deals. The boy had showed a lot of promise in his studies so far and they had yet to even begin constructing and deconstructing spells. A chuckle escaped the imp as he delighted in his apprentice's newest skill set, but Rumpelstiltskin still felt quite uneasy. He thought back to the dark look he'd seen in the boy's eyes when he found the child crouched over Silas's corpse and then to the fact that the boy had completely disregarded his mention of stealing first born children. However, his concern took the back seat as his curse began driving him think of the many ways in which Cheshire had just become useful.
As usual if let me know in the reviews what you think, if you like something, dislike something, would like more explanation/less explanation about a point, whatever. See you guys in the next chapter!
Next up: Ches gets to go along on a deal and we meet an annoying little bug.
