A/N: As a bit of a treat since it's been a while since I last posted, I'm splitting chapter 8 into two parts. This one is a bit shorter, but it was getting ridiculously long and I had to cut it somewhere. So I'm posting another chapter today.
Their initial meeting had taken place in a very public forum, he'd no intention of being seen with her by so many once again. They both had reputations to uphold and neither wanted that tarnished by the other. When Purple sent a new Time and location to him the day following their meeting, Rumpelstiltskin was unsurprised at the cloak and dagger of the whole affair.
Lake Nostos and its inhabitant had enough of a reputation to ensure that no one would happen across this particular business venture. But the imp couldn't help but feel as if this location held more importance than he originally believed.
"Don't get too close to the water," Rumpelstiltskin advised his apprentice as the two neared the bank.
Casting an apprehensive glance to the water Ches's voice shook a little as he asked, "What's in there?"
The Dark One couldn't quite hide the hint of pride in his voice as he complimented his apprentice, "You can feel it? Good, that's very good. You're becoming more in tune with magic. There's a siren who lives in these waters. When unsuspecting travelers come here for a drink she lures them in and then drags them to the depths." He leaned towards his apprentice as he pointed out at the water to illustrate his point.
The boy nodded as he listened to the explanation, "How do you fight a siren? Or can they be killed?"
The smallest amount of trepidation filled the Dark One before he jumped head first into his explanation. "Oh, they can be handled with magic or supposedly even with True Love," the last two words left his mouth in bitter mockery. Yet Ches smirked right along with him. "A clear head is the first step, knowing what it is that awaits you and reminding yourself that it isn't real. Magically silencing them or simply blocking your ears can stave off the effects and then it's merely a defenseless creature to deal with as you please." The imp saw all fear leave the kid as he explained, "What not afraid of the nasty beast in the lake?" The imp quipped.
"Not knowing makes everything worse," Ches replied. "Once you know what something is, know it's weaknesses, you can defeat it. There's nothing frightening about something you can beat."
Apprehension stole through Rumpelstiltskin and he couldn't tell if it was his or the curse's this time. Either way it sent a shiver down his spine. He eyed the boy a bit warily.
"Better watch the kid Dark One, he's clever and brave," a voice called down to the imp and his apprentice. "That's usually a dangerous combination."
Rumpelstiltskin saw the fairy as the little gnat flew in to hang in the air beside them. "Well look who's finally decided to join us," the imp mocked. "Took your time didn't you, dearie?"
"I arrived precisely when I meant to," Indigo retorted as she grew to regular size. The Dark One noted that today she wore her traditional skimpy fairy garb in her attempt to imitate a floating jellyfish. She ignored Rumpelstiltskin's glare as she turned her attention to Cheshire. "How are you doing kid?"
Still leery of fairies, Ches folded his arms across his chest and shot a look to the Dark One. He replied only after receiving a nod from the malevolent imp, "I'm fine."
"He's not working you too hard, is he? Not making you do anything to heinous?" Indigo asked giving him a sly smile that Ches apparently liked.
"I stay busy. But then he's only made me dispose of his victim's bodies a few times," the boy quipped, earning him a snort of laughter from the fairy.
"I like this one," she announced turning her attention back to the imp. "Do try and keep him around."
"I'm so happy you approve. Moving on to the reason we're gathered here," Rumpelstiltskin digressed. "What did you find?"
Indigo pulled a long-suffering look in answer to the imp's question, "You really aren't any fun. But in answer to your question, I did find some useful information." Noting her now captive audience the fairy delighted in pausing for effect.
"And," Rumpelstiltskin urged, his patience wearing thin.
"And after falling under a sleeping curse, well crafted or not, there are certain side effects to waking. While under the curse a person's soul is trapped in a netherworld filled with their own regrets and worst memories. In a proper curse those feelings of hopelessness and despair are amplified, but even in a poorly constructed one the effect can be unpleasant."
"So, the despair and darker feelings of life can leave an imprint of sort?" The Dark One inquired.
"Of sort," Indigo replied unable to hide the impressed glint in her eyes. "It leaves a pathway open to this netherworld for those victims who wake up. There isn't necessarily a trigger, but a bad day, fear, depression of any kind or even a bad dream are more likely open that pathway when one's body is fully relaxed. But that's not fool proof. You could be having the best day of your life and still find yourself in the netherworld."
"I'm beginning to doubt there's any kind of cure for this type of magic," the imp growled.
"There isn't a cure," the fairy answered cryptically.
"You're just as useless as the rest of your kind!" Rumpelstiltskin barked as disappointment turned to anger. "You-" he stopped himself as the spinner's clever mind caught up to his curse's constant anger.
The Indigo fairy nodded as she saw him begin putting the pieces together. "There's no cure, but there might be a way to help someone while they are in the netherworld."
"You'd need some kind of talisman to anchor the spell to the person. To make it appear in their dreams," Rumpelstiltskin countered.
"Something like this," Indigo said as she pulled a small necklace from a fold of her voluptuous dress.
A smile crawled across the imp's face as he and the fairy exchanged a look. A glance at his apprentice confirmed that the boy had been following the discussion intently. For the first time since this whole mess began, the boy actually looked slightly hopeful.
"Which brings us to our current predicament," the fairy continued.
"What predicament would that be?" this time it was Ches who broke into the fairy's explanation.
She spared the boy a comforting smile and turned back to his master, "I have all but the final ingredient added to the necklace. However, that final ingredient is very specific." She gave a meaningful look to the waters behind the Dark One and his apprentice.
"The siren's pond?" Rumpelstiltskin scoffed.
"Lake Nostos has powerful regenerative properties. Using waters from this lake can restore the boy to a peaceful mindset once he grabs the talisman while in his dreams. Once he has the talisman he can control the dream and there's nothing left to fear."
The imp nodded as he followed the fairy's logic, his eyes ghosting over the calm surface of the lake. "I assume that water from this lake cannot be magically summoned in any fashion?"
Indigo gave him a curt nod, "And for this particular spell to work properly the person who retrieves the water needs to do so for pure reasons."
"What do you mean?" Ches asked when Rumpelstiltskin remained silent.
Surprisingly it was the imp himself who answered the boy's question. "It means that this spell is an attempt to bring you from a place of harm to a place of peace while you're sleeping. The water is needed for that restoration, but the price of such magic must come from somewhere. Facing a creature such as the one who lives in these waters by yourself for yourself might do the trick, but to have someone risk that danger for you for unselfish reasons would guarantee a stronger and far more potent ingredient."
"So Dark One, are you going to keep stalling or are you going to get that final ingredient?" Indigo implored as she handed him a flask.
The imp took a long look at the flask and then turned his reptilian gaze to Ches. A hundred different reasons for why this was a bad idea ran through Rumpelstiltskin's head. Those were propelled and then multiplied by his curse. He knew enough about siren's and how to handle them that it shouldn't be a difficult task. Yet he'd never actually faced one before. The coward that would always reside within him wanted to refuse. To tell the fairy to get it herself. For once his curse fully supported that portion of his soul. But the spell wouldn't be as potent if the fairy retrieved the water. True she was inherently good, but she held no real connection to the child.
In the end he pulled his magic around him like armor and bolstered his limited store of courage. With all the confidence he didn't feel he snatched the flask from the fairy and gave Ches a smile before walking to the water's edge.
It wasn't until the flask was nearly full that he felt another presence close to him.
"Papa?" came a voice that very nearly made him drop the precious item he now held.
Rumpelstiltskin swung his head towards the voice, not daring to believe it to be real. He had sound enough mind to lift the flask from the water before dropping it into the sand as he hit knees. Standing not two feet in front of him was Baelfire.
"Bae?" he whispered brokenly, hardly daring to believe his eyes.
A/N: So, it may not have been that much of a treat, but it was too good of a cliffhanger. Sorry for leaving you guys here, but hopefully this means I won't be rude and leave this hanging for too long. There should be another chapter by next week (hopefully). As always let me know what you guys think and thanks for reading. See you guys in the next chapter!
