A/N: AHHH it's back! So fair warning because it gets dark at the end here. TW for some child-abuse. I have a lot of info down in the end notes that pertains to this story and its schedule so please, please check that out (if you're still talking to me haha). I hope you guys enjoy!
The Dark One had been in control, that much was certain. Cheshire knew that his mentor battled with his inner demon daily but knowing and seeing were two very different things. Rumpelstiltskin had been the one to ask Ches to leave. The Dark One was the monster who'd come so close to hurting him.
The sun was fading fast leaving the trail in deep shadows that stretched out to envelop the lone traveler. Cheshire pondered his latest interaction with Rumpelstiltskin as he made the return trip up the mountain pass. The town had not been able to hold the boy's interest today. He had too much to think on. Although he'd done it to save Rumpelstiltskin, his mentor had been furious with him for owing Maleficent. For dealing with her in the first place. Whether that anger was based in fear that Cheshire had gotten in over his head or based in fear of the liability that made him for the Dark One, Ches couldn't decide.
Then there was the fact that he'd watched the Dark One use something that looked very much like light magic. Cheshire had seen Rumpelstiltskin use light magic to heal before, but he'd thought that to be an anomaly. How was it possible for one as steeped in dark magic as Rumpelstiltskin to use something so very light? What emotions had the old sorcerer tapped into for that?
There was only one thing Ches was certain that the man loved and that was his apparently long-lost son. Cheshire hadn't learned much about his mentor's child in his time at the Dark Castle, yet he'd seen Rumpelstiltskin wear the grief of that loss like a heavy cloak. Its presence was constant. There was no way to replace a lost family member, the boy knew that well, but he'd hoped that his companionship could help Rumpelstiltskin deal with that pain. Apparently, he'd been wrong.
And as much as tried not to let that sting, Cheshire couldn't let it go. He wasn't enough for the sorcerer. The man would always be looking for his son and Ches would once more take the back seat in someone else's life. Jealousy pulled sharply at the boy's heart no matter how he tried to ignore it.
This boy he'd never met was costing Ches the only bond he had left.
Long days turned into long weeks and long weeks turned into eternal months. Time ticked past the Dark Castle as Winter reasserted itself only to be thawed by the spring.
It had been over a year since he'd taken on an apprentice. While Cheshire learned quickly and excelled at any task set before him, Rumpelstiltskin continued to grow frustrated with his apprentice. The boy helped dispel loneliness from the large castle, but such companionship came at a price. On days when the Dark One wanted to rage at the world and tear his castle apart, Rumpelstiltskin had to temper himself. Periods of necessary alone time were interrupted by chattering questions.
It didn't help that Rumpelstiltskin continued to hit dead end after dead end in his never-ending search for Baelfire. No matter what path he took, no matter how bright it seemed, at the end of the day he always ran into another wall. It was becoming unbearable. As another year passed him by, the Spinner grieved for his lost son. Hampered by the thoughts of his child left alone in the world. Failure ate away at him while guilt festered in his soul.
Teaching and helping Cheshire offered the imp some form of relief, but it was becoming a distraction he could no longer afford. He was overly fond of his apprentice and resolutely ignored his curse's suggestions to kill the child. But that fondness was overshadowed by his desperation to reach Bae.
He also had to contend with the constant nagging in the back of his mind reminding him of a certain prophecy. If Cheshire was the boy mentioned therein, then one day Rumpelstiltskin would have to deal with that. Such dark thoughts forced him to keep the boy at a little less than arms reach. Baelfire had to come first. Ches knew enough to understand that. Rumpelstiltskin constantly stressed the importance of this mission to his apprentice. The boy had to understand.
Yet the imp couldn't help but notice the slight signs of jealousy growing within his apprentice. It had begun with small matters. Ches's insistence that they practice spells he'd already mastered. The boy's questions which circled endlessly, keeping Rumpelstiltskin from slipping away to his tower. His apprentice was reluctant to even mention Baelfire's name or relation to Rumpelstiltskin.
For whatever reasons Cheshire no longer sought to help the Dark One on his quest. Instead he'd become an unreserved hinderance. Which led the imp to his current predicament.
It became harder to fight the darkness with each passing day. He'd taught the boy all he was willing to, maintaining his refusal to lead Ches down too dark a path. The boy was already a liability and now Rumpelstiltskin himself was becoming the main threat to the boy. One wrong word or move during a high temper would cost the child more than he could comprehend. It was time for Cheshire to leave. For good.
It was late in the evening when Cheshire returned to the Dark Castle. He'd skipped his lessons with the imp for the fifth day in a row. If asked he couldn't be certain as to why he was deliberately infuriating Rumpelstiltskin, yet the boy found himself doing so at every opportunity. Perhaps knowing that he could elicit such a response from the unshakable man goaded him, or maybe Ches just wanted someone else to hurt like he was.
The teenager couldn't take his master's deliberate attempts to replace him with the memory of a lost boy. So today, he'd decided he'd had enough and took a trip down to the village at the base of the mountain. If Rumpelstiltskin cared that his apprentice took off without a word, he hadn't seen fit to display that care for the past four hours. That led Cheshire to believe he was safe from his master's ire.
Which is why the young man was so shocked when he walked into the great hall and found his mentor sitting at the table facing the door. The glare he fixed on Ches sent shivers running down the boy's spine. He'd earned Silas's hatred on more than one occasion, so he was accustomed to anger from adult's, but the disappointment mixed with thinly veiled rage plastered across Rumpelstiltskin's face was a terrifying sight to behold.
The imp was completely still as his apprentice made his way to the long table. Having known the Dark One for more than a year now, Ches knew that the flamboyant imp was only that immovable while seething. For the first time since he'd met the man, Cheshire realized that he might be in danger.
"I'm glad to see that you saw fit to return," Rumpelstiltskin observed from his seat. Reptilian eyes gazing at Ches over steepled fingers.
"I, I, I was," Ches stammered for the first time in a long while. A deep calming breath and a determined gaze fixed that little problem. He was the apprentice of the bloody Dark One and such sorcerers did not stutter when faced with a challenge. "I'm glad you saw fit to notice my absence," the boy fired back.
Rage flitted across the imp's face almost to fast to see. "Where've you been?"
Cheshire strode forward and tossed his fine black cloak onto the table next the Dark One. The cloak was his favorite and had been his first gift from Rumpelstiltskin. Throwing it back into the man's face held a vindictive sort of pleasure to it. "That's my business."
"Your business is my business. I'll only ask once more. Where. Have you. Been?"
"I went for a walk through the village. You know the people you're meant to rule over. Or did you forget about them too?"
On his feet in a flash, Rumpelstiltskin stood face to face with his apprentice. Leaning in closely he snarled, "you're walking a very fine line right now boy."
"Go ahead, Dark One," Cheshire taunted unaware of where his anger was coming from. "Do your worst." His rage ramped up to meet Rumpelstiltskin's inch for inch.
The two inhabitants of the Dark Castle stared one another down, as anger bubbled between them. The months of festering frustration, jealousy, and impatience had created a chasm that neither could cross. And now the ground crumbled beneath their feet.
"Leave me now," Rumpelstiltskin – for it was certainly the spinner's request– growled in a low voice that was far more frightening than the pantomime he usually resorted to.
"I think I'll stay. You don't get to run from every fight."
The Dark One wanted him dead in that moment. Cheshire watched the thought flicker through his mentor's eyes. Instincts screamed at him to back down or walk away, but Ches refused. He was tired of pretending everything was fine.
He'd saved this man from sirens, fairies, and clerics, he cared deeply for Rumpelstiltskin and he knew that the feeling was a mutual one. The imp was his mentor, his friend, and something close to a father. But Ches couldn't allow the man to keep pushing him away. He also could no longer pretend that the search for Baelfire didn't eat away at him. The time for honesty had come.
"We've been avoiding this conversation for too long," Cheshire said levelly, never taking his eyes off Rumpelstiltskin's.
"What conversation is that?" the imp asked, impressively turning the question into a sneer.
"Baelfire is gone," Ches replied bluntly. Several emotions danced quickly across Rumpelstiltskin's features. Cheshire recognized shock, anger, and heartache, but the imp's mood changed too fast for him catch them all. He had Rumpelstiltskin's attention again, the Dark One momentarily held at bay. "But I'm here."
"You can't replace my son," the man hissed.
"I'm not trying to replace him," Ches all but shouted. "But if you continue down this asinine path, then you're going to lose a real chance at family. Don't squander what you have in search of what you've lost."
His words hit exactly where he'd intended them. Cheshire could see visibly the war playing out within Rumpelstiltskin's mind and heart.
"I can't give up on him," Rumpelstiltskin insisted quietly. "I can't fail him again."
"You're failing him if you don't allow yourself happiness."
"How can I be happy knowing that I abandoned my son to another world," Rumpelstiltskin keened, a wild anguish filling the sorcerer's eyes. "I let him go. Gone to somewhere I can't reach or protect him. My boy…"
"Rumple, it's… he'd want you to find happiness," Ches insisted gently.
"He'd want…" the imp swallowed before changing his tense, "he wants me to find him. For me to better for him"
"How is this better?"
Clawed hands ran wildly through long curly hair. "I can't leave him. I can't," the imp was muttering to himself as he paced back and forth in small strides. Suddenly Cheshire found Rumpelstiltskin an inch from his face once more. "You're trying to distract me."
"I'm trying to save you from yourself," Ches shouted, done with this insanity.
"You'll not cost me my son."
"Your son is gone, Rumpelstiltskin. Face that and–"
Cheshire never finished his sentence. A long-fingered hand choked off his words as it wrapped around his throat. For the first time, Ches found himself face to face with an unrestrained Dark One. Rumpelstiltskin wasn't present in the hateful glare. Dark spots appeared before the young man's eyes as he struggled for air. Automatically his hands grabbed the imp's wrists, but Rumpelstiltskin was far stronger than he looked. Nothing he did could remove the Dark One's death grip.
"Rumple," the boy spluttered.
Recognition flashed through amber eyes at the sound of his name. Rumpelstiltskin dropped the boy and backed away swiftly, horror the only emotion visible. Staring down at his hand in disbelief, the imp whispered something that might have been an apology. Glancing up the Dark One saw his handy work displayed across his apprentice's neck. Thick purple bruises were forming already and blood seeped from where a beastly claw had met tender flesh.
"Go," the old sorcerer breathed.
"What?"
"Go Ches," the man repeated, refusing to meet Cheshire's eye. When Ches didn't move Rumpelstiltskin shouted, "go! Leave. Pack your things and never darken this doorstep again."
"Rumple-" Ches pleaded, completely uncertain of how things had gone so wrong, so quickly.
"GO!" the Dark One bellowed.
Terror filled Cheshire as darkness swirled around them. Snatching his cloak from the table, Ches fled from the room.
In ten minutes, he'd packed his meager belongings, leaving everything Rumpelstiltskin had given him except for the clothes on his back and his favorite black cloak. A rucksack filled with supplies and gold waited for him on the table in the Entrance Hall. A sense of foreboding followed Cheshire until he was clear from the castle and its grounds. As the large wrought iron gates slammed behind him with finality, Ches finally allowed tears to flow.
A/N: *Dodges hastily thrown pitchforks and food products* Sorry, I know it got dark there at the end. I'm also sorry, because it doesn't get better from here. These two will definitely see each other again though. But don't look for a happy ending in this fic (that's what the sequel's for!).
I have the final chapter for Second Chances written and I'm so pumped to publish it. There will be a short filler piece in between this chapter and the final chapter, which should be posted by tomorrow night. I My dearest hope is to have this fic finished by Tuesday, because I'm about to start a new job and I have too many stories going on at once. So be on the lookout!
In the meantime, let me know what you think (and please forgive me!). Thanks for reading and, as always, I'll see you guys in the next chapter.
