At the Beginning With You

Chapter Ten

Within the hour, the royals of both Arendelle and Storybrooke, as well as their friends and the kingdom's guards, who were there for their leaders' protection for when the battle between them, this enchantress, and the pirates would inevitably begin, were all ready for the journey to find the rock trolls. When they arrived within half a mile of where the magical beings resided, Elsa ordered their guards to remain behind, while the Queen, her sister and her husband, Emma, Snow, Charming, and the rest of the visitors traveled the rest of the way.

"Grandpabbie, Bulda, are you here?" Kristoff called out anxiously as they entered the wide open space surrounded by rocks and boulders. "Cliff, where are you guys? We need your help. It's urgent!"

"We are here, Kristoff," the troll elder answered softly as he rolled out and revealed his true self before the visitors, as did the rest of the clan, and then turned to look up at the woman born from true love. "I can sense great power within you, my dear child. I also sense great sadness and fear. You are afraid for the man you love?"

Emma knelt down before him as she replied with fear in her voice, "A powerful being who calls herself the Enchantress plans to sacrifice him so that they can revive another soul long dead from the Underworld."

The elder reached up to the Savior's forehead in order to read her mind for the rest of the answers he sought, then bowed his head as he responded sadly, "I see. I am so very sorry, Emma Swan, Savior of two worlds."

"I cannot lose Killian again," Emma pleaded as the troll took her hand in his own. "He doesn't deserve to suffer for eternity. He isn't the man he once was."

"All sins can be forgiven when someone loves you," Grandpabbie answered gently.

Emma looked over at her parents, then turned back to the elder with surprise as she replied, "Killian said those exact words to me. He spoke of his past in hope of bringing me back to the light after I had given in to the darkness."

The troll nodded and responded, "A very powerful declaration indeed, and very true. Yet fate appears to want to destroy the love the two of you share, even if your one true love must suffer a fate that he no longer deserves."

"Surely we can change his fate," Snow stated obstinately. "We've all managed to change our own and though villains are not destined for happy endings where we come from, we've altered the rules time and time again, thanks to our daughter."

"And Hook too," Charming added. "If it wasn't for him, Emma would still be the Dark One and we would have lost her for good."

Anna spoke up saying, "Please, Grandpabbie. I have seen you do amazing things and you've always guided us in the right direction. Even when you were encouraging me to dump Hans for Kristoff, which was the best decision I've ever made."

Elsa nodded as she continued, "Emma and her family helped the three of us when we were trapped within Storybrooke. They helped me to find my sister, even when my fear got the better of me and I placed Emma in great danger when my powers grew out of control. We owe it to them to do the same. Surely there is something you can do to guide us to the portal?"

"The pendant given to this vile pirate captain by the Enchantress," Bulda said in answer as she rolled over to stand with the elder. "Do you still have it?"

"I've tried to will it to help me find him after I regained consciousness, just after we started on our trip here," Emma replied as she pulled the medallion from around her neck and held it out for the trolls to examine.

The elder troll enchanted it with his own magic as he responded, "That is because this enchantress has charmed it so that only Blackbeard can wield its power. Even now, it will do you no good, but to show you the path you must take to save Captain Hook."

Emma took the pendant back and then asked, "How can we ever repay you for your help?"

"I assure you, Savior, you have returned our Kristoff and Anna, as well as Arendelle's rightful ruler home," Grandpabbie answered. "Defeat the Enchantress and save the man you love. That is all the gratitude we need. But I warn you, be careful. The journey ahead of you will be a treacherous one."

"It can't be any worse than the troubles we've all come across already," Leroy replied, trying to sound confident for his brothers."

Bashful glared at Grumpy as he stated nervously, "You do realize that because you said so that…. that we're all jinx… jinxed now, right?"

Mary Margaret quickly responded, "Jinxed or not, we're going anyway. Thank you all again."

"It's about time," Leroy spoke again excitedly. "We're finally going to get to see some action!"

"I have one final question before we leave," Charming said as the dwarfs started back toward where the guards waited for them. "Do you have any idea who this Enchantress is or who she might be trying to resurrect?"

Bulda looked up at the Prince and answered, "Long ago, I heard of two powerful beings that lived deep within the Enchanted Forest, the woman born of a fairy and a King from another realm, and her husband born of elves. They were good…"

The elder troll continued, "…until the elf King died in a great battle and his wife lost hope in the good her magic did for others. She became angry when heroes and villains alike began to change their own stories, making her powers seem obsolete."

"The last time that she tried to use her powers for good, she had cursed a spoiled prince by transforming him into a beast in hope of teaching him a lesson, having foreseen a beautiful young woman falling in love with him if he could only learn to love another other than himself, her love for him being powerful enough to break the spell," another of the trolls replied. "But another monster changed their fates when she fell in love with him instead. Rumpelstiltskin stole the woman and rewrote their story, just as the Evil Queen did to most other inhabitants living within the Enchanted Forest. Now the Prince has been condemned to remain a beast for as long as he lives."

"Belle?" Emma asked skeptically. "You mean to say that this enchantress is the same enchantress from the Disney version of Beauty and the Beast? I suppose that makes sense. Why not?"

Mary Margaret stated, "It must be that she wants to bring her husband back from the Underworld. Emma said it herself, true love would be worth going against Hades for."

David nodded and responded, "That… and perhaps power, the kind of power to help this enchantress to change everyone's fates back to how she feels they were meant to be."