SMOKE AND ASHES
Back at The House, Gold, with Belle's help, tests the extent of Omaha's talents and discovers that he's able to project fear, typical of Bocans, and remove hearts, which is not typical of Bocans. The next morning, Gold re-connects with 'his ladies' over breakfast and he and Belle discuss the emerging energies of Avonleigh. Later, Gold employs Belle to take Zelena and Omaha (and Elspeth) out shopping to outfit themselves and their apartments before they leave for Fairyland. Omaha, healthy young man that he is, attracts feminine attentions while trying on clothes, but, bless his heart, he is totally clueless. Exhausted from riding herd on the threesome, Belle accepts a lunch invitation from Gold and shares her personal doubts about her mother. The following morning, hosting breakfast for all the remaining members of The House, Gold is confronted by Jefferson, who questions if Gold needs to continue his pursuit of the scrolls and dagger pieces. Jefferson reminds Gold that he already has what these devices can give him, power and prestige, and now, for the first time, Gold begins to have doubts – Belle offers him silent support.
Leaving Jefferson and Emma in charge of The House, the group goes one by one through the portal, Belle first, then Elspeth, then an anxiety ridden Zelena, and then Omaha. Gold is about to step through when Lovecraft joins him, letting him know The House will be taken care of. Once settled in, Gold and Elspeth begin to explore and he encounters, high in the center of the palace, a dark room containing the last scroll and last piece of the dagger. He is about to reach for them when Elspeth cries out for his help.
Meanwhile back at The House, Emma and Jefferson are joined by a fluffy little grey kitten who invites herself in.
Trial by Trust
Chapter 44
+ + + + + Dark Magic
Elspeth had indeed fallen. He didn't ask her what had happened. It was more urgent to attend to the injury.
She had badly gashed her shin, tearing her leggings and there was a fair amount of blood seeping out of the nearly three inch cut. She was also holding up her hands which she had apparently used to try to break her fall. They weren't bleeding but clearly were hurting the child.
Tears were streaming down her face and she was crying loudly.
"Let me help darling," he tried to comfort her and attempted to conjure a healing light but managed only a dim anemic lavender glow. It did seem to stop the bleeding but didn't take away the hurt.
He picked the child up. "Let's go get some help sweetheart," and he walked downstairs with her until he encountered one of the bitches. . . uh. . . fairies.
"Need some healing or medical attention. My daughter's fallen and hurt her leg."
The fairy gaped at him, apparently recognizing him as their long-standing arch nemesis. Seeing him carrying a bleeding child froze her into inactivity.
"What did you do to this child?" she finally spoke.
"My daughter fell. It was an accident. I've got the bleeding stopped but we'll need a bandaid or whatever you have to put over it."
"What did you do to her, demon?" the fairy, circling, continued to question him.
Gold, never having had much tolerance for fairy bigotry, almost let loose with some choice invectives but, for Elspeth's sake, stopped himself. He briefly conjured a fireball but, knowing that Belle would likely disapprove of him lighting up one of her cousins, he extinguished it. He settled for outrage instead.
"Listen you dull-witted self-important piece of . . . " he struggled for a word he could use in front of Elspeth. "ephemera," he finally settled on one word. "This. Is. My. Daughter. She. Accidentally. Fell. Are you going to help me or not?"
Obviously afraid, the little Fae had backed away from him and in disgust, Gold walked by her.
"Daddy," Elspeth asked between her sniffles. "Why dat lady so mean?"
Gold bit his lip. "It's me, not you angel. I'm afraid your daddy and many of the ladies here don't like each other."
"Why?" Elspeth asked wiping her nose on his shoulder.
"Well, Daddy's made some bad choices and these ladies have some long memories."
"Kind of you not to blame us," and Gold turned to the voice. It was Ruel-Miranda. She had come up behind them.
She walked up to them and gently healed Elspeth. She smiled at the child, "Elspeth, some of these ladies have made some bad choices too. We're trying to make things better but it's hard."
"Tank ooo," Elspeth said as she felt her leg. "I tore my weggin's"
"It's all right darling. We'll get some new ones," Gold reassured the child.
"What happened?" Ruel-Miranda asked her.
"I was tryin' to jump from one bench to anoder bench and I missed," Elspeth explained.
"Where's Belle?" Gold asked. "I thought you two were together."
"We were. She wanted to find you and have some lunch. I felt . . . heard a commotion and apparently I found you first." They walked along quietly for awhile. "I must apologize for my people," Ruel-Miranda began. "They still think of you as The Dark One. Accepting that you have changed, that you aren't going to destroy us all, that's very hard for them."
"I have never hurt children, even at my darkest," Gold told her and under his breathe he added, "can't say the same thing for fairies."
"I will talk to my people . . . again,"Ruel-Miranda promised. "It's going to take a while."
"Miss Belle!" Elspeth had seen Belle as they came into a dining area. It was a small room (for the palace) and was meant for intimate dining. It would probably seat no more than twenty. Moe was there with Omaha and Zelena.
"You found us!" Belle said as she came over to greet them. Her eyes went to Gold's. She knew something had happened. Elspeth shared about her leg and Belle kissed her fingertips and then touched the wounded area (now completely healed). "That should make it all better."
The group shared lunch together and then Ruel-Miranda took them on a tour of the town. She was very proud of the rebuilding efforts that had gone into restoring the city to its former glory. It had fallen into disrepair during the long years of The Curse and her people had not had the energy, the materials, nor the reserves to rebuild. Now, most of the buildings were back to their original state of gleaming white marble. The streets were free of litter. There were many storefronts filled with shoppers, some fairy, some not. Like Moe had observed during his first sojourn into the town, the people were pretty and well-dressed.
"I have been considering what Belle shared with me about my people and love," Ruel-Miranda sat with Gold. She had insisted Gold try some of the local brew and they sat together each with a glass, while Belle, holding Elspeth's hand, went window shopping in the stores that surrounded the main square. "In the Before Time, my people were not capable of love, certainly not like humans feel love. We saw what damage love could do, how powerful it was and how, so often, it brought more pain than pleasure and we felt superior. Of course, after The Curse was cast, we were greatly diminished. Many of us weren't strong enough to survive and died. Over the past three hundred years, our powers have begun to return. But they are not the same. Perhaps, perhaps, what Belle suggested is true, that our powers have come back differently. Not badly mind you, but differently. And maybe, just maybe, love is part of our makeup now."
She took a sip of whatever it was she had ordered for them, "I have been thinking about this, especially in my own case, but also knowing that so many of my people are saying that they have fallen in love and have accepted exile rather than giving up their love. I have work to do, but I think I may be able to rescind the prohibitions that we have that forbid relationships with others."
Gold smelled the brew but did not imbibe too many years of distrusting fairy food. "Well, my own people weren't capable of love in the Before Time either, you know that. They were capable of lust which is not the same thing. I think this may have changed for many of those from Undertown also," he admitted.
Ruel-Miranda glanced at Omaha and Zelena who were sitting next to each other at a different table sharing a scone, drinking hot chocolate and gazing into each others eyes. "Perhaps. I hope this is a good change. But it is an uncomfortable one."
"Love is uncomfortable. I have learned that with Belle. She knows me, sometimes better than I know myself. That's quite disconcerting," he admitted. He finally risked taking a drink of whatever it was that was bubbling in the fluted glass by the side of his plate. "Did you really think that Belle was going to kill me?" he asked.
"We did. I certainly did. The idea that you two would fall in love never once occurred to me. It was inconceivable. I thought that Belle would have some strong assaultive talent and would be able to just take you out."
"Don't discount her Empathy power," Gold warned her. "I didn't think it was a particularly remarkable skill but I've seen Belle do amazing things. I've learned that she may be the most powerful of us all, although she would tell you no such thing."
"I think you may be right. She's certainly changed you."
"Have I really changed all that much?" he asked his former enemy.
"You used to change people into snails and step on them! We lost count of how many people, unfortunate enough to get in your way, that you just killed without giving it a second thought. Everything was about you, about your comfort, your pleasure. You were terrifying," she told him.
"Was I?" he seemed genuinely surprised.
"Did you not know? You cultivated fear like my kind would cultivate adoration."
"I was close to escaping from your jail when you let me go, wasn't I?" he asked directly. Ruel-Miranda dropped her eyes. He waited.
She closed her eyes and very softly told him, "Yes. I had to make a decision. If you escaped we would have had no control over you. If we appeared to have relented, we would be able to offer you probation and keep a leash on you."
"I see," he told her. "Well, it worked. I was scared shitless that you might get pissed and put me back in that cage for the longest time."
Ruel-Miranda let her eyes drift back to the diners. "You do collect interesting company, Rumple. I must say. A corporeal Bocan, a failed witch, a devil-cat, and whatever exactly Elspeth is. You had a dwarf living in that house of yours for awhile. Then there was the skinchanger, a strong telepath, a snake charmer, a truth-sayer, your little weather witch, among others. To be honest we thought you and the weather witch might connect."
"Milah and me? She was . . . is . . . very beautiful, but I think we would have gotten tired of each other quickly. I know she would have gotten tired of me. My assessment of her was that she was the kind of woman who would put a knife in my back when I was asleep if I had dared to cross her."
"Where . . . how did this group happen to come to you?" Ruel-Miranda was genuinely puzzled and interested.
"The House. It called to them and they answered."
"I don't understand how it works."
"Neither do I, but I have learned to trust The House. I've lived there almost a hundred years and I trust it to protect me. If I didn't have that trust I would have sent Belle away when she first wandered in."
Gold finished his lunch and excused himself, leaving Elspeth with Belle.
He managed to find his way back up to the dome room. He walked in and stood looking at the dagger and the scroll pieces.
He didn't know how long he had stood there when . . . .
"Sir, this place is not safe for you."
He startled and turned around to see Omaha standing behind him, standing with his feet apart as if he was about to spar off against an enemy.
"There's nothing here, just an old scroll and a dagger piece," Gold waved him off.
"It is not safe for you," Omaha repeated. "I can feel it. I hear it calling . . . to me, to you. It's very dark magic, sir. I'm surprised the Fae can tolerate it being here."
"Dark magic?" Gold questioned him.
"Very dark. The darkest I've seen and I served your father for a long time. This is soul-eating magic, a hunger that consumes. It's not safe here for you."
"I'm just standing here. I'm not doing anything."
"I understand, sir. Miss Belle sent me to get you for supper," the Bocan replied kindly.
Supper! How long had he stood there, gaping at the dagger? All afternoon? Unable to bring himself to reach out and pick it up. Something was stopping him.
Maybe it was dark magic. He turned and followed Omaha.
He joined Belle for supper but didn't hear much of what she had to say – the roaring in his head was getting louder and louder. He smiled off and on, distracted. From time to time, Belle would put her hand on his shoulder, but he would shake his head and turn away.
+ + + + + The Kitten Has a Name
"Where'd the kitten go?" Emma demanded. She was on her hands and knees looking under furniture.
"I'm sure she's all right," Jefferson had come up from minding the shop.
"Well she'd disappeared this morning. I don't want to find out that she's pooped in my bedsheets."
Jefferson had sat down and put his long legs up on the little table in front of the sofa. He watched Emma search the apartment.
"Here kitty, kitty." She addressed Jefferson, "I keep finding your stuff mixed up with my stuff," she complained. "This thing about The House combining our stuff . . . well, I know how Belle felt about it now. It seems kinda high handed. Here kitty, kitty, kitty," she called. She had checked the bedroom, the bathroom and the kitchen and dining room areas. "Hey I bought a bucket of chicken and a couple of sides for us. Damn cat," she said standing up. "I picked up some kitten food and a litter box and stuff. You'd think she'd be grateful."
"I don't know that she's going to need that stuff," Jefferson observed.
"What? She's a cat."
"I'm thinking she may be like Lovecraft," Jefferson told her. "You know how he went through the portal and seemed fine leaving The House. Maybe he's moved on and it's this little kitten's turn to be a protector."
Emma rolled her eyes, "That little kitten can barely lick her own ass. I can't see her being an all powerful protector."
"Maybe when she's had a chance to grow up a little." As Jefferson spoke the kitten came out from behind the furniture, trilling a greeting and jumping up onto the sofa to settled into Jefferson's lap.
"Now where'd she come from?" Emma asked. "I'd already searched the living room."
"If she's like Lovecraft she moves in and out of the ether," Jefferson told Emma, petting the snuggling, purring kitten. "He never needed food or had a litter box," he told Emma. "Hello, you pretty girl," and he scratched behind her ears which sent the kitten into a purring frenzy.
"Well, she certainly likes you," Emma went ahead and fixed the man a plate of food. She carried his and hers over to the little table and plopped the food down.
Jefferson grinned at Emma. "Well, what can I say? I have a way with the ladies," and as he spoke the kitten rolled onto her back so that he could scratch her tummy.
"Maybe we should take a picture and put up 'found' posters," Emma considered. "She looks purebred and I'm sure someone lost her."
"Emma, get a clue. She belongs to The House. You forget I can tell these things."
"You really think she's the new Lovecraft?"
"I do," he answered and the kitten twisted around and sat up looking over at Emma with great red-golden eyes.
"Well, if that's right then maybe we should give her a name," Emma said.
Jefferson smiled. The kitten sat upright, resting on Jefferson's leg. "You're a telepath, why don't you ask her her name," he suggested.
"Talk with a cat?" Emma scowled. "All right. You know I always thought Gold was a bit schizo when he did that with Lovecraft." She turned her full attention onto the kitten. "Hello, I'm Emma, this is Jefferson. And you are?" She waited and Jefferson nearly laughed when Emma's eyes got big and she pulled back.
"She wants to be called Smokey," she told Jefferson in a whisper.
"It fits. She's the color of smoke with just a touch of ashes," Jefferson agreed. "With a fire in her eyes."
The kitten clamored over to Emma and rubbed her head against Emma's hand. Emma glared at the kitten but then relented, "All right. You are very pretty."
+ + + + + Evening
That evening, Gold opted for Belle's room forgoing the suite the Fae had provided for him.
"Belle," he turned to her and kissed her softly at first, then hungrily as if . . . as if . . . it was the last time. She stood quietly as he slowly pulled away the lovely blue transparent robe the Fae had given her and then pulled the straps of her matching nightgown down, tugging on it so that the garment fell at her feet.
He kissed her again and vaguely felt her little hands pulling away his own shirt and pants and somehow they were both naked and falling into her bed and wrapping themselves in the silken sheets and winding themselves around each other. This joining was quieter than any other they'd had between them. He had placed her beneath him and had slid into her ready body and stayed there relishing her heat and comfort. It was a while before he began rocking back and forth, small words coming from him as he made tender love to her, words of love and faith and trust and hope. Belle felt tears coming into her eyes and she raised her hand to his forehead to touch him and join with him like she had never done before, feeling what he was feeling, seeing what he was seeing, knowing what he was knowing.
When her pleasure came upon her it was more intense that she had ever felt it, feeling her body build and then burst, shattering her connection with the man but that very moment pulling him over his own edge and she felt him pour himself into her.
And he lay on top of her, conscious of his weight so he had propped himself onto his arms and then drifted to the side. He looked intently into her eyes.
"When you first came into my shop, I thought you were just another magic user that The House wanted me to take in, to train. But you captivated me even at that first breakfast, so frail, so vulnerable," he had to smile at himself. "I thought you were weak, but you have proved the strongest of us all. And you have become my strength. Your love, your trust. . ." his voice broke and he pulled her to him, "I don't want to lose you."
"Darling," Belle held him to her. "Why would you ever think you would lose me?"
"Because it could happen." He looked away. "You are so beautiful," he began to kiss her again and Belle knew he had pulled away, changing his mind about something, about telling her something. She had wanted to ask him again what was bothering him but he had set about distracting her with his mouth and his fingers and his oh so talented tongue and she had lost her train of thought. He kept murmuring sweet words of admiration and devotion. He wasn't content until she had shuddered twice more for him.
+ + + + + Trust
Belle had not fallen asleep. She lay quietly, nestled up next to him, enjoying the heat of his body. She looked at him, asleep, next to her. She gently ran her hand down his shoulder and his back. She was quite fond of the glittering microscales that covered his body, his strange eyes, and she had found his hands, even with their claws, were still gentle. Part of her had been a bit surprised to find out that he didn't have a tail or even tiny horn-buds on his head when in this form.
He had dozed off but it was into a fitful sleep. Belle regarded him for a moment and as quietly as she could, she slipped from the bed and pulled on pajama bottoms and a silken robe, not the transparent blue one, wrapping it around her nudity. She crept from the room.
There was an image in her head, one that she was sure had come from his thoughts. There was something haunting him, commanding his attention, drawing him in, yet something was stopping him, warning him, giving him pause from going any further.
A domed room, high in the palace. In a hallway of soft whites with gold and rose tones. Through a plain door and into a dark room with blues and greens and solid browns. She allowed her feelings to lead her along the way. Down darkened hallways, upstairs, ever closer to the center of the palace, ever higher to the topmost dome.
There were shadows here, but not like the ones that haunted her when she had first come to The House. These did not pursue her or try to leech her soul or drink her spirit.
They watched.
Perhaps they were the ghosts of long-dead Fae, those that had died when The Dark Curse, the first curse that took away magic. Their spirits lingered in the very stonework of the palace.
But Belle could also hear something else, a soft humming.
She made her way, found her way, the humming becoming louder and louder.
The scroll and the dagger.
The humming sound was washing over her now, blocking out any other late night sounds, even to dulling the voice of her own thoughts.
She stood looking at them. This is what they had come for. This is what they had been working for. With these last pieces they could protect themselves with the knowledge of how to cast a spell to do away with magic for a hundred generations. With these last pieces they would control the most power magical device ever known. She knew Gold wanted to tweak the spell so that it would be selectively applied, sparing those he had selected from the devastating effects of the spell. If he could accomplish this, Gold would become the most powerful entity in every realm. No one could challenge him. Even just holding the spell and not casting it, just having the ability to make the threat, there would be no one to challenge him.
He would be safe at last.
Belle reached out to touch the dagger.
But then she pulled her hand back.
This was not how it should be done.
They should do it together.
And as she had that thought, she turned and . . . he was there.
Gold had dressed himself, slipping into plain cotton pants. He hadn't bothered with a shirt nor put anything on his feet. Somehow he looked smaller and almost vulnerable in his sleepwear.
"You found it," he said softly.
"They were just left here, unguarded, unwatched?" she asked him a very brief moment of concern that he might have obliterated guards that could have been set to oversee the relics.
"Just as I found them earlier. Mine for the plucking. I don't understand why they would have been just left for me to find, unless . . . "
Belle's sharp mind perceived the problem, "Unless they wanted you to find them."
"Twice now, I've reached out to get the dagger and twice now I've been stopped. Once by Elspeth and once by Omaha. I've got to try again," he told her.
"We'll try together," she told him.
And Gold reached for the last dagger piece and Belle stretched out her hand to take the final scroll . . .
And Lovecraft materialized before them, agitatedly walking back and forth on the table top, hissing, his fur frizzing out enlarging his size, placing himself between them and their prizes. He hissed again and drew his body up.
"Lovecraft!" Gold called him sharply.
And for the first time, Belle heard the cat in her own head.
: No. This is a trap. :
Belle and Gold looked at each other.
"If the dagger is made whole again, it will curse the bearer with a terrible curse." They turned and saw their own little Elspeth. The child's eyes were blackened and her voice now as hoarse as the Lady's had ever been.
Lovecraft spoke again. : The dagger grants all powers to the one who pieces it together : he explained.
"But it's a trap," and they both turned to see Ruel-Miranda. "Which ever one of you takes the dagger will be consumed by it. You will be made a slave to it. You will become the most powerful entity in any realm, but should anyone else ever control the dagger, that person will control you, absolutely. The old ones created the dagger without understanding that it is a powerful curse in itself."
"But what of the story that they created the dagger to cast the curse that protected themselves and their children from magic?" Belle asked.
"I have heard of that story. But it is not the true one," Ruel-Miranda admitted sadly. "I know that the scrolls contain the spell to break the power of the dagger. By taking away all magic, the control the dagger had over the possessor was severed. Your ancestors cast the spell to take away all magic to save the one who was possessed. It was a great sacrifice."
"So that's what happened," Gold said to himself softly. "The dagger came first, not last. It is the darkest magic ever created . . . no, not created . . . it was gathered together and placed into the dagger. It was so powerful that it could not be unmade, but it could be broken." He looked up sharply realizing how perilously close he had come to self-destruction. "These pieces should never come together," he announced. "We have to scatter them again, each piece with its scroll - the curse and the curse breaker."
Ruel-Miranda breathed deeply. "I'm so glad you understand. If I had tried to tell you before, you would have never believed me. I'm glad you had your daughter and the Mowrath to help guide you on this. Them, you listen to."
Gold smiled sadly, "I would not have believed you," he admitted. Lovecraft had come over to Gold and was trilling and rubbing against him. "If Elspeth and Lovecraft had not come through, I would not have believed you."
Belle touched him, "The quest for the dagger pieces and the scrolls. This has been such a part of your life for so long," she reflected his feelings.
"For a third of my life, nearly a hundred years. I remember, it seems so long ago, I had gotten two of the items but I was stymied for several decades until you came along. Once you came into my life, you opened the other doors. I was finally able to get to the other items but now, here at the end, I find I'm not willing to pay such a great price for the great power."
"Now you feel it's not worth the price?" Belle now reflected his words.
"Risking possible slavery? Being consumed by a great darkness?" Gold glanced around, at Elspeth, who had fallen asleep on the floor, at Lovecraft, who was sitting upright, his gaze fixed onto Gold, at Ruel who was standing next to the door and then finally at Belle. "No," he finally said. "I abjure the dagger and the scroll. I will remain as I am."
"As I've said, Rumple, you have grown. I'm impressed and very, very pleased," Ruel was stepping back and forth and had begun rocking. She was clearly very uncomfortable in the room so close to the cursed items. "When you have the other pieces taken care of, I would appreciate it if you would come here and erect some type of protective ward on these two. The dark magic coming off the dagger piece is so strong I can barely stand to be in this room," she confessed.
Gold considered a moment. Just a moment of weakness. Could he just pick up just the scroll?
Ruel-Miranda was looking hard at him. "The two items are linked together. You pick up one, the other will follow," she answered his unspoken question.
"I thought as much," Gold told her, giving her a tight smile. "But I had to know." He looked around. "I should be able to construct something for you. I wouldn't want this curse being unleashed on anyone now or in the future." He walked over and scooped up his sleeping daughter. "I believe I have a young lady to put to bed," he shared. Belle held the door for him and Lovecraft followed closely by, his long fluffy tail curled into a question mark.
Ruel followed him, "If you have changed, so have I. You know I will continue to try to atone for my previous behavior with you. And," she said slowly and very softly so that only he could hear, "I will give my blessing for you to wed my daughter."
Gold stopped. "Belle will appreciate that," he told her. Elspeth stirred in his arms.
"Daddy?" she said sleepily. "Daddy!" and her little arms went around his neck. "I had bad dream."
"You did, darling," his attention switched to his daughter. "Well it's all right now. Everything is all right now." And Elspeth snuggled against him and lapsed back to sleep. He patted her head, soothing her hair down. "Everything is all right now."
Thanks all around for lovely reviews from: Robin4, jewel415, cynicsquest, Guest (cute kitten), RaFire, deweymay, Anne Andrews (Guest) – I think this chapter may have addressed all your concerns, Grace5231973, Aletta-Feather, MyraValhallah, Erik'sTrueAngel, and Chauchi (chapters 42 & 43), special thanks to CharlotteAshmore (who stayed up late and sent reviews on chapters 39,40,41,42, and 43) and thanks for a lovely pm from karolprado
NEXT: Gold works his way up to a proposal, maybe alittle more about the original curse and people get moved around -twyla