Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you all enjoy today and this update.
Over the two months, much went on in the Dark Castle. Belle had been teaching Quasi everyday after Rose was taking a nap and when she was with Rumple. Quasi enjoyed being taught by Belle. She was very patient with him and didn't yell at him if he didn't understand something. She did her best to explain things in a way he would understand. The more he learned, the more he craved. He had learned of far off places and their cultures. He wished he could see and explore them for himself. They sounded all too fascinating. As Belle and Quasi had their lessons, Rose and Rumple had a few of their own. They always had their lessons in the garden in case something went wrong. Rumple found it difficult to teach Rose. It wasn't that she was a bad student. In fact, she was very bright and a quick learner. He wasn't accustomed to teaching someone without wanting to darken their hearts. He didn't want to corrupt his little flower in anyway. He wouldn't teach her how to rip out someone's heart and control them or kill them. He only wanted her to gain control over her magic, which proved more difficult than he anticipated. It also didn't help that, being a five-year-old, she easily got distracted.
"Flower, you're not paying attention. You need to focus."
"I'm sorry, Papa. I'm really trying."
"Alright. Now, let's try it again. And this time, don't let your mind wander. Your control over your powers are slipping. You need to learn how to undo your own spells."
"I know, Papa, but it's hard."
"It isn't if you keep your focus. You've undone a spell before because you concentrated. If you continue to practice that, it'll come easier to you. Soon, you'll be able to perform magic with a snap of your fingers."
"Okay, but why can't we keep her?" She gestured to the white-fur bunny tied to the tree. Rose accidentally cast a spell on it that made it the size of a horse. Of course, Rose wanted to keep the giant fluffy bunny, but Rumple wouldn't have it.
"Because rabbits don't need to be that big, flower. And they're very timid creatures. If something were to startle it, who knows what sort of damage it could cause." Rose scratched the bunny behind her big floppy ears and sighed. She really wanted to keep the bunny and Rumple knew it. He hated saying no to her, but she sometimes she couldn't get what she wanted and he hated to see her sad over it. He thought for a moment, then spoke again. "And besides, what about her family?"
"She has a family?"
"Well, of course she does. Everyone, even small creatures, have families. And rabbits have rather large families. She may have babies back in her burrow. You wouldn't want to keep a mother from her children, now would you?" She shook her head.
"No." She looked back to her large animal. As much as she wanted to keep the giant bunny, she knew she had to do the right thing. She took a step back and closed her eyes.
"Remember, flower. Magic is based on emotion. Don't think. You need to put your heart into your spell. Know what you want to happen and make it happen." She lifted her hands towards the bunny and concentrated. She could almost see a litter of bunnies cuddled together. Their little noses and whiskers were twitching in different directions, as if looking for something or someone. They wanted their mother. She saw the bunny back to her normal size and comforting her small children. They missed her and she missed them. Rose was happy to see them back together. Her locket began to glow and she felt her magic through her veins. She opened her eyes and cast her counter-spell. A pink smoke surrounded the rabbit. When it cleared, the rabbit was small once again. No longer attached to the tree, she hopped away. Rose smiled and laughed.
"I did it." Rumple smiled, proud of his young daughter.
"Of course you did. You concentrated and you put your heart into your magic. I'm confident you'll be able to reverse any of your spells, but you still need better control so they won't happen in the first place."
"Okay, but..." Before she could continue, she groaned in pain as she grabbed her head and shut her eyes tightly. Rumple saw this and ran to his daughter, who had dropped to her knees.
"Flower, what's wrong? What's going on?" Many visions assaulted Rose's mind. The first was a vision of Rumple and Belle yelling at each other. Their voices were muffled, so she could make out any words. She then saw Rumple storm out of the castle. Next, she saw Rumple in a dark cave with pointed rocks coming from the ground and ceiling, blocking him from leaving. She then saw Belle walking around in the forest. She was alone when the evil queen came out of nowhere and captured Belle. She was screaming for something, but Rose couldn't make out any words. She finally saw herself crying alone in the castle. Rumple was gone. Belle was gone. Even Quasimodo was gone. She was completely alone. She was crying out for her mama and papa, who never came. Her visions brought tears to her eyes and she started to cry out, just as she saw herself doing in her vision.
"MAMA! PAPA! WHERE ARE YOU?! MAMA! PAPA!" Rumple held her and tried to bring her back.
"Rose! Rose, I'm right here! Open your eyes, flower! Open your eyes!" Her eyes snapped open and she looked around. She then remembered where she was. She was in the garden with Rumple. She was practicing her magic. She looked up and saw Rumple's worried expression. He saw that her usually bright and curious emerald eyes were bloodshot and full of fear and pain. She buried her face in his chest and cried as she clung to him for dear life.
"Papa!" She was shaking in fear. He held her closer and gently stroked her hair, comforting her the best he could.
"Shh. It's alright, flower. I'm here. I'm right here. Everything is alright." He was worried and confused. Had she had another vision? It wasn't normal for her to have a vision when she was awake. Most of her visions happened while she was asleep. If she had another vision, what could she have possibly seen that would make her react in such a way? And with such a reaction, there was no way he would get her to talk about it. It was the same when he thought they were just bad dreams. Talking about them only frightened her more. He wished he knew what she saw. Since her powers greatly surpassed his, there was a chance that she could see things that he couldn't. There was a limit of what he could see. There was no telling what she could see with the most powerful magic in all the realms as her source of power.
After a while, he felt her shaking stop and her crying cease. She didn't move, but her grip on him vest loosened. He gently pulled her face from his chest and saw her eyes were closed. She had fallen asleep. He used his magic to transport them to her room. He gently laid her on her bed and covered her with her rose blanket. He saw something move out of the corner of his eye. He turned and saw her stuffed unicorn running about. She had obeyed the rule about keeping it in her room, but she seemed to have forgotten to undo the spell. He undid the spell himself and placed the toy in her arms. He sat next to her and looked over her. He cheek were still puffed and tear-stained. He couldn't imagine what visions plagued her mind and frightened her. He wanted nothing more than to take the burden from her, but he knew it was impossible. He hated that there was nothing he could do to ease her pain. One positive thing about the upcoming curse would be there would be no magic. Without magic, she won't have her visions. She would no longer have to wake up in the middle of the night screaming in fear. He kissed her forehead and left her room. He then went off to find Belle. He knew she would be in the library with Quasimodo. He had agreed never to interrupt their lessons, but this was an important matter. He entered the library and saw them sitting together on the couch. Belle looked up from the book she was reading to Quasi and saw Rumple enter.
"Rumple? What are you doing in here? You know I'm mentoring Quasi right now."
"I know, but I need to speak with you."
"Rumple..."
"It's about Rose." Belle didn't need anymore. When it came to Rose, she would drop everything. She turned to Quasi, but he stopped her before she spoke.
"It's alright. I understand. I...uh...I can finish reading the chapter on my own."
"Okay, here." She marked the page and handed him the book. "I will quiz you on this tomorrow, so make sure you read it closely."
"Yes, ma'am." He took the book and left the library. Once the door closed behind him, Belle turned to Rumple.
"What's wrong? Her lessons aren't going well?" He walked over and sat next to her.
"It's not that. I think her visions are getting worse." Rumple had explained Rose's foresight to Belle after the encounter with the blue fairy. They both knew what Rose saw were more than just bad dreams.
"Well, what happened? What did she see this time?"
"I have no idea. After her lesson, she broke down. She started crying and screaming. She was calling for us, asking where we were. Whatever she saw, it involved us not being around her."
"You think she saw us abandoning her? That would never happen. It won't happen."
"I don't know what she saw, but it frightened her. She's never liked being alone and when you came along, she knew she would never be alone again. She fears being alone again. And if she had a vision that ended in her being alone, it would be her worst nightmare come true."
"But we don't know if that's what she saw. And even if she did, what are the chances of us both leaving her? When you leave for your deals, you always come back. You would never leave her and I can't leave the castle. But, as I said, we don't know what she saw. We can't go jumping to conclusions." Rumple thought of this. She was right. He would never abandon his daughter and neither would Belle. That still doesn't tell them what she saw. Rumple would give anything to see some of the things she saw. He didn't want her to suffer through any of that. He was brought from his thoughts by Belle taking hold of his hand. "Where is she now?"
"She fell asleep. She's in her room."
"Perhaps later, when she's feeling better, we can both talk to her. Maybe she'll tell us what she saw and we can help her through it. Show her that no matter what, we will always be there for her and she doesn't have to be afraid." He lightly squeezed her hand and smiled at her. He was so glad to have her in his life. If she hadn't been there, he wouldn't know how to handle this on his own. He kissed her hand.
"You are a saint, you know that?" She giggled.
"I try." He chuckled. "No matter what happens, we'll deal with this together. I love you."
"And I love you too."
Hours later, Rose awoke from her dreamless sleep. She looked out of her window and saw that it was sunset. She then remembered what happened before she fell asleep. She was in the garden with Rumple. She saw horrible visions. Remembering them, she ran from her room in search of her parents. She was relieved when she found them in the kitchen preparing dinner. They weren't arguing. They weren't locked away. They didn't leave her alone. She also saw Quasi setting the table and she started to help him. Rumple and Belle knew they should wait to talk to Rose about her vision. She needed some time until she would feel comfortable to talk about it. Things were unusually quiet at dinner. Rose was usually the one to start and keep up the conversation. She just sat there and poked at her food. Belle lightened the mood by bringing up wedding plans. Rose lit up instantly and went on about how she imagined the wedding. They were glad to see her happy again. When dinner was nearly finished, Quasi got everyone's attention.
"Excuse me, but I would like a make an announcement, if that's okay?" He was looking at Rumple.
"Of course, hunchback. You have the floor."
"Well, living here has been amazing and I could never thank you enough for allowing me to stay here. In the past two months, I have learned so much from you, Belle, I thank you for that." Belle smiled at him.
"You're quite welcome, Quasi."
"Yes, and learning all these amazing things have made me want to learn even more. So, that's what I plan to do. At the end of the month, I'm leaving to travel the realm so I learn more hands on." Belle smiled. She came to learn that Quasi was always eager to learn new things any chance he got. Traveling would be the best way for him to learn more about different cultures and customs of different places. It would be much more than she could ever teach him.
"I think that's great, Quasi. I'm glad you know what you want to do now."
"As am I, hunchback. Now, you can leave my castle." During his time there, Quasi had grown accustomed to Rumple's quips. He chuckled.
"Yes. I'll finally be out of your hair." He turned to Rose. "Rose?"
"Will you come visit?" He smiled.
"If it's okay with your parents." She turned to them.
"Can he?" Belle and Rumple looked to each other and smile. Rumple turned to the child.
"Of course he can. As long as you write first. I don't like surprises." Belle rolled her eyes.
"And of course you are welcome to the wedding." Rose's eyes lit up.
"Will you come to the wedding, Quasi? Will you?" He chuckled at the energetic child.
"Yes, I will come to the wedding. And I'll try to stay in touch. Once I have my own messenger bird, we can send letters to each other."
"That sounds like fun! I really don't want you to leave, but I'm happy you know what you want to do. I hope you'll be happy." He smiled.
"I hope so, too, but it'll be a while until I leave. At least another three weeks."
"We can still have a lot of fun in three weeks!" She went on to list the many things they could still do before he left. Rumple and Belle were happy to see her out of her funk. Unfortunately, they knew there would be a time to talk about her vision. Until then, they would allow her the moment to be happy and content.
Not the happiest chapter, but hopefully this put you on the edge of your seats. There are many ways the story can turn out.