I was unhappy with the last chapter so I revised it. Slightly. I'm not using Baba Yaga because I think it flew people off and made them very... confused and I have possibly lost fans because it... Bad mistake. Sorry...

Anyways, I took that part back. Though I am keeping the wraiths. So, here's the slightly but not really changed chapter 5.

Still dedicated to MoreThanMeetsTheEye96.

Enjoy all! (more than the last one I hope...)

Add! REVIEW! PROMOTE!

-OUAT-

Chapter 5- Star Light, Star Bright

Months past and winter turned to spring and spring into summer. The colt had been born on the first day of Spring, the season in which he was named, and had been growing stronger with each passing day.

The colt was a light grey color with blacker patches mixed in along with a little brown. He had a white streak down his nose that connected to a silvery-white diamond in the center of his forehead, where his sire's horn was on his forehead. After the colt was born, the nighshadow vanished, leaving Undine and the colt alone.

Sally, though forbidden to do so, snuck out every day when she had free time to see the horses. Like his mother, the colt fell in love with Sally, galloping over to her whenever she entered the field and rearing up, whistling in excitement, whenever he spotted her. In turn, Sally bonded with the colt like she had with his mother.

Rumpelstiltskin had gone back to his normal, sickening self, mocking Sally and acting like a madman, grinning like a fox, acting sneakily like a snake. Neither one of the mentioned anything about the comforting embrace they had shared, both seeming to just want to forget about it completely.

The tricking demon, however, had kept his promise about not letting any harm come to her, even if she didn't exactly know it. He watched her wherever she went, feeling very much like a stalker of sort. To assure that Shyam wouldn't hurt the new entertainer, Rumpelstiltskin did the one thing he knew best; he made a deal with him. But, unlike normal, he was the one to approach the one he was making the deal with.

He had found Shyam the night Rumpelstiltskin and Sally had shared the hug when Sally was asleep and cornered him.

"I want to make a deal with you." The imp said to the cup bearer.

"Oh?" Shyam snickered. "What could that be?"

"You will leave the entertainer alone."

"Who? Sally?" The cup bearer laughed. "Why would I do that?"

"Because I am willing to do whatever you want right now, in exchange for her safety." Shyam threw back his head and laughed in Rumpelstiltskin's face. Rumpelstiltskin let out a half sneer and began to turn away, one finger in the air as he sang, "One time offer only!"

As he walked away, Shyam calmed down and called tauntingly, "Anything I want?" Rumpelstiltskin stopped in his tracks. Oh how he hated this. Damn him for his promise. What had even driven him to utter those words, "I promise"?

Slowly he turned back to the cup bearer, grin faltering slightly, but still half there. "Yes." He said. "Anything." Shyam chuckled and Rumpelstiltskin's grin fell as his eyes narrowed. Shyam thought for a moment before simpering and walking slowly up to the demon, stopping just a few feet from him.

"Kiss my boot." Was all he said, making memories rush to the front of Rumpelstiltskin's mind.

Kiss my boot.

In front of my boy?

Kiss my boot!

Clenching his teeth and lips pulled back into a small snarl, Rumpelstiltskin got on his knees and leaned down, pressing his dry lips to the muddy, leather boot. Shyam laughed and kicked him hard in the mouth, sending him back, blood rushing from Rumpelstiltskin's mouth. The taste of iron filled it.

"I'll leave the girl alone," Shaym laughed. "Just remember that you place is kissing the ground I walk on, you aren't worth much more." Rumpelstiltskin let the blood build in his mouth as Shyam talked and, once he was finished, he spit in Shyams face, the red blood slapping onto Shyam's face. Rumpelstiltskin vanished like smoke with a bloody, yellow-toothed grin.

Since then, Shyam had left Sally alone and Rumpelstiltskin made sure she wasn't harmed by anyone else, becoming her guardian angel. He sneered at that night as he danced with her at one of her lessons. An angel. That was so far from what he was.

She had gotten good at dancing, he had to admit. Yes he had stepped on her feet as they danced before and yes it had been on purpose honestly. He had learned that pain would make someone not only stronger but also made them learn quicker. When she had started to show improvement, he had stopped stepping on her toes. It had taken months but she was finally dancing properly.

As he danced with her, he watched her face as he whispered, "one, two, three" with each step to keep her in sync. She couldn't help but wonder why he kept watching her like that, his revolting eyes keeping track of her every movement. It was, in the least, unnerving. It was enough, more than enough, to have to touch him in order to dance but to have him staring at her… it made everything so much worse.

One the song ended, Sally let go of him and stepped away, quickly, as if touching him burned her.

"Very good."

The dance partners swirled around to face the door where the queen stood in the doorway, hands on her hips. She walked into the room, her black heels clipping on the ground as she walked, the sound echoing.

Rumpelstiltskin grinned his grin and bowed mockingly to the queen. "Thank you, my liege."

"I do believe that she is ready," The queen said silkily.

"Ready?" Sally asked nervously. "For what?"

"For the ball of course. The ball at the wedding." She sneered. "Rumpelstiltskin will be taking you."

"What?" Cried Sally, outraged by this, her eyes turning to the man beside her. "I don't want to go to the ball. Let alone with him!"

"There is someone there I need information on," The queen spoke softly, hissing and stepping closer to the small, petite girl who took a few small steps back as she eyed the queen wearily. The queen stopped, knowing she had the power of fear over the small girl and that was all she needed to get her to do what she wanted. "You will be going and it will be with Rumpelstiltskin and you will get information for me on the person I desire."

"But-but with him-."

"Things will be fine, girl," The queen sneered. "You need not worry about people being suspicious. He can take care of himself. After all," The queen looked at the green-gold skin man beside Sally. "He is Rumpelstiltskin."

Rumpelstiltskin chuckled, bowing once again this time only half. "As you wish, your majesty."

"Good." She looked once more at Sally who had no protests, knowing she was defeated, and turning on her heals, walked away. "It's tonight. Get ready." Then, she was gone.

Sally emerged from the bathroom a few hours later to find Rumpelstiltskin standing in front of the mirror, dressed in a suit once owned by the king, straightening his tie. His hair was washed and clump-free, pulled back into a mini pony tail and his teeth were brushed. He was too focused on his tie to notice Sally until she spoke up.

"Could you zip me up?" Rumpelstiltskin looked up and froze when he saw her reflection in the cracked mirror.

Sally's dress was three different blues. The first blue was sky blue and it was the first strip of material that came out from the sapphire-and-crystal covered bandeau halter followed by a robin egg blue then the rest was a darker blue. It was sleeveless and strapless and reached the ground. From the middle of the bandeau halter, the other two blue's blended with the darker blue. Her shoes were simple silver heels and her nails—fingers and toes—were painted silver. Her brown hair was clean and curled gently at the ends. Her eye shadow was blue and her eyeliner was silvery-blue, black mascara claimed her eye lashes. Around her neck she wore a necklace with a single pearl on the thin, golden chain. She had a silver pearl bracelet on her right wrist and diamond earrings in her ears.

Her back was turned to him, her looking over her shoulder at him, hair pulled to the side to show off her exposed back in the unzipped dress. Her skin, he realized, was particularly soft looking there. Warm, gentle, and clear; young and full of life. He turned silently to look at her personally and not through the reflection, continuing to scan her back rapidly.

Lust overcame him as he looked at it. It had been far too long since he had seen a woman's bare back or any part of a woman that was to be shielded by clothes like society told them to do so. Only a husband was supposed to see a woman with their back exposed or any part of the woman's body normally covered by material. He slowly walked forward, half of him telling himself not to do what he wanted to so badly, just zip her up and forget seeing that, but the other part of him was screaming at him to slip the dress off of her and claim her virginity.

Long, green-gold fingertips touched her back gently, as soft as a feather. She couldn't suppress the shiver that coursed through her body at his touch but something had changed in her mind; she couldn't decide if his touch repulsed her or not.

At seeing the shudder, Rumpelstiltskin's breath started to come slightly faster and he slipped his whole hand onto the warm, velvety skin of Sally's back, bringing himself closer to her body. She didn't pull away, even when he slipped his arm around her waist, holding her there to him. He closed his onyx eyes, burying his nose in her hair and inhaling her scent. His heart began to pound harder and breathing thickened as she did so and her hand touched the one that lay on her waist. It had been so long since he had felt something like this, felt almost overwhelmed with lust, felt a woman this close to him with so much skin exposed.

He opened his eyes and moved his head down to her neck, hesitating before just barely skimming his lips over the flesh of her neck. She closed her eyes and seemed to melt against him, letting out a soft breath as her mouth opened slightly, placing her other hand on the back of his head. That was enough for the demon.

His lips danced across the skin on her neck—nipping, sucking, kissing—and his breath came heavier and heavier as she exposed more neck to him and pressed closer to him. He wrapped both arms around her waist and turned her around to face him before pushing her into a wall making her actually let out a soft moan. His grip on her tightened and his lips traveled up closer to her mouth, going along her jaw, nipping at her earlobe softly. His scaly skin didn't repulse Sally like normal nor did his dry lips seem as bad as she had thought they would.

Her mind screamed at her to stop, to push Rumpelstiltskin away, but she had never experienced anything like this before and it felt… it felt… What did it feel? She wondered as she let out another moan as Rumpelstiltskin suckled on her throat. Not awful, but not good either. Somewhere in between, but not quite.

His body urged him on, his mind struggling to regain control. One of his hands was inching up her body slowly towards her chest and gripping the dress material there, beginning to pull it down—

Sally's eyes shot open and she shoved Rumpelstiltskin away with a cry of, "No!" He staggered back a few feet and she slid to the floor, curling her knees up to her chest, breathing hard, holding the dress in place, eyes wide and staring at him. He stared back, breathing just as hard. First he felt anger surge through him and he wanted to hit the girl for stopping him when he was this controlled by lust then it was replaced by relief for her stopping what could of happened then it was replaced by confusion. What had just happened?

Sally stood and, with a muttered "never mind", she escaped back into the bathroom, shutting the door. Rumpelstiltskin watched her close the door before looking at his reflection in the mirror, asking himself again what exactly had just happened.

It took another twenty minutes to finally get to the carriage that would take them to the ball. They rode there in silence, neither looking at the other, neither speaking, sitting on opposite sides of the carriage.

When they finally did get there, Rumpelstiltskin got out and helped her out, both of them slipping into the "dating" role with ease. Almost too much ease Sally thought as she realized how easy it was to act like Rumpelstiltskin was her actual date to this ball.

There, on the dance floor, Sally noticed Snow White dancing with her fiancé, Prince James, and dancing beside them was Cinderella and her newly wedded husband. Sally stood watching the four of them surrounded by the numerous party guests in awe and jealousy. They all had what she had longed for, for so long; a happily ever after. A happy ending.

Yes she was only 17 but, now that the queen knew about her talent, she knew she had little to no chance of being able to escape that queen's imprisonment.

Beside her, Rumpelstiltskin whispered in her ear, "What are you thinking about, dearie?"

"Happy endings." Sally replied in a monotone, never removing her eyes from the dancers. Rumpelstiltskin began to become giddy with excitement as he sensed a deal about to be made.

"Oh?" He grinned, tapping his fingertips together. "Is that so? Well dearie, it just so happens that I can assure you get a happy ending if you are willing to make a deal…"

"I don't want to make any more deals with you." Sally snipped, turning her head to glare at the man beside her, their noses almost touching with the close distance.

"Oh poo," Rumpelstiltskin pouted, sticking his lower lip out and crossing his arms in a pout. Sally turned back away, watching the dancers once again. "I was so willing to make sure you got your happily ever after." He paused then, with a snaky-fox grin, "So willing to give you your hero, to come and save you from the evil queen, from your imprisonment. Your own prince charming." A soft chuckle then quieter, deeper in her ear, "For your Lancelot."

Sally froze when she heard these words being spoken from the imp's lips that had only about an hour ago been upon her neck. Slowly, she turned back around to face him.

"H-how-?" She whispered and he put a finger to her lips.

"Shh, dearie. I know all, remember? There is nothing you can hide from me. For I am Rumpelstiltskin." He did a half mocking bow as he said the last part and Sally began to back away from him, shaking her head.

"No," She whispered. "No. I-I…"

"Come now, dearest. There's nothing to be afraid of…"

"No! Stay away from me!" A few people looked over and Rumpelstiltskin gritted his teeth.

"Stop this!" He hissed quietly. "You're attracting attention."

"You were spying on me! You were outside my window that night spying on me!"

"I wasn't spying-!"

Slap!

By now everyone was silent and staring. Cinderella's eyes were wide, watching Rumpelstiltskin whose head was currently snapped to the side, seeming to be frozen there after the slap Sally gave to his face. He sluggishly began to look back at Sally, fury in his black eyes along with surprise.

"You," Sally hissed, pointing a finger in the dealmaker's face. "You stay away from me. You were spying on me. That's how you found out about the guitar. That's how you ruined everything. Now I have no chance to escape and it's your fault all because you were spying! I never asked you to save me from the cup bearer, I never asked for your help. I would rather be dead then the slaved entertainer she's made me! You ruined my life, you're a disgrace and a disappointment. I hate you and I will never forgive you."

With that, she fled the ball, tears streaming down her face. Rumpelstiltskin stood there rooted to the spot, everyone's eyes upon him. Somewhere in his mind he was muttering how thankful that only Cinderella and Sally saw him as Rumpelstiltskin while everyone else saw him as a nameless young man. It wasn't until the entrance doors slamming shut sounded that Rumpelstitlskin's head shot up and he seemed to register that Sally was gone.

"Sally!" He yelled, running after her as a form of panic overcame him.

It was the first time her name had fallen from his lips and she wasn't around to hear it. Her name… it felt nice as it rolled off his tongue. Simple and sweat. Plain. Yet, perfect.

By the time he got outside the carriage was already heading down the road. He called her name again and took off running after the carriage.

Inside it, Sally sat struggling against the arms clutching her as a dark chuckle vibrated the chest she was being held against.

"Here comes your 'prince charming'," A deep, dark voice chuckled. "Your 'Lancelot'. But, he's already too late. Maleficent will be very pleased to have finally gotten you, young miss Sally Nereida Burd." The wraith holding her laughed again and she struggled harder against him. She got a glimpse of Rumpelstiltskin running after the carriage and she tried to cry out to him, tried to escape the hand covering her mouth, but she couldn't. More tears prickled her eyes and she thrashed harder, trying to scream, as the carriage turned the corner and Rumpelstiltskin's silhouette vanished from sight.

Somewhere in the night, an owl hooted before taking off for a hunt and a shooting star flew overhead just as Rumpelstiltskin tripped over a loose stone and he saw just a glimpse of it. Instantly, the memory of when he first laid eyes on Sally, first heard her wish, came to mind, her wish came to mind but more importantly, how it started. Clearing his throat, Rumpelstiltskin croaked out, "Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, Have this wish, I wish tonight…" He closed his eyes, thought for a moment before opening them again and whispering, "Let me find her… let me find the girl and be able to keep my promise to her, whether it be in this world or the next… I need to keep that promise…"

The wraith in the carriage took one last bite of the blood red apple he was eating before tossing the rest of it out the window, it bouncing along the ground before rolling a few feet and stopping, the juices seeming to twinkle in the moonlight.

-OUAT-

Wraiths: Scottish dialectical word for "ghost, spirit".

What did you think? A bit of a cliff hanger? Like how I tied it back to the first chapter?

Please add/review/promote!

-Draco