Chapter Five.
When he first woke up he couldn't place where he was. He wasn't in his room at home, nor was he in his grandparents' loft with Emma. There was no sound of the heater running or of a television going at any part of the house. In fact, when his eyes opened, he found that the ceiling was made of ornate marble that had a long and deep crack running along part of it.
Memories came crashing in around him and Henry Mills sat straight up in bed. He was in the Dark Castle, left in a less-than-perfect state by the Dark Curse that had pulled everyone from the Enchanted Forest to begin with. He wasn't supposed to be here, technically, but his grandpa had pulled him through, twisting the curse that he had written to make sure that his son's son had safe passage. It hadn't been a dream. Everything had really happened.
Henry piled out of bed, his bare feet connecting with chilled stones and he reached for the boots someone had tugged off his feet before depositing him in the bed. He couldn't remember actually crawling into it, but it didn't matter. His energy levels were reset and he was ready to explore everything that he hadn't had time to discover the night before.
The shouting stopped him in his tracks, though, and he strained his ears for it. The voices were muddled by the thick door, but they must have been close. Maybe that's what had woken him up.
The dark haired boy pulled the door open just enough that the voices cleared and he could hear Emma and his Grandpa Gold arguing.
"No, you left him out there because of whatever ongoing feud the two of you have going," Emma was saying. "That was suppose to be put away before Neverland. Don't bring it here."
"You know nothing about the way this world works, Miss Swan. I'd suggest you leave it to those of us that do."
"All I'm asking is that you let him inside. He helped us get Henry back. He's your grandson. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"
"That means everything," Mr Gold snapped back and Henry wished he could see the man's face. It was strange. He'd known the man all his life, but had never known that they shared blood. Mr Gold himself hadn't known, which might be the even stranger part of it all. He seemed like he knew everything, no matter what world they were in. "That doesn't mean that he's any less of a threat."
"Are you serious?" Emma shot back. "Hook? A threat?"
"Not everything in this world is exactly as you think it is at first glance. He has been known to switch sides at his convenience."
"And isn't that what you do?"
"My loyalties are not bought so easily."
"So you think because your castle wouldn't let him in that he's secretly working for Pan?"
"Or Zelena."
"That's a load of crap, Gold, and we both know it."
Henry pulled in a deep breath. This could go on forever and if he wanted to do any exploring before someone came to wake him for breakfast then it was time to slip past them. He risked opening the door a little further as their irritable shouting match continued and he saw that he could just slip past unnoticed if he were careful. They were speaking at the corner where the hallway bent around. He couldn't even see his grandpa, but Emma stood facing where he must have been on the other side of the wall. Her gaze was focused on him and not on Henry and he took that to his advantage as he moved silently down the hall, calling on all of his experience in slipping away from Regina to do the same to his other mom. It was okay, he reasoned. It wasn't like anything dangerous was within the walls of the castle. Grandpa Gold had seen to that.
It took a few minutes for Henry to find the end of the hallway, but once he did it led to the stairs and down into the main foyer. People were up and mulling about by this point, but some still slept in random nooks and crannies, too many to house comfortably even in the castle. Henry couldn't wrap his mind around the idea of all of these people having been from Storybrooke. It was such a small town, bringing with it all that that entailed. Everyone knew everyone and these people… He didn't recognize these people. He'd have to remember to ask Regina if there was something in the curse that had allowed that. She'd know. Or maybe he could ask his grandpa when he was done fussing back and forth uselessly with Emma. He wanted to get to know the man better. He had been the reason that Henry was standing in the Enchanted Forest after all, and Neal had said that his papa felt very strongly about family.
That means everything.
Henry poked around as best he could without causing too much disruption. There were no servants, but the castle seemed to react as if it were almost alive. He couldn't be sure if it reacted to him because he wished it to or if it were tied to the fact that he was blood-related to the castle's master. Regardless, it made it so that he could move around with a fair amount of ease. It seemed like doors did not always lead to the same place when opened and the lad would bet that the hallways weren't always as kind as to keep a person on their direct path if it decided not to.
One door, when he opened it, he was sure would lead into a large room that looked like a ballroom - from every angle it looked like it led there, anyway - but when Henry walked through it he was deposited into what might have once been a garden. It looked like all that was left of it now were brittle, crumbling shrubs that were only shadows of their former selves. The boy wondered, as he made his way through the rows of dead plants, if his grandpa could bring it back to life once he had his powers back. He'd heard him say that his magic wasn't gone, but Henry hadn't been privy to any conversations that had gone deeper into what that really meant.
"Wandering around enchanted castles without an escort can prove troublesome."
Henry jumped, his grandfather's voice filling his ears. Did just thinking about him summon him or did someone have to say his name? When he finally caught his breath again, seeing the familiar face that had been ever-present in the pawn shop off of the main street in his hometown, he smiled. "Yeah, I got a little turned around. Did Belle plant these before the curse?"
"No, they were here by the time she came," Rumplestiltskin answered, his dark gaze carefully guarded.
"She worked for you right?"
"For a while. Did your book say that?"
"Yeah. It said she came to work for you as payment for a deal to get rid of the ogres in her land and you two fell in love."
His grandpa quirked an eyebrow up. "What else did that book of yours tell you?" he asked curiously.
Henry grinned. "In general or about you and Belle?"
A smirk crossed the elder man's lips, one that the boy knew from his days as a pawnbroker in their little, cursed town in Maine. "Clever boy," he praised. "Come now, what did you want to see?"
"You mean you'll show me?"
"I shouldn't see why not. I've had my fill of it from your mother and grandmother already this morning and haven't even had my breakfast."
"Mom's just cranky because she hasn't had her coffee yet."
"We'll have to find her a substitute if this is going to be a continual problem."
Henry laughed, feeling a little more at ease with the his father's father as he followed behind him, letting the boy dictate where they went. He got the distinct impression that he had left whatever conversation he and Emma had been having abruptly and his grandson had been the nearest escape. Not that Henry blamed him. Most adults could be a little intense when they fixated on something, and Emma was no exception.
"So do you still have your magic?"
Rumplestiltskin glanced at his grandson out of the corner of his eye. "Of course. Do you think three centuries of study simply disappear just because a curse is broken?"
"But don't you have to have magic to use it? Emma has magic because she's the product of True Love. Regina has magic because her mom had it. I thought your dad stole magic from Neverland."
"Well," the former Dark One said, now sounding a little uncomfortable with the mention of his father that was currently on the loose, "we all have the potential to use magic, but some will certainly be more adept at tapping into that natural talent than others. Your mother - Regina - had great potential when I began to teach her. That was in part because of her inheritance, but in large part it was due to her own soul. It was threaded into who she is."
"What about you then?" Henry pressed.
"Well, with me… I certainly didn't have the… educational background to find anything useful from magic before taking on my curse, not the ambition to, though steeping one's soul in magic for as long as I did is bound to leave residual. It will take a bit of time to see how much, though I'd wager I'll be able to grow it given time."
Henry turned the words over carefully in his mind. His view of magic had changed with each new piece of understanding, and he'd behun to realize that he'd barely scratched the surface of what there was to know. Of all the people that could provide him with a truly deep understanding of what magic was in this world, he thought his grandpa could. "So did you tell the spells you have on the castle to kick Captain Hook out last night?"
Rumplestiltskin pulled in a deep breath. "That… is a more complicated matter than anyone seems to be giving it credit for," he said slowly.
He seemed distracted, but by what Henry wasn't sure. He watched the elder man, trying to gage what he might be thinking, but a flash of movement behind him caught his eye. "Grandpa-" he started, but he was too late.
So was his grandpa in turning. Whatever warning his magic was giving him had been too little too late as the man leapt out from his hiding place, what looked like a broken off piece of… something. Perhaps a table leg or piece of a chair. It could have been anything that a looter had left behind. It was solid enough that the blow sent Rumplestiltskin stumbling back, tumbling to the ground with a bloody nose and a dazed expression. The man flashed a triumphant grin and stalked towards him, ready to deliver another blow should the former Dark One rouse from his place against the dead grass. "Didn't think it be that easy," he muttered to himself.
"Hey!" Henry called, his wish to do something to help overshadowing the fact he had nothing to fight with. When the man turned on him, murder in his eyes, the lad shrank back only a step.
He wasn't sure what was happening at first. The attacker had turned towards him, weapon raised to teach him a lesson for interrupting, and then the man's feet simply left the ground. He was thrown like a ragdoll through half-wall and lay absolutely still on the other side, his body broken and bleeding and Henry couldn't crush down the rising fear even as he saw the source of his protection. Rumplestiltskin stood there, one hand outstretched from where he'd called his magic to do his bidding. The attacker was lifted into the air, limp but still at least partially conscious, and Henry was certain he'd never seen someone so angry in all his life.
"Well now," Rumplestiltskin said, his voice pitched up in a dangerously light tone, "looks like I found one of the rats hiding in my castle. I thought you'd burying you'd bury yourself a bit deeper. Or, at the very least, hide a bit longer."
"You can't… defeat her," he man gasped out.
"Oh, I think I can, and I will. You, though, dearie, should have thought things through a bit better. You come to my home, sleep here, were probably planning to eat here, and you thought you could lay a hand on my grandson and walk away from it?"
"Please," the attacker managed and gave a sharp cry as magic wrapped around him.
"Please what?"
"I had to."
"No, see, I might have believed you if you had to come after me, but him? Now I know you're lying. Do you know what I do to people who lie to me?"
Henry cringed as the man somehow found the breath to loose the most terrible, inhuman scream imaginable as his grandfather's dark magic ripped at him, tearing at his already broken limbs. Everyone else that had been in the courtyard shied away, fear spreading like a wildfire through dry grass. "Grandpa, stop. You're killing him!"
"That's rather the point," Rumplestiltskin answered, but when he turned a brief gaze towards his grandson, Henry could see the conflict in his eyes. It raged a moment until he finally let a long breath out and whatever resolve he had to end the intruder's life washed away. "Alright, lad," he murmured and the man dropped, like the strings that had been holding him in the air were severed. "Be grateful that the boy you meant to harm was willing to call for your life," he growled, voice dark and dangerous. He then turned his gaze to the others. "And if anyone else is thinking of joining with her, I'd suggest you rethink it, dearies. The next person that tries something as foolish as all of this won't get off quite as easy."
Henry's dark eyes were still fixated on the far-too-still form of the man that had attacked them and he could only tear them away as his grandfather's hand came to his back, coaxing him towards the castle. "Come on, Henry," Rumplestiltskin urged and he felt his feet move. He didn't shy away from his grandfather, but he couldn't bring himself to feel safe either, no matter if the man had just saved his life or not. All he could think of was the broken, bleeding man that his Grandpa Gold had put through a wall like it was nothing.
The Blue Fairy hadn't tried to join when they'd chosen the Dark Castle as their destination. She had been smarter than to complain,but she took the other fairies and left without much of an explanation, with only Tink and Astrid choosing to stay with the rest of them. While he was fairly certain that it didn't come back to either of them, Blue must have had some sort of spy amongst them - really he was beginning to feel like there were far too many spies in his castle for his tastes - because she arrived just an hour after the spectacle in the courtyard that morning.
Rumplestiltskin had come within inches of killing the first spy Zelena had sent in without getting anything from him first. It would have been a foolish, emotional move, and he knew it. He knew that's not why Henry had stopped him, but if the want-to-be-doctor of a dwarf could save him, they might be able to get some answers that they needed. Perhaps even done that they didn't know they needed. There had been no news of the man regaining consciousness, but he had full faith in his ability to extract the information from him if he did.
Regina hadn't been happy about the event, but Emma had been shocked - with some encouragement from her pure-souled parents - when Henry stumbled through the explanation of what had happened. The boy was okay. The spy hadn't laid a hand on him. He was okay. He'd told that to Emma, to Snow, and to Charming. Bae had hugged him close and said he needed a moment. That had been hours ago and he still hadn't gone In with the others when the Blue Fairy had fluttered through the window. He hadn't said anything to his father either in thanks or condemnation of his actions.
Now, as he leaned against the wall in his own castle, Rumple listened to the voices float in from the so-called private conversation. He hadn't been invited - though if he were honest, he didn't want to be in there - but Belle had been, and he was reminded once again of one of the many reasons why he loved her.
"This proves Rumplestiltskin is not to be trusted."
"I think it's funny that you say that sitting in his castle," Belle countered the lead fairy.
Blue sighed, loudly enough that it came through the walls. "Snow, I trust you will listen to reason. Dark One or not, he must be under control or your peers will not accept him."
"Our peers will never accept him, we know that. I don't think that's really what's in question here."
"Nothing should be in question. He killed a man today that was looking for refuge here," Blue argued.
"The man attacked him first."
"Belle, dear, I know that you have feelings for him, but you mustn't let those get in the way. People fear him, and for good reason. He's made those reasons himself."
"He was protecting his grandson."
"He was lashing out at what could have very easily been an innocent man. Henry is twelve, and while he's a clever boy, he also has a very active imagination. We don't know what that man really wanted."
The sound of a chair scraping across the floor echoed and Rumple cringed, the sound doing nothing to help the headache that had been working its way through his brain since this whole mess started. The magical outpour had been reactional, not planned, and the price had most certainly not been mitigated. In his days before his curse was broken, his bottomless well of power would have handled it, but now… This would be a learning curve.
"Your prejudice against him is blinding you, Blue. The wards that are set up around this castle are meant to keep anyone with any ill-will towards Rumple or anyone else he's worked into those wards from getting in. He wasn't being petty yesterday when Hook was thrown out. The captain obviously has some issues he's still working through when it comes to Rumple. The spells read that and dealt with it appropriately. Those people out in the courtyard - there are what? Far fewer than fifty? - were mostly not coming from Storybrooke. They were picked up on the way."
"Are you saying that they're spies?" Charming asked.
"It's possible. It's possible that the wards were just reading a wariness for waltzing into the Dark Castle behind the former Dark One. There's no way to know right now, but what we do know is that Rumple knows how his wards work. He knew the risks. Emma, he saved your son's life this morning."
"I know he did."
"Then why don't you - all of you - try a little loyalty? We're in this together."
Rumplestiltskin smiled to himself. His beautiful Belle was clever and feisty when crossed, and the Blue Fairy had crossed her that late morning. While he would have liked nothing better than to continue to listen to her defence of him - certainly she did a better job of it than he ever bothered with - there were things to be done. By this point it was likely - probably - that Zelena had opened Pandora's Box, and unless she had snapped it closed as quickly as she'd opened it, that meant Pan was free. If they decided that they wanted to work together on this… well, that would put them all in a much worse position than they were in even now.
"Rumplestiltskin is loyal only to himself," Blue was saying, even as he flickered into the room where they all sat.
"Oh, even you know that's not entirely true, Reul Ghorm." All eyes turned immediately to him and Rumple flashed an easy smile. It was one they'd always known well and said that he was in perfect control of the situation. "My family comes first."
"Not before yourself. You let your own son-"
"My curse is broken, Blue. Nothing will get in the way of protecting my family. Not Zelena, not Pan, and not even you."
The fairy looked startled by the clear threat and she looked around the room. No one made a move to tell Rumplestiltskin that he was out of line and finally she made a small sound of indignation. "Snow, when you need my help, call, but I won't be returning to this castle again."
A flicker of the future slipped past his newly created walls and Rumple shot a glare in her direction. "A lie."
She sniffed. "We don't do that."
"Sure you don't, dearie. Tell me, how many could have gone in that wardrobe?"
There was no need to deliver a physical blow when the cutting truth could do more damage. She shrank instantly and fluttered out of the high, open window, leaving the others alone in the small room.
"Why didn't you tell us about the wards?" Charming asked, leaning forward against the table. He was curious, and surprisingly enough, not accusatory. A quick study of his expression and the others' told the former Dark One that while they were not happy with the fact he'd nearly ended a man's life right in front of a child's eyes, they didn't disbelieve that he'd been protecting him.
"Likely because he was too exhausted to say much of anything when we came in," Belle answered for him and their gazes met. "How much do you remember of last night, Rumple?"
A lie - self preservation - leapt to his tongue, but he stopped himself. He didn't have to trust all of them, but he did need to find a few that he could trust. The Charmings, for all their absurd ideas, were honest if nothing else. "Not much past Hook being thrown out," he admitted after a moment and Belle gave him a smile that seemed almost sad.
"Well, now we know," Snow answered. "And I think, if we're going to remain here, that it might best if we know about any further surprises that might creep up on us."
Well, if he'd known that appearing in the middle of this was going to get him caught in a lengthy explanation of how his enchanted castle worked, he would have let Belle run the bug off instead.
Regina had taken Henry upstairs once the Blue Fairy arrived. While she hadn't seemed to like the idea of of not being included in the conversation, she prefered Henry at her side more. That had left Bae off to himself, as he simply could not handle the conversation to follow the lead fairy's arrival. Part of him felt like he should be there to defend his father, but his mind kept pulling forward the images of the first time he'd seen his papa as the Dark One. He'd been all of fourteen years old and terrified by the gold skin, the reptilian eyes, and the blood. There had been so much blood. He could still remember the sound of Hordor's necks snapping as his father's wrath was finally released on him. All those pent up emotions and all of that humiliation that the soldier had put him through had been unleashed in one well-calculated moment that had ended his life at Rumplestiltskin's feet.
Do you feel safe, son?
He hadn't felt safe. He'd been afraid of his father for the first time in his life. All he could remember thinking was that he was next. His papa's rage would blind him and Bae had been certain that the know would rip into him next.
Henry was younger than he had been, though perhaps had had a bit more life experience. He'd hopped on a bus to chase down Emma and he'd managed to win Regina away from the darkness. He'd helped break his grandfather's and adopted mother's curse and had been kidnapped by his crazy great-grandfather. The kid had seen a lot. He'd also never known Rumplestiltskin before his curse as Bae had. Maybe he'd come out of it a little better. He had no idea who he was before the curse had corrupted him.
Baelfire had found what he thought might be one of the rare, uninhabited rooms of the Dark Castle to pull himself together in, but now he heard the sound of footsteps behind coming up the stairs and saw the man that had taken over his thoughts standing at the top, looking as if he wasn't sure if he should go or stay. He'd saved Henry's life that morning. Bae knew he wasn't being fair, even if he couldn't help how he felt. He tried for a smile. "Hey, Pop."
"Hey," Rumplestiltskin answered softly. "Should I come back later?"
"No… No, it's fine."
His papa nodded and moved slowly into the room. Bae shifted on the windowsill he'd been perched on - a long and thick one that he'd been able to bend his knees and sit entirely on - so that the elder man could join him if he wanted to. Rumple leaned, not taking the hop that it would take to sit up on it. It overlooked the courtyard where people were still mulling around, though fewer remained than had been there that morning. It looked like his father's work room with vials and labels of all sorts of magical potions and equipment to make them. He didn't know what half the stuff did - more than half - and probably didn't want to know. The only thing that really felt familiar was the old spinning wheel in the corner.
"So," Bae said slowly, "feel like I should warn you that the Blue Fairy may be buzzing around your castle somewhere."
"Oh, she's long gone now," his papa answered with a shrug. "She wasn't quite able to convince the others that I'm secretly planning to murder them all in their sleep or something of the like."
A snort of laughter escaped and dark eyes flickered to meet Bae's own. Rumplestiltskin's lips were quirked ever so slightly in a hesitant smile, as if he weren't sure if it would be received well or not. "I know you saved him, Papa. Thank you."
"No thanks needed, son. He's your boy. He's my grandson. No harm will come to Henry if I can prevent it. That much I can swear to. I shall… endeavour not to give him material for quite as vivid nightmares next time."
"I just hope there isn't a next time."
"Oh, Bae. Such optimism there. Zelena has the box and it won't take her long to open it. She has a nasty sense of entitlement that I can nearly guarantee she hasn't shaken over the years."
"Who is she?"
"Like I said before: Regina's elder sister."
"I know that… you and Cora had a thing…"
"No," his papa said immediately, nose turned up at the thought. "Absolutely not."
"Just making sure that I don't have some random sibling you never told me about. Three hundred years is a long time."
"Sorry, son. You're an only child unless your mother-" He stopped and Bae found himself chuckling again.
"I know about Mom and Hook. Which… now that I think about it makes his crush on Emma that much creepier."
It was Rumple's turn to laugh now and he tilted his head back to catch his son's eyes. Bae could tell he was searching for some sort of sign that he hadn't undone all of their work that they'd put into trying to claw their way back to something like a father-son relationship. "I'm not going anywhere, Papa," Bae murmured at last. "This morning just stirred up a lot of bad memories. I guess I thought… with your curse broken..."
"Breaking my curse isn't going to make me a saint, son. I never was."
"You were never that, though."
"No, the old me would have cowered in a corner while my grandson was killed. Between the two, I'll do what I have to in order to keep my family safe."
"Guess I've changed some too, huh?"
"Yes, you have. You've gone and grown up. When I Saw that I'd find you again… I didn't want it to occur to me that I'd find a grown man where I'd lost my boy."
"Or that your boy would have a son of his own, huh?"
"Surprise surprise." He paused, letting out a long sigh. "Not a bad one though. You're a good man, Bae. Better than I'll ever be."
"All the good things are things I've held onto since I was a kid. I learned them from you."
Bae watched his father tense, refusing to look at him now, and by the way his shoulders had stiffened he knew he'd said something to risk a flood of emotions that Rumplestiltskin didn't want coming through. He didn't regret it though and reached down from his place on the windowsill, his hand touching his papa's shoulder and he instantly reached up and grabbed for it. Bae hung on tight. They'd likely never be back to where they were before that terrible morning when his father had taken on that terrible curse - they'd both changed far too much - and he knew they wouldn't get there immediately, but that wasn't to say that they couldn't build something even stronger now.
TBC
Notes: In the next chapter - Henry makes a friend and Rumple learns more about the price of bringing his grandson to the Enchanted Forest.