The years passed far too quickly it seemed for Rumpelstiltskin as his daughter continued to grow and grow into a wonderfully beautiful talented young woman that he reminded him so much of Belle, yet he also saw some of him in her as well. She was the perfect blend of the two of them and while he was by no means a hero now, it was clear that Rosalinda was a beacon of light that kept his darker ambitions from surfacing at times and he was hopelessly wrapped around her fingers.
Over the years he had taken to not only teaching his daughter everything he knew about magic but also decided to make it easier on him by just homeschooling his daughter, this way he could ensure she was getting the best education that his endless supply of money and magic could provide. However, it was quickly discovered that while he could teach Rosalinda magic much like he had with Regina and Zelena, it was also clear that Rosalinda's magic was far different than anyone's he had ever seen. She still had a natural instinct that often made her magic react to the current situation without he fully understanding how she was doing it.
However, he also learned that Rosalinda had a strong sense of loyalty and devotion to those she deemed to be an important part of her life, including her four best friends. Over the years Rosalinda had become best friends with Zelena's daughter Robin, Snow White and Prince Charming's son Neil, and Emma Swan and the pirate Son Liam and their daughter Marina. It seemed that every free moment his daughter had when she wasn't working on her studies or wasn't designing she spent with her friends going off on one crazy adventure after the other.
That was another thing that made his daughter stand out was her love for fashion when it came to designing her own outfits and clothing. He wasn't fully sure where or how his daughter had learned or discovered the talent but over the years she had taken to the hobby so well that he now had a room in his house that she had converted into a design studio and he even open an account for her at the fabric store because after being dragged there more times than he could count, he just found it easier for her to just go and get whatever she decided she needed for her latest design and he would simply pay the tab when the store sent him the bill.
So it was with that thought he made his way inside after another long day collecting rent and searching for any signs of Blue who despite the years since she was last seen, was still nowhere to be found. He had a strong belief that someone was hiding her or protecting her but he had no proof who that was. After placing his keys in their designated spot, he made his way up the stairs and after seeing that his daughter wasn't in her room which had changed into the typical bedroom for a 15 year old girl instead of the child she once was, he made his way to her studio and knocked on the door. After waiting for his daughter to respond, only to be met with silent, he opened the door and just as he thought he saw Rosalinda sitting at her sewing machine hard at work completely unaware that he had opened the door.
That was the one thing about his daughter when she was designing was that she tended to be so absorbed by her work that 9/10th of the time she never noticed when other people. She could work though a blizzard and a natural disaster at times with more focus that still shocked Rumpelstiltskin, but he had to admit that the results from her hard work was quickly becoming well known.
Rosalinda's designs were the envy of many in the town including Regina Mills who despite her best effort had lost the best dressed award at the annual Storybrooke Ball that they had every year for the last few years. Rumpelstiltskin watched as his daughter moved to stand up grabbing the silver blue material she had been sewing and moved over to her mannequin that she had in the corner pausing after placing the material over it when she saw him standing there.
"Hello Papa," came Rosalinda soft elegant voice that sounded so free and uplifting that it made his darkens soul shine with happiness that he couldn't even begin to express. "How did collecting rent go?"
"The usual," replied Rumpelstiltskin as he stood there. "Did you complete your assignments?"
"Yes, they're in your office awaiting your attention," replied Rosalinda as she began to move the fabric she was working with over the mannequin pining it in certain places.
"Do I even want to know what your designing now?"
"I offered to create my friends their outfits for the ball this year," replied Rosalinda as she worked barely paying attention to her father. "This is Marina's."
Rumpelstiltskin shot his daughter a look because while Rosalinda might have won best dressed for the last several years, when it came to the pirate's daughter she was even more obsessed with the latest in fashion and looking the picture perfect you would see in modal agencies and fashion magazines. When it came to Rosalinda's outfits for the most part they were consider practical and to the point. Even now she just wore a medium length black jean skirt with light golden sparkles making the skirt stand out in a small and subtle way, while she had a one sleeve light purple shirt. Marina's outfits on the other hand were fair from simple, and often tended to be a lot sexier than he would ever allowed a 14 year old girl wear. So he could only imagine what crazy idea Marina had requested and what his daughter would create.
"Speaking of my friends, I better get going before I get to absorb in this and forget I promise to meet up with them," stated Rosalinda as she placed a couple more pins before making sure that all her equipment was off and put back into their proper places.
Rumpelstiltskin watched as his daughter packed up her sewing supplies, before she made her way over towards the door and he moved aside to let her pass as she made her way down the stairs and began putting on a pair of knee length black leather boots that she loved more than any other pair of footwear she own and grabbed her small purse that she always carried.
"And do I dare ask what you and your friends are going to be doing today?" asked Rumpelstiltskin.
"You can ask, but I don't think you want to know," muttered Rosalinda before she gave her father a simple short kiss to the side of his cheek before quickly exiting the house before he fully could register what his daughter had said.
Rumpelstiltskin shook his head at his daughter's antics as he watched her disappear off into the town and while still a large part of him hated to have his daughter out of his sight, be over the years he had learned that he couldn't shelter Rosalinda from everything and as much as he might never be fully comfortable with her disappearing, he also knew she needed to be free to explore and spend time with her friends and by herself so she could grow up into a strong young woman she was already showing signs of becoming.
Meanwhile Rosalinda was making her way over to her friend Robin's house and knocked on the door when she arrived and it open to reveal Zelena standing there.
"Hello Zelena," stated Rosalinda. "Is Robin here?"
"Yes," replied Zelena who voice betrayed the fact that she didn't really care for the fact that her daughter's best friend was the daughter to the dark one. "I suppose you can come in if you like."
Rosalinda nodded and after muttering her thanks, watched as Zelena called for Robin, who walked out of her room and Rosalinda saw that she was wearing long blue jeans that hugged her body but also would allow for her to easy move if needed with a pair of dark brown hiking boots and a short forest green t-shirt. Rosalinda could see that Zelena was once again unhappy that all her attempts to turn her daughter into a girly girl were met with failure and how Robin was a total tomboy who would prefer to take a hike in the woods then wear a dress. Actually Rosalinda could count on one hand the number of times that her friend had warn a dress or skirt, and almost every time she was lucky to catch her friend in one, it was usually under protest and the first chance Robin had she would change.
"Hello Robin," stated Rosalinda. "You ready to go?"
"Yeah," replied Robin as she reached over and grabbed her bow and arrows she almost always carried with her. "I'll see you later mom."
With that Rosalinda and Robin took off before Zelena could come up with some dumb reason why they couldn't hang out and began making their way towards the docks where they were suppose to meet up with the others.
"So I take it that your mom still trying to turn you into a princess?" asked Rosalinda as they walked.
"Yeah," replied Robin. "I still don't even understand why. It's not like I'm even royalty anyway. You're the one with royal blood and your father doesn't try to make you into one."
"Yeah and considering he now has me learning how to decipher ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, that's saying something," stated Rosalinda lightly laughing at her father determination to teach her everything he felt she had to learn and when she asked all he would say is that if she ever found herself in the past he wanted to make sure all her bases were covered.
"Really?" asked Robin giving her friend a look of disbelief. "Ancient hieroglyphics?"
"Yep, still wish you were homeschooled?" asked Robin as a joke.
"No, I'll stick to learning algebra," laughed Robin as they arrived at the docks and saw the Jolly Roger.
When they got there they saw that Neil had just gotten there and was wearing just a simple outfit of blue jeans and a dark blue shirt. Rosalinda had to admit that when it came to looks, Neil certainly had inherited his dad's good looks but it was also quite clear he was a forced to be reckon with much like his mother Snow. He also had inherited his mother's formidable temper.
Robin had also grown up into a stunning beauty that even though she didn't wear anything consider girly she still had a figure that most would kill for, but she just didn't see a point in flaunting it. She had red hair like her mother but it was slightly lighter in colour and her skin was a nice even tan colour showing the fact that she spent a lot of time in the sun. She had her red hair pulled back into a small braid that reached her shoulders.
Rosalinda watched as Robin and Neil share a small but simple kiss and she smiled at her friends glad they had finally decide to stop dancing around one another and just admit that they care for the other and her mind flashed to a certain dark hair individual that she liked. Just then they heard the sound of the last two members of their band of friends and they turned to see Liam and Marina making their way over to them.
Liam was dressed in his usual dark pants and white t-shirt that made his slightly muscular chest stand out and his short black hair was gel up in its usual spiky slightly messed up way that made him look every bit a sexy god, especially when his ocean blue eyes lit up when he smiled. In some ways he looked very much like his dad did but there was also a soft gentle look to him that his father didn't have. Marina on the other hand was also his polar opposite. Like Liam, she had dark black hair that reached the middle of her back with streaks of white in it. Her hair blew in the wind in soft gentle waves and it was clear just by looking at Marina that she cared about her looks.
Out of each of the girls in the group Marina was clearly the girly girl and her outfits were always spot on and she would show off that she had perfect figure. Today she was dressed in a short black dress that went half way to her knees with a silver looping beat around the middle and was completely sleeveless. While the outfit was simpler than most of Marina's outfits it was still something to behold. Rosalinda could only imagine her father reaction if she ever wore dresses that form fitting and short.
"Hello Liam and Marina," greeted Neil. "What kept you?"
"Had to remind dad of our deal," replied Liam as he began moving to head onto the Jolly Roger.
"I'm still shock you managed to get him to agree," stated Marina as she followed her twin brother onto the ship followed closely by the others.
"Well he should have known better than making deals," replied Liam as he moved to the helm and began prepping the ship for him to sail it. "He's the one who agreed if I got an 80 on my math test, I could take the Jolly Roger out on my own for once."
"Anything we can do to help captain?" asked Rosalinda her voice full of amusement and joy.
Liam sent Rosalinda a look that made butterflies erupt over her before he began giving commands to his friends and it wasn't long before they were sailing around in the harbor just enjoying the wind as it blew around the ship. Rosalinda looked over at Liam and even at the age of 14, he had command of the ship in a way that could rival his father and he had complete control while issuing the odd command to his friends but for the most part was content to do most of the work.
Rosalinda then looked over at Robin who decided to climb to the crow's nest for unknown reasons and was now sitting up there enjoying the view while Neil was off to the side nearby but also allowing his girlfriend to be by herself. That's what made the two of them the perfect couple. They understood when they both needed their space and when they needed comfort or each other company. They seemed to just know without the other having to tell the other. Rosalinda found herself wondering if she would ever be that lucky before she turned her gaze onto Marina who had grabbed a lawn chair from somewhere and had even changed into a bikini that was a deep red colour and showed off more skin than anyone could ever imagine a young girl wearing and was now sun tanning, claiming she was getting to pale again. It was the one thing that Marina hated about her body was that she had inherited her grandmother's pale skin and would go to great lengths to keep herself nicely tanned.
Rosalinda sighed before she moved to the front of the ship and leaned against the railing looking out to the horizon and couldn't help but wonders what the future hold. Just as she was about to allow herself to fully relax she felt a shift in the air as it seemed like magic was stirring and she turned to look beyond for something that would explain it.
"Something wrong?" asked Neil who had noticed his young friend distress first.
"I don't know," replied Rosalinda as she tried to make sense of what she was sensing. "I just feel something's wrong. I think we should head back to town."
Rosalinda turned to head towards Liam and voice her concerns when suddenly magic erupted all around them. Marina let out a scream since she hadn't been paying attention to anything going on around her but was now glancing around her eyes searching for what was causing the issue, while Robin was also trying to figure out what was going on while also she loaded her bow and arrows just in case.
Liam however was fighting to stay in control of the ship as the magic was causing both the water below the ship to begin tossing and turning similar to how it felt when someone was sailing in the middle of a storm, plus he also noticed that the wind had begun to pick up as well making the sails protests against it.
Liam knew if he didn't get the ship out of this magical storm, there was a high chance that despite all those years sailing with his father and everything he had learned would mean next to nothing. There was only so much even a vast ship as the Jolly Roger could take before it would buckle and fail, and while he secretly worried about how his father would react if the one time that he let his son take the ship out alone without him, he somehow manage to sink one of his most valuable possessions, he also knew that the bigger risk was them getting hurt or killed.
"Brace yourselves," order Liam as he fought for control while also turning to Marina who for once had dropped her diva fashion obsessed personality and now resembled their mom when she was determine to do whatever she had to protect those she cared about. "Marina no!"
"Do you have a better idea?" asked Marina as she looked to see that both Robin and Rosalinda were trying to not only use their skills in magic to try and fight against whatever was causing the magical storm but also were trying not to get thrown overbored.
"You know what happens if you use your powers!" yelled Liam over the storm.
"Yeah I know," replied Marina giving her brother a sad look before moving so she was now more directly in the center of the ship.
Everyone watched as Marina slowly raised her one hand and water vessels began to move towards her until they formed into a staff that rippled and flow like water trapped in an invisible container before her eyes took an eerie ocean green look to them as she raised the staff above her head. Suddenly the water below them began to settle and Marina continued to focus her magic outwards not noticing as more and more of her dark locks began to change from black to the blonde.
Rosalinda looked at her friend and knew that with each lock of hair that change from black to blonde was taking time off her own life force and they also knew that if her head ever began completely blonde that the next time she used her powers they would kill her. Yet, despite the curse that Marina had somehow discovered she was born with, she was determine to live her life to the fullest. While she didn't go out of her way to use her powers unneeded, she also wasn't one to just stop using it even when knowing that it was slowly killing her. Rosalinda still remember all the times, Marina would protest that if she was going to die because of these powers, than she was going to live her life to the fullest, so it was with a heavy heart that she watched her friend use her magic to try and calm the waters below them.
Finally when it seemed like nothing any of them were doing was doing any good, the magical storm disappeared and all of them took a breath of relief as Marina fell to her knees, her water staff shattering into small water droplets that fell onto the deck. Liam quickly ran over to her sister and besides seeing a few more strands of blonde hair than there was before, she appeared to be okay, just extremely tired.
"I think we should head back mates," stated Liam as he stood up.
"Yeah," replied Rosalinda as she felt out with her magic to see if she could latch onto anything that would explain what had caused the magical storm but was met with an eerie silence that she couldn't place.
Together they began to help Liam as he began to steer it back towards the harbor, each wondering what had happened and how they were going to explain it to their parents.
"My father's going to freak," muttered Rosalinda under her breath as she watched the harbor get closer and closer to them.
A/N: Okay, there you are, extra long chapter and Rosalinda is now a teenager. Please take a minute to read the following key notes below.
The ages for both Rosalinda and her gang of friends are as followed: Neil- 17; Robin- 16; Rosalinda- 15; and Liam and Marina as 14.
I decided to pair Robin and Neil together and I might pair Rosalinda with Liam later on but I'm not sure. The biggest problem is the fact that everyone in Once Upon a Time seems to be related in some way to one another. So I'm hoping here that I'm not doing incest but there's a part of me that isn't sure anymore. The way I look at it is as followed. I'll do Neil and Robin first.
Neil is the son of Prince Charming and Snow White and yes through marriage Neil is related to Regina who would be his step-grandmother or something along those lines, and yes Zelena is the half-sister to Regina but because they aren't fully related by blood connection I have decided to ignore it.
The same I believe goes for Liam and Rosalinda. The only link they have to one another is Henry. Henry is Rosalinda nephew and Liam is Henry younger half-brother but they don't share a direct link. Therefore I wanted to pair the two of them together in the possible future chapters.
If I am wrong about this, and this does venture into incest please let me know but every person who has watched the show with me or I have asked in general have stated that both pairings are fine.
Outside Liam, each of the other four members of Rosalinda's group is either blessed or curse with magic. Rosalinda you already know about is due to her being the daughter of a dark one and true love. Robin inherited her mother's magic but doesn't have the full control that her mother has shown and thus would rather work with her archery skills than relay to heavily on her magic. Marina is cursed with the ability to control any form of water doesn't matter if it a glass of water or an ocean, she can control and make it to do her bidding but with each time she uses her powers it drains away from her own life-force. Neil also has magic but it's not in its traditional sense and much like Marina his is also a curse. I won't go into details yet here of what his is, because you'll find them out in a short while. As for Liam, at first I was going to give him the power over any ship or vessel that sails on water but decided that I wanted to have at least one member of the group who can't or doesn't use magic to offset the others.
Other than that, hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll have more written as soon as I can.