"Who…" Regina swallowed back the lump of fear rising in her throat. "Who are you?" She had almost asked him what he was but caught herself at the last second. By the complete adoration she saw on her mother's face for the glittering man, impoliteness would in no way be tolerated. Not that it ever was, but now seemed even more foolish to act out.
"Rumplestiltskin, at your service," the man stated, accentuating his words with a deep, showy bow. Regina's fear quickly gave way to curiosity; she had never met anyone more powerful than her mother and this man exuded power, from every shiny scale of his skin to the voice that held a sing-song quality to it. "Now the question is, who are you?"
Regina frowned. Who she was ought to have been obvious to him if he truly knew her mother that well. When she failed to answer right away, Cora threw her a glare. "I am Regina," she said in a rush.
"Yes, yes, we all know that," Rumplestiltskin waved off her answer irritably when she said no more. "But do you know that?"
"Of cour-"
"Don't waste my time, dearie!" he cut her off. Regina paused in shock. She was answering his question! How was that wasting his time when he asked? Rumplestiltskin slowly looked her over, taking in her entire appearance. Regina felt like he was doing more than just that. He was searching into her mind, into her heart, into her soul. Into everything that she was. She wanted to cover herself and hide away from the scrutiny. Eventually Rumplestiltskin turned to Cora again. "She is not ready."
Cora's glare deepened as her head swiveled to make him the object of her gaze. "Of course she is ready. I raised her to be ready!"
"Then you raised her wrong," he said in a mocking tone. Regina eyes trekked between the two magic wielders. Ready for what? His entire demeanor changed as he stepped closer. She watched her mother appear to shrink in front of him as he continued in a low and menacing tone, "Do you remember our deal?" Cora nodded, trying not to swallow or show any sign of fear. Instantly he returned back to the boisterous man Regina had first seen him to be. The ease with which he could change so quickly only served to make Regina fear the man even more. "Excellent! Then we shall have no problems," he sang.
Rumplestiltskin's attention returned to Regina again. "Now if you cannot tell me who you are, perhaps you can tell me why you are so sad." Again his tone changed to a fake comforting sound as his lips took on a mocking pout.
Cora opened her mouth to answer for her daughter, but Rumplestiltskin twitched his finger at her. No words came from her mouth so all she managed to do was look like a gaping fish. Regina would have laughed at the image if the atmosphere wasn't so serious, despite Rumplestiltskin's obvious disregard for somberness. Cora's fear quickly gave way to frustration when she realized what was happening. He stared at Regina, awaiting an answer. She looked hesitantly at her mother. Though she couldn't speak, her glare spoke volumes; anything but an exclamation of happiness would get her punished. She looked back at the man and answered tightly, "I am to marry the king and gain tw-…a daughter." She swallowed hard, her hand resting on her stomach without conscious thought. "What reason have I to be sad?"
"Do you always say what your mother wants you to say?"
Regina's brow creased again. She always said what kept her, and now her family, safe. "No," she lied, eliciting a giggle from the mad man.
"No use lying to me, dearie. I know all, see all, hear all. What keeps you from the bliss of marriage?"
Again, Regina's gaze flickered to her mother before looking down at her clasped hands resting on her abdomen. "I am perfectly happy with the marriage I am to partake in."
"Really?" Rumplestiltskin asked dryly. "The fact you are being forced into a sham of a marriage to someone who will never love you and you will never love because the daughter of said man squealed about your not-so-secret love child with a man your mother will never approve of makes you happy?" She blinked, her hand slipping around so her entire arm was now covering her stomach as if that offered any more protection. How did he know all of that? Regina opened her mouth to ask him, but a cough from her mother drew her attention and she pursed her lips to hold her silence. Rumplestiltskin noticed this. "Leave us," he commanded Cora without taking his gaze from the young bride-to-be on the dresser's pedestal.
"I will not leave my daughter-" but she was gone in a puff of purple smoke. Regina's eyes widened again. Who was this man that he so easily overpowered her mother?
Rumplestiltskin walked toward one of the ornate chairs and settled into it, lifting his feet to drop them on a footstool that appeared magically beneath them. "Your mother has no ears here. You can speak freely now." Regina was still hesitant. Rumplestiltskin grinned. "I'll make you a deal. You share with me all your little secrets. And I will teach you how to protect yourself from your mother."
Regina stared at him in shock. Protect herself from her mother? But… "I do not want to hurt anyone," she said quietly.
Her meek demeanor amused Rumplestiltskin. "I never said you'd have to hurt her. Magic isn't just attacking people. It can be used as a defense!" As if to prove his point, the room started shaking. The ceiling cracked and large chunks fell right over Regina's head. She screamed but could not move her feet to get out of the way. Just before hitting her head, something knocked it aside. She stared in horror at the stone that had nearly killed her. "Nothing can harm you if you know how to protect yourself," he continued as if nothing had happened. With a wave of his hand, the room returned to normal again. Regina shifted her gaze back to the man of magic, horror warring with hope across her face. "Do we have a deal?"
She stood still, the war still raging within her thoughts about whether she wanted to risk the use of magic. Nothing else seemed to be able to stop her mother though…And with Daniel's heart in her grasp as well as the future of her child, Regina needed to be able to stand up to her mother. Feeling like she had sold her soul, she nodded. "We have a deal."
"Excellent!" Rumplestiltskin clapped his hands together once and linked his fingers before resting his hands in his lap. "I do love a good story."
Still Regina seemed hesitant to share, but share she must if she wanted to learn to protect herself and those she loved. So she started her tale. Slowly at first, but the more she talked, the more she realized she needed to share the details. From her side. Her voice grew stronger and more sure of herself as she told Rumplestiltskin her story.
Daniel heard voices coming from the parlor room as he entered the house again. There was Regina, Cora, and….he didn't recognize that last voice. Frowning, he stepped toward the doors that led into the room and put his ear to the crack between them. Though the voices were louder, they were still unclear and he still could not recognize the third voice. "Perhaps…" He turned his head until his eye was pressed to the crack in the hopes to see inside. Thankfully it was just wide enough to be able to see the middle of the room. What he saw, however, confused him. A man covered in…gold flecks? But that couldn't be. He pressed harder into the door as if that moved him closer to get a better view. Still all he could see was the glittering from the man standing next to Cora.
The conversation from inside the room continued but Daniel couldn't make any words out of it. Words seemed to be unnecessary, though, when movement drew his attention again. Cora had rounded on the man but he silenced her without even a look. Daniel didn't believe it. He rubbed his eyes as if he could clear them of whatever was distorting his vision and pressed against the door again to watch more.
Cora once again threatened the glittering man and Daniel winced in sympathy. But his wince quickly dropped into a state of shock when once again, the man overpowered her. She was gone before anything could happen. Looking nonplussed, the man dropped into a chair as if he owned the place.
Daniel remained frozen at the door. Cora was powerful. But so was the man it appeared. Moreso than her. He thought hard about what kind of person could beat Cora in the ways of magic. There were rumors of someone…
"Eavesdropping is not particularly wise, dearie," a voice interrupted his thoughts.
Daniel spun around quickly, prepared to defend himself. "I wasn't…I was looking…"
He was spared the need for an explanation when the glittering man held up a hand to silence him. "No need to explain. I know what you were doing."
It was then that Daniel noticed who the man was. Frowning, he turned back to the door again and looked inside. But the man was still sitting there… He turned back to the hallway and the man was there too.
"A little trick I picked up through the years," the man giggled.
Daniel stared a second longer before gathering enough courage to ask, "You are what they call the Dark One, aren't you?"
"That is one of my many names," the Dark One agreed, giving another bow that matched the one he had given Regina. "Most people call me Rumplestilskin. And you," he pointed at Daniel, "are the father of that," he pointed toward the room, "baby."
Daniel went stiff and his chin rose in silent defiance, daring the Dark One to oppose him. "That is my child, yes. And Regina is my One True Love."
"Oh how precious!" Rumplestiltskin clapped his hands together, bouncing lightly on his toes. "Twu Wuv. But a forbidden love." His lips took on a mocking pout again. "Whatever shall you do?"
Daniel stared at the man for a moment, trying to gage what exactly the man was playing at. If he was on Cora's side, this could be dangerous territory the stable boy was treading. But if the man was willing to help, he could be a very powerful ally. "Whatever it takes," he finally said after careful consideration.
A wide grin split Rumplestiltskin's face. "Is that so?" he asked. Daniel stepped back, almost afraid by the grin and the hint of warning he picked up from the Dark One's tone, but nodded. Rumplestiltskin giggled madly. "I can help you with that, dearie."
Surprised, Daniel took a step forward, and then another one. "Would you really help me and Regina?" he asked quietly, almost not believing that such a powerful being would care to help a lowly stable boy with his problems of love.
"Why of course!"
"But why?" Daniel asked almost immediately, not even giving Rumplestiltskin a chance to elaborate. "Why would you help us?"
"Let's just say I'm invested in her future," Rumplestiltskin replied, motioning toward the room again where Regina was still talking to the other Rumplestiltskin. "And no child deserves to be without both parents."
Daniel was not sure he trusted Rumplestiltskin. But what other option did he have? He nodded his assent. "How can you help?"
"You don't need to worry about that, dearie. You will get what you want. But," he held up his hand again to silence Daniel before he could say anything. "All magic comes with a price."
Daniel nodded again. The stories he had heard about the Dark One always mentioned a price. "What is it you want from me?"
"Patience," Rumplestiltskin answered. Daniel raised a brow. "My plan will take some time. I do not want to be constantly pestered and asked questions."
"How much time-"
"Patience!" Daniel scowled but snapped his mouth shut. "Do we have a deal?"
"Deal."
As soon as the word fell past his lips, Rumplestiltskin grinned and disappeared. Daniel stood there, alone, staring at the smoke that billowed from the spot Rumplestiltskin had been standing not even a second before.
"Daniel? What are you doing here?"
Daniel turned around. Regina was standing in the doorway, a confused but happy smile on her lips. "I came to see you, of course," he smiled and stepped closer, his hands grabbing her hips to pull her closer. "And check on how you are feeling."
Regina stepped into his embrace and rested her cheek on his chest. His chin lifted enough to settle on atop her head. She stood with him for a second, thinking out her thought before she answered. "Cold," she finally said softly. "But better." Standing the way they were, he missed how her eyes flickered toward the parlor.
"Good."
Hearing the distance in his voice, Regina pulled her head back to look him in the eyes, searching for the answer to her silent question. She couldn't find anything but there was definitely something wrong in his gaze. "What is it?" she frowned.
Daniel smiled and shook his head, pulling her closer again and resuming their previous positions. "Just thinking about us," he replied vaguely. Regina's lips curled into a smile. That was an answer she could accept.
A scream of rage interrupted their peaceful moment together and they jumped apart. Regina's eyes filled with terror; Cora would take out her anger on her, she was sure. Her mother always did. "I'll meet you tonight," she promised quickly and quietly, stepping forward onto her toes to press a quick but loving kiss to his lips.
"I love you," he replied as she scurried off to find a place to hide from Cora. Daniel watched her disappear around the corner. Unease filled him. He had made a deal with the Dark One. Sure it was for a good reason, but at what cost. Something told him patience wasn't the only thing he would be paying for his deal. What other choice did he have though? He had to protect his family.