"I must say you've surprised me, Rumple. I didn't expect you to go to Emma Swan."
"You took her."
"I took her," Regina admitted. Her voice actually sounded proud.
Gold growled. "We end this. Right now."
She smiled. "Then what are you waiting for?"
To anyone else, it would've been clear that Regina should keep her mouth shut, that she would be wise to not goad the Dark One on, that she should not patronize him; but either Regina didn't know, or she simply didn't care. The upper hand was hers, and it was making her cocky. It was this cockiness that Rumpelstiltskin hated the most.
"The game's up, Regina," he spat out. "I know why you want Rose. I know what it is you're after."
She seemed pleased and let out a slight laugh. "Good. Then you also know, Rumple, that nothing you say or do can make me give her back to you."
"There must be something you want," he pushed in a gruff tone, not wanting to display any sign of weakness.
"I want an apprentice. I want someone who I can train up to be just like me."
He cocked his head. "And just how do you expect to do that, your Majesty? You can't transfer your power onto Rose right now. Not in this world. There is no magic here."
"I have my ways, Rumple. I am the Evil Queen after all. You don't think I didn't have things in motion, a plan for when we reached this world?"
"Then why didn't you take Rose the very minute the curse brought us here? Why did you wait for 28 years?"
She shrugged nonchalantly. "Why not?"
"No, there must be a reason. If you had stolen her 28 years ago, things would've been fine. You would've gotten away with it. But instead you choose to take her after the Savior has come to town. And after I remember and can go after you. Do you want a fight, Regina?"
"I want to hurt you."
Her cold, truthful admission made sense to him, but it still confused him. Was hurting him all she was concerned about? His confused glare made her scoff.
"I made you an offer many years ago. Do you remember?" She stood up and began to walk towards him. "I made you an offer to come by my side, to subject the entire world to our rule. Together we would've been unstoppable."
Rumpelstiltskin grimaced at the memory of that promise, and at the kiss that had followed. It made him want to scrub at his lips. "Is that what this is about? Because I rejected your advances?"
"Advances?" She raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Is that what you think I was doing? You think I had feelings for you?"
He shrugged. "Why else would you offer something like that?"
"Because of your damn power!" She burst out angrily. "And it was possible that if I got you to come to my side and leave that mite of a slave behind, then I would be able to take that damn child without you ever caring!"
"I would always care!" He bellowed back. "Rose is as much my child as it is Belle's." Regina scoffed and it only served to make him angrier. "Perhaps she's not mine by blood, but I love her as if she were!"
"Face it, Rumple. I'm practically her father." The words made him sick to his stomach. "It was my magic that got Belle pregnant, not yours."
He smirked. "But don't forget the link that I have to her. It's my magic that's keeping her alive. You do know what that means right, your Majesty?" Regina raised another eyebrow, daring him to continue and tell her just what exactly it meant. Rumpelstiltskin obliged. "It means that you can't kill me, no matter how much I get in the way of your plans. Because if you kill me, then my link to Rose is severed, and she will die. You're only chance is to break my bond to her and transfer that bond to yourself, but you can't do that without magic."
"Didn't I just tell you, Rumple, that I have means that you don't even know about it?" His smile faltered slightly. She was so sure of herself that it did scare him. It scared him for Rose's sake. He didn't know what else to do.
"Your Majesty..." He began, but just then, Emma Swan walked in, pocketing her cell phone.
"Sorry about that," the woman apologized as she walked back towards them. She looked from one to the other, and seemed pleased that neither one had killed each other in her absence. She turned back to Regina. "Now, back to what we were discussing-" But Gold stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.
"Forget it, Miss Swan," he said, all the while he was glaring at Regina. "I believe I made a mistake." Only he could see the gleam of victory and satisfaction in the Queen's eyes. Of course he would have no choice but to back off if he wanted Rose to stay safe.
Emma looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"I mean it's time to go." Gold growled as he turned around and limped out of the office. Emma looked over her shoulder at Regina, but the woman seemed just as surprised as she was. So, she just followed after Gold.
The moment they were on the sidewalk and out of earshot, Emma looked at him. "Well?" She demanded.
His lips curled into a triumphant smirk. "I've got your proof, Sheriff Swan. Regina took Rose, and I can prove it."
Emma's face slowly transformed to one of concern. "We better get back to my office, and you can show me this 'proof' yourself."
"I can guarantee you won't be disappointed."
"I better not be."
0o0o0o0o0o
"I have my ways, Rumple. I am the Evil Queen after all. You don't think I didn't have things in motion, a plan for when we reached this world?"
"Then why didn't you take Rose the very minute the curse brought us here? Why did you wait for 28 years?"
"Why not?"
"No, there must be a reason. If you had stolen her 28 years ago, things would've been fine. You would've gotten away with it. But instead you choose to tell her after the Savior has come to town. And after I remember and can go after you. Do you want a fight, Regina?"
"I want to hurt you."
Emma pressed the button on the remote, rewound the recording, and played it again.
"I have my ways, Rumple. I am the Evil Queen after all. You don't think I didn't have things in motion, a plan for when we reached this world?"
"Then why didn't you take Rose the very minute the curse brought us here? Why did you wait for 28 years?"
"Why not?"
"No, there must be a reason. If you had stolen her 28 years ago, things would've been fine. You would've gotten away with it. But instead you choose to tell her after the Savior has come to town. And after I remember and can go after you. Do you want a fight, Regina?"
"I want to hurt you."
Emma pressed the 'stop' button on the remote and let out a long sigh. Mr. Gold placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright?" He asked.
She glanced up at him. "I can't believe it." Regina believed in this whole curse thing too. That meant there were now four people who thought they were fairy tale characters from a magical world. That couldn't be a coincidence. In Emma's heart of hearts, she knew it.
Mr. Gold turned and walked towards the window and looked outside. He watched as several people enjoyed the sunny day, unawares of what was going on inside the Sheriff's office. He looked back at Emma and realized she was pale, probably from the shock of it all. There was no way she could deny the truth now. Not with her son, Jefferson, himself, and the Mayor all believing the same thing.
She looked at him again. "I can't believe I let you bring a bug into the Mayor's office."
"It was the only way to get answers, and to make you believe."
"So all of this fairy tale crap is actually real?" She asked, even though she knew the answer.
He nodded. "It is; although, now that it's real, it's not exactly crap, is it, Miss Swan?"
"Oh my God," she stood up and brought a hand up to her head. "I think I'm going to throw up. I don't feel so well."
"I'm sure this is a lot to take in," he said, trying to help.
But instead, she tensed and whirled on him. "'A lot to take in'?! This is more than just a lot. This is a bloody mountain of information to take in! You're Rumpelstiltskin, the creepy spinner that used to give me nightmares."
"In my defense, that story has taken way too many liberties in this world. You can't believe everything you have ever read or hear, Emma."
"But apparently I can believe that I'm living in a town full of fairy tale characters. Oh God...does that mean Mary Margaret really is Snow White?"
Mr. Gold nodded. "Yes, and your mother."
"My mother." At this point, Emma looked like she was going to faint from the overload of information and he forced her to sit back down. The last thing he wanted was for Emma Swan to pass out on him right now. She furrowed her eyebrows. "And Belinda French...French..." she screwed up her eyes as her head hurt even more. "She's Belle from Beauty and the Beast." Her eyes opened wide and she looked straight at him. "You're the freaking beast!"
He looked down at the floor. There really was nothing else to say. She watched as she groaned.
"I used to have the biggest crush on you when I was a kid," she admitted with another groan.
Mr. Gold couldn't suppress a smirk. "Again, we're not exactly one and the same."
"Yes, you bloody are."
"Okay, perhaps we are." He smirked again and she groaned for a third time.
"So what's the next step?"
"Well, you believe, Miss Swan, so that is the best news yet. We have a real advantage, but we only keep that advantage so long as Regina thinks you don't believe in all of this. We have to keep her thinking that you're still in the dark while we try to figure out a way to get you to break this curse."
She frowned in annoyance. "All this time and you don't know how to break the curse? Shouldn't that have been something you were researching while I didn't remember?"
He grimaced. "I know how to break this curse, Emma. True Love's kiss can break any curse. BUT. Since you don't have anyone that you truly love, unless you've been hiding a secret boyfriend from me all this time, that particular means isn't going to work. So, we have to find another way. And until we do...I don't know. We wait."
"Wait? What about Rose, and what Regina plans to do to her?"
"Well we have to keep looking, don't we?" He snapped. The mention of Rose filled him with a combination of intense anger and fear all over again. His cell phone rang and he answered it. "Yes?"
It was Jefferson on the other end of the line. "Hey, it's about Belle. Once she woke up and remembered what happened, she started panicking. I'd never seen her like that before."
"Well, what did you do?"
"I gave her a cup of tea with something special in it," Jefferson said in a delicate voice.
"You sedated her?!" Rumpelstiltskin shouted. Emma gave him a strange stare. "Hatter, what were you thinking?"
"Hey, it worked, and you'll thank me later. She's placid now, but she won't stop crying and asking for you. You need to get over here right now. Belle needs you."
Gold let out a sigh and his expression instantly softened. "Alright, Jefferson, I'll be there as soon as I can. I want you to get ready to meet our dear Miss Swan. She needs to be filled in on everything."
"She remembers?" Jefferson's voice was filled with hope.
"Yes. The Savior remembers."