Thank you all for the kind words! I hope this chapter lives up to them. I have already started the next chapter and am hoping to have it up tomorrow night.
Disclaimer: "Once Upon a Tme," the characters, and situations depicted are the property of Adam Horowitz, Edward Kitsis, Kitsis/Horowitz, and ABC Studios. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment not monetary purposes.
He had been alone, tied to the wall of this room for a while now. The last thing he remembered before being here was the darkness taking over his heart, the way his sweet Belle had looked so dissapointed in him. He believed the darkness was going to kill him, but now it's not the darkness that is consuming his heart, but the savior killing him. How had she become the new dark one?
When he killed Zoso he believed that the only way to be freed from the darkness was to be killed with the dagger. Yet, there the dagger lay on a rock next to Excalibur, no longer with the name Rumplestiltskin on it, but now the saviors name was upon it...Emma Swan. What had happened?
He didn't have long to think about it before she appeared before him, but this time she wasn't alone.
"Henry?" He asked fearing that the dark one had begun to turn his grandson's heart dark. He had never forgiven himself for what he did to Bae, he had allowed his fear and the darkness to consume him and lost his son. The young boy in front of him was all he had left of his son, he could see the hope in Henry's eyes, the same hope that his Bae once had for him, he knew that those eyes were still ones that darkness had not yet touched. He breathed a sigh of relief.
"Mr. Gold?! Are you ok?" The boy moved towards him trying to help him take some of the weight off of his damaged foot. "Mom, why is he here?" He asked a little spark of the hero, that his other grandfather was.
"I need him, he is going to help me free Excalibur, but first I need him to become a Hero. The man that your father always wished he had been." Her words stung, how could she ever think that he could be the hero she needed when he had let his own son's hand go in order to keep his power.
"If you need me then why is Henry here Miss Swan?"
"So that the fool Regina does not try to corrupt his innocent heart and turn him against me, but with him here, she is...no longer in the picture." He couldn't help, but notice a slight smirk on her face. There was more going on than what she was saying. "Now Gold you are going to help me get what I want."
"How am I to do that? You are the dark one now, I have no power." He said slumping even further into the ropes she had him tied up with.
"Ah, but you do, you see your heart is no longer dark, but it is also no longer light. You are my blank canvas and I will turn you into what I need you to become." He looked down at Henry, there was a confusion and a fear in his grandson's eyes.
"How do you mean to do that Miss Swan?" He knew that he would regret asking that, but he needed to know. With a laugh she put her hand in the air and a heart appeared in it. She whispered a few words into the heart and a young girl came into the room, her hair as red as fire, a bow in front of her string pulled back, with an arrow knocked and ready to fire.
"With her, of course. " She turned and looked towards the girl. "I need for you to make him a hero, if you don't..." she squeezed the heart causing the girl to lose grip on the string and sending the arrow flying. It hit the metal bars only inches from his head. As it clanged off of the bar he couldn't help, but flinch.
"Aye, I understand, it's not like I have a real choice do I?" This girl had fight, he could tell, but what this girl didn't know was that there was no way this would work, he is a coward, as he had always been.
"What of Henry?"
"Henry and I are going to spend some time together, like during operation Cobra." She looked at Henry wrapping her arm around him, "How's that sound kid?" Henry looked at him and then at what once was his mom and nodded.
"Sure, sounds great..." He said trying to act tough.
"Now you two go, I do not have much patience, so do whatever it takes." With a flick of her wrist they were in the woods and the last thing he remembered seeing was his grandson standing there. He had to find a way to get him back.