Next chapter and possibly the last until the second half of season 4 ends. Sorry guys, but I need to see what happens to see where I can take this story. Just no I am not abandoning this fic and as soon as I can, I'll post the next chapter. Thanks for all the support and don't forget to check out Trickster. Thanks again! Happy New Year!

Fairytale Land of the Past

Todd sat cross legged on the floor, reading over his book as Rumple kept up his spinning, turning his wheel in the dark with no light save for the candles and the fire place. The curtains were still drawn, blocking the great golden rays of the sun from entering this dark castle. He was still able to read and still able to comprehend what it was he was reading, but he grew tired of the dark. There were no windows in his room, and so the only sense of light he got was from candles and his hearth. It wasn't even that large, no where near the size of the one downstairs. He wished that just one day, Rumple would allow the drapes to open up,illuminating the somber place. Spring was approaching and if there was one thing Todd missed most about his old life, it was working in the spring; hearing the birds chirp, feeling the warm sun on his face, smelling the fresh garden grass that his mother and he would tend to. Safe to say spring was one of his favorite times of the year.

"Will you ever open the drapes again?" Todd questioned out of the blue. Despite his feelings for the child, Rumple could not help, but to get annoyed by his random questions especially when they were about his life style. "No," he replied and continued his spinning. "Why not?" Todd pressed on as he turned to the next page in his book. All about Merlin and his code, the Laws of Magic and stuff like that. Boring. "Because," Rumple answered. "Because why?" Todd continued to nudge. "Because I said so," the Dark One spoke. "That's not a reason, that's an excuse," Todd muttered under his breath. Rumple couldn't help, but to smirk at the child's annoyance, but continued spinning all the same.

"Can I use the library?" Todd asked as he looked up from the pages in his book, hoping to make eye contact with his guardian. "The library?" Rumple answered with his own question, looking into Todd's blue eyes. "Yeah, the library. You know, the one you installed not too long ago? What was it now...three months ago? Maybe four?" He knew which library, there was only one and it was the only new room in the castle. Everything else was as old as the Dark One himself. "No, Todd," Rumple replied, "that library was made for Belle. It's hers." He shifted his eyes back to his wheel as Todd's lips curved cooly and sinisterly into a twisted smirk. He nodded slowly as if accepting this new information with more to it than what his guardian was playing it off to be. "Alright," Todd spoke as he moved his line of vision back to the words in his book, "I get it. I get it."

"She's coming," Rumple spoke suddenly. "Hood up," he ordered and Todd obeyed, not even putting down his book. He just reached behind him, grabbed his hood and pulled it over his head. In no more than a second, Todd had vanished from everyone's vision.

Sure enough, Belle entered, in her blue dress in which Todd had managed to convince Rumple to give to her in exchange for that overly tight golden one from back in the days when she was considered a princess. She folded her hands before her and dipped her head a bit. "May I clean in here or should I come back later?" she asked, and Rumple looked to her for just a moment, but Todd saw it. Now that he was invisible, he could spy all he liked. No one would ever be able to tell, though he was sure that his guardian knew he was going to spy and smile to himself. "Now is fine, thank you," he replied.

Belle got to work straight away, dusting the table and cabinets, stoking the fire and cleaning the hearth's exterior. Soon she was climbing on the ladder and tending to all the relics that he stored higher up than what she could reach, adjusting the tapestries that hung, all while Rumple spun and Todd read, but glanced over every now and then to see if his guardian was paying any notice to anything Belle was doing. Much to his liking, ever so often, Rumple would give a slight glance over in Belle's direction, watching as she worked, just staring as if...as if enjoying the view. Todd bit his bottom lip to calm his chuckles, attempting to truly focus on the words, but he simply just couldn't.

Belle almost caught Rumple looking over at her, too when she was on the ladder. She knew for a fact that she saw his glance for a split second before he was quick to make it seem like the only thing has ever been focusing on the entire time was his spinning and his wheel. She decided that it seemed best to not question him on it, but rather watch him in his work. So she studied him for a moment, examined the way he spun his wheel, making that straw shimmer into pure gold, landing gracefully into the basket he had placed below. The question popped out before she had time to think it through.

"Why do you spin so much?" Both Rumple and Todd stopped what they were doing to look to the help for a mere moment, but Rumple's eyes were the only ones she was aware were upon her. When he went back to looking at his wheel, Todd's eyes remained glued to the maid as he sat in silence. "Sorry, it's just you have spun straw into more gold then you could ever spend," she was quick to add.

"I like to watch the wheel," Rumple spoke, making Todd's eyes bulge. He actually answered her? And without attitude? Shocker! "Helps me forget," he added and Todd looked back over to Belle. "Forget what?" she questioned. Touchy subject! Todd screamed in his mind at her. Very touchy subject! Don't do it! Don't question that! But she already had and already Todd was expecting Rumple to rage in a fit of anger, shouting at her to leave and come back later to finish her tasks. Todd was getting ready to throw down his book and remove his hood to protect Belle, but before he did anything, Rumple replied in a way Todd was not expecting at all. Rumple ceased in his spinning and bobbed his head. "I guess it worked," he laughed and drew a giggle from Belle's lips and a smirk from Todd's.

The maid went back to work, tugging on the drapes as the two owners of the castle below looked up to her in confusion. Rumple stood from his stool and wandered over to where Belle tended to the curtains. "What are you doing?" he spoke for both when he asked that question. "Opening these," Belle replied. "It's spring. We should let some light in." She gets it. She continued to tug on the drapes, obviously having a difficult time with them. "What did you do; nail them down?" she asked to which Rumple nodded. "Yes," he said and she rolled her eyes before going to tug on them again. Todd could sense the nerves tensing up in his guardian and could see the balance Belle was losing. She is going to-

And she fell. Tumbling off the ladder as the drapes went plummeting down with her, landing on the floor in a pool by Rumple's feet. Todd scrambled to his feet, but to no need for his guardian handled the situation all too well. Belle landed swiftly and gracefully into Rumple's waiting arms. Todd gave a sigh of relief, shutting his eyes for a second, but opened them to watch the rest of the scene unfold. Belle and Rumple were gazing deeply into each other's eyes, lost within them. The bright rays were beaming upon them, making the room even brighter than it was before, like a halo shinning above the two. Todd smiled wide.

"Thank you," Belle stuttered as her arm remained draped around him and he held her up. Rumple, quickly, dropped her on her feet, making her stumble back a bit, but nowhere near tumbling onto the floor as she was just mere moments ago. "Thank you," she said again once he did so.

"No matter," Rumple replied and began to walk back towards his wheel, but was brought to a halt by Belle's next few words.

"I'll...uh...put the curtains back up," she said with a smile and Rumple gave a slight nod before turning back to her again.

"Uh..." Rumple spoke up, "there's no need. I'll get used to it."

I love this woman. Praise you, Belle.

With that, he turned and walked away, right past Todd who was still smirking under the cloak and was sure to get as close to Rumple as possible so he could whisper without Belle knowing.

"Nice catch," the boy muttered.

Somnium of the Present

It hurt. Like, really bad it hurt. The agony was wrapping her up tightly as her head spun in circles, doing back flips as she felt she may have cracked her skull open, but she didn't. She blinked her eyes a few times, attempting to get her blurry vision back to normal, make it clear. Nothing was clear. Nothing seemed to make sense. She felt different. She felt cold.

She wasn't sure she could move. I mean, it was such a simple task; moving. Lifting her finger became impossible when she would usually do it without thinking twice about it. Her hair had fallen over her face, and she contained no amount of energy to lift her hand and move it out of her way. She breathed heavily, looking about, past her curls, trying to determine where she was and what had happened. "You have to move," she whispered to herself. She blinked her eyes a few times and tried to look to her hand. What form was she in? She had no idea. Her vision lined up with her hand, and she witnessed her pale skin protecting her from the outside. She wasn't in her Dark One form, so she figured that was somewhat of a good thing. She seemed rather innocent like this. "Wiggle your pointer finger," she commanded herself, but she couldn't do it. "Wiggle your pointer finger," she forced herself to say once more, and again, it did not move. She was growing frustrated now. Anger seeping into her as she clenched her teeth. "Wiggle it, damn it," she growled, but her finger refused to move and her vision was growing blurry once again. She shut her eyes and took a deep breath, remembering what her father once said. She needed magic to help her through this. Needed magic to heal her and so she relaxed herself. Calmed herself and breathed normally. She opened her eyes slowly and steadily, looking to her finger once again and took another deep breath. "Wiggle your pointer finger," she whispered.

It bounced, slightly. Twitching more and more with every second and Lucinda smiled at her accomplishment. She felt her magic rushing through her veins, reaching every part of her body, starting from that one pointer finger, traveling about her hand and crawling up her arm, infecting the rest of her body with a great relief of strength and soothing the sting she felt. Slowly, very slowly, she was able to force herself to sit up and regain her sense of vision. She was still light headed, immensely, but nowhere near as horrid as it was before. She sighed once she sat upright, lifting her hand to her forehead, and glancing around. She knew where she was, but at the same time...she didn't. What place was this?

It was the Enchanted Forest, but it wasn't. The trees, the once beautiful, grand, green trees were gone. Nothing in their place, but cobble stone. Cobble stone all around her. She had landed from whatever fall on to solid, hard, cold cobble stone. The sky was a bleak, gray blue, as if the sun had never shinned upon the land before. Any trees that stood, which was barely, stood with broken branches and not a single leaf upon them. Nowhere near as tall as the ones that Lucinda had known. Clouds sat silently in sky despite the wind whispering gossip about the girl who had just landed here to them. This wasn't the Enchanted Forest and yet it was. This was the Enchanted Forest...when dead.

She examined herself and grew even more confused by her appearance. She wasn't in her chemise and stockings. She wasn't in any palace garments for that matter. Instead, she wore a simple lace gown, imprinted with roses as the design. It traveled up to her knee, but that was all. It did not exceed past that point, showing off her calfs and bare feet. No shoes upon her. What torture. Her hair was in bouncy, little curls. Barrels, draping over her shoulders and trailing down her back. She felt as though she had fallen, and yet there was no sign of impact. No sign of her smacking against the ground. No sign she had even fallen off of anything. Nothing. The only sign was what she felt and that was weakness.

Despite the place not being the Enchanted Forest she knew, she still knew of her location. She knew when she saw the well. The wooden well that was in the castle garden. She had landed not too many feet away from the well. Sure enough, her castle was not that far away either. A few hundred feet. It was so close in her view and she knew that that was the place she was going to get her answers. She now had to stand. She had to walk.

She took in another deep breath before focusing on balancing herself. Placing both of her palms on the cobble stone, feeling the coolness brush up against her skin as she began to apply all the pressure, all of her strength, into her hands to help support her weight. To lift herself up off the ground. She pushed, forcing her hips up first to get her feet underneath her, placing them flat against the floor, on all fours as though she were a dog. One great big push, and she was balancing herself on her feet, leaning forward and waving her arms as though flapping like she was a bird. She straightened her spine before she could topple over and stood up tall. She made it, and yet she felt as weak as ever. Oh, it was painful, her whole body was in agony, but her father could fix that. She just had to get to him first and that required baby steps.

One foot fell before the other as Lucinda began slumping her way across the ground, her bare feet tapping the stones with every step she took, not looking down, only gazing forward at her castle and trying to muster up the strength to call out to anybody who would be willing to answer her pleas. Her mother, her father, any servant of the sort, but her voice came out as a whisper, too tiny for even a mouse to hear. "Mother," the breeze stole from her parting lips before it could reach any audible point. "Father," she begged, but the wind escaped her before she even heard it herself. Within her mind she was screaming as she began to lose the strength of picking up her feet and placing them down, so she just began to drag them, scrapping them against the stones beneath her.

More wind chilled into the area she slumped, bringing with it brown, crisped leaves that, much like her feet, scraped against the ground, but created a taunting screech as if mocking Lucinda for her weak efforts. The swaying tree branches that moved in the opposite direction she was traveling in seemed to be telling her to walk backwards, not forwards, for nothing will be accomplished if she moved onward. Still, she did, ignoring the warning. She just wanted to be there, at her castle. The place she knew. She wanted to be wrapped in her mother's arms, she wanted to see her father, for she knew he would do anything to protect her. She didn't feel safe at all. She felt frightened.

She soon lost all feeling in her feet, and did not know if they were bleeding or simply just cold. It seemed as though if she were to leak blood, it would not be warm, but like ice. Slush, running down her pale skin. Melted and yet solid snow to match this hollow place that she found herself in. How many years has she been asleep? Has Gretchen accidentally performed a different spell than the one she insisted on doing? Lucinda had not the slightest, but decided to just trust her limbs as they made it up to the glass doors of the castle in the backyard.

She tugged on those glass doors, pulling on their handles with all her might, but they refused to budge. Either they were sturdier locks than she had originally believed, or she was simply weaker than she had thought. Whatever it was, they refused to cooperate with the princess. Rather than peek inside or use magic, Lucinda became desperate and so just went with it. Tightening her fist as much as she could, she punched through one of the small, glass squares as designed onto the door. Her knuckles dripped the red rose substance and it burned intensely, but she saw it as no big to do. Her father could fix it. Her father could fix anything. Couldn't he? She shimmied her hand into that small opening and flicked the lock to the side, allowing the handle to bend and the door to open. Lucinda stepped inside.

Much to her surprise, the castle was worse than it was on the outside. It was dead inside, dressed in cob webs and dust, lining each and every frame, every tapestry, every relic to have been placed on a shelf. The once white table cloth was unrecognizable due to the decaying beauty in which it held some time ago. Now gray and bleak, torn and old, covering the twenty people seating table that had, at some point, prepared a many bodies with a wonderful feast. The hearth beside it appeared as though it was a grave for any animal that had been stuck inside the smoke stack, unable to be buried. The chandeliers had lost their charm, now copper and rust instead of golden and beautiful. The diamonds on them had lost their sparkle and shine, now just floating rocks that dangled off strings. Dust, dirt and leaves covered the marble floor. The once golden castle...nothing more than a landscaping disaster, the grave of her abandoned beautiful life.

"Mom," she called out, now gaining a new sense of strength having entered this place. "Dad," she spoke louder, but the walls only reflected her own voice, she answering her own calls for help. Mom and dad were nowhere to be found, yet she did not lose faith in that. "Mom!" she managed to yell. "Dad!" And even so, nothing. Nothing, but her own voice reflecting her own nerves, her own confusion. Her own loneliness. This couldn't be. If not here then...where? Where were they?

She approached the grand staircase, which was blackened and bleak due to the many layers of dust and dirt that smothered each and every step into suffocation. And yet, she climbed it despite her feet turning black and her toes crinkling at the cold sensation they got from the untouched palace in what seemed to be a thousand years, if not more. And with every step, she called for her mother and father. The child called for their parents. "Mom!" she shouted. "Dad!" she cried, but only Lucinda answered.

She paced down the abandoned halls that resembled that of the rest of the palace. Damaged and ruined, pictures and paintings with slashes and gashes upon them as if a wild beast had been on the loose. Claw markings and cuts covered nearly every inch of the walls while any decorator of the bare golden corridors was completely destroyed.

Lucinda wandered to her parents's chamber doors, finding them closed, sealed off to her. She did not pay any notice to the spiders that crawled about them, tying their silk spun webs around the door handles and frames, making any child terrified to touch it. Any child, but the one who was determined to find her parents. Determined to figure out what the hell was going on to begin with. How the Enchanted Forest ended up like this and where was it going to go from here, that was on her mind, but most importantly; where was her mom and dad?

She used her good fist, the one that was not cut by broken glass, to bang on her parents's door. "Mom?" she asked again. "Dad?" This time, the door she banged on slowly squeaked its way open, allowing Lucinda to peek inside if she so desired, but should she push on it, give it a little nudge, she would be allowed to enter. And so, she gave that door the nudge it need, forcing it to open more so that she may slip her frail body in between the two golden barriers and search for her, apparently, missing parents. "Mom?" she whispered. "Dad?" she muttered.

Nothing was what she found.

Alls that was in the room was nothing she hasn't seen in every other room she passed getting to this one.

Nothing.

Dust. Dirt. Leaves. And above all, nothingness.

The grand bed that once belonged to her parents now stood vacant as did the rest of the place Lucinda had, at some point, called home. She made her way towards the bed and placed a gentle hand on it. Her palm turned black by all of the decay that had crawled from the worn blankets onto her fresh skin. Her tears began to prick at her unsteady eyes as the truth finally came upon her.

Mom and dad weren't here.

Mom and dad couldn't save her.

Mom and dad were gone.

An object out of place caught her attention, however. One detail she was not expecting to see, but to her own surprise, it was there. It was as if it was comforting her, like telling her that a small candle of flickering hope was going to show her the way out of this pitch black cave. She held the wick, this was the spark. The storybook rested peacefully, untouched, in her parents's bed.

She grabbed the old, leather book and brought it close to her. With one deep inhale and a slight narrowness made in her lips, Lucinda managed to blow the dust off of the cover as she reread the title to herself. Once Upon a Time. She gripped the book tightly with both hands as she sunk down onto her parents's bed. What has she done? She couldn't blame anyone, but herself.

She pulled open the storybook and flipped past the many pages that it took to get to the only point in the story that she somewhat enjoyed. The only point in the story that made a glimmer of a smile appear on her lips, but not now. No. Now, all she wore was a frown as she flipped open to the page that contained the illustration of her mother sitting on her father's spinning wheel, he leaning into her, their lips touching. Their first kiss. Romantic for a split second, ruined a moment afterwards. It didn't matter. That split second, that moment when their lips touched, when her father's curse was nearly broken; that was all that ever mattered and Lucinda saw that now...but now...it was just a little too late.

"Mom," she breathed as she touched the illustration with her bleeding hand. "Dad," she sobbed as a tear fell from her eye and landed right on her parents's connected lips. "I'm so sorry," she whimpered. She leaned forward, hunching over, bringing the page close to her chest and letting her tears fall. She hated herself. She absolutely hated herself. On that bed, clutching that page close to her heart, is where she wept.

Fairytale Land of the Present

"What did you do?" Belle shouted as she raced over to her fallen daughter. Gretchen smiled still as Belle bawled in tears, gripping her daughter in her arms and shaking her, trying to wake her up. "Lucinda, please," Belle begged.

"She can't hear you," Gretchen explained. "She is gone." Belle refused to believe that, placing her ear to her daughter's chest and hearing a rather slowed, unhealthy heart beat thumping within it. "That's not true, Gretchen. Her heart is still beating," Belle rebuffed, but the Enchantress laughed still. "It won't be like that for long."

In a split second, however, Gretchen was flung from one side of the room to the other, being braced up against the wall, unable to breathe by the hand of Rumplestiltskin. He held his arm steady, holding Gretchen up tightly, squeezing her throat until, it seemed, it would snap and his teeth clenched, rubbing together as he grew infuriated. "You wake her up! You wake her up right now!" he called, but the Enchantress just smirked. "I can't," she replied cooly. "You know very well that I can't, Dark One. Only Lucinda can wake herself up."

"Every curse can be broken," he growled, but she chuckled with whatever little breath she had left within her.

"Because Belle did such a great job at breaking your's," she taunted.

Belle, in tears, continued to cradle her daughter in her arms as she looked up to her ex fairy godmother in despair and distraught. "Gretchen, why?" she sobbed, but the Enchantress showed no pity for her. "You got everything," she said. "Beautiful Belle got everything her little heart ever desired. A castle, a kingdom, a loving family, men fighting over her, a husband. You got everything and I got nothing. You cared not for me just as everyone else cared not. You had all these wonderful things and you didn't even know what to do with them. You deserved to be punished."

"You don't get to speak to my wife like that," Rumple threatened as he tightened his grip upon her throat with his magic. It was clear she was in pain, her eyes were turning red as was the rest of her face, but Rumple, just as she said, cared not of her being. "Wake her up," he hissed, but once more, the Enchantress just smirked slightly. "You know I can't," she teased and her smile remained planted on her face even with how deprived she was of air, life slipping between her fingers. But she knew Belle well. She new that she would never order or ask of the Dark One to harm a single blonde hair on her head. No, she was going to stop her husband and she did.

"Rumple, no! Don't kill her!" she called, and he looked to her in desperation. "You don't know what she did to her. What she did to Lucinda," he said and Belle shook her head. "Whatever she did, it is no reason to kill."

"It is every reason to kill her!" he shouted. "The fate she sent our daughter to is a fate worse than death!"

"Rumple, let her go."

He wasn't going to spend these moments arguing with his wife, and so he dropped his arm, making Gretchen slump to the golden floor and catch her breath. After a few gasps of air, she looked up to the king and queen and flashed them a twisted smirk. "Good luck getting her back," she spoke before disappearing in a flash of green.

"Rumple," Belle sobbed from the other end of the room, clutching their daughter still. "Please, do something. Please, wake her up. You can wake her up, I know you can. Y- you can do anything." As flattering as that was, Rumple showed no sign of gratitude in that moment as he approached his daughter and wife, sinking to his knees. "You can wake her up, can't you?"

Rumple shook his head. "No, Belle. I can't wake her up. Nothing can wake her up...except herself," he tried to explain, but nothing was making sense.

"What are you saying?" Belle asked her husband in despair. Rumple reached down and grabbed ahold of his daughter's tiny hand within his own, holding it tightly with both hands, stroking the back of it with one of his thumbs. "Any curse can be broken. True love's kiss. It can be someone's parents. It can work for us." But Rumple shook his head.

"No, Belle. She is not under a sleeping curse."

"Then what kind of curse is she under?"

"A soul curse. Her soul is no longer in this land. It's in another."

What? Her daughter's soul was no longer in her child's body? Then where could it be? Where had it gone? Where had she gone?

"How is that possible? How does she wake up? Wha- what happened to our daughter?"

Her husband was obviously distraught, bringing his daughter's hand to his lips and holding it there as he stared at Lucinda's face, wishing her eyes would just open and this was all just an illusion.

"Belle, soul curses only affect the soul of someone. Affect who they are. Lucinda's body may be here, but her soul and her mind, who she is...is elsewhere. An alternate universe that we cannot travel to unless you were cursed as well. No spell, no potion, no true love's kiss is ever going to wake her up because she isn't here. Only her body is," Rumple said. He then turned his attention back to his daughter, brushing back a stray strand of hair with a gentle finger, tears slipping from his eyes. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry, my little Lucinda." He leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss upon her forehead, Belle looking to her in disbelief.

"She's gone?" Belle questioned, unable to take this in. Unable to comprehend it. Her child was gone and there was a chance that she was never ever coming back.

Fairytale Land of the Past

It had only been a short while. Not long at all. She left at sunset after all, not too long ago. Still, Todd was a bit stunned when his guardian ventured up into his work tower, not coming down since Belle had been sent off to get straw from the market. Todd couldn't help, but to wander out of his own tower when he heard the conversation. The very end of it, that is. The part where Rumple had basically let Belle go, expecting to never see her again. Why would he do that? Todd had his guesses, but now that it had been some time since when Belle first arrived, he had aged a few years. Turning sixteen now and having more knowledge about affections and why people do some things when they care about people.

So as Rumple stared out of the tower window, watching the road that she had traveled on, Todd emerged from the thin air and removed his hood so that he could be seen. "I heard you let her go," Todd remarked as they both stared out into the openness.

"I'm regretting giving you that cloak, considering the fact that all you use it for is to listen in on my conversations."

Todd smirked, giving a slight throat chuckle as well. "You haven't given me any tasks to use it for otherwise. Besides that, well...your conversations just so happen to be interesting compared to just staring at a stone wall in a tower."

"That's for your own good, Todd and I let you out. I just don't want you to be seen."

The teen nodded. "I get it. I do."

There was a brief moment then, just the two of them staring off into the darkness. The distance. The space between them and the girl that once wore the golden dress with the curls in her hair. Was she ever coming back? Todd had his hopes high while it seemed Rumple was more than less convinced. Though he was basically begging any god that may be above for her to return to him, to see if his feelings were reciprocated, it seemed unlikely that she would ever return. Who would?

"So, you let her go?" Todd asked again, waiting for his guardian to respond as they both continued to stare ahead. Todd began to count the spaces between each response with, not seconds, but cricket chirps. The ones that could be heard from down below despite the great gap between the tower and the ground.

Thirty chirps before Rumple answered.

"I did. I let her go," he replied.

"Well, why did you let her go?" Todd pressed on.

Fifteen chirps before the next answer.

"I had to."

Todd smiled slightly. "Why did you have to?"

One chirp.

"Todd,"

"Rumple."

Seventeen chirps.

"I know what you want to hear. You want to hear that I have feelings for her. You want to hear that I no longer see her as a mere servant, but something more. That she has brought light into my bleak life. That she makes me want to be a better person. To be a better, more human version of myself. That she mends my heart that has been shattered into millions of pieces. That's what you want to hear. You want to hear that I... that I..."

Seven chirps.

"That I have fallen in love with her."

Todd looked to his guardian for just a moment. Just a slight glance to take notice that Rumple's eyes grew wide with his own realization of his feelings. Still, he stared straight on, hoping to see that very woman that they spoke of come wandering back towards the castle, straw in basket and shackles free. Todd then shifted his gaze back ahead.

Twenty seven chirps.

"That's what you want to hear, but I am not going to say it."

"I don't want to hear it, Rumple," Todd stated, causing his guardian to look at him. Todd moved, only his eyes to lock on with Rumple's as he explained himself. "Well, you just said it, and Rumple," Todd reached back and pulled up his hood. "You won't be upset that you did."

With that, Todd just vanished. He disappeared by the power of his cloak, leaving Rumple to turn back to the road and grow in shock.

She was coming back. Walking towards the castle, straw filling her basket, seemingly smiling under her cloak like she had just been informed of the greatest secret in all the worlds. The biggest secret revealed to her on her way back. Whatever the reason, Rumple wasted no time. She couldn't know he was standing up here spying. No, he had to be busy. Doing something. Make it seem as though he has not been standing here for as long as he has. Todd still stood in the room, watching as Rumple turned and ran down the stairs. How long did it take him to move? Well, Todd counted in cricket chirps.

One.

Somnium of the Present

After sitting on the bed for, who knows how many hours, Lucinda collected herself. Closing the storybook, but tucking it under her arm and she began her search for a pair of shoes in her mother's wardrobe. There had to be someone else here. Someone who could give her answers. After all, that is what she was sent here to do. She found a pair of black, leather boots tucked away in the closet.

She pulled them out, slipping them onto her feet and tying them tight before she grabbed the storybook off of the bed and made her way out of the bedroom that held nothing else for her. Her strength was coming back to her and she knew that now was not the time to panic. Not the time for tears. No, now was the time to find a way out of this place. She headed towards the armory to gather up weapons that she may deem appropriate on this little adventure of hers. She knew not of the creatures she would encounter on this quest she was about to go on, but even so, she needed to be prepared for anything.

Locked, but she cared not. With her strength back now and her father's power reimbursing her body, without changing it, she received all the will power she needed. Lucinda just lifted her foot and connected it with that of the armory's wooden door, causing it to burst open and allow her entrance. There, she examined the walls and stands for the weapons of her choosing. All the weapons seemed not sturdy enough for her. As though they would turn to dust if someone merely breathed on them. Disappointed for a moment, but shocked at the next, Lucinda spotted her sword in the corner of the room. Her perfectly balance, sharp bladed, diamond embedded sword that she was gifted with when just a mere child.

Smiling, she picked it up and reexamined its beauty, grabbing one of the old scabbards as well and attaching it to her hip. Once fastened and tight, Lucinda placed her sword carefully in its resting place until she would have further need of it. Armed and angry, Lucinda felt she was ready for whatever challenges may come her way. She gathered the storybook and headed back out into her castle's main room and began to head towards the exist.

Something was wrong, though. Something was out of place and it made Lucinda stop for a moment. Stop and turn back to her home. Turn back to the grand staircase and the doors that lead to the library just behind it. Something was off, but she did not know what it was. She just, in a sense, felt it. She wasn't alone.

"Hello?" she called, but the vibe she got back from the silence that replied was not a decent one. It did't feel as though it could possibly be one of her parents lurking about. It felt as though it was something much worse than that. Something...well, bad. Nothing appeared, but she could hear it. The rummaging coming from the library. Something knocking a few books off of their shelves, something approaching the two doors that have been shut and had cob webs gathering all over their design.

BOOM!

The doors bursted opened and a ragging ogre came charging towards Lucinda, waving a large stick in his hand, spikes emerging from the wood he carried. His screaming was that of the most horrifying sound Lucinda had ever heard and she stumbled back. She meant to turn and leave, but one of the ropes from the drapes laid across the floor, causing Lucinda to trip and fall right onto her bottom, hitting it hard against the ground as the ogre was all too close to her for her liking. She was going to die already?

Sure she was done for, Lucinda took a deep breath and accepted the fact that the end for her was coming sooner than she originally planned. However, something altered the path of fate. An arrow stabbed the ogre square in the left eye, causing it to howl in pain and no longer pursue Lucinda. Stunned and unable to comprehend the events that had just taken place. And before she knew it, she was being pulled to her feet and forced to move them. She was running, being led by some force that found its root on her arm, running straight out of the castle doors and to a waiting horse just outside.

What?

Whoever was leading her away, she could not tell due to the green hood that they wore, climbed onto the brown stallion that waited outside for them, placing his feet in the stirrups and pulling Lucinda up behind them on the horse. They proceeded to then slam their heels into the horse's side, causing the animal to race off into a gallop. She gripped the storybook tightly with her arm, not daring to let that thing fall down and be abandoned here. No, it was staying with her the entire time and she wasn't giving it up for anything. So, as she held this stranger's torso with one arm and the storybook with the other, she looked behind her, watching her former home grow smaller and smaller as the distance between the two only grew.

Fairytale Land of the Past

He was sitting in his tower when he heard the sound of glass shattering and heavy objects falling off of shelves, and the sound of his master yelling in anger.

Rampage?

Todd had never experienced Rumple when he was on a rampage. Just in case, he grabbed ahold of his cloak and raced out of his tower, not even bothering to close the door behind him, spiraling down the stone steps and pulling on the cloak. Bottom step and his hood went up, making the sound of footsteps seemingly come from nowhere as he raced towards the grand room.

Shockingly, Rumple was running about the grand room, yelling and smashing objects as he raced about. He grabbed teacups off of the tray and began to smash them against the wall, letting them shattering, falling to bits and pieces. However, one he picked up and examined for a moment. He then set it back down on the table and went back to pulling on the tapestries, yanking them off of their posts and yelling still.

"Rumple!" Todd shouted, pulling back his hood and racing towards his guardian, grabbing Rumple's shoulders. "Rumple, relax! Breathe!"

But the Dark One was out and messing with Rumple's head, ripping the poor man's heart in two as what he thought was feelings and love was turning out to be deception and heartache.

"Lies!" he shouted as Todd continued to try and ease the being. "She lied to me! She doesn't love me!"

Todd fought Rumple's swatting hands, fighting against Todd's warmth and affection. "She was working for her!" he continued to shout. "She was working for her!"

"Rumple!"

Then Todd pulled away and Rumple froze.

Did it happen?

It did.

Todd touched his face slightly and pulled his hand away to examine it. Blood trickled on his fingers and the sting that came from beneath his right eye assured him that the mark was there. Rumple's extended nail had slashed right through Todd's tender skin directly below one of the blue eyes he had on his face. He was bleeding. Rumple made Todd bleed.

"Todd," the Dark One muttered as his screams subsided and his face grew to concern instead of rage and disappointment. "I can fix that," he assured, but Todd shook his head.

"No, Rumple, it's fine," Todd stated. "I don't need it fixed. I don't want it fixed. I'll be fine."

But his guardian shook his head. "I did that to you. I... I am lost, Todd. I have been for so many years. For hundreds of years."

Todd nodded and placed his hands on Rumple's shoulders.

"I know, Rumple. I know, but you are so close. So close, I know you are and I know that whatever plan you have in mind is going to get you where you need to be. Right now, though, you need to relax. What happened?"

Rumple took a deep breath and shook his head. He removed Todd's hands from his shoulders and made his way towards one of the chairs, taking a seat and using his hands to hold his head.

"I gave that little brat everything," he began. "I taught her everything she knows and I made her as powerful as she is. This is how she shows her thanks to me? She sends in a traitor?"

Todd grew confused and moved towards Rumple, trying to catch a glimpse of his guardian's expressions.

"Who?" he asked.

"Regina," he hissed. "I trained her. I helped her gain her freedom. I made her into a powerful woman and I gave her purpose. And she is not satisfied. She needs to have all the power in the worlds. She needs to be the strongest. She feels the need to beat me."

"What makes you say that?" Todd questioned.

"Belle," Rumple muttered. "She... We..." he took a breath. "She tricked me. She made me believe... it is impossible. It always has been. It always will be impossible."

Todd looked over to Rumple and kneeled by the table, trying to look up into Rumple's eyes and when he did, he caught a glimpse of the pain lingering on behind them.

"What is?" he asked. "What is impossible?"

Rumple was very good at keeping tears hidden.

"For somebody to love me."

Somnium of the Present

After traveling for what seemed like miles and hours, Lucinda had had enough ridding. She yelled into the person's ear, trying to over power the sound of the hooves on the ground. "I think we lost it," she said. "Mind if we stop?" She felt the person she held onto chuckle. "No need to shout," came the reply and the horse slowed in his gallops, easing to a stop. Now free to let go, Lucinda used one hand to jump off the stead and still hold the storybook in one of her arms.

"How did you know I was in there?" she asked as the figure jumped down.

"You're welcome," he spoke, still hidden by the shadow of his hood. Lucinda rolled her eyes before asking her next question.

"Where am I and who are you?" she pondered.

"You are in Somnium, welcome!" he replied.

"Somnium?" Lucinda asked. "What the hell is Somnium?"

"Well, it's where you are, unfortunately. That is all I know. I am not the one to go to for answers, but I can take you to the person who can."

"Who is that?"

"He kind of runs the place."

"And how do I know you will take me there? How do I know you're on my side?"

The boy chuckled. "Well, I did just save your life."

"That means something, but not everything. You may have saved me for your own matter. Now, who are you?"

"You wouldn't take it lightly."

"How do you know what I would and would not take lightly?"

"Because I know I wouldn't."

"And what does that have to do with me?"

"Well, we are more alike than you know."

"What?"

"Lucinda, trust me. It's better you don't know."

"Take off the hood," she unsheathed her sword, "or I remove your head," she threatened. The boy lifted his hands, showing his innocence.

"Alright," he said, "but you asked for it."

He pulled back his hood and Lucinda believed she was going to faint.

"That's impossible," Lucinda stated as she shook her head, her eyes opened wide and her jaw nearly dropped.

"Told you you wouldn't take it lightly," he said as he threw his hands to the side and shrugged. "It's in our blood," he concluded.

"Baelfire?"

Fairytale Land of the Past

Back to sitting cross legged on the floor, but no book in his lap. He just watched as Rumple spun. Belle had been gone for sometime now. Vanished when Rumple had casted her out, and to be honest, both were getting nervous. Rumple had been showing the expressions of lament in everything he has done. He hadn't made any deals any time soon and Todd was getting a bit worried that his guardian would never return to his normal self again ... whatever that was.

"I noticed you have been keeping the curtains open," Todd commented to fill the emptiness. Sure enough, the spring sun shinned in through the glass windows, warming the room a tad and making the environment lighter, in a way.

Rumple did not turn his attention away from his task. He spun the wheel much slower than usual. Emotionless. Like, a piece of him was missing.

"They will stay open from now on," Rumple muttered and Todd nodded.

"Good," he said. "They should be open. I have missed the sun."

Rumple said nothing.

Todd's eyes scanned the area and landed on the table. There was a tea set on the tray Belle had carried with her everyday at least once a day. It was her job and she did it well. That wasn't the strange thing, though.

The strange part was the fact that instead of one teacup ready to be used, there was two. Todd didn't drink tea that frequently, and Rumple had never left a cup out for him before. He had to question it.

"Why two teacups?" Todd asked, looking to Rumple.

His guardian's lower lip quivered just for half a second. Blink and you would miss it.

"In case she comes back," he answered.

"You made it seem rather clear that you didn't want her to," Todd suggested.

"She will come back... if it's true love. If it's not... I'll never see her again. It's what's best for her. To let her decide. I made up my mind. Now, it's time for her to make up her own."

Wow, didn't except to hear that coming from him.

Todd was at a lost for words in that moment. He regained his composure, however, and rather quickly.

"And your mind says..." he lead on.

Rumple didn't even stop spinning, didn't look up from the wheel, and his face shifted no more than how it already stood.

"I love her," he admitted and Todd was not sure if he was happy to hear that or if he was overly depressed by it.

They sat in silence for a moment before Todd mumbled it under his breath.

"She'll come back," he said.

It seemed that for Rumple, it went in one ear and went straight out the other. Hope had been lost. He felt he was correct. Belle was gone and she would not return for him for any reason in all the worlds.

"Someone's coming," Rumple warned and just as so, Todd reached behind him and pulled up his hood, disappearing to all.

Just as he did so, the doors to the grand room flung open and a woman in heels and a gown entered.

"Regina," Todd whispered, causing Rumple to turn his sights to the queen still dressing in black.

"Flimsy locks," she stated, and as she did so Rumple's attention went back to that of his spinning. Regina began to make herself at home near the tea set, examining it as Todd had done not too long ago. "I have a deal to discuss," she said as she gazed at the two cups. "A certain..." she grinned, "mermaid."

Todd felt an eerie vibe radiating off of this woman's expression at something as simple as two cups on a tray, and with Rumple in the condition he was in? Something was wrong. She had information to share.

"I'm not dealing today," Rumple muttered as he spun.

"Are you angry with me?" Regina asked with a raised brow. "What is it this time?" She continued to work with the pot and a cup, angering Todd for some reason.

That's their's, he found himself growling in his head as he watched her intensely, drilling a hole into her skull as he did so.

"Your little deception... failed," Rumple began and finally ceased in his spinning, turning his head, peeking over his shoulder to look at Regina. "You'll never be more powerful than me," he hissed and Regina smirked. "You can keep trying, dearie, but you're never gonna beat me."

He went back to spinning as Regina stopped preparing her tea much to Todd's liking.

"Oh," she spoke sarcastically, "is this about the girl I met on the road? Hm?" She pouted her lips and gave a throat laugh before going back to her tea, annoying Todd once more, him gnawing on his tongue so he wouldn't speak. "What was her name?" she went on to say as Rumple paid her half a mind. "Margie?" she guessed. "Verna?"

Todd was ready to shout out her name, but Rumple beat him to the punch with just a soothing whisper.

"Belle."

Regina seemed stunned that Rumple said her name so peacefully, so...so...lovingly. Like it was a sin to guess her name incorrectly. She peered at him for moment, just as Todd did, before she continued on with her words. "Right..." she dragged on.

"Well, you can rest assured I had nothing to do with that tragedy," she stated, making Rumple freeze and Todd to do the same. As Regina licked her spoon and Rumple approached her, he seemed tense while she was at ease.

"What tragedy?" he questioned and Regina appeared to be surprised that he had no idea what she was talking about.

"You don't know?" she questioned to make sure her accusations were correct. "Well, after she got home, her fiancé had gone missing. And after her stay here... her 'association' with you no one would want her, of course. Her father shunned her. Cut her off, shut her out."

Todd stood up in fear.

Please, he prayed. Let her be alright.

"So, she needs... a home?" Rumple questioned.

Go get her! Todd shouted in his head. Go, now! She needs you!

Too late.

"He was cruel to her," Regina smirked. "He locked her in a tower and sent in clerics to cleanse her soul with scourges and flaying." Todd grew sick and dizzy. He could only imagine how Rumple was feeling in that moment. Crushed. "After a while she threw herself off the tower."

Bluntly, Regina added, "She died."

Rumple said not a word as the tears already fell from Todd's eyes, streaming down his cheeks. Rivers overflowing on his pale skin. How was Rumple even standing? Much stronger than Todd had originally thought.

"You're lying," he growled, but Regina just raised her brow.

"Am I?" she asked and even Todd was throwing in the towel on trying to see past the lies.

"We're done," he stated and led her out, opening the doors with a wave of his hand.

Regina rolled her eyes and placed the teacup on the table. "Fine," she said. "I have other calls to make."

As she left, however, she traced her finger over the table, collecting the dust fragments from the wooden frame Belle used to polish. Todd was ready to cut off her finger and clenched his fists to calm himself.

"Place is getting dusty, Rumple," Regina commented and got in his face as she went to leave. "You should get a new girl."

That was the final straw. Fire lit up upon Todd's fists for a split second and he fell to his knees as the flames died down. Tears still fell down from his eyes and breathing became difficult.

Rumple made his way back towards his cabinets, walking right past Todd who continued to cry, burying his face in his hands as he sobbed. Rumple, however, walked past Todd once more, standing before a pedestal. Todd looked up, witnessing Rumple remove the golden goblet from its spot and replacing it with Belle's chipped teacup. The one he refused to break. He placed it on the pedestal and began to weep. After a moment of standing and silently sobbing, Rumple dropped the goblet to the floor, letting it clatter. He looked unsteady, uneasy. Todd scrambled to his feet and ran towards Rumple who did as he did just a few moments ago, he slumped to his knees. Todd grabbed Rumple from behind, crying into the crick of Rumple's neck, sobbing with his guardian.

"She's gone," Rumple whimpered as though he had been beaten senseless, gripping Todd's hand tightly, unable to fight the tears any longer. "She's gone. She's not coming back," he continued to cry. "She's not coming back." Todd cried even harder, shutting his eyes tightly, unable to contain himself. "I loved her," Rumple whimpered. "I love her."

And the two cried together in that spot for hours upon hours over the loss of their beloved Belle.

Thank you for the support and have a great 2015!