SUPER IMPORTANT! Sorry it took so long for me to write the next chapter. Complications came about, I had to alter some things and now Emma being the Dark One (rolls eyes). I love plot twists as much as the next person, but I'm not digging the whole Emma being the Dark One thing. I personally felt Rumple would've continued to do an amazing job and keep us on our toes all the time. That's just me. Who knows how important he's going to be now that he lost his powers. He was like the whole backbone to the big picture when he was the Dark One, you know? Anyways, I'm going to continue on with the story. Now, please don't be too ticked off at me, but when I heard the name I thought it was perfect for our main character, and I have no idea why I didn't think of it before- Lucinda. I went back and changed Ellery to Lucinda in the previous chapters. PLEASE DON'T BE TOO MAD AT ME. Also, a new book is out that I think you should all read, however, it is only available in the Kindle ebook store at the moment. It's called the Seeker and the Keeper, and is written by a good friend of mine named Marisa. Give it a read, it's worth it! Thank you for your patience, and here we go!
Fairytale Land of the Past
She's combing her long black hair, gazing at herself in the mirror. She was more beautiful than she had come to realize. Very beautiful, indeed. Much more beautiful than that horrid Snow White. She was stunning, breathtaking, evil. She was in awe of her own reflection.
"What do you believe people think of us when they look at us?" a voice asked, causing the Evil Queen to cease in her combing and set her brush down carefully on her table. "Do you think they look at us with disgust? Perhaps awe? Amazement? Fear, maybe."
Regina turned in her seat, looking to the woman who lounged in the red velvet chair behind the Queen, stretched out with her flowing green gown shimmer slightly with the little flickers of candle light. She was stunning, no denying that.
"Who are you and what are you doing in my castle?" Regina questioned with ice in her voice and power in her tone.
"I hope I'm not intruding," the woman in green spoke with a smile etched on her lips.
"Barging into a place where you are not welcomed in sounds like intruding to me," Regina replied with edge.
"I didn't barge in," the woman argued. "I simply ..." she shrugged, "appeared." She didn't seem to mind her own poor set of manners. It was almost like she wasn't taught any better.
"Appeared or walked in the door, I still don't know who you are and I still don't want you in my presence. Now get out, before I make you leave with force," Regina growled, but the woman resting in her chair didn't seem too threatened. In fact, she appeared amused. She even chuckled.
"Oh, darling, please," she said. "I'm not here to become an enemy. No, rather I came here to extend an olive branch, Your Majesty. You see, I've heard stories about you, Evil Queen. Yes, I have." She stood up and began to walk about the room with a certain grace to her that made Regina believe that once this woman had a pair of wings and could fly. "Stories about the woman so bitter about her past that she destroys innocent people's futures." She began picking up objects. Books, dust collectors, even some gems that were given to the queen throughout the years. It silently annoyed Regina, but she listened to the woman's words. "Stories about the woman always dressed in black as if she is in constant mourning of her once joyful self, not disintegrating into ash. Yes, Your Majesty, I have heard about you. I am inspired by you.
"You see, I too come from a troubled past. I used to be a servant for everyone except myself. I was a servant to my father when I was a girl. A servant to my stepmother once he had passed. A servant to my Master, once she sold me to a wealthy man. And a servant to my offspring, whom brought me such great misery that I had only wished to have gotten rid of him sooner. I was a servant, Your Majesty, to everyone except myself. My life was always the property of another's ... until recently. You and I, my Evil Queen, have much in common."
Regina grew interested, straightening up a bit in her seat and focusing on the woman's words much more attentively.
"How so?" the queen questioned, growing more intrigued by the second.
The woman in green smiled a pearly white smile, blinking her flashy eyes and showing off her flawless, creamy cheeks. The clicking of her heels against the marble ground was her sympathy that could've been mistaken for the Jaws theme song as she approached the black haired beauty.
"We were both stripped of our freedom," she began. "We were both servants to our masters. We were both scorned by our families. We were both deceived by a spoiled little girl. We were both visited by the same man."
His name was on the tips of both of their tongues.
The woman in green was so close to the queen that they could be mistaken for life long friends.
"We both want revenge," she continued. "We both have magic. We can both get what we want, and imagine the results if we worked together."
Regina was tempted.
"I have listened to your reasoning," the Evil Queen spoke calmly. "But you must know that I am a woman of few allies. I have trust problems, one might say, but you ... you're something else. You are more of an anti-fairy godmother."
The woman in green smiled proudly.
"Precisely, Your Majesty."
"If you are a Master of Magic, and taught by the person I believe you have been taught by, than what do you need me for? Certainly, you can take down one tiny princess by yourself," Regina spoke.
"And that is what Maleficent believed. What you believed, but I'm not foolish enough to believe the same. I know a task like this becomes difficult. I know a friend is required. We could help each other. We would be unstoppable."
"Who trained you?" Regina questioned. "I want to hear you say his name so I know I'm not mistaken."
The woman's lips curved like a snake.
"I know he taught you, too. I know you strive to be more powerful than him. We could accomplish that as well," she replied. "My name, on the other hand, is Gretchen."
"You didn't answer me," Regina pointed out. "Who trained you?"
"Rumpelstiltskin gave me my powers. I learned how to use them on my own," she answered.
"How far are you willing to go to destroy this princess, Gretchen? Your answer better not disappoint me." Regina tested her with a frightening look in her eyes, but Gretchen was unafraid. In fact, she gave Regina the exact answer the Evil Queen was looking for.
"As far as it takes."
Somnium of the Present
"This is impossible," Lucinda said as she dropped the storybook to the ground to bring her hands to hair and tug lightly. "Flat out impossible. You're dead."
Baelfire shrugged his shoulders.
"Minimal," he commented.
"No! No. Not minimal. You're dead! You have been for years! You're buried in Storybrooke. In the ground! Under dirt! How are you here?" Lucinda tried to comprehend, but it wasn't working out well.
"Look, Lucinda, it's a bit complicated to understand," Bae tried to reason.
"Please, explain."
"This place is different than the Enchanted Forest, than Storybrooke, than anyplace you have ever heard of. That's because this place was made, it never just existed. It was made quite recently, in fact," Bae explained.
"How recent is recently?" Lucinda questioned.
"I don't know," Bae answered. "Probably a hundred or so years."
"That's recent to you?" She raised her brow.
"Actually, yes, considering my timeline and all."
Lucinda huffed and sat on the ground, resting her head in her palms.
"You alright?" Bae asked seemingly concerned.
"I'm alright. Just give me a moment. I'm trying to process this." Lucinda rubbed her temples with ease, her head thumping and spinning like a forever beating drum. It hurt and made her sick, but she kept her stomach tight and her tears from the strain locked in.
"Can you at least explain how you are here?" she asked after a brief moment of silence. "How I'm here?"
"That, you are better off asking to the person who runs this place. The first one to be sent here," Bae told his little sister.
"So there is a first," Lucinda repeated, sitting up straight before bringing her knees to her chest and hugging her legs. "How were they sent here?"
"Same way you and I were," Bae answered. His answers weren't doing her much good.
"What about my parents? Do they know where I am? Can Dad help us?"
That hit a nerve in her brother, she could tell right away, for he looked down and his once bright eyes became somber.
"No," he spoke with a shake of his head. "No, Papa cannot save either of us. Neither can Belle. Look, Lucinda, the only person who can help is the person I want to take you to. He'll be able to explain everything. He has been here longer than anyone else. He knows this place like the back of his hand. If anyone can help us, it's him."
"How are you so sure?" Lucinda asked with a furrowed brow.
"Because I've seen him help others before," Bae answered. "Now can you just trust me? We're family after all, and family needs to look out for each other. Especially during times like these. Not to mention, I did just save you from an ogre."
Lucinda shut her eyes and took a deep inhale. With a sigh, and not much of a choice, she complied.
"Very well," she mumbled. "I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, but only because you're my brother ... and because someone once told me you died a hero."
Baelfire smiled slightly at that as he extended his hand out to Lucinda to help her to her feet. She took the offer gracefully, and was sure to pick up the storybook and make her way to the horse she had rode upon not too long ago.
"If you don't mind me asking, sis," Bae said, "who said I died a hero?"
To that, Lucinda smiled sweetly and replied, "Everyone."
Baelfire smiled nostalgically and aided Lucinda in climbing onto the horse.
Fairytale Land of the Past
The table was decorated in fine linen and topped with luxurious china imported from several different kingdoms that took shelter within the trees of the Enchanted Forest. Roasted duck sat in the center of the table with a spread of meats and vegetables surrounding it on smaller platters. A rack of five candles stood in the center of it all, dancing flames atop each one's wick while one Magic Madwoman sat on either side of the extended table.
Gretchen swirled the wine that was in her chalice, examining the blood red liquid as it splashed about the silver walls of the cup. She sniffed it gracefully, having learned a thing or two about fine wines from her previous master. She took a sip and swallowed softly.
"I must say, Your Majesty, that you do have a fine selection of food and drink. I must visit your palace more often," Gretchen commented, setting her chalice down and picking up her knife.
"But be sure not to over stay your welcome," Regina was sure to imprint into the fallen fairy's mind.
"Oh, never, Your Majesty. I have more manners than that."
"I would have never guessed."
Gretchen smiled sweetly, snarky in her facial expression.
"If we are to be allies," she began, "I believe more politeness is to be expected."
"You get your respect once you tell me what your deal is. What is it you have in mind?" Regina tested.
After taking a mouthful in of some of the tender meat that rested on her plate, Gretchen sat back some and twirled her fork between her fingers, never truly learning proper table manners.
"Revenge, my Queen," she said. "I once was a servant, as you well know. My most recent master had more than one. There was me and the stable boy." Regina's eyes softened. "We were madly in love. My master got a summons to serve in the Ogre Wars. Instead of going, he sent my love to fight in his place." Gretchen brought her chalice of wine to her lips. "He never came back. Only a yellow message did." She took a sip of the red liquid and swallowed it hard, needing the slight sting in the back of her throat. "I had given birth to my son shortly after. Worst mistake I ever made. My master said I could be rid of the child; kill it, sell it, abandon it somewhere. No, I chose to be merciful and keep it, which is my number one regret. I spent countless nights wishing upon stars and hoping for a fairy godmother to appear to save me from my prison ... but one never came."
She took another sip of wine before continuing on. Regina hadn't even touched her plate. She hadn't picked up a fork or a knife. She never even took a sip from her chalice. Rather, Regina just sat there and listened to the green woman's tale as she told it.
"Four, maybe five years later, a certain Master of the Dark Arts comes knocking at my door," Gretchen continued with a sinister smile.
"I'd assume it's the same one that came knocking on mine," Regina spoke in monotone.
"He seems to be capable of recognizing desperate souls, wouldn't you say?"
Regina raised her brows in agreement as Gretchen took yet another sip.
"He offered me a deal. My powers in exchange for my son," Gretchen added. "Safe to say, I made it. I used my powers for good. Helped the less fortunate. I was free, but then a certain fairy appeared and offered me the job of a lifetime; a fairy godmother. I accepted, and I was assigned to a bratty little princess who held no regard for anyone, save for herself.
"I found love again, but she didn't care. She took him from me when she had everything I wanted; a family, a kingdom, people on their knees before her, a handsome husband-to-be. Everything, and yet ... she was unsatisfied."
"I'm guessing the husband-to-be was the man you threw your affections to," Regina thought aloud.
"You are very good at this, Your Majesty. Able to read people well." Gretchen raised her cup to the queen and took another sip.
"And you want my help in doing ... what exactly? I have my own princess' life to ruin. Why should I help you with yours? What is it you want? A sleeping curse?" Regina questioned, and Gretchen appeared seemingly offended.
"No, my dear Queen. You insult me with your simplicity. No. A sleeping curse is so easily disturbed. Any curse can be broken with true love, everyone knows that. What I intend to do takes much more time and much more patience," Gretchen explained.
"Time and patience are the two things I come in short supply of," Regina protested.
"But it would be worth it, Your Majesty," Gretchen seemed to assure. "I would pluck her down by the people surrounding her. By the people closest to her. That's how I intend to break her. Slowly and over the years. I want a curse that no matter how many kisses her dear true love plants upon her, she could never wake up from. Don't you want the same for your little peach?"
Regina snickered with a flicker of evil twist in her stunning ember eyes.
"Dear Gretchen, you are obviously new to this," the Evil Queen said. "A curse like that is impossible. Even I know that. Go to any Master of Magic, and they'll tell you the same. All curses have an escape, the question is- what it is? Not- is there one? I am well aware of that. Maleficent is well aware of that. Even Rumpelstiltskin himself is aware of that. What you seek is the impossible, and I'm not about to waste my time on the impossible."
Regina stood from the table and panic began to secretly grow within Gretchen, but she remained seated and still spun her chalice in her hand.
"I'm not saying there wouldn't be an escape," Gretchen assured. "I'm simply stating that the escape wouldn't be obvious. The escape wouldn't be an act of true love."
"True love is the most powerful magic in any world," Regina reminded her. "Everyone, even those who don't practice magic, are in the know about that."
"My Queen, please. This is possible." Regina approached as Gretchen continued in her begs. "It is possible. Alls we need is the right amount of magic and the right amount of time."
"Well then, you should go find your partner elsewhere," Regina said, "for I have far more important and realistic things to do. Now, before I lose my patience," Regina waved her hand, causing the doors to the exit to open, "get out."
With a deep inhale and a furrowed brow, Gretchen stood to leave, but not before getting in the Queen's face.
"I will create this curse, if it is the last thing I do. And you, my Evil Queen, will regret not helping me with it. You'll see," Gretchen warned before turing and walking out of the palace with her head still held high.
Fairytale Land of the Present
She wasn't sure when she had ever been this nervous about someone besides Henry, but this little girl was nothing short of family. She still was innocent and did not deserve this fate. Whatever it was that had cursed Lucinda, she knew that she would not rest until some good was restored.
Her black dress trailed behind her, and was nearly stepped on by her son as she ran through the halls of the golden palace, Henry trailing close behind her and even Emma lingering nearby.
It was shocking to see that Regina was wearing the largest heels, but was still the first one to burst into Lucinda's room where she laid in her bed, her parents on either side of her.
Belle was as distraught as could be, her hand gripping her daughter's tightly as the tears uncontrollably fell from her blue eyes, streaming down her cheeks and soaking the blankets. Whenever Belle cried, she made it seem as though all the worlds were crying with her.
Rumple, he was good at never really showing his emotions, but it was clear that he had reached a whole new level of depression. Losing a child is never easy, no matter if things between the other parent are good or not. But losing a child whom you share with the love of your life, it's a whole new kind of pain that twists that ever stinging dagger in your heart just a little bit deeper. One child was more than enough; two lost was way too many.
He wasn't crying. No. It seemed that he was simply too saddened to cry. Like he couldn't believe it was happening to him again. He stared at her, Lucinda, blankly, picturing her green eyes flapping open any second now, but they never did. Her skin remained as white as snow, her eyes shut tight, and her heartbeat barely existed. At a distance, Princess Lucinda appeared to be dead.
Regina raced to the girl's bedside, standing beside her former instructor, and looking unto his daughter with soft ember eyes and a sorrowful soul. She lifted a hand gently, touching the girl's cheek more tenderly than she has done to any child save for her own, feeling just how ice like she was. Freezing, as though she wandered through a snow storm with no cloak. Regina batted her eyes to prevent her tears as Emma and Henry knelt on either side of Belle, hoping to bring her some comfort.
Regina took a deep breath and swallowed hard.
"What kind of curse?" Regina asked Rumple.
He took in a sharp inhale, fighting back the lump in his throat. "A soul curse."
Regina's eyes widened as her heart fell into the pit of her stomach.
"What's a soul curse?" Emma questioned, but neither Belle nor Rumple was able to respond, so Regina did it for them.
"When the person is cursed, their soul leaves their body and travels to another world. Where and which one, no one knows because it has never been done before. It has only ever been written about. Only been dreamed of. There is no possible way to break it on this end. Only on the other side because the person's body may be here, but who they are is not."
Emma and Henry shared in a look as Belle became more hopeless, and a single tear leaked from Rumple's eye.
"So there is nothing we can do?" Henry asked, grabbing his birth mother's hand, and looking to his other mother for hope and a possible positive answer.
Regina merely shook her head.
"Who did this?" she asked, placing a hand on Rumple's shoulder, unable to imagine the pain that he was enduring. She was still unable to fathom how it was he lasted. When she had lost Daniel, it felt like the world was coming to an end, and if she lost Henry ... she was sure she would die.
Rumple sniffled before giving his answer.
"The Enchantress," he replied. "But her real name is Gretchen."
Regina snapped her gaze to him, remembering the girl all too well when she had come to her for assistance. She would have never have guessed that she would actually succeed in her task to create such a curse.
Rumple began to cry harder.
"She was Belle's fairy godmother," he added with sorrow, gripping Lucinda's hand tighter.
Regina looked to Belle, immediately putting two and two together. Belle was the princess Gretchen had spoken of that night in her palace. Belle was the one she wanted revenge upon.
"I did this," Rumple further cried, bringing Regina's attention back to him. "I gave her her magic. I might as well have cursed my daughter myself." He took Lucinda's hand in both of his and brought it to his lips. "I'm so sorry," he wept. "I'm so sorry. I did this to you. I did this to you. I'm so sorry, Lucinda. I'm so sorry."
As much as they have had their fights, and as much as they have crossed one another, and as much as they have tried to kill each other in the past; Rumpelstiltskin and Regina once both relied on each other, once got along, once made a fantastic team. Once upon a time, they were somewhat friends, and sometimes the past must be put aside to ensure the future for someone they care for.
So Regina knelt beside him and caught his attention with her eyes.
"Rumple," the former Evil Queen began, having her old instructor look at her helplessly. "We are going to do anything and everything we can. And none of us, certainly not me, will rest until Lucinda is awake. I promise."
And that former alliance is what made him crack into sorrows even more.
Somnium of the Present
Now this part of the Enchanted Forest she had never seen before. But then again, the Enchanted Forest appeared to be nothing of what she was used to seeing. No trees, no blue skies. Just cobble stones, dry dirt, stumps and dead trees, and a great cloud of fog that seemed to engulf the land in an everlasting hug.
The castle, however, she knew. It was the Dark Castle. She had only seen it in an illustration in the storybook, but never has she spotted it in person. She knew that is where her father did his practice.
"I thought you said Papa couldn't help us," Lucinda remarked as Bae brought the horse to a stop and hopped off before aiding his sister down as well.
"He can't," Bae assured as he lead her inside the broken, disheveled castle. Stones were crumbling, paint was peeling, and spiders had woven their cob webs in all the corners of her father's former home. Put together, it might have been a beautiful home, but falling apart, you couldn't pay Lucinda enough to spend the night there.
"Then why are we at his castle?" Lucinda questioned, examining the warn tapestries and old relics that climbed up and down the walls as they passed the great room. It almost felt like she was in a museum of her parents, taking a tour through all the rooms they have been in, all the spots that Belle had cleaned. She looked to the curtains, and shockingly found the one her mother had tugged on too hard resting on the ground in a pile of dust.
"This is where the man in charge likes to work," Bae answered and noticed his sister had stopped following him. Instead, she had walked over to the fallen curtain and rubbed gentle fingers over the smooth fabric, recalling the page she had read in the storybook.
Just one more harsh tug, and poor Belle was sent plummeting down with the red curtain. For sure, she would have fallen to the floor with it if it had not have been for Rumpelstiltskin standing bellow her, holding out his arms, and catching her before she could endure such pain.
Lucinda found a tear in the fabric and ripped off a piece of the curtain, holding it in her hands and rubbing her thumbs over it.
"Lucinda," her brother called, "it's a fallen curtain."
She shook her head and looked back to him over her shoulder.
"It doesn't mean the same for you, but for me ..." she turned back around and examined the piece she held in her hands. "It means everything."
It's one of the reasons I'm even alive; this old, dirty curtain.
Amazing, isn't it?
"Whatever floats your boat. You coming or what?" Bae asked.
Lucinda quickly tied the piece of curtain she had ripped around her wrist before getting up onto her feet. She brushed herself off and made her way towards her brother, but something else caught her eye.
"Really? That thing is everywhere!" She walked over to the pedestal in the room, picking up the damaged teacup that rested upon it.
Bae smiled in the know.
"Stop following me," she muttered before slamming the thing back in its place and walking next to Bae as he lead her up the stone spiral stairs.
"Mom drops it once and suddenly it becomes an irreplaceable relic," she commented with a roll of her eyes.
"Some of the silliest things hold the most sentiment, whether they be chipped teacups or stolen keychains," Bae commented.
They walked up what seemed to be a thousand and one stairs before reaching the destination point, which was a hallway lined with illuminating torches with a single door at the end of it and a small echo of a song being sung filling the emptiness.
Oh, I have all my fingers.
The knife goes chop chop chop.
If I miss the spaces in-between,
my fingers will come off.
They reached the door, and Bae pulled it open with ease, unafraid. More stairs, and so they climbed with the singing growing louder and thumping accompanying it. Lucinda was growing nervous as she saw candle light flickering at the top of the stairs as well as a wall with books.
And if I hit my fingers,
the blood will soon come out.
But all the same,
I play this game,
Cause that's what it's all about.
Reaching the top, Lucinda's nervousness didn't ease, but rather increased. A teenager, no older than eighteen, sat at a wooden table in the center of this grand library. Books collecting dust surrounded them, and Lucinda knew the room from what she had read. A few candles on the table as well as the shelves flickered to bring some light to the room.
The teen at the end of the table had jet black hair that fell over his eyes, hiding him from Lucinda. His face was fairly pale, though, like he hadn't seen the sun in years, and black shadows seemed to contour the hallows of his cheeks. He was dressed well, almost decorated in a Mad Hatter like fashion. A blue jacket with a black shirt under a blue vest that once held some fashionable properties, but now seemed to be rags. A top hat, blue with black ribbon rested upon his raven hair, and his fingers were bejeweled with a few dozen rings.
One hand rested flat against the table with his fingers spread out while the other held a dagger, steady in his hand. A dagger Lucinda had seen before, nearly everyday of her life. Her father's dagger. He was using it, stabbing the table where his hand rested, dragging the tip of the blade into the spaces between his fingers in a manic fashion as he sang.
Lucinda breathed heavily, watching the dagger with wide eyes, while Bae smiled as if he had seen this on the daily.
Oh, chop chop chop chop chop chop
I'm picking up the speed,
And he did. Moving really fast. Lucinda had heard of the mortals playing this game before, but she doubted any of them could do it as fast as he. When he moved his head slightly, as well, Lucinda could see he was blindfolded.
And if I hit my fingers,
then my hand will start to bleed.
Oh, I have all my fingers.
The knife goes chop chop chop.
If I miss the spaces in-between,
my fingers will come off.
And if I hit my fingers,
the blood will soon come out.
But all the same,
I play this game,
Cause that's what it's all about.
He moved even faster.
Oh, chop chop chop chop chop chop
I'm picking up the speed.
And if I hit my fingers,
then my hand will start to bleed.
The next part she has never heard before.
No matter if I see,
no matter if I'm blind,
I will always miss my fingers,
and the blood will stay inside.
But my knife will keep on moving,
but the game will be no fun,
if my knife keeps on moving,
and there is simply no spilt blood.
Oh, chop chop chop chop chop chop
I suddenly have a surprise.
Now watch me as I move my knife,
and kiss my hand goodbye!
Lucinda screamed as the boy dove the blade right into the center of the back of his flattened hand, allowing the red liquid to ooze out of the puncture wound as he smiled happily.
Lucinda brought her hands to her mouth, covering it tightly as Baelfire began to laugh as though it was all some kind of twisted joke.
"A visitor, Baelfire?" the boy with the dagger still seeping into his hand, pinning it to the table questioned. He was holding the dagger in place, focusing on the feeling of his blood rushing into the spaces between his fingers and over his skin.
"Yes. A good friend of mine, too. A very good friend." Baelfire walked behind the boy and undid the blindfold that had concealed his eyes when he had played his little knife game.
Now with his vision available to him, the boy's bright eyes- one sapphire blue and one emerald green- looked down to his masterful work of stabbing himself. He seemed rather pleased.
"Look at that, Bae!" he exclaimed with glee. "Right in the center this time!" With one great thrust, he removed the dagger from his hand, letting more blood spur and sickening Lucinda deeply.
"Great job, Jade. Not one finger scratched," Baelfire praised and set the black blindfold on the table. Without hesitation, and seemingly as though it was a daily routine for him, the boy began to wrap his wound up with the blindfold, not even cleaning it or stitching it up.
As he tended to his hand, he looked to Lucinda and smiled sinisterly.
"Oh, don't feel bad for me, darling," he said, wrapping up his hand. Slowly, Lucinda removed her own hands from her mouth. "I'm used to the pain, and the wound will heal soon enough."
"Why stab yourself?" Lucinda questioned with a disturbed look etched on her face.
The boy shrugged.
"Must learn to tolerate pain in this world," he replied. "Good and fun practice. Also helps with coordination and concentration and accuracy."
"There are other, more safe ways, to practice those things," she assured him.
"Safe being unrealistic," he countered.
"Stupid being dangerous."
"I consider it adapting."
"You seemed to have adapted since you didn't flinch when you pinned your own hand to the table."
"Oh, well then," the boy shrugged and placed his elbows on the table, allowing Lucinda a chance to catch glimpse of his extended, black fingernails. "What's the harm?"
Lucinda rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Bae, why are we here? And why is he here? Why are we even in my mom's library?" she asked with a vague gesture to the room that enclosed them.
Baelfire answered easily.
"He likes the library. He spends most of his time in here. And this is the guy I was telling you about. The one who kind of runs this place. Lucinda, meet Jade." The boy in blue smiled, flashing his pearly white teeth. "Jade, Lucinda. She's my little half sister."
"Charmed." Jade snickered.
"I guess it's nice to meet you too, but, Baelfire, it is actually Princess Lucinda. If you are going to introduce me to someone, at least do it properly," Lucinda said, getting more annoyed by the second.
"Oh, you lost your princess status here, dear Lucinda," Jade clarified. "Here, there are no princesses from other parts of the forest. Only one here, and you aren't it. You have no title here, except one."
Lucinda looked to Jade confusingly. She brought her fingers to her temples and rubbed them tenderly as she tried to decipher what it was Jade was telling her.
"Wait, I don't get it," she confessed. "I am a princess. No matter where I go, nothing about me changes. I'm still a princess."
"In your world," Jade stated. "In this world, parents and families don't exist. You're on your own now, Lucinda. Mommy and Daddy can't save you or protect you. You were that desperate to get away from them, well ... here you are. As far away from them without dying as possible. In Somnium, my dear, you are all alone. Here, you only have one title," Jade further informed and lifted up a single pointer finger as spoke, still holding the dagger in his hand.
He set the dagger on the table.
"Here, dear Lucinda,"
He skidded it to her over the wooden table, it stopping just before it reached the edge so Lucinda could see it.
"You are only the Dark One."
Her eyes widened at the name engraved into the blade.
Lucinda.
Again, please don't hate me for changing the name. I will update again soon, and can't wait for season 5! I will have a special surprise for you guys on premiere day! Thanks for the support. Any questions, comments, concerns, ect. feel free to message me. I love hearing from my readers! Don't forget to check out Trickster and Trickster: The Line Crossed, and The Seeker and the Keeper available in the Kindle Store. Thanks again!