The story actually begins! Here's the general disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time at all.
Rumpelstiltskin sat in his castle brooding. He rested on his high backed dining chair, looking towards at a certain chipped teacup, but staring far beyond it. The ornate carpets and tapestries no longer held their truest color, fading until a pink twinge was visible throughout the room. But Rumpelstiltskin was past caring about the contents of his castle, his mind too lost in the past to care about the things happening around him. Two loud knocks bounced off the walls, causing him to look up from the cup and turn towards the source of the sound. Someone was knocking! It surely was a change of pace, no one had ever come to his house in order to seek him out, they had always just summoned him. The strangeness of the situation prompted Rumpelstiltskin to answer the door. He wanted to see what kind of fool would seek out the Dark One while being so uneducated in the magic that they travel all the way to his door to speak to him.
He pulls the door open, silently wincing at the creak it produces from the decades of disuse. What stood before him made him let out an involuntary, yet signature laugh that Rumpelstiltskin is known to make. It was a girl standing at his step. And truly a girl, for she couldn't be more than fifteen years old. Rumpelstiltskin looks at the girl and realizes just how strange her appearance is; she wears a peasant's cloak and boots, both brown and too big for the girl's frame. Her dress in comparison, pinches at her wrists and collar in noticeably uncomfortable fashion. The old embroidered dress also comes up short, leaving an inch of shins exposed to the brisk late autumn weather. Mud splatters are evident across the bottom hem of her dress and her chin also sports signs of mud. Her hair is pulled into a braid that falls past her shoulders and would have shone like the gold he weaves, if it wasn't in the same state of the rest of her. 'Is that a twig in there?' Rumpelstiltskin thinks to himself as he spots a small branch with a leaf still attached sticking out of the girl's complex plait.
She talks before Rumpelstiltskin has chance to speak, " Oh wow, your face! Has it always been so scaly?" Rumpelstiltskin is completely floored by the innocence in her question, and the lack of fear in her eyes.
His grin turns malicious when he responds, "Well dearie, I've heard of house calls, but I think you got it wrong. I choose who to make deals with, not the other way around."
"Okay, who else can I go to?" The girl asks with a tilt to her chin.
Rumpelstiltskin looks at the girl in disbelief and starts to circle her in a predatory manner. "There is no other, dearie. I am the only Dark One around. And if you're here then you want to make a deal, let me guess what it is you desire. Ooh, do you want a makeover for the ball for that special someone?" His voice going an octave higher and accenting the word "special" changing it to spec-IAL.
"No," The girl shakes her head in denial, "I just want to be free."
Rumpelstiltskin stops stalking around the child, and she turns to face him. "Dearie, I'm more traps and curses than a knight in shining armor come to free the princess."
"I don't know much about magic," Confessing what Rumpelstiltskin already knew, "But I have heard stories about how you've helped Snow White and Cinderella. I ran away. From someone who knows magic, she's probably not as skilled as you, but I fear she can use it to track me down."
"You have no worries then, just keep moving and never settle down. You will be utterly fine dearie." Rumpelstiltskin goes to enter his castle, but when he passes the pauper, he senses a wave of strong tracking magic moving through her veins. He turns back to her, "The witch has a lock of your hair? Well doesn't that make things... complicated."
"What should I do? What can I do to get away."
"Magic doesn't work that way dearie, there is not a single way you can escape her in the Enchanted forest."
"Then l will leave the Enchanted Forest. I promise you, I will not let her use me again." The fool's palms clench into small fists at her side.
"There is an old legend, one that borders on ancient, about leaving the forest and traveling to another world." He takes a second to pause, giggling in a way he knows will make the child uncomfortable."Duh-Dada-Daah! A Magic Bean is what you seek. But all magic comes with a price, and my price is..." He pauses again, this time to build suspense."The rest of your hair."
Mr. Gold's fingers twirl as he creates the ball of fire in his palm before launching at the prepared fireplace, watching in a face of utter concentration as the fire is quickly magicked to life. He walks around the fire, facing a large rock and casting a shadow. He lifts his arms, moving them slowly until they are half raised. Mr. Gold flicks his wrists, entrapping his own shadow to the rock. He pulls out the dagger, his dagger, and bends down to dislodge his shadow from himself. It's extremely painful, a pain similar to a thousand acid tipped needles pulling a tongue from a victim's mouth, but it pales in comparison to the loss of Baelfire. The shadow moves around on the rock, getting used to being a separate entity from Gold.
Mr. Gold offers up the dagger to the shadow instructing, "You know what to do. Hide it where no one can find it. Not even me." Gold's shadow snatches the problem dagger and flies off into the night, eyes glowing red. Mr. Gold turns around to see hooded figure waiting for him. On alert, Mr. Gold approaches the stranger and pulls down their hood. He let's out a breath he wasn't aware he was holding.
"Belle. I don't understand. How did you get here?" The shock of seeing someone who should be worlds away colors his voice.
She softly chides him for his garb. "I thought you didn't dress like that anymore. I thought that this was your past."
"Well this is now my future. Becoming this again." He raises his palms and gestures towards himself as he continues. "The Dark One. Thats the only way I'll save my grandson."
Belle reaches up and caresses Mr. Gold's cheek, feeling his smooth, unscaled cheek. "But you haven't completely become him, have you." Belle leans forward. "There's still hope." Their lips touch for two heartbeats before he pushes her away in panic.
"You're not really here, are you?" His face twists into one of distrust and disgust.
Belle takes a half step back and scoffs at Mr. Gold. "No of course not, I'm still in Storybrooke. Right where you left me."
"Are you okay?" He inquires, "Did the protection spell work?"
"It did, we're all fine. Storybroke's safe. We all are."
Mr. Gold springs forward and starts to choke her, unprompted. "How do I know these aren't just lies meant to lead me astray?" He's shaking her slightly. "How do know Pan didn't just conjure up a vision of you?"
She's able to choke out the answer. "He didn't... you did. The question is why?"
*Mr. Gold releases Belle from the chokehold and sinks down to sit on a log. Belle joins him leaving a good three feet of space between the two. They sit in silence for a minute, Gold searching for the reason she's in Neverland.
"Why are you here Belle?" He looks into her eyes, searching for the answers.
"Only you know." She responds gently.
Mr. Gold gets off the log and starts pacing back and forward. He finally whips around and exclaims, "I know that I have to sacrifice myself for my grandson, for my son's sake." He draws in a breath, "But I'm a coward. Pan offered me a deal, I let him keep Henry and he allows me to live. I felt like the boy needn't be my undoing. Pan was able to manipulate me so fast."
"Abandoning Henry would be the selfish choice, but are you sure the only way to save Henry is to die yourself?"
"Belle, I've exhausted all options before it came to this."
Belle stands up and puts a hand over Mr. Gold's wrist, halting his rapid pacing,"You're in Neverland. A place where imagination runs while. A place where dreams and reality tend to blur, is there truly no way to save him and yourself?"
Mr. Gold looks over at Belle and jerks his hand from her grasp. "There is no way to-"
Belle cuts him off by changing the topic in an abrupt and inorganic manner. "How have your dreams been since Neverland?" She looks at him in a manner that says if he don't understand by now than there is no chance he will ever get it.
"Belle, I don't see how my REM cycle has anyth-" He doesn't finish this thought either, remembering the his most recent dream. Now that he was putting effort into recalling his dreams, one came to mind. He could remembering every vivid detail about the dream with the runaway girl, a girl that he had never met. Mr. Gold looks over at Belle with a confused look in his eye."A dream? I don't get how a dream will save me from my fate."
"Dreams that don't even feel like you're asleep must mean something! You're Rumpelstiltskin," She scolds him with stern glare, "So I don't believe that you don't find it the least bit odd that you can recall everything about a dream."
"What should I do about a dream then, Belle." Mr. Gold replies, becoming frustrated. "I am destined to save Henry through my sacrifice, so how do I use the maybe precognitive dream to save my skin?"
"Let me help," Belle reaches forward and touches Mr. Gold's forehead. His eyes roll back and he falls to collapses to the ground. Belle looks down at his crumpled form and smiles sweetly, flickering from view.
He's dreaming again. Being so defenselessly asleep is a dangerous thing to do anywhere, but most especially in Neverland. only knows it's a dream because he sees Belle standing next to him. She doesn't belong in this dream, he realizes. He isn't allowed any time to dwell on Belle's intrusion in his dream because she suddenly emits a white flash from her eyes and vanishes. He is filled with a strong sense of melancholy at her disappearance, but he turns his attention to the dream. It is supposedly filled with the answers to why his mind made a projection of Belle. His face is turned to side, staring at the corner of his castle where Belle was moments before, and he takes in the state that his fortress is in . A thick layer of dust coats the entirety of the walls, floors, and furniture. His right arm is propping one of the massive doors open and he notices the dust is even coating his clothes. 'What in the world is going on' Mr. Gold contemplates when his body starts to move without him, turning his face to face the forest outside the confines of his house. His mind catches up with the dream and suddenly he's Rumpelstiltskin again, his mind dispelling all thoughts of Mr. Gold.
Rumpelstiltskin stares down at the girl standing at his door. She had just paid his price for the magic she so desperately seeks, and it make Rumpelstiltskin smile at how awful she looks. The price of the bean could have been paid with one strand of hair, but the naive girl had taken a knife to the base of her braid and handed Rumpelstiltskin more hair than he preferred. She stands at his step, rocking back and forth in order to adjust to the sudden change in weight. The longest hair falls just below her chin, too short to not be noticed. She smiles and runs a hand through it. "Thank you, I kept meaning to cut it. To disguise myself and such. But I guess I just didn't have the courage."
"Dearie it was you held the knife."
"Yeah I know, but it was your terms. It's thanks to you Rumpelstiltskin." Her sincerity certainly got annoying fast to Rumpelstiltskin, so he reaches into his coat and pulls out a small drawstring bag. He tosses it towards the girl and she catches it and opens it, looking at the opaque bean. She nods her head and throws herself at Rumpelstiltskin, wrapping her small arms around him and only letting ago when she hears him inhale air fast enough to create a hiss. He steps back and smiles venomously, "You have your bean. Now run along before mommy catches wind of darling daughter." He watches her pale, feeling no remorse for the hateful words he had just given her. She nods once, then turns on her heel and almost sprints away from Rumpelstiltskin. He lets the door fall shut and walks back to his chair, sinking into the molded cushions and returning his gaze just beyond the teacup.
Mr. Gold wakes up with a start. Sweat is covering his brow, and his heart cannot seem to slow down. The surge of magic he had felt when the dream girl had embraced had been powerful. She had truly believed in him, even though she had grown up with stories of the evil that is the Dark One. His mind was running with all the possibilities that were suddenly very plausible. The girl who only exists in his dreams can help save both his grandson and himself. He stops short when that thought crosses his mind. How could he use her if she was a dream? He needs her heart in place of Henry's, but what can he do? He exhales, deflated at the reality of the situation. The faux Belle had filled his head with pointless hope. Mr. Gold paces around for an hour, debating the meaning of all that had happened to him so far.
He decides to search out the girl, a Hail Mary meant to keep his spirits up. puts out his hands and summons his shadow, calling it to him. The shadow arrives in due time, almost exuding annoyance at the summoning. Gold hurries to the shadow, "You've hidden the dagger?" A nod is all the confirmation he needs to continue. "Good. Now find the girl. You know the one I speak of. Search for her in every world, nook, and hiding place you can think of. Bring her to me." The shadows eyes flash red before speeding off to complete his first task. As the shadow races away Mr. Gold whispers, "Hurry. She's the key."
*The dialogue changes here so Rumpelstiltskin's father isn't a plot. That plot twist really pissed me off.
I figured out when I'm going to update! Excluding the 18th, my update day will be every Wednesday. I'm not updating on the 18th because I have a test and a project due that day and I don't think I can write a new chapter on top of memorizing polyatomic ions.
Feel free to comment and make suggestions on the story.
Love you guys :)