A/N: Sooo, I know this is super duper short, but I just wanted to get another chapter out this weekend. Maybe more will come soon, maybe not; it depends on how busy I am. Haha, it might be two hours until the next chapter, or it might be two weeks. It all depends. Go ahead and leave a review; I love hearing what you think (even if you tell me you don't like the story)! I appreciate all reviews, and I will work to make the next chapter extra long… XOXO
A lot of coaxing, pleading, and begging had been necessary to send Emma back over the town line. There had been one, and only one, very, very specific reason as to why she was willing to go back to the boring stretch of empty road. "Why can't I just stay here and wait it out?" Emma had asked, still shaking a little from her earlier experience. It had been about half an hour since she'd crossed the town line, and people who had spotted her were trying to get her on the other side, some from fear of her and others from fear for her. "We're never going to find a solution, anyway," she'd added as an afterthought, to which the small group of people had immediately responded, "No, no, of course we will. Just hang in there."
"I want to talk to Rumple," Emma had declared, throwing her chin up defiantly as best she could in her wobbly state. The action sent her staggering back a step, and Belle grabbed her arm to keep her from falling.
Glances were exchanged among the group, and a chatter arose. "Nobody's seen Rumplestiltskin since they took the Darkness out of him," someone said quietly. "Is he alive?"
"Of course he's alive!" someone else responded. "Belle has seen him! They're a couple."
"What if he's worse than he was before?" a voice questioned the crowd.
"What could he do now? He's powerless."
"Maybe not-"
"Why would she want to talk to him, anyway? What could he do for her?"
"They could plot to kill us-"
"Revenge-"
"Death for all-"
"Torture-"
"Hello, Dearies." The chilling voice descended on the crowd and hushed them as if they were coated in a blanket of snow. The crowd slowly parted, allowing him a pathway to Emma. A cane steadied his step, the solid material making an ominous tap, tap, tapping each time he brought his left foot to the ground. Rumple offered Emma a sardonic smile.
"You called."