A/N: Bunfin is a character I created. He is a former flying squirrel monkey who the Wicked Witch had taken as a pet after she had destroyed his troop. She had torn his wings off after he had accidentally pulled her hair and he treats Rumple as a friend and alpha male. But what is going on with the dagger and how will it affect Rumple? Also, again, I hadn't seen any new episodes when I wrote this so I had no idea she's be in Regina's castle.
Chapter Eleven
The torches in iron holder started burning as the green smoke filled the room then the Wicked Witch walked out of the green smoke and the flying monkeys followed her. Rumplestiltskin finally walked out of the green smoke when the Wicked Witch waved her hand and the green smoke vanished. He looked around when he frowned and blinked his eyes a few times.
"This is Regina's castle," he said as she walked to the throne and sat down.
"Yes," she said and crossed her legs.
"Why didn't we go to OZ?" he asked.
"We will once I've dealt with Regina."
"You must be really sure of yourself," he said and she glared at him.
"Are you being smart with me?" she growled and held tightly onto the arms of the throne.
"No," he said as he giggled and placed his hand over his heart. He started walking around the room as she watched him when he picked up a crystal ball from a gold stand and tossed crystal ball into the air, catching it. "I'm just saying she isn't easy to get rid of."
"I can handle her," she said when he smiled and looked at the crystal ball.
"Can you, Dearie?" he asked then spun to face her. Her eyes widened when the crystal ball came flying toward her and she waved her hand, making the crystal ball vanish in a puff of green smoke.
"How dare you!" she growled then got up and stormed toward her. She went to slap his face, but he vanished in a puff of purple smoke and reappeared near the throne.
"Over here," he said as she turned and he waved.
"You think this is a joke?" she shouted as she stormed to him and he vanished again, reappearing behind her. She gasped as he pinned her arms behind her then placed his chin on her shoulder and giggled.
"This is nothing compared to what Regina would do to you. She would tear your heart out and crush it before you could blink," he whispered then let her go, pushing her away from him. She gasped when she stormed to him as they locked eyes and she balled her hands into fists.
"Come," she growled as she stormed to the door to the left and the door opened. Sighing, Rumplestiltskin followed her out of the room and the door closed behind them.
"He's good," Emma said, looking at the enchanted mirror.
"I hope he's careful. She doesn't look like someone you mess with," Snow said.
"Neither is Rumple," Belle said as she watched his image moving down the hallway and sat back in the chair. She silently prayed that he would remember to limit his use of magic and she sighed, looking at the enchanted mirror.
The door opened as the Wicked Witch led Rumplestiltskin into a small room with stone walls, floor and ceiling and a wooden cot was at the back of the room. Next to the wooden bed was a small wooden table and a pewter candlestick sat on the wooden table. A wooden stand had a pitcher and bowl on top and a small, barred window was above the stand.
"Now I know how Belle felt," he thought when he walked to the wooden cot and sat down.
"You're expecting me to sleep in here?" he asked, lightly bouncing on the wooden cot.
"Yes," she said as the Wicked Witch left the room and slammed the door behind her. He heard the lock slide into place then the sounds of heels clicking on stone and he went to lie down on the wooden cot.
"She put him in a dungeon," Belle said softly.
"He'll be fine," Emma said as she rubbed Belle's shoulder and Belle nodded her head. She moved her hand over the enchanted mirror as a blue mist floated over the scene and tears dribbled down her cheeks.
Sleep didn't come as Rumplestiltskin looked at the stone ceiling and placed his right hand on his chest. His heart felt heavy as he brought Belle's face into his mind and pressed his lips together. He pictured them in their bed with her lying next to him and she was looking at him with her head in her hand.
"Belle," he sighed when a loud screeching sound came from behind the door and he slowly sat up. The screeching and hissing sound grew louder when he got up and headed for the door. The door was wood with iron hinges and an iron door handle and a small window was cut into the door. He tried the door handle, but the door was locked and he closed his eyes. A purple light sparkled around his hand when he heard the soft sound of the lock scraping back then a dizzy feeling made him place his forehead against the door. He had felt dizzy after teasing the Wicked Witch and nearly tripped over his feet on the way down to the dungeon.
"Seven hells," he muttered then opened the door and looked out. He slid into the hallway as the screeching and hissing came closer when he stood in the center of the hallway and something came around the corner. Several, green fur monkeys with green feather wings charged down the hallway with a smaller, green fur monkey running for its life and Rumplestiltskin noticed that the little monkey's wings were missing. Growling, he summoned some magic as a fireball floated above his palm and he tossed the fireball at the flying monkeys. The fireball hit the floor in front of the flying monkeys as they screeched then ran the other way and Rumplestiltskin slumped against the wall, sliding down to the floor. He watched as the small monkey sat across from him and he realized that it looked like a squirrel monkey. The others looked like large baboons with red eyes and a triple row of sharp fangs and each had long, sharp claws.
"It's alright. I won't hurt you," he whispered as the small monkey moved closer and sniffed his feet. He didn't move as the small monkey moved along his legs then sat on his lap and looked at him, tilting its head side to side. He noticed the gold collar around the small monkey's neck and a gold name tag swung side to side from the small monkey tilting its head. "Hold still."
The small monkey sat still as he touched the gold name tag and saw BUNFIN etched in a scrolling script.
"Your name is Bunfin?"
The small monkey made little noises as it nodded its head and Rumplestiltskin smiled. With a small grunt, he stood up with Bunfin in his arms and staggered to the doorway. He closed the door when he walked to the wooden cot and sat down. He slid down onto his back when he closed his eyes and the small monkey sat on his stomach, watching him. He felt the small monkey moving up to his chest then moving around three times and settled at the center of his chest. He was too tired to move as he sighed and Bunfin placed its head on top of its paws, closed its eyes and they both drifted off to sleep.
Sunlight lit up the cell as Rumplestiltskin opened his eyes and looked at the stone wall. Bunfin was curled up under his chin as he reached up and stroked the top of the small monkey's head. He listened to the silence when he heard the sound of heels clicking on the stone and the lock of the door slid back. He closed his eyes when the door opened and the Wicked Witch came in the cell, the flying monkeys standing on either side of her.
"Get up," she said when he sighed then carefully rolled over onto his back and looked at her. "I said…"
"Yes," he said when he sat up and placed his hands on the edge of the wooden cot. With a small grunt, he stood up then walked to her and she scanned him with her eyes. She was startled when she saw the small monkey sitting on his right shoulder as she glared at the small monkey and folded her arms across her chest.
"Where did that come from?" she demanded as he looked at Bunfin and reached up, scratched the back of the small monkey's head.
"I found him out in the hall," he said then looked down at the flying monkeys. Three of them had singed fur as he smiled and looked at the Wicked Witch.
"How did you get out?"
"It's simple, Dearie," he said with a grin. "I unlocked the door."
"Get rid of it," she growled when two of the flying monkeys flew in the air and Rumplestiltskin reached up, removed the small monkey from his shoulder and held it protectively against his chest.
"Call them off before I use them to make slippers," he growled.
"Are you challenging me?" she asked then walked closer. "Remember, Dark One, I am the one in control. One false move and your love ones will suffer."
Sighing, he stroked the small monkey's back as she smiled and turned, heading for the door.
"Come," she said then left the cell and the flying monkeys followed her. He looked down at Bunfin then left the cell and headed down the hallway.
"What is this?" Rumplestiltskin asked as he looked at the burnt food on the plate in front of him and the Wicked Witch sipped on the tea in a china cup.
"That is breakfast," she said as he picked up the china cup and sipped on the weak tea.
"Did one of the monkeys make it?"
"No, I did," she growled and he sighed, nibbling on the charred bacon. "I'm still not convinced that you are here willingly so I have decided to test you."
"What do you have in mind?" he asked when Bunfin hopped off the top of the high back chair and landed in his lap.
"You'll see," she said as she smiled over the china cup and he sighed, folding his arms over his chest.
The wind blew through the trees as the leaves gently rocked back and forth and the clouds rolled slowly across the sky. The dirt road wound through the trees when it went down into a low valley and a small village rested at the center of the valley. The houses and buildings were made of white and tan wood with thatch roof tops and a stone well was at the center of the village. The villagers were going about their business as a green mist appeared on the hill at the far end of the valley and the Wicked Witch stood at the edge of the hill.
"This will do," she said when she turned and looked at Rumplestiltskin. He had his hands folded in front of him and Bunfin sat on his right shoulder. "Come here."
Sighing, Rumplestiltskin slowly walked to her when he looked at the valley and the village spreading out before him and arched his eyebrows up.
"Very nice," he said.
"Here's what I want you to do," she said as she looked at the village and smiled. "Burn the village to the ground."
"As you wish," he said then closed his eyes and opened his mind. He felt the power and magic move through him when large fireballs erupted from his hands The Wicked Witch smiled as the fireballs soared through the air then the village exploded in flames and black smoke curled upward.
"Excellent," she said as she waved her hands and the green smoke enveloped them.
"I don't believe it!" Charming said as they looked at the enchanted mirror and slammed his hands on the dining table. "He killed them!"
"No," Snow whispered.
"I don't believe it," Emma said.
"Well, what do you expect?" Regina asked.
"Look," Snow said as she looked at the enchanted mirror and frowned. They watched as a purple smoke appeared on the top of the hill then faded and there stood the villagers and their livestock.
"Wait, what's going on?" Charming asked.
"It's simple really," Belle said. "I recognize that village. Their elder came to see Rumple a few weeks ago and wanted to make a deal with him."
"What sort of deal?" Snow asked.
"The village was being plagued with vermin, termites and wood lice. The elder asked Rumple to help them get rid of the plague and would give him fleece and straw as payment. He refused."
"Why?" Charming asked and Belle looked at Baelfire, Emma and Henry.
"You better tell them," Emma said.
"We found out that my papa can't use his magic," Bae said.
"He just did," Charming said.
"Yes, and I'm amazed he's still on his feet," Emma said then sighed. "You see, he hasn't used magic because of the leather wristband Pan placed on him. We found out that Tinker Bell was able to remove it, but, seeing it's been a year since he had used magic, he got ill if he tried even a simple spell. So he decided to only use a little magic at a time."
"He can't use magic," Regina said with a small smile and Baelfire glared at her.
"Don't get any ideas," Bae growled.
"What would happen if he keeps doing things like what we just saw?" Snow asked.
"I don't know," Belle sighed as she looked at the enchanted mirror, but no one noticed the dagger sitting in the shoebox in the china cabinet. The silver blade was sparkling in a purple light and the scrolled lettering of his names rippled. Slowly the first five letters faded as the purple light vanished and gray smoke floated off the blade.
The green fog faded as the Wicked Witch walked to the throne then sat down and crossed her legs. She looked at Rumplestiltskin as he stood with his hands folded in front of him and she smiled sweetly at him.
"Come here," she said, wiggling her fingers at him, but he didn't move and she growled. "I said…"
Bunfin screeched while Rumplestiltskin went onto his knees then fell onto his stomach and the Wicked Witch got up, running to him. She knelt down when she gently rolled him onto his back and the small monkey sat next to his head, making soft noises.
"Wake up!" she shouted while shaking Rumplestiltskin, but his eyes stayed close and she placed her hand on his chest. His skin felt cool and his chest rose and fell, but he stayed unconscious and she looked at the flying monkeys. She knew they weren't strong enough to pick him up as she slid her arms under him and lifted him off the floor. She quickly left the room as the flying monkeys and Bunfin followed her and the door closed silently behind them.