Author's note; Ooooh thanks for the continuing nice reviews guys, but CocoRocks I'm afraid to say Rumple has been a very naughty Dark One so he doesn't get an easy time of things with Emma's presence...
"Ok, see you later kiddo" Emma called after the retreating back of Henry as he wandered back to the Mayoral Mansion. She shivered a little and pulled her leather jacket around her tightly whilst walking away, mulling over what Henry had told her. Henry had overheard Regina earlier on the phone. He hadn't heard much but it involved taking out an order against Emma, preventing her from seeing Henry. She knew enough of Regina to know this was a very real possibility, Regina viewed Emma as a threat. Emma suppressed a sigh of disappointment. She'd seen a vulnerability in Regina where Henry was concerned, a vulnerability not unlike her own given her life's experiences, and had thought that perhaps, in another time and another place, this could have made them friends. She knew Regina had a heart, a fact which so far had eluded the townsfolk. But Regina had gone out of her way to make any friendship between the two of them impossible. Emma toyed with the idea of asking Regina directly whether she was planning any custody issue over Henry, but swiftly discarded that thought, deciding she would be unlikely to get a straight answer from Regina. However, there was someone else who might help. Mr Gold. The town's resident evil. Emma knew that the town feared and reviled him, but she didn't share in that. She wasn't scared of him, more...just wary, and at present she had not given him a reason to dislike her. As the town lawyer he would also know whether Regina was planning anything against her. She knew enough about him to know that he disliked Regina intensely, and hoped this would be enough to gain assistance from him.
"Gold?! You here?!" a voice called out as the door chimed on opening. "Well it is my shop Dearie" Mr Gold muttered under his breath. Appearing from behind the curtain separating the shop from his workrooms at the back, he greeted Emma Swan. "How can I be of assistance, Ms Swan?" he enquired. "I need advice". Mr Gold raised his eyebrow in question to her statement. "I'm concerned that Regina is looking into legal action preventing me from seeing Henry" Emma poured out. Gold chucked softly. "Regina's bark is worse than her bite, Ms Swan. Legal action would not be in her best interests. It would impact negatively on Henry and despite what you may think of her, she will not wish to upset Henry. I doubt that you have anything to worry about. Besides, she has not approached either me or any of my associates for legal advice." Mr Gold was happy to offer this advice to Ms Swan. She discomfited Regina, and Mr Gold enjoyed seeing Regina discomfited very much. The door chimed again, and the world's clumsiest Casanova stepped in. David Nolan. Married and yet carrying on a very well known highly secret affair with the town's school teacher Mary Margaret Blanchard, the world's most unlikeliest harlot. Indeed, everyone knew about it, with the exception of Madam Mayor, and David's wife Kathryn. Emma thanked Gold and left. She had no wish to enter into conversation with David Nolan at present. She was good friends with Mary Margaret, who was very upset; no doubt David was the root cause. "Mr Nolan, how can I help?" enquired Mr Gold, watching David peruse the items on display undoubtedly aiming to purchase one as an apology, either to his wife or mistress, or maybe both. Gold very much approved of expensive apologies. Expensive apologies kept him in Armani suits. Hearing a loud aggrieved yelp from by the door he looked over to see Emma Swan clutching at her toe having stubbed it against some dirty chest that had been left by the wall. "Any damages will be charged directly to you Ms Swan" he called after her jovially, her curses disappearing into the ether. A light curiosity surrounding the origins of the chest dissipated as David Nolan drew Mr Gold's attention towards a necklace with an intricate snowflake pendant.
Mr Gold's bonhomie was short lived however. He was due for a meeting with Madam Mayor, and although he knew the meeting would go his way it was nonetheless a distasteful necessity. Sighing, he completed the sale of the very pretty and expensive trinket to Mr Nolan, and locked his shop up. Returning to the backroom he opened a draw and reached for his car keys, then thinking again left them in the drawer. His leg hurt today and he didn't want the muscles seizing or cramping whilst driving. He reached for his cane to walk to the Mayor's offices. It wasn't a long walk and from there he could get to his offices, and from there either walk back to his shop for his car or take a cab. He momentarily recalled soft tender hands rubbing out the knots in the muscles on his leg but dismissed this thought. Thinking of his regrets was to no benefit to him at all; he could not change things now.
"Really, Dearie?" Gold drawled. He was bored but reined in his tedium, observing the mayor through calculating eyes "What's in it for you. I mean, what's really in it?" he asked. Regina was up to something. It was very easy to tell when she was up to something. There were three dead giveaways. One; she was awake. Two; her lips were moving. Three; her cleavage would be out in force. Given that this was her general modus operandi it was safe to assume she was always up to something.
Regina smiled her most innocent smile, which despite her best efforts still had the appearance of a serpent paying undue attention to an apple tree. "Mr Gold, I assure you I have no ulterior motive. The library building is a drain on town funds. It's lying empty as we cannot find anyone who wants to run it. You know that already. I simply propose that the town offer's you the library in exchange for the land you own by the school. Really, this works in your favour. You've already expressed an interest in the library, and we would like to expand the school site". Regina spread her hands out in a gesture of openness and looked at Mr Gold appreciatively whilst he perused the paperwork she had drafted out for the exchange. She had not seen the attraction in Rumplestiltskin that was so obvious to Belle, but as Mr Gold, well that was another matter. His exquisitely tailored suits always impeccable, the hair, the glint in his eyes, his scent, the cane. She allowed herself a brief speculation as to whether he really was as kinky as the town rumours suggested. The things he could do with that cane...? Kinky with everyone but his Belle she thought triumphantly. For all Regina knew he probably had a whole harem dedicated to his every whim, and she allowed herself a moments thought about dedicating herself to his every whim. Regina returned to reality as Mr Gold abruptly agreed, as eager as her to terminate their meeting. "I'll have the contracts drawn up this afternoon, and I would like it signed and returned to me without delay, please" he stated. Regina reluctantly agreed, having no choice due to the addendum that Rumplestiltskin had added to the curse that she would have to agree to whatever he asked, as long as he said please. Mr Gold was always polite to an extreme. Gold was pleased with himself. He'd wanted the land the library sat on for a while now, and his disinterest and refusal to sell her the land by the school had played off. He still didn't know what he would do with the library and its surrounding land, but he had time to think on it now that he owned it.
Picking up his briefcase from Regina's office Mr Gold intended to return to his offices to draw up the divorce papers. He'd put this off for many years but something was different today. He was no longer happy in his marriage and it was obvious his wife shared his lack of enthusiasm. He hadn't spent any time ruminating on the breakdown of his marriage, but it was fairly obvious all the same. He was so much older than her. She must have realised by now she could have anyone in the town and was regretting their marriage. They'd both stopped trying at some point but he'd kept the marriage going for appearance's sake. But whose appearance? Certainly not Isobella's. Storybrooke seemed to regard her as some kind of Stockholm Syndrome victim, although he'd never kept her locked away, and regarded him as the archetypical Evildoer. The harbinger of doom, and excessive rents. Certainly no one in Storybrooke regarded him as having a positive appearance to uphold. Nevertheless he was weary of the whole charade now. The least he could do for Isobella was let her go.
Something was troubling him though. He had an urge to stop by his shop, but couldn't pin down why. Of course, that chest he remembered. Emma Swan had tripped over it whilst leaving his shop earlier. And I still can't remember where it came from. Must have been there for a long while then. Leaning on his cane, he gave way to his impulse to investigate the contents of the chest. Arriving at his shop after a leisurely walk, he opened and re-locked the door, and walked to the backroom of his shop. Sitting on the pallet he kept there for when he couldn't face the emptiness of his marriage, he eased the chest out from underneath, having manoeuvred the chest with some difficulty there earlier on. The chest contained items wrapped securely in packing paper. He unwrapped the first and largest item. A teapot? Not particularly aesthetically appealing or valuable he thought, speculating that this was why the chest had faded from his memory. He picked up another piece and unwrapped it. Still holding it in the packing paper he observed a cup. Chipped at the rim. He held the cup with his other hand to shake off the residual packing paper. With his bare hand touching the cup he jolted as the Dark One's curse ripped through the memories of Mr Gold, reasserting itself with unquestionable dominance. He took immediate stock of his situation. Town lawyer; position of power. Excellent. Pawnbroker; wealthy and held most of the town in his palm. Excellent. Looking for his son. Oh, and there was the little matter of his unhappy marriage to Belle.
Gold leapt up with the teacup in his hand and hurried out of the back of the shop where he had parked that morning. Flooring the accelerator his black Cadillac sped towards his salmon coloured house, towards his Belle. He remembered everything, and he could repair this fractured rut they were in. The drive home seemed interminably long but he reached his house and opened the door with trepidation. Greeting him at the foot of the staircase, resting on the banister, was a note from his wife. Three simple words written at the top. I'm leaving you. Those accursed words etched on his brain. Gold read through the rest of the note. It said nothing of consequence, bar telling him that she was staying at the B & B over Granny's diner.
As erudite as he was, all his years of experience and knowledge now counted for nothing. He was now lost and couldn't think of further action. In shock, Gold gravitated towards the basement almost on instinct. He'd never really gone down to the basement, using it as a storage area for things he couldn't store in the shop. Walking down the stairs he approached the spinning wheel he now knew to be his and sat down, placing the teacup on a shelf in front of him. He had plans to make.
Time moved forward as Emma Swan moved through the town