Agatha had always been the most important thing to him. Even now, he watched her following a dark, shadowy something through the woods, occasionally looking around, trying to see a way out. She was frightened, that much he could tell. Her aura was a jumble of emotions, a web of thoughts, but the fear-scent won over all.
He turned his attention to the thing she was following. It was human, alright, but there was something clouding about him. His aura was a void of darkness and magic, which he pulled about himself like a thick cloak. It was impossible to cleary read his aura, but there was one thing he could feel: trapped. The thing was trapped, a slave to the darkness that had taken root in him until it flourished into a far-reaching shadow that kept the surrounding land pinned by fear beneath his heel.
He straightened up, looked quickly around, then continued following them at a distance, a silent, ever-watching shadow.
...
Agatha kept her distance from Rumpelstiltskin. There was never a good ten or so paces between them. He moved in and out of the trees with a cat's stride, disappearing for some moments entirely as the shadows moved across his dark figure. She didn't dare run away. She had accepted the deal, and there was no turning back, but nevertheless she had a sense of ever-growing fear, like a deer in plain sight of the hunter.
Suddenly a vision struck her, making itself known, though she, out of fear, had buried it in the deepest recesses of her mind. She could feel scaly hands stroking her face, and the voice that had haunted her every night for the past year. It seems I got something far more precious. What had he meant by that? Was it her ability? Would she ever know? That hateful voice jerked her out of her thoughts.
"Here we are," he grinned, waving a hand at a cottage overgrown with ivy, creepers, and all manner of vines. "Make yourself at home, dearie." His reptilian eyes followed her as she strode past.
She opened the door, muscles tensed for whatever horror or conjurer's trick that might leap out at her, but there was nothing. She peered around the door, then gasped in surprise. It was just a cottage both inside and out. She was shocked to find the most powerful sorcerer in all the realms living in a place that was so...human. A merry fire burned in the hearth at the back. There were a few tables around the perimeter of the room, and little bottles that looked like medicine were stored on it. As she wondered why the famed Dark One would need medicine, she saw that there were books of all sizes and scrolls stacked haphazardly against one wall. Then her attention got drawn to the table in the middle.
A lamp burned, and it lit up a pile of black curls slumped next to it. A chair was occupied too. The pile turned over, and she saw the face of a boy about her age. He stirred as Agatha walked into the room, making the floorboards creak. There was another creak as Rumplestiltskin shut the door.
"Papa?" He moaned and sat up, rubbing his neck with one hand, his black eyes blinking blearily. He looked at Agatha. "Who's this?"
"This is our new maid, Bae," Rumplestiltskin answered. "I thought you were asleep, son."
Agatha had been told nothing about being a maid, but really, what was the difference? She nodded silently.
"I was waiting for you," Bae answered.
"Very well. Get some sleep now."
But Bae looked at Agatha. "What about-"
"I'll take care of her," Rumplestiltskin said, holding up a hand.
Her heart pounded, and she tried to get the fear off her face, remove its clutching claws.
"Come with me, dearie," he gestured toward the door. Her eyes met his, and she felt he could see straight to her soul. She walked quickly through the door and looked around. Spotting a building even smaller than the cottage, she walked toward it a few steps, then turned.
"You'll sleep there tonight," he started to walk back, but then turned. "And trust me, if you try to run," he reached out his hand and placed it on her neck, squeezing a bit to let her know who had the power, "I'll know about it." Letting her go, he went back to the cottage.
She ran to the building, found it full of straw, dimly remembered seeing a spinning wheel in one corner of the cottage, and cursed when she couldn't find a lock. Oh Gwaine, if only you were here. Removing her cloak, she draped it over the straw, and settled into a disturbed and troubled sleep.
...
Her dreams were frightening, her sleep light. He passed a weary hand over his eyes. A battle was beginning, a battle between light and dark magic. He sighed. If only the Eldest were here. They would know how to fix things. But for now, he would have to be content just to watch her, and occasionally send her messages through the forest, and the animals. Soon she would discover her legacy. Soon she would become one of them.
...
"Wake up!"
A male voice was calling her name, and it wasn't Rumplestiltskin's. Agatha jerked upright and scrambled away when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"It's okay! I'm not going to hurt you!" It was the boy the Dark One called his son...Bae.
"How do I know you're not just like him?" she snarled.
"Because I'm different. I just want him to change!" He sat down in front of her. She could tell that he was being truthful.
"Do you have magic?" she asked.
"No. Like I said, I'm different than he is. I just want my father back." He held out a hand. "And it's Baelfire."
She shook it. "My name's Agatha." Then she was skeptical. "What did he mean when he said, 'new maid'?"
Baelfire opened his mouth to answer, then she heard Rumplestiltskin's voice calling from the cottage. "Bae! Where is she?" She instinctively backed against the wall, feeling trapped yet again, despite her brave interactions with him in the past.
"Coming, Papa!" He turned around to face her. "He killed our last maid." Then suddenly he grabbed her hand, a desperate look in his eyes. "You said you have magic?"
"Yes, but I don't think it's powerful enough to bring him back."
"Then what are you doing here?" he asked urgently.
"He's training me to become the new Dark One."
"Bae!"
"Coming!" He stood up, still holding her hand. "We have to go, or he'll get suspicious, and I don't want him to hurt anybody else."
"You really think he can change?" Agatha asked, pushing the door open.
"It's the only way," he answered stubbornly.
"Then I'll try to help you in any way I can," she said resolutely. "On that you have my promise."
...
Despite her training with Rumplestiltskin and her new tasks as his maid, Baelfire came every night to the straw-filled building, either out of pity or friendship, or both. She quickly got used to him coming and going. And he, in turn seemed to develop a friendly bond with her.
"This is getting out of hand," he said one night as he entered, a distant look in his eyes. "He just gets worse and worse with each day!"
"So I noticed, " Agatha mused, leaning against a bale. "I hate to tell you this, Bae-"
He leaned forward as he sat, his eyes not quite focused. "What is it, Agatha?"
"-I don't think he'll ever change," she whispered.
Baelfire snapped his head up to look at her, his eyes blazing. "No! He has to! Part of him is still good!"
"I know that, and you know that too! It's just that! You're the reason he doesn't give in, at least not completly! Don't you see?! He does it for you!"
"Don't you think I would know that by now?! He tells me so nearly every single time I bring it up! He collects all the power he can because he wants to protect me!" He slumped forward onto the straw, trembling hands pressed against his face. "Believe it or not, he wasn't always like this," he mumbled through his fingers. "When he got the power by killing the Dark One before him, he wanted to use it for good. He stopped the Ogre Wars, and brought all the children home. But then it was like the power was controlling him instead of the other way around."
"And then he started changing," Agatha said solemnly.
"Yes."
"So what are we going to do?"
"You aren't going to do anything. Not yet, at least."
"Baelfire, please," she said, clasping his hand. "I want to help."
He sighed, resting his chin on his fists. "Keep training with him and see if you can find a way. There may be someone who can help us."
"Who?"
"The faeries. They'll know how to bring him back."
"But, Rumplestiltskin's the most powerful sorcerer in all the realms! My grandmother told me so!"
"Parents lie," Baelfire said, looking at her. This time he was focused. "I should know."
"But who will go and look for them? Your father rarely leaves you, and I must stay here. My life depends on it."
"Your life will be a short and miserable one if we don't do something!"
"But the Blue Fairy-"
"I wasn't talking about her."
"Then who-" Then it hit her. Her ability, her inheritance, no Blue Fairy was responsible for that...
"Have you heard of the Darkling Forest?" Baelfire asked.
"Yes, but that's leagues from here, on the other side of the mountains!"
"But that's where the Darcotta are!"
"But they're monsters! Bae, you must be joking."
He stood and began pacing, then turned back to her with a look akin to a smile. "I won't be going there, and neither will you, but I think I know just the person we can send..."