Once Upon A Time

By technical definition, Dagian knew that she'd married a coward.

As he poured his heart out to her last night, Dagian knew that her husband had had no other choice if he'd wanted to survive. She knew that if he'd honored the agreement that they'd forced him to honor then he would've been dead and she'd have been a widow.

He had no choice and she knew that if he went back into the war then they'd just send him out to the battlefield again and he'd definitely be killed.

She didn't know if he'd done the…'right' thing by running, but she knew that he'd done the intelligent thing. Perhaps it was selfish that she was happy he'd run away from a battle that had taken so man y lives when others were bound to stay in the war and die.

Part of her didn't care anymore.

She wished her father was here. He was a military man; he believed in honor and duty. However he was also a fair man and even he would've agreed that the situation Rumpelstiltskin was put in was an impossible one that he should not have been made.

The king's law said that no father-to-be or father of a young enough child was to be placed in battle. They would stay in the town and guard it and maintain it so that the fields would be tended to and the women would be protected.

So they weren't violating any law by him being home where he was supposed to be in the first place right?

But that small voice in the back of her mind still talked to her. There were hundreds of fathers of small children that were pulled into this war. What made him better than them?

He had every right to be home, he had every right to run….but she still felt some sort of clawing shame and humiliation that her husband was now a 'coward'.

Did she believe that personally or was she worried on how the others would perceive him?

The night passed as he told her everything he'd seen and everything that had happened while they were away for months and she couldn't help but feel anger.

Dagian knew full well that she couldn't feel anger towards him but a part of her did. It was wrong and it was stupid and she tried to spend the better part of the night trying to chastise herself enough to get it out of her mind but it just wouldn't go away.

Him not belonging there and running away being the smart thing to do aside Dagian, he's still a coward.

"Please Dagian," he whispered and pulled her forehead to his, "You're all I have now. You're all I have left. Please don't…please don't hate me. If you looked at me like I look at myself now then I couldn't…I couldn't do that."

She bit her lip and a tear slipped past her eye.

He's a coward.

She looked in his deep brown eyes and rested her hands on either side of his face; so desperate for her approval and scared for her rejection.

He was a survivor, he came back to me.

In the end, did it really matter how?

"I don't hate you," she whispered.

Relief swept across his face and he almost looked like a child, "Do you promise?"

She forced a small smile and nodded, "Yes."

"You'll stand by me?"

This would pass. And if it didn't then there would be other villages they could live at. Ones that weren't' so close to the battle fronts.

She nodded again, "I'll stand by you."

He blinked as if stunned and then his face crumbled in relief and he kissed her face and lips, "Thank you…I promise things are going to be better now."

"I need to…I need to process all of this though," she whispered to him, "I'm going to go get some flowers for the house."

"Alright," he nodded but it took him a few seconds to let go of her hands.

"I'll be home in a little while," she promised him, "And then we'll talk about what we're going to do."


Present Day

Gold leaned against the door frame and watched his wife as she lay stretched out on the bed and she flipped through one of the photo albums that contained the staged pictures of both of them in the years they'd been there.

Everything about it was a lie. They'd never posed for those pictures; he'd never saved her from an abusive father. It was all false memories implanted in both their minds so that they would never question anything about their former lives.

Except he remembered everything and if he didn't play his cards carefully then either he or his wife could get hurt.

Regina was starting to suspect that he was aware of what they'd done in the Realms. He had to play his cards right because that evil sow wasn't above targeting someone else to hurt him.

He wasn't in love with Dagian…or Dawn as she was known in this world. But he had grown rather attached to her in the hundreds of years that they'd both been alive and he was quite protective of her when she was targeted by someone else.

If Regina was aware that he was awake then she also better be aware that he didn't like other people touching what belonged to him. And as brutal and blunt as it sounded, Dagian belonged to him. She was all that he had left and he wasn't about to let that heart crushing spoiled brat take the last thing that he had away from him.

Dawn turned and jumped as soon as she saw him, "You scared me."

He smiled and walked into the room, "What are you doing?"

"Oh in therapy today Archie just asked me some questions and made me think of some memories."

"Good ones this time I hope," he sat at the end of the bed and stretched his leg out. Oh, they weren't kidding about the bad storms about to hit Maine, "I'm tired of you moping around the house because of your childhood."

Childhood that never happened.

She closed the album and scooted over next to him, "They were when we first got married."

"Oh my dear, perhaps one day you'll actually have decent memories to return to."

She scoffed and nudged him with her shoulder, "Don't be like that, you give yourself far too little credit. You've always been good to me."

He frowned and averted his gaze.

Not always.

He knew what she remembered. He remembered it as well as she did.


In the False Past of Storybrooke

They were married in the small chapel on the outskirts of town. It was a quick ceremony; Dawn figured dryly that perhaps Mr. Gold was afraid of lighting coming down if he stayed in a church for too long.

When he gave her the quick peck on the lips, Dawn knew that she'd run out of time to try and talk herself out of this. She was Mrs. Gold now, and whatever feelings she had about that were numb to the relief that she was finally out of the house.

At least until he got tired of her.

He pulled up in front of the house, opened his door, and then circled around to open hers.

Moment of truth.

She grabbed her suitcase and with his assistance got out of the car.

"May I carry your bag?" he asked.

"I have it," she said. He walked with a cane. There was just something that she didn't like about the idea of making him carry her stuff when he was already crippled.

She wondered if he'd tell her beforehand how he got that limp before he got bored of her.

He offered her his arm and she took it. Her heart started racing. Was he going to keep his promise and not touch her? Or was he going to prove that he was just like everyone else and disappoint and hurt her?

"Would you like a tour of the house?" he asked as he unlocked the door.

"No," she told him truthfully, "I would just like to go to bed."

"Yes, I imagine working all day and then living in fear at your father getting drunk will exhaust a person," he opened the door and allowed her to go in first, "I'll show you to our room."

She tensed at our room. He told her he wasn't going to touch her until she was ready but she hadn't thought about the fact that they'd be sharing a bed until then.

"Is something wrong dear?" he asked.

She kept her face from betraying her emotions, "No."

There wasn't anything wrong with them sharing a room. If she requested a separate one then it might create a wall between them that she couldn't afford in the early stages of this. If he was truly her ally then she needed to keep him on her side.

The house was cluttered and full of antiques. She couldn't say that she would be surprised. Everyone always tried to sell him things to make ends meet. It figures he'd have things here if he didn't have room in his shop.

Most of the house was dark so she didn't get a good look at things when he led her to the room

The bedroom itself was pretty bare. When he turned on the light she could see that there was a large bed that dominated one side of the room, two closets were to her right and a large bathroom to her left.

"You can change in here." He told her, "Would you like something to eat?"

Her stomach was so twisted in knots that she doubted she could eat anything.

"No."

"I'll be downstairs if you need anything," he started toward the door, "I'll see you in a couple of hours my dear. Sleep well."

The door shut and the room was plunged into a tense silence.

She wheeled her case toward the bed and sat on the black comforter and drew in a few breaths.

She would be safe tonight.

But how long would that safety last?

Going to bed early did nothing to help her sleep.

This wasn't her home, this wasn't her bed…and it was far too comfortable for her tastes. She felt like she was sinking in.

And besides, her new husband's intentions when he got up to the room with her were another thing keeping her awake. She could only stare at the passing minutes on the clock and wait for him to make his entrance.

When the clock struck ten, the door that led to the hallway opened and she tensed. She kept her back to him so that he would think she was asleep but keeping her breathing regulated was a lot harder to do.

She heard the closet open and the rustle of clothes that meant he was changing.

Her heart began racing again when the bed dipped under her weight and she felt him move towards her.

"Goodnight dear," he kissed her cheek and then scooted over back to his side of the bed.

She laid there for a few minutes until her heart started its normal pace and she let out the breath she realized she'd been holding.

It was midnight before she finally settled into a fitful sleep


Present Day

"Honey?"

Gold was pulled out of his thought and he smiled at his wife. Of course he was thinking about it through her eyes since he'd given the memories to her specifically.

She smiled back and ran a hand through is hair, "You've been so pensive lately."

He grabbed her hand and kissed her wrist. She didn't know what was going on but unlike so many others in this town there was no innocence in her eyes. That had disappeared years ago just like it had with him.

"Does me being preoccupied bother you, dear?"

"A lot of things about you bother me," she joked, but then turned grim, "You didn't really start acting this way until Ms. Swan got here."

He looked at her seriously, "Is there something you're insinuating?"

"I just want to make sure that she's not…going to be a threat."

"Oh are…," he turned to her and smirked in amusement, "Are you jealous?"

She scoffed, "No."

"I do believe you're blushing," he leaned back, "I haven't seen you blush in a long time."

"I just want to make sure there's nothing there."

"I give you my word that my interest in Ms. Swan is strictly platonic."

"That doesn't stop people these days," she muttered, "Where do you think most of these repetitive romantic comedies come from."

"I assure you that you're the only woman that could ever understand me and I could ever put up with," he kissed her.

The only one still alive at any rate.

His hand tightened against the cane and he looked down. Belle was dead. She'd been dead for several years. He had this marriage that he needed to focus on because he knew that the minute she got her memories then he'd lose her. He was going to enjoy it while it lasted.


Once Upon A Time

Fall was here and then winter would be right behind it.

The flowers in the field were starting to die.

Dagian rested her hand on her stomach and prayed to whatever gods existed that that wasn't symbolic of the relationship that she and Rumpelstiltskin had.

The skies were on fire in the north and she wrapped her arms around her torso as she thought about how many husbands were being slaughtered right now while her husband was at home.

She couldn't think about it like that. He was home. Just like she wanted him to be.

"Where is he, Dagian?"

She turned at the sound of the voice and stepped back when she saw it was Dauis.

"Dauis," she breathed and looked at his armor. Utterly sickening that one of the strongest warriors in the village was…this, "And as a recruiter…"

"I'm looking for your husband, where is he?"

She didn't blink, "I assumed he was killed in battle."

"Don't lie to me," he stepped towards her, "Your little puppy may fall for your lies and large doe eyes but I think I know you a bit better."

"He's not here."

"Is he hiding in your home?"

She kept her gaze steady. He must've seen them coming and slipped into the forest.

"Well if he was, I imagine you wouldn't be here asking me."

"Dagian I know it's hard for your loved one to be in battle."

"Yes, and how many families did you rip apart to find out that fact?"

"But he has an obligation that he has to fulfill. More soldiers turn the tide."

She wanted to retort that that was a lie but she kept her mouth shut in fear that she might reveal she knew where he was, "Why do you think he's here?"

"Because several people have told me that he is. Do you know what happened that day? As soon as the battle went against our favor he turned tail and he ran. You married a coward."

He was baiting her, "I imagine it takes one to know one sir."

His face darkened, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know how hard it was for you to talk the Duke into letting you become a recruiter instead of a warrior but don't think for a second that ripping fathers and husband's from the arms of their families isn't a special brand of cowardice in itself."

She went too far and she knew it as soon as he grabbed her arm and yanked her towards him, "It's treason to hide someone that's in as much trouble as her husband."

Pain laced through her back and stomach but she kept her gaze steady, "Do you mind letting me go? I really don't want to explain to anyone why I have bruises the size of fingers on my arm."

"The only reason you were spared is because of that baby you're carrying but don't think for a second that we won't be coming for you as soon as that child can survive without you."

The pain worsened and her feet went out from under her and she sank to the ground with a cry.

Dauis must've realized that he'd gone too far because he backed up with wide eyes and then climbed on his horse without a word.

She glared at him as he rode off and struggled to stand.

Dagian had gone into false labor before. But this was different.

She still had a month left…it was too early.

If she didn't get to the village quickly then she was going to give birth to her baby right in the middle of the fields.