Chapter Eight: The Mysterious Relic

A black carriage drawn by equally black horses was driven by a driver clad in black himself. The carriage was escorted by six black knights riding on other horses of the same color, clearly providing a royal escort for the important person inside of the carriage. The escort traveled ten miles through the forest road before coming to an abrupt stop as something in the middle of the road blocked their path. The abruptness of the stop slightly rocked the carriage, angering the woman inside of it.

"What is going on out there?" She furiously screamed.

The lead knight struggled with his response, not once looking away from the object blocking their path as he addressed the passenger. "Um…there appears to be…something barring our way, Your Majesty."

"Well, move it!"

Again, the knight struggled with his words. "I…I don't know if we can, Your Highness."

It was quiet in the carriage before the woman demanded in a low, vicious tone. "Open the door."

Immediately, another knight climbed off his horse and approached the carriage, opening the door for the passenger. Stepping out of the carriage was the Evil Queen of Happily Ever After, donned in a long, black dress that completed with the ensemble of her escort. Her dark brown eyes glared over the knights before her momentarily before eyeing the thing that had blocked her escort's path: a tall blue box that had the word "police" labeled at the top of it.

"What is that ugly thing?" The Queen inquired with a disgusted look. "More importantly, why is it on my road?"

Before the lead knight or any of the other knights could have responded, there came an answer from seemingly out of nowhere. "Perhaps the question you should be asking is where this mysterious relic has come from."

After a brief second, a dark figure stepped out from behind the blue box and revealed himself to be none other than Rumplestiltskin. Having heard of this dark wizard, the Queen's knights unsheathed their swords, ready to defeat themselves and the Queen at all costs. However, the Queen quickly ordered them to put their swords away, not wanting to anger the wizard or provoke him into using his magic to harm them. After controlling her men, the Queen questioned to the wizard, "Where did it come from?"

Rumplestiltskin grinned upon giving his answer. "It appeared…from the sky. This makes it a very special box…and extremely powerful!"

Undoubtedly, he was luring the Queen into finding enough interest in the blue box to make some sort of deal into taking it as hers…and it seemed to be working when she asked, "What's your price?"

The wizard chuckled sinisterly; he was delighted to see how she was catching on. "So you are intrigued by this gift from the gods?"

"I don't believe in gods." The Queen admitted. "But I do believe in powerful relics…and if this one is as powerful as you claim it to be, then I wish to have it in my possession. So…what is your price?"

Rumplestiltskin's grin widened. "Well, magic always comes with a price…but I don't necessarily believe this relic to be magic."

"Then why are you so determined to sell it to me?" The Queen asked with a hint of frustration in her voice.

The wizard moved in closer to the Queen, irking her knights but not herself. "Because you truly desire it…I saw it in your face the moment you first laid eyes upon it…even before I said it to be 'powerful'."

He circled around her, allowing her gaze to fall on the blue box once again. The Queen smiled as she examined every inch of the "relic," as Rumplestiltskin so alluringly described it. "You're right. I do desire it." She approached the box and carefully placed a hand on its structure, letting euphoria overtake her.

Watching her, Rumplestiltskin gleefully twiddled his fingers. "So…what deal shall we make in exchange for this wonderful blue box?"

The Queen slowly moved her hand away from the box and turned to the wizard, suddenly becoming all business. "What do you want?"

Rumplestiltskin was very quiet for a brief moment and then answered, "A favor."

"Well, what is your favor?"

The wizard laughed and shook his head. "Not my favor…your favor."

The Queen snickered. "And what favor would I ever ask from you?"

"Oh, I don't know." Rumplestiltskin remarked. "But you will ask one of me in the near future…and when you do, I will graciously give it to you."

"With a price, nonetheless."

Rumplestiltskin grinned. "Always."

After careful consideration (and slight hesitation), the Queen finally said, "Deal." She then returned her gaze to the blue box, noting how it contained a set of doors that led inside of it. When the Queen tried to open these doors, they would not budge, prompting her to turn to the wizard for assistance. "How do you open it?"

She turned Rumplestiltskin's way and discovered that the wizard had vanished from the road, leaving no trace. Not even her knights knew of where he had gone, even though he was standing right in front of them. Aggravated by his sudden disappearance, the Queen ordered her lead knight to bring some men to the road to retrieve the box for her and bring it back to her castle; she ordered two of her men to stay and watch over the box until then. Climbing back inside her carriage, her escort continued down the road – moving around the box – and headed to her castle. During the entire way, the Queen could not stop thinking of the mysteries behind the "relic" that Rumplestiltskin had supposedly discovered.