Of Curses, War, and Bowmen

Bae, Morraine, Jesse, Tuck, and the five other Merry Men sat in Jefferson's backyard, close to the fence separating the yard from the forest. A tree in the corner provided shade, welcome relief from a high noon sun. "Alright, kiddos, what've we got?" Jesse asked, clapping her hands and leaning forward. Bae and Morraine supplemented each other in telling the other seven about what they figured out the previous night. The others nodded and occasionally whispered amongst themselves. When the couple finished, Jesse said, "Okay, so here's what we've got: a curse with many layers, new magic in a place where it doesn't belong, Rumpelstiltskin and an evil queen in conflict, and, of course, us with the best seats in the house. The eye of the storm."

"That sums it up nicely," Bae replied.

"Thanks. Alright, bigger problems. What happens when this evil queen breaks out of prison?"

"That's my problem, too. If she breaks out, do we lose our connection with the Enchanted Forest and thus all hopes of going home? Conversely, if the queen is killed, are we closer? If so, can we bridge the gap? And where will we end up if we do?"

"You know what I say?" Tuck asked. "I say we cross that bridge when we come to it. Right now, why not kick it here for a while?"

Bae narrowed his eyes. "And if we lose our chance to go home?"

"I said, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Bae looked at Morraine, who lay her hand on his and gave a small, reassuring smile. He let out a soft breath and looked at the other Merry Men. "I think Tuck is missing the point," he said. "We can deal with what happens after the curse on this town breaks, when that actually happens, but now, as long as we're here, our mission should be as it was in Sherwood: get home before we're all picked off."

"How do we know someone's going to pick us off?" a Merry Man asked.

"I've got my suspicions about the woman in charge."

"What woman?"

"Black hair, tall-ish, likes to wear what Jefferson calls a 'suit' and shoes with high heels that click when she walks. The shoes look painful to me, so they might make easy targets if we have to fight her."

"Oh, that mean lady?" another Merry Man asked.

"Yes, the mean lady." The Merry Men had a habbit of curtness today, Bae noted. Interesting. "Anyway, we're still in an unfamiliar land, and there's the possibility of going home. I can feel it. Why not take the chance when we have it, before we lose it?"

The other seven exchanged looks and began whispering amongst themselves. Bae and Morraine leaned into each other, waiting for the crowd to come to some form of consensus.

"...and Bae brings up a good point when he asks where we will be when we go back," Jesse said. "Where I'm from, the curse was the end of the golden age and the beginning of ice." This attracted everyone's attention. She went on as if nothing had happened. "When this curse finally gives under the pressure Bae describes it being under, will we end up back in my world of ice, or will we be taken back to when the curse was cast, for the fairy tales to conclude happily like they're supposed to?"

"Can't we just deal with that later?" Tuck asked. Jesse shot him a look, and he looked around and asked, "What?" She backhanded him across the shoulder. He winced and rubbed the injured area, and she turned toward Bae and Morraine.

"Alright, lovebirds," she said. "Any idea how we're actually going to get home?"

"I know someone who knows about the curse. We can talk to him."

"Who?" Tuck asked.

"Rumpelstiltskin."

OUAT

Bae led the Merry Men to the pawn shop, following what he desperately hoped wasn't a flawed mental map and trying to figure out who to ask for directions to Rumpelstiltskin's home if it ever came to that. If there was anyone within reach.

But when they reached the pawn shop, the Merry Men found the door unlocked. Bae and Morraine slipped inside first, followed by Jesse and Tuck and the rest of the Merry Men. They hung by the door, parting when a customer exited the shop and cast a curious glance at them before continuing about his business. Rumpelstiltskin nodded and said, "Bae." Then he turned to Morraine, held up a finger, and added, "Your name escapes me."

"Morraine," she said, fighting the irritation that nonetheless seeped into her voice.

"Yes, I remember now. One of Bae's friends, from the village."

"Papa, can...can we talk to you about something?" Bae asked.

"Of course. You can come to me with anything, Bae."

Bae stepped forward. "It's about the curse. Could...could you tell us about it?"

"Absolutely. Please, come." Rumpelstiltskin gestured to a bead curtain behind him, and the kids filed around the counter and into the back office.

"Wait, are you sure this is a good idea?" Tuck asked. "He could kill us all and there would be no witnesses."

"Most likely not," Bae said.

"How do you know."

Rumpelstiltskin stopped and turned toward the crowd. "Who in their right mind honestly thinks I'd intentionally harm my own son?" A jolt went through most of the crowd, and Bae bowed his head to hide his wince.

"Had to say it," he said through his teeth.

"You didn't tell them?"

"I didn't want to. I finally started having friends again and I didn't want them to start freaking out and running off scared."

Bae looked up when his father didn't respond, only to find Rumpelstiltskin nodding, his lips pursed and his eyes gentle. "I won't hurt them," he whispered.

"Thank you," Bae replied.

"So, what do you want to know about the curse?"

"We're...we're all trying to get home. That was our mission in Sherwood, besides staying alive. If there's anything you know about it that would help us maybe help break it, that'd be great."

"The task of actually breaking the curse falls to Emma Swan."

"See, may as well kick back and ride the wave home," Tuck said.

"Will you shut up?" Bae snapped, turning on the Merry Man.

"What? This is what I've been saying all along."

"You didn't let me finish," Rumpelstiltskin said, sending ice through the room with his voice alone. "A battle is coming, though I can't say where or when. My impressions are more vague in this world. But I will say this: our darkest hours will swiftly become our finest."

"That's the best you've got for us?"

Bae buried his face in his hands. "I give up on you," he muttered.

"We can't read too much into it without more information," Morraine said. "Could you give us some background on the curse?"

"I'd be happy to. Simply put, I designed it to trap a bunch of fairy tale characters in a world without magic, with the escape clause of Miss Swan, the product of a union in true love, so that it would be broken twenty-eight years after its casting. Regina modified it so that no one would be happy save herself. The memory part was mine, though. It gets confusing with two lives in one's head. I see how Jefferson went insane, but he wasn't all there to begin with, as I understand it."

"So I was close, about the curse," Bae said, before his father could ramble on any further.

"Close how?"

Bae licked his upper lip and said, "I felt it. I can...I can feel these things." Rumpelstiltskin raised his eyebrows and tilted his head slightly. Bae wanted to slap himself for being so careless. First his identity, then his power. What next? he wondered wryly. His entire life story, from birth up to the current moment, in excruciating detail? Oh, gods, he hoped not.

"You're a sensitive?" Rumpelstiltskin asked in a voice meant only for Bae.

"It's not exactly a secret," Bae replied. "I merely choose not to talk about it." Rumpelstiltskin nodded again, adopting that quiet, patient expression Bae had caught earlier.

"From what I gather," Morraine said, "our greatest opportunity to contribute is as bowmen in the upcoming battle. I'm assuming it's against Regina?"

"You're a smart young lady," Rumpelstiltskin said.

She nodded her thanks. "If the battle is won, we may return to the Enchanted Forest?"

"That's the theory."

"Any idea where or when?"

Rumpelstiltskin shrugged and shook his head. "Not a clue, dearie. I'm not as good as I used to be."

"Could you excuse us for a moment?" Bae asked. At Rumpelstiltskin's nod, the Merry Men filed out into the pawn shop proper, huddled into a circle in the corner, and began whispering amongst themselves. "Should we do this? I know our mission should be to return home, but this is serious. We're talking about a fight between good and evil, and a lot of ambiguous characters will have to choose sides. Even if Papa didn't describe it by telling us that our darkest hour will become our finest, I can tell by the way he talked that this is huge. We could very well die, and evil could very well win. Can we take that risk?"

"Why do you guys have to drag me into this?" Tuck asked. "I thought this was over when we broke the ring and the prince was killed."

"In case you haven't noticed," Morraine snapped in a harsh whisper, "look at the world we're in. Look at the town we're in. This isn't the Enchanted Forest. This isn't home. The journey isn't done."

"Fantastic," he muttered.

Bae bit his lip, his mind flashing to the thought he'd had that the worlds might drift apart again. Something else accompanied the idea, that perhaps he and his father should stay, if given the option. But he couldn't leave the others. "Talk about a rock and a hard place," he muttered.

"What hard place?" Morraine asked.

"Nothing. I was thinking aloud." He looked at the other Merry Men. "I'll ask you again. Can we take the risk? Actually, I should be asking, should we take the risk?"

"Both are valid questions. Should we take the risk? I believe so. Can we? Well, I think that's a question of the nature of each and everyone of us around you. It's a question of character, ability, and ambition, and it can only be answered individually."

"But if war comes, should we do it?"

"Yes," Jesse said. The five others gave similar signs of agreement, followed by Morraine's curt nod.

Tuck sighed and said, "Fine, but if I get killed, I'm haunting you guys."

"You'll do fine," Jesse said. "I've seen you fight."

"Alright," Bae said, and he pulled away from the circle. The others followed and filed back into the office. Rumpelstiltskin had waited pateintly, seeming to have not moved one iota since the Merry Men had left.

"We've come to a consensus," Morraine said. "Look for us if you need bowmen." She turned and walked out of the office. Six others nodded and filed out of the office after her, leaving Jesse and Bae.

Bae smiled and said, "We'll be around." Rumpelstiltskin returned the gesture, and Bae walked out of the office, leaving Jesse alone with the Dark One.

"Well, dearie, can I help you?" Rumpelstiltskin asked.

"Actually, I have a deal to keep to, or my mom does," Jesse replied.