Chapter One: Evil Remembered

"The heart has its reasons that reason knows nothing of."

~ Blaise Pascal

Two pairs of eyes focused on the steam flowing up from the cups of hot cocoa into the air of the popular diner, waiting for it to cool enough to drink. The larger pair of hands spun his cup a degree or two, back and forth in thought. There was something off. He didn't have any magic flowing through his veins, but he knew a shift when he felt one. From the look of it, he wasn't the only one.

"Anything else I can get you two charming men?" Ruby, now Red, asked from behind the counter with a friendly smile. It was one of her smiles she used whenever she felt something off; not quite genuine, but tried to make sure others thought it was.

James looked up and shook his head slightly after he looked at Henry, "No, I think we're okay."

"Just don't burn yourselves," she reminded them with a good mannered chuckle, "All we need now is the new sheriff to injure himself on the job."

James looked down at Emma's old badge that now sat on his belt. He took up the position without much thought. He said that he would protect his people, and he meant to do just that.

"Thanks, Red."

She nodded and then went towards the tables to serve Doctor Hopper who was looking a little jumpy. James saw her sit down for a moment or two with him before leaving to fill his order.

"What's the next move, Gramps?" Henry asked and spun a spoon in the warm cup.

"Try to get Jefferson on our side and find a way back through that hat. Once we can get into it we can get Emma and Snow back out," James took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair, "Especially now that we know that our land still exists."

"He may already be on our side," Henry said and took a tentative sip from his cup and smiled as he found out it was finally cool enough to drink.

"What do you mean?" James asked.

"I talked to him," Henry shrugged nonchalantly, "Grace really missed her dad and I thought that he should talk with her. He may be more, I don't know, talkative, now that he's back with Grace."

"His daughter?"

"Yup," Henry nodded and took another sip.

"Good job," James rubbed Henry's hair and smirked at his grandson's ingenuity. He finally took a sip of his own hot chocolate as he heard the front door of the diner open. His eyes scanned over the other patrons and tilted his head in question at the new face now coming toward the counter and Red. He lowered his eyes to his cup and then flicked them back up to the stranger, "Who's this now?"

Henry followed the measured steps of the man, "I… I don't know. I've never seen him before."

James ran his eyes over the man and tried to make some first impression judgments on him. His hair was a dark black and slicked back in what reminded James of a cars sales man from a television show- a clean cut type of look to it, with a slick that you should probably remain wary of. His dark blue jeans fit snug in a few places that would have made Mary Margaret blush and a black t-shirt tucked in under a black leather jacket. In a blink he almost looked like August, if it wasn't for the hair, the sharper cut to the jaw and the feel of danger and mystery that hung over him.

"I don't like him," Henry mentioned quietly and dug in his bag for his book, "I'm thinking a villain."

"I agree with you there," James nodded and watched the man's interaction with Red.

Red shook her head and put her hands on her hips in a defensive gesture. He tried to read her lips since the man's back was to him now. She said something about the center of town, but shook her head quickly and folded her arms over her chest. He saw her ask what his name was. The man turned and walked out of the diner with a smirk planted firmly on his face. Red looked straight at Charming and looked worried.

James looked down at Henry, "I think it's time for Operation Scorpion to come to order."

"Let's go!" Henry hopped off the stool with his book under one arm.

James chugged down what he could of his drink and left money on the counter. He nodded to Red and she nodded back to him knowing that he would take care of it and find out what's going on with the new arrival. Before he turned from her, she mouthed one word to him.

'Gold.'

Belle hummed a tune that popped into her head as she climbed down from the tall stack of books with the last of the children's titles that she could find. She wanted to get the children books finished first, along with the reading section for them. If there were still children willing to read, she would give them a place to escape to so they could do just that. Maybe she could even start a reading corner for the really young ones to come and listen to a story. She wouldn't mind reading to them once a day. Spark some kind of urge to delve into the world of books and literature.

Her hair was tied back in a golden ribbon that had appeared on top of her small dresser, along with a few other items she didn't remember bringing with her. Her skirt was long and in the same color of the flowing ribbon. Her top was a white that seemed to match well with the skirt.

"Well," she placed the last title into its space on the small bookshelves in the children's corner, "Now that you're home… where to go next?"

She stretched her arms behind her and walked slowly through the next few sections of her library. She passed by the desk which now had the small vase and the new rose from Rumplestiltskin in it. After a moment or two she began to hum again and ran her fingers over a few of the spines of the books. The beat of the song was slow, but it was smooth and flowed from her lips easily. She had heard the tune earlier in the morning as she cleaned up after her breakfast. Her skirt flared out around her and vaguely reminded her of the one that she usually wore during her work at the Dark Castle. She smiled and tugged at a few of the titles affectionately before moving to the reference section.

"You have quite a collection here, Miss."

Belle's head shot up as a gasp escaped her lips. She turned the corner of the stack and saw a man to the side of the information desk. Her eyes connected with the burning auburn of his. The vibrant, deep color reminded her of flames, but it wasn't like the warm comfort of a fireplace. These flames were that of an inferno about ready to scorch and envelop everything in its path; where neither innocent nor guilty would be able to outrun or bargain with it. His body seemed to hold a sense of foreboding, mystery and something familiar, though Belle knew she would have remembered this individual. Curse or not.

This man reminded her of who Rumplestiltskin was when she first met him; filled with the darkness and hardness that she so desperately wanted him to break free from. Was this stranger possibly also cursed with the same ailment?

She felt her body reactively hide behind the stack and away from the man that had shown up just on the other side of the desk. No, this was something darker. This man had something much more evil than the shadows that consumed Rumplestiltskin's mind. She wiped her hands against one another and frowned slightly.

"I am lucky to have it," she finally answered and watched the man carefully as she stood out from the safety of the stack. She didn't want to feel like a scared animal under the piercing look of the man. Hiding behind her books just would not do.

He smiled in what she supposed was meant to be charming, but she only saw the predatory gleam that shown his eyes, "Is the owner in?"

"I'm the owner," she said slowly and stepped behind the desk with a straight back.

"I was mistaken, then," the man said with a shake of his head, "I am looking for a… Mister Gold? I thought he had bought this establishment a few days ago. I didn't know that he had given it over to such a pretty librarian."

"I'm afraid Mister Gold is at his own establishment," she answered professionally with the slight frown still marring her forehead, "It is the pawn shop only a couple of blocks to the left if you wish to talk business with him."

"Oh, I have business indeed," the man chuckled with a larger smirk as if showing off his sharp, white teeth, "Would you mind if I looked around for a bit? I always had an affinity toward books."

"I don't think that it would be appropriate," she shook her head and began to shift some books and inventory logs around on the desk. An overriding feeling to get the man out of the library overcame her. This was a dangerous man, and she had her share of experiences with them to know. She shifted her weight and gestured toward the doors, "I am still not ready to open my doors to the public just yet. So, if you would…"

"I could be great company," he chuckled and grabbed her hand that had gestured toward the door. He smoothed his hand down the back of it and looked at her deep in the eyes.

Belle quickly took her hand back and unconsciously rubbed it against the side of her skirt, feeling the need to get the sensation of his touch off. She set her mouth in a fine line, trying hard to keep her own temper in check, "You will miss your chance to talk with him if you are to linger here. Good day, sir."

He nearly jumped over the desk as she began to walk toward the door and jumped into her path before she got too far. He chuckled again and put a hand on either arm, "I don't think you understand, girl. I want you to entertain me."

"I am afraid that you are the one mistaken," she fumed and took a step back to try and dislodge herself from his grasp, "I am not for entertainment."

"That is of no consequence to me," he shrugged, "I am in need of companionship of one afternoon, not of a lifetime. A taste of lust and flesh but for a moment."

Belle's temper flared red and her hand came up without her bidding and slapped the man across the face. His surprise was evident as he let her go and she stumbled back slightly. He held the side of his face and watched her face grow red with an inner fire he had never seen in a woman before. It was quite becoming.

"You have quite a spirit," he smiled and licked at his lips as if sizing her up for a meal.

"I have been known to have such," she nodded and gritted her teeth, "I have also been told that it's unbreakable."

"You don't know who you are dealing with," he growled with the anticipation of the hunt and the frustration that she was already building with in him.

"Ah, but I do."

Belle turned around and saw Rumplestiltskin, dressed as Gold, come through the front doors. She smiled brightly in relief. He smiled softly back to her, but still held himself as if he was the one in charge- which she desperately hoped he was in this situation.

"I wasn't expecting to see you so soon," she said with a release of breath.

He came up to her and cupped her cheek softly to do a quick check of her before he stroked his thumb over the apple of her cheek, "Wanted to spend my lunch hour in better company than myself. I was thinking we could try what they called a 'quesadilla' this time."

That earned him a small smile from her.

He finally turned to the man at the side of the desk that watched the interaction. Rumplestiltskin sighed heavily and let out his own growl that Belle recognized. She usually heard it when he was about to fight for something that was his. He was about to face this man for her. She knew that it should make her a little angry thinking that he thought her an object, but then she knew that he felt for her more than that.

"Would you mind maybe some tea instead?" he asked her, but kept his eyes on the stranger. When she didn't move, he looked down at her with a small, reassuring smile, "Go ahead. I will make sure to lock up for you. So no more riff raff gets in and we will have a talk, hm?"

She put a hand against his chest as if to ask him to be careful. He nodded again toward the hallway that led to her apartment which she read as a promise that he would. She threw a look at the man who overstepped the boundaries in more than one way and quickly made her way to her safe haven.

When the door closed, the stranger leaned on the desk and looked at the stacks of books she walked in between. He chuckled and shook his head.

"You found yourself a whore," he said with an amused flair.

Rumplestiltskin felt his teeth grind against each other, but kept his rage to himself over the insult to Belle. He walked over and placed himself between the stranger and where Belle had just disappeared, "She's not a whore… and it's none of your concern."

"I just thought that you would share. You do have impeccable taste as she's such a beauty. Quite loyal, too," he swiped a hand through his slicked hair, "I am guessing she's spoils of a deal?"

Rumplestiltskin put on his businessman smile and titled his head to the side, a sign that most would read as a dangerous gesture. When the man's eyes barely fell from the stacks where he hoped to catch a glimpse of the beauty again, Rumplestiltskin felt that it was his time to change tactic.

"I didn't think that I would see you again," he rubbed the top of his cane and grabbed the man's attention back, "The last time I saw you; you were a figment of my imagination. There are only a few dreams and imaginings of mine that come to life. I never expected you to be one of them."

"Life is full of surprises," the man began to pace and circle Rumplestiltskin, tried to throw him off. Rumplestiltskin, on the other hand, stayed calm and still in his ever impressive business mode. The man settled near the stacks that Belle had first emerged from, "It is not my fault that you assumed that you dreamt me. I just could not fully materialize to you seeing as the blade was still so new to you. Not to mention your sense of morality was just exhausting to break through."

"Why are you here?" Rumplestiltskin frowned and narrowed his eyes at the mention of the dagger.

"Down to business as usual, Dark One? No time to chat with old friends?"

"You were never a friend of mine," Rumplestiltskin growled, "Whether I thought I dreamt you or not, I remember what you told me. What you tried to teach me. What you wanted me to do. You are no friend. More like a devil on the shoulder."

"Oh, how close you are," the man's voice dropped lower with glee and looked at his wrist to a unique watch, "I followed your magic signature. I have come to collect."

"Just what are you in the market for?" Rumplestiltskin looked at the cane and flicked his eyes toward the vase where Belle had put his flower when the man wasn't looking.

"You don't seem to understand," the man chuckled amusedly as if talking to a child, "This isn't one of your silly mortal deals. I am reclaiming that which I gave to you."

Rumplestiltskin laughed under his breath and had the urge to chortle like he had as the Dark One, "You gave me nothing, I brought this on myself. If you haven't noticed, I have my own will power. You aren't my driving force any longer. The devil has been replaced and I mean to keep it that way."

"Your power is mine," he stomped up to Rumplestiltskin and growled between his teeth, "To keep it, you need to be the strongest magical force in the land. Whatever land that is, cursed or not."

"I am," Rumplestiltskin nodded, "Not that you can control that. I remember a lot more than you think I might. Only those in the land can hold the blade and control the holder. That means mortal hands or the hands of the cursed themselves. I have the blade, and I intend on keeping that too. Your threats mean nothing to me."

"I can feel my influence and power in you slipping and I can only think that it is your bothersome sense of morality and your weakness that is interfering again."

"Really?" Rumplestiltskin nearly laughs and instead scoffs. He brings and hand up to the side of his face and lets the dark purple fog rotate around and through his fingers, "Here I thought I only grow stronger each day."

"You regained the magic. You brought it to the world where there was none. Congratulations," he frowned, "You are losing your darkness. I can't let that happen."

"Sorry, I don't think that was ever in the deal when I took this role," he shrugged, "Already made a promise that I wouldn't kill and wouldn't facilitate in death either. Trying to turn over a new leaf, and all that."

"You can't change a monster back into a man, Rumplestiltskin," the man stood tall and just above eye level to Rumplestiltskin, glaring into his eyes, "You know that it is dangerous to defy me. You can't escape me or your fate."

Rumplestiltskin only smiled as he knew that he struck a chord with this once legend, "You know how difficult a being with power can be. Especially if they hold their own fate. You know… will power."

"You belong to me."

"I belong to no one. Stay out of my way. I have done enough for you," Rumplestiltskin now sneered and stood tall and strong before the dark man. The last point was made. Rumplestiltskin was not going to be taken over that easy.

"Don't forget where your power derives," the man reminded him and shifted to bend his shadow over one of the small stacks of books at the side of the room. The edges of the pages shriveled and turned black as the covers shift to dust and slide to the floor. Rumplestiltskin reminded himself to replace the titles for Belle before her first day open. The shadow moved forward toward Rumplestiltskin's shoe, but stopped short.

Rumplestiltskin smirked at the action and shook his head at the sorry attempt to frighten him, "Don't forget in whom it resides. I am not the same man you had found. I am stronger, wiser… better. With none of your influence."

The stranger shifted his weight and turned from Rumplestiltskin then. He turned away from him and pushed the doors open violently before he disappeared behind them. Rumplestiltskin turned the lock and closed his eyes. That was a bit exhausting.

A delicate hand settled on Rumplestiltskin's shoulder a couple of minutes after the other man had left. He lifted the hand from his shoulder and kissed the back of it on reflex before he turned to Belle. She stared up at him with concern and then tilted her head to the side in an unasked question.

"The tea is ready," she offered and he nodded.

"Then I believe that an explanation is in order," he nodded toward the door, but this time he went with her.

"Did you make a deal with him, Rum?" she asked and kept looking over her shoulder as if she suspected he would come through her personal door.

"Not then and not now," he shook his head and opened the door for her, "Believe it or not, it is the truth."

She waited until he sat down at the small table in her kitchenette before she started again, "What did he want?"

"He wanted…," he took the cup she offered him and took a sip for a bit of a pause, "He wanted a payment, we'll say."

"A payment?" Belle repeated and held her cup between both hands as she sat down, "Payment for a deal that never was?"

"It's something I am not willing to part with," he nodded.

She drew a small pattern on the table top and mumbled, "Is it something that you must pay?"

Rumplestiltskin put his hand over the one she left on the table, "I had never agreed to his terms. So, no. He just wants someone to do his bidding. Apparently, I have grown too soft for his liking."

"He doesn't know you too well, does he?" she smiled suddenly, "You have to be the most difficult man I know."

He smiled at her small joke, but then sighed, "He may know me a little too well for my own liking."

"Who is he, Rum?" she asked quietly and turned her hand to hold his.

"A mentor of the Dark One," he says softly and watched as their hands interacted so immediately and without thought, "Someone that I hoped would stay in the past."

Belle could see the strain that the man had caused upon him. He was careful not to show it, but she still noticed the worry behind his eyes. This man, whoever he was, or is, was dangerous. A mentor to the infamous Dark One could only mean that is was going to get a lot worse before it got better. From the look of it, Rumplestiltskin was not going to elaborate too much on it at the moment and she wasn't going to push now. He would tell her over time. It was his way. If she pushed him too much now, he may just lock up completely, and they definitely did not need that between them. He would tell her what she needed to know, and nothing that would put her in danger.

She tightened her grip on his hand slightly before she stood, "Well then, I have a couple of questions for you."

He looked up at her in that warning expression she saw him use so many times at the Dark Castle. She only smiled amusedly back.

"What do you want for lunch?" she turned toward the refrigerator that was smaller and much less intimidating than his monstrosity at his house. She quickly looked over her shoulder at him after she opened the door, "Will you be helping me pick which section to start on for tomorrow?"

Rumplestiltskin only smiled up at her from over the edge of the tea cup, "Whatever you feel would be good and I would be honored."

She smiled triumphantly and dug into the refrigerator. She knew that he would want to stay a little while longer and make sure that she was safe from the stranger. He would probably put some protective charms and spells over her apartment and library when she isn't looking, if he hadn't done so already.

"Insignificant whelp," he hissed under his breath as he walked down the street. He dug in his coat for a small item, but before he could bring it out a strong voice sounded out behind him.

"Excuse me, sir?"

He turned and found a young man with a boy following him. The boy was holding a book and flipping through it as if he wasn't listening to the conversation.

"Can I help you?" he smiled, easily covering his rage.

"I was going to ask you the same," James put his hands on his hips, catching his coat and pushing it from covering his badge, "I haven't seen you around here before."

"Just passing through," he smiled tighter with a strict nod. He hated cops. Mostly goody two shoes, the lot of them.

"There is no such thing anymore," James shook his head.

The cruel smile that crept on his face made James cautious, "Don't worry about me, Sheriff. It will be like I'm not even here. I have some business to attend to and then I will be no more. Probably won't even see me for the rest of your life."

James narrowed his eyes and then titled his head, "Who are you?"

"Just a stranger passing through, as I-"

"No," James smiled his own cruel smile and drew a step closer to him, "Who are you really?"

"Someone you don't want to be in the way of."

"I was just thinking the same thing of you being in mine," James answered.

He sighed and took a step back, "I'm an old friend to many; and to none. That's all you need to know."

James frowned at the evasive answer. He knew many of the people of his kingdom, both famous and quiet. He needed to protect them and having a nameless stranger was not going to fly in this town.

"I am not from your kingdom, your highness," he smirked, "I bow to no man."

"Even so, I would feel better, friend, if you had a name to go by," James folded his arms over his chest.

"If a name is what you need," he sighed, "Donovan. Donovan Deus."

"What business do you have with Gold?" James asked quickly.

"Don't stand in my way," he said in a taunting voice and walked away. He turned the corner and out of James's sight.

"Uh… Gramps?" Henry looked up at James.

"What is it?"

"I don't know his story," Henry held up the book and flipped through the pages, "He isn't written in here. I've looked through all the stories, and he just doesn't fit with any of them."

"Don't worry. We'll figure it out."

The stranger, now known as Donovan, walked briskly down the street and then turned into an alley covered in shadows and reveled in his element. He brought out the small item that he had been looking for earlier and set it on the ground. The small round piece of glass, nearly mirror like shimmered on the ground.

"Give me one who will do the task," he growled at the small circle. It grew only a few rings bigger and a face shown through from the other side.

"I had a feeling that you would call on me again."

"You were right in your assumption," he shuffled and glanced over his shoulder, though he knew no one would enter, "He will not do it and you are my best option. It seems as if he has grown bold in his mastery over my power."

"He always got his way. What made you think he wouldn't think the same now?"

"Something has changed in him. He's no longer desperate…"

As he thought to himself the voice behind the glass spoke up in exasperation.

"I want him to suffer. I want him to feel every bit of pain he can still feel."

"Then you must do something for me."

"Which is?"

"You must take his place. Do everything that I say," he paused, "Once I bring you here, get rid of my vessel and you may have all his power."

"And?"

"And you will get your revenge. I will make sure of that."

"An eternity of servitude to you from me and he gets to die in the most horrendous way possible by my hand?"

"Sound like a deal?"