Chapter Eighteen: Closer Still

"Find the person who will love you because of your differences

and not in spite of them and you have found a lover for life."

~ Leo Buscaglia

"No one has actually seen Regina for days- coming on a week now," James explained as he walked down the sidewalk toward the large house with both Belle and Rumplestiltskin behind him. Henry was left back at the library to look through as many books as he pleased and where they all knew he would be safe. Rumplestiltskin assured James that there were enough enchantments around the library and apartment that even a hoard of ogres couldn't get in without his or Belle's okay- especially after the Hook incident the day prior. James turned the corner and stopped the other two just in case other people were there again.

"No one really looks for her these days unless something goes awry," Rumplestiltskin grumbled and put a supportive hand to Belle's back.

"Yeah, and it would follow that she wouldn't have house guests either," James explained and looked back at him, "I heard quite a crowd the other night when I was traveling around town. A large group of men left her home and then toward town. They looked a bit out of it and shouting for rum. I assumed possible crew members of the captain."

"Question is: why would Regina team up with a pirate captain if she was trying so hard to redeem herself in the eyes of the town's people?" Rumplestiltskin thought out loud. He hummed for a moment and looked down at Belle, "And here she was progressing so nicely."

Belle smirked and pushed against him, "Focus."

James nodded and led the way into the front yard and then to the front door which was wide open. James pushed it in gently and then looked to either side of the entry way, "I really hate it when doors are left wide open."

"Never bodes well, does it?" Rumplestiltskin scoffed and walked past James with Belle right behind him. They were both eager to find Baelfire and it wasn't going to help if they were just going to ponder over open doors at the entry way. Belle still didn't know whether or not Baelfire still hated her for taking his father's affections, even with Rumplestiltskin's reassurance that his son had saved them both and blamed her for nothing.

"They leave quite a mess, don't they?" Belle asked and looked at the wreckage that was left behind in the wake of the pirate crew. She went slowly through the room, with her eyes wide open just in case there were more pirates lurking behind closed doors or over the backs of couches. She refused to be caught off guard again and used as bait.

Rumplestiltskin looked up the stairs and found a thin jacket hanging over the side of the railing. He jumped up a few of the steps to grab at it. With his magic now in full affect, he felt like he didn't need his cane any longer and why play upon it? He felt the material in his hands and saw a few blood drop stains around the collar as if someone was bleeding from the lip. He looked down to see Belle and James looking up at him expectantly.

"It's Bae's," he said and lifted part of the jacket for them to see, "They injured him from the look of it. Probably beat him for his betrayal, but he's alive."

Belle smiled at the news and then looked at James hopefully, "What can we do?"

"We know that they were here. I guess the next step is to find out where they went," James scratched the back of his head, "I am pretty sure that they didn't leave too long ago."

"I am checking the bedrooms," Rumplestiltskin began to climb the rest of the way up. Belle nodded and followed his lead while James did a last sweep of the first floor and the locked the front door.

Rumplestiltskin worked from room to room down the hallway, but found nothing but wrecked rooms and scattered blankets where men would sleep. Belle watched his movements, but walked toward the last room which was the largest bedroom and the master suite. She walked in and noticed that the bed was slept in, but the room still looked impeccable. Whoever slept in here liked their area to be uncluttered. She knew that it had to be Hook or Chernabog. She heard Rumplestiltskin in the next room over and then James run up the stairs to the top step.

"Not that I am too concerned about her…" James said to the hallway as he checked the rooms for the other two. When Rumplestiltskin came out from the last room across from the master he continued his thought, "But where is Regina? I know she would not leave her home to pirates to treat it like this. She had too many memories with Henry here to have it torn apart like it is."

"She would if she was forced out."

Belle listened to the conversation from the bedroom and stepped into a pile of dust that was at the foot of the bed. She shifted the tip of her shoe in it to spread it out on the floor. Her brow furrowed in question and tilted her head toward the doorway, "Rumple?"

Both of the men came into the master bedroom and looked at Belle who still had her eyes focused on the pile of dust. Rumplestiltskin looked around the room and felt the surge of power that still resided in the walls. It was left behind, residual, but not useable.

"That's where he got his new reserve of power," Rumplestiltskin said to himself and looked to James, "He used Regina's. I thought that it felt familiar when he tried to take me over."

"What is this?" Belle asked and toed the dust again, "It can't be soot or ash from a fire. There is no fireplace in this room."

"It's not from any fireplace, dearest," he came over to kneel before the pile and picked up a little on his fingers before he rubbed the fingers together. He let out a struggled breath and looked up at her and James, "It's what's left of Regina."

Belle gasped and jumped back from the pile. She rubbed her shoe against the floor in an effort to get what was left of the woman off of her. She walked toward the door and waited for them to be done. Suddenly the very tidy and quiet room was not a welcoming place.

"How?" James asked and sighed sadly. This was going to break Henry. He had already lost Emma for the time being and now Regina.

"He used seduction," Rumplestiltskin stood up and wiped the dust from his fingers with an old handkerchief.

"Seduction?" James repeated.

"Yes, used mostly by succubus to lure their victims in so that they could drink their souls. The victim is so distracted by the act of lust that they don't know they are dying until it is too late," Rumplestiltskin threw the handkerchief to the side and continued, "He has learned many tricks in his days, but I didn't think that soul sucking would be one of them. It's a very dark act and very difficult to pull off."

Suddenly Belle felt the vibration of her phone from the pocket she had sown into her dress and jumped a little from surprise. At her gasp both men turned, ready to attack anything that would threaten her, but she immediately held up a hand to reassure them it was okay, "I'm sorry. It's the phone…"

They both relaxed a degree and she answered the call as she stepped out into the hallway.

"Now what?" James asked and stood with his hands on his hips, "He has Regina's power. He can do a lot."

"And I can do oh so much more than she ever could," Rumplestiltskin added with a smirk, "But you have to understand something. He took her magic, but not her abilities. He has his own to wield and bend to his liking. He just needed the extra boost to get what he needed."

"And what is that?"

"Me, weakened."

Belle came back into the room and closed the phone with a, "We will, thanks."

"And who was it at this time of night?" Rumplestiltskin asked.

"Ruby and Archie," Belle said and put the phone away in her pocket, "Apparently the captain made a stop by the diner. He is still pretty beat up about something and is wearing some dressing on his side to help with the wound I gave him."

"He probably wanted to drown his sorrows, but not at a bar," Rumplestiltskin thought to himself, "I would go there should I look for him after what he tried to do to you yesterday."

"What should we do?" Belle asked.

"Keep looking for anything that could help us here. He isn't going to do anything at the moment. If he was, he would have tried something at the diner."

They searched the rest of the house and as James and Belle were focused on the physical side of things, Rumplestiltskin began to trace down what he could of the magic left over in the home. He walked all the way down to the study where the fireplace was cold. He turned toward a china hutch and found an old, yet well-known book toward the back of one of the shelves. He smiled to himself and opened the hutch to retrieve it.

"Long time since I last saw you," he told the book and patted the front cover fondly. He opened the pages and felt the rush of the written spells and the magic that was reserved in the pages. It was one of his first spell books and he excelled in the dark sections wonderfully.

James and Belle followed his voice into the study. James raised an eyebrow, "What's that?"

"In simple terms, it is a quick start into magic," Rumplestiltskin smirked and remembered the times he had trained with that same book that was in his hands, "You ever think to become an apprentice, Charming?"

Hook mumbled incoherently and cursed his luck. Yesterday the beauty got the best of him with the dagger and then a shape-shifter nearly took his head off. Not to mention that his 'business partner' was not helping him in the slightest. Chernabog apparently couldn't be bothered to heal his wounded side even if he did go against his wishes. He turned the last block so he could cross the street and fall into bed for the night when he was caught by a hand on his shoulder.

"You need to open your eyes, Hook," Chernabog spoke from behind him.

"Why may that be?" he snarled back and looked behind him at the human form he knew to be more than a man.

Chernabog nodded to the large house across the street and gestured to Rumplestiltskin, Belle and the Sheriff. Rumplestiltskin gestured to the house and it glowed brightly for a moment and then faded again. Belle held a book to her chest tightly until he was done with the spell and she handed it back to him.

"What did he just do?" Hook asked.

"Made sure that we can't get back in," Chernabog growled and pulled Hook back into some shrubbery. Hook looked and saw Baelfire being held by a couple of his crewmates with a gag in his mouth to keep him from screaming out to his father.

Hook sighed and shook his head, "Well, it looks like we need to find another port."

"I think I know of one," Chernabog smirked and turned from the house. Without a gesture to the crew or to Hook, he walked down the street toward the back part of town.

"Where is he goin', captain?" one of the crew members asked.

"One way to find out," Hook shrugged and walked after Chernabog with his crew and Baelfire walking after him.

Rumplestiltskin sat in one of the lounge chairs in the family room with the book they had retrieved from Regina's home in his lap as he read over the chapters within. Belle was bobbing between the few bookshelves in the room, unpacking the last of her boxes. She had moved most of her things back into their suite upstairs, but she still had a few knick knacks that she liked to put beside his throughout the house.

Belle looked over at him and saw the frown over his brow and the quirk to his lip that he always had when he was thinking too hard. She hummed at his expression and gained his attention.

"Do you have a thought, love?" he asked and shut the book in his lap to give her his full attention.

"Why did James refuse the apprenticeship?" she asked and hopped off the small step ladder and walked over to the arm of his chair where she sat down, "I thought that he wanted his family back."

"He does, but he also knows the price of such a miracle," Rumplestiltskin explained and she nodded with the knowledge that all magic comes with a price, as he so often repeats, "He is not willing to risk his life or that of young Henry to rush into things like magic. Something like bringing his family back would have a hefty price. I wouldn't be surprised if the magic backlashed at him or his only family."

"You didn't give him the book so he could look through it, either," she reached over and picked the book out of his lap so that she could take its place. She settled in comfortably against him and held the book in her hands as he wrapped his arms around her easily.

"I wouldn't give it to anyone who isn't ready to harness it," he whispered to her ear and nuzzled his nose against the side of her face. He smirked to himself as he felt a shiver course through her body at the small action. He loved that they had finally progressed to being held against one another like this again. He just didn't like that she had to nearly become a stranger to do so.

"Is all magic as dark as yours and the queen's, Rum?" she asked in a voice that was a little more breathy than she would have liked.

He chuckled with a regretful sigh as her curiosity was in full bloom once again. There would be no progression until it was sated, "Not all of it, no. Remember the fairies?"

She nodded and kept her eyes on the cover of the book.

"They use magic, but it is what is called light magic," he explained and opened the book in her lap toward the middle. He pointed at a few illustrations, "It mostly focuses on healing, growth and life. Ways to improve the world. Dark magic seems to focus on what will provide the user their wants. No matter how to arrive to that end. More often than not, it costs more than the pay off. That's why it is so good in making deals."

"Sounds about right," Belle nodded again and flipped through a few pages and scanned the words, "You can't do light magic?"

"Can't even touch it," he shook his head and placed his closed lips against the back of one of her shoulders. His eyes peeked over every page or so to keep a tab on what section she was reading from, "Why so many questions? Are you interested?"

"I don't have a magic bone in my body," she chuckled at the thought.

"I wouldn't be surprised," he whispered and rubbed his chin against her shoulder.

"What about neutral magic?" she asked and tried to look over her shoulder at him to distract him from her and magic, "Is there such a thing?"

His body suddenly froze and he took in a deep breath to think it over. There was a magic that was neutral… a combination of dark and light, a whole sort of magic; older and much more pure than either. He felt his heart start to beat more rapidly and then slow as he feared that she would feel it against her back.

"Rumple?" she asked and shifted a little on his lap as she closed the book.

"There is such a thing," he nodded and took another breath to look at her in the eyes, "I would have to read more on it. It hasn't been touched in a very long time. Even in our old world."

"Would Chernabog use it?" she asked and flicked her eyes down to the book and then back up to his face.

"He can only use dark," he frowned, "It's all he knows."

"Then… can't we throw a curve ball at him?" she asked and tilted the book back and forth.

"We?" he urged to ask. The thought of her with magic skills popped into his head. He knew that she didn't like the idea of it, but she wouldn't be like him. She would weave the most light and pure magic, he knew it.

"It's my idea, I am going to take some credit," she smiled coyly up at him. His vision fell and he chuckled at her.

"Well, I do give credit when credit is due," he smiled against her shoulder and began to kiss the skin as it led up to her neck. His hands began to roam a little over her large scoop neck shirt. His fingers traced the line of the skin that met the material as his mouth began to leave nips along her throat.

"Rumple…" she moaned into the air and the book was suddenly forgotten as it hit the floor at their feet. One hand went up to his hair and tangled in the strands in an effort to bring him closer. Her other hand covered one that had settled around her waist.

"We have something to finish…" he growled against her skin before his tongue soothed over the nips that he had left. Belle groaned and he felt her back arch, which brought her hips back toward his. She let out an agonized breath into the room and it seemed to echo to Rumplestiltskin. He in turn, pushed his hips forward and pulled her in tighter by her waist. He kissed up her neck to her ear where he bit lightly on her lobe and then whispered, "… don't we, dearest?"

Belle shivered again as she felt his arousal under her and her hand tightened in his hair. She bit her lip and then turned quickly around in his lap. She straddled him, a leg on either side, and captured his lips under her own. Both of her hands went into his hair as both of his hands landed on her hips and pulled her toward him.

"I believe that you are right…" she sighed as she released his lips from her teeth.