Thanks for all of the reviews! The following chapter reveals stuff about the match girl's past. The big portion in italics is a flashback, not the exact words of Mr. Gold.
Anyway, here's the next chapter!
Chapter three
The two of them stood there for what felt like a very long time. It was Emma who finally broke the silence "…froze to death?"
He nodded grimly "yes, she couldn't take the cold anymore, she just, passed."
"How did you meet her?" Asked Emma.
"It was a long time ago" said Gold "before the curse. It wasn't exactly a pleasant encounter..."
...
The small, bustling village was nothing special, in fact it couldn't have been more ordinary. The houses, nearly all of them log-cabins, were small and sturdy, most only had one room where the entire family slept, ate, and played. Around the village, people went about their daily errands, many with two or three children in tow. "Lord Fedor must have an easy time governing this place" muttered a hunched fellow in a brown cloak. Scattered about the streets were small stalls, each with its own vendor selling various wares. "Fresh fish!" A man bellowed from his small stall "get your tuna, your halibut, your trout!"
"Fine silks!" hollered a woman, from her greatly adorned cart, though hardly any of it was silk; most was flax, or cotton.
"Matches" said a girl's voice. The cloaked man turned his head and glanced at the bearer. The barefoot child desperately tried to sell her boxes of matches, but most people didn't pay her any mind. "Matches" she said again "please buy my matches..."
A tall, swaggering fellow stepped over to the girl "are you still trying to sell those boxes of matches, little girl?"
"W-would you like some?" Asked the girl nervously.
"Sure kid." said the man, taking the box from her hands.
"Two copper pieces please," she whimpered, clearly afraid of this man.
The man smirked, "I'll give you more if you do something else for me."
The girl stepped back, disgusted, he'd asked her this before. "No thanks, Crowe."
The man grunted with annoyance, tossed two copper coins at her, and walked away muttering to himself.
The girl looked at the coins and grinned, as if two copper pieces were worth a fortune. She gathered her matches, and ran off to the fruit stall "one apple please." She asked, pleasantly. "Three copper pieces" said the seller.
The girl's smile vanished immediately, "do you have anything I can buy for two copper pieces?"
The vendor handed her two, very meager, sour plums, "two copper pieces." The girl thought for a moment, and finally handed him the two copper pieces. She then ravenously forced one of the sour plums down her throat.
The cloaked figure turned away from her and continued to walk down the road. He was searching for someone, they had made a deal, but the other fellow had not kept up his end of the bargain.
...
After learning from various sources that the fellow he was looking for had left town, (and for good reason) the cloaked figure walked down the street, searching for an inn. He had walked not ten yards when he was vaguely aware of a hand searching searching his pocket. He snatched it the way a hawk snatches up a mouse, "Ah, ah, ah!" He scolded, turning to face the pickpocket; it was the same girl he had seen selling matches earlier that day. "That was very naughty of you, little match girl."
The girl's face was coated with fear; she had been caught. She would be put in the stockade the next day, and then no one would buy matches from her, she knew it. "I-I'm sorry sir, I-" she felt the grip on her hand tighten,
"You're only sorry that you got caught." She could barely see the man's face under the thick hood, not thinking, she screamed at the top of her lungs, and the cloaked figure reached right into her chest. The screaming immediately ceased and was replaced with a sickly choking sound.
He sighed with exagerated patience "I'm not sure if you realize this, dearie, but right now, I am holding on to your heart." Said the man. The girl stiffly nodded, he gave the heart a little tug,"and I could take it from you, if I wanted to." The girl gave a choked sob, this man was going to kill her now. "What is your name, match girl?" He asked, looking her up and down.
"Va-Vanessa!" She choked out, "my name is Vanessa." The man retracted his hand, without removing her heart.
"My name, is Rumpelstiltskin, otherwise known as, the Dark One." Said the man. Vanessa gasped, and took a step back. "So, you've heard of me?"
Vanessa nodded ferverently, "are you... going to kill me now?" She asked weakly. Rumpelstiltskin leaned forward, his reptillian eyes staring directly into her's; he couldn't help but notice that one was dark blue and one was milky white. "No" he said, the girl did not look relieved. "Had I wanted to, I already would have. I have bigger fish to fry, but that can wait." He stuck out a gloved hand, "give me everything that you've stolen today" Vanessa sighed, defeated, and removed several small objects from her pockets. Most of them were coins, and small objects like rings. Her hand lingered in her pocket, as if clutching onto some larger object. "I said everything" said Rumpelstiltskin. "What are you hiding in your pocket?"
"It's mine!" said Vanessa, "I didn't steal it, it's mine!"
"Let me see it."
Vanessa stared at him for a long time, and then reached into her pocket, and pulled out what appeared to be a small doll, but refused to hand it to him. "It's mine; it belonged to my mother, I swear I didn't steal it." She put it back into her pocket, "so, can I go now?"
"No."
Vanessa stared at her feet, "what do you want now?"
"Is there an inn around here?" He asked.
"Uh, yes, just down the road." She said, pointing down the dark street. "NOW can I go?"
"Fine" He said, "now, run off, little match girl, before I change my mind!"
She quickly rushed off down the road, and Rumpelstiltskin walked away, scheming to himself.
...
"So, you asked Vanessa for directions, and that was the end of it?" Asked Emma, "you forgot the part where she froze to death!"
"There's not much to tell," said Gold. "It snowed three feet that winter, the poor girl didn't have anywhere to go. I saw her, just before she died, huddled in an alley, lighting matches in a feeble attempt to stay warm. But frostbite got the better of her, and by the next morning she had passed."
Emma nodded "quite tragic. So if it's not that girl, then who do you think it is?"
"I have no idea" said Gold.
"Well, I had better go now." Said Emma, "if you think of anything, please call me at work." And with that, she exited the hospital.
Who would want to kill Gold? She thought as she walked back to work then again, who wouldn't?
Several hours later, Mr. Gold left the hospital and headed home. He was surprised to see a note, sitting, curled up in front of the door. He bent down to pick it up and unrolled it. Written on it were the words
SIN OF OMISSION, RUMPELSTILTSKIN! Taped to the bottom of the page was a match;
A spent one.