I truly apologize for my delay with this chapter. The last three weeks were crazy, with lots of works and dead-lines (don't you just love them?) so it has been difficult to find time and concentration to write. There is still quite some work ahead, but hopefully the worst is behind me (Oh God, let me be right!). But good news, the inspiration is back and I know now exactly how I'm finishing this tale :)
Thank you for your always kind reviews: FortunesFavour, Guest, AshRedDragon, Queen of Light 17, thedoctorsgirl42, Revenessa, Grace5231973 and KansasAngel94 (am I truly honored)
I do not own Once Upon a Time
Chapter 59 - Day 65: Wildfire
Rumpelstiltskin watched paralyzed as the two armies clashed. He wanted to shut his eyes when the ogres sent soldiers flying up in the air, or when they ripped them up cruelly, spreading blood and organs everywhere. He wanted to yell so he wouldn't hear the soldier's screams. He felt sick. Guilt consumed him as he blamed himself for the horrors he was witnessing. During these torturous minutes, the spinner didn't notice Commander Byront had left him and had meanwhile reached the soldiers. He was now desperately instructing and motivating them to fight, searching for a way to win the battle in the middle of the dreadful chaos.
"Death is the only winner in war." Rumpelstiltskin whispered to himself, realizing whatever choice he made, death could not be avoided. He wanted to cry, but tears refused to surface. Instead his eyes burned, as the heat from the fires filled the air. "It's not fair! It's not fair."
Rumpelstiltskin collapsed to his knees and watched numb the atrocious battle develop before his eyes. It was a slaughter. A massacre. It was exactly what he had wanted to avoid. The reason he had refused to use the magical fire. And yet, it was happening. And it were the young men who looked up at him that were paying the price for his choice. He watched petrified these nightmarish images and knew they would torment him till the end of his days. But he thought it was a small price compared to the innocent lives that were being unjustly taken away and had peace with it.
Rumpelstiltskin's eyes were transfixed in the army of ogres. The more he wished to shut his eyes, the more he was drawn to watch the battle. It was like if he had lost power over his senses, like if his eyes were impelled to follow all the movements of the monsters, against his will. He held his breath when he saw the ogres move faster and dangerously. His ears discerned Armithil's Commander shouting far away to his soldiers, ordering retreat. They were chanceless. They were going to lose the battle. They were going to lose the war. Everything they fought for, all the struggles, ordeals and challenges they had to surpass, were meaningless now. It had all been pointless. For Regina would rule the world and bring darkness into everybody's lives. They were all going to suffer. And it was his fault.
Rumpelstitlskin watched Armithil's soldiers run away from the monsters, obeying willingly to their leader. He heard the ogres grunt frustrated, the smaller men being faster and lean enough to escape their violent blows. But he knew all they would do was gain time and delay their deaths. It was a matter of time and the ogres would reach the soldiers and exterminate them. The monsters, worked up in their excitement, groaned furiously, filling the air with their vicious sounds. They shook their arms wildly and banged their fists on the ground from frustration, making the earth tremble under everybody's feet. Then, to Rumpelstiltskin's shock, the ogres turned to the soldiers of Snowland and Leostille and attacked them instead. He had always known ogres fed their lust in blood and senseless violence, but he never had expected them to be so mindless and barbarian to the point of hitting their own allies. After the first moments of surprise, it were Snowland and Leostille's commanders that were ordering retreat. A mass of dark dressed men ran down the hill, leaving the ogres even more furious and frustrated than before.
With a racing heart, Rumpelstiltskin stood up, realizing there had been a crucial turn in events. The impulsive behavior of the ogres had given just enough time for Armithil's army to gather and reorganize, so catapults, fires and provisory wooden barriers were positioned. Regina and George's men were still running downhill, wanting to escape the mindless wrath of the monsters and so chaos had installed itself. But it had been something else that made Rumpelstiltskin fill his chest with hope and run fast to Armithil's army. He realized, when both armies retreated to opposite sides, the ogres were momentarily isolated. They had become one great mass of monsters, yelling and hitting each other, with two wide gaps between the two armies. The spinner, had realized, this was the perfect opportunity. The only chance they had.
Rumpelstiltskin ran fast as the wind, ignoring branches hitting his body and scratching his skin. He reached the edge between Armithil's army and the camp in a record time and looked frantically around for one face in particular. He needed to find him now. He had no time to lose. But all he met was a confusion of metal and fire. In the mist of chaos, he started feeling desperate, realizing it was practically impossible to find anybody in this sea of men. Suddenly he felt a strong hand grab his shoulder and he gave a loud scream of fright.
"Calm down, Rumpel. It's only me." The spinner sighed of relieve when he saw it was his friend Bram, looking apprehensive at him. "Where have you been? We were all worried sick about you."
"Bae! Where's Bae!" Rumpelstiltskin asked urgently.
"Easy. He's all right. He's right there, giving water to our men." Bram pointed to the boy, his worry for his friend's agitation growing.
"Bae! Bae!" Rumpelstiltskin quickly reached his son, who stared at him in a mix of surprise, relieve and concern.
"Papa! You're all right!"
"Bae, do you have the magical phial with you?" The spinner asked at once. He smiled with a gasp as his boy presented the small object, containing Malificent's fire, always hanging on a small rope around the boy's neck.
"Rumpel, you cannot possibly be thinking…" Bram protested, figuring out his friend had reached some kind of break down and was acting in desperation and madness.
"No, it's okay. The ogres are isolated. There are no soldiers around them. Not ours, not from Regina." Rumpelstilskin quickly explained.
"You mean to use the fire only in the ogres?" Bram confirmed, smiling relieved his friend wasn't mad after all.
"You think you can do it?" The spinner asked his son.
"I-I don't really know how to use it." Baelfire said unsure.
"But I know." All turned around to see the Blue Fairy suddenly appear behind them. Her light was softer than normal, her hair messy, her dress smashed and dirty. Yet, she never looked as mighty as she did now. "I can guide you."
Rumpelstiltskin, Bram and Baelfire ran between the chaos of soldiers, weapons, fire and trees. They were followed by the soft blue light of the magical small woman. The spinner brought them back to the hillside he had had his short conversation with Commander Byront. The place where he faced this worst torments. The place where he found the solution to win the war.
"See. They are still isolated. There's a huge gap between them and both armies!" Rumpelstiltskin announced happily. Bram, Baelfire and Blue stared in amazement. It had been quite a blessing of fate that Rumpelstiltskin had stumbled on this spot, for this was probably the only place where the large opening between the ogres and the armies was clearly visible. "If you could aim the fire only to the ogres." He said to Baelfire with a glint in his eyes.
"Quickly. We have little time." The Blue Fairy said, realizing this was the only chance they had in attacking the ogres without having to sacrifice any men. "Baelfire, open the phial and put your hand before it." The fairy instructed. The teenager obeyed and everybody stared in awe as the small flame left the phial to dance on the boy's palm without burning him. "Now, you must visualize well where you want the fire to go. You must wish to only to aim the ogres." Baelfire concentrated his gaze on the large mass of light gray bodies hitting each other and could feel the hate and disgust towards them grow in his heart. "When you are ready, blow at the flame."
Baelfire blew softly and watched with awe as the small flame left his hand and traveled towards the ogres. While it travelled to its target, the small flame expanded and grew longer. It took first the form of a long and thin serpent of fire. But once it reached the ogres, it grew massive and took the shape of a fierce dragon. The ogres stopped their frantic movements and grew silent when they saw the great fire lingering over them. Many men in both armies turned to see the source of the sudden yellow light. Many eyes grew wide, many hearts raced and many held their breath. The world had fallen silent and time stopped still. Then suddenly, the dragon opened its mouth and thousands of tongues of fire flew out of it. The dragon exploded with a great blast and the fire was so fast that the ogres were almost instantly under flames. It had been a furious and lethal attack and no monster had escaped it. A horrible sound filled the air. The ogres screamed of pain and agony, yells of a tremendous suffering that sent chills down the spine. But soon, the screaming became weaker and weaker, until it died out unexpectedly quickly. All men could see now, were the last flames consuming the carbonized massive and once invincible bodies of hundreds of ogres. A nauseous stench spread rapidly in the air and the smell of rotten burned flesh filled everyone's nostrils. The wildfire had consumed fast and the last unforgiving flames were extinguishing themselves. All what remained were the dark misshaped forms from the beasts.
As the mass of dead bodies was revealed, under the rising smoke, the soldiers of both armies stared at the scene with large eyes and open mouths. There was a long silence of pure shock, incredibility and incomprehension. Many were trying to understand what had just happened. Many were trying to understand the present reality. That the ogres were dead. And when this thought was finally processed in the minds of the soldiers of Armithil, realization hit them. They were now in advantage. They stood on the top on the hill, with weapons and catapults ready, reorganized and with a new adrenaline running in their veins. Prince James was the first one to react. Waving his sword in the air, he let out a great clamor. Immediately his voice became the voice of thousands as all soldiers and volunteers of the three kingdoms yelled in unison. The air was filled by the great sound of invincibility. The ground trembled when knights rode in the direction of the enemy with a surprising speed and power. They were followed by the fast and lean feet of thousands and thousands of warriors. The battle was on again and Armithil's soldiers were fed by the spirit of victory.
King George and Queen Regina grew pale and silent when they realized too late the bitter turn of events. They witnessed in genuine unbelief the mighty ogres being decimated in few minutes. And now they heard Prince James powerful cry of war, followed by the legions of three mighty kingdoms. King George quickly rode to the front line, ordering his soldiers to keep calm and be brave. But his words of courage, honor and loyalty tasted like ashes in his mouth. He knew they were lost. And so did his soldiers, who were deaf to his speech. They stood their ground, but watched pale and petrified as the mass of young and angry soldiers came storming down the hill.
Queen Regina, on the other side, felt her insides turn around. Her brilliant plan, well-thought from the very beginning, was failing disgracefully. She couldn't understand the reasons for her downfall. The murder of her husband, King Leopold, was done so cleverly that it was easy to put all the guilt in Snow White. Yet no one would believe in these accusations. She casted powerful spells and curses on her enemies. Snow White was put under the sleeping curse. Yet she woke up and all other curses were equally broken. She made a powerful alliance with Maleficent, an ancient, wise and extremely talented sorceress. Yet, she was killed. She made an alliance with the ogres, creatures that tormented the Enchanted Forest for centuries, known for their superior strength and invincibility. Yet, they were destroyed. Now her supposed unbeatable army was reduced to a group of scared men who would only fight now for their lives. The Evil Queen resisted the urge to cry from helplessness and instead rode to her few loyal men, commanding them to fight for her. She would not give up. She would not be beaten. She had fought too much to give up right now. And so she desperately casted spells against her enemy, but were countered by the fairies led by Blue.
The two princesses stood on top of the hill, holding each other's hands. They watched the final battle with mixed feelings. They both mourned for the brave men who died in this war. They both rejoiced the end of this hell.
Belle couldn't take her eyes away from the castle she grew up in. Somewhere, inside its walls, her father was kept captive. She hoped dearly he still lived. She wished to see him one last time, hold him and listen to his voice. She loved him so much and the thought she was so close to find out what fate had reserved to her father made her desperate. So she watched the battle unfold before her eyes and begged to the gods to spare her father's life.
Snow's eyes were fixed on her stepmother, who she could discern from the distance. She watched as the Queen gave orders and casted spells tirelessly. The princess couldn't help but admire the woman for her bravery. Snow was glad she was defeating the Evil Queen, but feared for what followed next. She still had love for Regina. She still could forgive her, despite all her horrible deeds Regina did in the past. So she watched her stepmother fight futilely and she begged to the gods she somehow could win back this woman's heart.
A great clamor filled the air. The large army of the three kingdoms had won the war. King George had surrendered for the sake of his army, whose soldiers were being too quickly and easily decimated. He let himself be imprisoned by his fake son, a traitor to him and his kingdom. For King George, this man, whatever his real name was, was nothing but an ambitious shepherd that had somehow, found a way to defeat him. King George knew what the future reserved for him. He would be judged by the Court of War and had two possible fates. Death or exile. He honestly didn't know which of the two was worse, but was prepared to accept whatever fate destiny had reserved to him.
The cheering was suddenly interrupted when the commanders realized Queen Regina and her small group of loyal men fled from the battlefield. Lord Frederick was ready to pursue her, but Commander Byront stopped him.
"Let her go. She is weak now and no threat to us."
"But my Lord. She has magic. She still can conjure hell if she wishes." The young warrior replied angrily.
"You are right. But still she deserves a chance to redeem herself." The two men turned to see Princess Snow was standing behind him.
"But after all she did?" Lord Frederick contested, unable to understand the woman's point of view.
"There is good in her. I've seen it once. I cannot give up on her. Not yet."
"So what do you suggest we do? Nothing?"
"We give her an ultimate. We'll give her the change to surrender with honor and we will test her at the same time."
"And if she fails this test." Charming, who had remained silent the whole time, finally spoke, concern all present in his voice and face.
"Then she'll face the Trial of War."
The title "Wildfire" is inspired in a song from my favorite band Sonata Arctica.
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