Ariel splashed around with Flouder, laughing tumbling around under the water. The waves crashed against the rocks; the water hit them like the waterfall in the mermaid lagoon.
"I'll race you, Flounder!" she screamed, as her fin hit the water, causing a massive wave for a fish his size.
She swam briskly under the crisp ocean, Flounder close behind her. She was almost to the finish mark, and she could not hide the excitement of impending victory, as her smile grew wider. Suddenly, three flashes of green light, and she found herself face to face with a fast approaching ship that seemed to have appeared out of thin air. Ariel quickly swam out of the way; Flouder let out a shriek of terror and quickly swam into Ariel's arms, nuzzling into her chest. She gazed at the massive boat in awe, and for the first time she remembered what boats always contained, humans.
"Flounder….. humans! Here! Can you believe it?!" she screamed happily, twirling him around.
"Ariel, we have to go before your father finds out," said Flounder, but his words fell on deaf ears.
Ariel swam straight after the fast moving ship, her tail sashaying behind her. She surfaced to get a better view; it was massive, "The Atlantis" was splayed across the side in gold letters. She squealed in delight, and continued her chase, trying to get as close as possible. On deck, Rumple stood next to Bae, who was at the helm; Alaek was hanging from the ropes above with a telescope against his eye.
"What do you see, Al?!" asked Emma from below.
"Land! Nothing suspicious!" he yelled back.
Bae frustratingly turned the wheel hard to starboard.
"Wish we had the Jolly Roger…. It was a lot easier to maneuver," he said.
Rumple scoffed at his son's casual mention of the ship that belonged to his greatest rival.
"Well we have to work with what we have, don't we son?" Rumple replied coldly.
He walked towards the middle of the deck, and stood next to Emma; he looked up at Alaek.
"Al! Anything?!" he yelled.
"Nothing, brother! I don't sense any strange activity either! Maybe they were just rumors!"
"What are we to do, your majesty?" asked Lumiere.
"Get one of the beans…. Let's get back home."
"Wait. You don't want to at least check out the island?" asked Emma frantically.
"The island is not the problem, Emma…. It's the water," said Rumple.
"The water?" she asked, confused.
"That's where Ursula lives! The sea witch!" yelled Alaek, as he climbed down to join them on the deck.
"Is she what we're here for?"
"Aye."
"I picked up a substantial amount of magical activity from this region. Someone is creating a very powerful spell here. The power was off the charts, bigger than the dark curse. It's been giving me a migraine for the past couple of days," said Alaek.
"Ursula is the only person in Neverland capable of creating something so powerful," Rumple added.
"But now that we're here…. I don't sense a thing….. At least nothing significant," said Al.
"You're sure?" asked Rumple, the disappointment and anger clear in his voice.
"Yeah."
Ariel creeped up next to the ship, she put her ear against the wood, and she could hear their voices as clearly as if she were up there standing next to them.
"Ariel…"
"Shush. Be quiet, Flounder."
"So what's the plan?" asked Emma.
"We go back….. Lumiere…throw the bean," commanded Rumple.
Lumiere tossed the bean up and caught it, he pulled his arm back, ready to throw, suddenly the whole ship shook. They looked around, confused. The bean slipped out of Lumiere's hand; it tumbled in his hands, as he tried desperately to catch it.
"Don't let it hit the deck!" yelled Rumple, knowing fully well what would happen if it did.
Lumiere clamored to keep the bean in his hand, and just as it was inches away from hitting the wood, he scooped it up, and held it firmly in his hand. He breathed a sigh of relief, and placed the bean back in his pouch. Behind him, a large black tentacle slowly crept up alongside the ship, then swiftly smashed down the middle, and wrapped itself around the entire vessel; wood shot in all directions. Bae grabbed Emma, and protested her from the showering splinters, while Rumple and Alaek stood their ground. The Atlantis shook and cracked from the immense hold of whatever creature was trying to drag them to the depths of the sea; Alaek's head pounded from the surge of power he was feeling, whatever he had felt before was now beating on his skull like a loud drum. Rumple watched his brother collapse to his knees, grasping his head in pain, he hurried over to him, grasping Alaek's shoulder in comfort. Suddenly, a hearty, yet evil laugh filled the air.
Ariel ducked under water, her eyes widened at the sight of Ursula, the merpeoples' greatest enemy, rise the above the water with an evil smile, except now she was enormous, a giant. Ariel knew she had to act fast, she knew the humans wouldn't stand a chance, and if they fell in the water, her people would surely devour them. Her father hated humans, but they were a delicacy to her people.
"Ursula," said Rumple through gritted teeth.
"Rumple….. Welcome to my home. If I had known you were coming, I would have cleaned up a bit," she said sarcastically.
"Enough Ursula….. Whatever you are planning, cease now. Don't make me kill you," said Rumple.
Ursula growled at him, then smiled warmly, as if she had just gone through a quick meditation, and let all her anger and troubles go. Her tentacles began to unravel, and she slowly scuttled back into the sea. Ariel climbed up the side of the boat, and peered through the small window in the deck. She gazed in awe at them, she had never seen humans this close before, but her moment of joy turned to one of dread, when a large tentacle came battering down. She lost her grip, and fell back into the sea. Rumple and the others ducked out of the way, next thing he knew, Ursula had wrapped her slimy tentacle around him, and pulled him into the sea. As he hit the water, that felt like a thousand shards of ice hitting him, he could hear his family frantically calling his name.
"Rumple!" yelled Alaek, as he gazed over the side.
She pulled him deeper and deeper, it felt like miles under the sea; the blackness grew darker and darker as they went. The only thing saving Rumple, was the fact they he could breathe underwater. The stopped, Rumple opened his eyes, and found himself gazing into Ursula's giant black ones.
"I never forgot what you said last time we met, Rumple. I plan to return the favor. Nobody talks to me like that….. Not even the great Rumplestiltskin."
She let him go, then disappeared into a cloud of black smoke. Rumple began to swim to the surface as fast as he could. As the black smoke cleared, his surroundings began to become clearer; wait, this area was familiar. His stomach sank, the fear took him like a whirlwind; he knew exactly where he was….. the Merpalace. He suddenly felt two arms wrap around his neck, this could only be a mermaid, bubbles escaped his mouth, as he struggled. The mermaid opened wide, and sunk her teeth into Rumple's shoulder; blood flowed from the open wound, more bubbles escaped from his mouth, as he howled in pain. He managed to throw her off; she flew across the reef, and slammed into a pile of rocks. His hand glowed gold, as he charged up a spell, ready to fire. He had her in his sights, then he was seeing double, a sharp pain seared through his head, and his vision blurred, the mermaid's venom was taking hold. Soon darkness overtook him, and he lost consciousness, falling deeper into the sea.
Ariel spotted the human; one of her sisters had gotten a hold of him. He was out like a light, floating further into darkness; she watched her sister go in for another bite. Ariel swam briskly towards the, and speared her sister into a rock wall just before she was able to take a huge chunk out of his abdomen. Ariel swam back around, and grabbed Rumple by his collar, pulling him along, she swam like had never swam before; he tail swayed rapidly behind her. Her sister was in hot pursuit, growling at them; Rumple was still unconscious. Ariel knew she had to come up with a plan fast, otherwise this human will die, and she might be exiled. Ahead of her were the underwater caverns underneath the island, and a plan suddenly formed in her mind, she would lose her sister in there. Ariel swam for her life, dodging rocks and jagged walls, swimming through crevices, and in between falling boulders. This was taking too long, and her hungry sister was still hot on her trail, she had to lose her fast. Up ahead she could see rays of light coming from an opening in the rocks. She pulled Rumple in front of her, abruptly stopped, and swam up through the opening, holding him close, and shooting through the narrow passage. Her sister missed them, and crashed head first into the rock wall. The impact caused a minor collapse, and she was buried in a matter of seconds. Ariel glanced behind her; there was no sign of her sister, she swam up to the surface. She dragged Rumple onto the beach, the tide splashed over them. She gazed at him, this was the first time she had ever come in contact with a human, at least this close. She brushed a strand of wet hair from his face.
"Ariel!" called Flounder, as he jumped out of the water.
"It's alright, Flounder."
"He might be dangerous."
"He can't be. Look at him… He's so….. beautiful," she said softly, as she stroked his cheek.
She squinted her eyes, trying to focus on every inch of his face, not wanting to miss even the smallest details, to his handsome and strong features, to the lines in his face. She brushed another strand of hair out of his face, his hair was so soft, and it flowed beautifully around his shoulders. She placed a hand on his chest, letting move in tune with his breathing.
"What would I give to be where you are," she whispered.
She leaned closer to him; her thumb moved gently across his lips, she wanted to kiss him. Her face was inches away from his, when his eyes fluttered open. Rumple could feel the warmth of the sun on his face, and the sand beneath his fingers. He squinted; the dark silhouette above him was slowly coming into focus. He used his hand to shield his eyes from the intense light, with that he could barely make out, what appeared to be a mermaid; long beautiful red hair, gorgeous blue eyes, but not nearly as gorgeous as Belle's, and the most angelic face. She was beaming at him, and he knew that she had saved him; he opened his mouth to talk to her, but only a hoarse whisper came out. She silenced him with a finger on his lips, she didn't want him to speak, she only wanted to gaze upon him. He was so handsome, like a prince, but Ariel could also sense a darkness about him, and that only peaked her curiosity even more. His chest heaved up and down, she could tell he was wary of her; merpeople didn't exactly have the best reputation. She reached out to push another strand of hair out of his face, trying to comfort him, trying to let him know that she would never hurt him. Rumple had no idea of what to think about this girl, it was obvious to him that she had no intention of harming him, but the thing that scared him the most was the way she was looking at him, it was a look he was all too familiar with, a look that only came from Belle.
"Rumple!"
Rumple looked over at Alaek, who was running towards him along the shore. He turned back to look at the mermaid, she was gone; the only thing he could see was a distant green flipper splashing back into the sea. Alaek finally reached him, his hands grazed over Rumple's body, checking his condition. Once satisfied that his brother was fine, he gazed back out at the sea, where the mermaid had vanished.
"Did that monster hurt you?" he asked.
"No. No… she….. saved me."
"What?"
"Aye."
Alaek grasped his hand, and pulled him to his feet.
"Are you sure you're alright?"
"Yeah. I'm fine….. We need to go back home…. Formulate a plan. Ursula is cooking up something here. We need to find out what it is….. before it's too late," said Rumple.
Back in Fairytale Land…
Belle walked happily through the streets of her village, Victoria at her side. Women curtsied and men bowed, as she walked by; Belle happily returned each gesture.
"My lady, it is getting colder. Are you sure you don't want to return to the castle?" asked Victoria.
"I'm alright, Victoria. We'll leave soon," said Belle.
Belle continued her walk until she found herself in an unfamiliar part of the village; a fouls smell filled her nostrils, she quickly whipped out her handkerchief, and covered her nose and mouth. The smell was soon accompanied by a hiss coming from the dark hut directly in front of her.
"Come…." whispered the mysterious voice.
Victoria noticed Belle staring at the darkness ahead; she watched her take baby steps towards the mysterious hut.
"My lady?" Victoria was trying to get Belle's attention. Whatever this was, it was scaring the hell out of her, and thought of her princess being lost in this darkness was even more frightening.
Belle did not hear her, there was something dangerous about the hut, but an unknown force was pulling her towards it.
"Princess Belle?!" she called again.
Belle heard her this time; she knew she needed to send Victoria away.
"I'm alright. Can you go pick up my dress from Mrs. Potts for me?"
Victoria arched her eyebrow at the request.
"I'm not leaving you here. I can't. You'll be in danger."
Belle gave her a stern look; Victoria immediately back down.
"Yes, your majesty."
"Thank you."
Victoria hesitantly turned, as she backed away from Belle; after a few moments, she did as she was asked and left Belle alone. Belle hated doing that, she knew Veronica meant well, but she felt an obligation, as princess to protect the village from darkness, even if the darkness came from the village itself. Belle watched Veronica disappear around the corner, and proceeded into the hut. It was much darker inside than it was outside, it smelled of must and rotting meat.
"You have finally come," said the mysterious voice.
An old woman emerged from the back; Belle gasped and backed up against the wall. The woman's appearance was horrifying, her hair was grey and messy, she was missing a few teeth, her greenish colored clothes were tattered, but her eyes were the most terrifying, she had none. There was a giant scar in place of them. The old woman raised her hands, and a giant eyeballs appeared on each one. Belle's voice caught in her throat.
"No need to fear me, sweetie. I will not harm you," she said before letting out a high pitched laugh.
Belle relaxed a bit, she moved closer to the old woman, who sat own in a chair next to the fireplace.
"Who are you?" asked Belle.
"I am a seer. I can see the future."
"My husband can too."
"Indeed. He got his abilities from my daughter, before he killed her."
"Oh….. I'm so sorry," Belle hung her head in shame, another one of Rumple's misdeeds had caught up to her.
"No need to apologize dear, she had wanted to get out for years. The ability to tell the future is not a gift, it's a curse. Your husband discovered that the hard way."
"Yes he did."
The old woman waved her hands again.
"Oh!" she yelled.
"What? What is it?" asked Belle frantically.
"I have seen a glimpse of her future, my child," she said. Her eyes widened with horror.
"What is it?"
"Your unborn son," she whispered.
"My son? Does something happen to him?" Belle was scared now; she had hoped she and Rumple would be able to raise their son in peace.
"Are you sure you want to know, my dear?"
"Yes. I have to. Please tell me."
The old woman waved her hand again. She looked up at towards the ceiling, let out a hiss, and waved her hands once more.
"Your son….. he will be a handsome man; powerful, intelligent, brave….. he will be strong in magic."
"Go on," said Belle eagerly.
"On his 23rd birthday, he will make a choice, a choice that will decide the fate of us all… His path is at a cross roads. If he makes the right choice, he will bring peace and prosperity to all the realms, he will be regarded as the greatest warrior that ever lived, but if he chooses the wrong path, he will bring nothing but death and destruction, and he will be more feared and hated than his father ever was."
Belle's heart sank, it couldn't, be her son could never be capable of that. It wasn't supposed to be like this; her son was supposed to live a normal life, become a normal man. That was all she and his father ever wanted for him, and now this seer is telling her he may be destined to become a monster.
"There is more….. If he chooses the wrong path, my child… he will be the death of his father."
I'm sorry it took so long for me to update, I've had a lot going on lately, but now everything is alright, and I'll be updating faster. Thank you all for reading and for your lovely comments.
