DISCLAIMER:: do not own. just borrowing for purpose of creative expression. no profit obtained.
A/N:: everyone will probably be frustrated with the vagueness of this chapter and rumpelstiltskin's crypticness, but i promise all will be explained soon. working on the next update for this and all stories now that my birthday is over. enjoy this chapter and review if you feel so inclined.
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-Chapter 32: I'm Losing You And It's Effortless-
When Emma finally awoke, she found herself in a bed chamber. It was decorated in dark colours, though it looked more like something Madam Mayor would have decorated than the imp of a man whose palace she was currently in. The bed was wrought iron, four bedposts, one at each corner, extended straight up, their pointed ends just piercing into the ceiling. Sheer curtains hung from all sides, a deep crimson in hue, painting the room in a blood soaked haze from her vantage point. The sheets themselves were unsurprisingly black and high quality, only the finest for a royal after all. She drew the curtain to the side and slipped out onto a floor of polished black marble. The rest of the room and it's furniture was black or crimson with shocks of white here or there. It was decent in size, though the extra space was unnecessary; one look around the room told her that this room was not meant to be lingered in. It wasn't a sanctuary, merely a place for bed chamber activities.
She looked down at her attire. Someone… hopefully Regina… had stripped away her commoner's dress and put her in a simple night shift. She crossed to the armoire, hoping to remedy that. Upon opening it, she again found the remains of Regina's wardrobe, just as she had in the ruined keep. However, these clothes spoke of a different side to Regina. Where as the dresses and jackets in the keep had been in violets and light blues, various hues from all over the colour spectrum, as well as one black mourning gown as was customary for a person of noble birth to possess. Here, there was a slightly darker colour scheme, navy, crimson, plum, black… the most colourful attire being the items that contained bright red, but even that seemed more sinister among the other clothes. She grabbed a black gown, a little elaborate for her taste, but it would suffice, and changed into it. She went to the wash basin and cleaned up.
She exited the room into a large parlour. It was here that she found Regina. One wall was missing from the room, extending out over empty air to form a balcony. The brunette stood out at the railing, gazing down at the forest below. Emma walked up behind her and wrapped her arms around Regina from behind, pulling the older woman back against her.
"Is it once again morning, my darling?" Regina's hands caressed the arms that held her.
"Have you been up all night again?" Emma noted yesterday's riding attire. She placed a soft kiss to the back of the brunette's neck.
"I do not trust Rumpelstiltskin. I fear I will sleep little within these walls."
"Always looking out for me. My saviour. My Queen."
Regina turned and took Emma's face into her hands. "I could give you the same titles you know."
Emma smiled. She leaned in and kissed the brunette softly. She reached up and grabbed the hands holding her face, entwining their fingers together. She pulled the woman back out to the balcony, surveying the view for herself for the first time. A view Regina had looked out over many a time, a view that had seen her at her worst. "This place is another part of your history. It seems everywhere we go, you've touched it in some way. You lived so much." She tried to keep the regret out of her voice. By the time Regina had been her age, she'd been a Queen as well, and she'd done much. Emma, though a sovereign, had experienced little of life. This was the farthest south she'd been in her entire twenty eight years of life.
"Now that's where you're wrong." It was Regina's turned to wrap her arms around the blonde and pull her back into an embrace, leaning her chin on a strong shoulder. "I didn't truly live until the day you found me in that crystal prison. You are my life. This…" She pulled one hand from the embrace to gesture at the world below. "It meant nothing."
"Your rooms, he didn't change them at all, did he?"
Regina sighed and shook her head. "No. They are exactly as they were before, save one minor adjustment."
"What's that?" Emma glanced curiously over her shoulder.
"My hearts. They are gone."
"The hearts you collected, they're missing?"
Regina frowned. "I wouldn't say missing. I had a safety enchantment placed upon them. If any ill were ever to befall me, and I was often in danger of that very thing, then the hearts would be transported to a new location. That way, even if I were gone, no one could ever retrieve their heart. It would be my last act of evil, that my victims would receive no retribution, no closure." She downcast her eyes in shame.
"Hey." Emma turned in her embrace, her hand reaching up to grasp the brunette's chin and raise it until their eyes met once again. "You're not that person anymore. You are a mother, a lover, a friend, hopefully one day, a wife."
Regina's brow furrowed and Emma blushed.
"You belong to me Regina, and I protect what's mine, even if that means protecting you from the darkness within yourself." She kissed her shoulder. "Where's Savya?"
Regina smiled at the mention of the little girl. "She is safe with Graham. I wanted some time alone with you." Regina wrapped her arms tighter around the blonde, crashing their lips together. She backed them off the balcony and back into the room until the back of her calves hit the edge of the fainting couch and she fell down upon it, pulling the blonde down with her. Her tongue continued to stroke deep inside Emma's mouth, the blonde allowing her hands to come up and tangle in dark locks.
Emma pressed her body hard against the brunette's, longing to be closer to her, positive she wouldn't be satisfied until she could literally sink into the older woman and become one with her. Was this what it felt like to know that your soul belonged with someone else's? She'd never been so sure of something in her entire life. As good as it made her feel to be around Regina Mills in Storybrooke, it was nothing compared to the rush she felt every time she looked into Queen Regina's eyes. She pulled reluctantly away from the velvet haven of her mouth to do that very thing. Her eyes roved across the sharp but somehow extremely delicate features of her lover, caressing the skin with her gaze. "I want to stay, like this, forever. An eternity, and I would still never tire of this." She leaned back in and once again lost herself in the warm smoothness of the older woman's lips and tongue.
Neither of them heard the woman enter. She had learned to move through this place with the quiet efficiency of a ghost. She never knew when Rumpelstiltskin would be in a good mood or a foul one, and so she'd learned to always tread carefully. She'd heard the whispers. The Evil Queen was bad, but he was far darker. And after the atrocities she'd been met with at the hands of the Evil Queen, to even try and force her mind to conjure up what could possibly be worse was a difficult task. Even if she managed to conjure up some horrible torture scene, it was too painful to dwell on. So she'd learned to be a good little servant and keep to herself. She watched the two women for a long moment, feeling something spark inside her, a reminder of a time when there was someone she wanted to kiss like that. Back in the days where Rumpelstiltskin's soul had not been long lost and he had still be a man worth saving, a man who could be saved. But those days had faded with the decades and she quickly tossed the feelings aside. She cleared her throat.
Both women's head snapped up at the intrusion.
"Belle." Regina looked at her with an expression the younger brunette couldn't read.
Emma slipped off Regina and stood. She smiled at the woman. "I'm sorry, how rude of us."
Belle shifted uncomfortably. It had been over two decades since she'd seen true kindness from anyone. Kindness always had a price here; the Dark One never failed to remind her of that. She downcast her eyes. "No Your Majesty, the rudeness is mine for intruding upon your chambers. My master wishes to dine with you this afternoon in his library."
Emma didn't understand why this woman feared her so. "Very well. We have much to talk about. If you'll just show us the way…"
"Only you." The woman cut her off.
Emma frowned. "Only me?"
Belle nodded, still unable to meet her eyes. "Yes, he requested only your presence. Tonight, we will all dine together in the dining room, but he wishes to speak now only with you."
Regina stood, instantly looking suspicious. "No!" She put a protective arm around Emma's shoulders. "I will not let her walk into a trap."
Belle glowered at Regina, her contempt for the woman obvious. "He cannot harm her. He made a deal that she would be safe from him until that day in which she turns twenty eight. He wishes only to speak with her. Your presence is neither required nor welcome."
Regina strode forward, stopping a couple feet from the woman, anger fueling her. But as she stopped, and she saw that old determined glint in her eyes, she lost the rage. "I broke you, and for that I will never be sorry enough."
"Save your apologies witch. They will never mean anything to me."
"Just because you won't accept them, does not mean they aren't sincere."
Belle looked like she was about to throw something back in her face but changed her mind. She looked at Emma. "Your Grace?"
Emma walked forward. She stopped next to Regina, pulling the brunette's mouth to hers for a soft kiss. "I'll be back my love."
Regina looked at her meaningfully. "Be careful my darling." She glanced at Belle. "Tell Rumpelstiltskin, if he so much as touches her, I will stop at nothing to tear him limb from limb."
Belle sneered at the woman and Emma could read the like you could on her face as plainly as if she'd uttered the words out loud.
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"How long have you been a serving him?"
The older woman tensed. "A very long time, but I've known him for longer."
Emma heard the sadness in her tone and she knew instantly that this woman had cared for the creature she served once.
"You must have been young when you met."
"I was seventeen when Rumpelstiltskin traded me for the safety of my family and my friends."
Emma frowned in displeasure. "So he… took you from them?"
Belle sighed. "He gave me a choice. It was my decision to make and I made it. I'd do it the same every time over." She glanced at Emma, and for the first time, the blonde saw the green of her eyes. Though they seemed tired, they were far from resigned. "Some things in the world are bigger than us Your Grace."
"But he keeps you here now?"
Belle turned her gaze away once more and shook her head. "He offered me my freedom the moment he released me from the cell in which the Evil Queen had locked me."
"And you chose to stay? Why?"
Belle was quiet for so long that Emma was positive she wasn't going to answer. Finally, in the smallest of voices… "Sometimes I believe I am all that tethers him to sanity."
Emma nodded slowly. "Perhaps. But that is a heavy burden to bear."
"So is being the child of the prophecy. You and I are much the same Your Grace. We bear our burdens silently, never vocalizing any complaints we may have. We are people who accepted our destiny long ago."
"But the difference is… I couldn't stop mine, even if I wanted to. Yours is a choice." Emma had no judgment in her voice, just truth.
Belle tensed. "A heart is a fickle thing. It is most selfish. It hunts, with no concern as to what's appropriate. It searches until it finds that one which it was created for. It cares not if the person is already claimed, if it will destroy a family, or if that person is your sworn enemy. When it finds what it's hunting for, it settles there. You cannot fight the will of a heart. That man… for under it all, that's what he is… he has all of me."
Emma could see tears sliding down the older woman's cheeks.
"There are days where I see the smallest glimpses of the person I used to love, who I still love. It may seem ridiculous to you Your Grace… but those moments are why I could never leave. I cannot turn my back when I know he's still in there. I cannot abandon my love."
Emma reached out a hand and placed it on Belle's arm in a gesture of comfort. "Maybe we have more in common than I realized. We both battle the dark in them every day to hold on to the light."
Belle put a hand over Emma's, managing a sad smile. "She doesn't deserve you." She met Emma's gaze for a moment. "But I hope you can be her salvation, not for her sake, but for your own." She dropped her eyes and pulled away to open the door in front of them.
Emma stepped through and jumped a little when Belle closed the door behind her, sealing her in the seemingly empty library. Like the library in the ruined keep, there were several stories of books in the circular room. In the center of the floor was a large ornate rug, velvet armchairs dotting its surface. One part of the wall of the bottom story was devoid of books to accommodate the ornate and grand fireplace. It was huge. She was sure at least fire people could comfortable stand in its mouth. There was no fire going, leaving the room in gloom.
"Welcome dearie."
She hadn't noticed him sitting in one of the armchairs, but she was hardly surprised at his presence. "You've requested my presence?"
He gestured for her to sit.
Cautiously, she fell into one of the other armchairs across from him. She didn't try to hide her study of him. He still looked something inhuman, though she couldn't really identify what he was. Once, surely, he had been a man, but the dark powers he possessed had corrupted his very existence, seeping into his physical appearance. His skin was green in colour, with gold flecks here and there. His eyes were fevered and surprisingly bright. His curly hair was long and wild. He looked more like he belonged in a traveling circus than sitting in a castle, but she'd seen much in her life that had appeared inexplicable.
"Did you sleep well?"
She pursed her lips. "We both know you're aware of my condition. Please do not talk in riddles with me."
"I remind you dearie that it was you and your…companion that showed up on my doorstep. I did not call you here."
Emma frowned. "You certainly heard by now that we're running from my husband."
He fluttered his fingers through the air. "I hear whisperings. I do not see what that has to do with me."
"I'd like to know anything you can tell me about the prophecy. Hadrian has all the scrolls on it back at the palace. I was unable to retrieve them."
He steepled his fingers and grinned. "Tell me Your Majesty, have you made your choice already?"
Emma tensed. The way he said it, laced with mocking, caused worry to bloom in the pit of her stomach. "As a matter of fact, I have."
His grin only widened, exposing his crooked, discoloured teeth. "I was present when the Oracle made the prophecy. The truth of what was said that day has never been shared with the outside world dearie."
Emma frowned. "But the scrolls of record, they have the prophecy word for word. I have seen it with my own eyes."
He waggled a finger at her, an adult admonishing a child. "What is written there is what all present at the telling of the prophecy agreed to share."
Emma stood, glaring down at him. "You changed it?"
He waved off her concern. "We all changed it. An agreement of what was best for the realm."
Emma's fists clenched at her side. "What did you change?"
He smirked up at her, unmoved by her anger. "Why dearie, it was just one small modification, harmless really."
She narrowed her eyes. "What was changed?"
Rumpelstiltskin grinned triumphantly at her. "On your twenty eighth name day, there will be no choice."
The anger left Emma's body swiftly. Her legs threatened to collapse beneath her and she fell back into the chair. "What… what do you mean there will be no choice?"
His eyes sparkled as he leaned forward and Emma knew he was about to shatter her world.
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Regina paced the floor of her parlour. Her chambers were the only part of the palace that had remained untouched by the imp. He'd left them exactly as they were. She liked the familiarity. Everything else she had built had been changed beyond recognition or destroyed. It felt good to have something to hold onto. Emma had been gone over an hour and her worry grew with every passing minute. Rumpelstiltskin was known for his trickery. He would not waste such an opportunity to manipulate the blonde Queen. Emma was strong of will, she was the child of Snow White after all, but she was naïve in the ways of the Forbidden Forest. She'd seen the politics of deception during her reign but never anything like that of the creature with whom she was meeting now.
The chamber doors burst open and Regina's head snapped up.
Emma stood in the open doorway, tears making shining rivers down her cheeks. Her eyes were red and wild as they focused on the brunette. She walked forward, slowly at first, but then she was almost running. She threw her arms around Regina's neck, crashing their lips together.
The kiss was desperate, almost sloppy, and Regina felt Emma's tears stain her own cheeks. She allowed her several moments before she finally pulled back. "My love, what's wrong?"
Emma closed her eyes. It wasn't fair. How dare this be taken from her? Was Fate really so cruel to take this last thing from her? Were some people truly destined to never have their happy endings? She buried her face against Regina's neck, openly sobbing now.
"Emma, darling, tell me what's wrong?" Regina stroked her hair and tried to get her to look up, without success.
Finally Emma pulled back. She put a hand to Regina's cheek, brushing her thumb softly across it. The action sparked a new torrent of tears and she turned, running into the bed chamber and slamming the door.
Regina stared at the closed door. Then her eyes flashed towards the door to the parlour, still wide open. Rumpelstiltskin. She clenched her fists at her side and violet energy rippled across them.
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The door splintered inward, fragments of wood shattering in all directions.
Rumpelstiltskin seemed unaffected. "It was unlocked dearie, no need for the theatrics."
"What did you do to her?" Regina sent a bolt of violet energy, causing the nearest armchair to explode.
He shrugged. "I did what no one else in her life seems willing to do; I told her the truth."
Another armchair blown to smithereens. "What truth is that?"
He chose to ignore her question, sipping from a chipped teacup. "The other world in which she dwells, quite a horrid little plane of existence. It's an unforgiving and magic-less place. It does not exist by the same rules in which our world does. You know as well as I do Your Highness that things fit into a mould here. We live with restrictions that don't exist in this other world."
Yet another armchair blown apart. "Make your point!"
Rumpelstiltskin grinned. "Tell me dearie? Can you handle the truth? Can you take knowing your Fate and being unable to stop it… unable to save her?"
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Emma heard the door to the bed chamber open and close softly a moment later. She had her back turned to it and she didn't need to turn to know it was Regina. She felt the extra weight dip the bed and then strong arms were wrapping around her. She didn't have to ask to know that she knew the truth. She knew what was to be their Fate.
"I'll do everything I can. I'm not giving up." Emma cringed at the hoarsness of her own voice.
Regina placed a soft kiss to the top of her hair. "I know."