Should he perpetuate the history he loathed so much and thus completing the Author's story? Or was there another option? Was there even a choice? Should he give in to the Author's demand and let the story play out or did he still have power left to change it? Did he really have the power to decide his own fate? Was it right to allow himself to withstand another tortuous unknown millennia of time travel to come right back here? When did it stop?
No! He argued with himself. He's been through enough torture. He deserved his happy ending and to be with the people he loved. He stared at the cup. He made a choice to take on the curse of the dagger. He made the choice to let Belle go; a choice which left him believing that he had sent her off to her death. He made the choice to take on the Sorcerer's hat. Perhaps he deserved this fate. Was part of his curse as a human being to never make the right choice?
Was he brave enough to make the right choice? He did chose this path to live as he does. Was he smart enough to understand that at every step of the way there was always a choice, no matter what we do no matter when we do it? No matter how he looked at his situation, it was either a win-win or lose-lose scenario. His past self takes the hat and he, in the future, has the chance of resuming the rest of his happy ending with his family. The Author gets what he wants and he gets what he wants... Win-win. Lose-lose... The loss would be being under the control of the Sorcerer's hat, of losing yourself and witnessing actions on your own behalf against your will, and that in the end the Author gets what he wants. Or maybe, he should allow his past self to make the choice and decide his fate. He may not be able to make the choice for his past self, but he could at least remind his past self that he still had a choice.
Rumple placed the chipped cup down on the counter and finished his cup of coffee. After placing the mug back down in the sink he meandered up to the nursery and picked out his wife's favorite book, Beauty and the Beast. He brought the book back down stairs and sat down on the living room couch to read it when suddenly he opened his eyes and it was daylight again. He had accidentally fallen asleep!
What time is it?! He immediately got up and frantically looked about the room for the time. 3:06 p.m. How on Earth could I have fallen asleep in a time like this? He cursed himself. His wife along with his doppelganger would be arriving soon enough. He needed to get to the shop before they did. He grabbed all the belongings he could in the Victorian house and magicked himself away to the library. To his relief he saw that they hadn't arrived there yet. He looked up at the library and remembered Belle's library apartment. He scurried up the outside stairs to the building's apartment and unlocked the door with magic. He placed the few things he had down on the table and began putting away what little he had. He went to the single bedroom and opened up the armoire. When he opened up the wardrobe's doors he was surprised to see remnants of Belle's clothes along with a few extra suits that belonged to him.
He tried on one of his old suits and found that they hung just a little loose around his body. He went to the bathroom and sipped a portion of the youth potion. In an instant, he filled the Armani suit again. His white beard and moustache shrunk into his face and his hair shortened again. He didn't regain all of the color back in his hair, but it was just the right amount of grey to pass off as his past self. With the dagger close at hand he magicked himself to the library's clock tower. He moved over to the window looking down at the town and watched as he waited.
About forty-five minutes later, the familiar Cadillac arrived in front of the shop. He saw both himself and Belle step outside the vehicle and look around the town and up at the shop in wonder. After not having seen Belle for so long, the sudden sight of her radiant beauty took his breath away. Her gorgeous form unparalleled by her internal loveliness stunned him like she did on their wedding night. It would have been enough. Why didn't he see that? Why didn't he believe in that?
He stared down at himself by the shop and became entranced. There was something strange and unnatural about seeing his past self walk comfortably about with his wife. The Rumplestiltskin in the tower gazed downward at his past self with a jealous eye. It wasn't until the couple started moving toward the shop that he realized what was happening. He didn't want his past self entering the Pawn Shop to be tempted by the items within so he lifted the dagger and called to it, "Go back to your Storybrooke home."
Almost instantly, he saw both Rumplestiltskin and Belle stop in their attempt to enter the shop and walk straight back to the car. Why was Belle following the command? He wondered. Then suddenly he remembered that she still shared his half-heart. As the car took off again, Rumple disappeared from the clock tower and reappeared on his neighbor's property two doors down from his Victorian house. When he saw the Cadillac turn the corner he ducked behind his neighbor's car to avoid being seen. He peeked his head over the hood of the car and watched as the events unfolded.
The first thing he saw to his surprise was Arthur stepping out of the vehicle. Rumple crouched a little further down behind the vehicle. In a flash, Arthur disappeared. Rumple exhaled a sigh of relief at the boy's disappearance when suddenly he saw Arthur directly by his side squatting next to him beside the car.
"What are you doing?" demanded Arthur in a subdued voice. At his voice, Rumple became startled and jumped at the sudden sight of him.
"My wife is here. I have to see her," Rumple said still looking over at Belle with a determined look.
"You screw this up and you won't ever see her. You won't ever get your happy ending."
"Now you're concerned about my happy ending?" remarked Rumple sarcastically as he watched Belle and his past self ascend the front steps. He watched his twin enter the house and continued, "That's what I thought I was getting when I decided to take on the Sorcerer's hat. Turns out I was wrong. That's the last time I trust anything or anyone who claims to know what my happy ending is because no one, and I mean no one decides my fate but me." He suddenly remembered where he had heard those words before. Belle. At her father's castle. She had said it to him when they had first met. Their first deal. Even to this day the words still held their poignancy.
"Fate or not, you get that hat because that's what happens in my story. Do as I say and you'll get your happy ending."
"Yeah," scoffed Rumplestiltskin, "Well, if you're so confident about your story, then why do you sound so nervous?"
"I'm not nervous," retorted Arthur quickly as his voice quivered with an upward inflection. He obviously sounded nervous. Arthur gave out a nervous cough at the implication. "Do as I say and you'll get your family back."
"All this talk about happy endings and you have not once proven to me that mine exists. Excuse me while I continue to not believe you."
"Fine, don't believe me. Just remember," Arthur replied pompously, "I still hold all the cards and that I…still have your daughter."
Rumple turned to Arthur, grabbing the front of his suit jacket and replied angrily, "Where's Lily? Where are you keeping her?"
Arthur smirked playfully at Rumple and replied as he disappeared from his grip in a cloud of smoke, "Wouldn't you like to know?"
"That smarmy little…" Rumple wanted to finish the sentence with a curse, but then he saw that he and his wife had already entered the house. He got up from the car and skulked over to his property. Seeing the outfit his doppelganger chose, he waved his hands over his suit to match what he saw. Satisfied with how identical he looked to his past self, he hesitantly walked up the stairs. A shimmering magical light descended slowly upon the residence and in the nick of time he stepped inside the barrier. He peered through the glass. Undoubtedly, they were inside. His hand hovered over the door knob as he realized what a bad idea this was.
What am I doing? He thought to himself as he stopped himself from entering the house. Risk it all just to catch one more glimpse of her… to hold her hand again? Don't be fool. She's not yours. He turned around on the porch and stared at the street, debating with himself on how to proceed and what he was doing there. He was so eager to see Belle that he didn't think this part of the reunion through. Realizing that this was a bad idea, he went to leave when suddenly Belle was standing right in front of him.
"Rumple, are you… uh, are you done fortifying the house? Is it safe to talk now?"
Her sudden presence took him by surprise as a flood of emotions surfaced to the surface. Her beauty was so magnificent that it made him want to cry. Her eyes were crystal blue like a clear midday sky and they seemed to look through him like she was seeing into his exposed soul. Her auburn curls bounced on her shoulders as she approached him and her skin… her soft milky-white skin seemed to glow in the afternoon light. Her angelic presence made his knees shake, but he knew he had to maintain his composure… but he caved.
"Yes," he stuttered, "Yes, we're safe now." He moved forward and embraced her. He never wanted to let her go. He felt like he was touching heaven. He inhaled her floral fragrant scent and it was divine. He closed his eyes. There was so much he wanted to say to her, but couldn't. How could he ever explain what he had been through? So instead, he said the one thing that she would understand, "I love you Belle."
What happened next, he couldn't explain. Before he knew it he was kissing her on the lips. To him time stood still. It was automatic. A knee-jerk reaction. A connection of grandiose proportions. Fireworks. Explosions. The world could be falling apart and ripping itself at the seams and he just didn't care. Kissing her was right and true and felt as natural as the rising sun. What was he doing? He was losing himself. All that mattered was her savory soft rose petal lips on his. Why did he choose the hat? Why did he have to wait to be old and grey to truly appreciate this? It was at this moment that he realized that the hat just wasn't worth the power.
She pulled away from him, taken back slightly, "Woah, what's the meaning of all this?"
Arthur was right. If he showed his past self that there was an option to destroy the hat, he would never get his happy ending. But, by destroying the hat he would cease to exist and then all that time spent in slavery to the hat would have been in vain. Lose-lose. In this life, he would never see her again. He brought her hand up to the side of his face and held it there. He closed his eyes and said simply, "I just… don't ever want to make the same mistake twice and lose you too."
He could tell by the confused look on her face that she had no idea what he was talking about. It was better off that she didn't know. He kissed the inside of her palm and brought it gently down to her side. He just couldn't tear his gaze away from her. She shook her head, thinking that she misunderstood him and asked, "Do you have a plan? Are we going to find Lily?"
Did he really have a plan? Were they going to find Lily? He didn't know how but he had to believe they would. That would be his happy ending after all. "We're going to find her and we'll have her again soon enough, but for now I must apologize." He was already risking too much by interacting with her. He had to magic her to sleep. "I'm so sorry to do this to you my love…"
He would risk it all. He would risk it all just to spend more time with her and Lily. He had sacrificed his life before to save his family, so naturally he would sacrifice himself to do it again. If there was one thing he learned about himself through the Author, was that it was always in his character to be this way; to be self-sacrificing. At that moment it became clear what Rumple had to do. He had to sacrifice his happy ending to change the Author's story.
"Do what to me? What are you sorry for? I don't understand…"
He brought his hand up to her head and with the look of regret, waved it over her face. It was too soon for her to know everything just yet. She had to find out when the time was right and when they had their daughter back. Before she could finish her sentence her eyelids became extremely heavy and fell shut. She began to collapse to the floor but he gracefully caught her in time. She fell into his arms and he made sure her body never touched the ground. He hoisted her up and carried her inside the house, risking exposure to his past self. To hell with the consequences!
As he stepped further and further into the house he could hear the sound of clanking bottles and potions coming from downstairs in the basement. Fortunately for him, his past self was working on the tracking spell, so it gave him enough time to gently set her down on the couch in the living room. He knelt down beside her by the couch and held her hand within his own. He sweetly kissed her hand and whispered, "My darling Belle, I have never stopped loving you and I will always love you till my last breath."
He kissed her on the forehead and stood up, remembering her one last time before he left the house.
A little more dialogue and a little more romance. You'll notice that whenever he makes the right choice, it's always whenever a loved one is close by. This is not unknown knowledge amongst us Rumbellers, but it's also pivotal to my story.
Thank you to Imusicluver23, Grace5231973, NatalieMosherRumbelle, BreathingintheSun, ladybugsmomma and Montreat11 for your reviews. You all are just Rock Stars to me. See you next chapter!