Chapter Forty—"The Puzzle Assembles"

"Right this way," Ruby said as gently as she could, leading a rather beautiful and traumatized young man towards the camp that Snow's soldiers had set up in the woods near Caer Dallben. So far, they had rescued almost one hundred prisoners from the Grove of Six Trees, all of which had walked out stumbling and confused, like they were waking from a horrible nightmare. They came from towns all over the Enchanted Forest, and most had no idea how long they'd been there. Some thought that they'd been prisoners for years or even decades, and at least one middle-aged woman insisted that she'd been taken by the fae as a child.

Belle, who knew more about magic than any of the others, had wondered if some of the prison cells might have actually been pockets where time ran faster than it did outside, but there was no way to be sure. All they could do for now was get the former prisoners to safety and try to keep Grumpy from overextending himself while he tried to help everyone. Ruby wasn't as close to the dwarf as Snow and Belle were, but he was still her friend, and she wasn't above bullying some common sense into him, particularly if it kept him from hurting himself further. Hopefully, that was why he'd headed over to the mess tent for something to eat. Either that, or he'd just walked away to shut her up. Still, Ruby would take the victories where she could find them.

"Thank you," the young man whispered shakily, and Ruby smiled as she handed him off to a medic.

"You're welcome. Let me know if you need anything."

The poor kid nodded, and Ruby stepped away, heading back towards where Belle and Snow stood together, not far from the entrance to the Grove of Six Trees. Belle had a book in her hands again—a new one, Ruby thought—and was frowning thoughtfully at the page.

"…far too easy," Snow was agreeing.

"It could just be that Norco slipped up," Belle replied, but she didn't sound like she believed that herself. "Though I doubt he accidentally let the name of the grove slip in front of Grumpy."

"You think it's a trap," Ruby joined the conversation, a lump of worry forming in her stomach. She'd known this had been too easy. They all had. Why had they ignored that?

Belle and Snow exchanged a glance. "It has to be," Belle said. "This book says that the entrance to the Grove has to be opened with fae magic."

"But it opened for us." Ruby blinked, turning to stare at the withered tree stump they'd all stepped on to get inside the hidden fae grove. It still sat there innocently, ancient and harmless looking, so low that it was almost flush with the ground. At first, they'd thought the Grove of Six Trees was the area around the stump, but now they knew that the stump was just a gateway to somewhere much more surreal.

"Exactly," Snow put in grimly. "And that means Norco wanted us to find it. And these people."

"That means we can't afford to camp here." Ruby's mind whirled into motion. She was good at organizing people, and perhaps more importantly, her time working at Granny's had taught her what it took to care for so many people all at once. Much to her surprise, Ruby had even found she had a talent for knowing what logistics were required to keep an army moving during the war, something David had put to good use more than once. Now she started thinking madly, calculating how long it would take to disassemble the camp that they'd just spent hours building. Too long. "We need to get these people out of here. Fast."

"Oh, it's too late for that," a new voice purred, making all three women spin around.

A slender, dark haired man—fae!—stood a dozen feet away from them, framed by flowering trees. A silver ball of magic sparked in the air; he tossed it from hand to hand idly, playfully. His body language was relaxed, and his movements unhurried, with dark gray and black robes swirling around him gently. He smelled of earth and magic and evil, but his smile was sharp-edged and dangerous. Ruby had never seen the fae that had captured Grumpy, but instinct told her that this was Norco. And he was old, powerful. Her wolf's nose had always helped her know how much magic a person had, and Norco possessed a terrifyingly huge amount.

Belle had dropped the book in shock—or maybe she hadn't, because now the fae-catching net that Rumplestiltskin had enchanted for them was in her hands, and the brunette let go of it immediately after pulling it out. The net flew towards Norco, covering the distance between them impossibly fast, reaching out to pin the fae to the ground and contain his magic. It was on Norco before Ruby could even blink, but the moment the net touched the fae, it disintegrated, landing in a pile of ash at Norco's feet. Immediately, musical laughter filled the air.

"That might work on a lesser fae, beautiful, but it won't work on me," Norco replied, prowling forward. The ball of magic still bounced between his hands, bright and shining and utterly distracting. "Though you might serve to distract me well enough."

Snow's bow was in hand and pointed at the fae before he could take three steps. "Come any closer and I'll shoot," the Queen snapped.

"Should I feel threatened?" Norco cocked his head at Snow, looking far more curious than frightened.

"Let's find out." During their time in Storybrooke, Ruby had often forgotten how tough Snow could be, but today Snow as showing her true colors. Even when she'd been a frightened princess on the run, Snow had been stronger than almost anyone else Ruby had ever met. Matching her friend's actions, Ruby drew her own sword and noticed Belle doing the same. They were ready to fight if they had to.

But a casual wave of Norco's hands made all of their weapons disappear, leaving Ruby's hands to close around thin air instead of the hilt of her sword. The fae's smile was brilliant, and now there was nothing lazy in his actions; now he was a predator, sizing up his prey with enthusiasm. Until he turned to look at Snow and Ruby, his eyes critical. "A queen and a wolf," he scoffed. "Boring."

Without warning, magic swirled around them, sharp and smelling of power and darkness. The cloud surrounding them was dense and silver in color, interspersed with black and purple swirls that pulled at Snow and Ruby relentlessly, yanking them off their feet and then depositing them on the ground somewhere other than where they had been before. It stung something wicked, too, and Ruby heard Snow yelp even as she hissed in pain. When the magic cleared away, they were now the ones standing a dozen feet away from Belle while Norco stopped in front of her, barely an arm's length away. For her part, Belle stood her ground and glared at the fae, her blue eyes perhaps a little wider than usual but no less courageous.

"What do you want?" Belle demanded, even as Ruby and Snow rushed towards her. There was no way Ruby was going to let the fae who had hurt Grumpy like that anywhere near her friend, even if they didn't have weapons. Ruby was stronger than she looked, and—

The fingers on Norco's left hand twitched, and they smashed into a barrier that felt like a steel wall. She and Snow bounced off as Ruby snarled in fury and pain—this magic hurt like mad, and both would be covered in bruises before too long. They landed hard on their behinds, temporarily dazed, but not so much that they didn't jump right to their feet. However, a slight shimmering filled the air in front of them, a barricade standing between them and their friend, keeping them from helping Belle at all. Meanwhile, Norco answered Belle's question:

"You. You're…interesting. Touched by magic, and yet not a sorceress. And your heart, oh, your heart is fascinating."

"My heart?" Belle took a hesitant step backwards, and Ruby was relieved to see that Norco let her. "What do you want with my heart?"

"You are quite extraordinary, aren't you?" he said instead of answering her question. Leering. "Quite a believer."

"What are you talking about?" Belle demanded, taking another cautious step back.

"The Heart of the Truest Believer is a curious power," Norco purred. "Right now it resides inside a child, but should that child die…untimely, another will immediately follow…and that will be you."

Belle started. "Me?"

"Oh, yes. What is your name, beautiful? I could certainly imagine keeping you as my pet for eternity." Norco bounced forward a step, and Ruby could see Belle trying to withdraw again, but now magic held her in place. She fought against the spell to no avail, and now Ruby could see dread starting to creep into her blue eyes. Slowly, smiling all the while, Norco reached out to touch Belle's cheek. She recoiled, but obviously could not move away.

"I'm not your pet," Belle snapped. "I'm not going to be your pet, no matter what you say." Her blue eyes met his dark ones fearlessly. "And you're not killing Henry, either."

"Oh, so you know the boy? How convenient."

"Hey!" Next to Ruby, Snow was on her feet and holding up a handful of the fairy dust Tink had snuck to them. "Leave her alone."

Norco actually bounced with amusement, shaking with laughter. "Oh, and why should I do that, little human queen? Are you going to throw dust from my tiny cousins at me?"

"Fairy dust is the least of your worries once I get a hold of you," Ruby growled, feeling the wolf inside her raging. Wolves were pack animals, and Belle was her friend. More than a friend. The wolf saw Belle as part of Ruby's pack, and the wolf was ready to tear Norco limb from limb. With her teeth.

"And the wolf wants to bite me. How quaint. But I was bored with the dwarf and looking for hero types, so I suppose I'm satisfied with your arrival." Norco wheeled back to face Belle. "Loyal friends you have here."

"Don't look so surprised," Belle shot back, and the fae smiled.

"Brave and believing," he said softly, possessively, desire filling his eyes. "When we kill the boy, my mistress will let me keep you, and I will enjoy it."

Ruby shuddered. She had seen that kind of hunger before, had seen men who abused women and thought it made them powerful. She was hardly royalty, after all, and had lived a plain peasant's life before becoming friends with a princess. Granny had tried to protect her, and nothing terrible had ever happened to Red before she realized that she was a werewolf, but she'd still seen this kind of man preying upon innocent peasant women. Norco might not have been human, but Ruby still knew exactly what he was. Immortal magical being or not, he was the type of trash that Granny kept the crossbow under the counter for. They had to do something—but what?

Belle, however, beat them to it, looking Norco right in the eye as he reached out to touch her face again. "I doubt that," she told him firmly, and then smiled. "Rumplestiltskin."

The call had burned into him like a brand, with Belle's voice filling his mind and lighting every corner of his soul on fire. Still at David and Snow's castle, Rumplestiltskin had been spending some much-overdue time with his grandson and teaching the lad to play chess when the call came, driven by the force of Belle's love for him and made strong by her unbending confidence that he would come to save her. To save her. Every vision he'd had suddenly congealed into a concrete certainty that Belle was in danger, and the pieces fell into place. The previously confusing puzzle assembled itself at an alarming rate, and he could suddenly See everything.

Belle. Norco. Snow and Ruby, talk of a Heart and desire. Norco wanting—

No. Rumplestiltskin was on his feet before he even registered moving, before the danger to Belle fully sank in. He knew what Norco wanted, and now he knew that leaving Norco alive—all to send a message!—had been possibly the worst mistake he had ever made in his life. He had taken a chance, and he had endangered the woman he loved by doing so. Of course Norco would find her fascinating. Had Rumplestiltskin not felt the same, even in the depths of his worst evil? Even the darkness inside Rumplestiltskin had been drawn to Belle from the start, just as moths were drawn to a flame. Norco would be no different, but he was far worse than Rumplestiltskin had been as the Dark One.

Absolutely not. He was not going to allow that to happen. He was not going to lose Belle, was not going to let that monster of a fae lay so much as a hand on her. She meant everything to him, and Rumplestiltskin would protect her. No matter what it cost him.

"Henry, I have to go. Tell your father that I'll talk to him when I…when I get back."

Rumplestiltskin changed what he was going to say midstream, as another flash of vision hit him, a bit of knowledge that told him that he would possibly not be back as soon as he wanted to be. There was a trap there, wasn't there? It wasn't Norco's doing, and yet Rumplestiltskin knew there was one all the same. His sight wasn't terribly specific, but that bad feeling he'd had since bringing Belle to meet Snow was back, and this time at least Rumplestiltskin knew where the problems would begin. Do this the smart way, he told himself, pushing aside the raging need to race immediately to Belle's side. Do not let your emotions force you into acting precipitously. Only centuries of iron-hard self-control allowed him to stop himself, to think.

"Is everything okay, Grandpa?" Henry asked.

"No." He felt cold. Only a few seconds had passed while his mind raced, but a few seconds could be too many. "Belle's in danger."

"Good luck!" Henry's voice followed him even as Rumplestiltskin vanished, pulling power to himself as he teleported, focusing on his love for Belle and pushing aside his fears for her safety. Norco would not kill her yet; no, he was the type who liked to play with his food before eating it. Norco was arrogant enough to see Belle as nothing more than prey to be toyed with, a possession to be won.

So he appeared behind the shield Norco had constructed, behind a few trees and two dozen or so feet away. It absolutely killed Rumplestiltskin to stand by while Norco laughed at Belle, brushing hair out of her face while she bristled angrily. She was so strong, his love, so unbelievably strong. Without magic, Rumplestiltskin knew he would never have had the courage to face down a powerful fae like she was. But he had always been the coward, whereas Belle's courage had awed him from the beginning. She was the most amazing woman Rumplestiltskin had ever met, and the love he felt for her always gave him strength. Just thinking of Belle, of their love, made power surge through Rumplestiltskin—sweet and pure power, True Love racing to his fingertips.

Snow and Ruby were still standing right in front of the shield, with the wolf snarling furiously at Norco while the fae completely ignored them both. His attention was still on Belle. Her strength was a magnet to someone with so much darkness inside them, and Norco was practically drooling on her.

"…not important enough to come for, apparently," Norco gloated.

"You don't know anything about me," Belle snapped back. "Or about Rumplestiltskin, apparently."

"I know everything I need to know about Merlin, pet," the fae replied smugly. "And you're not his type."

Still gathering power, pulling threads and making preparations, Rumplestiltskin smiled to himself. Norco would not be nearly so arrogant if he knew Rumplestiltskin was there, even if he was still convinced that he was Merlin. That assumption had already cost Norco and his mistress more than once, and here it was, ready to bite them both again.

No, Belle really wasn't Merlin's type. Hero sort that he was, Merlin had liked his women darker and more prone to going off and becoming evil. She was too good for Merlin, ironically enough. Belle was, however, the very center of Rumplestiltskin's battered soul, the one who had pulled him back from the edge so many times and always kept him centered. Belle was extraordinary, daring and strong and so very good. Norco was drawn to her because he wanted to destroy her, but Rumplestiltskin loved her for what she was—and for what she encouraged him to become. There was no way he would ever let anyone hurt her, not while he lived. That determination only further fueled his magic, added strength to the power racing through him, and when Rumplestiltskin stepped out of the trees, magic swirled around him, deeper than any ocean and twice as wide.

"She might not be Merlin's type, dearie, but I'm no Merlin," Rumplestiltskin interjected, reaching out with his magic and snatching Belle away from Norco. Had it been anyone else's magic—had it been dark in nature, as his used to be—Belle might have tried to fight it, but he could feel her recognition traveling along the lines of power connecting them, and then suddenly Belle was standing next to him, practically in his arms.

The brilliant smile she threw him made every moment of struggle in their relationship worth it. "I knew you'd come."

"Never doubt it."

Rumplestiltskin burned to kiss her, but now wasn't the time. Or was it? Even as the thought occurred to him, Norco launched an attack, a wave of fairy dust and darkness that was designed to tear the two of them to pieces. But there was so much power racing through him that all Rumplestiltskin had to do was hold up a hand, and the spell rebounded on Norco, making the fae cry out and stagger as his own darkness ripped into him. Interesting. He'd not focused on his rage or his desire to hurt Norco; instead, Rumplestiltskin had simply been driven to protect Belle, and the magic racing out of him was pure light magic.

He'd known that the power he had inherited allowed for light and dark magic in equal measure, but Rumplestiltskin had always assumed that his soul was too corrupted for such purity. Yet there he stood, with Belle's hands on his arm and a kind of greeting in her blue eyes that he once could not have imagined. Just looking at her made his heart fill with love, smoothed over the scars on his heart and in his soul. So he did turn to kiss Belle while Norco struggled back to his feet, feeling the power rush through him along with Belle's uncompromising love.

"I love you," Belle whispered.

"I love you, too. And I always will," he replied, unafraid to say it in front of Norco since he had no intention of allowing Norco to live through this encounter. Not after the bastard had tried to hurt Belle.

Those thoughts brought the darkness within him rearing back up, and it merged with the True Love singing through his system to further fuel Rumplestiltskin's complex protective magic, lending strength to the spell he had already cast to keep Norco from teleporting away. Still, he could not afford to ignore the fae for long, so Rumplestiltskin gave Belle a smile before stepping away from her, and walking straight through the shield Norco had erected to keep Belle's friends from helping her. Snow and Ruby immediately rushed over to Belle's side, obviously ready to fight with her if it came to that, but Rumplestiltskin intended to keep that from becoming necessary.

A flick of his wrist brought the shield crashing down around him, fairy dust stinging slightly as it sparkled over his skin. But that was of little importance; he could shrug the effect off and wash it away later with little effort. Norco was summoning great magics, beginning spells that were amongst the strongest the fae had ever created—but Rumplestiltskin had been ready for this. He'd paused for a few moments before coming for a reason, and now power raced out of his hands as he brought both up, using his fierce love for Belle to fuel magic of the type Norco could never understand. Golden light reared out from his fingers, wrapping around his opponent and freezing him in place.

Laughing, Norco tried to throw the spell aside, obviously assuming that doing so would be easy. But Rumplestiltskin was not playing games today. He had Norco's measure after their last fight, knew what needed to be done and knew how to beat him. Powerful though Norco was, he was no original power. Besides, Rumplestiltskin had killed many fairies over the years. He had perfected a method of doing so, of catching fairies by surprise and slaying them before any of them could so much as react to his presence. Doing so to a fae with Norco's power was almost impossible—or at least would have been if Rumplestiltskin had not been able to freeze him first. Wild power erupted off of the fae as he fought against the grip of Rumplestiltskin's, of Merlin's, magic, but he could not break the hold. Finally, Norco hissed:

"You love her."

"Of course I do," Rumplestiltskin replied, striding up to look Norco in the face. His smile was vicious. "Did you fail to notice True Love, Norco? I keep telling you that I am not Merlin. Perhaps now you'll understand that."

"You—" Norco cut off, his eyes wide. "You can't. You were onlythe Dark One."

Rumplestiltskin laughed. "Never just that, Norco. And never again."

Without a further word, his magic closed around the fae, twisting and pressing just so. Even Snow and Ruby felt the power used; the ground trembled slightly and Norco cried out once, his eyes starting to glow with the spell forced into him. The gold swirl tightened around the fae, and then Norco vanished in an implosion of darkness and fairy dust, just as so many fairies had done before him. He left no wand behind, but Rumplestiltskin had grown bored with collecting those, anyway. Killing Norco—a genuine monster, one worse than he'd ever been—was reward enough. This was not a death he'd ever even begin to regret; just thinking about what Norco would have to Belle made his blood boil.

So, if his smile was cold as Rumplestiltskin turned away, no one should have been surprised. He didn't giggle or wiggle. The imp inside him was gone for good, leaving only Rumplestiltskin in its wake. But he was still a man who loved deeply, one who had no problem viciously destroying those who endangered those he cared about. Try to be better though he would, Rumplestiltskin would also never flinch away from what needed to be done to protect his family, nor would he have qualms of conscience over what needed to be done. He was who he was, and he would always—

A sudden touch of magic, feather-light, made a chill race up his spine.

There it was. There was the trap, the one Rumplestiltskin had known was coming. The one his visions had Seen. Norco had died easily enough—comparatively speaking, though the use of that much power left even Rumplestiltskin light headed and a little weak—but the pull following Norco's death was unmistakable. Even when he turned to smile at Belle he felt it, and his heart clenched as Rumplestiltskin realized what was about to happen. He had expected something, but not this.

Check, he thought distantly. The Black Fairy had made her moves and put the pieces into place, and she had waited with as much patience as he had. This round definitely went to Danns, even if he had just killed her favorite. She probably had anticipated this from the moment he had sent Norco to her with that message.

"Belle, I'm sorry—" he started, but he never got to say what for. Never got to say that he would see her again, that this was only temporary. Never got to tell her that he wanted to marry her, never got to promise that everything would be all right. He only had a moment to work a quick trick of magic, to transfer thoughts into words. There was no time for anything more. Instead, Rumplestiltskin vanished, yanked off his feet by fae magic that swept him into a land where mere humans could not follow.

A/N: Questions for this chapter: 1) What type of trap do you think Rumplestiltskin has just been sucked into and 2) What do you think Belle is going to do about it?

Next up is Chapter 41: "Checkmate", where Jafar and Regina face off and Rumplestiltskin reencounters an "old friend". In the meantime, please let me know what you think!