Chapter Fifty-Two—"Tempered and Tested"

Regina had returned sometime in the middle of the night, long after Henry had found Aladdin a place to sleep. Well, he'd really wound up convincing Tinker Bell to conjure up a second bed in his own room for the older boy, which turned out to be a great idea, since both his moms had arrived too late to talk at all. But Henry was glad to see Regina at breakfast the next morning, even if she and Emma were already sniping at one another across a platter of meat and eggs. The two sorceresses had somehow wound up sitting on either side of his father, who looked more than a little befuddled by the whole arrangement. He also didn't look very awake, more dazed and groggy than either of Henry's mothers.

Their argument didn't even pause when Henry led Aladdin in, and he wasn't sure either noticed his new friend at all.

"What in the world possessed you to try a freezing spell on a water demon?" Regina demanded as Henry gestured Aladdin towards a seat in the small dining room Snow and David had set aside for the family only. The darker skinned boy hesitated, looking back at Henry with wide and owlish eyes.

He got the impression that even this private dining room was far grander than Aladdin was used to. Based on their conversations the night before, Henry gathered that Aladdin was an orphan and had been one for a long time. He hadn't asked, but he guessed that the other teen had been a thief before the fae got him—or at least he had been one in the movie that Henry remembered seeing as a kid back in Storybrooke. Movies in the Land Without Magic weren't always accurate, but they tended to be pretty close. And that meant palaces were a really new experience for Aladdin, even if the older boy did try really hard to hide his curious shock.

Idly, Henry wondered if Aladdin had met Jasmine yet, or if telling him that he'd fall in love with a princess might change things too much.

"Hey, it worked," Emma retorted, glaring at Regina over a cup of tea. His birth mother was still annoyed by the lack of coffee in the Enchanted Forest, Henry knew. She certainly complained about it often enough that Grandpa Gold had told her that if she found coffee beans, he'd find a way to enchant them into growing. But to be fair, he really missed things like soda and potato chips, too.

"Until the earth demon almost swallowed you whole."

"So sorry if I thought you were handling that one."

Regina rolled her eyes. "It's not my fault that you got in the way."

"I was trying to kill the water demon!"

"Did you do it?" Henry cut in before his other mother could continue their—apparently good-natured—argument. Neither actually seemed angry at the moment, but Henry wasn't taking any chances.

"Of course we did," they answered in unison.

"Actually, not to be the kill joy here," Robin drawled, walking into the room with Roland at his side, "but I do believe that the demons killed one another."

Emma shot the outlaw a dirty look. "Only because we tricked them into it."

Robin grinned cheekily. "And whose idea was that?"

Emma grumbled wordlessly. Regina beamed.

"And we're very grateful," she replied, but Henry saw humor dancing in her eyes as she smiled innocently in return. "So long as you remember who saved you from the pair of them when they thought you might be tasty."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Robin replied airily, plopping into a chair two down from Henry. Roland scrambled up between them, and Henry shot the younger boy a smile as his own father took advantage of the pause in the argument to ask:

"Who's your friend, buddy?"

"This is Aladdin," Henry replied, and watched Baelfire's eyebrows go up. Yeah, he'd expected his dad to catch on, even if Emma would probably take a bit longer. By now he knew which one of his parents had been more up to date on Disney movies back in the other world; even in New York, Emma had never really be into cartoons. Video games, sure; bail bondswoman Emma Swan had dug adventure games. But not so much cartoons.

Regina, of course, had no idea why the name of Aladdin would be significant (she'd popped that movie into the VCR for Henry more than once and never watched it), so she was the one who asked the obvious question. Her manner wasn't unkind, however; at sixteen, Aladdin was below the age barrier where Henry's adopted mother started greeting strangers with hostility. "What brings you here, Aladdin?"

Aladdin gulped, having been mid-bite and swallowing hastily. Henry's suspicions on how rough his new friend's life had been were undoubtedly correct; he'd started wolfing down his breakfast the moment a servant had placed it in front of him.

"I have a message for you, My Lad—erm, Your Majesty," he said hurriedly, and Henry tried to give him a reassuring glance. Aladdin didn't seem to notice. "From Maleficent."

That made Regina sit up straight. "Maleficent sent you?"

"Yes." Aladdin bobbed his head nervously. "She, uh, rescued me when the fae raided Agrabah a few months ago. She's been teaching me some magic, so I was able to slip out and get here."

"That couldn't have been easy," Henry's dad commented, and Henry could see that he was right by the stricken look on Aladdin's face.

"Not really," the other teen muttered.

"What did she want you to tell me?" Regina cut back in.

"She said that the Black Fairy is going to resurrect a Dark One?" Aladdin answered uneasily, as if reciting words he had memorized. "Somehow. I didn't understand how. Something about duplicating a curse. And that she thinks she's been found out."

"She what?" Regina gaped, and even Henry felt his eyes go wide. Aladdin hadn't been willing to tell Henry the message the night before, so now his mind was whirling. Maleficent being found out was bad enough, but could the Black Fairy resurrect a different Dark One? Someone other than Grandpa Gold? They would have to ask him if that was even possible.

"Wait a minute," Emma interjected, looking at her husband and echoing Henry's thoughts word for word. "Is that even possible?"

His dad shrugged. "How would I know? I was fourteen when Pop took on that curse, and I wasn't there for him actually doing it."

"You said Maleficent has been found out," Robin asked as the other three exchanged worried glances. "Is she still alive?"

"She was when I left," Aladdin replied, looking worried. But he would worry, wouldn't he? Aladdin had spoken kindly of his teacher the night before, though he hadn't said it was Maleficent then. Of course he cared for her. She'd rescued him from what even Henry knew would have been the horrible fate of some other fae claiming him.

"Let me guess," Regina said dryly, "she said not to come after her."

"Yes, Your Majesty. But you can't get in, anyway. No one but the fae can. Even I can't go back now that I got out."

"Got out of where?" a new voice interrupted, and Henry turned to see his grandparents standing in the doorway. Regina took point.

"We have a problem," she answered David's question bluntly as Graham started to fuss. "A big one."

Snow supposed she should not be surprised to find herself confiding in Belle; they really were very alike. Both believed in doing what was right, in fighting for what they believed in, and in not giving up until the world was a better place. They had fallen in love with two very different men, which probably accounted for the fact that they'd never been terribly close, but these days Snow found that she had more in common with Belle than not. The other woman might not possess Snow's skill on the battlefield—though she always did try—but Belle's fierce intelligence and innate ability to understand people were certainly traits Snow could respect. That, of course, was why she'd asked Belle to join her for a walk through the gardens on the fifth day of the Grand Council.

"They seem happy," Belle commented idly, nodding towards where Regina and Robin were at the archery butts again. Regina was laughing, and the smile on her face made her look so much younger, like the woman Snow had once wanted so badly to be her mother. This reminded Snow of how carefree Regina had been before Daniel's death, of the good woman that Regina could be if she wanted to. The wounds in Regina's soul really were healing, and Snow was so grateful to finally have a good relationship with her stepmother.

"They do," Snow replied with a smile. "And I'm so glad for them. Regina deserves happiness."

Snow would never really forgive herself for what had happened with Daniel, even though she'd come to understand how Cora had manipulated her. She'd only been a child, and Cora had taken ruthless advantage of her naivety, but Regina's heart had been broken and an innocent man had been murdered. She and Regina had finally put those events behind them, but a part of Snow's heart would always feel heavier due to her role in them.

"She does," Belle agreed, but then continued after a glance over her shoulder. They'd managed to stroll away from the prying ears of the others wandering in the courtyard, so Belle's voice grew serious. "What did you want to talk about?"

Belle didn't beat around the bush; Snow really liked that about her. So, she answered with equal candidness:

"Politics." David had once said that he did the fighting while Snow did the talking, but Snow really would rather be fighting now. "Your father might be only a knight, but he is old friends with King Hubert. Do you think he might be willing to speak to him on our behalf?"

"I can ask. I think Papa would be happy to help."

It went without saying that they needed to pry Hubert away from Queen Leah; Philip was doing all he could to convince his father to stop supporting Leah's antagonistic policies, but the ties of their children's marriage and friendship were hard to break. Aurora could do nothing to convince her mother to work with her friends, so it was time to start prying Leah's allies away from her. Maybe Leah would be more reasonable if she had fewer people backing her.

"Thanks," Snow said feelingly, but Belle speared her with a frank look.

"That can't be all you wanted to talk about," the brunette guessed wisely.

"No, it isn't," Snow said slowly, and then hesitated. She and David had discussed this already, but part of her still felt bad. Telling Belle felt almost like a betrayal, but how much of that was just her habit of trusting the Blue Fairy? She knew what she had to do. Trusting too easily had destroyed her life, and Regina's, once before. Snow would not make that mistake again. She would not let Blue manipulate her the way Cora once had. Not this time. Their family—now officially linked through Emma and Baelfire, and not just Henry—was fragile enough. Snow would not let her old belief in Blue ruin that.

Blue had made her choices. Snow would make her own without hesitation. She squared her shoulders and continued:

"I was wondering if you would tell Rumplestiltskin something for David and I," she said slowly. "I think…I think it's better if certain people assume he doesn't know, or I would tell him myself."

Snow was no coward, after all, and she didn't need Belle to deliver bad news for her. Besides, she didn't think Rumplestiltskin would be particularly surprised, not after Blue had succeeded in placing him under a sleeping curse. I think that was the last straw for me. Bad enough that Blue tried to manipulate us, but I know how a sleeping curse can haunt you forever. And if she can do that to anyone, Blue never was who I thought her to be.

"Go on," Belle prompted her.

"David told you both that Blue tried to get him to kill Rumplestiltskin," Snow replied bluntly after one more look to make sure no one was listening. "Before she resorted to the sleeping curse. She might have just made a deal with him to save her life, but I think she still wants him dead…or under the curse once more. In fact, I think that she would rather him be the Dark One than anything else."

"I wish I was surprised," Belle breathed grimly, and Snow nodded in agreement. She really wished she was surprised—and a year earlier, she would have been utterly shocked by Blue's actions—but now she wasn't.

"I keep thinking about what she said the other day, about how Rumplestiltskin is too unpredictable to be trusted," she continued. "But I don't think Blue was just talking about him. I think she was talking about all of us."

"About humans."

Snow hated to say it, but—"Exactly."

"I've been reading a lot of history lately," Belle mused. "Mostly about magic, and what happened when many powerful human magic users rose in the same time period. I found some interesting things, including the fact that this isn't the first time Blue has come out against humans gathering 'too much' power."

"I always wondered why there were so few powerful sorcerers around," Snow admitted. "Stories always talk about them, but there really was only Rumplestiltskin, Regina, and Cora when we were growing up. And Maleficent, if she counts."

"I think that's how the fairies like things, actually. I've found four circumstances over the last fifteen hundred years when humanity started to stand up for ourselves, and the same thing happened every time."

A sick feeling was starting to grow in Snow's stomach, one thick with dread and foreboding. She almost didn't want to ask: "And what was that?"

"The Dark One killed the strongest human sorcerers until only three or four remained. Sometimes less," Belle answered.

"But why?" Snow hadn't expected that. What did the Dark One have to do with Blue? Blue had always hated—

"The dagger," Belle cut into her thoughts. "Three of the four times it happened, someone other than the Dark One had the dagger."

"What about the other one?"

"It wasn't Rumple, if that's what you're asking. But I don't know why that one acted. Still, it's pretty compelling evidence, isn't it? After all, it wouldn't be the first time that Blue manipulated a monarch or noble into doing her bidding and blamed someone else for it."

"No. It wouldn't," she said quietly, remembering her own last conversation with the senior fairy.

She'd trusted Blue once, trusted her above all others. But Snow was done with her. If Blue wanted Snow to ever trust her again, she would have to work for it.

"Tell Rumplestiltskin that we'll stand by him," she added impulsively. "He's not the only one who can stand by family, and it's high time that we admitted that he's earned our trust."

Belle smiled and reached out briefly to squeeze Snow's hand. "He'll be glad to hear that. He may not say so, but I know he will."

"Good."

Snow didn't regret it. Even when she parted ways with Belle later and told David about the conversation, she didn't regret a single word. Oh, she and David—and Emma, too—had had their differences with Rumplestiltskin, but now they were family. And he was no longer the Dark One. Rumplestiltskin had defended their mutual grandson, and had fought with them despite what was probably his own inclination to do things in his own way and on his own terms. Snow wanted him to know that she appreciated that, even if she'd passed the message along in a roundabout way.

Jhudora was suspicious, and Maleficent was fairly certain that Vidia had covered her tracks more than once. When she'd sent Aladdin away, she had been positive that discovery was imminent, and with that her death. It was sure to be a messy death, too; the fae did not take betrayal or defiance well at all. Still, Maleficent had known the risks going in, and could face the consequences of her actions bravely if it came to that. She had been prepared for the worst—and then nothing happened.

Well, not nothing. Now she found herself closeted with Danns' a'Bhàis, half certain that the Black Fairy saw right through her lies. Maleficent had studiously avoided a one-on-one conversation with her, but now she had no choice.

"You knew Zoso, yes?" the taller fairy asked after Jhudora left the room. It was not the opening that Maleficent had expected; if this was an interrogation, it was a very strange one.

"I did," she replied with the brazenness that she had become known for amongst the fae. Maleficent was independent; she did not fawn or flatter, and she would not bow and scrape, even to the Queen of all Fae.

"And?" Danns asked sharply, her green eyes narrowing. Apparently she expected more than simple yes or no answers, and Maleficent reminded herself to appear loyal. If she hadn't been discovered, now was not the time to out herself. Besides, she could freely divulge information on this topic without worrying for any of her true allies. Zoso was dead, and even if the Black Fairy did resurrect him, this information could not harm Regina or the others.

"If I knew what you wanted to know, I could be more helpful." Maleficent shrugged in the face of Danns' irritation. Danns' a'Bhàis was not the sort to lash out at those she believed faithful, and so far Maleficent had given her no real reason to doubt her.

Still, the Black Fairy glared at her, her silver and black dress whipping around her as her anger unleashed small tendrils of her magic. The next question was spoken in clipped tones: "You have known several Dark Ones. Where would you rank him?"

"Last," she replied bluntly. "He was betrayed by a friend shortly after taking on—seeking out—the curse. He nearly escaped control several times, but never managed to and wound up serving several generations of his 'friend's' family. He was no sorcerer, just a creature of power, rage, and darkness. All of his power came from the curse, and his knowledge with it."

"As well as his bitterness."

"Of course. I met him a few times and was not impressed."

"How would his loyalty be won?" Danns asked perceptively, startling Maleficent. She had not thought that the Black Fairy would care about that, not given how she had treated Zoso's successor.

"Power. Power and freedom," Maleficent answered honestly after a moment's thought, and then grimaced. "Give him the freedom to abuse others and he would undoubtedly be yours."

It took a lot to sicken Maleficent; she had seen more atrocities than her share in her long life. But she remembered Zoso's…eccentricities well enough to feel a little uneasy. Oh, she had been guilty of plenty of evil deeds in her heyday, but she had never been Zoso's type. The old Dukes of the Frontlands used to keep their pet Dark One sated with a steady diet of attractive young women, few of whom had survived the encounter and none of which had lasted long. Zoso had always been more vicious than creative, but he had been bad enough. Danns' a'Bhàis would undoubtedly indulge those habits, too, provided it kept a resurrected Zoso loyal. She'd never give him the kris dagger, of course, but Maleficent knew that the Black Fairy was wise enough to win his allegiance rather than forcing it.

You'd best have hidden that damn dagger well, Rumplestiltskin, she thought behind a bored but attentive expression. I don't fancy sharing meals with that monster.

Did she need the dagger?

Rumplestiltskin didn't know. Although he knew little of what it would take to resurrect a dead Dark One from the Vault, instinct told him that to do so, Danns would need to wrest the kris dagger out of his control. After all, she had needed it to make him the Dark One once more; if she was going to bypass Rumplestiltskin entirely, she would at least need it to control whoever—Zoso?—she resurrected. Even if she could pull a Dark One from the Vault without it, there was no other way to control him. And Rumplestiltskin knew from personal experience that Danns' a'Bhàis was not the sort to accept less than total control.

Just thinking about that made him shudder.

The moment he'd heard about her plans, Rumplestiltskin had hurried to go back to the Dark Castle to verify that the dagger was safe. He'd called it to him briefly to threaten Blue, but had sent Circe's dagger back into safekeeping after he was done, not willing to risk leaving it out in the open. Only the special box he'd created could guard it from the Black Fairy, threaded through with Circe's bone fragments as it was. Out in the open, Danns could easily claim the dagger again; Rumplestiltskin was not certain that he would have been able to stop her from doing so even if the dagger was physically in his hand. He was an original power, but would that be enough to counter her? Probably not. Perhaps that fear was merely borne of paranoia, but now he was he was damn glad he had indulged that instinct.

Rumplestiltskin didn't like admitting how much Regina's news unsettled him, but knowing that Danns intended to resurrect his predecessor was…terrifying. Never mind any grudges Zoso might have against him; Rumplestiltskin could deal with that. But he knew firsthand how difficult a Dark One could be to defeat, along with exactly what it would take to kill one. So long as Danns had the dagger—if she got it—killing Zoso would be impossible, and heavens only knew what havoc she would send her pet to wreak.

He shouldn't care about that. Once, he wouldn't have. But now his son had married into the royalty of one kingdom and Rumplestiltskin was involved. Like it or not, he could no longer sit back and scoff at the antics of mere mortals. He no longer lived on the edges of events and influenced them on a whim or not at all. He couldn't. Even if this new power of his would allow him to act like that, Rumplestiltskin could no longer seriously contemplate doing so. For better or worse, whatever happened—whatever demon Danns hauled out of darkness and into the light—Rumplestiltskin was a part of things. And that meant he had to keep the dagger safe.

Never mind his own personal reasons for doing so, for making sure the weapon that had once owned his very soul was safe. Even if he could discount that—and he couldn't—Rumplestiltskin had to make sure the dagger was safe for the sake of the world. The irony of this situation is great enough to make me laugh, were things not so serious, Rumplestiltskin thought with a twisted smile, placing his hands on the first of the wards surrounding the box he stored the dagger in. Immediately, he knew that his safeguards were intact, that his vault buried deep underneath the Dark Castle remained secure, but he still needed to see the dagger for himself. Just to be certain. The outer layers were guarded by more than blood magic; contact with his living skin was required to open this first layer, along with a very particular spell that only Rumplestiltskin knew.

Seconds passed—enough, probably, to dissuade anyone who impossibly got past this layer of protections—before the outer stone box slid open, revealing the second box. This chest was made of bronze and lined with silver, both elements with significant magical properties of their own. The next box was gold, his gold, and the final one plain wood. But not just any wood. The wood used to create that box was from the tree that grew over Circe's grave, and was lined with those fragments of Circe's bones. That final defense was what kept the dagger out of Danns' hands, for Circe had forged it long before the Black Fairy had made it her own. No matter who held it, the dagger had been Circe's first, and would always answer her call before that of even the Black Fairy. But now Rumplestiltskin needed to touch it, to hold the dagger in his hands and reassure himself that it was safe.

"Always the coward, eh, dearie?" he murmured to himself, running the fingers of his right hand over the blade. The grip was as cold as ice in his left hand, and Rumplestiltskin could feel the curse moving within the dagger.

The demon still burned for release, fought against the bounds of the dagger and searched for a path back inside him. Rumplestiltskin was the curse's preferred host, but the feeling he received from the demon was that of increasing desperation. He was beginning to think that the curse was approaching the point where it would accept any host it was offered, even if that host no longer also acted as a carrier of Merlin's power. And isn't that just ducky? The curse might have been pickier before, but it's definitely desperate enough now to go back into a previous host. A shiver tore down his spine, and Rumplestiltskin frowned.

He hated himself for being afraid. Hated the lump that welled up in his throat and the tension racing through his bones. Rumplestiltskin might have sidestepped Danns' attempt to enslave him once more, but he still wasn't eager to face her. In fact, the mere thought was enough to make his breath grow short, and—

Without warning, power swept through his mind like a warm wind, jarring Rumplestiltskin out of his fear and hitting him hard enough to make him stumble. The force of the blow almost knocked the dagger straight out of his hands, and Rumplestiltskin found himself dropping it in the box before he'd even finished realizing what magic had sent a chill racing down his spine. Quickly, meticulously, he closed up every box, every level of protection, forcing himself to pay careful attention to each even though he wanted nothing more than to leave the Dark Castle without a second thought. But he could not. Much though he wanted to race to Belle's side immediately, he could not afford for the dagger to fall into Danns' hands because he was distracted.

Please let this be nothing but a distraction. Please let me not be too late. Now the fear he felt was of an entirely different sort; it was not for himself, but for his True Love. Belle should have called him before someone attacked her with enough power to trigger the defensive spells Rumplestiltskin had woven into the engagement ring he'd given her, but for some reason she had not. Had she not been able to? Rumplestiltskin was afraid to find out, but he was certainly not going to delay racing to her side any longer than he had to.

The final box snapped shut, and Rumplestiltskin teleported out of his vault, gathering power to him as he went.

A/N: So, what do you think has happened to Belle, and what will Rumplestiltskin do?

Stay tuned for Chapter Fifty-Three: "Before the Dawn", in which the fate of the world hangs in balance.