Chapter Fifty-Seven—"And the Sky Falls"

It was a warning, they all knew. Simultaneous attacks on the home of the Blue Fairy's most loyal human follower and that same queen's family were bound to make people pay attention, particularly when it was accomplished in such a dramatic fashion. But the attacks were also a distraction, although none of them realized that until later.

The Grand Council had recessed for the three days following the epic battle between Rumplestiltskin and the Black Fairy, partially because the Charmings' castle required repair and partially because no one quite knew what to think about what had just happened. The first two of those days had passed very quietly, with repairs to the pertinent parts of the castle and courtyard underway and all of the guests enjoying a bit of free time, but the third day proved quite different. It hadn't started that way; in fact, no one expected anything to go wrong at all. Several different hunting parties set out in the early hours of each morning, mostly composed of royals and their hangers-on who wanted a change of scenery. Almost two years after Regina's reversal of the curse had destroyed Storybrooke, most of the upper classes seemed to have forgotten they'd ever lived in a more equalitarian world, and their feet were firmly planted back on the same old paths.

Belle didn't know why that annoyed her so much. She was a daughter of the nobility, of course, and always had been, even if she'd spent time in the rather less-dignified role of a maid. So she understood wanting to get back to your old life…in some ways. But watching people lord over their former neighbors just grated under her skin, particularly when the arrogant types were the royals who'd never lifted a finger to help anyone else out back in Storybrooke. But at least most of those royals had finally learned their lesson during this war, Belle told herself. The current problems were from those who had stayed behind while everyone else was gone, particularly Queen Leah, who had led out the largest of the hunting parties and was now late.

Of course Belle was willing to join the search party that was going after the now-missing nobles. Leah and her companions had departed the previous morning, and they were supposed to return late the night before, but now it was almost noon and they still weren't back. Annoyed with Leah and Hubert though Snow might be, she was growing very concerned. Belle had been helping organize the search all morning, and now the final group was about to depart under her leadership. She'd asked Rumple to come along, but of course he'd looked at her like she was insane—apparently, he and horses did not get along, and he was absolutely not getting on one for any reason.

The outraged expression on his face had actually made her giggle, particularly when Baelfire had volunteered to come along with her and his father's scowl only deepened. Belle loved Rumple more than anything, but he really was unreasonable about some things, and it certainly didn't hurt him to be reminded of that from time to time. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like the reminder would stick this time; instead, he'd volunteered to keep an eye on Henry, which everyone thought was a good idea given the circumstances. And if Rumple doesn't realize that means he's also playing host to Henry's new friend Aladdin…well, having things not go his way is probably good for him from time to time, she thought with a smirk.

"Something funny?" Bae asked her, swinging a leg onto his own horse.

Belle followed suit, mounting Philippe with a smile. "I'm just remembering your father's expression earlier, and thinking that he doesn't realize he'll be watching Aladdin as well."

"Yeah, I bet he's going to love babysitting," Bae snorted with laughter.

"Don't let your son hear you call it that," she cautioned her soon to be stepson with a chuckle of her own. "He'll say he's too old for a babysitter, and he's just spending time with his grandfather because he wants to."

"Tell me about it," he groused. "Henry's getting too old for everything, if you listen to Henry. Drives me insane. And Regina backs him up! I'm sure that I'm not exactly in line for parent of the year, but someone's got to be the mature one here, and Emma doesn't always manage. She just misses playing video games with him."

Belle snickered. All in all, she thought Emma—who would be her stepdaughter in law before too long, and wasn't that just odd?—was doing fairly well here in the Enchanted Forest., particularly compared to the fish out of water she'd been in the beginning. But she could imagine the many ways in which Emma chaffed at this life. It wasn't like what she was used to, and the war that was still going on (it had different sides, different goals, and different battles, but still the same war) probably didn't help matters at all.

"I think you three are balancing things well, to be honest," she replied seriously. "Having three parents for one child is difficult, but Henry's happy, and that's what counts."

"It helps that he's a great kid," Bae replied feelingly. "I can't imagine—wait a minute. What's that?"

Squinting against the noontime sun, Belle turned her gaze to follow where Baelfire was pointing. There was a cloud of dust on the horizon, obscuring the road that led towards the Charmings' castle from the south. That road was less frequently used than most of the others, and was shaded by trees most of the way towards the castle, but Belle could still make out the ragged group of people staggering towards them.

Regina and Robin's group found the spot where Leah's hunting party had made its stand just as the survivors reached the Charmings' castle. Immediately, the outlaw—a better tracker than any of the others, much though Hook still wanted to disparage his skills every time the two were together—jumped off of his horse to investigate, but Regina's magic was already feeding her answers that she did not like at all.

"This was done by fae magic," she snarled, and her lover turned to look at her.

"And archers." He held up a pair of arrows, but they were fletched in an unfamiliar fashion, one Regina did not recognize. Seeing her unspoken question, he shrugged. "Probably also fae."

"Are there any survivors?" someone else asked, some useless noblewoman who couldn't be bothered to get off her horse. Her name was Jasmine or something like that, and although she'd volunteered to help, she looked horrified at the carnage before them.

Truth be told, looking at the stacks of dead and bloodied bodies was enough to almost give Regina pause. She dismounted anyway, of course; she was the Evil Queen, and it took a lot more than a little—or a lot—of blood to turn her stomach. It had obviously been a massacre; the field stank of fae magic and fear, and there were almost as many dead horses as there were dead people. The people, however, were clumped up like they had been trying to stick together for mutual protection—much good though that had done them. Whoever had killed them had obviously enjoyed it, and had taken their good sweet time, but kill them all they had.

They rounded them up and killed them like animals, Regina thought furiously. As if we were nothing more than livestock to be butchered. She had never been some great defender of humanity, but looking at things like this made her understand why humanity had stood by and allowed the fairies to exile the fae. The problem was, of course, that many of the fairies viewed humans the same way their darker cousins did. At best, they were children to be managed. At worst, a pestilence to be eradicated. She could feel her own magic ready to answer her temper, could feel a slight breeze starting to stir around her. Regina was good at hating, and it occurred to her that she hadn't killed nearly enough fae. Yet.

"We're still looking, my lady," Robin answered the idiot noble (or maybe she was a princess; Regina couldn't keep them all straight) brusquely. The rest of the Merry Men had joined him, gently turning over bodies and checking each for a pulse. But Regina's magic fed her the answer after a simple spell.

"They're all dead," she grated out, bottling up her fury and its power for use another day. I will not forget, Regina promised the dozens of dead humans in front of her. And I won't let them forget, either.

"That's horrible," some other inane noble muttered, and Regina was so glad that the Merry Men were along. At least they could do something useful.

"Is that Aurora?" Jasmine gasped, and Regina's head snapped around.

"What are you working on, Grandpa?"

Henry leaned in to look over Rumplestiltskin's shoulder as he put the finishing touches on the protective bracelet he'd created. Like the ring he had crafted for Belle, this bracelet had been made from gold that he had spun, infused with his magic and every protective spell he knew. Rumplestiltskin had fetched the nearly finished bracelet from the Dark Castle the day before, checking his wards and bringing a few supplies back to the Charmings' castle while he was at it. When he and Belle had departed, he had not expected to spend so long at the Grand Council, but it really didn't look like the conference was going to end any time soon. Much though he hated spending time under anyone else's roof, Rumplestiltskin knew that he couldn't leave, either. His visions had grown increasingly confusing as of late, but he knew that something important was about to happen, and he needed to be here for that.

He'd fought Danns to a standstill three days earlier, had proven that the fae weren't all powerful and that they could be stopped. Never mind that Rumplestiltskin had his own reasons for doing so, intensely personal ones that had everything to do with those he loved and nothing to do with heroism. Showing the world that even the Black Fairy could be stopped meant his alliance of magical users would hold together just that much longer, and that meant his own freedom—and that of the grandson who he now sought to protect—was more secure than ever. That thought, of course, brought him back around to answering Henry.

"Your father told you about the bracelet I made, I assume?" he responded to Henry's question with a question.

"Yeah. He said it would protect me."

"And so it will." Finishing the final spell with the sweep of one hand, Rumplestiltskin held it up, noticing how Aladdin hung back, watching the interaction with wary brown eyes. Maleficent's chosen student was a clever lad, and Rumplestiltskin would have to find someone to continue his magical education if Maleficent remained with the fae for much longer. Perhaps Regina would be a good fit. Or even Jafar, though he wasn't sure he'd wish the ambitious genie on the brave lad.

"How does it work?" Henry asked, cleverly, the lad probably thought. He was too young to be taught magic yet (a fact that annoyed Rumplestiltskin's grandson to no end), but Henry wasn't too young to ask questions, and he certainly took advantage of that fact.

"It's made from my gold, and my magic. Much like the ring that protects Belle, it will shield you from magic designed to harm you in any way. There are hundreds of protective spells on it, all woven together so that they can't contradict one another, and so that they will all protect you."

"Your gold? My book said you spin gold, but I've never seen you do it." Predictably, Henry picked up on all the right words.

Rumplestiltskin chuckled. "I do spin gold. I always have—or, ever since I've used magic, anyway."

"That's so cool! Will you show me sometime?"

"Of course. But it'll have to wait until we're back at the Dark Castle. I didn't bring my"—Power sizzled across the world, igniting senses at the edge of his consciousness, and Rumplestiltskin faltered over the words before he could catch himself—"didn't bring my spinning wheel with me."

"Grandpa?"

Visions danced across his eyes. Past. Present. Possible futures. The near future, only a few minutes away, tugging on his consciousness and monopolizing his attention. But there it was. A large golden ring, twice the height of a human, hovering in the sky before Danns, power shimmering through it. She stood before the ring, one hand extended, working complicated magic across great distances. That ring, he knew those rings, both the one on her hand and the one hovering in the sky—but Danns was aiming at—

"Grandpa?" Henry repeated urgently, shaking his shoulder. Rumplestiltskin heard him, and felt it, but even as he managed to shove the visions aside, the present became more important.

Power hit him, but not directly. No, that was power beginning to pierce his wards, power that would rip into the Dark Castle faster than he could react. Rumplestiltskin could feel each level of his castle's defenses peeling back like layers of an onion. But the blow was precise, the hole torn was small and very particular. He could feel Danns' magic drilling straight into the foundations of the Dark Castle, and Rumplestiltskin did not need to be there to know what she was aiming for, and he did not need to see the future to know, either. There was only one thing that Danns wanted from the Dark Castle—and there was not a damn thing that Rumplestiltskin could do about it. He could go there, fight now, and maybe, just maybe stop her—but a second vision almost swept him off his feet, a confusing mess of power and death and something more.

Danger. Danger to Henry if he left. The foreknowledge hit Rumplestiltskin like the proverbial ton of bricks, but he knew it was true. He had a choice: protect the dagger or protect his grandson. His past or the future. But…no matter what Rumplestiltskin had always been, that choice was easy.

He could sense magic over distance, particularly when it attacked wards that he made, but there was a time delay. Everything he was sensing had happened a few seconds earlier, and by the time he could even get to his feet, the damage was done. He might have made it if he had been willing to risk Henry, but he wasn't, and now he would be too late even if he arrived that very instant. Rumplestiltskin stood stock still, slightly dazed and utterly flabbergasted, stretching his magic out silently towards the Dark Castle to confirm what he already knew to be true. There was no denying it. No defending against it. Five seconds had been all the attack lasted, but Danns' power had been amplified across distance by the Roth Rámach, a secondary power created by Saint Germain and later used by Mug Ruith, the blind sorcerer of legend. The Roth Rámach was commonly known as a flying wheel, but it was also a secondary power of no small consequence. It allowed Danns to throw her own considerable strength against his wards from outside the Dark Castle; she never even had to step inside his defenses.

Nor did she have to directly confront the wards; no, she was able to use the other secondary power at her disposal to peel them back, and Rumplestiltskin cursed himself for a fool. He had once owned the Ring of Dispel, centuries ago, before trading it away for some other trinket. Then, he'd not realized that the ring was a secondary power, only that it would dispel any enchantment ever cast. It had been useful, but not what he'd needed at the time, and Maleficent had paid dearly to get it. Of all the sorcerers in the world, he had trusted her to keep the ring safe, but how Danns had acquired it hardly mattered now. The Ring of Dispel would undo any enchantment…including those with which he had shielded the one thing he could not afford to let the Black Fairy get.

The dagger was gone.

"Grandpa?" Henry asked for a third time, now sounding very worried. "Are you all right?"

Dragging himself to the present, Rumplestiltskin sighed. There was nothing he could do about it now; he would just have to face the consequences as they came. "Yes, Henry," he said quietly. "I am fine."

"What happened? I felt…something."

It made sense that Henry could feel the attack on the Dark Castle; several layers of the protections on Rumplestiltskin's home were made of blood magic, and Henry was most assuredly of his bloodline and had significantly more magical potential than either of his birth parents were comfortable with. But when Aladdin spoke, Rumplestiltskin's head snapped up in surprise.

"I feel it, too. Close. Fae magic?" Henry's friend said suddenly, and Rumplestiltskin's head whipped around.

"There's no way you should be able to feel—"

Then the siren song of power, close by and deadly, whispered its way into Rumplestiltskin's consciousness. He'd been too focused on the Dark Castle, looking too far into the distance, to notice the telltale signs, but now he felt everything. There was no time to explain. No time to do anything save throw a shield up around himself, Henry, and Aladdin and hope for the—

"What's happening?" Henry asked as Rumplestiltskin reached for his grandson's shoulder. Magic keyed on proximity, particularly shields, and the closer Henry was to him, the safer he would be. Power was already beginning to shake the rafters above them, dust falling down and making both teens cough. Aladdin yelped as something rattled down and hit him, because Rumplestiltskin's hastily thrown up defenses were concentrating on the sudden storm of fae magic around them, not mundane like the pieces of the castle falling.

He was not ready for this. Even three days after his battle with Danns, his magic was still stretched too thin and he was too tired for this!

"Stay close," he told Henry, desperation making his voice rough.

"They're trying to bring the castle down around us!" Aladdin realized, his eyes wide and terrified.

His hand on Henry's shoulder was trying to shake—was that from exhaustion, or from something else? No matter. Quickly, with fingers that wanted to fumble, Rumplestiltskin fastened the bracelet around Henry's wrist. It would keep him safe even if his grandfather failed. Rumplestiltskin was not ready for this, was not able to—

No. He knew what she was doing, knew what this was. Rumplestiltskin could not stop her at the Dark Castle, but he could stop the fae here. This was not Danns, and he was no mere sorcerer. So, Rumplestiltskin dug deeply into the vastness of the power he had inherited, forcing power outwards to protect Snow and Charming's castle, his family and friends, and even the Grand Council itself. He was no hero, but today he would defend them all because Danns wanted them dead just so she could make a statement.

"Not if I can help it," he answered Aladdin in a growl, his voice low and power leaping to his hands.

Fifty-some odd people had gone out with Queen Leah's hunting party. Fifteen returned, and they were only alive because they'd been lucky, Philip told Belle in a shattered voice.

"My father is dead," he said raggedly, looking like death warmed over himself. "He jumped in front of a curse meant for Aurora, but—"

His voice broke, and she squeezed his arm gently, wishing she knew what to do for him. Baelfire had run into the castle to find Snow's chamberlain, yelling for water, blankets, and help for the worn-out group. Servants rushed out even as Belle tried to piece together what had happened, but all fifteen survivors looked more stunned than anything else. Only Philip seemed able to show any emotion at all, and even he seemed so utterly drained that he wasn't sure how to express himself. But his eyes were red and puffy, as if he had been sobbing his soul out until he'd run out of tears, and Belle suddenly realized what had to be wrong.

Aurora was nowhere in sight.

She knew what kind of heartbreak caused the dead look on Philip's face. She had seen it before, and remembered feeling the echoes of that horrible pain, that roaring emptiness, when she thought Rumplestiltskin was dead. Even worse, Belle knew there was absolutely nothing in the world anyone could do to make things better for poor Philip. His True Love was dead. Nothing would change that. His friends could only be there for him and help him weather the storm, all the while knowing that only time could dull the pain.

"Oh, Philip," she whispered, hugging him tightly. "I'm so sorry."

One short attack had made Philip into a king, a widower, and a single father for the one year old son Aurora had given birth to shortly after they all returned to the Enchanted Forest, and Belle could feel that he was still reeling from the blow. But he returned her embrace for a short moment before pulling back, taking a shaky breath, and continuing doggedly:

"The fae that led the attack said that it was a warning. That anyone who resists the power of the fae will be destroyed." Philip turned a glare on his mother-in-law, his brown eyes blazing fiercely. "And particularly those who ally with the Blue Fairy."

Queen Leah looked nearly as shell-shocked as Philip did, but her chin came up anyway, and she spoke proudly: "I have merely done what I believe is best for our people, and—"

"Shut up," Philip cut her off harshly. "Your daughter died because of your choices. I'll ally myself and my people with you no longer."

"Our kingdoms—" Leah started to object, only to have Philip interrupt again.

"Aurora's son, my son, is the heir to your kingdom," he snapped. "And I won't have you as his regent, either. I'm done with you. We'll fight with the rest of humanity, because if I'm going to sacrifice people in battle, it will damn well be for a cause I believe in."

Belle had never seen Queen Leah so utterly speechless, nor Philip so angry. The exchange took her breath away, but she stepped forward to try to mediate, anyway. Now was not the time to let philosophical differences, no matter how major, divide them. If this attack was anything to go by, the war was only going to grow more brutal, and humanity had to stand together if they were going to survive at all. Her hand still on Philip's arm, Belle spoke urgently but levelly:

"Look, we all have the same enemies," she told the feuding pair. "And those who were killed today were killed by the fae. If we do not stand together—"

Boom.

The ground beneath her feet shook, and Belle cut off, her head snapping around to look in the direction from which the sound came. But the loud rumbling was coming from overhead, and Belle's neck cracked hard as she snapped her eyes to the sky. The clouds overhead were growing darker and darker, purple in color and swirling together like a very shallow tornado. Within less than a second, the sun was blotted out and it was almost as dark as night, but a very dangerous night, full of terrors and death. Lightning flashed against the sudden darkness, but that was no weather phenomenon—that was power, magic, reaching out to crush Snow and Charming's castle as winds rose to a fever pitch, howling around them and whipping at Belle's dress so hard that she was almost torn off her feet.

"Find cover!" she shouted to those around her. The sudden influx of magic had startled the survivors out of their lethargy and straight into panic, and now people were screaming and rushing about in terror. "Stay away from the castle!"

"Belle!" Bae's voice shouted, and suddenly his hand was on her arm. He must have just gotten back from fetching people to help the survivors, and for a moment Belle was pathetically grateful that Rumplestiltskin's son was not inside the castle. The castle was the target.

"We have to get to safety!" she shouted when he, showing uncharacteristic hesitation, did not move.

"Henry and Pop are inside!"

Oh, no.

But there was no way they'd make it inside and find them; Belle knew that. And so did Bae, which was why he looked so torn. The wind was blowing so hard that they would never make it to the castle no matter how fast they ran, and the clouds were pushing downwards aggressively, almost on top of the castle, already. Thunder continued to rumble ominously, and the ground began to shake harder. Losing her balance, Belle fell into Baelfire, who barely managed to catch her without falling himself. It felt like the world was going to shake itself to pieces while they watched.

"Rumple will get Henry out!" She had to bellow to be heard over the still-rising winds, yelling as loud as she could. "We have to get somewhere safe!"

"And where the hell is that?" Bae countered.

BOOM.

The sky fell.

Bae reacted faster than Belle did, throwing himself to the ground and dragging her down with him. She yelped in surprise as the ground rushed up to meet her, landing hard enough to knock the wind out of her, but even then Belle knew that it didn't matter. The clouds were crashing down and an alarming rate, the rumbling having become a full-blown crash as lighting sought out any structure or person higher than the ground. There were at least a hundred people outside the castle, now, between their search party, the survivors, and those who had come out to help, but none of them could possibly survive the force rushing down to meet them. Belle knew the castle wouldn't survive, either; not that much power, not like this.

Then it stopped.

Breathing hard, Belle twisted to stare up at the sky and saw Bae do the same. The clouds hovered over them, over everyone, about twenty feet off the ground and still broiling madly—until a giant flash of light, gold and white, roared out from the castle, piercing the twisting clouds with an earsplitting crack. Immediately, the clouds broke apart and sunlight streamed back down on the sea of people strewn over the ground outside Snow and Charming's castle. Then the whirlwind seemed to happen in reverse, with a great wind sucking the dark purple clouds of magic away until the afternoon returned to normal. The castle was still standing, and aside from the fact that most everyone was lying on the ground, it hardly seemed like any time had passed at all.

Blinking, Belle turned to Bae with wide eyes. "Did that just happen?"

"That had to be Pop," Rumplestiltskin's son replied shakily. "Right?"

"I can't think of anyone else that might have done that," Belle said, picking herself up. The danger had passed, and there was work to be done. But only one of them needed to do it, so she squared her shoulders and looked at her future stepson. "Go check on Henry," she told him. "Make sure they're both okay. For both of us."

"You got it." He squeezed her shoulder briefly, and then was gone.

The shaking stopped suddenly, and Henry could feel power wrapping around the castle. If he squinted just right, he could see the threads of magic sweeping outwards from his grandfather's hands, reinforcing the castle and pushing back the darkness that sought to destroy them all. Aladdin was staring at Rumplestiltskin with wide and shocked eyes, but Henry wasn't surprised. This particular grandfather might claim not to be a hero, but he was always there when his family needed him.

Slowly, light began streaming in the windows once more. The world had gone dark so suddenly, with threatening storm clouds illuminated only by vicious bolts of lightning. Even Henry's habitual confidence had been a little bit shaken by the unexpected attack; Rumplestiltskin had seemed so distracted when it started that Henry had almost worried that he wouldn't be able to stop it. But Henry had known he would come through.

"You okay, Grandpa?" he asked when the heavy feeling of magic in the air eased.

"Of course I am. Are you?"

Why did adults always ask that? "Yup." He grinned and figured it was worth a try to say: "But I'll be even better if you want to teach me what you just did."

"When you're older, Henry," was the laughing response—not like Henry had expected anything else, even if the adults' paranoia got really annoying. "And then you get to talk to your parents first. All three of them."

"But I want you to teach me like you're teaching Dad."

The smile that touched Rumplestiltskin's face was one of the small ones, but Henry had known his grandfather a long time. He knew that the laughing smiles were often mocking ones, and if not that, they still hid a myriad of things. But the small smiles were the real ones. They were sometimes hesitant, often crooked, but they were very real.

"Perhaps," Rumplestiltskin said softly, but Henry was pretty sure that meant he was going to win. Before he could decide if he should press his advantage or not, however, his father burst through the door.

"You guys okay?" Baelfire demanded, and Henry couldn't help exchanging a look at his grandfather, which made them both laugh. That, of course, made his dad scowl. "What? It felt like the end of the world out there."

It felt like the castle was going to drop out from under us in here, Henry thought, but was smart enough not to say it.

"We're fine, Bae," Rumplestiltskin replied. "The threat should have passed. Here, anyway."

Henry wanted to ask what he meant, but there turned out to be no time. Instead, he found himself helping care for the survivors still milling about in the courtyard. By the time Henry thought to ask Grandpa Gold what else had happened—because whatever it was, it had probably been responsible for Rumplestiltskin's earlier distraction—they'd been overcome by other events.

A/N:So, what do you think the fallout of this attack will be? What do you think the Black Fairy will do now that she has the dagger again? And what does the Black Fairy have in mind for Maleficent?

Stay tuned for Chapter 58: "Safe Conduct", where Belle and Rumplestiltskin return to the Dark Castle, the fae execute another attack, and Danns starts sending out mysterious invitations.