Chapter Sixty—"A Contract Broken"

Interestingly enough, the first two weeks after Zoso's resurrection were almost anti-climactic. Although the Black Fairy had once again made her darkest servant her own, she seemed unwilling to use him in those first two weeks—but Blue should have known that Danns was just biding her time. It was so like her sister to wait a bit, to make everyone think that she was not going to commit numerous horrible atrocities. Then, of course, Danns would act, lashing out at any she viewed as her enemies or even just at those whose deaths she thought would terrify others into submission. Danns had long been an expert at using terror as a tool, and she had had almost a thousand years in exile to plan her revenge.

In retrospect, Blue supposed that she should have planned more carefully. She had known that the Dark Curse would be required in order to produce the new Truest Believer, so she had ensured that Baelfire was sent to the Land Without Magic, and then had quietly put the idea in Rumplestiltskin's head. Oh, she'd not expected him to ever be talented enough to create the curse, but she'd known that someone would. She had also not expected the then-Dark One to orchestrate events quite so expertly as he had, but it had been the demon-possessed Pan who had thrown a real wrench in her plans. Otherwise, she would have been able to quietly take Henry's heart (possibly with no one the wiser; some Truest Believers never realized they were missing their heart until they lived abnormally long lives), use the pathway to the Enchanted Forest only she and her most trusted fairies knew of, and place new Heart in Danns' chest before her sister could break free. Unfortunately, Pan's minions had grabbed the boy almost as soon as the old Truest Believer died and the power transferred to Henry, and then the Evil Queen had suddenly decided to play hero and reverse her own curse.

Which, of course, left the Truest Believer in the Land Without Magic, and let Danns escape. Grinding her teeth was becoming a personal habit that annoyed Blue to no end, but she was unable to stop herself. She would rather have endured Pan's curse than let Danns out of exile—she could have avoided it just as she had the Evil Queen's, and then could have made certain that the Heart was put where it belonged. But now she was stuck with what had happened, stuck in a world where her sister had resurrected a Dark One from beyond death, which was certainly the darkest of all possible dark deeds.

After the first two weeks of quiet, Zoso began killing fairies.

For a week, Blue tried to grit her teeth and teach her younger sisters to defend themselves. Zoso was not so skilled as Rumplestiltskin had been, and he was not infallible. He was a brute, a whirlwind of power and rage, not subtle and the fairies he targeted could often escape him. But Zoso always came back, and he was the Dark One. That meant there was nothing short of the dagger Danns guarded so jealously that could control or kill him. He was an unstoppable force of nature, unlike the fae whom Danns might have sent, against whom the fairies might have stood a chance.

None of this would have happened if Rumplestiltskin were still the Dark One, Blue thought, gnashing her teeth again. In some ways, having Zoso as the Dark One was an intense relief; he was not as clever, as skilled, or as manipulative. But Rumplestiltskin would have fought Danns instead of obeying her—his own connection to the Truest Believer guaranteed that, just as Blue had planned—and that would have delayed any attempts that Danns would have made to dominate their world. That delay would have bought Blue the time to take Henry's heart, particularly without Rumplestiltskin there to defend him.

Instead, she got Rumplestiltskin, capricious, angry, and clever as he was, as an original power. With Merlin's power. The one thing that Blue had unreservedly agreed with her sister on was the need to eliminate humanity's last original power: Merlin had been a wildcard and too prone to interfering in what was properly fairy business. For example, this conflict between them was no concern of the humans'; they were a lower species and need not meddle in the affairs of their betters. Humanity was by nature unpredictable, and Blue would not have them tying to alter the path she had chosen for the Enchanted Forest. They had no right to do so.

She had stopped them once and would stop them again. Blue had orchestrated the downfall of Saint Germain and Baba Yaga, ensuring that power hungry humans turned on them and destroyed both. She had helped her sister kill Circe, and had most certainly not interfered when Danns removed the final original human power from play. She would not tolerate that power returning to the world—humans were too human for that. Rumplestiltskin thought that he was so clever for building an alliance of human magic users, but such things never lasted. Sooner or later, they would turn on one another, and the entire Enchanted Forest would suffer for it. Human ambition and human pride were two of the most constant forces in the world, and Blue was not going to watch humanity become the dominant power in the world. Nor was she going to wait for the inevitable day upon which Rumplestiltskin chose to ally himself with her sister. Together, they could ruin everything.

That was why Blue knew what she had to do. It was distasteful, and even dishonorable, but she was the leader of the good fairies. Since when did an abstractly human concept such as "honor" matter to her? What mattered most was stopping Danns. She loved her sister, but for the greater good, Danns had to be exiled once more. And then Blue could deal with Rumplestiltskin. It would take time, but she knew she could turn the rest of humanity against him, and sooner or later, someone would step forward to take up the mantle King David had refused to shoulder.

But first, Henry.

Some teenagers might have minded helping their future step-grandmother do research, but Henry honestly found it fascinating. Oh, he probably wouldn't have been so interested if it was an assignment for school back in the old world, but this wasn't for school. This was reading about magical history, and someday Henry intended to be one of the most knowledgeable sorcerers around. After all, he had a huge family tradition to live up to on that front, and even if none of his parents (or grandparents) would let him start learning actual magic yet, he could start reading up on theory and history. Or at least none of them had stopped him so far, which Henry obviously interpreted as permission.

Besides, he figured that Belle would have said something to him when he offered to help if they didn't want him learning. Grandpa Gold seemed to tell Belle most everything (or at least more than he told anyone else), and that meant he'd certainly have mentioned it if he didn't want Henry reading up on these subjects. After all, Grandpa Gold was never shy about telling you what he wanted, or manipulating you into wanting it yourself. Henry had found that trait a little frightening in Mr. Gold when he'd been younger, but the better he got to know Rumplestiltskin, the more he admired his grandfather's ability to move people around like they were chess pieces on seven or eight different boards. Grandpa Gold was smart, and Henry knew enough to know that brains got you further than muscles, particularly when it came to magic.

That didn't mean that he wasn't still practicing swordsmanship with Gramps and his father, or that Regina wasn't teaching him to ride. Henry wanted to learn all the things that a proper fairytale prince knew. He just wanted to learn magic, too. After all, most people weren't lucky enough to inherit royalty on one side (or two, counting Regina) and sorcery on the other.

"You're staring out the window again, Henry," Belle teased him gently, jerking Henry back to the present.

"Oh. Sorry." He felt his face redden slightly. "I, uh, was just thinking."

His grandfather's True Love smiled. "I can tell. Daydreaming about your fighting lessons to distract yourself from the dusty books?"

"Not really," Henry replied with an answering smile. "I was actually thinking about magic. This book"—he gestured at the heavy tome he'd been reading, Magic in the Middle Times—"says that in the early days, there wasn't much distinction between light and dark magic. That back then, sorcerers weren't labeled light or dark. Everyone used both."

"I've noticed that," she confirmed, and Henry couldn't help but notice how animated Belle was when she discussed books. She was always wonderfully nice, but he hadn't seen this passion in her before, and it was really cool. After all, he'd been made fun of a lot as a little kid because he liked to read, and having an adult who was as excited as him was awesome. "Magic has changed a lot over the centuries."

"Do you think that's because the other original human powers died, or because the fairies liked to keep the really powerful sorcerers in check?"

Henry knew that his parents probably hadn't wanted him to learn about Belle's theory of why powerful human sorcerers were rare in recent years, but he'd overheard Belle, Regina, and Emma discussing it the day before and had butted right in. Regina had been exasperated, and Emma a bit annoyed, but now he knew, and Henry had to admit that the theory made a lot of sense. It also meant that the new Dark One might be coming after either of his moms soon, a thought Henry didn't like one bit.

"I think it might be a combination of the two. As the fairies, particularly Blue, rose in power after the Black Fairy's exile, humanity seemed to adjust our view of good and evil to align with what Blue said was right," Belle answered thoughtfully.

Henry frowned. "That's not right. Why does Blue get to determine what we believe?"

"To be fair to her, Blue has done many good things over the centuries. She's helped a lot of people," she pointed out, but the truth behind that only made Henry's scowl deepen.

"Only when it suits her," he retorted.

Belle chuckled. "You sound like your grandfather."

"Good!"

His emphatic answer only made Belle's laugh louder, and Henry grinned back at her. He was so glad that she was going to be family, even if Grandma Snow being involved in the wedding planning meant it was going to take forever for that to be official. Even if he hadn't really enjoyed being able to sit down and discuss books with someone, Henry liked Belle for herself. She always saw the best in everyone, and was one of the nicest people he'd ever met. Belle was nice even when she teased you, and Henry was willing to bet that she'd make a great mom someday.

Getting a second uncle or aunt who was younger than him couldn't be any weirder than having the first one, so Henry didn't mind that thought at all. Now that Regina and Robin were going to get married—he was so excited that his mom had asked the outlaw!—Henry was in for an adopted stepbrother, anyway. And his other grandmother was already his adopted stepsister. His family was already beyond weird. At this point, another addition could only make it better.

"I'm going to go grab a book I left upstairs," Belle said, rising gracefully and pausing to squeeze Henry's shoulder briefly. "You want to keep reading while I do, or go off and play with swords?"

"I'll read. Besides, I already had my swordfighting lesson this morning," he grinned back.

"All right, then."

Henry returned his attention to the book while Belle headed up to her rooms. Once he'd gotten used to the odd writing style, Magic in the Middle Times really was a fascinating read. It told stories of famous sorcerers and even talked about a few Dark Ones, though it didn't discuss the man who his grandfather had once killed to gain the curse. Watching Zoso rise from that thick black ooze had been one of the more terrifying (and riveting) moments of Henry's life. He still didn't quite know what to make of it, but he knew that the grownups who had lived in the Enchanted Forest before the first curse were scared. Rumplestiltskin had at least been something of a consensual villain; he'd made deals with you and kept his own end of the bargain. From what people were saying about Zoso, he seemed much more like a rapid animal, willing to hurt anyone he came across.

Forcing himself to focus on the page before him, Henry realized that he was fingering the gold bracelet his grandfather had given him. Rumplestiltskin had also had Regina, Emma, and Baelfire work protective spells over him, capitalizing on a parents' love for their child. In fact, his grandfather had insisted that his two moms cast a few spells together (and had done the same with Emma and his dad, but those two had bickered a little less while they were at it), using their combined love for him and the natural balance in their magics to weave those protections even stronger. Even if Zoso did come after him—which Henry was sure would happen sooner rather than later, given how the Black Fairy still wanted his heart—those spells and the bracelet should protect him long enough for an adult sorcerer to show up.

"Hello, Henry," a familiar voice said, making his head jerk up. Without meaning to, Henry dropped the book, and it made a huge dusty thud when it hit the floor. But he didn't notice.

"What are you doing here?" he blurted out, staring at the Blue Fairy with more than a little suspicion. She'd promised to help, but Blue hadn't seemed really helpful at the Vault of the Dark One.

"I am sorry that it's come to this," Blue said softly, sweeping across the room. She was human-sized at the moment, but still clad in that bright pastel blue dress that sparkled when you looked at it.

"Come to what?" Henry asked nervously, standing up to back away from Blue. He tripped over the book when he did, and had to grab onto the chair he'd vacated for balance, and that allowed the senior fairy plenty of time to close the distance between them. Even as Henry backed up into the library wall, Blue was only an arm's length away.

She looked pale but determined, not even wearing the motherly smile Henry was used to seeing on her. Her features were even drawn a little, and Henry thought she looked like she was under an extraordinary amount of stress. She certainly wasn't happy, and wasn't even pretending to be. For once, the Blue Fairy didn't seem to be trying to hide her true intentions, and before she said a word in answer to his question, Henry knew what she was there for. His grip on the bracelet tightened nervously.

"The future of our entire world is in your hands, Henry," Blue said earnestly. "If I do not act now, the Enchanted Forest and all other magical realms will be covered in a darkness not seen since the early ages of magic. I am sorry, but this is the only way."

"You want my heart." Henry felt cold. Part of him was surprised by how steady his voice was, but then again, her presence wasn't exactly a shock. Still, he'd never expected that Blue would break the deal she'd made with his grandfather. No one had.

"I need your heart. I am sorry, but this will be easier if you do not resist me."

"You're not sorry," he shot back. "And I'm not helping you. Take it if you can."

Blue didn't bother to respond; magic washed over Henry without warning, so thick with fairy dust that it made him cough. He hadn't noticed the wand in her hand before, but now she waved it over his head, conjuring up magical restraints that kept Henry from pulling away. But he'd known she'd do that, which was why he hadn't shown his hand by calling the one name he knew would be heard immediately. But Henry didn't need to call for his grandfather. The moment that paralytic magic hit him, Henry felt the protective magic in the bracelet swirl up to meet it, and he knew that Rumplestiltskin would, too.

But Blue's hand still shot forward, even though her face was growing increasingly pale and Henry was pretty sure he saw sweat starting to drip off of her forehead. She looked almost like she was in pain, but her fingers still made it into his chest. Henry gasped in shock and in pain—it hurt far worse than it had when he'd stupidly done it himself for Pan—but then he started to laugh. Blue was powerful enough that she could burn her way through the outer layer of protective spells…but her fingers hadn't managed to close around his heart. Confusion tore across her face, and then frustration made her flush as Blue tried to push her hand in deeper but it wouldn't go. The motion sent painful vibrations through Henry's chest, but he managed to smile anyway.

"I'm sorry," Henry panted. "Did you think it was going to be easy?"

"You can't prevent me," Blue snapped, but he could hear a hint of panic entering her voice. "This isn't your magic. It's—"

"Mine," a third voice put in, and relief coursed through Henry as his grandfather stepped forward, his movements slow and unhurried. Henry hadn't seen him appear and he was fairly certain that Blue hadn't, either, but Rumplestiltskin soft voice belied the threat behind his words: "One original power can always defend against another. Did you really think I'd let you rip my grandson's heart out?"

A startled cry tore out of Henry; Blue tried one last desperate time to reach his heart, and fire raced through his chest. Breathing was hard, but the effort seemed to finally trigger the defensive spells in the bracelet he wore. Suddenly, Blue stumbled away from him, panting and pale, glaring at Rumplestiltskin with wide eyes.

"Or, perhaps the more important question to ask, Ruel Ghorm, is whatever made you think that you could break the deal we made?" he asked quietly.

"I am doing what must be done to save our world!"

"Of course you are, dear." Rumplestiltskin turned away from her dismissively. "Are you all right, Henry?"

"Yeah," Henry gulped, moving away from the wall to stand next to his grandfather as Rumplestiltskin came around the chair Henry had knocked down earlier. "I'm okay."

The implacably cold expression softened into a smile, and Henry thought he saw some of the fury burning in Rumplestiltskin's eyes ease as his grandfather reached out to squeeze his shoulder. "Good."

By now, the Blue Fairy was all but doubled over, clutching her midsection and sweating profusely. She looked horrible, pale and shaky, trembling as if something was eating at her from the inside out. Surprised, Henry glanced up at Rumplestiltskin, hoping his grandfather would offer an explanation, but instead Rumplestiltskin continued to watch Blue, his face expressionless. The senior fairy stumbled back a step, almost falling before catching herself and glowering at the former Dark One.

"What have you done?" Blue gasped.

"Nothing at all. But I expect you knew that already." A slight gesture from Rumplestiltskin righted the fallen chair, and he seated himself casually, leaning back and studying the panting fairy. After a moment, he turned to Henry. "Henry, would you please go fetch Tinker Bell? I believe she's with Regina in the stables."

"Um. Yeah. Sure?" He couldn't help looking at his grandfather in confusion. If Rumplestiltskin hadn't done this to Blue, who had? Or what had? So, he hesitated for a moment, watching the silent interplay between Blue and Rumplestiltskin.

"I'm not doing what you want," Blue snarled, all pretense at self-control fracturing even as Henry moved slowly for the door. "Even if I die—which is by no means guaranteed—the power will go where I choose. Not where you want!"

"I think we both know what's happening to you, dearie," Henry's grandfather replied calmly, but there was an edge in his voice that was impossible to ignore. "And you're very right that I can't dictate where your power goes. But I think you'll agree with me in the end." Brown eyes flicked left. "Tinker Bell, Henry. Hurry. We don't have much time."

Nodding, Henry finally bolted out the door. He wanted to see what was going to happen, but he had to trust his grandfather. And the faster he brought Tink back, the faster Henry would get to see the rest of this play out. So, ignoring the burn in his chest, he raced out the castle and towards the stables, hoping that Rumplestiltskin was right about Tink's location and that they wouldn't be too late.

Blue stumbled onto a couch as Henry raced out the door, not bothering to close it behind him. Briefly, Rumplestiltskin contemplated using magic to seal it shut so that there was no chance of anyone overhearing this conversation, but he dismissed the notion quickly. Frankly, he didn't care who knew about this—in fact, the more people that did, the better. He had no qualms about letting anyone see him at his most manipulative, and well, that meant they would see Blue, too. They would see the price to be paid.

"You broke our deal," he said quietly as she tried to fight back the magic attempting to destroy her from the inside.

"I am only trying to do—"

"Save it for someone who cares," Rumplestiltskin interrupted. "You know how this works. Your intent is meaningless. You made a magically binding agreement, a contract, if you will. And you broke it."

Blue glared.

"Now the only question is if it's going to kill you or not. All magic does come at a price." He smiled nastily, but managed to—mostly—quash the rising feeling of triumph. Rumplestiltskin had faced off with this fairy for as many centuries as he had been alive. She had been responsible for his separation from his son, and had tried to destroy him more than once. Oh, he'd given almost as good as he'd gotten, but he would have had to have been a far better man than he was not to be feeling an immense amount of satisfaction right now.

"It's going to kill me," Blue admitted quietly, the fight seeming to go out of her until she looked up to glare at him once more. "I can't imagine you're displeased by that."

Rumplestiltskin snorted. "On a personal level, no. But I imagine that your dear sister will manage to bully Cyan quite nicely, and that does present me with a bit of a conundrum."

"Don't pretend you care about what happens to this world." Brown eyes burned with fury. "You can fool the others, but I know you, Rumplestiltskin. I know what you are. You care about nothing other than yourself…and your family."

"Ah, but I do care," he corrected her. "For selfish reasons if nothing else. If Cyan gives into her, it puts me in a position I would rather not occupy."

Blue barked out a humorless laugh, further color draining from her face. She looked almost like a ghost, wispy and pale. "I'm not going to pity you."

"I'm not asking for your pity. I'm offering you a deal."

"A deal?" That made her hesitate, and surprised her. Though why it did Rumplestiltskin did not know; really, she should have expected this out of him by now.

"It's amazing what kind of things turn up when Belle starts researching," he replied with a wry smile. "For example, although I can't stop you from sending your power where you choose if you die…I can save your life."

"How?" she coughed raggedly; Rumplestiltskin thought he saw blood before Blue wiped it away. She still had her pride. He had to give her that.

"That's my concern. But I can," Rumplestiltskin said bluntly. "So I'll make a deal with you—and this one you'll keep. You transfer your power to Tinker Bell instead of to the Cyan Fairy. And once you have done so, I can pull back the magic that is killing you."

"I'll be powerless." Her eyes were wide, now, and each breath a ragged grasp.

Rumplestiltskin shrugged. "It's either that or dead."

He could see her thinking. Deciding. They both knew that Tink was stronger than Cyan, less likely to give in to even Danns' a'Bhàis. Tink would fight any battle she believed worth fighting until the bitter end. She was a rebel, which was why Blue didn't like her, even if Blue had given Tink her wings back. Cyan was like Blue: old, narrow-minded, and stubborn, but Tink was something else entirely. She was young—younger even that Rumplestiltskin—brash, and straightforward. And most importantly, she cared about the people who lived in the Enchanted Forest, not some over-arching 'greater good' that meant nothing to anyone shorter lived than a fairy.

Blue didn't like the choice; Rumplestiltskin could see that in her face. Part of her wanted to dig her heels in and just die, transferring her power to the Cyan Fairy like she had always planned in case the worst happened. But Rumplestiltskin could sense that his argument had actually made sense to her: Cyan was not the type who could look Danns in the eye and refuse to back down. Cyan would try to do the same thing Blue had, would dedicate herself to getting Henry's heart without looking at other options. Tink, however, thought outside the box and was a damn good choice. She wouldn't let anyone bully her, including (and perhaps especially) Rumplestiltskin, but Rumplestiltskin could live with that.

The real question was if Blue could live without magic or not.

Before she could make up her mind, Henry rushed back through the door with Tink on his heels. Regina was there, too, not unexpectedly; Rumplestiltskin had expected his former student to tag along. Tink, however, had eyes only for Blue.

"Blue? Are you all right?" she asked as she rushed to the senior fairy's side. Then she twisted to look curiously at Rumplestiltskin when Blue only shook her head. "Did you do this?"

"I didn't need to," he replied honestly.

Blue turned another glare on him. "Fine," she snapped. "You have a deal."

"Excellent." Rumplestiltskin threw Tink a meaningful glance before looking back at Blue. "Then you had best prepare your successor. You don't have much time."

A/N: Thank you again to everyone who left me a note after the last chapter! It means a lot to me to know that you're all still with me as this wild ride comes to a close. In regards to this chapter, do you think will Blue let the power go so easily, and how do you think Tink will fare as an original power?

Next up is Chapter 61: "A Long Road," where the Black Fairy sends Zoso after the Heart of the Truest Believer.