The idea of putting the potion vial into a metal egg and requesting it to be hidden inside the beast seemed quite amusing to him at the time. He was so proud of himself for thinking of it, giggling and practically bouncing on the balls of his feet, barely being able to contain his zealous excitement. He bargained with Prince Charming to do the dirty work for himand the sorcerer was sure it was done just as he requested. The noble fool knew how to keep his word, claiming he had honour. More like predictability – just pull on the strings, play on those feelings of honour and pride and the man would come running to you.
Now though he wished he had thought of a different hiding place. Maleficent wasn't a particularly strong witch in human form, but as a dragon she was practically indestructible, at least by magic – her thick hide could not be pierced or affected by a spell. She inherited the gift of transformation from her mother, and when she changed, the collected power of her family, strengthened by the natural powers of the dragons provided impeccable protection.
Rumpelstiltskin played around with the idea of merely convincing the witch to return the egg to him and then part ways, but there was a very slight chance of it. Dragons liked goldand he could spin her a mountain of it if that was what Maleficent wanted, yet his hunch told him it would not work. She'd never been agreeable or pleasantand she spent too much time alone, slowly intoxicating herself with dark magic and vile thoughts until she became half-insane. She had moments of clarity though, but they occurred rarely now; her days were spent in her dragon form, curled in her castle and guarding her treasures.
Besides, he needed to know exactly what Charming did with the egg. How do you make a bloody dragon swallow something like that? Perhaps the princeling just left it there, among the endless chests of gold, just another sparkling trinket. No use guessing, he just needed to find out for himself.
Rumpelstiltskin found the man in his council room, bent over a map of the kingdoms.
"Strange, how one can go from being a shepherd to a prince," he called softlyand Charming jerked his head up, staring at the sorcerer with his greyish-blue eyes.
"The Dark One?" he asked dumbly as if there could be any mistake as to who he was seeing. "How… how did you get in here?"
"The door wasn't locked," Rumpelstiltskin shrugged. "Not for me, at least."
"Are you here to check on Snow?" Charming frowned; apparently thinking caused him discomfort. "She fairs well and…"
"This is not a social visitand I care very little about your queen," Rumpelstiltskin approached the man and ran his fingers along the hollow of the table that was painted sky-blue, resembling a river. He rubbed his fingers together.
"Dusty in here. Have you ever considered cleaning up? No matter. I've arrived to collect what's due. If I remember clearly, you do owe me a favour," he gestured constantly as he spoke, his hands rising and falling theatrically.
Charming frowned but made no objection.
"Good!" Rumpelstiltskin giggled, unable to contain his excitement, clasping his hands together and putting them under his chin. It turned out better than planned, he didn't even need to manipulate the guy. "We can leave whenever you're ready. That is, now."
"Wait, what? Leave where? What do you require of me?"
The sorcerer clicked his tongue impatiently.
"I need your expertise in dealing with certain creatures," he waved his hand, making it sound like something unimportant, as if he was talking about a dog he wanted to get a piece of advice on and not a gigantic fire-breathing dragon. "Do you remember the metal egg I bid you to put away? Good. Now, I need it backand you will help me."
"I cannot leave now! Snow's just recovered and…"
"Yes, yes, that's all very interesting," Rumpelstiltskin interrupted him, wiggling a finger in the Prince's direction, "but I didn't ask you if you could leave now, do keep up. We are goingand this is final; surely you don't want to find out what happens if you attempt to break a magic contract that binds us?"
"Look, I…" Charming ran his hand through his short straw hair. "How am I supposed to retrieve that egg? Why can't you do it yourself?"
"Let's say, I need… a hero." Or someone stupid enough to walk into the dragon's lair willingly. "You did manage it the first time, surely you'll find your way around it again. Now, come."
"Ah-Alright, I guess. But if I am to risk my life, at least I want to know why."
Rumpelstiltskin groaned. Damn the regal man and his curiosity. It was a fair question, of course, but they were standing here wasting time onconversation instead of doing something.
"I need it to return someone who was taken away," he admitted reluctantly; that much information should be enough to satisfy Charming, yet remain relatively impersonal.
"Someone? Like in another human being?" Rumpelstiltskin actually rolled his eyes at that. "But how… I mean, I'd never imagine you caredabout anyone but yourself."
The word cared was a large understatement, but it wasn't the time and place to sort out his feelings for Belle. Charming regarded him with some mixture of awe and admiration.
"Yes," the sorcerer said softly, his voice even but tinted withwarmth that only she could bring out in him. "I do care about her."
The Prince's eyes scanned the man appraisingly for several momentsand he nodded swiftly, making up his mind.
"Give me time to say farewell to Snow." Sentimental fool.
"Oh, dearie, do not make it into a drama, I assure you it won't be a suicide mission." At least not for me hung in the air, unspoken.
"Besides, imagine all the glory you'll cover yourself with," Rumpelstiltskin swiped his hand in a broad arc, as if it'd help the prince to picture the benefits of his victory. "Princess Aurora will be most grateful. If she ever wakes up, that is."
He turned and headed to the door, Charming following him closely. "I've conjured this magic portal, which will take us right to Maleficent's Castle." The footsteps behind him stoppedand Rumpelstiltskin turned around on his heels with a snarl. "Now what?"
"I'm not going through the portal," Charming said stubbornly. "I do not trust magic."
The sorcerer scowled. Travelling on horseback meant it'd take them at least half a day to reach their destination. He shot a stark look at Charming (what an idiot), who stood with his arms crossed, lips pursed into a thin line and determination across his broad face; it was no use arguing about their means of travel.
"Fine," he sighed and the prince grinned at him triumphantly. "Let it be your way this time."
Rumpelstiltskin held his horse and jumped to the ground, leaning against a nearby tree when they entered the Castle grounds. The Prince gave him a quizzical look.
"Aren't you coming with me?"
"Oh no, I'd much rather not pay lovely Maleficent a visit," he chose to give the Prince one of his darkest smiles. "From here, you're on your own, dearie."
Charming shrugged but didn't seem to be too bothered by it. Rumpelstiltskin relaxed a little when the man was out of sight, his shoulders dropping. He no longer needed to play the giddy and childish Dark One. The forest was quiet around him; in fact, it was too quiet – no birds or buzzing of bugs. The trees were gnarly and looked burntand there was no grass or moss growing on the parched soil.
The silence was broken by an angry earth-shuddering roar – Charming must have gotten to the dragon lady. The horse was terrified by it and galloped away from the source of the noise; he didn't fancy the idea of chasing the frightened animal through the woods so he let it go. As time passed, Rumpelstiltskin began to wonder if he had miscalculated. If Charming failed, he'd have to find someone else or come up with another plan. But delay meant that Regina, who'd never been particularly patient, could do something to Belle.
Just when he was about to consider slipping into the Castle to check on the Prince, he spotted the man walking towards him with his horse following close. Charming looked… well… not too regal now. He was covered with sweat and his cloak was burnt in several places. His face was splattered with something dark and the man dragged his sword in his hand, the tip of the blade scraping the ground, as if the weapon was too heavy for him to lift. He did carry an egg in his left hand; the Prince threw the thing at him when he came close enoughand Rumpelstiltskin caught it, wincing as his fingers touched its slimy surface.
The egg was cold and slippery, covered with a gooey substance and shreds of something the sorcerer definitely did not want to identify. Other than that, it seemed intact. Rumpelstiltskin could simply take the potion out of it and leavebut he decided he'd enjoy some twisted pleasure by seeing Regina's face when she touched the repulsive object. He produced a bag from the inner pocket of his cloak and carefully placed the egg within.
"Did you get everything you wanted?" Charming's voice was tired and husky; well, one cannot expect a man to actually sound happy and cheerful upon surviving an uneven fight with a dragon.
"Actually, no," Rumpelstiltskin rolled from toe to heel. "I need your horse."
"What? Why?" Charming's eyebrows shot up so high they almost blurred with his hair and his mouth fell slightly ajar.
"You slayed the dragon, now it's time for me to save the girl." He wasn't about to lecture the Prince on how Regina's wards worked; they were set to prevent anyone with strong magic, dark or light, from entering the grounds. The spell was designed to keep her mother away;but as a creator of the enchantment, Rumpelstiltskin knew a way around it. He needed to cast the counter-spell when he was close enough to her castleand while he didn't prefer horse riding, it was a perfect opportunity to humiliate Charming.
"But how am I going to get back?" he asked, watching Rumpelstiltskin jump into the saddle with practiced ease.
"Well, I could always send you through the portal," the sorcerer drawled smugly, "but knowing your mistrust towards magic… I'd say on foot, perhaps?"
The look on Charming's face was quite precious, really.
"You could at least say thank you!" he shouted at his back, but Rumpelstiltskin paid him no mind. He spurred the horse, sending it into a quick trot.