Regina's castle loomed over him and Rumpelstiltskin suddenly felt uneasy. He hoped the woman would keep her word and not come up with some other impossible request. He actually felt pity for passing one of his most precious creations to her; True Love's essence probably held more power than he imagined and it was very unlikely that he'd be able to create more of the potion soon. He'd always liked collecting things, bargaining for them or creating them to be stored away. Yet the regret of parting with the potion was more of the one he knew he should feel than actually experience. It was just a piece of magic. It was nothing compared to the chance of having Belle at his side.
His heart fluttered and warmed unexpectedly at the idea of having the girl near once again. He knew she was his weakness and that someone would sooner or later use that. Most of his human life he lived in fear and now, centuries later he felt the fright again, because he had something to lose. But Rumpelstiltskin realized that given the chance to go back, he'd not alter a thing – well, except for their fighting when he brought her for the first time to his Castle – he swore to himself he needed to watch out for her more, but he'd never give up being with Belle as long as she wanted him too.
The air crackled with magic and Rumpelstiltskin reached out, grasping the invisible thread of the spell, tugging and twisting it until he could disentangle the protective net to enter the grounds. He walked towards the Castle briskly, scanning it with his magic. He could feel the large pulsing clot of Regina's aura, and small, weaker ones of her servants moving around the mansion, but there was no trace of Belle. He frowned but didn't stop, heading towards the throne room.
Regina was, of course, sitting on the throne – now only a self-proclaimed queen, he mused – her back perfectly straight and her hair pinned up in a sophisticated style. She rose to greet him and showed her perfectly white teeth in a smile. She stuck her glove-clad hand out but quickly dropped it to her side as the man quirked his brow. She didn't really expect him to kiss her hand, did she?
"Rumple! You got what I asked for so soon?"
"I'm not here to bow and scrape. Tell me where Belle is and let's be done with it."
"Very well," Regina dropped the masquerade of being a courteous host. "I want the True Love potion."
"Ah-ah, dearie. I need guarantees. We both know what my word is worth, but yours, in turn…" his voice trailed off mockinglyand she gritted her teeth.
Regina called for a servant, ordering him to pass the message to the Sheriff to release their guest.
"There, Rumple, he'll deliver the girl where he picked her up. Isn't that nice of me?"
Rumpelstiltskin narrowed his eyes, studying her.
"Still don't trust me?" Regina pouted. "Fine, is that better proof?"
She walked towards an oval mirror on the wall, her skirts whispering on the floor as she moved and gestured for the man to follow.
"Mirror mirror on the wall, show me what I want to know?" he recited in her ear in a high pitched voice followed by a giggle, feeling how she tensed at his presence. He was her mentor but still, just like most people, she shivered when he was near.
"Truly, you should stop trying to rhyme," she said, stepping away to allow him to be no closer than at arm-length.
Regina touched the mirror and in a moment its surface revealed an image of a horseman with another person in front of him. It was unmistakably Belle, bent over the horse like a sack of flour, but she looked mostly unharmed, despite being tied up. Rumpelstiltskin's hands curled up in fistsand he exhaled slowly to calm down. The Evil Queen studied his contorted face smugly, moving back to sit on her throne. So flatulent.
"Now, where's my share?" she made it sound like an order but he didn't bother to correct her.
Rumpelstiltskin approached her and retrieved the egg from the bag he was holding, dropping it onto her lap.
"What is it?" Regina asked, placing her palm onto its surface and leaning over to have a better look.
"Oh, I imagine those to be the intestines and their contents of your dear friend Maleficent," he said in his sweetest voice, as if he had never delivered better news.
Regina shrieked and jumped up, the egg rolling onto the floor and cracking open. She shook her hand to get rid off the slime that covered itand he sniggered. Then, remembering that there were more efficient ways, she cleaned her hand and dress with magic.
"You have a foul sense of humour, Rumple," she spat, leaning down to pick up the small vial nested in the soft cushions inside the metal egg shell. "So this is truly it?" her voice was full of wonder and while there were times he'd feel pleased for impressing her, it only annoyed him now.
"Yes, it is," he turned around and strode to the chamber's exit, pausing at the doors to look at her. Regina's eyes were still fixed on the lilac swirling substance inside the glass and he called her name to draw her attention.
"One more thing. You realize, I'll never let it just be," his voice was quiet but it carried through the room, confident and stern. "It means war."
Her lined eyes narrowed and she grimaced at him.
"Are you threatening me, Rumple?" she meant to sound mocking, but her body went stiff, as if she was a deer who spotted a hunter.
"Oh no, dearie," Rumpelstiltskin said softly, smiling at her. "Consider it… a friendly warning."
"I will destroy you," he muttered, crossing the line of her grounds and disappearing in a swirl of a purple smoke once he was past her wards.
The sorcerer reappeared in the middle of a crossroad just before the rider. The horse was immediately spooked, either by the sudden materialization or because the animal could sense the dark energy. It reared up onto its hind legs and Rumpelstiltskin reached high and grabbed its bridle, steadying and calming the animal before it could shake the people off its back.
He studied the horseman, eyes scanning over his crude form and unkempt hair. He knew who the man was.
"Sheriff of Nottingham," he drawled and the sheriff nodded.
"Imp."
That was not the name he preferred.
"Would you be so kind as to release your… captive?"
The sheriff dismounted and pulled Belle off the horse, untying her legs and removing the cuffs from her wrists. He pulled the gag out of her mouth and pushed the girl forward.
"There's your wench, good as new."
Rumpelstiltskin snarled, seeing that there was a long bruise on her left cheekbone. How dare that moron lay his hand on her? He snapped his fingers and before the sheriff could say anything else, he seemed to have disappeared off the face of the earth. Belle turned around to look at the place where the man was standing a moment ago.
"You turned him into a slug!" she whispered, her voice breaking mid-sentence.
"I thought a snail was too good for the scum," he seemed totally unperplexed by reducing someone to a primitive temptation to step onto and crush the former sheriff was strong, but he resisted, turning to Belle. "Are you alright?" he asked, placing his fingers on her upper arms lightly.
"Yes." Belle leaned into him, tucking her head under his chin and he held her back carefully in case there were more injuries he couldn't see.
"Let's go home then," Rumpelstiltskin suggested, wrapping his cloak around them and letting his magic wash over their bodies to carry them to the Dark Castle.