Chapter Nine: A Dead End

Author's Note: To those who have reviewed, thank you very much. To answer the question as to why I had deleted my story, "Evil Is A Point Of View", I didn't have any direction for it and it was going no where. I only work on one story at time, too, so this one of course is getting my full attention. Sorry to disappoint :( But I am putting 200% of all my efforts into this story, so maybe I can make it up to my lovely Dearies.

The villagers, of course, were not happy at all and formed an incredibly large mob, led by Lydia, to hunt down the vampire that had once again torn apart the village with her murderous deeds. In order to protect Jennifer, Rumplestiltskin offered her a new place to live—in a castle. She agreed that it would be better for all parties involved if they moved, and in doing so, they landed in their new home, the Dark Castle.

Rumplestiltskin had done well for himself, having spun yards and yards worth of gold, giving Jennifer a beautiful place to live—the castle had many, many rooms, too many to even use. Long tables stretched from one room to the next,; bookshelves and glass cases lined the walls of several rooms and asking what they were for, Rumplestiltskin told Jennifer that he was becoming something of a collector and needed a place to put his things. Knowing Jennifer, he guided her down to the dungeons; there were a few rooms, but one in particular was a place he fashioned into her own bedroom, although he suspected she would spend most of the night with him in his own for obvious reasons, wink, wink. In the cabinets, he revealed, were the bottles Jennifer had filled with Onora's blood to keep her satiated on those long trips.

He surprised her with a new wardrobe full of beautiful dresses and shoes. He had made sure that Jennifer would never go wanting. Jennifer thanked him graciously. When the surprises seemed to have stopped, Rumplestiltskin took her hand and led them up to a circular room, where his spinning wheel was located, a few potions and ingredients lined a table, and the bookshelf adjacent to this table was filled with volumes of magic spells, potions and enchantments. Jennifer knew this would be where he was most of the time, considering he spun for a hobby, spun for the gold, or when he was simply bored or needed to think...or forget.

Over the past four months they had been here, Jennifer had found her own hobby so she could 'forget'. She hunted—not necessarily for food. Over the past few months, she bottled enough blood to last her almost a life time but it seemed to be the only thing she could think of doing that would allow her to forget Baelfire's absence. Rumplestiltskin and Jennifer had never really lost their intimacy, but their loss for Baelfire seemed to have placed a bit of a gap between them that only grew, unchecked, over time.

Apparently, both of them were aware of this for when the new year had begun on the first of January, Jennifer had remained in her dungeon, bottling more blood, knowing Rumplestiltskin would prefer the isolation on his spinning wheel.

Her newest victim was a man with a goatee, stripped down to his bare ass; he was placed in restraints, and kept very much alive. Human blood was fresher when it was taken from the living rather than the pronounced dead. The man was crying by now—having been bitten and clawed, and taunted for hours. The blood from his bitten arms, chest, and legs dripped slowly onto the dungeon floor; Jennifer, clothed in a knee-length black dress which shown off her bare shoulders, and her strong, toned arms seemed to not hear him, or she did—and didn't care. The latter was most likely.

As she uncapped a new bottle, the man closed his eyes, whimpering, "Please, please, no more. No more. Just kill me..."

"You know, you keep saying that," Jennifer uttered softly. "But we both now it isn't going to happen—at least, not right now." An evil giggle escaped her lips, frightening the victim further.

"Why are you doing this?" He bravely asked.

"Because I have to," Jennifer replied nonchalantly.

"You don't—you don't have to do this...any of this," the man begged.

"On a contrary," Jennifer said, chuckling darkly.

"It's so evil...you're so evil."

"It's a necessary evil," Jennifer reasoned, smiling at him.

"Why me?" he questioned. He seemed to sober up from the pain for his tones became very demanding, defensive, all around rude. "You could have taken anyone from the forest—why me...why now..."

"Wrong place, wrong time?" offered Jennifer carelessly. She stood at the head of the table, and placed a hand on his forehead, stroking it harder than she should have, but the point was moot. She liked hearing him cry for help, to hope to die, and wanting her to rot forever in the Underworld. She shrugged when he vowed to kill her.

"Now hush, darling," Jennifer cooed, stroking his cheek with her thumb. "This next part is not going to hurt at all...shh, shh, shh..."

She heard foot falls coming down the stairs, and as Rumplestiltskin entered the room with a knock on the door, he saw her twist the victim's neck so fast the man was still in mid-sob as he died instantly. Rumplestiltskin raised his eyebrows, impressed, then the shock wore off as he watched Jennifer meander around the room, collecting more blood from the dead man before the insides starting rotting. Rumplestiltskin crossed his arms, curiously looking at the naked man on the table.

"Who was he?" asked Rumplestiltskin.

Jennifer shrugged, saying, "Beats me. I found him wandering around in the forest alone."

"Did anyone see you?" he asked.

"If they did, I took very little notice," Jennifer returned. She stopped walking around, looking at him pointedly: "Are you all right, Rumple?"

Rumplestiltskin smiled at her.

"I have a lead," Rumplestiltskin told her.

Jennifer placed her bottles on the table, walking over to him; her open-toed heels clicked the concrete as she did. A ray of hope shined in her eyes. They were closer to getting back to Baelfire.

"Really?" Jennifer said hopefully.

"A man has requested a visit with me," Rumplestiltskin said. "He's desperate to make a deal."

"You always have been able to recognize a desperate soul," Jennifer mewed.

"While I am gone," Rumplestiltskin said, "I want you to stay here."

"I can't come with you?"

Rumplestiltskin's face become stricken between wanting her to come with him but knowing if he lost her—if someone took his weakness—then he would surely turn to dust. He knew Jennifer could take care of herself; she was a strong woman (both emotionally and physically) but being the only person he had left in this world until they found a way to the next, he was more afraid than ever of losing her. The only way to keep her safe was keeping her in this castle...but then again, she proved to be pleasant company.

"Stay here..." Rumplestiltskin instructed gently. "Please?" He touched her face with one of his hands, lightly stroking her face with the back of it while the other placed her hand on his chest, trying to convey his deepest sense of protection for her. Jennifer continued to look at him as though he was being unreasonable but after a while, she folded.

"All right," Jennifer conceded. "I'll stay here."

"Good girl," Rumplestiltskin whispered. He tilted her chin and kissed her gently on the lips. Jennifer returned it, although it was a little harder and more passionate. She parted her lips, inviting him, and he obliged. It was the first time in four months since they kissed like this. And the butterflies floating in both of their stomachs reminded them.

"When you've finished your deal," Jennifer whispered as they kissed, "Come back to me."

"Always," Rumplestiltskin returned.

Jennifer pulled him closer to her; while he had changed her wardrobe, he had made equal improvements on his. For instance, the skin-tight leather pants—she liked them on him. The leather tunics he wore that just constricted around his body with the expectation of the design that shown a bit of his chest...Jennifer was always a little flustered when she saw him, forgetting about the leather pants until she saw him again. Who was she kidding—she never forgot.

The kissing between them became feverish, and hungry. However, Rumplestiltskin suddenly stopped, stepping back. Jennifer looked at him uncertainly but smiled when he was short of air, looking a little flustered himself.

"I have a deal to make," Rumplestiltskin reminded her.

Jennifer shrugged, saying, "I'll be here when you get back."

"Are you certain of that?" Rumplestiltskin questioned.

Jennifer moved closer to him, closing the distance between them. She brought her lips to his neck, kissing the skin with her tongue and then nibbled the flesh a little in the place just below his jaw. Rumplestiltskin smiled when to his ear, she uttered, "I'll be here when you get back, and I will be ready. You keep that in mind when you're making your deals, Dark One."

She pulled back, turning around with a sheepish grin when she saw him staring at her wantonly. She looked at the victim, dead on the table.

"Can you take out the trash for me when you leave?" Jennifer asked.

Rumplestiltskin said, "You don't need him?"

"He's fulfilled my purposes," Jennifer answered in a tone lacking any kind of sentimentality—not that Rumplestiltskin had expected it from her, "I have no use for him."

"Did he serve any other useful purpose—other than becoming a bottled snack?" Rumplestiltskin asked humorously.

"Somewhat," Jennifer responded. Wickedly, she said, "I had my little fun. I took something so precious..." she patted the dead man's head lovingly, "and made it beg for mercy." She shrugged, adding, "I gave it to him in the end—I think despite underneath all of this sadism and beauty, I'm going soft."

Rumplestiltskin chuckled when she winked at him.

"Torture looks good on you, dearie," Rumplestiltskin replied. "I wouldn't worry about it."

She smiled at him. He bowed to her, and she made a low curtsy to him. They chuckled at their own sense of humor and as he waved his hand, red smoke enveloped around him and the dead person on the table. Both disappeared from the dungeon, leaving a very happy Jennifer behind.

000

Four days passed since Rumplestiltskin's departure and Jennifer was starting to worry. Well, 'starting' was putting it mildly. The proper phrase to describe what she was doing now was 'rummaging through the books on all the bookshelves, looking for a way to find Rumplestiltskin if he didn't come back in the next five minutes.' As though he had heard her, Rumplestiltskin appeared in a cloud of red smoke, looking very pleased with himself, and yet, also disgruntled. Meanwhile, Jennifer was still piling through books, turning pages so quick and furiously that the paper would tear; when she didn't find what she was looking for, she would toss the book aside and begin searching through it just as vehemently as she did with the last.

"What are you doing?" Rumplestiltskin asked.

Jennifer suddenly looked up, and seeing him, she tackled him to the ground with a tight hug. Rumplestiltskin was surprised at such an intense reaction, but he smiled when she kissed him hard on the mouth—so hard it almost hurt.

And then, as he got to his feet, she slapped him equally hard.

Rumplestiltskin stared at her incredulously, but her reasons were revealed.

"Why didn't you come back!" Jennifer snapped, suddenly furious.

"I did come back," Rumplestiltskin told her.

Jennifer shot him a glare full of daggers and Rumplestiltskin held up his hands in a calm surrender, and that drew attention to the third hand, which Rumplestiltskin held by the detached wrist. The hand was clenched into a tight fist, apparently, whomever had it last was determined not to give whatever he (it appeared to be a man's hand) held in his grasp. Jennifer's fury slackened and transformed into shock as she pointed at this hand.

"What the fuck is—who does that belong to!" Jennifer questioned fervently.

Rumplestiltskin responded calmly, "This" he held up the hand "is precisely why I was gone longer than I had intended."

"You took the man's hand?" Jennifer questioned. "The one that was supposed to give you the magical bean?"

"No." Rumplestiltskin said, walking to what could be called 'his office', which had more book shelves and glass cases filled with treasured volumes and antiques that had been acquired over the past several weeks; Jennifer followed him as he placed the hand on the table like it was nothing...then again, she had tortured a man like it was simply business—and it was—so Jennifer's shock died down pretty easy. She pointed at the hand.

"So who does this belong to?"

"Doesn't matter," Rumplestiltskin said, waving his hand dismissively to the side as a gesture of his point. "And I think what you mean to say is 'who did this belong to'. It's no longer the captain's; it is mine."

"'Captain'?" repeated Jennifer. "Captain who?"

"Captain Jones," Rumplestiltskin replied.

"Captain who?"

"No, dearie—Jones." Rumplestiltskin clarified pointedly, although he chuckled at his own quirky sense of humor. Jennifer sat across from him as he held up the hand: "This hand holds the magical bean."

"Why didn't he just give it to you?" Jennifer asked.

"The situation became a little more complicated than that."

"So you cut off his hand?" asked Jennifer flatly.

Rumplestiltskin shrugged carelessly, saying, "He deserved it."

Jennifer sensed a grudge underneath his nonchalant exterior. She stood up and leaned over the desk, saying, "There's more to this than you're telling me, isn't there?"

"You don't need to know the rest," Rumplestiltskin reassured.

"The fact you're telling me I don't need to know the rest just makes me believe that I should know the rest." Jennifer stated. "What happened between you and this captain Jones?"

Rumplestiltskin stared at her, muttering, "You are just going to keep going at me until you get your answer, aren't you?"

"Well, you can 'poof' me somewhere else, I suppose," Jennifer offered the alternative, "But then you'll just have pissed me off. And I'll make my way back and the conversation would still continue."

Rumplestiltskin rolled his eyes. Jennifer suddenly snatched the hand from his possession in less than seconds, her agility living up to the vampire standards; she kept the hand in the fist position, but pulled out the index finger so it appeared that she was, by the extension of the captain's detached hand, pointing at him. Rumplestiltskin suppressed a smile because this situation was also getting frustrating but couldn't help be amused by her dark sense of humor.

"You," Jennifer said, shaking the hand so the finger continued to point at him and shake disapprovingly, "are not telling me everything, Rumplestiltskin. And until you do, you're not getting this hand back."

"Jennifer," Rumplestiltskin said calmly, "There isn't anything to tell."

"Oh come on, Rumple. I have known you since we were kids—I know when you're hiding something and you are." Jennifer said. "Tell me what happened between this Captain Jones and yourself."

Rumplestiltskin realized she was more or less baiting him.

"You can tell me anything," Jennifer assured, using his words. "Trust me."

She threw him the hand, releasing her leverage so if Rumplestiltskin did tell her what happened, it would be by choice, not without. So finally, he sat down and she hopped on the desk, sitting in front of him. He told her about going to the pub, meeting a man named William Smee, who promised to steal a magic bean that would transport him between realms. That night, he had seen Captain Jones—a man who had stolen his wife, Milah, long ago. Jennifer stopped him.

"Wait, wait," she uttered. "You said he killed her."

"He kidnapped her," Rumplestiltskin stated.

"And I am guessing there's more to this story than I was led to believe?"

Rumplestiltskin replied sarcastically, "What do you think."

Jennifer gestured for him to continue.

Rumplestiltskin admitted (quietly as possible) that Captain Jones had offered the give Milah back if he would fight for her, even though Rumplestiltskin had informed the Captain that she had a son back home, and he needed his mother. Rumplestiltskin hadn't fought for her, and Captain Jones took her. To cover up his cowardice, Rumplestiltskin had told Baelfire his mother had died—for at the time, he could have only assumed the worst for he hadn't know Milah had volunteered to go.

Rumplestiltskin stared hard at the floor when he spoke of all this and finally, when he heard nothing from Jennifer (not even a sigh of disapproval) he looked up to see her face lacking any expression at all.

"So this Jones," Jennifer finally spoke after a long minute had passed, "took your wife."

Rumplestiltskin nodded.

"So you took his hand?"

"Like I said, Jennifer—the situation became a little more complicated than that."

Jennifer took his hands in hers and uttered lovingly, "Tell me what happened, Rumple. Please?"

So after much resolve, Rumplestiltskin did so. She had shown every ounce of love to him, never having been disappointed by his actions thus far. Rumplestiltskin told her that he had challenged Captain Jones to a duel, not for that night however, the next, instead. The next night came around and after several minutes of sword fighting had commenced, Rumplestiltskin had been close to ripping out the captain's heart to show him just how much it hurt when he had taken Milah from him. About that time, Milah had shown up—looking very much alive, rather than 'dead' as Captain Jones had her declared initially.

As he spoke, Jennifer had many expressions cross her face: curiosity, intrigue, a bit of jealousy, and all sorts of emotions.

"You can take out a human heart?" asked Jennifer softly, her eyes dilated with fascination.

Rumplestiltskin said proudly, "Yes, Pet. I can."

"You never cease to amaze me with all you can do with your power," Jennifer told him. She cleared her throat to try to slacken the grip he had on her lustful loins and said more firmly, "I mean...er...what happened next?"

Rumplestiltskin smirked at her, but continued on (albeit, sheepishly). He said Milah arrived to save her 'beloved' captain, and she had taken Mr. Smee below deck as a prisoner. Arriving on the third day to collect what had been promised to him in exchange for a peace treaty between Milah, Captain Jones, and Rumplestiltskin himself. Rumplestiltskin had been angry that Milah could simply up and leave him and Baelfire, and after a fierce argument between the two, Milah had declared she had never loved him. Prompting him to become vengeful—Rumplestiltskin had pulled out her heart, crushing it to dust; Captain Jones had tried to intervene, but the Dark One had won. He had cut off the captain's hand so he could remain alive, and feel what Rumplestiltskin felt on the day Milah had been taken from him.

Rumplestiltskin had then appeared in the cloud of red smoke in the room same as Jennifer, watching his vampire lover tear through his books like a mad woman.

Jennifer stared at Rumplestiltskin as he finished the tale, and he held up the hand in regards: "That is why I have another man's hand."

He expected her to get all riled and such over this incredible story of his, maybe even tell him that he was lying because the whole tale sounded too odd. But Jennifer, known for her lack of impulse control issues and intense emotions, seemed surprisingly calm as she crossed her arms, looking at him with no certain expression on her face. Rumplestiltskin sat back in his chair, waiting for the blow.

"So..." Jennifer uttered slowly. "You killed Milah."

Rumplestiltskin nodded.

"And you took the hand of the man she loved most," Jennifer said quietly.

Rumplestiltskin nodded.

"And..." she continued as though she was just absorbing all of this now, "You can pull hearts out of people without killing them."

Once more, Rumplestiltskin nodded, waiting still.

Jennifer smirked at him.

"You're a lot darker than I thought." Jennifer returned, hopping off the desk.

Rumplestiltskin was a bit shocked at her response—although, he should have given her more credit to begin with. Jennifer wasn't like most women...or humans for that matter. The vampire inside the woman seemed to purr as she suddenly sat on him, straddling his waist.

"Darker, dearie," Rumplestiltskin uttered. "Much darker."

He wanted to dwell in this wonderful moment of a frisky vampire wanting to ravage him for his dark soul but the matter of getting Baelfire back dawned on him and Jennifer—the hand held the bean, after all. It was time to get Bae back to them.

She got off him and waited with baited breath as Rumplestiltskin pried open the fingers of the hand. But their expressions changed from happy anticipation to disappointment and dread.

Seeing the empty hand, Jennifer and Rumplestiltskin glared at one another. Rumplestiltskin became infuriated, knocking everything off the desk angrily, shouting, "They tricked me."

Jennifer was unusually still. She told Rumplestiltskin quietly, "I'll be back."

"Where are you going?" asked Rumplestiltskin, disgruntled.

"To find another victim," Jennifer said. "I want to hurt something precious."

Rumplestiltskin watched after her. He didn't even think about stopping her.