Chapter 16: The 2nd Apprentice

Jennifer hummed as she walked around the stove, preparing dinner. Jennifer wore one of her simpler dresses, a black-and-white with thin spaghetti straps; it was backless, and it dropped to the middle of her calves. At this point of the afternoon, she was barefoot. The roast was cooking in the oven, and soup was being made on the stove.

As though her humming had drawn him into the room, Rumplestiltskin entered, watching Jennifer curiously.

"Where do you go this time?" Rumplestiltskin asked.

Jennifer dipped a spoon into the soup and tasted it, licking her lips. Her scowl signified dissatisfaction, and she added more soup to remedy. Stirring the pot, Jennifer turned her gaze upon him; she saw him in his more 'regal' outfits: red leather, the collar turned upwards to cradle his neck, but still as handsome as ever.

"To a certain ocean to see a mermaid," Jennifer uttered.

"Mermaids are dangerous," Rumplestiltskin stated.

"They are," she replied. She leaned towards him, grinning beautifully. "But as am I."

Rumplestiltskin hopped onto the long table that stretched in the large kitchen from one area of the room to other. He crossed his legs, his hands folding into his lap.

"What was your business with a mermaid?" Rumplestiltskin asked.

"Eh, she's not really a mermaid anymore," Jennifer uttered, shrugging. "Once upon a time, maybe. But these days, she is far from it." Eyes twinkling, she said to him, "She has turned herself into an infernal creature, an octopus and has become the very thing the ocean—and its explorers—fear."

Jennifer tapped the spoon against the pot, placing it aside. She turned around and walked towards Rumplestiltskin. He watched her as though entranced and yet still wary of her delicate strut. As she came nearer, Rumplestiltskin uncrossed his legs only for her to move between them. He smiled a little.

"That captain of whom you spoke—Hook." Jennifer mentioned gently. "He took her voice, her ability to sing—her happy ending. At some point, her alliance will be worth having—a goddess, a witch, of the entire ocean. I visited the ocean today while you were teaching Regina a few magic tricks."

"And?" Rumplestiltskin encouraged. "How did that go?"

"She was a little disgruntled," Jennifer admitted. "No one is entirely happy to meet with a Vampire."

"Being the Dark One's wife doesn't help with your reputation either, dearie."

"A small price to pay for the love of my life," Jennifer returned.

"So what deal did you make with the sea witch for her allegiance?" Rumplestiltskin asked, knowingly.

Jennifer smirked, saying, "Not all of us have a penchant for making deals, honey."

"Can't imagine doing business any other way," Rumplestiltskin replied.

"I told her it was a matter of circumstance." Jennifer said. She moved back to the stove, stirring the soup and checking on the roast; Rumplestiltskin furrowed his eyebrows curiously.

"How's that, now?" he asked.

Jennifer said, "You told me that you would need help obtaining this Dark Curse. You would need someone to get through the bloody scarabs—which I assume Cruella would do what you'd like. Ursula has those long, creepy tentacles—she can get through any barrier possible. Getting women to be on your side is easy when you're a charismatic Dark One. Getting them to trust you...is a completely different story."

Rumplestiltskin hopped off the table, laughing.

"So that's where you come in?" Rumplestiltskin asked. "You're going to have a heart-to-heart with these 'Queens of Darkness'? I'm flattered by your efforts to make the job easier, but I don't need help. As you've already said: I'm charismatic." He made a gesture to himself.

"Fine," Jennifer mused. "You deal with the catty broads." She tasted the soup again. "Their personalities are as a dower as this soup—there's no improving it."

Rumplestiltskin sighed, placing his arms around Jennifer.

"You don't want to make the job easier, dearie—you just despise the idea of me going on a journey with three women," Rumplestiltskin told her.

Jennifer shrugged and nonchalantly said, "Of course not. That's not it at all."

"I love it when you try to hide your jealousy," Rumplestiltskin whispered. "But it's a feat you've never been able to achieve."

"Oh, shut up." Jennifer uttered, pushing him away.

Rumplestiltskin chuckled.

"I won't have to obtain the Dark Curse for some time—Regina is still lacking," Rumplestiltskin stated as though to reassure her. "She's been unable to do a simple teleportation trick—I expect it will take her a few more weeks to do it."

Jennifer shrugged again, her voice higher than usual: "I don't care either way, Rumple. You can go with the girls and I will stay here—it's just less I have to do."

"Hiding your emotions has never been your strength, Jennifer." Rumplestiltskin said softly. He took her hand in his, pulling her to him; she gave a sigh of reluctance but the smile tugged at her lips. "Trust me, Darling—you have no competition."

Jennifer saw in his eyes that he was telling her the truth. Her insecurity left her as he and Jennifer shared a passionate albeit soft kiss. Before things became hot and heavy, Jennifer breathlessly stopped it from going any further saying, "Dinner's ready."

000

Rumplestiltskin left many more times in the next months that followed. After Regina had dropped Rumplestiltskin as her teacher for a whole day—it had been relieving for Jennifer and him to spend time together—but just in the same day, Regina had ridden back home on a flying dragon (Maleficent). Regina had expressed that if she wanted to get her well-deserved revenge, it would have to be done within time and patience and she accepted Rumplestiltskin back as her teacher. Her lessons had continued, cutting into the valuable time that was their marriage life. However, Jennifer filled her own time with things to do.

Some of it happened to be conspiring with Maleficent about evil deeds, comparing castle modifications; sometimes, Jennifer simply visited for the tea. Maleficent had some mad skills when it came to making the perfect sweet tea. While Maleficent seemed to stay wary of Jennifer's friendship, the two women seemed to be the closest people that they could call 'friends'. They could never truly be friends—both of them knew this. Jennifer knew Maleficent would eventually become bait for a Chernabog (thanks to her husband's vision), and Maleficent knew better than to trust the Dark One's wife. However—despite their differences—they were civilized, sharing small talk.

If she wasn't conspiring with the brooding dragon, Jennifer was making more trips to fill her boredom.

Jennifer took off for days (not before telling Rumplestiltskin she would be gone for a time); however, this time around, a bit of trouble had found her—several of the peasants had led themselves into a huge mob with torches—and Jennifer sprinted far away as possible. Jennifer's blood lust had finally met its match. At some point, the mob had been stopped by a strongly spoken woman by name of Snow White. Despite Snow's attempts to calm the crowd, there was a large outcry for her head to be nailed on a pike, and her number of enemies seemed to spike. Quickly, she ran for miles—then into the Dark Castle, slamming the doors shut behind her. Jennifer caught her breath, glancing back out the door, then closing it back calmly when there was no one else coming. It was obvious, of course, that no smart person would follow her into the Dark Castle.

"Shit, that was close," Jennifer muttered.

"Who are you?"

Jennifer startled, hearing a voice other than her husband's. She turned suddenly, bearing for attack and saw a woman. She had bright green eyes, luscious strawberry blonde curls that framed her face. She wore a beautiful dress, and in her hand swirled an electric ball of green smoke.

"Who are you?" Jennifer returned icily.

"I'm asking the questions here," the woman retorted, her eyes brightening.

Jennifer smiled sardonically, stepping towards her.

"No..." she mused quietly, "I am."

Apparently, Jennifer wasn't the only one with impulse control issues for this woman threw the ball of electric green at her; the magic power forced Jennifer on her knees; she cringed when it did. It hadn't hurt—but the only person she ever permitted to use magic on her was Rumplestiltskin—and that was when the situation called for it (be it out of sexual urgency or a matter of stopping her from killing a vital aspect to a bigger picture).

"Now," the woman breathed coldly. "You will tell me who you are. If you don't, I will kill you."

Jennifer laughed—the echoes of the sinister sound made this woman back up a little, but she held her hand out to Jennifer, prepared to do what was necessary.

"You can't kill me," Jennifer uttered. "You can certainly try though."

The woman raised her hand up in the air, and Jennifer was forced in the air with it. Then she was slammed against the door. Jennifer grunted, but her dark smile remained.

"I will kill you, you know. I can." The woman reassured.

"If you're so sure," Jennifer breathed darkly, "Then why haven't you done it already?"

"I want to know your name first."

"And I want to know yours." Jennifer returned smartly. "So I know what to put on your tombstone after I slit your throat and shove your fucking intestines down your gullet."

Holding her against the door, the woman raised her other hand as she furiously conjured a ball of fire. The red reflected in Jennifer's eyes as the flames shot towards her; the woman was grinning widely. Then suddenly, the flames were enveloped into a bright blue force field that suddenly appeared in front of Jennifer; the magic that held her against the door was lost as she dropped to her knees. The woman's body was pushed back by an invisible force and the shock of it made her trip backwards, so she fell onto her butt. As the flames were being swallowed into this blue shield, the blue had come from the side; Jennifer and the other woman followed it to see Rumplestiltskin lowering both his hands when the flames had completely disappeared.

"I guess I don't need to worry about introducing you two," Rumplestiltskin pointed out. "Since you've already met?"

"Who is she!" Jennifer and the other woman shouted, pointing at the other.

Rumplestiltskin chuckled, saying, "Jennifer, this is Zelena. Zelena—Jennifer." He gesticulated to the woman of the appropriate name, as he introduced them.

"Who the hell is Zelena?" Jennifer growled.

"My second apprentice," Rumplestiltskin returned.

"I—" Zelena began.

Jennifer punched her and she flew across the room. Rumplestiltskin giggled, smiling at his wife.

"Why the hell is she in the castle?" Jennifer questioned angrily.

"How dare you strike me—," snarled an unhappy Zelena; she came strutting back with fireballs in each hand.

Rumplestiltskin put an arm in front of Jennifer, pushing her back and behind him. Jennifer's anger disappeared, obviously realizing that Zelena was simply an apprentice—like Regina—and nothing more. However, the way Zelena was reacting, Jennifer assumed that this woman thought there was something between them. Jennifer suddenly felt very possessive and yet very proud.

"Stop," Rumplestiltskin told Zelena.

"But she—"

"You may have incredible power, dearie," Rumplestiltskin told her, "but the woman behind me has the pain tolerance of a Dark One. Not to mention, of course, she's a vampire."

"Thank you," Jennifer returned, flattered.

"You're welcome," Rumplestiltskin responded, smiling at her.

"But who is she?" Zelena snarled, frowning deeply at Jennifer.

"Jennifer is my wife," Rumplestiltskin replied casually. Zelena looked suddenly crestfallen and Rumplestiltskin said smoothly, "You didn't know? Oh—well, I thought everyone knew. Surprises all around—for all of us."

Sensing her safety, Rumplestiltskin lowered his arm from Jennifer, who beamed at him. While Zelena seemed incapable of digesting this for she appeared positively incoherent, Rumplestiltskin turned to his wife.

"You've created quite the fuss—what did you do this time?"

"Me?" Jennifer retorted. "I didn't do anything."

"You were running from someone."

"Yeah," Jennifer returned, tiredly. "A lot of someones. Did you know that in the woods there lives a woman named Red?"

"Red Riding Hood, sure," Rumplestiltskin replied.

"Well, apparently her and her granny have an adversary against vampires that dates back for centuries—before you and I were ever born," Jennifer muttered. She glanced at Zelena furtively, then to Rumplestiltskin, "They caught me drinking from one of their people..."

"A werewolf?"

"No—a person—a normal person," Jennifer specified when Rumplestiltskin seemed confused by the conflict. "They turned into these massive wolves and threatened my life."

"So naturally, you tried to kill them."

"Because they tried to kill me first!" Jennifer responded a little too childishly. She crossed her arms. "Apparently, this Red woman is friends with Snow White—she's been aiding her, along with everyone else, and they found out what I had done."

"You mean eating a normal person and then trying to launch a massive massacre on werewolves," Rumplestiltskin clarified, gesticulating to her.

"Well, yeah." Jennifer returned.

"Did Snow White lead the mob?" asked Rumplestiltskin.

"No, she tried stopping it."

"As expected," Rumplestiltskin mused.

"Well, I am glad you're finding some amusement from all of this—I just spent the last 500 miles running from these crazy people. Now I have werewolves wanting me dead. It wouldn't be so bad if I knew they wouldn't pee on my head just to claim me."

"I don't think werewolves do that," Rumplestiltskin said.

"How would you know—are you a flea-bitten mutt?"

"The last I checked? No."

Jennifer bypassed his sass, and said, "I think I lost them a while ago. I thought I would be safe here until this crazy broad went bat shit crazy."

Zelena, who had been listening to their whole conversation, suddenly stepped forward. Rumplestiltskin sighed, looking up at the ceiling with exasperation when Jennifer, feeling threatened, stepped forward to.

"I don't care what you think of me," Zelena snarled. "I will be the one to cast the Dark Curse. Not you."

"Wake up, Princess, do I even look like a fucking witch to you?"

"No—but I bet you couldn't even cast a single spell even if your life depended on it."

"I'll cast one right now," Jennifer dared. "It's called 'I'm-going-to-bite-your-face-off if you don't back off right now."

Zelena's hands filled with fire; Jennifer's eyes turned yellow, and her fangs elongated.

"What are you waiting for?" Zelena challenged.

Jennifer stared at her incredulously. Suddenly, she closed her eyes and a force of calm washed over her. Rumplestiltskin watched her, admirably, as her eyes slowly turned from their bright sunshine haze to the oceanic color of calm. She stepped back.

"You're not even worth my time," Jennifer uttered, rolling her eyes.

She smiled, stepping towards Rumplestiltskin.

He wasn't complaining when Jennifer shoved her mouth on his, her fingers combing into his hair, pushing his mouth against hers. After a minute had passed, Jennifer pulled away smiling at Rumplestiltskin, who said quietly, "I think you've proven your point, dearie."

Jennifer smiled at him saying, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

She looked at Zelena, who looked murderous.

"Have fun with your lesson." Jennifer said. She waved at her, then walked away.

000

Jennifer's pleasure at Zelena's downfall increased when Rumplestiltskin informed that Regina got the job of casting the Curse. In order to cast it, both girls would have had to give up what they loved the most and Zelena, unknown to her, loved Rumplestiltskin, making her too dangerous.

Rumplestiltskin told Jennifer, "She's a bit of a loose cannon."

"Nah—she's just a jealous woman," Jennifer mused. She smiled at him. "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."

Rumplestiltskin could vouch for that. Witches were dangerous enough. When riled enough, they would become complete monsters after the darkness filled their souls. That's precisely why Regina was perfect.

"So I'm assuming Regina is going to ask for this Curse?" asked Jennifer.

"Not directly—she'll be led in that direction," Rumplestiltskin stated.

"So you're going to make it as though it was her idea?" asked Jennifer.

Rumplestiltskin smiled at her, saying, "That's the only way she will ever be able to carry the process all the way through. Magic is emotion: If you will it, it will do what you want. This Dark Curse is no different."

Jennifer, realizing just how brilliant he was, smiled at him and kissed him just as passionately as before. Rumplestiltskin reciprocated it.