Fearsome Beasts

Dusting the Dark Castle was, without a doubt, the worst chore of the list that Piper was expected to see to. The castle itself was large and had so many objects, so many rooms, that the cleaning of it could almost be impossible to see to and keep everything in pristine condition. It felt like, at times, the moment she'd finished cleaning and dusting through the whole castle, top to bottom, every single room, the rooms she'd cleaned first now had a layer of dust already and the cycle started again. She didn't mind the cleaning, it gave her something to do when she wasn't taking part in deals with the Dark One or seeing to her own deals. It helped distract her, keep her thoughts from drifting to other things…other people…that she was trying not to think of.

To think of something you missed made you long for it more, made you more tempted to seek it out, and she couldn't risk that.

Still, the dusting was the worst, because it meant needing to climb to all sorts of heights, move every single object, and half the time the dust blew into her face and made her sneeze. She didn't know how the servants did it in castles, though she supposed there were so many of them that they could each take a room and make that a designation for them to keep clean and cut down the work. She was just one person.

She was almost suspicious that the Dark One used his magic to make the castle dirty all over again just to watch her clean. He seemed to do that quite a bit, watch her, stare at her when he didn't think she would notice. But she always did. It felt like a prickling, a tingling, sensation whenever he would gaze at her for too long, it left her feeling…warm…for some reason. It was probably the way he looked at her that caused the…the tingling feeling. Yes, it was the way he looked at her.

For the first time in such a long while someone looked at her without suspicion or automatic hate and scorn. The Dark One looked at her with…awe, if she dare be so bold as to call it that. He looked at her like he was trying to understand her. She hadn't felt like someone wanted to do that in far too long. Years, really. It was…nice, it was a relief to have even one person look at her with something positive and curious in their eyes instead of ice and glares.

She shook her head, realizing she'd stopped her dusting while lost in thought, she really should focus on what she was doing.

"Has your feather duster become faulty, dearie?"

She gasped, spinning on the small chair she'd pulled up to get at the top of a dresser, and almost toppled off of it, the Dark One appearing instantly behind her to put a steadying hand on her waist while she managed to catch her hands on his shoulders keeping her from falling off entirely.

"You startled me," she breathed.

"Interesting," he murmured, gazing up at her.

"What is?"

"That I CAN startle you," he tilted his head, "I don't often manage it."

"I can usually hear you coming," she replied.

"Is that so?"

"Your song is unique, and I hear it quite loudly whenever you come near," her eyes narrowed slightly, "Unless you magically appear behind me…"

He giggled at that, "Sorry to disappoint, dearie, but I was standing in that doorway for quite a spell and you noticed nothing."

"Interesting," she mimicked.

"What is?" he took up the reversal.

"I do not often become quite so distracted," she mused, eyeing him, "It rarely happens."

"And when it does?" he inquired, "What does that mean?"

She was silent a long while, just looking at him intently, as though studying him while also weighing what she wished to say, "That I feel safe."

He blinked at that, "Come again?"

"I feel safe, here, with you," she repeated, elaborating a bit more, "I feel safe enough that I can allow my mind to wander without fear that I shall be attacked or seized, turned on."

"You trust I won't turn on you?" he tried to make it sound like she should, tried to make the words feel like it was a very real possibility that he would turn on her one day, when her usefulness was spent, he really did…

But somehow the words fell short of that, even to his own ears and so he knew they held the same small weight in her sharper ones.

The smirk that grew on her face was another indication that she didn't believe his threat at all, "I believe we have a deal," she reminded him, "And I believe you would be loathe to allow my reputation to hold more weight in the world of deal-making than your own. You would not throw away 300 years worth of deals by breaking your word to a mere Piper."

He wanted to counter that, come up with some loophole she hadn't thought of that would make her realize he very well could turn on her and still hold up the deal somehow. But he found he…didn't want to. It was more than just his reputation that kept him from speaking such words. There was just…something in his chest, something warm, that wouldn't let him even attempt to make her worry he would betray her.

"I do pride myself on my reputation," he remarked instead, "So it appears you are safe for now."

"For always."

"I wouldn't get that far ahead of yourself if I were you deaire," he warned.

"And I would remove the grip on my waist if I were you, Dark One," she shot right back.

He blinked and looked down at his hands, realizing that they were still resting on her waist, no, not just resting, gripping lightly, his thumbs seeming to be gently rubbing her sides without realizing it. He quickly stopped their motions, pulling back to move his hands behind his back. If he smirked at how the movement unbalanced her where she swayed to catch her balance back upright onto the chair, well, she should have let go of his shoulders as well.

"What has brought you to interrupt my cleaning?" she asked, not even seeming to care that she'd almost fallen over again.

He tried not to think that it was likely her belief that he would just catch her again if she fell.

He tried not to think that she would be right in that belief either.

"I have another use for you," he stated.

"In what scope shall I operate?" she stepped down from the chair, "Caretaker or partner?"

"Partner," he blinked, he'd answered that one rather quickly, "A young man shall be arriving shortly…"

"A possible client?"

"Quite the opposite, in fact. We've already had a deal, and he owes me a fair hand for it, yet refuses to uphold his part of the deal. And we can't have that, can we?"

Piper started to smirk at that, "Not at all."

"I have managed to gain his agreement in coming to the castle, to…discuss…the deal," he tapped his fingers together.

"And you wish me to sway him to give up his end of the deal to you?" she guessed.

"Oh no," he shook his head, "This man is…stubborn. He'll put up a good fight."

"Those are my favorite men to break."

"Sadly he is nearly deaf," he gave an exaggerated pout.

"Then what use would I be for assistance in this matter?" she frowned, shaking her head.

"There is…another way to break him, another…far more entertaining way to get him to do as he agreed."

"And what is that?"

"You once said that you could charm all manner of beast," he eyed her, "I want to see if your talent in that is as good as you proclaim."

"Better," Piper started to smirk again, "Merely name the fearsome beast and I can sway it to the most obedient of pets."

He giggled gleefully at that, "I was hoping you would say that."

~8~

Piper wandered through the woods, her pipe firmly grasped in her hand as she didn't wish for this to be a repeat of what had happened with the girl Mary. She did not want this beast she was after to surprise her, to attack. No, the time did not exist for that to happen. From what the Dark One had said, he would need the beast brought to the castle with all haste so she had to make sure that she could lure it in quickly and easily. And that meant finding the beast and getting it under her power before it even realized that what was happening.

It wasn't all that hard, compared to what many would think of such a mission. So many people were of the belief that the wild beasts that lived in the woods were beyond reasoning, that they were dangerous and single minded and would attack for no reason at all. And, for the most part, they would be correct. But if you knew how to understand the animals and how to handle them…even the most vicious once could be sweet as kittens. That said, the reverse was also true. She could turn animals into deadly attackers as well with the right emphasis in her songs.

There had been a time or two when a town turned on her, as many were wont to do, tried to cast her out without payment for her services. She was especially fond of the ones that only wanted the animals that had infested them cast out and didn't specify to destroy them. She'd taken the rodents of a certain town and turned them back on it after a particularly bad insult to, not just her, but her mother. NO ONE insulted her family and lived, no one. She'd called back the rats, lured them all to the town, and set them loose…but not as a mere nuisance, but as terrifying infestations. She'd set them loose, and they'd immediately run, not for the food that was stored through the town that would, undoubtedly, have caused a dilemma for the townspeople with the winter coming, but on THEM. She'd turned the rats on the people, set them to attack and bite and…feast. The adults at least, were in the greatest danger. It had been quite a sight, standing on a hill and watching the people fleeing the village, setting fire to the houses where the rats had managed to get a person down and latch onto them, piling on to eat them alive. The fires would spread, she'd known, spread to other houses. The town wouldn't burn down but a good portion of it would be damaged, a good portion of its population would be cut back, if not from the rats taking their victims for food, then the infections and diseases the rats would spread to the ones they'd merely bitten.

They deserved it though, they never should have insulted her mother, rest her soul.

She shook her head, looking up as she came to a large oak tree and paused, needing to focus on the matter at hand. Rats would have been quite the 'fearsome beast' to use against anyone, they could be true terrors with the right triggers. But from what the Dark One had said, this would require only a single animal to see the deal truly done and he knew exactly where one in particular resided.

She grinned to herself and closed her eyes, listening for a song. From what Rumpelstiltskin had said, this creature had a way of driving off other animals. It should be the only one in this area and all she had to do was listen and any disturbance in the silence, any at all, was likely the creature. Her head tilted to the side, hearing something in the distance and opened her eyes. She almost laughed at how quickly she'd found the creature before heading quickly in that direction. She slowed her pace only when she got near enough to hear the creature growling and snarling into the open air, the sound echoing over to her.

She lifted her pipe to her lips, starting to play a gentle melody, letting it carry on the wind towards the creature, through the trees, needing it to hear her first before it smelled or saw her. She waited a minute before she started to slowly and carefully make her way through the trees, playing on, a calming tune, a lulling song, one that should turn the creature docile for the moment…or at least less likely to attack her on sight. Animals could be tricky things, some reacted differently to one song as others did, sometimes it could take a bit to work out which tune was best for what animal, but she'd had relatively good experience with this particular melody and was confident it would keep her safe enough till she could get closer and observe the creature as it reacted.

She took a deep breath through her nose and stepped past the last bush that separated her from the creature, truly wishing she could laugh when she spotted it. It was sitting there, its eyes closed, swaying a bit to the tune. Its eyes snapped open however when she appeared, when the music grew to be right before it. It let out a small growl, moving onto its legs to stand, when she poured a bit more magic into the song, lulling it back to a calm. She slowly changed the melody to a more drowsy one, more like a lullaby and was very pleased when the creature responded by sliding to the ground and lying there, its head resting on its giant legs, its breathing softening and slowing as it started to drift to sleep.

Which was perfect.

She made her way closer and crouched down beside it, shifting a bit to play a particular melody with one hand while reaching out to gently pet the creature with the other. Sirens of the Sea could not always sing their songs when trying to lure men to their deaths, there was always a point where the singing stopped, where their voices couldn't be heard by mortal ears, usually once they were under the water, or if the lure ended up being done at the edge of a lake as with those Sirens. At some point the men would realize they were about to be drowned and their preservation instincts would kick in, it would try to snap them out of the haze…so a Siren would use other methods, more physical contact, to distract them, often a kiss, in which case their songs were distorted. They needed a way to keep the person following them even without the song playing. So, just before the moment of contract, the song would change, a small, minor change, but a certain tune that all Sirens knew, whether of the Sea or the Lake, that would…bind the person before them to them for the shortest of moments. It would link their will to the Siren, make them weaker, the physical contact needed to sort of hook the magic around that person's heart and mind, make them want to follow the Siren and do anything to please them…

It wore off relatively quickly.

For humans at least.

SHE had found that animals, when that particular melody was played, were far more receptive and eager to please. They became like her personal pet for an hour or so, but the more magical the creature, the longer the effect lasted. And this creature…she couldn't help but smile as her song came to a close, oh this creature would be the finest pet she'd ever had…

~8~

Piper wasn't quite sure if the Dark One would appreciate the entrance she made when she returned to the Castle, especially when he was right in the middle of trying to intimidate the man that was withholding his payment of the deal. She had thrown the doors to the main room open, and walked in, her boots muddy from her walk through the forest, some leaves stuck to her old brown cloak and hair, her clothes with a bit of orange hair on them, looking rather unkempt, and just sauntered right over to them, sitting down at the end of the table facing the men and putting her feet up on it only after pouring a bit of water for herself into a cup.

"And what is this?" the man in question let out an almost snorting scoff and it was clear whatever progress the Dark One might have made in getting to the man had been lost.

She looked over at him, eyeing him intently. He was darker of skin than others in the Forest, black hair that was shaggy, with a hint of black stubble. His clothing was white, fitted, long sleeved and long collared, with a deep red sash across his chest from shoulder to waist. There was a sword at his side. It wasn't a normal sword though, appearing more gently curved and thicker than the swords she'd seen in her life. The style of the clothing was a bit different than most of the Forest too, but she couldn't place where he might be from though she thought it entirely possible he was from some other realm that the Dark One was said to have access to.

She didn't much care to be honest. She didn't care where he was from or who he was so long much as that he was a man that had turned his back on a deal.

She looked at Rumpelstiltskin to see his reaction to her entrance, but he was glaring at the man with far more irritation than he could ever muster at her. It seemed his 'efforts' to intimidate the man hadn't been working all that well. Likely because the man was going deaf and couldn't hear what was being said and, if he wished to not know, all he had to do was look away from the Dark One, take in the room, and he'd have no idea what he was being threatened with.

"My Caretaker," Rumpelstiltskin muttered, looking over at her, "You're in quite the state, dearie," he observed her.

She blinked, almost swearing she'd seen a flash of concern shoot across his eyes before it was gone. She shook her head, knowing she was likely imagining it, and instead smiled, "Your errand took me farther away than we first believed," she said simply, "It was quite the walk back."

"And were you alone on your return?"

"Not at all," she smirked, earning a delighted grin from him in return.

The man that had broken the deal rolled his eyes at them and stood, "If that is all you have to say to me, Dark One, then I see our business is finished," he looked defiantly at Rumpelstiltskin, "I am protected by our deal, you cannot harm me…"

"I CAN certainly harm you if you break your half of it."

"And I shall not," the man smirked, "You shall have your payment, but…as you did not specify WHEN you wanted the payment…" he let out a long, mocking breath, "I suppose you shall have to wait, quite a while, to see the deal finished. But it shall be finished, one day."

Piper's eyes narrowed at that, understanding now why Rumpelstiltskin had requested her assistance in this. HE could not harm the man, but she could…though she knew he rather enjoyed handling his own deals. So he had gotten her to bring in the very thing that would force the man to finish the deal NOW rather than later. He couldn't harm the man…but that didn't mean he couldn't scare him into submission and, as he was partially deaf, it would have to be something whole and visible and real to get through to the man as words and music wouldn't work.

She did have to wonder how it had happened that the Dark One made a deal so open ended that a client had taken it and been able to twist it on him.

"I do believe," Piper called, setting her cup onto the table and placing her arms on the armrests, speaking louder to draw the man's attention to her, making sure he was looking at her as she spoke, "That you SHALL pay him this day."

The man's eyes were slightly narrowed as he stared at her lips, seeming to read what she'd said, "And what say have YOU in OUR deal?"

"I have nothing," she shrugged lightly, "Though I do believe my lovely pet will be able to encourage you to pay and pay now."

The man laughed at that, "If the Dark One himself could not persuade me to see my part paid now, there is no creature on this Earth…"

Piper had SO been hoping he would say that as she let out a shrill whistle, one that seemed to confuse the man but one he didn't react to, more curious why she'd whistled than affected by her doing so. She just looked over at the doors as the creature she'd hunted had appeared there in the doorway.

She didn't even need to look back when the man let out a strangled gasp and half a scream at the sight of it.

A large tiger, deep orange with striking black stripes, was padding into the room. It was larger than a normal tiger, two times as long, its eyes a glowing red, its claws infinitely sharper than those of any other creature. It seemed that, according to the Dark One, there had been a sorcerer once that had experimented spells and potions on all manner of beast, trying to make more deadly versions of them, infused them with magic to make them harder to kill…only he hadn't quite thought of how to restrain or control them…and they had torn him apart and ran off into the forest. There had only been a handful that had been created, all of them living on long past their intended lifespans, and one was the tiger growling at the man while making its way right over to her.

She reached out a hand, holding it over the air beside her and the Tiger moved to it, sliding to the ground and crawling forward so that her hand rested on its back, purring contentedly as she began to run her fingers through the bright orange fur, taking delight in how the man was gaping in utter horror at the sight before them.

A tiger, of all creatures, was what the man was fearful of…and she had just found the magically mutated version of his worst fear, even more monstrous and deadly than the common tiger he feared.

"What think you of our new pet?" she looked at Rumpelstiltskin, the man now positively beaming in glee.

"Oh, excellent specimen," he walked over, reaching out to touch the tiger…only for it to snap and growl at him threateningly, which just served to make him laugh.

"He is quite fond of me, is he not?" she turned her head to the man who was backing away, his eyes fixated on the tiger, his skin now ten shades paler than when she'd first seen him, sweat starting to collect on his brow. She glanced at the tiger as it continued to purr under her ministrations, "Animals truly are such easy beasts to control, and they become so…loyal," her gaze flashed up to the man again, "So eager to please their masters…what do you think he would do if you…upset me?"

The moment those words were spoken, the tiger's head snapped up, its eyes opening and focusing on the man as it growled low and dangerous.

Piper smirked, "Up," she commanded, and the tiger stood, "Prowl," she ordered, and the tiger stalked forward, his eyes set on the man that was now scrambling back towards the back wall, grabbing a chair to try and block the tiger from him, "Attack."

With a roar, the tiger lashed out, swatting the chair aside with its large paw, lunging at the man, its mouth wide, teeth bared, growling right in the man's face as it jumped at him, causing him to fall back against the wall, sliding to the ground as the tiger pounced on him, its nails digging into the man's shoulders to pin him down, about to snap right at his neck…

"Stop."

The tiger froze, its mouth open though slowly shutting, its head right in front of the man who seemed hardly breathing or moving save for the shaking of his body.

"As you can see," Rumpelstiltskin walked over to the man, peering down at him, speaking even though he knew that the man wasn't fully paying attention, his gaze too frozen in terror and locked on the tiger. So he leaned in more, putting his face right beside the tiger's, confident in Piper's control over it, making sure the man was looking at him watching his lips, "You pay…or you die."

"Th-th-the d-d-d-deal…" the man's voice could hardly be heard it was so soft, his words too shaking to be understood.

But Rumpelstiltskin knew what he was trying to say, "Oh, I won't kill you," he smirked, "That WAS part of the deal, yes…but I never said anything about my caretaker or her lovely pet," he giggled as the man's shaking grew to be so much that his sword tapped against the floor, the man so overwhelmed by his fear he hadn't even thought to use it on the beast, not that he could, not that it would work, "So…pay me, what you owe…and you live."

"D-d-d-d-deal!" the man gasped.

"Wonderful," he smiled, leaning back, spinning on his heel to look at Piper a moment.

This time it was his breath that caught in his throat, at the sight of her. She was sitting at the end of the table, her feet up, like always, dressed in dirty, worn travelling clothing, not having wanted to risk any of the new outfits he'd given her on a trek through the woods and possible encounter with a magical creature. There was sweat and dirt on her brow and hands, her hair frizzing out, she looked a mess. But it wasn't that that caused him pause. It was the look on her face, the way she was sitting, her entire posture. She was relax, but on edge in excitement, her arms causally leaning on the armrests, but giving her a regal look. And her face…the smirk on her face, the darkness in it, the sheer enjoyment sparkling in her eyes at how they were toying with the man that had stood against him, how she was positively alight with the scene before her, controlling a fearsome beast so easily that a single word could cause it to do whatever she wished and how she was using it at the moment…

It was breathtaking.

He swallowed hard, internally shaking himself from those thoughts, she was his caretaker, his…business partner, of course she would find enjoyment in seeing a deal coming through, he felt the enjoyment too, that was what he was feeling now yes, it wasn't her it was just…the thrill of another deal being finished.

"If you would be so kind?" he gestured at the tiger behind him.

She gave him a small nod, "Back," she called and the tiger backed away from the man, "Come," she held out her hand.

Rumpelstiltskin would forever deny that he took a single step towards her at that command before he realized she was speaking to the tiger, her presence was just so commanding even without the magic she used on the tiger. Yes, that was the reason, her presence held an authority and power, a command behind it that would be hard for anyone to disobey.

But she wasn't speaking to him, more to the tiger that padded back over to her, so large that its face was level with the top of her chair. He watched as she reached out and touched its face with a tenderness you would not think to see from the Pied Piper.

"Well done," she commended the tiger, before glancing at him, "He lives?" she asked, sounding almost amused.

He blinked and looked back at the man on the ground…to find him unconscious and unmoving. He tilted his head at that before he giggled, "It appears he has fainted."

"Pity," she sighed, "I was so hoping for died from fright. I have yet to accomplish that with my magic just yet."

He smirked at that, "One day I have no doubt you shall."

"Yes…" she hummed, her attention returning to the tiger.

Rumpelstiltskin would, again, forever deny that he considered puffing the tiger away in a swirl of magic for driving the woman's attention from him.

"You have been a magnificent pet," she told the tiger, "But it is time to return home," she sounded almost sad to say that, a small frown coming to her face as well, "Go home."

The tiger turned and trotted out of the room, breaking into a run as it reached the doors, Piper watching it go sadly.

"I can give you a tiger," he offered, pulling her attention back, inwardly cursing himself for saying anything. She was his caretaker not…not his…friend…he shouldn't be offering her such a thing just because she was sad, "You did well," he gestured back at the man on the ground as though for an excuse to have offered.

She shook her head though, "A tiger for a pet?" she scoffed as though it were ridiculous, "A tiger deserves to be free, they are too…majestic of creatures to be kept inside a cage."

He gave a small nod for that, "Go clean yourself up," he ordered lightly, "You're just giving yourself more to clean tomorrow by mucking up the chair and carpets."

Yes, that was good, divert back to her proper role, caretaker and minor business partner, nothing more.

She gave a curt nod and stood to go, pausing only when she reached the doorway to look back at him, watching her, "I shall clean up MY mess," she offered, "But I shall not clean up that," she nodded at the man.

He blinked as she turned and disappeared out the door, confused, before he looked down at the man on the ground and burst out in laughter, waving his hand to send the man back where he came from, reassured that his payment would be received quickly. For the moment though…he could only imagine what the reaction would be to the man's return when someone saw his state.

She may not have scared him to death…but he had done another action that tended to happen upon the very same end. His white pants weren't quite as white any longer it seemed.

A/N: Sorry this was a little late :( Bit of a long night/day, apparently my mother and brother both came down with the same bug so it's been a little tiring :( Hopefully they'll be feeling better today though :)

I hope you liked the chapter :) I wanted to sort of bring some sort of animal in here after the bear while also sort of hinting back to the last chapter in using someone's fears to get what you want ;) I can say we might be getting to the root of Snow's issue with Piper and Neal very soon ;)

Some notes on reviews...

I can sort of understand Hook in how he's acting sort of like he IS still a villain in wanting to get what he wants in whatever way possible, even if it means acting like a hero just to get Emma, even though being a real hero means NOT acting like that, it's a vicious cycle lol. But at the same time I feel like Emma also should have been a bit smarter about it and looked at how much other villains really struggled to redeem themselves and seen something suspicious in how 'quickly' Hook was changing without 'relapsing.' I mean, if Regina could start changing for Henry (someone Emma could understand really genuinely wanting to be a better person for as the most important person in both their lives) but still struggle to make the right choices and still make mistakes, shouldn't Emma have wondered why Hook was having such an easy time of it? Or was she too blinded with it being HER that was changing him and ignoring the odd tones of it? :/ I can say that there may be a bit more Neal(Baelfire Neal) in Lyssa's story ;) I agree, Regina doesn't always do the right thing, but she seems to be genuinely trying to do better and make amends. I think the fact that she asked Belle's permission and help in dealing with Gold says a lot even if she took Belle's heart, I could almost see that being an off-screen thing once Belle agreed to help, we don't know if Belle did know before the event or had no clue because Regina erased her memory of it anyway. But even then I feel like Regina would have given it back and not just kept it had Gold not interfered too, and she seemed to really want to keep Belle's heart safe also and probably wouldn't have ever actually hurt her. And, in the grand scheme, Belle was really the only way to get Gold to back down, he made it clear that he cared about no one as much as he did Belle, not even Henry (or even if he did care about Henry equally, Regina couldn't bring herself to use Henry, a/her child, like that), so a threat to Belle was almost the last resort way of stopping Gold with the least amount of threat or damage or danger to others, at least to me :) We'll have to wait and see who Piper's heart might harden against and why though ;)

Piper definitely walked a line in the last chapter, I agree. I think it sort of almost is like how Hook said, if it's explained in the right way at the right time, Emma might understand. Surprisingly, David would probably be the one, if they found out, to be like 'she HAS a point and she made it, and no it wasn't the right way to do it, but I understand' lol :)

I was cheering for Gold, mostly because I REALLY wanted to know what he'd be like if he was free of the dagger but still technically the Dark One :) I feel like that could have been an amazing 4B, seeing what he might do and what the heroes would do about it :)

I agree, Hook and Snowing have a lot of similarities in this season. That was what I didn't like about the heroes in the second half of the season, they can do a very evil thing and call it 'good' because they're heroes and they did it against a villain and so it HAS to be good, even when what they did was really against an innocent. They did an evil thing because they were 'desperate' yet they condemned other people who did evil things because they were desperate or feeling something even worse than that :( Worse, almost, is that they do evil and it's hardly brought up or made into an epic consequence, because they're heroes, and no one talks about it. But if a villain tries to do good, really tries, they are never ever allowed to forget the evil they did in the past :( Heroes get away with murder and that annoyed me because they never let the villains 'get away with it' either :( Emma will open her eyes a little more to Hook and other things as the story goes yup ;) Piper might just be getting darker...we'll actually see in a flashback exactly why that's happening. But I can say it has something to do with Gold and her relationship with him ;) Sadly the story will likely be Captain Swan, but in a more off-screen thing or colored through Piper's eyes and she won't be likely to accept Hook or Emma's relationship as a good thing any time soon ;) I was SO excited about Merlin! I was really hoping that Colin Morgan would be able to pop in as Merlin for it, it would be amazing, but I don't think they'll go that route either :( Though...I can say that, the second they confirmed the Sorcerer was Merlin I immediately had to scrap a crossover story I was working on and revise it to be Doctor Who, Merlin, AND OUAT with Piper too ;) So we'll definitely see BBC's Merlin in a story crossing over with this story ;)