Chapter Eighty-One—"Someone to Hold Onto"

The first day after the curse had broken was quiet; Baelfire had headed over to the Charmings to talk to Emma, and then spent the evening getting to know his sister and stepmother. He did the same the next morning, but the phone rang not long after that, inviting Belle over as well.

Belle wasn't sure what to make of this invitation, but since Baelfire had been the one to call her, she figured it was at least relatively safe. Still, she almost called Dove and Babette over to watch Gabrielle, not feeling particularly comfortable bringing her daughter into the presence of those who had once imprisoned her husband. In the end, however, she felt safer keeping Gabi with her, so they went to the Nolan mansion together. Gabi was excited to be going on an adventure, of course, though Belle wasn't sure that was what this was going to be. Still, she squared her shoulders, and drove to the Nolans' house with as much confidence as she could muster. I'm glad Bae is there, at least, she thought. It was odd how she felt safer with Rumplestiltskin's son there, given how she barely knew her stepson, but she had at least learned that Bae shared his father's protective streak where family was concerned. At the very least, he wouldn't let anyone hurt his little sister.

Mary Margaret—or Snow White, she supposed—opened the door with a smile on her face. "Come on in. It's Belle, right? Emma told me about that."

"It is," she replied, relieved by the friendly greeting. "And this is Gabrielle."

"Hello, Gabrielle," Snow said immediately, looking her daughter in the eye.

"'Alo," Gabi said softly, uncharacteristically shy. But she'd never really met Snow before, so Belle figured that this might be awkward at first.

Snow led them into the living room, and Belle took the opportunity to look around the house that she'd never been in. This had been the home that Cora had given Regina and David, of course, which meant it was decorated tastefully and expensively, but there were definitely signs that a ten year old lived here, too. There was a stack of comic books on one end table, and a pair of shoes in the hallway, complete with a dried puddle of mud that Regina probably would have thrown a fit over. But Regina wasn't there; Snow White was instead, and apparently Emma had moved in, too. Rumple would laugh so hard to see the entire Charming clan under one roof, she thought sadly, trying not to think about what might be happening to her husband today.

Fortunately, Bae was in the living room, standing next to Emma off to one side and talking quietly. There was an odd sort of electricity between those two, the same that Belle had noticed when Emma had dropped Bae off the other night. They knew one another, or thought they did; there was an awkwardness to their conversation like they were trying to figure out if old pieces still fit in the same holes, but there was also a strange degree of comfort. David—Prince Charming?—sat on a couch not far away, watching with a smile as Henry flipped through the book Belle had given him so long ago.

"I'm glad you could come," Snow said to Belle as they walked into the room, making heads turn. She gave the gathering a smile. "For everyone who doesn't know, this is Belle, um…French?"

"Gold," Belle corrected her firmly. "Rumplestiltskin and I were married back in the Enchanted Forest as well. Gabrielle is our daughter."

Bracing herself for various reactions, Belle kept her head high and Gabi nestled on her hip. The time for secrecy was over. Rumple might argue with that, but he wasn't there, and she had to make her choices. They'd kept their marriage a secret to keep her safe from Cora and his other enemies, but Storybrooke was too small to lie to their allies. People would notice that she still lived with him, and unless Belle wanted to endure an endless string of would-be rescuers, the heroes needed to know the truth.

"You're both the people he referred to when he made that deal with me for mutual protection," the prince said knowingly.

Belle nodded. "We are."

"So, you're with him by choice?" Snow asked, looking a little guilty. "Just to be sure?"

"Yes. And I always have been," Belle replied firmly, bending to put Gabi down on the floor. "Rumplestiltskin is many things, but he's not someone who would force a woman to stay with him." Now it was time to change the subject before anyone started asking questions Belle didn't want to answer. She looked at David, saying: "So, did you get your heart back?"

"I did. Thank you—I understand that was your doing."

"Rumple stole it. I was just the middleman," she answered as Gabi wandered towards Henry.

"You want to see my book?" the ten year old asked, noticing.

"Uh huh," she answered quietly, giving him a shy look complete with big brown eyes.

Henry smiled and patted the empty couch cushion to his left. "Come on up, then."

Grinning, Gabi climbed up next to him, and Henry shifted the book so that she could see it, too. Belle opened her mouth to comment, but a sudden realization hit her, instead. Henry had the exact same brown eyes that Gabrielle did, and the same crinkle in his smile. No, she thought, blinking. It can't be.

But Baelfire was watching the two of them, too, and not because he was keeping an eye on his little sister. He wore an very strange expression, and glanced helplessly—and hopefully?—at Emma, who sighed and shook her head. There's definitely something there, Belle realized, filing that way for future reference. This wasn't the time or place to bring it up, but she needed to ask Bae for details later.

"So," Emma spoke up after giving Bae a look that clearly said 'shut up'. "We've got David's heart back, but now what? Cora's still on the loose, and from what Neal tells us, her having that dagger is really bad news. She now has Gold's power in addition to her own, yeah?"

And she can force him to do whatever she wants, Belle added silently, but her husband would never forgive her if she said that out loud. Instead, she nodded as calmly as she could. "Yes, she does. And you need to understand this—all of you do—that whatever Rumplestiltskin does, it's not his decision. He can't fight someone who holds the dagger. It's the nature of his power. Even if he tries to fight her, he'll wind up doing what she commands."

"There's no way around that?" Emma pressed.

"None." Belle glanced at Charming. "Could you find a way around it when she had your heart?"

He grimaced, and his voice was full of remembered pain. "No. I couldn't." Something crossed the prince's face. "But I did have free will when she wasn't actively controlling me. Will it be the same for him?"

"I wish," she breathed, and then forced herself to be strong. "Commands given with the dagger…stick. It's not like the active control of holding someone's heart."

"You seem to know a lot about this," Snow said quietly.

"I'm married to the Dark One. You wouldn't believe the books he has," Belle replied honestly, but she could see the doubt in the others' eyes—until Baelfire spoke up.

"She's right. Papa did everything he could to eradicate any books or references that could help someone explain his curse—or even tell anyone about the dagger," he said, wincing. "I guess he didn't get everything."

Belle didn't correct him, even though she knew exactly how Cora had gained that information. Now was not the time to educate the Charming clan about Rumple and Cora's previous relationship.

"Damn," Emma breathed, and Belle thought that summed things up nicely.

"We need to tell people what's happening," Snow put in, taking control of the little meeting effortlessly. "Everyone in town is frightened, and it's our responsibility to put them at ease."

"No offense, but there's not a lot of 'at ease' going around," Bae said dryly.

"No, but Snow's right. We have to do our best," David agreed, rising. "We need to call a town meeting. Today."

Belle wasn't there.

Part of him was glad. Not seeing her would keep her as far from this mess as Rumplestiltskin could, and yet… he burned to at least see his wife. He didn't have much time, but even a few minutes with Belle would have been heaven. He needed her so badly, needed her gentle touch and her smile, just needed to know that the maelstrom of pain that he'd landed himself in was not the sum of his existence. Yet she wasn't home, and that was probably a good thing. That would keep her safe.

Trying not to shake, Rumplestiltskin opened his closet and glanced at the various suits he had. The one he was wearing was ruined, and Cora liked a good show. She wanted him to look like his normal immaculate self for her next trick, and that meant clean and new clothes. So, she'd ordered him to teleport himself home and choose a new suit—and a nice one. Cora had a statement to make, of course. She usually did, but at least this one was to someone other than Rumplestiltskin. Thinking like that, however, made him shudder, because she had spent plenty of time grinding him under her heel. He was stubborn, yes, both by nature and through the curse that lived inside him, but that didn't make Rumplestiltskin strong.

He knew that he was breaking. There was no way around that. The constant physical and sexual abuse was already starting to wear him down, and it hadn't even yet been forty-eight hours since he'd given her the dagger. But he knew what was to come; Gold had lived that horror for twenty-eight long years, and now there was no way out. He couldn't go home at the end of any 'session', couldn't escape her. Now he got to live in that damn cage. She wouldn't even let him shower by himself, and the memory of her hands on his body made him flinch even now.

"I can't do this…"

The words escaped before Rumplestiltskin could stop them, and he found himself gripping the closet door desperately, trying to keep his balance. The roar of pain in his left shoulder had dulled to a stinging numbness, only agonizing when he tried to move his left arm. His body would work if Cora commanded it to, but that didn't keep everything from hurting. Not the burns, not the cuts, or the barely-sealed up stab wound in his shoulder. Or the other injuries, the ones he really didn't want to think about.

Mechanically, he chose a black suit and a black shirt, completing the ensemble with a dark gray tie and matching pocket square. He swapped out his shoes, too, replacing the dirty and scuffed ones he was wearing for a nicer pair. Rumplestiltskin didn't particularly want to look nice for Cora's shenanigans, but he also had no desire to show any weaknesses in front of this damn town. None of them cared about him, anyway, so why let them know he was suffering? Except Belle and Bae, he reminded himself desperately, trying not to fall into the looming trap of depression waiting for him. My family cares. My family matters. Clinging to that thought helped him center himself a little, and Rumplestiltskin headed into the bathroom to run a brush through his hair.

Unfortunately, in order to get there, he passed by the robe Belle liked to wear at night, the silk one Gold had bought Lacey back when they'd been secretly seeing one another. It was beautiful and expensive…and it smelled like her. Stumbling slightly, Rumplestiltskin made his way over to where it was hooked over the closet door, and before common sense could tell him to stop, he found himself burying his face in the silk and breathing in her scent.

"Oh, Belle…" he whispered brokenly, his voice cracking on her name. "I need you now. I need you so much."

But she wasn't there, and the pressure in his mind was building higher and higher. He'd changed his clothes and made himself presentable. Now he had to leave, no matter how comforting the surroundings of his own home were. Still, he delayed, holding the robe close to his face and feeling his tears wet it. Rumplestiltskin needed someone to cling to, needed someone to help fight the horror back…but this wasn't Belle.

And he wasn't free. Even if she had been there, Rumplestiltskin would have had to leave, so he regretfully let his magic sweep around him and pull him back to Cora's summer house.

Word got around the town quickly, and Will had exactly one chance to do the right thing. People were gathering at town hall, muttering and looking around nervously. Snow White and Prince Charming had called this meeting, had invited the entirety of Storybrooke to come over and learn about what was going on. Will supposed that made them good monarchs, but he didn't envy them for having to deal with a town full of panicked people. It looks like half the bloody town is headed that way, he thought, holding onto Ana's hand for dear life and watching the procession head down Main Street.

"There's someone I've got to talk to," he told his wife.

"Robin?" she asked, knowing him far too well. Will gave her a half smile, but Anastasia shot him a serious look. "You know, he might not be too kindly disposed towards you after that stunt you pulled with the mirror."

"It was the only way to get to Wonderland," he pointed out.

"And that worked out so well for us," she countered.

"Point."

After all, going to Wonderland had proven an utter disaster; Ana had almost married the bloody Red King, until Will had somehow managed to convince her to run away with him (again). Then they'd wound up coming back to the Enchanted Forest, penniless and utterly without anyone to turn to. Will's family was dead, and Anastasia's lovely mother had told them a hundred times that she would never help her daughter so long as she was with that "good for nothing piece of scum", which meant they'd tried to make it on their own. They'd even done fairly well until Cora had up and decided to steal Will's heart and make him into her thief. That little predicament, of course, had led them right into the mess they were in now.

"Robin's not the grudge holding type," he tried to argue when Ana just snorted.

"Tell that to Nottingham, who was found in a gutter this morning, having drunkenly tried to arrest all of the Merry Men," Ana said archly.

"Snottingham deserved it!"

"You weren't even there, Will."

"Well, I know what kind of bloke he is," he retorted, and then spotted the person he was looking for. Robin of Locksley was walking through the crowd at "Little" John's side, his arms full of a very rambunctious kid who looked ready to run away at any moment. Probably gets that from dear ol' Pa, Will thought with some amusement. Fortunately, Ana didn't argue when he stepped forward, instead heading over to talk to the wolf girl she'd befriended in the Basement. I'll never forgive myself for that one, Will thought darkly. Even if Cora did have me heart. I still was the one who sent her there. Me, who promised to love and cherish her for eternity.

Yeah, he'd flubbed that one up good, and there was no reason for Ana not to hate him. But somehow she didn't, and Will was going to do his damnedest to make it up to her. Somehow.

"Got a moment, mate?" he asked, quietly sidling his way up amongst the Merry Men. He'd been one of them for a bit, and had known Robin even longer than that, but Will had ruined that, too, by stealing something he wasn't supposed to so that he and Ana could run away.

"Will." Robin's voice seemed a bit cold, but the man really didn't hold a grudge. Like he'd told his wife, Robin was a good man, despite being an outlaw. And he tended to think like a hero-type, which meant everyone deserved second chances in his mind. "What can I do for you?"

"Just need a quick chat, I do," he said, glancing around at the crowd. "Might want to hand the little one off first, though. Nasty subjects and all."

"Storybrooke's a nasty place these days," the outlaw agreed, passing his boy over to Little John, who was glaring just a little at Will. But Will ignored it; he probably deserved that, anyway.

Together, the firefighter-turned-outlaw and thief-turned-newspaper editor made their way to the edge of the crowd as it continued drifting towards town hall. Once they were away from Roland, Robin turned his sharp eyes on Will.

"Well?"

"I need your help. Or to give you a warning, anyway. You seemed mighty tight with Regina, before—an' believe me when I say that I know not everything's hunky-dory with her and her mother, and that she'd rather choose the good guys. Figured the hero types might want this information," he answered as bluntly as he could.

"Information?" Robin asked, and Will could see that his curiosity was piqued, despite suddenly distant and pained look in his eyes.

"Cora's got me heart. And not just mine—there are a bunch of others, too. Some of 'em I know, others I don't. But she's got a whole collection of them," Will explained.

"She has your heart?" Robin gaped, and Will suddenly realized that the legendary outlaw must never have really believed the stories of the Evil Queen's favorite trick.

"Yeah," he tried a smile on, but it felt like a grimace. "Look, bottom line is, don't trust anyone. Especially me, probably, since I know she's made me do her dirty work before. Back when I was Francis Scadlock, anyway. I was a right bastard."

Robin's expression went distant for a moment, and then turned to pity that Will really didn't want. After a few silent seconds, Robin said: "I figured that was the curse."

"That, too," Will confirmed. "But there were things even Francis didn't want to do, like sending his own bloody wife to the Basement. Ana tells me you helped get her out of that, by the way, so thank you. I owe you one."

"You don't owe me anything for doing the right thing."

Will snorted, watching Nottingham and his idiot friend (was that Guy of Gisburne?) try to impose order on the crowd, only to be told by Emma Swan to shut up. She might be the first Sheriff I ever like a little bit, he thought, and then turned his attention back to Robin. "You can say that, mate, but I know different. Just, uh, don't ask me to pay up until I've got me heart back, okay? You never know when she might be listening."

"I'll help you get it back, Will," Robin said suddenly, and that made Will whirl to look at him.

"I didn't—"

"I know," his sometime friend cut him off with a smile. "But that doesn't mean we won't find a way to help you."

Will didn't know what to say to that, so he just let Robin clap him on the shoulder, and then kept walking towards town hall.

Again, Dove and Babette had volunteered to stay in the house with Gabrielle, and this time Belle took them up on the offer. She had a feeling that this town hall meeting that Snow and Charming had called for the evening was going to wind up with some kind of fireworks, and even if that was just angry townspeople looking for scapegoats, Belle had no intention of bringing her daughter into that mess. When she'd mentioned to Emma that Henry could stay behind the house's magical protections, too, the sheriff had jumped on it, much to her ten-year-old son's chagrin. But that meant that Henry and Gabi were both as safe as they could be, at least for now. Unless Cora sends Rumple after Henry, but I think she has bigger targets in mind at the moment, she thought, squeezing out of the back seat of the bug. Emma had offered to drive both kids to the house, and Belle had taken her up on that…but not without taking notice of the fact that Baelfire had tagged along.

There's definitely something going on there, she decided, watching Emma head over to commence crowd control. That left her and Bae to walk into town hall together, where Snow waved them into seats near the front. Exchanging a glance with her stepson—who looked far more comfortable than his father ever would have in this situation—Belle settled into her seat as the crowd filed in.

"So," Belle said quietly. "How do you know Emma?"

Bae turned a deer in the headlights look on her that really did remind Belle of Rumple when she'd caught him eating the last of the chocolate. "What?" he squeaked.

Oh, no. Not hiding anything at all, she thought, hiding her smile. "Emma," Belle repeated, although she was pretty sure Bae had heard her the first time. "How did you two meet, anyway?"

"We, uh, stole the same car," Bae admitted.

"What?" That didn't make any sense.

"To be fair, I stole it first," he said, coming back on balance. "She tried to steal it when I was sleeping in the backseat."

"That sounds like an interesting story," she couldn't help saying. It might even be one that could distract Belle from the lead ball of worry in her stomach.

"Yeah, but not one I think she wants her parents to know," Bae replied with a snort. "Or Henry."

"Speaking of whom…" Belle tried trailing off, her tone heavy with meaning, but Rumple's son managed to look innocent. Mostly.

The fact that his eyes were firmly on Emma Swan was not helping his cause.

"What about him?" Bae asked, obviously trying to sound casual.

Sighing, Belle decided to try a different tactic. A more blunt one. "You love her, don't you?"

"Who?" Finally, Bae looked back at her, but if he was trying for confused, he wasn't managing it very well.

"Emma," she said quietly, nodding at where the sheriff was speaking quietly with her mother.

"I—" Blushing, he cut off, and then shrugged a little uncomfortably. "I don't know." His voice was so quiet Belle had to strain to hear him. "I haven't seen her in eleven years."

Well, that answered that question, and Bae seemed to realize it, too, because his eyes went wide and all the color drained out of his face. He's so much like his father, Belle thought sadly. He thinks that secrets can protect those he loves, even when the opposite is true. Bae looked torn between panicking and denying everything, but before he could grope his way towards an answer, Belle put a gentle hand on his arm.

"He looks a lot like you," she said softly, and watched the so-familiar brown eyes get even wider.

"You can't—I can't—he can't know," Bae stuttered desperately. "Cora, if she knew… I mean, I saw the way she looked at Papa. Like she wanted to hurt him in any way she could."

"You're so very like him, you know," Belle whispered, squeezing her stepson's arm. "Willing to do anything, even to hurt yourself, to keep those you love safe." He didn't seem to know what to say to that, and she could see terror warring with worry in Bae's eyes, so Belle added: "Remind me to show you the contract your father made Cora sign."

Thinking about something concrete seemed to bring him back on balance. "Why?"

"Because it very particularly prohibits her from harming anyone in his family," she said, and watched that realization click into place. "I would say that a grandson qualifies as family, wouldn't you?"

There had been an undeniable tug forcing her to come to this infernal meeting, even though Ingrid had no interest at all in whatever Snow White and Prince Charming had to say to the town. They were undoubtedly going to tell everyone how safethey were, when it was obvious that no one was anything of the sort. The fact that she was here indicated that Cora planned to be as well, and not for the first time, Ingrid cursed her own overconfidence. She never should have been so careless as to allow Cora to get her heart, but now she was stuck doing the Evil Queen's bidding while Emma was in danger.

Ingrid had not forgotten that Cora had tried to kill Emma. Cora might think that the Snow Queen was her natural ally—and her foolish daughter might have said something about how 'villains' needed to stick together—but Ingrid had been Emma's foster mother long before she had come to this infernal town. She loved Emma, and even if Elsa had not shown up here yet, she would do her best to protect the girl she still wanted to be a sister for. She was so very proud of what she'd seen Emma do, after all, even if Emma had yet to exhibit the magic she knew lay within her. Watching Emma talk to her birth mother (a magic-less princess who would never, ever, understand her) burned a little, but Ingrid pushed her own pain aside.

Cora was going to go after Emma. She knew that. There was no world in which the Evil Queen would forgive the woman who had broken her curse. Ingrid knew that. She just needed to figure out how to warn Emma.

Before it was too late.

Snow White was talking, but Robin mostly tuned her out. He'd liked her as Mary Margaret, and he knew David well enough, back home and here, to know he'd help them in whatever way he could. But he couldn't concentrate on what they were saying, not when someone so significant was missing from the meeting. Regina should have been there; he'd already figured out that she cared for the husband the curse had given her, and she'd encouraged those two to come together. So, why was she missing?

Henry was, too, though, and Robin supposed that Regina might be with her son. Or with her mother, a traitorous voice said inside him, and try though he might, Robin couldn't quash it. A large part of him didn't really give a damn who she had been in their world; here she was Regina, and he'd fallen quite thoroughly in love with her. Yet she hadn't answered his phone calls since the curse broke, and did that mean she wanted nothing to do with him? Robin didn't know. Maybe it meant she was in danger, or that she was convinced that he wouldn't want anything to do with her now that he knew. But Robin had gotten to know her pretty well when he'd been Errol, and he was damn certain that he at least wanted to talk to her before he called anything off.

But she wasn't here. She wasn't here at all, and Will had talked about the number of hearts Cora supposedly had. Will talked like she had a big vault of them, hidden somewhere here in Storybrooke. Robin had heard the tales before about how the Evil Queen could control people using the hearts she tore out. Had that happened to Regina? Robin had no way to know, but he was growing more worried by the moment. Even if it hasn't, we've got to help the people who Cora has enslaved, he decided. Will had told him of several people whose hearts he knew Cora had: himself, Princess Abigail (Roland's elementary school principal), the former sheriff/huntsman, and maybe that new author fellow, August. There were undoubtedly others, but Will hadn't known their names or faces.

Well. Wherever those hearts were, they undoubtedly needed the best thief they had to get them back, and Robin was determined to do just that. He'd talk to David right after this, because he knew that the prince he'd once broken into Maleficent's castle with would be willing to help, too.

I also got drunk with him here in Storybrooke, Robin thought with amusement. That would be a lot more awkward if he'd been my king.

"Look, I know that things are uncertain right now," David was saying just as Robin tuned into the question-and-answer portion of the meeting. "We all feel that way. But if we stick together, and we keep the town running, we can go on with our lives as we try to figure the rest out."

"Look, there's some nice things about this world and all," Leroy—Robin had no idea who he really was—spoke up, "like penicillin, microwaves, and video games. But when the hell are we going home? I thought that was supposed to happen when the curse broke."

Every eye in the room swiveled to Emma Swan, who shrugged. "Don't look at me. I was a newborn when I came through. I just broke the thing. I didn't write the rules."

"Now that's a good question," someone else shouted; Robin couldn't see who. "When are we going to bring Cora to justice?"

"I hear she's hiding in the woods somewhere," another voice said, and Robin fought back the urge to groan. If only. Then I could find her and shoot her, and I wouldn't regret that for a moment.

"Or already turned into burnt queen by that dragon!"

"Cora's still alive," Snow White cut in before things could get out of control. "We know that. We don't know what her plans are, but we're going to do everything within our power to keep the town safe. Right now, she's retreated and—"

The doors slammed open, swept right off their hinges with enough force to send both flying into the room. People screamed and dove aside, but the right hand door landed on a pair of old women with a sickening crunch. Several people moved to help them before a dark wind whipped into the room, sweeping hats off and almost blowing several people straight out of their chairs. Leaping to his feet along with everyone else, Robin struggled to see through the wispy black wind as it continued to swirl viciously around the room, making people duck and yelp. Those it came into contact with reeled away, bleeding from multiple cuts to their faces and their hands, crying out in pain and shoving one another as they tried desperately to escape.

But the wind moved ever faster and faster, driving people away from the walls and towards the center of the room. Those on the outskirts tried to dive for the middle, creating a frightened mess of humanity that had no way to fight back against the power tearing at their skin and clothes. Out of the corner of his eye, Robin could see that Emma had her gun out, but she lacked a target, and then the power hit her hard enough to knock her straight off her feet and into her parents, who barely caught her in time. Its next victim was not so lucky; the black wind hit Leroy dead on, ripping his face open as the former janitor snarled in pain. It aimed for John next, but Robin's friend managed to dodge most of it, getting his shirt torn slightly but otherwise escaping unscathed. Others were not so lucky, and as minutes ticked by, more and more people screamed and the room grew darker and darker.

Finally, however, the air seemed to clear and the wind stilled, revealing a slender figure standing in the gaping doorway. He wore an immaculately tailored suit and yet looked nothing like the irritable pawnbroker they had all known, radiating power and danger enough to make even Robin shiver.

"Cora," Gold said softly with a nasty smile, "sends her regards."

Snow White scrambled to her feet, and started to demand: "What are you—"

"And to you," he cut her off, "she sends a special message. You can try to rule all you want, but Storybrooke belongs to her. And she'll destroy your family one by one if you try to resist her."

"Cora will do that, anyway," Snow replied, looking terribly brave in the face of such a threat.

Gold laughed, and the high-pitched giggle awakened old memories in Robin—as it did in at least half the crowd. Almost as one, people drew away, some hissing and whispering frantically.

"That she will, dearie. Starting today."

Snap. Robin's head barely jerked up in time to see the ceiling start to cave in, just as the floor beneath his feet started to tremble with the force of a major earthquake.

A/N: Stay tuned for Chapter Eighty-Two—"The Darkest Days," in which Rumplestiltskin finds a loophole in Cora's commands, Robin learns where Regina is, Ingrid tries to protect Emma, and Maleficent visits Cora, determined to find her daughter.