Chapter 2: The Meeting
Two years later…
"Belle? Belle?! BELLE!"
Rumplestiltskin pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger and put the vial down.
Where did the wretched maid go? He needed the salamander fingers and they were nowhere to be found. He couldn't complete his potion without them. He could have sworn he put them on the top left shelf. But alas, it was empty at the moment. Hence, Belle must have taken it while she was cleaning, there was no other explanation. She was truly a very promising girl, but her never ending curiosity about everything she came across would drive him mad one day.
"If you don't come up right now…" He stopped midsentence however and sighed. There was no use, she obviously couldn't hear him. Where was the crystal ball? Damn all the hounds of hell and their master! Why couldn't he find anything today?!
The imp turned around and commenced to throw everything he could find on his desk to the floor. He'd just started on the shelves when a small, glowing lizard ran up the wall and stopped in front of him, at eye-level.
"Well, what now? Can't you see I'm busy?"
He was just about to flatten the animal with the book he was holding in his hand when it scurried to the other end of the room and started to relay its message without being instructed to do so. Rumplestiltskin froze, with hands still outstretched and listened, despite himself.
"What do I care about some wretched girl in the Infinite Forest?" he shouted, while throwing objects at the lizard.
When the animal didn't stop running all over the wall he waved his hand and watched with a satisfied smile as the green-skinned messenger got caught on one of the spikes that now lined his wall.
"Let her rot in the forest for all I care!"
He turned back to his potion, malice still written all over his face and swirled the liquid around in the vial. The purplish colour it should have been turned into an acidy grey and it oozed a foul smell that reminded Rumplestiltskin of the ogres he stopped on the battlefield not so long ago for his deal with Avonlea. Coughing, he put the glass down and hurried to the window to open it.
As soon as he leaned out for a bit of fresh air he heard furious cawing that nearly deafened him. He caught a sight of big black birds swarming above the trees and already formed a fireball to take them down with when he registered which direction they were flying in. The Infinite Forest. Well, if Regina was interested so much to spend an army of birds, it went without saying that he had to take a look too. He couldn't let the Queen get too comfortable with the idea that she knew something the Dark One didn't.
"Rumple? Rumple! You're late again! The tea's getting cold."
By the time Belle reached the top of the stairs all she saw of the imp was deep red smoke. She rolled her eyes and started to tidy up his work station, putting back a jar of salamander fingers to the top left shelf that was sitting behind the open door. No wonder he could never find anything in this mess.
Slumped shoulders, messy red hair and a bow and arrow in her arms. That's all Rumplestiltskin saw of the mysterious girl when he arrived to the woods.
"It's no use, Angus, I'll never find my way out. The lights are gone now, they've abandoned us. I thought the orbs would lead me to magic…"
She looked around, let out a quivering laugh and sat down on a treetrunk.
"Well, I guess they did. Just not the kind of magic I was looking for."
So that was the girl his messenger told him about. She had a ridiculous blue dress on that was torn in many places. Her clothing indicated a royal, but her manner was more like a warrior. A runaway princess playing knight? Well, either way, he was going to have some fun.
Rumplestiltskin circled around the nearest group of trees, trying to position himself slightly to the girl's left. He crept close without making a sound; an ugly smile formed on his face and he was ready to pounce when a glimmer caught his eye.
The girl was playing with her necklace, some sort of jewel contraption shaped in the form of a…
But that couldn't be. It was impossible.
His steps faltered and with a loud crack of a twig under his foot, his position was revealed. The initial shock wore off quickly as he found himself eye to eye with the girl's arrow. His first action was to put himself a safe distance away from the offending object. Without so much as a snap of his fingers he disappeared and reappeared a second later on the top of a tree. The girl twirled around, clearly confused.
"Over here, dearie."
An arrow flew to the spot he's been sitting at, but was already several moments too late.
The imp was now standing behind a large tree on the girl's right.
"You might want to stop with the arrows."
As the arrow landed in the middle of the trunk, he chose his next spot with care. A fallen tree, too high up for her to reach, but close enough so she could see him in full view.
"How unnecessarily rude!"
"Considering…" another arrow, this time dissolved by magic, "I do not…" another one bouncing off an invisible wall, "even…" a third one up in flames, "know your name…" this time it sailed straight through him.
"Yes, yes, indeed. How rude of me!" He hopped down from the tree and started circling the girl, who, despite running out of arrows, was still holding the bow up and ready. "I am the Dark One."
A pause. Then, "You mean to say that you are…"
"The greatest sorcerer in all the Realms, yes."
"Help me then."
Rumplestiltskin spluttered, "Help you?" He giggled pleasantly, walked around the girl some more, then stopped in front of her; turning so they were facing each other.
"Do excuse me…"
"If what you're saying is true then I dare you to show me! Get me out of this forest!"
"Get you out where, my dear?"
"I… we… my…"
The Dark One hummed, rocking back and forth on his heels, then turned abruptly and started his circles again, keeping his eyes on the necklace.
"How brave. How stupid. How pointless."
"I am not stupid!"
"But you ARE pointless, are you not?"
The princess - yes, she was a princess, decided Rumplestiltskin - gazed angrily at him, and stomped her feet.
"I AM NOT!"
"Oh, is that right?"
"Yes, I'm…"
"Well, what is your point then?"
She looked into the distance, a strange sadness on her face while the imp looked at the necklace greedily. By the time the girl turned back he was sitting on the tree trunk again, a good ten feet above her head.
"If you've figured out what it is you want, perhaps we could make a deal."
"I was actually advised against that."
He slid down from his seat again and walked back to her slowly. He could see she was nervous, although she was trying hard not to show it. Leaning forward so that his nose was barely an inch away from the girl's face, he whispered, "Don't think you have a choice, dearie."
With an exaggerated huff, she replied, "Alright, alright. What it is you want?"
"It's not what I want, it's what you want!" The girl just stared at him. "That," he said, pointing to the rose necklace with a long finger. "Oh, and your name. And maybe a little story of how you acquired such an object."
"What do I get in return?"
"I'll take you back into your own world, back to your forest where the will-o'-the-wisps are waiting for you."
"Wait, so they didn't lead me here?"
"Well, what did you think? They are there to help you." The girl's fingers twitched on her bow at his sing-song voice. "Only the phantom lights that dwell in swamps are deadly. Everybody knows that!" He held out his hand for the necklace, "Although I would advise against following the ones in graveyards as well."
The girl gave a little shudder at his giggle, but yanked the chain off her neck, holding the rose out in front of her body.
"It's Merida," she said finally, dropping the necklace in his palm.
Rumplestiltskin hummed and gazed at it with triumph.
"Tell me then, Merida, how did you happen upon this jewel? An heirloom, perhaps?"
"No. It was a gift."
The imp merely raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue.
"I've got it a few years back. I was out hunting with my father when we came upon this girl in the woods. She couldn't have been much older than me, though I never asked…" She seemed lost in her thoughts for a moment, then, with a shake of her head, she carried on, "She was sitting on the top of a large rock, weeping, in a ridiculous golden dress." She smiled at the memory and didn't notice when the Dark One froze beside her.
"She's just lost her mother, you see, but didn't remember at all how it happened. She went on a quest to Arendelle to find her memory…" She paused, wrinkling her nose, "I know that sounds stupid, but that's what she said. There were trolls, I think… I couldn't make out much of the story."
"Anyway, she returned home empty handed, something had gone wrong with a girl named Anna? She was still grieving and trying to decide what to do now. I told her that losing someone comes in many forms, death being only one of them, and that she should treasure all the good moments she shared with her mother, instead of mourning all the ones she's lost."
Merida gazed into the distance again and Rumplestiltskin was sure he knew now what she was running from.
Clearing her throat, she carried on, blinking swiftly, "She…erm… she gave me the necklace as a token of gratitude for cheering her up. Her mother gave it to her, and I didn't want to take it at first. But she insisted, saying that it was too painful to carry it around with her, and that I should have it, since I reminded her of the things her mother taught her."
"Well, I'm sure it was no great deed, giving you a piece of jewellery. She probably just wanted to get rid of you and offered a bauble to send you on your way. Avonlea is famous for its gem mines, full of precious stones, after all."
"How can you be so cruel? Of course it meant a lot, it was her mother's last… Wait a minute! I never told you the kingdom we visited was called Avonlea…"
But she couldn't finish. By the time the last words left her mouth she was standing on the forest path where the blue orbs first appeared. It was twilight and the will-o'-the-wisps were blinking at her warmly. The Dark One was nowhere to be seen, but her pony whinnied quietly beside her.
What a strange man! Still, he helped her find her way back. And from what she knew of the Dark One, his price had been very low too. A necklace and a name…
Didn't sound like much. Although is Rumplestiltskin's reputation was anything to go by, he could do very dangerous things indeed with just a name. She tried to suppress a shiver as her brain came up with more and more alarming possibilities for why her name might be enough payment.
But maybe it wasn't the name. Maybe that was just to lead her astray. Now that she thought about it, he looked rather intrigued by the rose. No, more than intrigued mesmerized. Why would the Dark One need a rose made of rubies? Surely he was richer than anyone in the realm, he could spin straw into gold.
Either way, she was back on the path -wherever that may lead her. The lights were still winking at her mischievously and she had a very long night ahead if she wanted to see where they lead. Merida started down the path, following the strange ghost lights, leading Angus by the reins. As she disappeared into the forest, angry cawing could be heard in the distance. Flames shot up above the trees, then silence.
Rumplestiltskin got what he came for.