OK so I woke up early and decided that my brain could not hold this next chapter in until tomorrow so here you are... do not say that I am not nice to you.
As always please review.
Enjoy
:)
Belle lay on her side just staring at Rumple lying next to her as he read a book, how could he be mixed up in this? Surely there had to be another explanation. He had been trying to help, hadn't he?
"How was Mother Superior today?" she suddenly asked trying to start a conversation
"Fine" Rumple replied without looking
"Have you heard from Tinkerbell yet?"
"Not yet"
Silence fell again, how could she find out if he was up to something without making him suspicious. Suddenly he brought the book down into his lap and looked at her.
"What is it Belle? I can practically hear you thinking!"
"Nothing" she said with a sigh "I just... I went to see... uhm" she was thinking fast "Emma today. She is very down Rumple and I just wondered how much longer this whole thing is likely to take"
"I wish I knew Belle but until we find what we are looking for we cannot proceed"
Now, was he talking about the root or something else? Belle furrowed her brow "What is this root Tinkerbell is looking for? You never actually told me"
He sighed "It grows deep in the forest and if we are being truthful I suppose it is actually more of a tuber than a root"
"What's it called?" she asked lightly giving him a smile
"Obsecro Quiescis... Now can I please go back to my book?"
She nodded and he lifted the book back up, there was no writing on the spine and suddenly she wanted to know what was so fascinating about it.
"What are you reading?"
"You mean what am I attempting to read?" he answered with a chuckle "What is wrong with you tonight Belle? You seem... unsettled"
"It's just hard seeing my friends going through this Rumple" she replied honestly "I just want to help"
He closed his book and put it on the dresser before turning over to face her, he pulled her into his arms and dropped a kiss on to her head.
"And that is why I love you so much. This will all be over soon and when it is we will be happier than we have ever been... just you wait and see Belle, good things are coming"
She had initially melted into his embrace thinking that the others were wrong but as he spoke she found herself seeing double meanings in everything he said.
She didn't trust him... never fully had.
He WAS the Dark One and she was not stupid, if he had found a way to help himself in all of this that was probably what he was trying to do.
She lay in his arms for the longest time and although he slept she didn't, she couldn't get her mind to slow down. She had to find out one way or another what he was up to. Was he genuinely just trying to help or was he working with Devin? Had he really been a part of what had happened to Killian?
Morning came all to quickly and she pulled herself from the bed having had no sleep at all, she looked at the man she loved with all her heart still sleeping in the bed and sighed. He may look like the man in this realm but she was only too aware that under his pale skin the beast was still very much a part of who he was... she just needed to know which part of him was leading his motivation.
She got ready for work like any other day and as she made breakfast he joined her in the kitchen but as she was about to serve he made his excuses and left saying that he needed to go to the convent first thing. She just smiled and gave him a kiss goodbye telling him that she was heading to the shop which was true but maybe she would stop in at Granny's to pick him up something, she'd take it to the convent on her way to the shop. You know drop in and see how they were getting on... maybe talk to the Blue Fairy by herself and see how she thought everything was going.
She had a few things to do so by the time she was walking up the convent steps it was nearly an hour and a half later. She walked in confidently and made her way through to the small room that she knew the Mother Superior used as an office. She knocked on the door and waited not wanting to just barge in but when she got no reply she pushed the door gently and popped her head around to see Blue sitting at the desk reading intently but Rumple was nowhere to be seen.
"Mother Superior" Belle said gently but Blue heard her and looked up with a smile
"Belle" she exclaimed getting up "What are you doing here?"
"I was looking for Rumple where is he?"
Something in the fairy's eyes changed "Do not worry, we have been working tirelessly to find an answer."
Belle smiled but repeated her question "Yes but where is Rumple? He said he was coming here!"
Blue frowned and looked around her but still replied the same "We have been working tirelessly together, he has been coming every day"
Something wasn't right here, it was like she was just saying something that she had been told to say, like she wasn't in control... which could mean only one thing!
"OK thank you Mother Superior." Belle said rubbing the Fairy's arm gently "I'll leave you to it then"
"Thank you for coming" Blue smiled back widely
Belle gave a little nod then turned on her heals and marched from the convent. She made her way straight to the shop locking the door behind her then making her way over to the safe. She wasn't supposed to know the combination but she had seen Rumple use it often enough to have seen it many many times so she pulled the painting back to reveal the safe door and got to work.
She peered inside and her stomach fell... there was a box.
She gingerly took hold of it and pulled it out, taking in a deep breath and hoping to the Gods above that she was wrong she finally tipped back the lid to reveal her worst fears.
She had just found the Blue Fairy's heart in the Dark One's safe... what was he up to?
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"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
Killian froze just before he was about to pull himself up from the bed, he turned to see Emma scrambling from under the sheet to come to his side.
"Peeing as your Father would say" he replied "Or about to anyway. I was going to the bathroom"
"Not by yourself you're not" she said dropping down to sit next to him "Killian give yourself time to heal, don't rush things I don't want you falling and hurting yourself more"
He sighed and gave her a hard stare "I cannot spent all my days lying in this bed Love. Devin has the gemstone. I NEED to be up and about for the battle that is surely coming"
"Look... if Gold could have done something with that gem he would have done it by now, Devin took it nearly twenty hours ago. He must still be needing something. Yes we need to be prepared but don't get ahead of yourself."
He gave it some thought, she was right.
"All this does not change one thing Love" he said looking at her intently
"What?" she asked scooting forward with a look of concern
"I still very much need to pee" he laughed and she thumped his arm playfully
Emma helped him up and gave him his crutch before letting him go to make his own way but she never left his side, he could feel her hand merely grazing his lower back just in case she had to grab hold of him but he managed.
"Are the lads still sleeping?" he asked as he flopped down onto the couch ten minutes later and looked up at the clock to see that it was mid morning.
"Yeah, it was a late night though so I'll just leave them" Emma replied moving over to open the blinds. She opened the door wide and he gave an appreciative sigh when the cool breeze blew in "Looks like it's going to be another nice day"
"Aye" he followed her with his eyes as she walked to the kitchen and started on breakfast.
She kept checking her phone as she worked picking it up from the counter and looking at the screen as if it had maybe rang but she had not heard it.
"He will call soon enough Love" he soothed knowing she was worried for her Father
"No he won't" David suddenly said stepping through the door while Mary-Margaret clung to his arm.
"DAD" Emma cried out running over to him "I was so worried"
He pulled her into his arms and Killian could see the bruises from where he sat, the Prince was a mess. He gave a wince as Emma stepped back and she was immediately apologizing.
"I'm fine" he smiled "And I'll be even better when you fix me something to eat, that hospital food is vile"
"Agreed" Killian said loudly getting David's attention "Come sit down Mate before you fall over"
"Ah look at you sitting on the couch, feeling a bit better today?" Killian gave a quick nod as David slowly made his way over then carefully lowered himself down onto the other end of the couch with a groan but then he chuckled "What a pair we make"
"Aye" Killian laughed back "What a pair"
Regina arrived a short while later and then not long after that Rufio, Tiger Lily and Rapha arrived too. At that point Emma went in and woke up the lads, fed them then let them loose on the pool so that the adults had peace to talk. The had all just settled on the various patio furniture when Belle rushed up the steps holding a small box in her hands.
"I didn't know what to do" she cried out putting it on the table quickly "What is he up to? Why does he need this?"
"What is it Love?" Killian asked suddenly concerned for his friend she looked frightened.
"Just look" she said stepping back as if that would distance herself from what was going on.
Regina stepped forward and flipped the lid but Killian still couldn't see from his lower position. He tugged on Emma's sleeve and furrowed his brow and she mouthed "It's a heart" at him making his eyebrows shoot up
"Who's is it?" David asked
"I am pretty sure it's the Blue Fairy's" Belle blurted out " I went to the convent this morning to see Rumple, he says that he's been going there every day but he wasn't there and the Mother Superior was acting strangely... there was something just not quite right about her. It was like she had been programmed to say certain things and it got me wondering. I went back to the shop and looked in the safe and that's when I found this"
"Sit down Belle" Mary-Margaret soothed going over to her side and guiding her to one of the seats "We'll figure this out"
"Why?" Belle said looking close to tears "Why can he never just be happy with me? Why is he always looking for more"
"Because he is a damned fool" Killian grit out through clenched teeth "This is not your fault Love, he is the Dark One and as such it is his nature, it is not a reflection on you"
The others all agreed but Killian could still see her pain, it was written all over her face. She needed to know everything, they needed to tell her.
"There is more to this whole thing than you realize Belle" he sighed "This is not just about Devin there is more to it"
"What?" she cried out "How can this get any worse?"
"This all started with the treasure map you gave me. I found the gemstone and hid it in the hold of my ship"
"Yeah" she gasped with a puzzled look "I kind of remember that"
"That is what we were searching for when the cave collapsed but it was lost or so we thought. We paid it no attention, it seemed irrelevant but then the other night when Gold hit Tootles in the street the lad shoved the gem into David's hand as he lay dying. He tried to warn him that someone was about to attack myself and he said that Rapha was in danger too. We all thought that Tootles had been the one to attack me but it transpires that it was..."
"Devin" she breathed out
"Aye Love" he agreed
David sat forward "Yesterday when we went to the diner Ruby sensed that he had been there, I suddenly realized that we had been talking about the gem and that he probably now knew where it was. He took it Belle, Devin has the gem and we now think that this was the whole reason for Gold helping the lost Ones escape... he needs that gem for some reason"
"I don't understand" she frowned "Why?"
"We don't know but we know that the gem can duplicate things that much is obvious but something Whale said yesterday got me thinking. He said that he had researched Blackbeard because there was a rumor that he had a gem that could essentially copy things, he knew that he had used it on many treasures but it was the part about Blackbeard that really struck a chord... There were two Blackbeards. One in this realm who died many years ago and the one back in the Enchanted Forrest" David carried on moving further forward on his seat
"So what? Rumple is trying to use the gem to duplicate someone?" Belle asked
"That is as much as we know Belle" Killian threw in "But we also know that the gem takes power from the user so maybe him having the Blue Fairy's heart has something to do with that"
"Well let's see if we're right" Regina suddenly said digging the heart out of the box and holding it up to her mouth "Whomever this heart belongs to, come to the Mayor's house right away"
She placed it back in the box and looked at them all "And now we wait"
"What did this gem look like?" Belle asked curiously, maybe she had seen it in a book somewhere
Killian thought about it and raised his hand to show the size "It was about this size, mostly red in color but when you looked at it there were lots of different colors swirling around inside it"
"Actually I meant to say" David suddenly said cutting in "It had changed color... when I had it, it was blue"
Killian frowned deeply, why did that sound familiar? And why did it make him think of Regina? He looked up at her just as she looked at him and in that instant he was in blinding agony as a pain seared across his head. Images flew though his mind... he was in the cave... he was all alone in the dark... he threw the gem into the pool of water... DEVIN... his chest was on fire, he couldn't breathe!
"Killian!"
He could hear Emma's worried voice but his eyes only saw more images in his mind... Regina was by his side, she had a gem... a different gem... she left him, she left him all alone again, she promised to come back but she didn't... then his own words flew into his mind to join in the fun "Careful Crocodile... your scales are showing"
"He... was... there" he managed to gasp out but his memories kept flooding back and he could do nothing to stop it
"Who?" he heard someone say but his world was narrowing... the face of Devin was looming over him with a feral sneer, he knew that it wasn't him but it made no difference as his body fought the memory just the same and the final thing that he realized just before he passed out was that Rumplestiltskin now had two gems, he had the red one AND a blue one.
They were not the same gemstone!