Chapter 21: We are both
Gold was packing a suitcase with maps from different cities, when the bell rang once more that day. First it had been Regina looking for her mother's book, and now it was someone else.
"It appears when I bought that closed sign, I was just throwing my money away." He said aggravated.
David ignored the man and approached him. Gold saw that it was Charming and his expression faltered a little.
"Sorry to hear about your wife, daughter and sister." Then he frowned. "If you're looking for a retrieval, I'm afraid portal jumping is just outside my purview."
"Of course it is." Said David shaking his head with a small smirk. "If you knew how to get them back, they would be here. You would never let Rose in any kind of danger, and she wouldn't leave without Snow and Emma."
"Exactly." He said with a nod and signaled outside. "What's the commotion outside?"
David told him that there were problems with crossing the town line. Mr. Gold looked interested about that and David saw his chance to get what he wanted. He asked for something like his mother's ring that led him to Snow. For every question that Gold had, David had an answer. He gave enough information for Gold to give him exactly what he needed, but nothing specific.
"Judging by our previous deals, I would have never guessed that you could be this evasive." Mr. Gold said with a smirk.
"Snow told me about your first deal with Rose, and how she got a lot for practically nothing. I thought I would give it a try."
Gold looked at him intensely and finally chuckled and gave David a potion. He told him how to use it, but before David could grab it, he kept it out of his reach. David asked for the price, and Gold smiled.
"Peace. I don't want any interference. I don't bother you, you don't bother me."
"Fine by me." Said David taking the potion. "I will find a way to bring them back. I guess you want to know about that?"
Mr. Gold nodded, and David started to leave the shop.
"So, uh, what happens when you try to cross the border?" Gold said before he could leave.
"You lose your memory of everything of our old lives. Looks like we're stuck here."
With that David left, and Mr. Gold lost his temper, breaking two display cases in his store. He thought he would have the chance to go look for Baelfire. He needed that; he had to keep his mind occupied. With losing Rose, he wanted to find his son more than ever.
He went to the back room and sat down. He put his face in his hands and sighed. David had reminded him of the first time he made a deal with redheaded princess. He smiled softly and chuckled. She had always been something else.
Rose Red entered the room and smiled at her father. He had called her, saying that they had something important to discuss. Rose saw that her sister and Regina were there too.
"What did you want to talk about, dad?"
"My little bird." The king said with a soft smile. "We all noticed that your powers are growing, and you are restless to know who you really are."
Rose was about to protest, but her father raised a hand with another smile and a twinkle in his eyes.
"You may be able to hide it from everyone else, but you can't hide it from family."
Snow and Regina both smiled and nodded. They had noticed how she tended to lose herself in thoughts more often. And the redhead had spent almost all her free time in the palace library looking every book in her search for answers.
"It pains us to see you like this. And it pains me even more that I'm not able to help you." Said the king with a frown. "But I think I found someone that can help. He is said to be able to grant any wish, for a price. And I'm willing to pay anything, so you can be happy Rose."
Rose and Snow looked in surprise at their father. So, there was someone that could help Rose find the answers she had looked for all her life? Regina had a frown on her face. She understood who the King was speaking of, and she didn't like it. She might have agreed to be his apprentice, but she didn't want Rose near him. He had been much too interested in her some years ago, for Regina's liking.
"Yes. I send word earlier this day. He should be here shortly."
"I'm already here, your highness."
The four of them turned around to see a man sitting on the windowsill of one of the big windows surrounding the room.
"I have to say, I thought it was a matter of time until you asked for my help with the young princess." He said approaching them.
"I mean, she has weird hair." He said grabbing a lock of her long dark red hair.
"Weird eyes." He said looking directly at them with a laugh. "It was only normal that there was something else weird with her."
"I appreciate your offer to help, but please refrain from saying things like that about my daughter." Said the King with a frown and a hard look.
Snow had a frown and went to stand beside her sister. She took her hand and squeezed. Snow had always stood up for her sister, but if this man could help her, she wasn't about to offend him. Regina frowned, and observed Rumpelstiltskin. She knew the imp had something in mind for Rose.
"Yes, of course. My apologies." He said with a deep mocking bow. "But back to business. You said you needed help. With what?"
The King was about to answer, but Rose interrupted.
"I need information."
"Information about what, dearie?" He said with a raised eyebrow and a curious expression.
"Magic." He made a sign for her to say more. "Magical beings."
"That's not much to go by." He said with a laugh.
"I looked at every book in the library, and I only found information about some magical creatures that have a deep connection with magic. I want to know everything about them." She said firmly.
"That's… very interesting." He said with a smirk. "Not a lot to go by, but I will help you. I know someone that can take you to some places where there may be some information. Interested?" He said extending his hand.
Rose looked at it and thought it over. Snow squeezed her hand harder. She didn't want her sister to leave her. They had never been apart. Regina's frown deepened and was about to object when the King spoke.
"Rose, my darling daughter, your mother and I knew that one day you would leave to find these answers." He approached his younger daughter and put a hand on her shoulder. "You always had a free spirit. Take this chance, see the world and learn everything you always wondered about. It's time for you to fly, my little bird."
He kissed her forehead and smiled. Snow swallowed and hugged her sister tight. She wished her luck and made her promise to visit a lot. Rose nodded with a laugh and hugged her back. Then, she turned to Regina and saw her frown. Rose approached her.
"Are you going to be okay?"
"You are going somewhere with a stranger, and you are worried about me?" Regina asked in surprise.
"Yes." She simply said with a grin.
"Oh, Rose." Regina chuckled and hugged the redhead. "Don't worry about me. Just promise that you will be very careful. Okay?"
Rose nodded and turned to the man.
"Father said that you do everything for a price. What is the price for your help?"
"Well, you have piqued my interest princess. The price will be, that any information you find, you will first relay it to me." He said with a smirk.
"That's it?" Asked Rose suspiciously.
"Okay. Deal." She said shaking his hand.
"We'll have to do something to hide your identity. It could be dangerous for a young princess to be out in the world by herself." He said eyeing her up and down. "Not much is known about your appearance, just that you have long hair red as a rose. That could be a problem."
He was once again stroking a strand of her hair. She nodded and before he could react, she grabbed a knife from his belt and cut off her hair. It now stood unevenly cut, a little shorter than shoulder-length.
"There, now I don't' have long hair." She said offering the knife back. "And I'll just say that I'm Rose. It is a fairly common name."
Everyone looked at her surprised. The King let out a small chuckle and then started to laugh. This prompt Snow White to laugh as well and Rose grinned at them.
"Come on. I'll help you get ready for the trip, and we can get Joanna to fix that disaster you made." Snow grabbed her hand and the two sisters left the room.
Rumpelstiltskin looked after them and smirked. The little princess had surely grown up, and she still had that fire in her. He would never forget the first time he laid eyes on Red Rose.
Rose Red was in her room sleeping, when she was woken up by a strange sound. It was something she hadn't heard before. And it was loud, very loud. She stood up and followed the sound to Regina's room. She could hear Regina and a man talking. Rose didn't recognize the voice of the man and decided to enter.
"Regina, are you okay?" She said entering the room.
Rose saw Regina in front of a something big wrapped like a gift. Regina and the man turned to her in surprised. Neither had noticed the girl until she spoke. Regina shook her head and went to Rose.
"I'm fine, Rose." She said with a smile. "But, what are you doing out of bed?"
Rose looked from Regina to the man and frowned.
"I heard him" She said in a whisper, looking at the man in suspicion. "He's loud. His sound woke me up."
Regina frowned. She had been informed about Rose's abilities. The girl herself had told her she didn't like her mother for that reason. If Rose had heard Rumpelstiltskin from her room, that meant that he was indeed very powerful.
"Don't worry, Rose. He was just leaving. Why don't you go back to your room? The wedding is coming up and you need your rest." She told her with a smile.
Rose nodded, but she still had a frown on her face. She turned and left the room. She was walking back to her own room, when a puff of smoke in front of her appeared. Once the smoke cleared up, the man from Regina's room was there looking at her curiously.
"Well, hello little princess." He said with a smirk. "No one had been able to surprise me in a very long time. Tell me, you said you heard me. What does that mean?"
"Why should I tell you?" Rose said with a frown.
Rumpelstiltskin laughed. He was finding the girl more interesting by the minute. HE knew that children tended to be blunter than adults, but everyone was afraid of him in some level. This girl didn't seem afraid.
"Fair enough. I'm Rumpelstiltskin." He said with a bow.
"I'm Rose Red. That is a very long complicated name." She said with a frown. "Your skin looks different, like it sparkles. I'm going to call you that."
With that she kept going to her room. Once at the door, she turned to the man.
"Good night, Sparkles." She said with a grin.
"You haven't answered my question, little Rose." He said a little annoyed at the nickname.
"I know." The girl said with a smirk.
Emma, Rose and Mary-Margaret had their hands tied and were being dragged by Mulan who was on a horse.
"I appreciate you being here with me, but why did you do it?" Asked Emma.
"I just found you. I'm not going to lose you again." Said Mary-Margaret with a frown.
"Like I was gonna leave you, after you fell into some kind of worm hole." Said Rose shrugging her shoulders and then grinned. "Besides, another world? That's an archeologist's dream. I would be crazy not to jump at the opportunity."
They arrived at a small makeshift village. Mulan cut the rope, but kept their hands tied. They looked around and Emma made a comment about the village looking like a refugee camp. Mary-Margaret took the chance and elbowed Aurora on the gut and run, telling the other two to do the same. Emma started running, but Rose stayed put, sighed and shook her head.
Mulan threw a bola at Mary-Margaret and she fell unconscious. That made Emma stop and panic about her friend's well-being. Mulan turned to Rose with a raised eyebrow.
"You didn't run."
"In a village full of people that think we are the enemy? Nah, that wouldn't help our case." She said with a shrug.
"At least you know the situation you are in." Said Mulan with a nod. "But, you are still one of our prisoners."
They approached Emma and the unconscious Mary-Margaret. Mulan ordered to bring them to the pit. Once there, Emma and Rose checked over Mary-Margaret and tried to wake her up. A voice called out from the other side of the pit asking if they could help. The two friends looked up and saw a woman walking up to them.
"My name's Cora." She said.
Rose frowned. She didn't know the woman, but something was telling her not to trust her. She could practically hear the evil coming off of her. Rose had a very bad feeling about the woman in front of them.