Chapter 40: Changed?
Ben, Jane, Carlos, Jay, and Doug sit in the waiting room of the hospital, while Mal and Evie went in to comfort Dizzy, who was clearly distraught and confused by everything. No doubt anyone would be waking up in a different realm.
They all stare at their strange surroundings, unsure of how to take in everything that has happened. They are in a small town populated by alternative versions of their parents and it also contains powerful magic, something that all the kids from both Auradon and the Isle are not completely familiar or comfortable with. One of the decrees from Ben's parents was to make magic a thing of the past, something to avoid and to rely more on science and technology than anything else. So the casual use of magic used by Crystal was slightly off-putting for all of them, especially after Jay had blurted out that the daughter of Rumpelstiltskin had dark magic as well.
"Do you think Dizzy will be okay?" Ben asks
"I hope so," Jane says, leaning her head on Carlos' shoulder. The son of Cruella has not taken his arm off his girlfriend since the docks and he knew it was because of how scared Jane was acting. Gone was the tough persona she put on while battling the War Frats; the sensitive and vulnerable Jane is back, and while Carlos liked both personalities, he knew he had to be kind and comforting to her more fragile side.
"As long as Evie is there, I'm sure she'll be fine," Doug says with more confidence than most of the kids from Auradon would have at this moment. "It is a lot to process."
"No kidding," Carlos says. "I'd probably react the way she did."
"You did though," Dude says as he lays at the teenagers' feet.
"Do you ever stop talking?" Jay mutters, rolling his eyes.
Crystal comes up to the group of kids, carrying her now very alert baby brother in her arms. She carefully approaches the kids and sits down across from them. She allows Gideon to cling to her hand as his curious eyes take in these new people.
Jane's blue eyes immediately light up and she leaves the comfort of Carlos' arms to get a closer look at the baby. She sits down next to Crystal.
"He's adorable," the daughter of Fairy Godmother squeaks. The baby looks at this new face with curiosity and waves his hand forward like he wants to touch her. "What's his name?"
"Gideon," Crystal answers.
"Hello there Gideon," the teen says. "My name is Jane."
As if he understands what she said, Gideon smiles at Jane and becomes more excited. He makes panting noises and bounces up and down on his half-sister's lap. He reaches out eagerly.
"Looks like he wants to meet you," Crystal says. "Would you like to hold him?"
The fairy teen hesitates, suddenly feeling her confidence being shaken. She'd never been around babies that much but still found them to be adorable and irresistible to play with. She becomes afraid that she might mess it up by dropping him or that he might start crying. She looks over at Carlos for a long moment and he understands that she's nervous. He gives her a strong nod and then goes to sit on the other side of her. He pats her on the shoulder and smiles.
"Uh…yes, I would like to hold him."
Crystal then slowly lifts Gideon and then places him in Jane's lap. The teenager awkwardly tries to get her arms around him, not used to the sudden weight. Gideon begins to kick and squirm in ways that makes Jane afraid that he'll fall onto the floor or that she might be hurting him. She tries to hold onto his hands and then tries to get her arms around his tiny shoulders. However, the baby continues to squirm, not liking that he is being restricted. Fortunately, Crystal comes to her rescue
"Here, just have your hand on his back like this," she explains. "Give him the room to move around, but it also keeps him from losing his balance."
"I'm sorry," Jane apologizes. "I've just never been around babies that much."
"It's fine," Crystal shrugs.
Once Gideon is sitting comfortably in this person's lap, he immediately reaches up and grabs onto Jane's shirt. He pulls and begins to gurgle. This puts Jane's mind at ease. That is until he grabs a hold of her ponytail and begins to pull.
"OW!" Jane cries. Her heart beats quickly as she's not sure how to respond.
"No, no, Gideon," Crystal says, helping the teen fairy free her hair from the baby's grasp. She then hands Jane a toy rattle to give to the baby to grab instead. The teenager shakes the rattle in front of him and the baby screeches with delight and tries to get the toy within his grasp. "Sorry Jane, he's going through the grabbing phase, anything he can find, he grabs and often times it goes straight into his mouth."
"But wouldn't hair taste pretty bad?" Carlos asks.
"He doesn't know that until he tastes it. This is how babies explore when they're young, they experiment with taste as their other senses aren't as developed yet."
"You sure know a lot about babies," Jay points out. The son of Jafar has been watching the exchange with curiosity and interest.
"I've worked in daycares for three years, I have a degree in childcare. I've done it all from changing diapers to stopping tantrums. Fortunately, for Gideon, I only need to do one of those things right now. None of us are looking forward to the terrible toddler years."
"So, is he your brother?" Doug asks.
"Half-brother, Gideon and I share a father."
"Right, Rumpelstiltskin," Ben chimes in. He moves his chair closer to the group, also taking delight in Gideon's antics.
Carlos decides to try something he'd seen other mothers in Auradon do and from videos on the Internet. He covers his eyes and then releases them, saying "peek-a-boo!" This delights Gideon to no end; the tiny tot laughs loudly and claps his hands. The son of Cruella does it again, making it more exciting for the baby. This surprises Carlos as his mother had always told him that if you covered your eyes, an angry dog could attack you or you could get stabbed in the back. He was told that any kind of surprise is bad and should be avoided at all costs. He'd never been given toys or been allowed to play games like he was doing with Gideon. It made him feel a bit sad that his mother had been so neglectful and only saw her son as a servant and someone to guard her fur collection.
Pretty soon, both Jane and Carlos are laughing with the baby and Crystal is smiling too, knowing that her brother has made some new friends.
"So who is your mother, if you don't mind me asking?" Ben says as the games continue.
"Her name was Lillian Miller. She was a miller's daughter, which is a person who makes flour…" she pauses. "Do you guys know the fairy tale of Rumpelstiltskin?"
Most of the groups shake their head no.
"Seriously, not one of you knows the story?" She's shocked, but then she remembers that they too come from a land of fairy tale characters, so they probably wouldn't hear the stories that she grew up hearing and was told that they were made-up.
Crystal spends the next half-hour explaining the concept of a fairy tale and then re-telling her mother and her father's tragic love story… if it could even be called that. She leaves out the part of how her father tried to re-consume his unborn child's heart to gain back the power he'd lost by getting Lillian pregnant, they didn't need to hear that. She tells them about Lillian Miller's time in Wonderland and then about her own childhood in The Land Without Magic. She also leaves out the part that she'd killed her mother in a darkened rage as the teenagers and baby did not need to hear this either. She wants these kids to trust her and while Jay and Carlos knew that she had killed someone, she didn't need to get into specifics.
"That is such a sad story," Jane says, as she continues to hold onto Gideon.
Crystal lets out a strangled sigh of sadness and nods. "It is, but I do my best not to dwell on it too much, my… our father is very different now. He's found true love, given up his lust for power, and settled into being a father to both of us. While he's missed most of my childhood, he'd vowed never to miss a moment of Gideon's. He has changed a lot since those days.…"
…
"You think I'm scared of a scrawny man with a weird haircut and who walks with a cane?" Uma hisses, keeping her cutlass raised.
"I assume you would be after you found out who I am," he chuckles to himself. He admires the girl's spunk and bravery; however, he'd dealt with pirates before and knew that very few people with a sword were a match for him.
"Like I care who you are, now are you going to fight me like a man?"
Rumple gives a small smirk. He leans his cane against a nearby shelf and stands coolly in the room, showing no evidence of fear at all. He rolls up his sleeves but does not produce a weapon.
"You know, a very long time ago, a man of your profession once told me that a man unwilling to fight for what he wants, deserves what he gets. I didn't quite understand what he meant at the time, but many years later, after I took the woman he loved and his hand, I finally agreed with him. While it felt great to gain revenge, it was an empty feeling, one born of hatred. However, since then, both of us have learned that fighting does not always show who is superior, in fact, we've both learned it shows cowardice and darkness, something we now try to avoid. I, once, would have indeed taken you up on your offer to 'fight like a man' as you said, especially since you have stolen from me and that is something I do not take lightly to. But, I am a changed man… no not man… a being and will not take up arms against a child."
While his speech was unexpected and disconcerting, Uma keeps her sword up, the fire still burning inside of her, ready to pounce at this weak old man. While the word "being" made her nervous, she would uphold the pirate code to fight for what she wants, no matter what the cost.
"I don't care about your moral high ground! That pirate was right, you should fight for what you want and you, Old Man, are about to be on the receiving end!"
Rumple chuckles. While Crystal is not nearly as hot-headed as this young one, the attitudes certainly match one another. He admires her courage and ambition to fight, but she is also quite foolish. Her naivety makes him laugh.
"Old man… Old man," he chews on the word, a grin slowly spreading on his face. A fireball appears in his hands and he grins wickedly as Uma's eyes grow wide in fear. "I assure you, my dear, I may be centuries old, but I'm as spritely and as powerful as a forest on fire."
A/N: Please Review.