Chapter 43: Family Tales
"Rumple, that may not be the best way to introduce yourself to your son from another realm," Belle says, examining the shocked look on the teenager's face.
"Way to scare the living daylights out of him, now he's not the only one who wishes he was adopted," Crystal mutters sarcastically after all the colour drains from Ben's face. In retaliation for this comment, Rumple's daughter gives him a kick in the bad leg under the table. The introduced Dark One grimaces in pain because of his daughter's attack and grinds his teeth to keep his rage in check.
Crystal was only nineteen, and while still technically a young, independent adult, she often acted like a moody teenager… hormones and all. He'd seen his grandson go through similarly poor mood swings and the rebellious teenage years; he was not looking forward to "said" years with Gideon. He had hoped that he'd bypassed the bad behaviours with Crystal, but her attitude and sarcasm towards him told a different story. He cannot imagine what Lillian Miller went through with their daughter in her early years; apparently, Crystal was the most difficult child that ever walked the Earth, behaving poorly and rebelling in every sense of the word. With the addition of undiscovered, dark, and unstable magic, teenage Crystal Lillian Miller was a force to be reckoned with. The father still had much to learn about parenting and trying to actually be comforting towards his children.
He'd battled many people, lived many centuries, discovered many secrets about darkness and magic, but he would never, ever be able to understand the female mind, no matter how many more centuries he lived. Additionally, he was in no hurry to figure it out either.
"I merely assumed that it was best to clear the air, so to speak. I'm telling this young man that I am far from what he would consider a role model or a hero."
"That is the understatement of the century," Crystal mutters to herself, pulling her hair up into a proper ponytail again. "I wouldn't trust you to hold my phone or feed my goldfish, thank god I don't have one of those things."
Both Mal and Ben are nervous about the imminent tension that seems to run through the family. Ben actually shifts away from Crystal and closer to Mal, unsure about how to react to all this.
"Can we please keep this conversation civil?" Belle asks, adjusting Gideon in her arms so he can go to sleep.
Both father and daughter look at one another before merely nodding and becoming silent.
"I'm sorry you had to see that," Crystal apologizes to Ben. "But as you can tell, my… our dad is hardly the ideal."
"We noticed," Mal says as the drinks arrive at the tables.
The former couple stares at their milkshakes for a long moment, the memories of sharing the creamy concoction flashes in their minds. The glance at each other for a moment before thirst takes over and both sip on their milkshakes quietly.
Belle decides it's time for her to take over the conversation. "So, Ben… what would you like to know? You can ask us anything you'd like."
The King of Auradon swallows hard and glances at the people who are supposed to be his family. He stares into the soft blue eyes of Belle, she gives him a warm smile and brushes some of her brown curls from her face. He glances at the baby sleeping in her arms, how much he looked like his father. He then looks at the dark brown eyes of this "father figure" this Dark One. The teenager can see the age around his eyes and inside… he can tell that this person has seen a lot of things, endured countless hardships, and there is even a slight coldness in his face, although he tried to be soft and comforting. Could he actually see the literal entity of the Dark One inside this man? What kind of villain is he? How evil was he? What had he done to become this way?
"Well… uhm… maybe it's best if I ask you to tell me about yourselves… Belle… maybe you should go first."
The gentlewoman smiles and nods. "My name is Belle French…"
The loving woman and mother goes on to tell her alternate son about her life; how she was born into royalty, her minor adventures in the Enchanted Forest, how she'd lost her mother to trolls and agreed to marry the vain Gaston to help in the battle against the creatures, how she traded her freedom to Rumpelstiltskin for the sake of her family and kingdom, how both of them grew to love another, even temporarily breaking the Dark One curse surrounding him, how she was once held prisoner by Regina for 28 years, how she'd fought against her father's control and disapproval over her relationship with Rumple, temporarily losing her memories, marrying her true love, and the various other heartbreaks that both of them endured, leading up to the transformation of their son back into a baby, allowing them to be a real family.
By the end of Belle's tale, the food has arrived at their tables. Mal digs ravenously into her burger, truly surprised about how hungry she was. From the battle on the beach to watching Harry battle his own father on a pirate ship, food had been the last thing on her mind until now. She enjoys the juiciness of the burger, liking the added spice and flavour to it. She goes through her entire meal rather quickly and then orders a sandwich for herself.
"Slow down there Mal," Crystal says. "Don't eat too much, there's still a lot more to stomach here."
Ben eats more slowly as he processes Belle's story. It mirrored his mother's captivity and the love for his father; breaking a curse, even though in this case it was temporary. It was the true tale of a beauty falling for a beast, but with many darker twists and turns involved. He'd always seen his own parents so blissful and happy, while here it seemed like a constant tug-of-war for this version of his mother and father to stay together. He feels great sympathy for her.
Then it's Crystal's turn to tell her story... even though she was technically his half-sister if having any relation at all.
She tells Ben of her mother's affair with Rumpelstiltskin, the darkness within him that caused Lillian Miller to flee with her unborn child to another land. She glosses over the time spent in Wonderland and then goes to discuss her childhood. The young adult then grimaces and cries a little bit when she talks about the dark magic that is inside her and how it led to her mother's death.
Ben and Mal are horrified by this revelation, but they are sympathetic at the same time. The rest of the kids from Auradon share similar emotions, while the group from Storybrooke express neutral expressions, having heard this tragic tale already. It was clear to all of the teenagers that Crystal regrets this action with every fibre of her being and has done her best to turn her life around. She tells them about her own heartbreak that lead to her finding the other half of her family and where she truly belonged, and the ups and downs that came with said, new family.
The daughter of Maleficent feels a twinge of envy when Crystal says that she finally found a place where she felt accepted and where she could be herself. The purple-haired teen wished that this was true back in Auradon, but alas, the recent actions of the teachers and students towards the VKs had shown her she still didn't quite fit in. And the Isle wouldn't want her back anyway. She wonders what it's like to feel completely accepted by everyone, despite her parentage It must feel nice; it is from this that Mal realizes that she and Crystal are more alike than she anticipated, trying to get out of their parents' shadows and make something of themselves, but clearly, the latter was having better luck than her.
"And finally you… Rumpelstiltskin," Ben says as Granny and one of the waitresses are clearing the plates from the table. "What is a Dark One? What does it mean?"
Mal nods, leaning in, wanting to know who Rumpelstiltskin was and what he is capable of. All the other VKs also listen in as the story of this imp was unknown to them.
"You're going to wish you hadn't asked that question," Crystal mutters, taking Gideon from her step-mother for some much-desired and needed comfort. Holding her baby brother always made the daughter of Dark One feel better after going through emotional turmoil. The warmth of his tiny body and the peaceful look on his angelic face put his sister's mind and emotions at ease again, reminding her of the innocence and love that is part of her world.
"Well, the Dark One is the embodiment of all the darkness that has ever existed in all the realms. Millenias ago a revenge-fueled woman once drank from the Holy Grail and became the darkness that exists in the minds of all people and within the very fabric of these many worlds. The wrong side of a coin, that gives the person unimaginable power, very little can defeat such a capability. The lust for revenge and of anger from one dark-hearted woman becomes a lust for power, destroying the good nature or kindness that may have scarcely even existed inside the individual cursed with this wretched gift. We live eternally, beings that hang in the shadows, continue to frighten and harm those foolish enough to become connected to us and to above all, snuff out the light. We destroy anything and everything that stands in our way of this mission."
The entire diner is silent as the impish man finishes his history lesson. It certainly feels like déjà vu to him as he'd just spoken to Uma about this not so long ago. Ben presses his back against the booth, trying to keep his distance from this man who claims to be his father. And he thought his father being a beast for twenty years or being forced to walk the plank of Uma's ship was the scariest thing he'd ever heard or experienced. It scares the young king to know how much of a villain this Dark One truly is, and his stomach turns to think that they are allegedly related. This man is nothing like his father, who may have had a troubled past and the occasional anger issues, but compared to Rumpelstiltskin, his father is a saint.
"But… I've long since retired that mission," Rumple says, cutting the tension in the room with his voice.
"It's more recent than you think," Crystal mutters and the Dark One glares at his daughter. The familial tension arises once again.
Rumpelstiltskin then explains his entire family history. Being born to a woman who became a dark fairy, being abandoned by his father, who was also Peter Pan, his cowardly attempts to escape death during a war in order to meet his son, his wife abandoning their family and then his regretful act of killing the former Dark One and gaining the evil power. He then discusses Baelfire, his son whom he abandoned for power and the regret that would forever remain in his heart for doing so. His actions that made Killian become Captain Hook, his love affairs with Cora and then Lillian Miller, his captivity of Belle, the training of Regina, the perfection of the Dark Curse and then coming over to the Land Without Magic. He spins the tales that he and his family had endured to get to this point; his marriage to Belle, the defeat of his horrible father, the unexpected reunion with his daughter, the time being free of the darkness, only to selfishly take it back again and finally the defeat of his mother and making peace with his darkness.
"Now, I devote myself to my wife and children, deciding never to let power corrupt me again."
Snow and David go on to tell their stories too of growing up in completely different worlds, the hardships they both endured including poverty and banishment, hating each other at first, but then growing to feel true love for one another. They talk about the breaking of Snow's sleeping curse, their battle against Regina, their regretful actions towards a former friend, making the ultimate parental sacrifice to ensure that Emma saved them, and their eventual reunion 28 years later. The couple also talks about some other things that they were not proud of, their separation due to another sleeping curse, and eventually being able to raise Neal in peace.
Killian goes next, talking about the loss of his own mother, his cowardly father selling both him and his brother into slavery, their time in the navy, the loss of his beloved brother Liam in Neverland that caused him to become a pirate, the loss of his first love Milah and his 200-year quest to vanquish Rumpelstiltskin, his "crocodile." He talks about his work with Regina and then Cora, how he met Emma and how her love changed him into a hero. He also tells them about him temporarily becoming the Dark One and then making the ultimate sacrifice to save everyone and his now happy, blissful life with Emma, and the coming birth of their child.
Emma tells her life story next, the hardships she faced growing up in the foster system, her meeting with Neal and the birth of Henry, her coming to Storybrooke and breaking the curse, her trials and tribulations in the Enchanted Forest and Neverland, the loss of Neal, her falling in love Killian, her stint as the Dark One, her quest to the Underworld and finally her sacrifice in the Final Battle that fulfilled her destiny as the Saviour and brought about everyone's happy endings.
Last, but not least, everyone hears Regina's story. Starting with the pressures and manipulations of her mother, and then leading into the loss of her first love Daniel, the training from Rumpelstiltskin, her vengeful quest against Snow White, the casting of the Dark Curse, her adoption of Henry, her redemption as a hero and her finding true love. She talks about the discovery of her half-sister, her desire for a happy ending, the loss of her soulmate and then making peace with her darker half. She sits in the booth, tears running down her face several times as she speaks. Fortunately, the fear that Evie once felt towards this woman melts as she hears the whole story. By the end, she regrets ever being scared of her alternate mother, as she had endured so much to become a true and selfless hero, unlike her real mother.
The room is dead quiet again as all the VKs and AKs process these unbelievable tales. The twists and turns that made up this bizarre family, whom despite everything, seem to love another deeply and unconditionally. To the VKs, devoted love was completely foreign to them. It's a lot to take in and process, almost to the point of exhausting, and yet, after hearing each of the stories, parents and children, no matter what realm they came from are feeling slightly closer to one another.
At one point, Mal couldn't help but feel the irony in this situation. Back in Auradon, Ben was the king, true royalty, the most popular guy around. He had doting and responsible parents, who loved him with all their hearts. They trusted him to rule the kingdom and follow his heart's desires. Here in Storybrooke, his parents are a mismatched hero and villain, with siblings who seem to have their own dark pasts, but still, endear and tolerate one another as a family. And Mal thought her mother was bad.
It's pitch black outside and the crickets are chirping loudly in the cool night air when someone finally breaks the silence.
"Any of you guys going to rent my rooms?"
The Villain kids and Auradon kids look at the old lady, who stands behind the counter, with a vacancy book in her arms.
"This place is also a Bed and Breakfast, so there are enough rooms for all of you to sleep here. Two per room would be best."
"I think that might be a good idea," Snow says gently. She yawns and shifts a sleeping Neal to the crook of her other arm. The princess/mother can see the tired looks on all the children's faces. "It's been a very long day for all of us. I think we should all regroup in the morning and figure out our next step in getting all of you home."
Mal and her friends look at one another, they had not realized how tired they all were.
"But what about this Uma in my shop?" Rumple asks.
"Well if Leroy is right and she did steal from Sneezy's pharmacy, I think she'll have to spend the night in the holding cell," Emma says, standing up to stretch.
Killian wraps his arm around her waist.
"I'll do it, Love, you go home and rest."
Despite the fact that he was concerned about the baby, Emma does not argue, her body completely worn out from all the drama and excitement.
"Girls with girls and boys with boys only," Granny says, as she gathers the keys. "I don't want any funny business going on. That's not how I run my establishment."
"For goodness sake Granny, their teenagers, don't accuse them of such things," Regina says in defence of the children, but secretly she was glad that Evie was not staying with her boyfriend, not until she had the chance to ask her daughter how serious she and the dwarf son were.
Mal and Evie become roommates again, as do Carlos and Jay. Doug and Ben share another room with Jane and Dizzy in the fourth
All of them walk silently up to their rooms and barely mutter even a goodnight to one another before unlocking their doors. Mal doesn't say anything to Evie, the two snuggle under the covers of the large bed and are almost instantly asleep. They never even took off their boots. The last thing that drifts through Mal's mind as she nods off is how on Earth they were going to get home again.
A/N: Special thanks to Guest, RosettaQueen20, and Sammii16 for their reviews and to all my followers. Almost at 100 reviews, please make them count. I can answer any questions you might have about the story too.