Tvon had just helped himself to a generous goblet of wine when Gaston threw the double doors to his tower open causing him to sigh deeply. By this point of their iniquitous partnership, Gaston storming in like an angry child had become boring, predictable and yielded little reaction from the dark-haired mage. Frankly, if Gaston had put that energy into finding Princess Belle and the Dark One, they'd have taken over the whole realm by now.

"Haldor!" The mage tried not to roll his eyes out of his head as he spun around to face the entitled duke's son.

"Can I be of assistance?"

Gaston snarled. "I'm sick of this shit! Maurice's brain is turning to goo because of that damn ring and no one has reported seeing the Dark One." He thrust a finger out to Tvon. "Then there's you, you were supposed to take care of this to begin with."

In Tvon's opinion he'd done literally everything; he'd tracked down the Ring of Halinox; he'd figured out how to use it and gotten it on King Maurice's finger; he'd figured out how to summon the Dark One to Dreymyr and he'd certainly been the one to ensure they'd made it this far without all of Avonlea coming after them. Gaston's jobs had been so simple, so easy, just to keep track of a teenage princess and provide enough soldiers to ensure the Dark One didn't escape Rutherford Tower. Failure: Gaston LeGume had been a total failure.

"What would you have me do?"

Suddenly a bloody arrow was tossed down at the mage's feet, it landed with a clattered clank and Tvon lifted a thick eyebrow.

"One of my men hit him with an enchanted arrow when we first summoned him. That is his blood. Surely we can use that to re-summon the bastard."

All right, that wasn't actually a bad idea but the delay had lessened their chances of such a thing being a success.

"Perhaps if it were fresh blood." He took a sip of his wine. "Why didn't you bring me this that very day?"

"Don't take that tone with me!" Gaston warned. "My idiot underlings have only just determined this is his blood. The Dark One did kill all the men we took with us to Rutherford Tower." Yes, Gaston had said his underlings were idiots and Tvon had no issue believing him. Still, that was the actual blood of the Dark One and it was significantly fresher than what they'd originally used to summon him. They only needed to summon him from another kingdom rather than some distant realm they'd never visited. "You can summon him, yes? You're capable of that much?"

"Of course I can, don't question my capabilities."

"Don't anger your future king!" Gaston hissed then stormed to the door. "Inform me the moment everything is ready."

Then the greedy Lothario was gone and Tvon fell into a hooded chair and gulped at his wine. Gaston might not have been the cause of all Tvon's problems, but he certainly helped him to forget what the others were.

For a long time the long-haired mage simply stared at the bloody arrow with suspicion. The older blood got, the less power survived in it. The only reason the blood he'd sourced for the first summonings had remained viable was because of the level of power the Dark One wielded. Tvon wouldn't fail though, he was too good a mage for that.

People had started to notice Princess Belle's absence from the castle though and that had become a more pressing matter. Her absence hadn't been planned and fatherly concern had been powerful enough to allow King Maurice to fight back against the ring's hold. Gaston's marriage to Belle had been their original intention but, if they couldn't get her back, they'd have to re-plan everything around Prince Lorrimer. That was all Gaston's desire though, Tvon had bigger plans. Tvon would be the next demon lord and he'd keep the Dark One as a pet.

His sips were slow and calm, he'd not jump to work just because Gaston had thrown another fit.

~X~

They'd made it through Olgarth in record time and thankfully without incident. Unlike the border to Olgarth, the guards of Nalessa showed no hostility and one had even helped Amicia down from the wagon with a smile. The stark difference was genuinely jarring but Belle had instantly perked back up to her normal self which Rumple was grateful for. Though the landscape hardly changed – though there were suddenly more slimes around – and the Trade Road continued to stretch on, a weight eased from their shoulders and Svad seemed to relax enough to cease his charge.

Despite being so close to the city of Windmir, night had descended and Belle had been complaining about being hungry for a good half hour, so Rumple had acquiesced to making camp. They went through the routine the trio had gotten down to a fine art: Rumple built the barrier, Amicia fed Svad and gave him a brush, and Belle prepared a meal for them all. The knife crafted by the Lyrelockets did wonders for starting fires, a simple cut to a small piece of kindling and flames burst forth: worth every coin.

After the last sigil had been drawn the barrier surged upward forming a small dome and Rumple glanced over to Amicia as she watched Svad eat. At first he'd been concerned about having Amicia with them, but she'd been good as gold and listened to what they told her. A good kid was Amicia and, frankly, Rumple thought the journey wouldn't have been nearly as enjoyable without her presence. If finding Bae hadn't been his mission, Rumple wouldn't have thought twice about remaining in Dreymyr with Belle and Amicia. But Baelfire was his mission and, each time the thought crossed his mind, Rumple's black heart stung with guilt.

Belle didn't take long to finish with dinner and, once eaten, Belle wrapped a sleepy Amicia up in a warm woollen blanket. The night was chilly despite the campfire so it wasn't long before the girl had snuggled up against Azzy's comforting fluff. Each day that waheela got bigger and bigger, he'd be an adult soon and Rumple doubted he'd ever have to worry for Belle's safety again. While they sipped hot tea, Rumple listened quietly to one of the later chapters of 'Her Handsome Hero' which Belle read to Amicia and stared up at the constellations he'd slowly started to learn. Pauk Major and Pauk Minor were commonly called the 'Teratect and it's Queen' and was the largest constellation being made up of over seventy stars; the brightest called Zraic. Then there was the Small Throne, said to have once belonged to a dwarven king so loved by his subjects that Velevonne had carried him and his throne into the sky upon his death so he could watch over his people from the heavens. Aikaterini was the daughter of a cobbler who had been made a saint and given a place amongst the stars as a reward by Drazva, while the constellation of Ealhhere was the first legendary hero stood with his sword and shield. All those myths and legends up there provedthat, at its core, Dreymyr was no different to the other realms he'd visited. One day he'd stargaze with his beloved boy again and he'd tell him of the strange realm and what they'd named their stars.

Amicia crawled into Rumple's lap then with the blanket still wrapped around her. Belle closed the book quietly with a smile while Rumple stared down at the little girl and Azzy took himself off to the bathroom. Her blonde hair hung around her face while beautiful blue eyes fluttered in that way only a half-asleep child wascapable of.

"Time for bed for you, I think." He said quietly as he stroked golden locks out of her face.

" … Okay, Papa."

With that one word Rumple turned to stone, his fingers stilled, his blinking ceased and Belle's eyes widened because she was positive his breathing had stopped as well. Sleep finally took Amicia, her little body curled up in Rumple's lap, his hand still in her hair. It wasn't until Belle rested her hand atop his forearm that he came back to himself.

"Rumple, she didn't mean to upset you." He'd never told Belle about Bae, hadn't told her why returning tothe Enchanted Forest was so important. "But … you kind of are."

Was he? Rumple surely was the only man to ever show her fatherly concern or affection. He'd not been able to help himself, he adored children. Although, what right did he have to father Amicia when he'd failed so spectacularly with Bae? Brown eyes peered downward to the little girl as Belle offered him a sweet smile. His curse had left him a beast, a monster, an abomination, but Amicia had gone to such lengths to remain with him, she sought comfort from him, and he'd come to love her company. Yes, he cared deeply for Amicia but … he'd leave eventually and he couldn't take her with him.

With a calm nod to Belle to reassure her, he carried Amicia to the wagon and tucked her in for the night as Azzy, who'd returned,settled down on his blankets and furs to watch over her. Then, after a few calming breaths and a shake of his head to push the situation away, Rumple returned to the toasty orange glow where Belle snuggled into him as had become their habit. She kissed him, lips soft and warm.

"We've only got Windmir and Durendurel to go and then we're in Bichelberger." She commented. "I'm sure your friend will be there."

Rumple let out a deep hum. "He'd better be otherwise, when I do find him, I'll wring his damn neck."

Belle took that as the frustration it was rather than assuming it to be an actual threat towards the Hatter. The fire crackled as Belle shuffled closer to Rumple's chest.

"Do you think anybody from the Arcane University will be able to get this collar off?"

Gordana had sent correspondence off to the Grand Mage regarding Jefferson, but he doubted she'd mentioned Belle's collar or their quest to rid her of it; probably hadn't mentioned him being the First Demon Lord either. Still, the Grand Mage was the head of the Mages Guild and the Arcane University, if anybody could figure out a way to get the enslavement collar off of Belle, he surely could.

"I hope so," confessed Rumple. "They have a wider knowledge of the subject than I and more magical tools at their disposal. They may have a work around for the botched magic that forced the collar on you just sitting on a shelf for all we know, sweetheart."

Pale fingers reached up to touch it, she'd grown so used to wearing it that half the time Belle forgot it was there. Of course it was a slave mark, but it was also what bound her to the man she loved, it was the reason she'd been at his side so long and been allowed to see who he truly was. Without that collar, she'd have just continued to think him a monster like the stories claimed. Her slave collar was no burden to her when she had such a kind master who'd won her heart. All that said, being able to take a trip to the bookshop without constantly panicking she'd move too far away would be nice.

"Want me to tell you more about the constellations? I saw you looking at them while I was reading to Amicia."

Rumple could have listened to Belle's sweet voice for the rest of his life so, after an 'aye', Belle pointed up to a patch of stars circled around an orangey one, and told the tale of the Orange Dove.

~X~

Their stay in Windmir had lasted only so long as it had taken them to refresh their water supply, restock on bread and fresh fruit – Svad was rather partial to apples as it turned out – and Rumple had even bought Amicia a few new dresses and a coat to protect her from the chilly night air. The poor girl had woken up frantically apologizing for calling him papa and vowed never to do it again. She'd been terrified that Rumple would toss her back in the orphanage for her audacity, and Rumple hadn't know what to say. He shouldn't have pulled her in closer, he couldn't remain in Dreymyr forever, but he'd come to love the girl from the points of her long ears to the tips of her toes. The moment he'd kissed her forehead and told her he'd be her papa had almost killed him with guilt, but the way blue eyes had looked up at him through tears had banished it all away. He was the Dark One, he could plan for anything and he would figure out how to take care of Amicia while ensuring he went to find his boy if it was the last thing he did. Her joyous smile was a memory he'd never trade away. A daughter, Rumple had a daughter and he vowed to never make her feel what he'd made Baelfire feel. Belle? Belle just smiled proudly at him. One day soon he'd have to tell her about Bae, it wasn't fair to keep knowledge of him from the sweet princess. Since then he'd felt fulfilment each time she'd tentatively called him papa, every 'thank you, papa' and the way she clung to his hand as they walked through the market. A hate-filled voice at the back of his mind had remained insistent he didn't deserve Amicia's love or such a title from her, but, much to his own surprise, Rumple managed to find the strength to ignore that horrid voice and shove it back to the darkness where it belonged.

Leaving Windmir had been a blessing and a curse, they had to hurry to Bichelberger but Rumple had loved his relaxed day with his girls, just watching them smile and be themselves. However, leaving when they had ultimately was for the best since Rumple kept getting offers and fliers for the Mockingbird brothel which had just caused Belle to glare at him as though he'd somehow been inviting the offers.

They were ahead of Belle's estimates when it came to travel time. She'd expected them to arrive in in Durendurel by the beginning of the Month of Heroes, but Svad's strong legs and Rumple's ability to teleport them as far as Breamark had meant they were a month ahead of themselves and were in the first half of the Month of Harvest. They'd likely arrive in Bichelberger just before the month's end. Unlike Belle, Rumple hadn't paid too much attention to the month's name. He'd never had much care for the date, even before he'd become the Dark One, only cared about Bae's birthday when – 'wait', said his mind. It suddenly occurred to him that he had no clue when Amicia had been born, they couldn't even be certain how old she was: ten was their best guess, but her surprising level of maturity hinted she could have been older. They'd found her on the third day of the Month of Beasts, he knew that much because Commander Skane had dated the quest completion note, but that was it. 'Maybe that could be her birthday?' suggested the fatherly part of his brain. Did her calling him papa give him the right to decide such a thing though? He'd have to consult Belle on the matter before he suggested it to Amicia; a woman's perspective would surely be best.

They'd soon passed into Yanhil and thankfully be done with border crossings for a good while. Rumple had picked up a lot of cities and every inch of the Trade Road between Twin Pine and Durendurel, so he'd hopefully not have to undertake such a wagon ride again. However, while it had been a long journey, Rumple hadn't hated it at all, not when he'd had such wonderful company. He liked to pretend being alone didn't bother him, that monsters enjoyed their solitude, but Rumple truly detested loneliness and would eternally be grateful to Belle, Amicia and even Azzy for their constant companionship long after he'd left the realm.

~X~

Gaston's growing panic about Belle's whereabouts and what it meant for his domination of the Dark One had left him acting on instinct rather than pausing to think about anything logically. Not that rational thinking had ever been one of Gaston's strong suits; that was why he'd hardly ever listened to Tvon's warnings, why he'd tossed away all of King Artem's letters to Maurice about his growing concerns, and why every man he'd taken to Rutherford Tower would be killed once they returned to the castle.

Rutherford Tower, or Windsprite Tower to give it its correct name, had been built by Ser Vasco Rutherford many years previous then abandoned upon his death. Its height was deceptive and there had long been rumor of a secret cellar Gaston couldn't have cared less about. Nature had tried to reclaim the stone structure but still it stood proud against the rolling hills to the point it had become an unofficial landmark.

It had taken ages to reach Rutherford Tower, even with Tvon's new spacial magic ability, and, frankly, Gaston had started to lose what little faith he had in the mage. Of course he'd not listened when Tvon had explained why they had to use Rutherford Tower as their summoning spot. To Gaston it was little more than for show and so nobody still loyal to King Maurice or the damn Church uncovered their plans, but Tvon had a different reason. Vasco Rutherford hadn't just slapped a tower down in the middle of nowhere because he was a misunderstood loner, no, instead the tower had been placed where it was because the hills in the area funnelled wind over the top of the tower allowing Ser Vasco, a gold-ranked wind mage, to strengthen his spells. The tower also lay on a fairly large copper vein, a magically conductive metal, which meant Tvon could use Rutherford Tower to amplify his summoning spell.

Having given up with the enslavement collar idea, Tvon had crafted a cage coated in squid ink to contain their prey but even he wasn't certain if it would actually hold such a powerful mage.

"Get on with it!" Gaston growled once the cage was in place; what little patience he had was all but gone.

Tvon readied the blood-coated arrow in the centre of the cage, locked it and backed away to the line of objects he'd sourced from past demon lords. As he chanted his spell, the various objects began to drain of dark magic and were amplified by the copper under Rutherford Tower. Gaston simply watched from the stairs with Avonlea as a backdrop. Without Belle being used as a middleman the spell went significantly faster. If the Dark One had killed or kept that girl, Gaston didn't know, but once he had the Dark One at his beck and call it wouldn't matter.

When that tall man in the unusual hat had shown up, Gaston had let himself get excited for just a few seconds, but he'd not looked anything like the Dark One legends and, when the enslavement hadn't activated, it had proven he wasn't the Dark One. Then he'd tossed his hat down as though he'd expected something to happen but, when nothing had, he'd simply charged away. The fact such a weakling had managed to elude his men had been a point of shame for Gaston that he'd rather have ignored entirely. Instead, he'd blamed everything on Haldor Tvon and demanded he tried again. In Gaston's mind his plan would succeed; he'd have Belle for his wife, he'd rule Avonlea and using the Dark One he'd take the other kingdoms as his own, then crush the Church, elves, Valkyries and anybody else who thought they could stop him.

Finally, the spell activated and a bright light burst forth inside the cage just as it had the other times they'd tried to summon the Dark One to them. Gaston shielded his eyes behind his hand as the magical items quickly drained of power and Tvon's chanting grew strained. Then, the light faded just as quickly as it had appeared and a smile crossed Gaston's face - until he saw what they'd summoned and it turned into a snarl. Inside the cage, rather than who he'd wanted to see there or even that man in the hat, Gaston saw yet more failure. A child, a damn teenage boy with a mop of dark hair collapsed to the cage floor while Gaston and Tvon watched him with confusion and anger.

"A boy?!" Gaston exploded while Tvon's head cocked to one side in growing puzzlement. "A fucking child! How hard is it to summon one little demon lord here when he's already in the realm somewhere?! Why are you totally incompetent?!"

"No," breathed Tvon with a shake of his head. "This – this makes no sense."

"You don't fucking say!"

Tvon continued to just stare at the terrified boy. "This shouldn't have happened. We had his blood." His head snapped to Gaston. "Are you sure that it was his blood?"

"Yes! Do not question me, Haldor!"

Tvon had felt the power coming from that blood-coated arrow, he'd not doubted its authenticity, but there had to be a logical reason for such a backfire.

"If it is the First Demon Lord's blood then…" He trailed off and rushed to the cage where the teen boy had managed to haul himself to his knees. "Boy, tell me honestly: Do you share blood with the Dark One?"

Brown eyes filled with shock, panic and Tvon knew he had his answer. If the answer was no then the boy surely would have looked up at him with confusion rather than shock. A boy that young, he could have only been the Dark One's child.

"Son." Tvon turned to Gaston. "He's his son."

His son? Gaston couldn't quite believe his ears. How could it be so hard to cage the Dark One? How had Tvon failed so amazingly? But then his irritation faded to be replaced by amusement. If they had the Dark One's son then there wouldn't be any need to continue with summoning him back, they'd just wait for him to come to them and use the boy as bait and a hostage. Yes, the plan was still in motion. Nothing could stop Gaston.

Gaston chuckled. "You know, I might prefer it this way." Of course he'd still slap an enslavement collar on the beast the second he got a chance, but at least their trip to Rutherford Tower hadn't been a total waste of time. "We're taking the boy back to the castle."

They'd got a bargaining chip at last.

~X~

Finally arriving at Bichelberger had taken a weight off of Rumple's shoulders because it was another step forward in his mission. Bichelberger wasn't like any city they'd seen before, it sprawled and had significantly more people than other cities they'd visited. One of the first things they'd noticed once they'd paid the tax to enter the city, was a large church up in incline some distance away. It had been constructed of limestone with white marble details that tipped it over the edge into ostentatious. Didn't matter, Rumple had zero interest in entering the church and, as women with elven blood, he seriously doubted Belle or Amicia would want to go inside either. It wasn't the church that stole Rumple's attention though, that was the gargantuan building atop the mini mountain at the centre of the city; that had to be the Arcane University. It overshadowed the church in size, sat regally looking over the Bichelberger and Rumple suddenly realized why the University pulled so much respect.

Less to do with the architecture was the odd spark of dark magic he tasted on the air. Odd, but with the Arcane University surely having a collection of magical objects, Rumple didn't pay too much attention; maybe they had possessions of other demon lords.

The Arcane University and goods on offer could all wait though, the first thing they needed to do was locate an inn. So, after disembarking the wagon, Rumple returned it to his vault in Ranga for safe keeping, sent Svad to the Guild stables – Calvin was used to the horse appearing and disappearing in a puff of smoke by now – then straightened his coat and glanced around the hectic city. Their wagon had been directed in through one of the trade gates, so they were closer to the shopping district and could hear the hustle and bustle from where they stood. Rumple quickly spotted the Innsmouth Fishmonger and suspected all inn owners would want to put as much distance as possible between themselves and the smell of fish, so Rumple headed west while Belle followed behind holding Amicia's hand. Both women seemed somewhat in awe of Bichelberger, it was so heavily populated and sat under the shadow of the Arcane University, but there wasn't any intimidating weight in the air and Belle thought Bichelberger beautiful.

Once they'd rounded a general store they were treated to a view of the Endless River and docks. Belle only bore witness to the Endless River once before when she was very young and her mother had taken her to visit her great-granduncle in Vell. Her blurry memory hadn't done it justice, it was larger and faster moving than she'd remembered. Rumple paid the river little attention, he was more focused on Azzy who'd charged off: the waheela had literally never done such a thing before. Just as Rumple had opened his mouth to question Belle on just what her fluffy companion thought he was doing, Azzy returned to sit at Belle's feet.

"Azzy says there is an inn down that street." She pointed away from the river. "Apparently it's rather big."

Well, at least the waheela had made himself useful. Suddenly he remembered Belle owed him a favor for saving Azzy from the snare; maybe one day he'd ask for something.

With a happy little girl, the group made their way to the inn led by Azzy and soon found a sign proclaiming the inn as 'The Squiffy Mage', a poor attempt at humor in Rumple's mind.

Inside they found many a candle had been lit providing a warm glow to the entire inn, and one look at the flagstones said they could eat off them should the mood take them. The trio was greeted by a middle-aged demon with a bald head and ram-like horns who quoted them a much higher price than Chip had, but Rumple supposed that was mostly due to Bichelberger's size and the University atop the hill that was more akin to a small mountain. Rumple might not have been able to spin straw into gold any longer, but he'd made rather a lot of coin from adventuring and, for a little extra, soon got Azzy admitted to the upstairs room as well. Their room at the Squiffy Mage was easily twice the size of the one at the Teapot Inn, since he'd asked for an extra bed to accommodate Amicia. Also, because that damn wolf hadn't slept enough on their trip, Azzy settled down by the foot of Amicia's bed and soon started to snore.

While Belle helped the girl get her coat off, Rumple went to the little desk and made note of the new cities he could freely teleport to. Seven of the ten kingdoms were easily accessible to him now and the entire northern Trade Road was his to do as he pleased. The only capital city he'd passed through was Gorasitz, but that didn't seem too much of an issue.

The girls quickly requested a bath, so Rumple sent them downstairs to order one while he went over his mental itinerary. Gordana had sent word to whoever the Grand Mage was informing them of the visit, that Rumple wanted information on Jefferson and asking for permission to enter the Arcane University's library in exchange for the formulas to some of the new potions Rumple had invented. The communication crystal, which was actually just a small mirror about the size of Rumple's palm, she'd given them before they'd departed Ranga had come in helpful as it had allowed Gordana to inform them the request had been accepted; probably out of curiosity than anything else. Rumple had expected curiosity, wasn't every day the guildmaster of the Adventurers Guild had to invent a new rank.

Azzy brushed against Rumple's leg then and brown eyes peered down. Rumple had thought the animal asleep but instead he gazed up at Rumple knowingly; Azzy was far smarter than he let on. Having sensed the silent request, Rumple sized the white wolf up and summoned his blanket back from the wagon.

"Must be very easy being you." Rumple said quietly. "Fed regularly, never have to do anything but be tickled behind the ears by a beautiful princess and kind little girl. You are called Azadanes though, so that's a hardship." Azzy ignored him in favor of settling down on his blanket. Besides, his name was Rumpelstiltskin, so he couldn't really judge the waheela. "Belle is terrible at naming things, we all know that."

Rumple would have liked to look around Bichelberger but he couldn't risk putting any further distance between himself and Belle. In Ranga they'd figured out where the boundaries stood rather well, but Bichelberger was a whole new area with a very different topography. He remembered her screams back in the Osgar Hall Caverns and had no desire to ever hear them again. He'd hurt too many people he cared about in his life. He'd hurt Baelfire in the worst way and he supposed he'd even hurt Milah, not that Rumple wasn't naïve enough to think she was the only one responsible for destroying their marriage. Knowingly hurting Belle wasn't something he could allow himself to do, and nor would he make Amicia watch. So Rumple remained in the room staring out the window toward the Endless River where ships docked as he waited for his girls to return.

Didn't take long for a bath to be brought up and Rumple sat with is back to them while they bathed. Amicia giggled as Belle washed her lovely blonde hair and Rumple tried not to think of when Bae had been only four or five and he'd washed his son's hair for him. In the last week or so Rumple had felt as though Bae were closer than he'd been in decades, as though he were within arm's reach, but that was surely just the yearning of a foolish father. It had probably stemmed from Amicia's presence, he was a father again now; Rumple just hoped Bae wouldn't think he'd been replaced.

About an hour later, the girls had finished their bath and had donned fresh clothes. Amicia grinned happily, the sort of smile that warmed a parent's heart, and let Belle braid her hair. Since it was rather late in the day and the sun would think about setting before long, the trio opted to have a little look around the shopping district before they had dinner. The Arcane University could wait until the morning and Belle insisted it would be the more polite course of action. That was how the three of them ended up leaving Azzy to his nap and venturing back out into the streets.

Numerous apothecaries littered the streets all battling for customers, tailors that specialized in mage robes but it was, of course, the bookshop which drew Belle's interest. On their journey she'd been teaching Amicia to read and write, so Rumple had little choice but to follow his girls inside where they had a most in-depth look around.

His girls. Rumple wasn't entirely certain when he'd begun thinking of them as 'his' but he found he couldn't stop, he enjoyed that they were his girls. Once everything was right between himself and Bae, Rumple would find a way to introduce Bae to his sister because that was exactly what Amicia was now; the Dark One's daughter and Baelfire's little sister. 'One day, Rumple' he said to himself. 'One day everything will be right again'.

Eventually the time came for Rumple to rein his bookworms in, but only after they'd selected a healthy new collection which he sent to their room without a second thought. For the rest of their look around Belle held his hand which had Rumple internally preening. Back in the Enchanted Forest people would do all they could to avoid being seen with him and spent only the amount of time with him that it took to conclude a deal. However, Belle had no qualms with standing by his side, with letting the world know she loved him, and Rumple would forever be grateful for her.

Amicia hurried from window to window so she could see what was being sold inside, but it was the little candy shop which had her light up. Rumple purchased her a small bag of sugar mice then watched her sort the white from the pink so she could eat the somehow better pink ones last. He did at least get one of the little mice though, his sweet tooth had been rather pleased about that.

Only when the sun actually started to set did they turn around and return to their room at the Squiffy Mage for dinner. The place was lively but that didn't prevent Rumple from rooting out a quiet table at the back for himself and his girls. They ordered their meals and Belle excused herself a moment to take Azzy his bowl up, while Rumple happily listened to Amicia tell him the story of Antosha and his party slaying the last basilisk; apparently it had been the latest story Belle had read to the child.

Their meals weren't as flavorful as those Missus Potts prepared, though the tea was still better than the swill Chip forced on people. The roast venison had sated their appetites and, with a full belly, Amicia had soon grown sleepy. Rumple hadn't objected when Belle had decided to take her up to bed while he subreptitiously inquired if the innkeeper had seen Jefferson around the city. The answer might have been no but, for a shiny silver coin, the innkeeper had pointed Rumple in the direction of his wife who had mentioned something about a strange hat a few days before. Inge, who'd been in the kitchens doing all the cooking, had indeed seen a man fitting Jefferson's description and had only mentioned it to her husband because the top hat was so bizarre in Dreymyr. This was the only corroborated first-hand sighting of Jefferson since Belle had told him of the man's summoning and showed he'd been wise in his choice to travel to Bichelberger. The sighting had apparently taken place in the market, so Rumple asked for directions then headed upstairs just as Belle pulled the covers over Amicia. From all of the realm to a single city, Rumple would find the Hatter and then he'd find his son.

As he watched Belle read the little elf girl a bedtime story, he once again confirmed to himself that he'd make sure he returned to Dreymyr one day to see them again.