"Rumple?" Belle asked when he didn't respond. "Are you there?"
"Yes…yes I'm here," he answered though his mouth had suddenly gone dry. This plan that he had to get Belle and Henry out of Storybrooke...it was a good plan, he wasn't going to change it. But for the possibility of being well and truly free of the dagger, he wouldn't mind delaying it an hour or so. Despite the fact that it would mean there was more to do.
"Well? Can you help us?"
With everything that had just settled onto his plate. No. There was going to be too much to do. But he couldn't tell her that.
"I'm afraid not, Belle," he answered truthfully as Nimue stared at him with a beaming smile. "You'll need Light Magic for what you are attempting to accomplish, and any magic that I possess will be the opposite. But you'll be fine. Probably more help than I could be amid a group like that."
On the other end of the phone he heard her let out a snort of amusement. It distracted him from the plan that was ever evolving in his head, from the to-do list that was growing and changing and morphing. But one thing that was abundantly clear, that certainly would not be changing if he were to let this curse hit…Belle was going to need protection. From all that was about to happen and all he was about to do as well.
"However, Belle…I will be by in a bit to pick you up. Just in case this doesn't work, the fairies need to handle it, and you'll need to be safe. No matter what, I'll keep you safe."
This was the one part of the plan that he hated. In order to do what needed to be done it was going to mean that he'd need to stay within the borders of Storybrooke for a short time when the curse hit. There would be danger with that. But it wouldn't be long. Not long at all. He could keep Henry and Belle safe for that time. Hell, it might even help his story in the long run.
"Just…give me an hour or so," Belle asked him on the other end of the line. "Please, Rumple, if I can't see it through to the end, I need to know that there will at least be an end."
He sighed. Truly, he didn't want her anywhere near the fairies. He wasn't worried about the so-called cure; it wouldn't happen, not without Anna, and he had a very strong feeling that Anna wouldn't be coming, not since Ingrid had frozen Arendelle and her with it. But if he was going to make this work as efficiently as he could, then he needed time to plot it out too, make arrangements, work through details. Hell, he still needed time to finish the talismans! A couple of hours with Belle busy…it wasn't the worst thing in the world.
"I'll give you what the curse allows," he conceded before they said goodbye, and both got to work on their new plans.
Patience was his virtue, at least that's what he reminded himself as he stood there through the hour and continued to work on the talisman potion, continued to push his magic to its absolute maximum, and at the same time allowed himself to work through next new steps. Overall, he figured, the majority of his plan was intact. He would put Belle to sleep, put her in the car, put the necklace on her, get Henry, put him to sleep, and take them both to New York City. The only difference now was that they wouldn't be leaving before the Spell of Shattered Sight hit and, because of the time change, getting to Henry might be a bit of a struggle, but he didn't intend to do the fetching himself, so he didn't actually care.
For the fetching of Henry and for the enacting of the one aspect of this plan that would allow it all to happen, he needed one other-a certain pirate whose heart he was currently in custody of. And how lucky for that pirate, too, because when the Spell of Shattered Sight hit, without his heart in his chest, he too would be immune from its effects. And, knowing the last hour of the pirate's life would be filled with watching people he cared about tear each other apart and say the cruelest of things, or in Emma's case, fighting a battle she couldn't win…that was sweet enough for him.
His plan was simple. He gave Belle her two hours with the fairies, hell he gave her three! Just because he knew her well enough to know that if he went down there the second she called, he'd never get her out of the diner without a fight, and it might look too suspicious on her part. He didn't want this entire day to have to be erased by the memory potion, he wanted her to have memories helping, of him encouraging her to help. But once he finally got Belle out of there, he'd send Hook into the nest the fairies had constructed for themselves. And while he was sealing Belle inside of his shop, safe and sound with his magic, he'd have Hook wipe them out. When the sun went down and the sky was clear, he'd have Hook fetch Henry, who no doubt would be hidden but separated from Regina by that point. He'd meet them at the town line, perform the spell, and leave with the pirate dead and his family intact. The risk to Henry and Belle would be minimal through the night and once they crossed the town line the curse should wear off. They'd have a terrible headache for a few days after, but for him to be free of the dagger when they started their new life…worth it.
An hour later, when he was left with no choice but to leave the talisman potion steeping for some time, he left the house. Through the unnatural bond born of his possession of Hook's heart, conveniently hidden away in a bag he'd thought to pack, he summoned the pirate to the docks, hat in hand and arrived at the meeting place to find the pirate busy glancing between the sky and the water as if considering whether or not he could get himself safely out by boat. But as the pair of them stood there he felt a flare of magic in the distance that made the boats in the harbor shake.
Ice. Large glacier like bergs were rising out of the sea in the distance, growing by the second. He smirked. It would seem Ingrid had indeed thought of everything.
As he approached Hook he summoned a looking glass from the shop into his hand. Hook's shoulders visibly slumped when he saw him, and his expression turned dour in a way that made him smile. In the face of the oncoming curse, the pirate hadn't been attempting to run from him, now, had he?
"Trade?" he questioned, as if the pirate had a choice. Without waiting for an answer he plucked the hat from his hand without a fight and handed him the looking glass.
"What am I to be doing with this?" Hook asked in a bored tone as he settled the hat into his bag and then took a seat on a bench.
"Cast your eye out across the sea, to the very edge of what we know as Storybrooke…" he ordered as he got comfortable.
Hook took a step closer to the side of the dock and did as he was told. If the sudden racing of his heartless muscle was any indication, he was seeing exactly what he'd seen earlier. Magic rising from the bottom of the ocean, working to contain every living soul here.
"No fleeing by boat then," Hook muttered sadly.
"This Snow Queen is good, isn't she? Sit, lad," he commanded, giving the bench a pat. Immediately, his legs lowered him into the seat, and through their newfound connection, he felt him question whether he'd sat down because he wanted to or because he'd been told to. Shame this would be ending soon. He did rather enjoy having his nemesis under his thumb.
"Don't forget where your heart lies," he snarled to give him a hint. "Now, I have a job for you. You remember how this works."
With magic, he summoned the hat he'd just taken back and plopped it down upon the bench in between them.
"The hat? Not Emma..." he sounded almost relieved in his speculation.
"No, no, not this time. I have a better plan. Granny's Diner is being converted into a temporary hive for the vilest of creatures, the pious little fleas."
"Pious? The fairies?" Hook questioned.
"Just like any flying pests, if you wanna eliminate the infestation, it's important to get them all. Doing so will infuse this hat with enough power to allow me to cleave myself from the dagger and then leave this town with my powers intact, a suddenly urgent undertaking." At least, that was his hope. Perhaps before he left, he'd create another spell to amplify the power of Henry's heart. But, of course, that wasn't the topic of this little meeting. "Now, will you assist me?"
"You have my heart. You know I can't refuse."
"Indeed," he laughed, glad he'd finally caught on. "But here's the rub, dearie. My wife has just called to inform me that she intends to spend the day sequestered amongst said fleas. So, I need you to stand by while I get her out of the way."
"The fairies are working to stop the spell. You're killing the cure?" Hook asked with a mix of horror and realization that meant he didn't need to answer his question. Hook already knew it. "You do this, you condemn the entire town, and even your own grandson, to whatever happens!"
"No," he argued. "I'm not leaving Henry. I will take him, and I will take Belle, and I will leave this town to its fate."
"But Emma and everyone else…"
"I don't have time for everyone else," he admitted.
Sure, he'd love to do the right thing, be the man Belle thought he was, a man that he still fully intended to be when they got to New York. But today…today he had everything he'd ever wanted at his fingertips. Freedom from the dagger, a new life with Belle, Henry safe. Today called for a villain. He'd be a hero tomorrow.
"And if I have to choose between everyone else and me…'me' wins every time."
A sideways glance at Hook revealed an angry, pouting face that Baelfire had once worn when he'd told him he couldn't have dessert before dinner. He rolled his eyes.
"You can clench your jaw…and flash your eyes all you wish," he muttered as he pulled free his dagger and waved it over the box between them and allowed the hat to take shape for the Captain, "because it doesn't change the fact…that we're in this together."
Ugh...I hate that line. "If I have to choose between everyone else and me...'me' wins every time." I'm not saying that it isn't characteristic of Rumple to think that way somewhere deep in his soul. But it's just so unlike him to say something like that. He's not so obvious about how his mind works. I think if he was we'd have a very different character. Anyway, I hate that line but I did what I could with this chapter. I hope you find it acceptable.
Thank you, Rsbeall12 and Grace5231973, for your reviews on the last chapter. Hard to believe we are less than twenty chapters before the end. Thanks for sticking with me and reviewing so faithfully, it really does make a difference. Some housekeeping for you...unfortunately, I am directly in the path of hurricane Milton. I'm inland, but current projections have the eye crossing right over me sometime Thursday morning. This one is going to be hell, if I'm honest with you. We're all a little tense, all a little nervous right now. I've made the difficult decision to leave my apartment and ride the storm out with a friend. So, tomorrow, I'm going to try to post, but to be honest I'm going to be busy moving myself and my cats and everything precious somewhere safe. So, if I don't post tomorrow, I'm going to try and post Wednesday when there are curfews in place and I can't go anywhere anyway. If I don't post for a while, then you should assume I lost power and internet. There is an individual, they go by RolfB, they know how to get in touch with me a little easier outside of FFNet and AO3; after the storm if I'm out of commission for a bit, I'll ask them to leave a comment on my behalf with plans. As soon as I can I'll be back to posting and I'll adjust the schedule after that. We did this with Irma a few years ago. Floridians are resilient, and our infrastructure is built for this. But please, if you are a praying kind of person, pray the storm weakens. If you are a good vibes kind of person, send 'em our way. Until next time, whene'er that may be, Peace and Happy Reading!