WARNING for some minor sexual assault at the end. It's none of our main characters.
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It hadn't taken Rumple and Belle all that long to figure out what Sumner Cem and Xan Xaver were up to, frankly a dumb cat could have worked it out. With Earl Xaydrian Xaver ill and growing steadily frailer, his only son Xan had taken over much of the daily duties despite his younger sister being a much more suitable candidate. Xan was greedy, conniving and thought more about lining his own pockets than how his people would continue to feed themselves or even the reputation of his family name. Meanwhile, Sumner was ruthless enough to beat people into submission: regrettably they made the perfect team. While Xylda saw to their father's care, Xan had increased taxes, let City Watch standards plummet and installed Sumner Cem as his partner in crime. Due to the horse trade, Crystella was an exceptionally wealthy city and the two had realized that one stable monopolizing all that wealth would be no small thing. The City Watch commander was, of course, in on it and let Cem do as he pleased as long as his palm got greased often enough and this had unfortunately resulted in the honest Watchers all being either killed, fired or threatened to a standstill. It was one such threatened guard who'd filled in a few blank areas for the pair, specifically what Xan and Cem wanted to do with quite so much money: slaves. The slave trade was huge and had made some extremely rich. All the land they'd stolen from other horse breeders would quickly and quietly be converted into warehouses for slaves that would continue to swell the coffers of criminals.
Knowing that only somebody of equal rank or higher would be able to actually put an end to the situation and that Belle carried no sway in Cylvera, Rumple had ensured the Watcher they'd spoken with would be willing to repeat everything and hand over the evidence then made a bee-line for Lady Xylda Xaver. Throughout their short investigation people had said nothing but good things about the Earl's daughter, the denizens had spoken of her caring nature and mind for negotiation, of her consideration for those less fortunate and loyalty to her ageing father. Of the way she treated the less fortunate children like her own. Frankly, Rumple thought this woman sounded a lot like Belle, though he'd never voice that.
Creeping through the Xaver mansion had proven to be really rather easy, but most couldn't teleport through an open window and passed guards until they found what they were looking for. Exiting her father's bedchamber they found Xylda Xaver, a tall woman with blonde hair dusted with golden highlights. Her mouth opened to let out a scream as she tugged the two young boys with her behind her skirts, but Rumple silenced any noise with a hand over her mouth.
"None of that, dearie." He commanded quietly while Belle glanced around the halls to ensure nobody had seen them. "We aren't here to rob or kidnap you. Your little ones aren't in any danger, I assure you." Xylda simply pulled her boys closer. "If you're as smart as the people in this city say you are, then you're fully aware your brother is up to something." That got her brow to furrow because of course she knew Xan had done something. "I can give you the evidence to make it stop. I have no want for gold or gratitude, all I ask is you listen to what I have and then use it to have your brother, Sumner Cem and that City Watch commander arrested."
Slowly he removed his hand and backed up a step so he was flanked on one side by Belle and Azzy on the other. The children clung to their mother while she regarded the strange demon before her. Xan had always had a selfish nature, she'd known he'd be a terrible earl and the raising of taxes had just been yet more proof. Xan had been hiding something since their father had gotten sick, but with her husband away, caring for her sons and father as well as attending to her charitable acts, she'd not had time or resources to decipher just what evil he'd come up with. John-Anthony Rosengarten, though loving and devoted to his wife, was Cylvera's justiciar and so almost never found time to leave the capital. On many occasions John-Anthony had suggested Xylda and the boys simply moved to the Silver City, but she'd not wished to leave her father with him ailing. All that said, this bizarre demon who'd broken into her home with his slave and pet might have been her only chance to help the people of Cyrstella though.
Xylda nodded. "Very well, please come with me and we shall discuss it."
The woman carried herself with grace and elegance as she guided them down a few halls into her sitting room. She instructed her two sons, Xavier and Xenos – apparently X names were a tradition of this family – to play out on the balcony then took a seat and gestured for her guests to do the same.
"Please, leave no detail out and kindly start with your names, I like to know whom I'm talking with."
So Rumple explained and Xylda listened intently to everything her brother and Cem had put the city through and just what horrors they had planned for the stolen land. Belle peppered the conversation with opinions and polite comments to balance out Rumple's rude habits and, steadily, Xylda came to realize these intruders had actually gotten everything in order to crush plots and ploys of Xan and Cem, they just needed a noble respected by the city to enact everything. Xylda was more than happy for that noble to be her.
"Very well, Rumpelstiltskin, I shall do as you ask. You told me you had no want for gold or gratitude, but surely you want something in return for your hard work."
"A favor, just agree to owe me a favor and we have us a deal, dearie."
Xylda's brow furrowed deeply. "What sort of favor? I shan't do anything illegal, licit, sexual or that involves my children for you."
"What sort of monster do you think I am?"
"Forgive me, I simply meant there should be boundaries to this favor,"
Rumple liked Xylda, she'd not left herself at his mercy and he respected those smart enough to do that.
"That is perfectly fine. I agree to your terms, do we have a deal?"
The moment she agreed, Rumple knew he'd be getting his hands on that stallion Torsten had promised. Their deal was concluded, he had a favor to claim if he needed it and was one step closer to getting back to his son. However, when he stood up intending to leave, Belle pulled one of her revival potions out of her bag and offered it to the blonde.
"I'm not sure what your father's illness is, but Rumple's potions are very strong and cure just about anything."
"That is very kind of you, but my father suffers from old age and no amount of potions or healing magic can cure that."
Rumple shrugged. "Give him the potion anyway. Like Belle says, my potions are strong and will significantly slow any issues caused by old age."
Rumple paused: did he, the Dark One, the First Demon Lord – yeah, he'd started to like that title – actually just be nice to somebody without making a deal? He should have told Belle to put the potion away and teleported them over to Torsten's stable, but instead he'd pointed out potion benefits and let Belle hand it over to Xylda. That pondering lingered with Rumple even after they adjourned to the Luscious Leaf for tea while they waited for Xylda to put their plan in motion. Dreymyr had changed him, made him more like his human self.
Turned out the potion had gotten Earl Xaydrian on his feet in less than an hour and, alongside his daughter, had issued arrest warrants for Xan Xaver, Sumner Cem and all the Watchers they been able to prove were in on it, and word got around the city fast. Xan's wicked ways had been ended, Xaydrian had recovered and promptly named his daughter as his successor. The Xaver family had redeemed themselves.
Having completed his end of the bargain, Rumple sought out Torsten at his stable with Belle and Azzy. They found the man chatting to one of his stablehands, a muscular half-elf with silvery blond hair all the way down his back kept neatly in a braid. Rumple didn't announce himself, simply stood there looming as was his way.
Belle might not have voiced it to him, but she was proud of how he'd handled their impromptu quest in Crystella. When they'd first met he'd used every other sentence to remind her he was the Dark One, the First Demon Lord and an all-round monster, but Belle had read about the crimes of demon lords. Halinox had favored corrupting people's sense of self and used them like mindless puppets to kill, maim and torture whomever he damn well pleased. Later, Ivosanch had attempted to subjugate and enslave all in Dorovoth, Gralia and Cylvera – and would have succeeded had the deadly Shay-El Ta not been enacted but, of course, that had also caused the Black Claw Chain to erupt and part of the largest island still lay in ruins. Then there was Ravavena who'd fooled everybody into thinking she had a heart but had just used it as a smokescreen to gain more power: people didn't call her the Little Disaster for nothing and she'd certainly earned her cell at Akula Prison. The three of them were demon lords, savage, perfidious and cruel people, but the Dark One wasn't and Belle continued to see more evidence of it. Rumple would persist in playing everything off as him just wanting a free horse, but Belle knew better.
Finally Torsten Tinsen spotted them and did his best to hide the fright their sudden appearance had given him. He patted the long-haired half-elf on the shoulder comfortingly before he headed over to complete his end of the bargain; after all, nobody broke a deal with Rumpelstiltskin.
"I have fulfilled me half, dearie, and suggest you do the same."
Torsten nodded. "Word of Sumner's arrest and the warrant out for Lord Xan has circled around the city twice over. I don't know how you did it but I thank you for it. Lady Xylda arrived personally to oversee the City Watch commander's arrest and deliver her father's orders for who should temporarily replace Commander Ronson – she's always been a good one has Lady Xylda, takes after her father."
"Yes, lovely." Rumple honestly couldn't have cared less. "The horse, if you please."
Belle rolled her eyes. "Ignore him, rude seems to be his resting state."
"After all you and he have done, Miss Belle, he can be as rude as he wants." Said Torsten with a small chuckle.
The first time they'd met, Torsten had seemed like an exhausted man about ready to give in and let the world defeat him, his dark eyes had been sunken and his voice dominated by bitterness, frustration and concern for his young daughter. However, with the arrest of Sumner Cem and the warrant out for Xan, he'd regained his energy and looked practically vivacious. A weight had been lifted from Torsten's soul and probably the rest of the Tinsen family as well.
Rumple cared not for platitude so insisted they be taken to their reward and Torsten wasted no time, he guided them through to the very back stall where their reward stood eating from a bag of oats. He was a jet black stallion with a long mane and white star. The majestic creature was strong – beautiful really – but the horse's coat gave him away as being more than horse, it was thicker almost like that of a seal. Rumple had heard many legends about kelpies but hadn't ever actually seen one, the horse before him was probably as close as he'd get.
"This is Svadilfari." Torsten announced with a smile. "I'll have him saddled for you, think of it as an extra thank you."
"That's very kind, Mister Tinsen."
Rumple remained silent because he'd not quite gotten over the horse's name. What was it with Dreymyr and the odd names? And that had come from a man named Rumpelstiltskin.
After Belle had thanked the black man a handful more times, Svadilfari had been saddled and Rumple helped her up so they could leave Crystella. Of course he could have just used magic to return them to Ranga, but that would have aroused suspicion they could have done without, so Rumple opted to exit the city, head down the lane then use his magic once out of sight. That had been the plan but, unfortunately, it was thrown off when they found a red carriage outside the gate holding the Xaver family crest – a reared stallion on a golden field – and a guard informed Rumple: 'Lady Xylda wants a word'. Curious, Rumple slipped into the carriage while Belle waited with Azzy and Svadilfari.
The carriage blinds were down keeping any curious eyes from peering inside and Xylda had been embroidering to pass the time. As someone who'd spent forty-odd years making thread prior to the whole Dark One thing, Rumple instantly took notice of how gently the blue dye had been applied as well as the exceptional quality; a thread to be proud of, that was for damn sure.
"We were done, dearie." He pointed out once the carriage door was closed behind him. "What do you want?"
Xylda smiled as she set her embroidery down in her lap. "It is refreshing for someone to speak to me so bluntly, casual conversation is not something I can often partake in. Because of you, Crystella has been turned on its head, and I found myself wondering how a simple demon and his slave could unravel something those living here had failed to do. Xan is my elder brother, I have known him all my life and should have seen the darkness inside him, because I didn't I failed my people." Silence lingered a moment before the blonde woman moved the subject along. "Though, like I said, I wondered how you managed all of this. I don't know if you are aware, but there is an Adventurer's Guild building in this city due to us being more or less in the centre of the kingdom. I employed some of their men to aid in arresting Mister Cem and Commander Ronson."
Rumple sighed. "Just get to the point, dearie."
"Very well. While there I saw a very strange wanted poster issued in Avonlea and it made me want to ask you two questions. Since we are speaking bluntly, I'll just come out and ask: Are you the demon wanted for stealing something of value from Kalecaster Castle in St. Claes?"
Rumple leaned forward with a smirk, in a single second he could have Belle, Azzy and their new horse back to Ranga, but he wanted to know what the smart Lady Xylda had to say.
"And what are you going to do about it if I say yes?"
"Nothing." She shrugged a single shoulder. "Your potion saved my father's life and you have freed my city from a horrid fate, that has earned my silence. Also, something tells me it would be wise to have you as friend rather than foe."
"You said you had two questions."
"The other comes from me doing some guesswork. The contract states only that you stole something from Avonlea, something they very much want returned. I have always been very good with names, probably comes from my family's insistence on starting all our names with the letter X, so it didn't take me long to wonder if your slave Belle is actually Princess Belle."
"That's not a question, dearie."
"Is the girl enslaved to you part of the du Marchand royal family?"
"Blunt indeed." Rumple leaned back in his seat. "She is Avonlea's Princess, yes."
Again that silence lingered, somewhat longer this time and cogs could practically be seen turning in each of their minds.
"You saved my father and city, that has earned my silence for who you are, I shall give you my silence in regards to the location of Princess Belle for free. I am not a greedy woman, sir, I am grateful for the things I have and the health of my sons, but I am not some demure mouse who knows nothing of politics. Tensions between Cylvera and Avonlea have always been … strained to some extent, and while Queen Kotryna seems content to allow that to continue, I am not. I prefer making friends to making enemies. Since Princess Belle's situation does not seem forced and, despite your almost rude candor, you treated me with respect. I wish to have you as a friend."
"I don't do friends, dearie, and can anybody truly be friends with someone they're indebted to?"
"Oh, I doubt that will be a problem." Xylda took a breath. "I don't think you'll find many allies in Cylvera, especially amongst the noble families, so why should we not band together?"
Xylda Xaver had a point, having an earl's daughter on side was no small thing, especially now she knew about Belle, and, like she'd said, Crystella was in the centre of Cylvera making it strategic for him. There was one thing he wanted to gauge her reaction to first though.
"What do you think about demon lords?"
The blonde's brow furrowed deeply because it had been such a random question in her mind.
"I don't devote much time to contemplating them. Although, I suppose I would say that they are extremely powerful individuals who likely begin with altruistic goals only to become misguided. I don't believe anybody is inherently evil, sir. Why?"
"No reason." Rumple found himself impressed by her answer, this woman truly had her own way of viewing the world much as Belle did and stayed true to herself. "Very well, we shall be friends, but don't go expecting much."
"I can do that. Sorry for taking up your time, have a nice day."
Well, that was one of the more polite ways he'd been dismissed in his life. Having indulged in their clandestine conversation, Rumple slipped out of the carriage as Xylda took up her embroidery again and joined an impatient Belle. Of course she insisted on being told exactly what had gone on and Rumple saw no reason to keep it from her, so he relayed the tale as they put distance between themselves and the city. Belle rode Svadilfari while Rumple and Azzy walked alongside them as they discussed if having Xylda Xaver as a so-called friend would actually be beneficial or not. Belle had the opinion that friends in high places were always friends in high places and good to have, something Rumple agreed with. Xylda owed him a favor, it was there should he ever have need of it, and Rumple did like being prepared above all else: nobles to exploit was always useful.
Svadilfari turned out to be a fine horse as Cyrstella faded into the background, he was eerily large but surprisingly gentle and Belle had taken a clear liking to him. Also, with Svadilfari, or Svad as Belle quickly nicknamed him, Rumple wouldn't have to put quite so much strain on his magic by leapfrogging the landscape.
Once they reached roughly the area they'd discovered Azzy in, Rumple transported all four of them back to the familiarity of Ranga; or, more specifically, the main lobby of the Adventurer's Guild which caused the receptionists and few adventurers loitering around up jump out of their skins. Rumple cared little for the panic he'd caused, so simply strode to Maylea while Belle hopped down from Svad.
"Afternoon, dearie." He greeted without any real feeling towards the grasswalker. "I'm going to need you to give me access to the Guild's stable."
Maylea's long ear twitched, a clear sign of her annoyance at having a massive horse and dog in her lobby – oh if only she'd known that dog was actually a waheela.
"Our stable is at the west gate."
Rumple quipped: "Well, I didn't think it was under your desk."
That long ear twitched again. At first Maylea had feared Rumple but over time she'd just come to find his cavalier attitude irritating more than anything else. Still, she was the deputy head receptionist for the Guild's headquarters and would not let her standards slip.
"Would you like to pay weekly, monthly or is this a one-off thing?" She asked with a practised smile.
Rumple didn't miss a beat. "Monthly will do."
Wanting the horse Belle had a good hold on out of her lobby, Maylea quickly pulled out a large book bound in black leather from the shelf behind her reception desk and flicked through to the appropriate page. In looped handwriting she made note of Rumple's name, rank and a brief description of Svad, which seemed to consist only of 'massive, black with white star', and Svad's name of course. As soon as Rumple had signed the book, Maylea handed him a wooden pass that he peered at suspiciously.
"Give that to Calvin when you stable your horse."
"Lovely." He pocketed the pass then leaned against the reception desk uncaring there was an enslaved princess, giant horse and shrunken waheela behind him. "I heard some of the other adventurers talking about a storage system offered here. Tell me about that."
"It's rather self-explanatory. You can either rent a crate in one our store vaults under the building or rent an entire vault. We charge a monthly rent of fifty-five coppers for a crate or two silvers for a vault. The vaults are only accessible by a single guarded staircase inside the building and spells have been placed to protect your valuables. We have never been robbed and don't intend to be."
Back in the Enchanted Forest, Rumple had inherited the Dark One's vault and even he wasn't sure just how big it was, so two silvers a month sounded rather reasonable for the next best thing.
"And I can put anything in there?"
Maylea nodded. "Anything as long as it isn't alive or prone to rotting."
"I'll take one of your vaults, but I want to see it for myself."
"Most do. You should know, your first month's rent is to be paid upfront."
Rumple didn't argue, he'd expected for the first month's payment to be demanded right away so just tossed Maylea two silver coins while Belle started to grow impatient. Out came a second book, though this one was bound in green, and Maylea scanned through it until she found an available vault.
"Vault 113 is vacant." She glanced to Svad. "Please stable the horse before I show you the vault."
Flamboyantly, Rumple spun around and muttered something about having forgotten Svad even existed. Alarmingly fast he, Belle, Azzy and Svad all vanished only for Rumple, Belle and her new friend to reappear a moment later as though he'd not scared the life out of poor Maylea enough for one day.
"I'm horse-less."
"Yes, thank you. If you'd like to follow me, I'll show you to your vault."
The stairs down below the building were narrow, spiraled and uneven, all made of some kind of sandy stone that hadn't wished to be turned into a step. Belle nearly tripped as they descended only for Rumple to catch her by the elbow at the last second and poor Azzy struggled due to his change in size; walking after being shrunk was one thing, but heading down a winding staircase was quite another.
"Rumple, could you please put Azzy back to his proper size?"
For a moment he wondered if the adolescent waheela would fit in the stairwell at his full size, but Belle's pleading eyes had him waving his hand to scale up the wolf in less than a second. Back to normal, Azzy stretched and began to wag his tail happily. Meanwhile, Maylea flattened herself against the wall as her eyes went wide.
"What is that?!"
Rumple shrugged. "A pet, apparently."
"His name is Azadanes, Azzy for short, and he's my friend not a pet." Belle insisted but Maylea didn't seem comforted by that.
"It's a -" Maylea gulped. "A waheela."
"Yes, yes." Rumple really would have rather gotten along with things. "The wolfie won't hurt you, dearie, so let's just go look at my vault."
After a moment to steel herself, Maylea escorted them the rest of the way to vault number 113, though did keep glancing at Azzy with poorly hidden terror.
The vaults were set out on either side of a long hallway with sconces roughly every ten feet. The right-hand side held even numbers while odd ones were on the left and guards patrolled constantly. The long corridor was built of a blueish river rock with each vault door being a kind of wooden portcullis, and whatever number vault they were in brass numbers on the wall to the portcullis' left. According to Maylea, the Guild had three more of these hallways which left Rumple estimating they had about three hundred vaults total. Eventually they reached his and the counterweight lifted the door once Maylea had slipped a small, pillar-shaped yellow garnet into a hole just under the brass numbers.
Rumple found the vault poorly lit so he pulled the flaming torch from its sconce and headed inside for a look-see. Of course the size was nothing compared to his other vault, but it went much further back than he'd anticipated – possibly twice the size of their room back at the inn.
"Surely this would be big enough for whatever you want to keep down here, Rumple." Belle reasoned. "I don't think my book collection could even totally fill this place."
He didn't believe that for a second, Belle collected books the way magpies collected shiny things. Rumple suspected the sun would fade from the sky long before Belle finished her reading list.
"The yellow garnet is the only key and it will only open this vault, so don't lose it otherwise you'll be charged a fortune to replace it." Warned Maylea as Belle and Rumple exited the vault and the torch was returned.
As soon as the garnet was removed the portcullis slammed down and Rumple could feel the wards keeping any contents safe. Grasswalker handed demon the key which was quickly slipped into his coat.
"I assume I can rent more than one of these should I want?"
The redhead nodded while Belle started to wonder just what he planned to keep in these vaults.
"If you'd like, but I can't promise you it will be close to this one."
Rumple didn't see that being a problem, he'd just wanted to confirm he could take up as many of these protected storage vaults as needed. Maybe he'd store his potion crafting equipment in there now he'd gotten the hang of Dreymyr's ingredients, it would certainly be a safer option what with Belle's constant presence and now that of Azzy as well. They weren't too deep under ground so maybe he could leave her in the lobby while he worked? That could all be determined at a later date, for now he'd secured a replacement vault just as he'd wanted.
While Rumple stared at the portcullis lost in thought, while Belle couldn't stop noticing Maylea's fearful mien. Belle and Rumple knew Azzy wouldn't hurt anyone unless attacked first or protecting Belle, but that didn't mean other people did and that was something Belle had allowed herself to overlook. Wolves weren't animals tamers often formed contracts with and waheelas even less so. The sudden patterns her companion began to draw in the air before his new vault drew Belle's attention away though.
"What is he doing now?" She mostly asked herself but Maylea offered up an explanation regardless.
"He's warding. Just about every mage who has a vault does it and I can't really blame them. It's like an extra layer of security."
She would have said more but Azzy stepped closer causing the grasswalker to back away instinctively.
"I promise Azzy won't hurt you." Belle tickled his white ears. "He's a good boy and he's my friend. I tamed him so there's nothing to worry about."
Maylea swallowed audibly. "Sorry, I've just – I've never done well with wolves. They terrorized my village growing up."
"Oh?" Smiled the princess. "Where's your village?"
"In Balmund, just north of Denchelle. Rowe village was a lovely little place … except for the wolves." Belle didn't need to be a royal to know Balmund was way on the other side of the continent and would have taken one hell of a voyage to reach Dorovoth; a wagon would have taken three times as long and Belle didn't envy her. "My papa was an adventurer and, after Mama passed, he decided Ranga would offer better quest pay and better schooling for me and my brother." She breathed out a laugh. "Phaethon's an adventurer now, Papa's shining son, but with a magic level of six I couldn't be of much use."
"Some are destined for greatness and others are here to hold down the fort." Belle teased which earned a small chuckle from the grasswalker.
"Not one for treks either." Gray-green eyes watched Azzy while Rumple finished his warding: one woman's fluffy sweetheart was another's savage monster. "Can – Could I pet him? It might help."
The half-elf nodded. "I think Azzy would be fine with that. He's a cuddle bug."
Nervously, Maylea reached out a hand toward Azzy's head right between his ears and stroked the fur there a single time before recoiling; once was her limit. Rumple's abrupt swivel caught the two women off-guard but not Azzy, the waheela just kept on wagging his tail happy to be with his new family.
"We're done here, Belle, time to find out how much having your fluffball at the inn is going to cost me."
Belle's brow furrowed. "Surely Missus Potts won't mind, tamers take animals into the inns all the time, I'm sure."
Rumple wasn't as convinced but remained quiet on the topic, just rested a hand on Belle's lower back and Azzy's head so he could move them all to the Teapot Inn leaving Maylea alone. The trio appeared on the inn's stairs where they spotted Chip at the bottom eating a sandwich, but he dropped it almost comically into his lap as soon as he spotted Azzy behind him. 'Should have maybe shrunk him back down' Belle's mind muttered to her.
"Chip," began the Dark One. "We'll be dining in our room tonight. Bring a bath up now and then after sundown bring two bowls of whatever is hot and tea your mother has made."
"Three bowls," stressed Belle which had Rumple sigh.
"Fine, three bowls and it had better be a big one."
Chip nodded, hands still raised as though the sandwich hadn't fallen in his lap. "Em, sure, but that – that's a damn waheela."
Rumple saw them getting this same reaction from everybody for the foreseeable future much to his chagrin. If it became a problem he'd just insist Belle left him hidden away outside cities or figure out a way to shrink him even further.
"He's bonded to me, he's not going to be a problem."
With a single burst of magic, Rumple shrunk Azzy back down to the size he'd been back in Crystella and flashed Chip a demonic smile.
"Just a dog, Chip. Just a wee doggie and I'm sure it won't be too hard for you to convince your mother to let him stay. I've seen dogs in here before. You make sure he can stay and I'm sure Belle will let you pet him all you want."
That oddly perked Chip up because he suddenly nodded apparently onboard with the whole idea. Chip had always adored animals, even as a small child, but work at the inn kept him busy and he'd never gotten the tamer gift.
Having sorted the Azzy situation for the time being, Rumple and Belle returned to their room with the shrunk wolf in tow. As usual, Rumple headed straight for the small desk where he rifled through his many books to learn all he could about kelpies and traits offspring of a kelpie and a horse would have since he'd become the proud owner of just such an animal. Meanwhile, Belle cracked the square window open to ease some of the stuffiness in the room and let Azzy settle on the bed for a snooze like some kind of house cat.
"Why did you even need a vault anyway?"
"I have one back in my realm full of useful items and materials that I could summon whenever needed. Now I have one here as well."
"Okay, so what do you intend to do now we have Svad?"
Rumple turned to face her with a determined expression. "Find the Hatter."
"Your friend who was brought here before you?"
"I'd call him a handy tool or acquaintance more than a friend, but yes. Jefferson is a realm jumper which means he uses spacial magic similar to mine. If we find him then I might be able to decipher how we get back. Having been here longer than me, he could have found something I haven't."
"I know you have Gordana hunting him down, but – well, I wondered if placing a quest to find him might yield results faster for you."
Yes, Belle wanted to help Rumple, but the sooner his half of their deal was concluded, the sooner he'd put a stop to Gaston, Tvon and the horrid things they were doing to Avonlea in secret.
Rumple shook his head. "Bad idea, Princess. As soon as Jefferson got wind someone was trying to locate him, he'd vanish and never be seen again. I need him to stay calm and think he's the only one from outside this realm. Spook him and we lose him."
She fell down to sit on the bed - not that Azzy noticed, he was already in a deeper sleep than most corpses.
"But he could be anywhere. There are ten kingdoms in Dreymyr, numerous islands and the Ogre Territory – all right, I doubt he's ended up there, but my point is he could be as far away as Damuel Island by now if his powers are like yours."
The only answer Belle got was one of Rumple's grumbles.
~X~
Gaston, the greedy and ambitious son of Duke Pierre LeGume, stormed out of his meeting with King Maurice and around a corner snarling as he went. In the beginning Maurice had been so pliable, but ever since Belle had been taken by the damn Dark One and Prince Lorrimer had taken a turn for the worst, he'd started thinking again – well, maybe not coherent, autonomous thought, but Gaston had certainly had to start working harder to have Maurice go along with his plans.
At the end of the hall he spotted Avonlea's court mage Haldor Tvon slinking towards his tower and the anger had Gaston grab him by his blue robe in an instant.
"What is happening?!" Gaston demanded. "The fat oaf has started questioning me. I can't have that, Tvon. What if he gives orders to the guards or starts to wonder what really got Belle taken?!"
Tvon didn't seem phased, just wore a smirk on his goateed face. "Terribly sorry, Gaston, but the Ring of Halinox is a strange beast. To be perfectly honest, I'm starting to think the thing has some kind of sentience. It's likely that the King is developing a resistance to it."
Suddenly Gaston fisted Tvon's midnight blue cloak again and smashed him backwards into the stone wall.
"Do not give me excuses, you carnival magician. If he has started to resist that damn ring then figure out how to make it stronger! I will have this kingdom for my own and Belle for my wife."
With a sadistic expression Tvon glanced down to Gaston's hands upon him and carefully rested his own atop them. At first the Duke's son just looked confused but all too soon his skin started to burn and he pulled away with a yelp and a childish wafting of his hands.
"Don't threaten me, Gaston." Tvon warned. "You want Avonlea and you'll get it, but I want so much more and, as irritating as it is, we need one another. I will not lose control of King Maurice, you can be sure of that. I suggest you focus on finding Princess Belle, after all, no princess means no Avonlea."
Gaston sneered: "Oh, that pretty face will be my wife, you mark my words."
"Your whore, you mean."
"Same thing, Tvon." Gaston chuckled. "I have people all over Dreymyr looking for her, it won't take much longer."
Even the blind rat down in the kitchens could tell Tvon wasn't convinced of that in the slightest. "It's already been months. Besides, the Princess isn't the real problem, the Dark One is. We need him on a leash but now he's free doing as he pleases."
"Don't you dare act as though this is my fault." Gaston thrust a finger out at the long-haired mage accusingly. "You're the one who was in charge of summoning him, not me!"
"Keep your damn voice down. You want our little coup to become public knowledge?" The two glanced around a moment to ensure they'd not been overheard. "Just find Princess Belle and the Dark One while I figure out how to bind him properly. Perhaps I can decipher a way to tame him since he's more animal than man."
Two of the Rose Guard came down the long hall then so Gaston and Tvon put some distance between themselves in an attempt to look less suspicious. They'd already pulled a good-sized number of men over to their side with a promise of gold and power, others had been quietly fired and a few just straight-up killed: that chamberlain of Maurice's had been one of the first forced out of the castle.
"I'll find the pair of them," said Gaston quietly – or at least as quietly as a man like him was capable of – then he stormed off leaving Tvon to straighten his cloak.
With their little altercation dealt with, Tvon continued his journey back to his tower muttering the entire way. 'Stupid, egotistical, crixx-brained idiot!' screamed his mind, 'the sooner I'm done with him the better. Thinks he'll have this kingdom, does he. No! He has no idea what is going to happen.' He climbed the tower steps slowly while laughing to himself at just how expendable Gaston LeGume truly was, and he had no idea.
When he entered the round tower room six sconces burst to flaming life and Tvon stood there a moment to just enjoy the quietude. Avonlea's Court Mage tower consisted of three circular levels all the same size: The lowest level was his living quarters, the middle level his laboratory and storage room and the top doubled up as a meeting room and somewhere for him to cast larger spells. The tower had two entries, the first was the one he'd used at ground level, while the other was high up across a long walkway of stone open to the elements. To be a court mage was no small thing, the Arcane University hand-picked them for each kingdom, but Tvon had always wanted more: his magic wasn't gold ranked for nothing.
Tucked into one of the dimly lit corners created by the ring of arches which lined the top floor, was a young pantherian chained by the neck to the wall and half naked, her head was lowered defeatedly and beside her lay the body of her sister. Calico ears drooped and Tvon couldn't keep the smirk off his face, he could practically taste her despair and it was wonderful! Always better than any wine.
"Come here, little bitch." Instantly her collar's jewels glowed green and she did her best to shuffle forward on weak legs until the chain binding her to the wall yanked her back. Tvon burst out laughing again, maniacal and sadistic. "Aww, did that hurt?"
Numerous bruises littered her frozen body, mostly around her throat, all at different stages of healing; some violent shades of purple and black while others were more of a nauseating green-yellow color. Unlike Gaston, Tvon's evil ran to significantly more dangerous places than greed and pride. Tvon enjoyed watching others suffer, especially women, and took great pleasure in torturing those who found themselves in his tower; so high up where only the birds could hear them screaming. Even when he left these victims got no respite for the enslavement collar took over punishing them for too great a distance between them and their morally bankrupt master.
He petted her ears softly, a gentle caress which only served as foreboding. "I've always liked pantherian ears." Tvon mused aloud. "So fluffy, so perfectly attune to hearing the slightest sound … so fun to cut off." The girl paled even more than she already had. "Tell me, little bitch, did you hear when your sister's heart stopped beating?" The girl said nothing so Tvon snared the chain in his large hand and yanked her closer so he could hiss in her face. "Answer me you pathetic waste of space!"
"Yes," the girl cried. "I heard it."
Another of Tvon's sadistic giggles escaped him as he finally released the poor girl who simply collapsed to the ground. If somebody had bothered to ask, she'd not have been able to say how long she and her little sister had been prisoners there. They'd been sold to slavers by religious zealots who'd lived in their village and decided they wanted a bit more coin for the winter, had been passed around from market to market, but none of that had been nearly as bad as the horror Haldor Tvon put them through. They'd not done anything to deserve such savage treatment, and now her little sister was dead, the little sister she'd been meant to protect. She wasn't even the only one. Down in the storage room of his large tower, Tvon had three other pantherian girls and one little merfolk girl who couldn't have been older than seven or eight. They weren't people to him, just commodities to be used as he pleased.
"I'll have to have you describe the sound to me some time." He straightened back up only to look down at her impatiently. "Remind me why I let you live." She didn't move. "Hurry the fuck up!"
With a fearful jolt she pushed herself to her knees, shaky hands reached to push his robe aside and unfasten the laces of his breeches and did her best to fight the urge to throw up, all while Tvon stared down at her with a wide grin. He'd used other pantherians to death, grasswalkers and half-breeds too, and once she'd died he'd use her as an offering to the Ring of Halinox just like all the others. Tvon just wanted to play with them all first. Baron Danyel Tvon, his older brother, might have been a good man, but Haldor certainly wasn't.