The intended plan may have been to head for Valdis' room so they could test the new talisman but, roughly half of the way there, one of Leotomas' underlings had spotted them and insisted they accompanied her to the Grand Mages' office as it was 'most urgent' as she'd put it. Rumple sighed but kindly did as asked. They followed the woman to the upper floor and into Demeer's office – a large room with an excessive amount of crooked windows in Rumple's opinion. The woman had simply pushed the door open for the pair, though it was only actually Rumple who'd been summoned, then darted away as though she had no intention of being part of whatever situation lay beyond the threshold.

More people stood inside than usual and he didn't recognize two newcomers. The second Ainsworth spotted the blond men he dropped into a low bow which had Rumple lift an eyebrow. Normally Demeer would have been seated at his desk but he'd instead chosen to remain standing which was another clear indication this wasn't any regular conversation. Phria had put more distance between herself and Cynthia than usual as well. No, Rumple didn't like whatever was going on inside Demeer's well-lit office.

"I take it from the bowing that they're important somehow?" Rumple questioned nobody in particular which had caused the younger blond with a neat beard to narrow his eyes in outrage that probably would have been far more intimidating had Rumple not been the most powerful man to ever live.

"How dare you?! You're speaking to the Princes of Yanhil."

Royalty certainly explained the fancy clothes and air of arrogance that dripped off the bearded blond. The other prince, a little older with stubble and a more buttery quality to his short hair, placed his hand atop his brother's shoulder which silence the outrage rather swiftly. At least one of these royals was level-headed.

"There is no need for that, brother."

Demeer gestured to Rumple once he'd dismissed Ainsworth – oh, had he been delighted to escape. For a man who really wasn't happy, Demeer hid it well.

"Your Highnesses, this is Rumpelstiltskin, the demon lord known as the Dark One."

The blond with the beard reflectively reached for his sword which had Cynthia smirk, but that hand on his shoulder tightened warningly before it released.

"Owen, Father sent us here to resolve this issue with words rather than swords."

"So," Rumple began as he clapped his hands together; he'd mostly accompanied the woman to Demeer's office out of curiosity after all. "What is happening here, dearies?"

Owen scoffed. "Such disrespect, it's to be expected from a demon lord."

They hadn't seemed surprised the Dark One had been wandering around the Arcane University; stabby, yes, but not surprised and that concerned Rumple. While he'd not exactly been hiding what he was, he'd doubted such a thing would have made it all the way to Yanhil's royal family without somebody highly aware of the situation informing them. Since he knew Belle nor Gordana were inclined to do such a thing, that narrowed his suspect pool down significantly. Leotomas was loyal to Maximilian Demeer above all else, so he was quickly ruled out, that just left Phria and Cynthia. 'And who out of those two hates my guts?' Yes, Cynthia Stonecrop was the guilty party. Still, Rumple didn't feel all that threatened by it, he could kill the princes should the situation call for it.

"Oh, you wound me, dearie, however shall I recover?"

Demeer sighed, he really didn't need Rumple's sarcasm making things worse for the Mages' Guild He'd have also really liked to have sat down, but Princes Horatio and Owen had preferred to stand which, according to etiquette, meant everybody else had to stand as well. Surely the best option was to just get on with it and hope the wrath of the unshakable Umbra family didn't come crashing down on them.

"It would seem Vice-Captain Stonecrop has taken it upon herself to inform King Nathaniel about our new … charge."

Rumple lifted an eyebrow, so she'd told them about Valdis as well. This was all about Stonecrop wanting Valdis dead, and apparently she'd decided to use the royals to strengthen her argument. Despicable.

Phria shuffled closer to whisper while Demeer offered Horatio and Owen a drink that was promptly refused.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know Cynthia would do this."

"Do what?"

Cynthia burst in then, brow furrowed into a deep scowl and voice filled with malignity she didn't even bother trying to hide.

"Done the right thing!" All eyes snapped to the outburst. "Ever since you showed up, this entire place and everyone in it has gone to the ogres. Our reputations have been disgraced. The Grand Mage is suddenly friends with a demon lord, the Valkyrie Captain has only descended further into incompetency and is now little more than a pushover who trails after a monster like a love-sick puppy. And now we're just letting monstrous creatures that should have been dispatched a week ago roam the halls like it's perfectly acceptable. That thing is a horrific monster! It already tried to destroy everybody once, took out half the courtyard and two levels of the vault with it. Who is to say it's not going to do it again and is just biding its time? Then again, you probably know that, don't you? Since you're a disgusting demon lord and all. We should have killed you the moment you arrived on principal in Drazva's name, not played nice. So yes, I went over the Valkyrie Captain's and Grand Mage's heads because I have no confidence in either of them any longer. It had to be reported to the King so he could finally get this insane asylum functioning in an orderly and holy manner again, starting with cleaving that thing's head from its shoulders."

Rumple reacted instinctively, his anger had bubbled so high during Cynthia's bigoted rant that he'd just moved without thinking and sent her flying back into a bookshelf which caused little Ognyan to scurry away to the next closest bookshelf. He'd hurt nothing but her pride despite the rage that bubbled inside him; maybe he would have killed her had Phria not rested her hand atop his forearm much as Belle often did.

Owen reached for his sword again as Cynthia pushed herself to her feet. "Is he even a demon lord? I could run him through so we can find out."

"Enough, Owen." Horatio verbally halted his younger brother. "The King entrusted me to get to the bottom of what is going on here and whether or not it endangers the kingdom and her people. I would like to do so logically and rationally." Horatio turned his piercing blue eyes to Rumple. "Now, you claim to be the Dark One, correct?"

"All due respect, Your Highness," said Demeer. "It isn't a claim. Rumpelstiltskin truly is the Dark One."

While the royals' attention was on Demeer, Rumple took the opportunity to whisper to an uncomfortable Phria.

"Phria." She shuffled closer. "Tell Ognyan to go find Belle. She may have some sway here."

The pantherian obeyed, she wasted no time muttering instructions to the white hamster who promptly darted out of the room at breakneck speed.

While Prince Owen was hostile and quick to whip out his sword, Prince Horatio appeared to have a far more pragmatic and rational approach to things. Fortunately for Rumple, Horatio was also the heir to the throne meaning he outranked Owen.

"You truly believe him to be the Dark One?"

Demeer nodded. "I do, Your Highness, I've seen proof of it. He's not like the legends suggest. Rumpelstiltskin isn't like that at all."

"Are you telling me that, as Grand Mage, you shall vouch for this man not being a threat to the kingdoms?"

"I will." Demeer answered without hesitation and frankly Rumple was surprised people had been so supportive of him. "Rumpelstiltskin likes his deals, yes, and he can be secretive but he is not a monster intending to destroy us."

Cynthia's eyes widened, she couldn't hold her tongue further. "You see what I mean, Prince Horatio? The Dark One clearly has the Grand Mage under some ridiculous spell. He probably has everybody under it."

Rumple's giggle drew everybody's attention then. "Well, then why didn't I put you under it?"

"My faith in Drazva protects me from your evil!" She snapped back, voice dripping with vitriol.

Owen might have entertained the idea of him keeping others under a mind control spell, but Horatio didn't seem the type to leap to conclusions or blindly believe others. He possessed a bureaucratic mind that valued logic and having all the facts, wasn't the sort to let emotions cloud his judgement. The sort of person who ensured he'd discovered every scrap of information so he could build the most informed decision. He ignored Cynthia because Horatio had quickly figured out the woman was a disrespectful racist who had no desire to see if there was more to the story than what the Church claimed.

"And what of this … creature I have been told about?" Yanhil's heir asked the Grand Mage. "We were informed it went on a rampage and turned part of the Arcane University into rubble before it was subdued."

Rumple had endued quite enough of hearing that sweet girl referred to as 'it' and wouldn't stand for it a moment longer; had he not objected in that moment, Phria would have.

"Firstly, dearie, she's a little girl, not a creature or monster. Her name is Valdis and you will use it. Secondly, you have been fed a very heavily redacted version of the truth by a woman who thinks status of birth outshines accomplishments and personal merit."

Horatio hummed a second in thought. He reminded Rumple of Victor Frankenstein, not in appearance save for the blond hair, but in the systematic way in which his mind functioned.

"Very well, Dark One, why don't you tell me the real story."

Cynthia's mouth opened to protest but a glare from her future king shut her down instantly, she might have been prejudice and opinionated, but she knew to put her shovel down when the prince glared. Meanwhile, Rumple sighed because royals were never anything but trouble in his experience; Belle was literally the only exception. Cora, Regina, Snow White, all royals who'd constantly gotten on his nerves whether it be by their quest for power or to strengthen their Goody Two-Shoes level. Phria offered him a tiny smile of encouragement – sweet girl, he regretted the cruel things Cynthia had said about her simply because she was a pantherian in position above her. If this was how the devout believers in Drazva acted, Rumple was eternally grateful he'd come across so few.

"Fine." He bemoaned dramatically; it had been a while since he'd had a good flamboyant flare. "When I first arrived in Bichelberger it was to … complete a task which required the University's assistance. As soon as I was inside the city walls I felt a pull, shall we call it, of dark magic. Only small and I couldn't place where it originated at first nor what caused it, but the entire time I was here it steadily grew stronger. Eventually the tremors began – I'm sure you've been made aware of those, the Church was making such a ridiculous sceptical out of it. In reality, the source had been down in the vault underneath us all along. So, a few Valkyries, led by the very capable Phria -" She blushed knowing he'd gone out of his way to praise her to the princes. "- and I went down to inspect it. Soon we found a sealed chamber which likely hadn't been opened in centuries. There we found an egg with a Draconic sigil scratched into the shell, it had been leeching dark magic from items down there the entire time to sustain the preservation spell on it. We speculated that it was the egg of Isra and Msiddi, the one that was apparently destroyed. Seemed it had been hidden away, probably because the spell prevented any damage to the egg. The traces of magic it had been absorbing were enough to sustain the spell and life inside the egg but not to hatch it. Dormant, dearie, it was dormant, or at least it was until the Hatter and I arrived. When we did there was more concentrated dark magic, he triggered the eggs awakening, had it sucking magic from anything it could which caused the earthquakes." Rumple paused a moment, he'd suspected Owen to be dense enough that it would take a few moments for the words to all sink in. "I'm the Dark One though, the most powerful source of dark magic this realm has ever known and, as soon as I touched it, the hatching triggered because it could finally absorb magic directly. The spell is old, couldn't have been designed to function for that long, so the magic was funneled into Valdis causing her extreme growth spurt which led to the vault damage." Rumple's unique eyes fixed on Horatio as a stunningly serious tone overtook his voice. "Imagine all that power ripping into your very soul. It was painful, dearie, painful and terrifying for a newborn girl. Valdis didn't attack because she's a monster, she attacked because she was in a delirious amount of pain and had people with swords flying around her head trying to kill her. Thankfully, Phria was smart enough to heed my words when I told her to call off the Valkyries so I could deal with the problem. I took back the excess magic shrinking her back down and easing the damage to her body. There isn't any way for her to absorb that magic again, I assure you, and, since she's not in agony, has regained her rational thinking."

Silence lingered for a brief time. The word monster conjured up horrid mental images of some terrifying being intent on chaos and evil, it was a word which caused even the kind to just assume they knew everything about such a being and that it needed to be slain for the greater good. All villains had a backstory, and most of those villains had begun with good intentions; Rumple himself had just wanted to stop children dying in a senseless war. The so-called heroes often forgot that. In truth there were no heroes or villains, only a perpetual state of gray. Everybody had the capability of both good and evil, the rest was just semantics and sophistry. Until people understood that it wasn't about everybody being as good as each other but rather as bad as each other, there wouldn't be any true progress in society.

"Everything he says is true, Your Highness." Phria told him unwaveringly. "All of it is in my report to the Grand Mage."

Rumple side-eyed Cynthia, the annoying cause of this little royal visit. "It seems that the Vice-Captain has led you to believe Valdis to be a savage beast, but the truth is far more mundane. She is naught but a terrified child who, in her first moments of life, suffered through horrific pain and then was attacked by highly trained warriors for the crime of being born." At that Prince Owen had the decency to look ashamed of his original desire to just kill Valdis and move on; perhaps he wasn't a trigger-happy dullard after all. "Since I removed the excess magic, she has had no violent outbursts at all and is like any other normal girl."

"Normal?" Cynthia scoffed. "That monster has a tail."

Firstly, the room grew confused because Phria had a tail but was still very much a normal person; though, in Cynthia's head demi-humans weren't fit to lick her boots. Secondly, Belle chose the perfect moment to appear because Rumple wasn't sure he could take much more social interaction without her angelic support. She entered the office with Ognyan atop her shoulder, though he quickly scurried to Demeer's desk where his head was tickled by a single finger of the Grand Mage's right hand.

"What is going on here?" Belle enquired. "What is all this yelling about?" Horatio and his brother seemed stunned for a few seconds because Belle was truly the last person they'd expected to see. They'd met her before in passing at various parties over the years, but hadn't had much to do with her since they were fifteen and twelve years older than her respectively. "Prince Horatio, Prince Owen, what are you doing here?"

Owen quickly gestured Belle closer but she didn't budge. "Princess Belle, come away from the Dark One."

She shook her head. "I thank you for your concern, Prince Owen, but I am quite safe beside Rumple."

That little ego boost caused Rumple to smirk, the beautiful goddess known as Belle was all his. Horatio caught the smirk, made a mental note of how relaxed his fellow royal appeared then cocked his head to one side like a man filing information into bullet points.

"Princess, are you telling me you will vouch for the Dark One as well?"

Belle smiled boldly, as though the blond had asked a ridiculous question. "Of course, just as I'm sure the Grand Mage, his adjutant and Captain Federlord will. I have all the faith in the world in him, otherwise I would never have agreed to marry him."

Numerous sets of eyes went wide; Cynthia recoiled in disgust while Phria's ears drooped despondently, and Demeer hadn't seemed surprised in the slightest.

"You're- you're going to wed him?" Owen stuttered.

The amusement was just too good to resist, he had to drive the nail in and watch Owen and Cynthia suffer. So, after a dramatic clearing of his throat, Rumple placed a possessive hand at the small of Belle's back and smiled dangerously.

"I am. Rumple asked and I agreed." Blue eyes turned to her fiancé. "What is going on, Rumple?"

"They're here to determine what Valdis is and if she should be killed, and to probably figure out if warring against me is a good idea."

Belle's head snapped back to the blond brothers. "What?! No, of course she shouldn't be killed. She's an innocent."

While a demon lord couldn't be trusted simply because he'd played nice for a while and gotten friendly with the Grand Mage, Princess Belle's noble and good heart had long since been established and understood by Prince Horatio. Therefore, Belle's opinions and words carried significantly more sway for him than Rumple's had. Horatio had grown up hearing the Church's stories about the Dark One and his crimes, but Horatio hadn't ever take abstract tales as fact. The man before him radiated power to the point his knees had almost begun shaking when they'd first met, however, Rumple had chosen to speak with them instead of just threatening or killing out of convenience. If that didn't say there was more going on then nothing would.

"I would like to see Valdis." Rumple had no desire to allow that, though he was grateful the elder Umbra brother had used her name. Horatio held up a hand non-threateningly when he saw Rumple's objections preparing to bubble forth. "If she is a little girl then she must be educated and treated with respect. Like Avonlea, we have strict equality laws, and cannot persecute a child simply because she apparently has a tail rather than legs. On the other hand, if she is a monster idly waiting to strike, I cannot leave the Arcane University knowing she is a threat to my kingdom. Bichelberger is the largest city in Yanhil save for Ursanyn, and I cannot ignore the possible fallout." Horatio glanced to a simmering Cynthia; this had not gone how she'd intended in the slightest. "I will agree, Dark One, that the story my father, brother and I have been given was a heavily redacted one, as you put it, so I would like to gather all the facts for myself and seeing her is the quickest method of doing that."

Rumple reluctantly agreed with a bit of quiet encouragement from Belle. The Umbra brothers, Belle and Rumple all departed for Valdis' bedroom with Phria at Demeer's order. Cynthia though, as she'd tried to leave, Demeer had thrown up a wind barrier and growled out 'a word, Vice-Captain Stonecrop' in a truly fear-inducing tone no one had known him capable of.

~X~

Upon pushing the door of Valdis' room open, they found Amicia and Valdis perched on the bed playing a card game Belle had taught the elf on their journey to Bichelberger. Azzy had been curled up at the foot of the bed but instantly shot to full attention when he caught the scent of the brothers, he snarled and growled as the two men startled – wasn't ever day one found a waheela in a bedroom – but a shush from Belle had him calm down. Azzy didn't settle though, instead he moved to keep himself between the newcomers and the girls. He'd bonded to Belle, they were friends, so he'd certainly protect her daughters.

Owen swallowed and did his best to resist the urge to reach for his sword while Horatio just took every scrap of information in. He saw Valdis subconsciously shuffle away from them, the way her long tail coiled around her like a protective wall. Although, it was the way she'd reached for Rumple and called him her papa that had Horatio finally realize how people like Belle du Marchand, Maximilian Demeer and Phria Federlord had been able to stand by such a man. 'Maybe he's not evil'.

Amicia hurried over to Belle who wrapped the girl up in her arms while Rumple comfortingly held Valdis' hand. Either of those men said the wrong thing or so much as moved too quickly and he'd kill them; he'd lost Bae, he'd not lose his daughters as well.

"Prince Horatio, Prince Owen," began Belle, the ever polite one of the pair. "These are my and Rumple's daughters, Amicia and Valdis."

It shamed him to admit it, but Cynthia had been right to some extent when she'd called Valdis a monster. There were monstrous aspects to the girl's appearance. At first glance she was a scary monster of black scales and wings, but monster wasn't a synonym for evil and just looking scary didn't give him the right to order a child's death; Horatio had every intention of being a king rather than a tyrant. Valdis shied away into Rumple's stomach as the elder Umbra's attention turned to the elf girl and waheela. If he remembered correctly, Princess Belle had the gift of taming magic which explained the gigantic wolf's presence, but that wasn't what held his interest. No, that was that Belle had been quite happy to leave the wolf and girl she'd called her daughter alone with Valdis; Belle trusted the lamia.

He sighed. Cynthia's letter had led them to believe the Dark One had infiltrated the Arcane University, controlled everybody and was summoning never before seen beasts as his servants. Honestly, they'd all feared another Zoniroh incident or worse. Things were hard for his father as of late, for all the Umbra family. Queen Xuxa had died taking their little brother with them and each day King Nathaniel seemed to die a little more on the inside. It had led to Horatio and his siblings taking on more duties and stress alongside their own grief. Owen just couldn't stop being angry all the time where before had been a fun-loving scamp always ready with a joke. Lalentina and Eliza had both faced resistance from the royal court due to their sudden increased involvement with Yanhil's politics since it was considered far from women's work. As for Horatio himself, as the eldest it had fallen to him to hold everything together. Then Cynthia's letter had arrived and everything had gotten a hundred times worse, he'd dreaded her claims being true but … Horatio didn't think they were. Some goodness. The world was still beautiful.

As children, Owen and Horatio had been trained by the former Valkyrie Captain, Iris Aspen, at the King's request. They'd been taught to resist dark magic and how to sense it, how to fight it. Horatio in particular had an awful lot of respect for the brave women of the Valkyries, so he was honestly appalled by the lack of respect and virtues Cynthia had shown. Her letter had made Valdis out to be a vicious guard dog for a heartless beast, it had emphasized the burden already on Horatio and his family and, to be perfectly frank, had disrespected the Stonecrop name. That letter had been filled with nothing but greed, hate and entitlement mascaraing as a noble endeavor.

Officially the Umbra family were followers of the Drazva faith and Horatio had no qualms believing a goddess had poured life into their world. What Horatio objected to was the Church's teaching that, since humans had been the first of the mortal races, they were better than and had every right to do with the demi-humans, elves and dwarves as they pleased. In recent years the Church's higher ups had become increasingly more hostile towards the other races, but it had mostly gone ignored. Yanhil treated demi-humans well for the most part, but when he became king he'd improve things further and take his sweet Lisbet as his queen, grasswalker or not. Yes, Stewardship was Yanhil's future if Horatio had anything to say about it.

Determined not to let the Church do any of his thinking for him, Horatio crouched down by the bed to give Valdis a soft smile as she clung to her papa.

"Hello, Valdis." He greeted. Owen just watched from the door with Phria. "My name is Horatio, but you can call me Tio. Is it all right if I ask you some questions?"

Black eyes turned upward to Rumple for reassurance that was quickly given, then she nodded. All Horatio asked was in regards to her first memories, how she felt since Rumple had removed the extra magic and if she knew where she was geographically speaking. Interestingly, when he'd asked her parents names she'd answered with those of the Dark One and Princess of Avonlea, she didn't seem to have any innate knowledge of Isra, Msiddi or her brother. Eventually he'd had no choice but to conclude that Valdis was only a little girl, just a kind they'd not seen before. The only threat she posed was if she were to get upset and her papa sought revenge over it.

Belle made mention of the talisman then, a necklace intended to give her human form designed and constructed by Rumple with hints from an old dragon story. Such a thing couldn't have really existed surely.

"Actually, Ainsworth and I finished it."

Out from the Dark One's pocket came a necklace made of braided gold with a mostly ovular piece of onyx in the centre. It seemed a little big for a girl of Valdis' age, but Rumple had needed the room to engrave the intricate symbols into. Carefully, it was slipped around the child's neck and for a split second nothing happened. Then, with a whoosh and spiral of magic, Valdis' tail morphed into a pair of legs beneath her gray dress. Instantly she toppled over as everybody but Rumple gasped in shock, he steadied his daughter as she began to cry and waggle her new toes on the bed. The wings remained but that was no surprise; Rumple's and Ainsworth's talisman was an imitation of one in an ancient story that may never have existed to begin with.

Belle, Phria and Amicia quickly rushed to Valdis to comfort her crying and celebrate her papa's triumph. Meanwhile, Owen walked to his older brother with a scowl.

"Am I going insane, Tio? What is happening? He's the Dark One."

"He may well be, Owen, but look at them, actually look. All I see is a family rather than a demon lord and his minions or hostages. You know how much Mother's death has hurt all of us." He turned to his brother. "What right do we have to take their family from them? There are no monsters to be found here, Owen, just people doing their best." Admiration, that was the feeling inside Horatio. He admired how people so different, one with such an evil reputation, had bonded despite their clear differences. Horatio cleared his throat drawing everybody's attention to him. "Thank you, we have seen everything we need to for them moment. I would like to speak with you and Princess Belle later, Dark One, perhaps over dinner?"

Belle had promptly agreed for them and the two royals had excused themselves, but Rumple verbally halted them before the door could be opened.

"What will you tell your king?"

"The truth," Horatio answered plainly.

Phria caught sight of Belle's sapphire ring then, the sapphire Rumple had instructed Marlow to find such a short period of time ago with her at his side, and quickly fled under the guise of escorting the brothers. Belle sighed and Rumple finally took notice of the pantherian's strange behavior.

"What is suddenly wrong with her?"

"Have you seriously not noticed in all the time we've been here?"

For a man so smart, he was surprisingly oblivious.

"Noticed what?"

That moment wasn't the time for such a conversation, so Belle just pulled him closer to enjoy an indulgent moment as a family. Eighteen and she'd already got two daughters and the love of the Dark One, Belle had done rather well for herself.