A/N

This is an isekai inspired fantasy story which may be a little difficult to follow for anyone who isn't familiar with the isekai concept. Therefore there is an information chapter explaining the original realm I've designed as well as a full map and portraits of the original characters/places I'll be introducing over on the A03 version of this story.

WARNING: Slavery is a main theme in this, as is religious intolerance. There are a few torture scenes which will not go into graphic detail and mentions of child abuse and neglect throughout.

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Often days would bleed into one another – hell, summer was suddenly winter or whole years had slipped by without Rumpelstiltskin really taking all that much notice, and it had been that way for roughly three hundred years. One could afford to ignore entire years when one was immortal, when one was the Dark One. Only two things kept Rumple from slipping entirely into madness any longer; his deals and the thought of finding his beloved son some day. Those two things grounded him and kept his brain sharp rather than lost in an abyss of madness with no chance of escape, with only the sadistic Darkness muttering to him. The former was what had caused Rumple to leave his castle on the afternoon of whatever day it turned out to be; a deal to bring him one step closer to getting a rare ingredient he'd suddenly found himself in need of to coax a deal out of a rather irritating farmer. It would be a quick day of dealing and he'd stick to his usual checklist: appear scaring the locals out of their tiny minds, giggle maniacally, toss out a not so veiled threat if someone was dumb enough to threaten him, announce his favorite catchphrase and make what he wanted in return abundantly clear.

However, when he began to teleport himself over to Arendelle, something most peculiar happened. Another dark magic grabbed him bodily with an icy grip and hauled him sideways, up and down, back and forth, like a toy ship in a tempest and Rumple couldn't do a damn thing to free himself. Whenever had him gripped tight and refused to let go; whatever had him had sunk its teeth in; whatever had him reminded Rumple he was a coward. A soft female voice spoke words too distant to make out and, just for a moment, her voice eased his panic like a mother comforting an ill child. Instinctively his sharp claws scrambled to latch onto something, anything, but in a teleportation spell there wasn't anything to cling to for safety. For a split second he'd assumed this sudden violence to be down to Regina or perhaps that prissy Snow White and her somewhat temerarious prince, but none of them would have been able to cast a spell so powerful. All he could do to protect himself was to throw up a reflection spell so any attack that came his way once he arrived wherever he was being pulled, bounced right off.

When he got hold of whichever overachiever had got the audacity to do this, they'd rue the day they'd been born.

As quickly as it had all begun it ended, and Rumple flopped down onto a hard stone floor which had something drawn in charcoal, wax and blood if the smell was any indication. He coughed and blinked rapidly because why the hell was it so bright all of a sudden? There was an unforgiving acrid taste in his mouth. Birds chirped distantly – oh, that was why it was so damn bright, he was outside away from his shadowy natural environment. Something was terribly wrong; his body felt heavy and magically weak. Rumple pushed himself to his feet and looked around to find himself stood on the top of a stone tower surrounded by a vast landscape of gentle hills he didn't recognize. It wasn't Arendelle and it certainly wasn't the Dark Castle, but, more importantly, there were several men before him, maybe seven to ten, all staring at him as well as a single woman in a golden gown on her knees while she yanked furiously at something around her neck.

"He's not enslaved!" Announced a man Rumple took to be the leader since he was dressed in the find garb of a noble and had a nose carefully practised to turn itself upward. "Capture him!"

Before Rumple could even ask what this particular group's reason for hating him was, a few of the braver men had all started throwing fireballs and what seemed to be lighting at him, while others at the back let loose arrows. Thank forethought for that reflection spell because the fire and electricity bounced right off. Rumple tried to make a barrier with his usual flamboyance … but his magic didn't work and one of those arrows embedded itself in his shoulder as the reflection spell weakened and died. Confused, angry and with more fear than he'd felt since he'd been mortal, Rumple yanked the arrow out and tossed it aside on the floor, then rushed at the closest armed man to steal his sword as the wound healed itself. He didn't know what had happened, where he was or why his omnipotent magic had suddenly abandoned him but, with immortality on his side, Rumple managed to work his way through the attackers until they were all dead or dying; Rumple didn't possess any skill with a sword, but he was agile and immortal. The well-dressed man and another shrouded in a long midnight blue robe reluctantly fled through the only doorway and a boulder grew out of the ground to block their path. He dropped the sword and simply gazed at the boulder with astonishment, it was as though it had been birthed by the stone walls and floor before his very eyes. That wasn't how magic worked, Rumple had spent hundreds of years studying magic and nothing he'd ever come across said such a thing was possible.

"Where the devil am I?" He questioned with a hiss as he looked around the lush landscape surrounding the tower, but then his eyes fell on the woman still with her hands to her throat and slumped on the dusty ground. Her dress was golden and lavish even by the standards of nobles; it was also wildly inappropriate for such a location. Rumple cared little for her attire though, so strode towards her determined to get some damn answers. "Who are you, dearie? Where am I, and how did you summon me?"

When she peered up at him his heart stereotypically skipped a beat because she may well have been the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. Long chestnut locks which hung in loose curls, pale skin and eyes like polished sapphires. No, beautiful didn't do this woman justice even if those lovely eyes were filled with unshed tears.

"I'm sorry." That was the voice he'd heard when the summoning had taken hold, there wasn't any mistaking it. "I'm so sorry. They made me do it."

Now with her head lifted, Rumple could see what she'd been struggling with, a metal collar around her throat with some kind of pattern and green stones on the front. It appeared to be a type of steel and seemingly made of several strips of metal rather than a single continuous ring, to be honest there was something almost flimsy about it but the girl couldn't shift the collar even an inch. There was no apparent clasp and though there was something akin to a sigil cut into the back, Rumple didn't recognize it.

"Why are you sorry?" He questioned impatiently. "And what is around your neck?" Though clearly afraid of him and totally defenceless, the girl – because she was little more than a teenager – met his eyes and made no attempt to escape him. "Come along, dearie, I haven't got all day. Answer my

questions."

Suddenly words poured from her lips as though he'd hauled them free from her throat himself. The green stones on her collar glowed as well, or perhaps that had been his imagination.

"Gaston and Tvon are the ones who forced me to try to enslave you, I didn't want to." Well the word 'enslave' got him to cock an eyebrow upwards. "This is an enslavement collar. It means you own me now." She told him bitterly.

"I'm not in the business of keeping pretty girls as slaves, you can keep possession of yourself." That seemed to amaze the blue-eyed beauty but Rumple just kept talking. "Who are Gaston and Tvon? Are they the ones who fled?"

She nodded. "Gaston LeGume, he's a duke's son but he wants to be a king." Rum questioned just how he fitted in and commanded a full explanation from her; the stones may have glowed again. "His father is ill and mine rejected his marriage proposal, so he thought summoning the Dark One would get him Avonlea's thrown and then those of the other kingdoms. You're mostly a myth though so he needed Tvon's help. Haldor Tvon is an evil man but he's smart, I don't know how they found your blood for he enslavement ritual but they did, and then they made me try to enslave you so you wouldn't kill everybody."

Rumpelstiltskin hadn't ever heard of such a thing as an 'enslavement ritual', frankly it sounded ridiculous. Little of what the girl said made much sense, but he didn't think her lying and she clearly knew more than he did about the situation.

"Where are we, dearie?"

"… Rutherford Tower."

Rumple sighed. "No, I mean where are we? Which realm?"

That had her brow furrow deeply as she continued to stare up at him from the floor. "I don't understand, My Lord. We're in Dreymyr."

Dreymyr? That wasn't a realm he'd ever heard of before, and Rumple had spent many hours researching and visiting all the realms he possibly could. Not once had he ever come across Dreymyr, but that would explain why even the air was so alien to him.

Massively large eyes snapped back down to the young woman on the ground, her fingers still pulled absent-mindedly on the collar.

"Why are you wearing that?"

"I don't know, My Lord, it was meant for you rather than me."

Oh, now that did make sense. To defend himself he'd cast a reflection spell, so instead of her gaining ownership of him, he'd gained ownership of her. Explaining that to the dark-haired girl had caused her to pale but, unusually, Rumple hadn't taken any glee from it. Still, if he apparently owned this girl like livestock now, he could use her as a rather lovely source of information. Instinctively he made to teleport himself and the girl back to his castle so he could do some research … but nothing happened, Rumple didn't move an inch let alone a realm. He tried again, and again and again, but nothing ever changed, then it was Rumple's turn to pale because he was trapped in Dreymyr.

The Dark One crouched down to look the girl in those lovely eyes of hers; he wanted answers and he wanted them quickly.

"The summoning those people did, how did it work exactly? Did they get it from a book or did someone tell them how to do it?"

"I have no idea how Tvon knew about it." Had he not been angry and on a hunt for information, Rumpelstiltskin would have been impressed by the fact her lovely voice never quivered. "I don't even really know what they did. I was tied to Gaston's horse until they needed me for the enslavement, that's how it worked every time."

"Every time? How often have they tried to summon me?"

"I've only been here for three, but I know they tried before that."

"And what happened the other times, dearie?"

She was silent a moment as if trying to remember every detail for a scary monster because – well, that was the situation she'd found herself in.

"Nothing the first time. Gaston was so angry. There was a man the second time: tall, human, handsome. He had a strange hat that he vanished into and -"

"Jefferson!"

That insane hatter had been missing for just over a month now, not that Rumpelstiltskin had been looking for him, but he had thought it odd. Although, if this summoning was fixated specifically on him, then the Hatter being snared made no sense. Perhaps it did though, the last time he'd seen the tall man he'd sent him away with a wave of his hand. Whatever magic Tvon and Gaston had been using clearly didn't work very well, so maybe it had mistaken the Hatter for the Dark One and maybe he could use Jefferson to figure out how to leave Dreymyr. A plan, Rumple needed a plan and finding Jefferson seemed to be as good as any. His attention drifted back to the girl and suddenly he finally took notice of one of the first things she'd said to him; her father had rejected Gaston's marriage offer and Gaston wanted to be king so -

"You're a princess, aren't you, dearie." It wasn't even remotely a question but she nodded.

"Princess Belle of Avonlea, first child of King Maurice du Marchand and heir apparent to the throne."

Rumple's head tilted to the side. " 'Apparent'?"

"My little brother is sickly, physicians don't think he'll live to adulthood." She told the man who now owned her sorrowfully.

"How sad. Anyway, if your dear papa is a king, why are you slumped on a floor with me instead of wrapped up in your silk sheets?"

Belle eyed him suspiciously. "The legends say you will make deals, is that true?"

"I am rather partial to them." He giggled. "What do you want?"

"Gaston and Tvon have put my papa under some curse, he no longer thinks for himself and is like a puppet. Gaston has my little brother hidden and intends to take over all the kingdoms using dark magic. Help me stop it? Return my papa's mind, reunite me with Lorrimer safely and save Avonlea from Gaston's and Tvon's evil."

"That's a rather long list of demands, dearie. What do I get in return?"

Pale hands gestured to the collar around her neck. "I belong to you, so I have to stay with you and you can do whatever you like with my body already, but surely there must be something I or Avonlea can offer you as reward. Please, My Lord, please help."

Part of Rumpelstiltskin wanted to snap that he wasn't the sort of monster who raped women, or anyone for that matter, but he refrained as the wind kicked up to blow those chestnut locks around her face.

"All right. I will give you everything you asked for and toss in taking that collar off, if you provide me with as much knowledge about this realm and how it works as you can. If you aid in finding a hatter named Jefferson and a way for me to return to the Enchanted Forest as well? Deal?"

"You'd take the collar off?" Amazement filled Belle's voice.

"Sure, why not?"

"My friends, my family, they will all live?" He nodded. "I will go with you." Rumpelstiltskin chuckled out a high-pitched 'deal'. "But what about Lorrimer? He's just a boy."

"Lorrimer is the brother, I assume?" She nodded. "If that idiot and his friend are after your throne then they are unlikely to harm him. You're with me so there can't be a wedding and he's the rightful heir. Makes more sense to keep him around. You gone and him suddenly dead would be too suspicious."

Rumple's words did little to comfort Belle but she supposed he was correct.

When the Dark One told her to get up, the green stones glowed faintly again and Belle launched to her feet so fast she went dizzy. Enslavement collars were a cruel, wicked thing she'd often wished didn't exist. Belle wasn't a strong mage, she'd got very little magical capability at all to be honest, but the Dark One was a demon lord and could do all manner of fantastical things.

He circled Belle once, twice, thrice as he examined the collar once more, then snapped his fingers in his usual flamboyant style but the collar refused to move from her neck to his hand.

"You have to say you release me, My Lord, that is how the enslavement works."

"You are released, dearie." Nothing. "I release you."

Yet another thing that wouldn't work the way it was supposed to.

"Why won't it come off? You said you'd get it off."

"I know what I said." He snapped and Belle fell quiet, all that bravery inside her suddenly cowered. "We'll figure that out later. In the mean time, we should leave before your determined fiancé and his friends come back."

To test if he could use his teleportation ability at all in this strange place, Rumple glanced over to the tower's edge and used magic to move himself there. Seemed if he could see it then he could use his power, that was something at least.

"Dearie-"

"Belle, My Lord, my name is Belle." She insisted.

"Why do you keep calling me 'My Lord' like I'm some needy noble shaking a silver spoon?"

Her brow furrowed as she worried her lip, like she'd just remembered something about him and regretted her actions.

"… You're the First Demon Lord, I was just trying to be respectful."

Demon lord? What the hell was one of those? Sure, Rumple knew what each of those words meant separately, but together they seemed somehow important and pointless all at the same time. He'd been called many things in his time as the Dark One, but being a demon lord was new.

"Explain for me."

Taken aback, it took a moment for Belle to get any words out. That morning she'd been hauled into Rutherford Tower for a third time by two evil men, and forced to enslave what most hoped was a myth because Gaston was too scared to do it himself, now she had made a deal with said demon lord and found he wasn't actually as terrifying as the Church would have her believe.

"Demon lords are masters of dark magic, can do things which seem impossible like you moving in a cloud of smoke. You're the Dark One, the most powerful thing to have ever lived and first of the demon lords."

So he'd never even heard of Dreymyr before but they had stories about him – more correctly of a previous Dark One. If another person to carry his curse had visited this infuriating realm, then they'd found a way to leave it and Rumpelstiltskin would as well. She'd agreed to provide him with as much information as she could though, so there would be plenty of time to ask more questions later, there and then he needed to leave Rutherford Tower and find somewhere to use as a base of operations. That was how he ended up asking about the closest populated area: he needed somewhere there would be books and reasons for why his magic wouldn't work properly. Ranga was Belle's first suggestion, a large city apparently over the kingdom boarder in a place she'd called Dorovoth, though it was quite some distance away and had no direct roads from the derelict tower. That didn't stop Rumple though, as long as he had a clear line of sight and Belle pointing in the right direction, he'd get them there in no time. So, in an annoying game of leapfrog, Rumple teleported them ever closer to Ranga with an arm around Belle's slender waist. After the first jump, Belle had collapsed to the ground since she'd never experienced such magic, but soon she got used to it and Rumple didn't have to pause for two minutes every time he jumped. Frankly he was impressed with Princess Belle, she'd hardly complained, had stood her ground, taken their predicament in her stride, and thankfully knew when to shut her mouth.

As the city gate grew closer, Rumple began to wonder how to conceal his scales and claws, normally he'd have just used a camouflage spell he'd created centuries ago since he didn't want to cause a panic in this new realm. However, when they joined the admittance line, Rumpelstiltskin saw two people ahead of him with the ears and tails of cats, while someone behind him had rabbit ears. Those strange eyes of his snapped to Belle who'd pulled her golden skirt tightly around her with annoyance, and questioned the strange development.

"You don't have demi-human's where you're from?"

"Dearie, let us just assume I know next to nothing about this place and if I ask a question, it is because I'd like an answer."

"Pantherians in front and a grasswalker behind. They're just a species of people like humans or dwarves."

At least he knew what a dwarf was. "Tell me there are no damn fairies."

"A what?"

With that knowledge the realm of Dreymyr went up significantly in his book. No fairies was like music to his ears. Finding out about these strange species seemed like a good idea while they waited to get in though; Rumple had always been good at acquiring information.

"Are there more, or is this it?"

"Em, there are elves and merfolk, and you're a demon of course."

After several moments of questioning and shuffling forward in a line, Rumple had been given a run-down on the odd humanoid species inhabiting the realm and that his odd skin classified him as a demon; not a label he was unaccustomed to. If they thought him one of these demons though, it did make sense why they'd coined the term 'demon lord' to refer to him. He'd been about to ask if the mermaids of her world could move between realms like those he was familiar with could, when Belle lifted her dark locks up to reveal her ears: pointed.

"I'm a half-elf."

There was something bizarrely adorable about the small but notable point to her ears, but Rumple cast that thought away extremely quickly.

Soon they reached the gate and a guard in leather armor demanded four coppers from them each. Rumple suspected it to be some form of currency for an entrance tax, so he fished the gold thread he'd been fidgeting with earlier that day out of his coat pocket and tossed it to the guard who's eyes widened. The rather small bit of gold was eyed suspiciously, practically gnawed on to confirm it was real gold, then the pair were waved through after being given a small wooden token with symbols he didn't understand on the front, then they were shoved along inside the city walls like they weren't a princess and the most powerful mythic demon lord. Later, he'd question why he'd not been given change.

"We're here." Said Belle obviously. "What do we need to do now?"

Dark eyes glanced up to the sky to see the sun had started to set. Being in Dorovoth instead of Avonlea would reduce the likelihood of Gaston and his friend finding them until Rumple had figured out how to get his magic functioning properly, but they'd not be able to just wander around Ranga shouting out for the Hatter like deranged town criers. A tavern, they'd get a room and Rumple would acquire a map to test a theory.

With the aid of a rather friendly old woman with graying cat ears and an outstandingly fluffy tail, they soon found their way to a inn called the Teapot Inn and slipped inside only to be struck by the wonderful scent of fresh bread. Everything was made of wood, the floor of flagstones and candles had been lit to stave off the darkness a setting sun brought. A few long tables filled the middle of the main room with several others pushed up against the walls and windows, a narrow staircase flanked Rumple's left and a bar flanked his right. There were a few people seated here and there but it seemed they'd wandered in on a quiet night.

Rumple couldn't prevent the sudden memories of when he'd made a good profit at market and treated Bae to a tavern meal: those memories had once filled him with happiness but now they only brought misery and regret. His mission hadn't changed, being stuck in Dreymyr had only delayed him reuniting with his beloved boy.

"How is an inn going to help rescue my family and kingdom?"

"It's not, dearie, but it will help you uphold your end of our little bargain."

A young and skinny man approached them then with a polite smile on his face, though it did falter a moment when he saw Belle's mucky expensive dress.

" 'ello there, name's Chip. Is it food, drink or a room fer ya?" Rumple told this bean sprout of a man they'd be needing two rooms but instead of being pleased for the business and tossing keys over like Rumple had expected, the man's brow furrowed as he gestured loosely to Belle's collar. "Sorry, sir. Sure ya know it's illegal ta rent rooms out ta slaves."

Rumple's eye twitched and, even though she'd not even known him a full day, Belle could tell he was neither happy nor containing his growing irritation well. So far Chip thought Rumple nothing more than a slightly unusual looking demon, but that would change quickly if he got angry. The very last thing they needed was it getting out the Dark One of legend had returned, so Belle put on her best disarming smile and stepped forward.

"Forgive my master, it has been a long day's travel. One room is all we need. Thank you."

" 'Course. I'll go grab a key."

With no more gold threat in his pocket, Rumple automatically held his hand out to call forth more from his vault, but his hand remained empty and quickly clenched into an angry fist. 'I'm incapable of even making gold now!' he screamed inside his head: the curse didn't scream back. Belle furrowed her brow at him questioningly and asked if everything was okay.

"No, dearie, it isn't. I'm cut off from my vault and there's no more gold thread in my pocket. The Dark One makes gold but here I can make fuck all apparently." He hissed.

Belle rested a hand atop his clenched fist shocking him out of anger. Her skin was so soft and gentle, so warm and didn't seem disgusted by his odd golden-green skin at all. His eyes found hers and there was a sweet smile on her lips. She'd been treated like a pawn, enslaved to the First Demon Lord, taken away from her lands and family, yet there she stood trying to comfort him. What an odd little princess his travelling companion was. Rumple pulled his hand away from hers as Chip returned with an iron key in hand, he proffered it so Rumple took it just for something to do. Money; this human would want paying.

"Here you are. I'm not sure how long a stay this will buy." Rumple lifted an eyebrow in surprise as Belle handed over her gold bracelet. "Several weeks at least."

Chip nodded as he turned the bracelet over a few times in his hands, he'd clearly never seen something so finely crafted before, but Rumple had and he knew it could fetch up to three months in a place such as the Teapot Inn.

"Piece as nice as this'll get ya the room fer eight weeks an' all yer meals."

The Dark One had been about to argue but Belle nodded and assured that was plenty, so he instead followed Chip's directions up the stairs to the very last room and unlocked it with the iron key, all while Belle trailed behind him struggling to carry her billowing dress in the narrow halls.

The room wasn't much but neither had expected the amenities they'd find in castles. A fairly large bed called the middle of the east wall home with a tiny box on either side serving as a table, a small square window on the north wall with a tiny desk and chair underneath it, there was also a wash basin – and that was literally it. The Teapot Inn wasn't built for wondrous vacations like some winter palace, just a place to lay one's head for a few hours before they moved on. The room would do.

Belle perched on the bed while Rumpelstiltskin began to pace back and forth from the door to the desk. He couldn't continue to navigate by Belle pointing, that wasn't sustainable or even remotely helpful to anybody. It had been proven that his teleportation magic worked if he could see where he was going but he wanted to test if topographical knowledge would allow him to move around more accurately.

"A map." He suddenly announced. "I need a map."

"In Avonlea all taverns have a map posted somewhere for travellers to use. I'm sure the same is true for Dorovoth. I will go ask Chip if you can borrow it."

Before Rumple could utter a word, Belle had gathered her dress skirt back up awkwardly and left the small room as though she'd never been there.

Alone, Rumple bubbled with rage and irritation. How had he ended up trapped in a realm he couldn't leave and zero access to his vaults or funds? Quickly he summoned everything he could think of that was either in his vaults or the Dark Castle; wands, gold, potions and even Hook's hand, but nothing came. He couldn't get out of Dreymyr nor could he bring anything in. The only explanation was that the realm had been blocked off somehow from the others. 'The Land Without Magic' said his mind. It wasn't impossible to get there, just unimaginably difficult, the reason for that being their lack of magic interfered with portals opening to and from it. Rumple's magic hadn't been functioning properly since he'd arrived, so maybe Dreymyr's magic was too different for a portal to work, that would also explain why Belle had said Tvon's and Gaston's summoning ritual had been so temperamental. An aggravating realization, but not a useless one.

With a deep sigh Rumple leaned against the window to peer out at the street, it wasn't too dissimilar from towns and cities he was used to, but every now and again someone with cat or rabbit ears would walk by in the setting sun and tell him otherwise. He saw mostly humans and those pantherians Belle had talked about, and one man with exceptionally long ears he assumed was an elf, but nobody who resembled him. 'She said there were demons, so where are they?' he wondered. Being classified as a demon didn't bother Rumple, it was a method to blend in and he'd been called significantly worse in the past. Though all very strange to him, Rumple found he actually rather liked the pantherians, they looked … cute. He'd always been more of a dog person, but those fluffy ears did look remarkably soft.

Once he had that map he'd learn about the kingdoms the princess had spoken of and formulate a proper plan to locate Jefferson: birds of a feather and all that. The laws of the land would have to be learned and, of course, he'd need to do some hefty research into Dreymyr's magic system if he wanted to regain control over his power. Frankly, he'd need to learn about that enslavement ritual as well since he'd promised to get the collar off of Belle. Had he know how difficult a task it would be he'd not have offered it in their deal.

Eventually Belle returned with both a local map and one of the whole continent. She'd rested the maps down on the small desk then retreated to a corner with her head lowered like an actual servant.

"I hope they'll be all right, My Lord."

Rumple huffed. "I thought you'd stopped calling me that, dearie. And why are you suddenly acting like some downtrodden maid?" Silence lingered between them a few moments. "I haven't got all night, tell me."

Those green stones on her collar glowed a little again. "A man down in the tavern told me my master dresses me well. I'm sorry, My Lord, after our deal I let myself forget you own me. I forgot my place."

"Your place." He repeated. "I told you I don't keep slaves and I meant it. I don't care if that thing is around your neck, I have no desire to own you. There's no need for the meek act or to call me 'My Lord' in every damn sentence, Rumpelstiltskin is fine. As long as you adhere to our deal, you can do as you please. Wander off for a evening stroll for all I care."

Belle relaxed a little. "A stroll sounds nice but I can't venture too far from you. One of the collar's rules is a slave can't exceed a certain distance from their master. I don't know how far it is exactly, but the punishment is extremely painful."

As the maps were unfurled, he sighed. "Lovely, now we're practically joined at the hip it would seem."

Over the next few hours, Rumple studied the maps almost religiously while the hubbub slowly rose in volume down in the tavern. The words 'Ogre Blockade' and 'Ogre Territory' had caught Rumple's eyes almost right away and stirred up yet more memories he'd have rather buried. Slowly he came to realize Avonlea was in a similar position to one the Frontlands had been in when he'd still been human. They'd done all they could to protect themselves but the threat of those hideous, monstrous and savage beasts continued to loom overhead. According to Belle an entire Avonlean forest had been wiped out in order to help build it, and nobody had ever tried all that hard to map the Ogre Territory's coastline because any ship that got too close was either attacked by sea creatures or sunk by ogres throwing boulders. Ogres would be another day's problem, for the meantime they were safely in Dorovoth a whole kingdom away from that blockade.

He asked Belle numerous questions, some of which she could answer with more detail than others, and had her go over what exactly had happened with her family, kingdom and why her wanna-be fiancé had decided to summon him. Turned out King Maurice taking an elf for his wife, even one of royal blood, had left animosity amongst some of the less tolerant members of Avonlean nobility and, though one of the most inclusive of the ten kingdoms, there had been pockets of people left questioning King Maurice and his right to rule, especially after young Prince Lorrimer had been born so sickly. He was ten, eight years younger than his sister, and not expected to live long enough to claim the throne, so Gaston had seen his opportunity to take Avonlea for his own even if it meant marrying a half-elf like Belle. Quickly it had been concluded defeating Gaston LeGume wouldn't be too much of an issue even with his magic on the fritz, but Avonlea's court mage would be a different story. Haldor Tvon had been assigned to Avonlea by the Arcane University as all court mages were, due to his intellect and magical prowess. In their eyes he was an excellent mage deserving of his place: Belle had told a very different story indeed. In her version of the tale he was a man who'd done nothing but crave power and prestige all his life and cared little about those he crushed underfoot as he went. She feared him and that surprised the Dark One because she hadn't even feared him that much. Rumpelstiltskin had dealt with bullies and madmen alike, Haldor Tvon would be no different when all was said and done, because an upstart was no match for the Dark One. There was only a single deal Rumpelstiltskin had ever gone back on and it had ruined his life, only one and never again. Belle's deal would be honored, it was just a matter of time.

When he'd eventually turned his attention to the daily workings of this strange new realm, Belle had been far more animated and even smiled at him a few times. Processing their calendar had taken a few minutes; thirteen rather than twelve months in a year and all with totally unnecessary names like the Month of Blacksmiths. Truth be told he'd likely just ignore that for the most part.

"You paid for the room with a bracelet," he said after a lull in their conversation. "And I can't just pluck gold out of thin air any longer. I tried making it while you were getting the maps but it is something else that won't work here. A spinning wheel might help but I wouldn't put much stock in it right now."

Belle's mouth fell open. "You can make gold? That's alchemy! No one has ever been successful with alchemy."

"Demon lord, remember, dearie?" He chuckled before quickly moving on. "I'm not having my so-called slave selling the clothes off her back every time we need something or I regain access to my treasures. I'm the Dark One not a leach."

Having to retrain himself to use magic by Dreymyr's rules would be a struggle but he was practically a god when it came to magic and wouldn't back down so easily. Rumpelstiltskin sighed deeply and removed his dragonhide coat for the first time since he'd shown up in this strange realm, annoyingly there was a hole in it where that arrow had plunged into his body just below his clavicle, and the same was true for his dark silk shirt and leather vest.

"That boy said we'd paid for all our meals, and you're probably hungry. Go get something to eat." The stones glowed again and Belle made to leave but Rumple stopped her. "Wait. Why does the collar periodically glow?"

Belle's brow furrowed. "It's every time you give me an order. The collar compels me to obey you."

Suddenly all her snapped movements and the way she'd answered his questions so quickly and freely in the beginning made sense.

"And you didn't think to provide that nugget of information hours ago?"

"I'm sorry." She fidgeted with her skirt. "A lot has been going on, I forgot."

Much to his own amazement, Rumple actually felt bad for the princess before him, but he still wanted to be alone for a few moments so he encouraged her to go get something to eat, this time without commanding her. Belle may have worn a collar, but if anyone ever got hold of the dagger he'd have been in the same boat.

Alone and intent on enjoying his moments of quietude, Rumple sat down at the small desk and let his head fall backward. Scale on the map would have been nice so he could teleport properly but that was a work in progress, the real issue was gold. If he couldn't conjure or manufacture more like he normally would, then he'd have to earn it like some common member of the workforce. Sure, he could steal or try to deal for some, but that didn't sound sustainable and he wanted to keep a fairly low profile. For three hundred years gold hadn't been something he'd needed, just something he made as a hobby; he hated the continuing reminders of his days as a mortal unable to provide properly for his boy.

The blue-eyed girl's return brought along a rich scent of meaty stew that actually had Rumple's mouth salivate. A bowl was quickly set on the desk beside the maps while she retreated to the bed to eat hers. For a princess she'd not complained much if at all and didn't seem to have taken too much issue with apparently belonging to him. 'Maybe she likes it' his mind suggested, but that was ridiculous so he tossed it aside as quickly as the thought had come to him. Attention turned to the stew which seemed to be well filled with potatoes, carrots and hunks of fresh meat all coated in a thick gravy. Tea was basically all he'd consumed in years since he didn't actually have to eat, however, when something smelt as good as the stew in front of him, who was Rumpelstiltskin to refuse? The first bite was practically heavenly, the meat had been cooked beautifully and fell apart on his tongue. He wasn't sure what animal it was, maybe some kind of boar, but he didn't partially care when it tasted so damn good.

They ate in an oddly comfortable silence and, when the bowls were empty and bellies full, Belle started to yawn. His encouragement to have her go to bed had confused Belle, if she'd thought he'd make her sleep on the floor or if it was that he didn't try to exercise his so-called right to her body, Rumple didn't know nor care. Soon though she'd quietly stripped down to her chemise and drifted into slumber all while Rumple continued to gaze out the window at Ranga's streets. Getting back to the Enchanted Forest wouldn't be an easy task, but Rumple wasn't easily defeated.

After a few hours of just sitting he went to lay on the bed, him atop the covers with Belle snuggled underneath them. Sleep wasn't something Rumple normally sought out, but the strew had made him sleepy and since he and Belle were tethered to one another, he couldn't really do anything else until morning.

One thing was for certain, being trapped in Dreymyr wouldn't be boring.