When they appeared in their room back at the Teapot Inn in Ranga the sun had all but set, seemed they'd spent much longer in the slums with Faris and Una Quartermaine than they'd thought. Rumple released his hold on Belle but stiffened to stone when she rose up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek sweetly. People didn't touch him, and gorgeous eighteen-year-old princesses certainly didn't kiss him.
"Thank you for helping Faris." Her breath brushed against his jaw making him want to purr. "You're a good man."
Then she was on her way down the stairs claiming she wanted something warm to drink and Rumple trailed behind her in a daze. All he'd done was make a deal, healing Una Quartermaine had been a simple task and he'd seen an opportunity to get some proper clothes, that was all. He'd not performed some noble act had he? Rumpelstiltskin couldn't hide that he was different since being summoned to Dreymyr, like parts of his curse didn't wish to speak with him, but regardless of all that he still wasn't a good man. Hell, Rumple wasn't even a man, just a beast. That said, Belle hadn't ever looked on him as such, there had been some fear at first but by the time they'd arrived at the Teapot Inn she'd been comfortable around him, didn't shy away from his touch when he teleported them nor their conversations. 'Maybe it is all her', Rumple reasoned as they descended the narrow stairs which folded back on themselves. 'Perhaps she's just a strange princess while I'm still perfectly normal.'
When they reached the bottom of the stairs it was eerily quiet, no customers, and the reason why became clear when they spotted Gordana Aalto perched on one of the long tables sipping tea Missus Potts had just poured, while two guards stood by the main entrance and a third at the kitchen door behind the bar.
"Finally!" Exclaimed Gordana as she set her cup down. "I've been debating sending out a search party." Missus Potts took that as her cue to head into the kitchen out the way. Gordana watched her leave then leaned forward conspiratorially. "I couldn't drink any more tea."
"What do you want, Chief Commander? I assume tales of tea isn't the reason you're here, dearie."
Gordana, a pretty woman in her mid thirties, had already proven herself to be intelligent as she'd decided to use the fact he was the Dark One to close some of her higher ranked quests. Frankly, Rumple respected the woman and knew the expression of someone ready to make a deal when he saw it.
Out from a small bag she wore on her hip, Gordana pulled a rolled up page and tossed it to Rumple who caught it in a single hand and unfurled it so he and Belle could see. A wanted poster. A wanted poster issued from Avonlea stating a mutated demon had attacked Avonlean field casters and stolen a valuable item. The poster didn't state exactly what that valuable item was but Rumple supposed the greedy duke's son had meant Belle.
Rumple lifted an eyebrow. "Mutated? Well, that's just rude."
"You don't exactly look like a normal demon, Rumpelstiltskin." Gordana smirked.
"Gaston has reduced me to 'valuable item' now?"
Every interaction and mention of Gaston LeGume just lowered Belle's opinion of the man further. Quite frankly, at this point, the bar was so low she needed to dig it up.
"Hmm. I note there is no mention of me being a demon lord or that Belle was only put in harms way because of her greedy wanna-be fiancée."
Yes, even Gaston didn't seem stupid enough to broadcast that he'd forced the Princess to summon the Dark One, lost control of him and gotten said princess accidentally enslaved to him all in the space of ten minutes. Gaston's desire was to be king of everything and his reign would be nothing but pageantry and fanfare. If word got out that not only was the Dark One real, but that he was freely wandering Dreymyr, there would be chaos, armies would mobilize, the Church would use it to persecute innocent demons and riots would break out. Demon lord worshipers would start putting plans in motion as well, and that really wouldn't end well.
"Of course not, that would put blame on them and Avonlea rather than just you."
"I haven't been kidnapped." Belle pointed out. "I could have died at Rutherford Tower because of Gaston and Tvon, it was Rumple who protected me."
Gordana shrugged. "Again, that puts blame on Avonlea and that is what they're trying to avoid."
"It is always a game of shifting blame, Belle." Rumple rolled up the poster and tossed it onto the table beside Gordana's thigh. "Besides, they're more likely to gain detailed information if people think there is a reward to be had for locating a diseased thief than if they were told how big and bad the beast they're looking for really is." Rumple turned his unique eyes to the guildmaster. "So, are you here to arrest me?"
Gordana glanced to her three guards in turn, nodded, and they all departed leaving the inn silent for a few seconds.
"As head of the Adventurers Guild, I cannot deny this contract. I have to put it out because, if I don't, it'll be suspicious and I can't risk a whole kingdom turning against my organization." She took a breath while Belle and Rumple watched on expectantly. "However, I've seen you and Princess Belle, you've done good work taking quests and you told me the truth when it would have been easier to lie. Most would likely just assume you had placed Princess Belle under a horrid spell, but her eyes aren't glazed over like those who are bespelled. Like I say, I have no choice but to issue the quest to find this 'mutated demon'." She grinned. "However, I can do it somewhat slowly and subtly so not every adventurer with a want for coin pursues you. I could … ensure the spread of this quest to the other Guild buildings is slow and I can minimize the poster distribution."
Rumple cocked his head to one side. "So your plan is to just quietly looked incompetent?"
Gordana's eyes narrowed and yes, he respected this woman. She'd not been made Chief Commander of the Adventurers Guild for nothing. She wasn't afraid of him in a totally different way to Belle and he enjoyed it: it was almost like having Regina back to verbally spar with.
"I'd be nicer to people who are helping."
"Thank you for your help, Chief Commander." Said Belle to ease the situation but Gordana just waved her off.
"Please, Princess, call me Gordana."
"Only if you call me Belle."
"I'd be honored."
"Yes, and, as always, I am Rumpelstiltskin. Now, can we return to the matter at hand without tossing titles around?" He pointed a clawed finger at the brunette. "What do you want in return for this generosity, I wonder."
"You're the first double gold rank in history and I'd like to make use of that. When a contract comes across my desk from now on and I think it is too difficult or dangerous for my other adventurers to complete without significant loss of life or major destruction, you take it no matter the reward listed. That is what I want in return, Rumpelstiltskin."
Well, that was instantly vetoed. "I'm not in the habit of leaving myself at the beck and call of anyone, dearie. I'll grant you one quest."
"Five."
"One." This wasn't Rumple's first time haggling.
"Three."
"Scrounge up some information on somebody for me and I'll give you two quests."
Once again Gordana's eyes narrowed questioningly. Belle, meanwhile, poured herself some tea from the tray Missus Potts had left and took a seat to sip and watch the demon lord and guildmaster have their little battle; the tea was significantly better than before for some reason.
"Information on whom?"
Rumple shrugged. "His name is Jefferson, though he may not be using it, could be going by Hatter instead. He's a human: tall, dark hair, rather handsome. Goes around wearing a top hat."
"What is a top hat?" She asked quickly, just another reminder that top hats didn't seem to exist in Dreymyr.
"A tall cylindrical hat with a brim. Jefferson's is black, it should be easily recognizable. I suppose to you he's a dark magic practitioner."
"What do you want to know?"
Rumple smiled, she hadn't expressly accepted his deal yet but Gordana already had one foot through the door.
"His location mostly. He was summoned to this realm the same way I was and would probably like to return to his young daughter. If I am stuck here, he certainly is. Find him for me."
"All right," nodded Gordana. "I can surely find something about this Jefferson of yours."
"Deal!" Rumple clapped his hands together like a giddy child. "Ooh, two deals in one day, I must have been a good boy."
"You're insane." Said Gordana while Belle just chuckled with quiet amusement and Rumple shrugged.
"At least I'm not boring."
That was what got a laugh out of the brunette woman with messy braids. "Hmm, I've not had a dull day since you arrived in Ranga, that's for sure. I'll leave the two of you to your evening before Missus Potts offers me more tea. I'm fairly certain she knows what you are." Oh that Missus Potts did, Belle had accidentally seen to that. "Goodnight to you, Rumpelstiltskin, Belle."
With Gordana gone, Rumple stood silently for a moment in thought. In most realms, definitely in the Enchanted Forest, he'd have had to deal and threaten to get anywhere, but the people of Dreymyr seemed most accommodating. Belle mostly wanted to save her family, but she'd come to treat Rumple as a friend even though they'd only known one another a few weeks. Missus Potts and Chip knew him to be the Dark One but had chosen to let him stay at the inn and judged him on his actions. Gordana used him to aid her organization, that was perfectly understandable, but Rumple still saw the woman's mirth and understanding, she was a smart woman he regarded well. Faris had calmed his fear rather swiftly as well: either Rumple had lost his bite as the Dark One, or the Church really was a monster waiting to pounce.
"I need to find Jefferson, and soon." He mused aloud.
Belle placed her empty tea cup on the tray and stood up. "No offence, but before you do anything else, you need a bath."
~X~
They'd managed to collect coin rather quickly, blew threw quests thanks to Rumple's immortality and how quickly he'd picked up on elemental magic. Travelling was the main thing that had slowed them down, but still they'd accumulated enough coin to get one of the horses Crystella bred: at least Rumple thought they had. Since the more direct route to Crystella in Cylvera was to take the Trade Road around the Spikes rather than heading to Hebicarden, Rumple had used his spacial magic to deliver them to Locheart where they'd taken on guard work for a wagon on its way to Pepperstow, work which had been both dull and uneventful. Pepperstow itself, despite having a busy market and and healthy populous, held little of interest. Pepperstow's primary focused appeared to be getting people into the arenas and placing bets: posters for the arena littered every wall in the city. There were rich and poor alike gullible enough to gamble their money. None of that was of any interest to Rumple or Belle, so they'd simply eaten and rested for the night.
The next day Rumple's teleport hopping had taken them over Trade Bridge at the Horsehair River followed by another guard job with two brothers who were on their way to Omura. With them being adventurers, and Rumple such a high ranked one at that, merchants were more than happy to have them along for the trip. Between Ramstadt and Breamark, the Trade Road was surprisingly packed. Wagons littered the dusty road while some people travelled on foot with pack baskets for one reason or another. Belle read the latest novel she'd purchased back in Pepperstow while Rumple spent time inside his mind. A dark place was Rumple's mind, but thinking needed to be done. Gordana hadn't provided any information on Jefferson's possible location and the whole situation had started to grow tiresome. Every moment he spent trapped in Dreymyr was another moment not devoted to tracking his beloved son down and fixing his biggest regret. So they sat amongst the crates of goods reading and thinking for many a hour until they reached Cylvera's border where they were stopped and inspected by guards. Gordana had done her job and kept the wanted posters and quest from circling well throughout the kingdoms, but Belle had still worried one of the guards would ask too many questions about Rumple's golden-green skin.
In the end they'd passed through the border stop without issue and, over the next two days, made their way to Breamark. The city sat in lowlands which just seemed to go on forever with deer and wing ears roaming about leisurely. At the centre of the market was a large fountain topped with a coiled dragon that, on first glance, reminded him a little of Maleficent; but otherwise Rumple noted little about the city. Well, that wasn't entirely true, he had noticed how everybody in Breamark seemed just a little more formal than other places he'd been, and, after a dose of Belle's knowledge, he'd learned that was probably due to who their Duke was. Rowan Stormfist was the younger brother of Cylvera's queen, a woman Rumple learned wasn't shy about killing those in her way: Regina eat your heart out. They decided it would be best to keep their heads down in Cylvera as much as possible, the kingdom wasn't exactly hostile towards Avonlea but they certainly weren't friendly, and should Duke Stormfist learn of the price on Rumple's head there would be an irritating level of trouble.
Belle had finished her book during the ride to Breamark and understood Rumple had been too lost in thought to bother speaking with her much. She'd not held that against him, Gaston was determined to destroy or enslave him – likely Belle along with him – and Rumple was still unable to return home. The desire to go home was one Belle could totally understand and sympathize with, it was something they shared after all. Ultimately, their deal back at Rutherford Tower had been about going home, Belle to Avonlea and Rumple to the realm he called the Enchanted Forest. Her poor father was a good and kind king, he'd listened to all of Colette's suggestions – much to the annoyance of his advisors – and really done his best to better the lives of his people. She sighed, Maurice du Marchand was far too trusting though and could be easily led by those who knew how to push his buttons: Gaston was one such man and then he'd teamed up with Tvon and that snake had done – Belle didn't even know, it had to be some kind of terrible spell. Belle just kept reminding herself that the Dark One didn't go back on his deals, he'd save her father, her little brother, her kingdom and get the damn collar off of her just as promised.
They continued with the wagon out of Breamark the next morning intending to take one of the many branching roads off the Trade Road once they were closer to Crystella. Yet the distance was far and come nightfall the wagon had stopped and they'd yet again be camping under the stars – stars Rumple didn't recognize.
Setting up a camp hadn't taken long, the two wagon drivers, Callum and Ian, had fed the horses, built a fire and seen to food with Belle's help, while Rumple had wandered off to check the perimeter as it were: at one point the green stones in her collar had started to glow but he'd never taken that last step which would plunge her into agony, as if he'd known. Callum and Ian kept side-eyeing Rumple when he reappeared and continued to circle the area.
"He's like a circling animal." Said Callum as he stirred the soup over the fire.
Ian tossed a carrot he'd just sliced into the pot. "You have a weird master."
"I certainly do." Belle responded simply, since she fully agreed with the brothers. "I certainly do."
She glanced over her shoulder to the Dark One when he came to a stop a few steps away from the wagon's rear. He looked rather fetching in the dragonling coat Una Quartermaine had fashioned for him; the damaged coat had been the color of burnt sienna but Una's coat was jet black and made his skin sparkle – at least Belle thought so. Handsome, Rumple looked handsome and Belle wasn't entirely sure what to do with that knowledge.
Eventually the soup had cooked through and Ian ladled a hefty amount into four bowls then passed them around. Callum dug in with gusto, eating like he'd not had a meal in a week, while Ian enjoyed his food with significantly more decorum. Belle meanwhile, grabbed Rumple's bowl and took it to him when he showed no signs of joining them.
"Here you go." She proffered the bowl and didn't shy away when he shook his head and insisted he wasn't hungry without even looking at the soup bowl. "How about we make a deal?" That got him to lift an eyebrow. "You eat your supper and I won't try to convince you to come warm yourself by the fire for the rest of the night; you do like your deals."
Rumple considered it with a hum. "Certainly would make my evening less annoying."
Belle's lips upturned into a little smile: she seemed to be the only one who cared for his sense of humor. "See, everybody wins. So, Demon Lord Rumpelstiltskin, do we have a deal?"
The bowl was waggled enticingly before him causing the spoon to roll about precariously. He eyed it for a few brief seconds, then finally accepted the soup.
"I suppose we have a deal."
"Lovely," said Belle triumphantly. "What is it you're doing over here anyway?"
"Putting up a barrier." Rumple swallowed a mouthful of vegetable soup. "This realm has all sorts of wild animals and opportunistic lowlifes. It will protect everyone and the horses while you sleep."
"I'm sure that'll comfort Ian and Callum. Callum has been talking about organizing a watch rotation." Blue eyes glanced to where the two black men sat by the campfire then back to Rumple hidden in the shadow of night. "Are you coming to the fire though?"
Rumple stared at the blue-eyed beauty with an expression that could only be described as 'seriously?'. His mouth opened but no words escaped until a few seconds later.
"You literally just agreed not to do that."
"No," began Belle with a shake of her head. "I promised not to try convincing you, not that I'd not ask if you planned on joining us."
That made Rumple smile, she'd found a loophole to their deal. "Hmm, I suppose you have me there."
Belle chuckled. "Should have worded your deal better."
With that Belle headed off back to the fire to warm her hands while Rumple watched her go with a small smile. For the last three hundred years, every time Rumple had smiled, it had been one of mocking and cruelty designed to intimidate and unnerve. However, as he watched Belle depart, he found his smile a genuine one that a real warmth. Belle simply had something within her that made her easy to talk to and Rumple hadn't ever really had that in his life. Sure, he'd used to talk to Bae about almost everything back when he'd been human but, when he'd … failed Bae, Rumple had given up sharing his feelings with anybody entirely. Frankly, Jefferson and Victor were the closest things he had to actual friends any longer and even that was a serious stretch when it came to the blond doctor. Princess Belle though, she'd been trained to fear demon lords all her life – by the others she'd mentioned, Rumple knew he was by far the most dangerous, the truly evil one – yet there was Belle who kissed his cheek and told him he was kind. Strange but good-natured and munificent was Belle du Marchand.
Rumple ate another spoon of soup; a rather bland meal nowhere near as good as what Missus Potts cooked up, but the soup was designed to be warm and filling more than anything else. Besides, Rumple had learned not to care too much about the taste of what he ate long before he'd become the Dark One. Once he'd finished his evening meal, Rumple finished drawing the wards he'd been leaving in the cardinal directions in the dark soil and watched as the barrier vibrated upwards to form an invisible dome. He might not have figured out how to spin gold, but he'd rapidly regained much of his magic.
The group would be safe for the night – an army wouldn't be able to break through the barrier – and, though he spared another glance towards the campfire, Rumple made no attempt to join the group preferring to simply stare out at the sleepy landscape. A thick crop of trees to his distant left, the wagon and dozing horses to his right and endless expanse of Trade Road before him. During the day there had been a plethora of wagons and people travelling, but by twilight most had vanished from the road in search of safe places to camp for the night. A small, faint orangey glow a few miles away was the only indication anybody else was around. The realm of Dreymyr may have been a strange land of bizarre creatures and humanoids with cat ears, but, when he just stopped to look at the landscape, Rumple realized it wasn't all that dissimilar to the Enchanted Forest; oddly he found that comforting.
A shuffling sound caught his attention then and Rumple looked over his shoulder to see Belle, Callum and Ian settling down for some sleep. He hadn't got the first idea what would happen if he left the realm without freeing Belle of her enslavement collar, and he had no desire to find out. Their deal had been to find Jefferson first, but Rumple had started to give genuine thought to storming Kalecaster Castle and torturing this Haldor Tvon person alongside Gaston until they told him everything he wanted to know, including how to end the enslavement, because him repeatedly saying he released her hadn't done anything it was meant to. Unfortunately those idiots probably had no clue either. For the time being he'd just carry on as they had been doing; they'd get that horse – mostly for Belle – and then Rumple would go straight back to gathering as much information as possible, because he was nothing if not a magpie when it came to knowledge. Fluidity of his magic remained a hassle and, beyond the barrier he'd taught himself and tweaked, sigils were a struggle; he needed to master sigils before he went messing with the one keeping Belle's collar on, one wrong move and it could lop her head off for all he knew. Much too sweet and beautiful to be a corpse was Belle – wait, why did he keep looping back to how pretty she was? Quickly Rumple turned away from Belle and the warm fire back into the darkness. Last thing Belle wanted or needed was the likes of him ogling her.
Rumple hadn't needed all that much sleep since he'd become the terrifying Dark One, so it made sense for him to stay up on watch. He hoped Gordana returned some useful news about Jefferson's location soon because he couldn't play hard-working adventurer forever, not when Baelfire was still out there alone. The fact people didn't instantly recoil every time they saw him continued to unnerve Rumple as well. Oh, the sooner he found the damn Hatter, the better. He recalled the last time he'd seen the tall man: Jefferson had brought him a book he'd asked for and stuffed his pockets with golden threat while muttering about that little girl of his, and Rumple had just waved his hand to send him away so his castle would regain its silence. Though Rumple had focused himself on finding Jefferson, there wasn't any certainty that his aid would do anything to get them back to the Enchanted Forest; he chose to burn that bridge when he got to it.
Night steadily turned to day and camp was packed away after Belle, Callum, Ian and a reluctant Rumple had eaten a quick breakfast: Odd how Belle was technically his slave and yet she continuously made him do what she wanted, or maybe the real oddity was that he let her. Their journey continued without much fuss once the horses had been fed and, with several more miles behind them, the time came for Rumple and the chestnut-haired princess to depart the brothers' wagon and head off along a smaller road to Crystella. Thick trees lined the lane on one side while intermittent bushes littered the other, Rumple didn't give them long for sightseeing though, not when he quickly used his spacial magic to hurry them towards the Cylveran city.
Eventually he was forced to halt his rapid hops when they came to a fork in the road, one remained straight while the other seemed to veer off to the southwest, possibly towards Lalenburg.
"Look!" Belle suddenly shouted, gabbing him by the elbow as she did. He followed the finger she'd jutted out towards the distant trees with a squint; an animal, but he wasn't sure which, something with white fur was about all he could ascertain. "Is that a waheela? I've – I've never seen one, they're so rare." Excitedly, Belle, made her way towards the animal before Rumple could stop her, hurried to the treeline only to gasp and drop to her knees beside what Rumple now saw was a white wolf. "He's injured!"
Rumple followed, prepared to throw a fireball at it if needed, and realized just how big this waheela was despite appearing to be a juvenile. It's back leg had been caught in a snare, cutting deep and causing great pain to the poor creature. Either it had fallen victim to somebody's attempt to protect the local area, or a savage hunter's lack of remorse; either way the animal suffered.
"That's a very deep wound." He mused aloud.
"We have to help him." She smiled warmly at the snarling wolf and held her hands up as non-threateningly as possible. "Shush, you're okay. We'll help you."
For a split second Rumple wondered what she was playing at. "Will we now?"
Blue eyes glared at him. "I'm a tamer, I can't just leave an innocent animal to die. Of course we'll help him. Poor thing."
She had such concern in her eyes and voice that Rumple relented before he'd even realized he had. He stood quietly while Belle took out the dagger they'd bought from the Lyrelocket brothers and used it to carefully free the animal from the vicious snare. Though he continued to snarl, the waheela made no attempt to swipe or bite at Belle, and Rumple wasn't sure if that was due to sensing how powerful Rumple was or that the white wolf just knew she was trying to help him. Once free, Belle tucked the bloody snare into her pocket where it could never harm another animal again, and the wolf made to charge off into the trees' safety but collapsed after two steps. Blood poured from his back left paw so profusely that even Rumple felt sorry for him.
"You're going to be all right, sweetheart."
"I beg to differ." Rumple was quick to say. "That wound is deep, the wolf has lost a lot of blood and, judging by the blackish tint, it's likely infected as well. Death will be a mercy for him."
"No!" She shuffled closer to the dying waheela. Belle's magic may have been geared entirely towards animals and taming them, but that didn't extend to healing them and the recovery potions she had in her bag wouldn't have been strong enough to save this poor creature. "You could – you could use your magic. You healed Faris' mother."
Rumple lifted an eyebrow. "That was different."
Later he'd question why he insisted on being so stubborn; he wanted to see Belle happy, so why did he make her work so hard for it?
"Because it was a deal? Then I will make another deal with you. Heal the waheela, please."
"And what do I get in return? Hmm, Princess?"
"Whatever you want."
That was Belle's confident answer and it gave the Dark One a moment of pause because he knew her smarter than making open-ended deals with practically omnipotent monsters. Although, there was such vehement determination in her lovely cerulean eyes that he knew she'd not back down.
"Pretty girls shouldn't make such easily exploited deals." Warned Rumple pointlessly as the wolf continued to bleed out by Belle's knees.
"Maybe, but you're not the sort to take advantage of a woman. If you were, you'd have done it already." That was true, he'd had numerous opportunities to have his wicked way with her, and the collar would have ensured her compliance, but even monsters had lines they didn't cross, and abusing innocent women and children was Rumpelstiltskin's. "Please help him."
"Very well, but you owe me a favor Belle du Marchand and you will be expected to pay at some point."
She nodded while fingers brushed comfortingly through the waheela's bloodied coat. "I'm fine with that."
Like that, their deal was struck; a deal Rumple never should have even bothered with. He'd been different since his summoning to Dreymyr, but the stubbornness remained it would seem. With a simple wave of his hand, the young waheela's wounds healed and the luxurious white fur shed its crimson hue. Amazingly, the waheela didn't flee after the return if its stamina and health, instead he remained by Belle so she could pet his fluffy ears. It was then Rumple noticed the deformed back paw: three toes on the paw instead of four, the dewclaws were intact – which was a surprise since regular wolves didn't have them – but Rumple suspected the minor deformity had played a role in why an otherwise strong creature hadn't been able to escape the snare.
The expression of awe and happiness on Belle's face had Rumple thinking that was payment enough; just because she owed him a deal didn't mean he had to ask for something and besides, he'd already gotten what he wanted from her via their previous deal. Maybe one day, after he'd found Bae and made up for his terrible mistake, he'd tell the tale of how a bookish princess in a strange realm owed him a favor.
He let her have a few more moments to pet the waheela they'd saved from certain death since it acted more like a house cat than a wild animal around her – seemed to adore being cooed over – but they had to get to Crystella and couldn't linger in a ditch forever.
"Come on, hurry up." He encouraged with less annoyance than he'd expected. "I would like to make it to the city before nightfall."
That seemed to jolt Belle out of her little world – if that was a mindset of all tamers or just her, Rumple didn't know. She gave one more tickle to the young yet large waheela's white ears, then nodded.
"Of course, sorry." She pushed herself to her feet. "Bye, beautiful boy."
As she made her way back to him, a part of Rumple's mind he'd tried to forget existed wondered what it would be like to have her bestow such a sweet tone upon him: 'ridiculous idea' he chastised himself.
"These horses had better be as good as you claim." He announced simply to distract his mind once they'd begun walking once more.
"Oh they are, I assure you. Papa-"
"Gave them as gifts, I remember, Belle. However-"
Rumple cut himself off and glanced over his shoulder when he sensed something pursuing the pair. Belle quickly copied him leaving the two staring at the lane behind them almost comically, but neither laughed because it was the waheela who'd followed them.
"You should go back to your family." Said Belle, but her words did little since he continued to trail after them. Belle turned with a stern mien akin to a mother scolding their child. "You're a waheela, you need to be in the forest rather than with people."
This surprisingly intelligent wolf paid no heed to Belle's words and, frankly, Rumple didn't blame the animal: why would anybody turn down a chance to spend more time indulging in Belle's charming company? A spark of jealousy ran through him when the waheela nuzzled into Belle's leg; he'd never be permitted to touch her so freely. 'Stop thinking about that! You don't care about her, you're just using her to get back to the Enchanted Forest. She means nothing to you', screamed Rumple's mind but the words didn't sound convincing.
"I could make him leave."
Her head snapped in his direction. "Don't you dare."
For the second time, she crouched down beside the animal to tickle him with such loving care and sighed. "You don't have a family, do you? Poor boy, you're just lonely. Waheelas are solitary creatures, but that doesn't mean you have to like it." The hand not buried in white fur stretched up to brush against her enslavement collar thoughtfully. "You – you could come with us." Rumple lifted an eyebrow because he saw where this was going and didn't like the idea. "I could tame you?"
Most of the knowledge Rumple had accumulated about tamers had come from comments made in works about the enslavement collars. He knew taming to be about companionship, gregariousness and synergy rather than cruelty and subjugation, but beyond that, he'd not bothered to learn all that much about tamers: a failing on his part since Belle was one. Instead of deciding for the animal, she'd asked a question and requested permission: in all other realms only magical creatures had been capable of direct communication and full understanding, but in Dreymyr it looked as though certain animals had such levels of intelligence that they could not only understand but provide consent. And provide consent the wolf did: with a paw placed on her thigh, Belle knew the answer and Rumple watched on curiously.
For a moment wolf and princess simply looked at one another as though confirming what they were doing, then Belle suddenly pulled out her dagger and pricked her finger causing rich crimson to bubble up slowly. She drew a small sigil of concentric circles and geometric lines on her palm with practised movements. Once finished, she blew on it lightly and, just like starting a fire, her blood glowed an impossible ruby color and she held her hand out towards the waheela.
"I am Princess Belle du Marchand, heir apparent to the throne of Avonlea." In the same ruby glow, a second sigil appeared below the waheela's paws. "I ask you stand by my side."
Maylea nor Gordana back at the Guild building had seemed all that impressed with Belle's magic level, but for the first time Rumple realized Belle's magic wasn't weak. No, a more correct description would have been that her magic wasn't versatile, he could feel the power coming from those magic circles and knew her very soul had gone into making them. Taming was spirit magic: at first he'd thought it like blood magic back in his realm but no, the blood was just a catalyst, her soul was where the real power came from. Suddenly Rumple suspected why tamers were so rare, it wasn't to do with their magic level but the strengths of their souls, and Belle's was formidable.
The waheela pressed his muzzle to Belle's bloody hand and closed his amber eyes. "With my breath, I invite you. With my heart, I welcome you. With my soul, I cherish you."
Suddenly light enveloped them and Rumple could practically taste the magic in the air, then it faded and everything ended. Neither looked any different and the blood on Belle's hand had gone, but Rumple could feel the invisible tether connecting princess to wolf. He felt as though he'd just witnessed something exceedingly personal and to be honest, it had left him a touch uncomfortable.
"Right, well, you have your pet so we should be on our way. I have a horse to buy."
Belle stood and brushed dust from her knees. "He's not a pet, Rumple."
"Besides the point. Come along, it's not far now." Suddenly a thought struck him like an ogre's club: the enslavement required the consumption of the master's blood but he'd never even heard of Dreymyr, let alone allowed virgins to sample his blood. "Wait, You've consumed none of my blood, so how would you have even been able to cast the enslavement ritual? Surely your idiot usurper didn't think that would work."
The chestnut-haired beauty's face turned shy for a moment which had the waheela snuggle into her leg.
"Gaston never really thinks about anything, he just expects everything to go the way he envisions. Positively primeval. You're right that the ritual shouldn't have worked. Tvon though, he found an artefact that supposedly had the Dark One's blood on it and used it to summon you, that's what the magic circle you landed in was made of, your blood so you were summoned and – they had this idea that if they mixed it with my blood the ritual would be fooled into thinking it had been performed correctly. Gaston was too scared of what could go wrong to use his own blood and, since I'm a tamer, they decided I'd be a better fit. He thought that you'd be enslaved to me and I'd be enslaved to him. I was to be a proxy."
Artefact? Dark One's blood? Realization dawned on him. "That was blood from a different Dark One, that's why the ritual was so faulty. It connected more to my curse than to me." Rumple raked a hand down his face. "I used my magic to send Jefferson away the last time I saw him, that's how he got here, whatever that pea-brained mage cobbled together latched on to him purely out of sheer dumb luck."
"… I must admit, I'd not expected it to ever work."
"Pea-brained but lucky." Rumple grumbled. "I'm still not certain how it resulted in you being enslaved to me though."
Neither of them were, but at least they'd gotten a new piece to the puzzle if nothing else. While Rumple had used a spell to deflect any incoming attack when he'd been so rudely summoned, it should have just nullified such a faulty spell; especially since it had been designed to counter attack magic whereas the enslavement ritual was a binding spell.
Locked inside his own thoughts once more, Rumple continued walking while Belle followed with the waheela at her side. She'd tamed a few turkey shots in her early teens, but never something as impressive or beautiful as a waheela, When she'd really made a fuss about not marrying him after her papa had begun acting strange, Gaston had taken a crossbow to all of her tamed birds as punishment knowing the physical pain their deaths would cause her through their connection. A cruel act he'd taken great pride in.
Belle wasn't sure what Missus Potts would think when they returned to the Teapot Inn with such an animal, but she opted not to think about that as she walked the last leg of their journey. The waheela had needed a family and Belle's kind nature had given him one. Their real problem would be hunters and thieves, it was no secret that waheela fur fetched a pretty penny even when damaged, so the coat of such a gorgeous waheela must have been worth a fortune.
By the time they grew unnervingly close to Crystella's gates, Belle had shifted from solicitude to extreme concern. Belle's new friend might have only been a juvenile, but he was still the size of any regular wolf in adulthood. Whoever had placed that snare had to have come from Crystella so probably wouldn't take kindly to a waheela just waltzing inside the gates; it would also surely cause panic with the horses.
"Rumple, he can't be seen. What if someone tries to take or kill him?"
"Then leave him out here." Rumple responded without missing a beat. He was a wild animal, not a newborn babe and could take care of himself. "You have no choice but to accompany me, but he can remain in the safety of the treeline."
Her expression turned reluctant. "I know, but – well, it's not fair to just leave him here. There could be more snares and people leave their pets outside of places, he's our friend now, our companion."
Rumple felt a headache coming on as he sighed deeply and slowed to a stop. "Oh, the things I do just to make it through the day."
Belle rolled her eyes while Rumple thought about what to do with this new waheela. While annoying to deal with, Rumple concluded that ultimately it would be good for Belle to have her own loyal protector; especially after he'd returned to the Enchanted Forest.
Making the wolf invisible wouldn't be possible, he'd not figured invisibility out just yet and, even if he had, Rumple couldn't have been sure how long it would last. Having a waheela appear from nowhere mid-way through the market would yield a worse result than if they tried to enter the city with him in tow. All that said, Rumple did have one option he was interested in trying: shrinking. He'd read about it in the dragon book he'd bought for Belle from Mister Zule months back and become rather interested in the concept. The book had spoken of how some dragons had been able to shrink themselves and taken on a humanoid form for the sake of convenience. Curiosity had quickly turned to practical tests on a rat he'd found trying to sneak into Missus Potts' kitchen with a good level of success. However, a rat and waheela were very different creatures.
With more focus than he'd typically devote to a spell, Rumple snapped his fingers, a single sharp sound which echoed a surprising distance, and, thankfully, the large white wolf shrunk down rapidly to the size of a sheep dog. Belle gasped, the waheela shuddered, but in the end neither panicked. Amber eyes peered up at Rumple with such … something and Dreymyr's popular saying of 'as wise as the Jade' popped into his head.
"Is he okay?"
"He'll be fine, I can scale him back up later."
A grumble sound escaped the white wolf when Belle petted him; he obviously didn't like being tiny but understood why it had been done: as wise as the Jade indeed.
"Now, do you think you can resist adopting any other wild animals until we have a damn horse?"
His voice had been filled with irritation but, instead of being insulted, Belle chuckled and looped her arm with his as was usual when they walked city streets together.
"I'll endeavor to do my best." She teased. "I warn you though, I am partial to wing ears."
With the issue of the waheela dealt with, they paid the entrance fee for Crystella – surprisingly low for the price of the horses inside – and were instantly hit by the unmistakable scent of horse musk and manure: a powerful aroma if ever there was one but it wasn't exactly unbearable, just inescapable. Belle and her new friend seemed happy together, like a little girl and her new puppy out for a stroll - then again, everybody was a child compared to Rumple.
Crystella was different to other cities and towns they'd visited. The west was densely packed with buildings, the market and all manner of other things including the tavern and City Watch building: eastern Crystella though, that only had a few buildings here and there all of them stables. They'd mostly stuck to the Trade Road during their travels, so it was odd to see a city without the dramatically thick walls and small army of guards. To be honest, when Rumple stopped to think about it, Crystella seemed more akin to a town back in his realm.
As they glanced around and took note of a surprising amount of depressed faces – though three girls who'd been playing did let out a rather loud 'aww puppy' as soon as they spotted the shrunken waheela and, being the kind soul she was, Belle let them pet him for a few moments when he didn't seem to protest. Rumple just stared at the display; it truly was as if Belle had known the animal all her life rather than less than an hour. He understood having a pet and forming a taming contract, but Rumple hadn't expected the two to become so connected so quickly. Once the kids had gone on their way, Rumple fixed his large eyes on the pretty princess and her pup.
"I may have shrunk him, but that wolf is still a wild animal. Perhaps it's best not to treat him like a newborn kitten."
Blue eyes peered down at the waheela then up at Rumple, something she repeated a few more times before breathing out a laugh.
"Azadanes would never hurt a child. I don't have to have known him long to have figured that out."
"You say that now but -" Rumpelstiltskin stopped dead and ground to a halt as his face screwed into one of utter confusion. "What in the Enchanted Forest is an Azadanes?
Belle gestured to her new friend. "He is. A taming bond is always stronger when the creature has a name, and he just looks like an Azadanes."
"Belle, dearie, no one has ever 'just looked' like they'd be called Azadanes." He thrust a finger out at her. "From now on I'm not letting you name things."
"Well, he seems to like it and that is all that matters." Belle paid him no mind, just bent to snuggle the newly named Azadanes' little face. "You like your name, don't you? Yes, you do, Azzy."
"And I thought Zelena was a poor naming choice." The Dark One mused to himself, Belle instantly took notice though; she'd heard him mumble about Jefferson and some woman named Regina a few times, and she was fairly certain a Snow White had popped up at least once, but Zelena was new.
"Who's Zelena?"
"Nobody important." He shut her down quickly. The less said about that jealous witch the better. "Come on, we linger any longer and the horses will all be either sold or died of old age."
The newly formed trio steadily made their way towards one of the large stables with people guiding horses this way and that. A rhythmic tinging of a farrier shoeing a horse lingered in the air. Over in a distant pen, one could see a few mares with their little colts, but Belle couldn't shake the feeling something was off. Her papa had always had issue with Queen Kotryna Molinari due to how savagely she'd secured her rule; in some ways he understood her actions and recognized that she did care for Cylvera well, but the woman hadn't ever gotten over the Avonlea-Cylvera war despite it being ancient history long, long before she or Maurice were born. Then there was the way Kotryna had acted so offended when Belle's parents had married; while she'd not ever come out and said it, she'd thought Colette's and Maurice's marriage to be a weakening act rather than a strengthening one of love. 'Not friendly but not hostile' was Maurice's preferred way to describe Cylvera and the kingdom's queen: of course, were blatant opportunity to be handed out to Kotryna, she'd certainly take it, so conducting themselves with caution had been high on Belle's and Rumple's list of priorities since they'd entered the kingdom. Any kingdom who'd named their capital the Silver City had to be egotistical.
Out from her political thoughts Belle was knocked when they finally reached the large stable only for two burly men to toss a dark-skinned man maybe in his early to mid fifties out on his ass into the dust and mud nearly splashing Rumple's boots.
"Piss off ya pathetic old man," one of the men hissed before slamming the stable door shut with a thud.
Before Rumple could so much as glance down to check his boots weren't muddy, Belle had hurried over to the man, who's head was wrapped with a purple scarf, and helped him to his feet.
"Are you all right?" She asked with genuine concern, her good heart never ceased to amaze. "Why would those men do something so horrid to you?"
Brushing dust from himself, the man sighed almost defeatedly. "Because they're terrible people. Thank you for your help though, miss, very kind of you."
"Oh, think nothing of it. Are you hurt?"
"Just my pride." Another sigh. "And I suppose my livelihood as well. I'm Torsten Tinsen by the way, I own the next stable over." He loosely gestured over his shoulder with a thumb to a distant stable.
Belle smiled one of her sweet smiles and, for the smallest of seconds, Rumple was jealous it wasn't aimed at him.
"I'm Belle." She gestured to her two companions behind her. "That is Rumpelstiltskin and the furry sweetheart is Azzy."
Torsten nodded a greeting. "A pleasure. Again, thank you for your help. Few have time for kindness around here any longer."
The dark-skinned man's voice was a deep baritone but the melancholy in it was unmistakable: Belle's feeling had been correct, there was something wrong with Crystella. Meanwhile, Rumple's interest had been piqued, as indicated by his raised eyebrow.
"What do you mean by that, dearie?"
Torsten seemed hesitant. "I'm sure you know that Crystella has the best horses in all the kingdoms. Sure, we have a few possible challengers over in Leupolis, but even they can't really hold a candle to us. We Crystellan horse breeders have always had a rivalry, but it was healthy competition until Sumner took over."
"Has he done something wrong?" Enquired Belle with a hand absent-mindedly petting Azzy's cheek fluff.
Torsten breathed out a laugh. "Sumner Cem is fueled by nothing but greed. His father was a good man, a friend even, but since his death Sumner has rendered the Cem name almost worthless in my eyes. There used to be twelve families breeding horses here, now there are five. Sumner tried buying us all out at the start but when we said no he started threatening us." Torsten shrugged. "It worked on some, they sold their businesses and fled, others wouldn't play ball and were sabotaged. I'm sure Sumner had Old Tim's place burnt down."
"Why haven't you informed the City Watch? They'd help, surely."
The city watches were a staple of all cities and towns – though oddly never called the town watch – and were charged with keeping the peace. If what Torsten said was the truth, and they were inclined to believe it was, then the City Watch had to be aware.
"He pays the Watchers too damn well to look the other way." Torsten threw his arms up in a exasperated gesture to the rest of the city. "Sumner's turned the whole place on its head. And now his attention is on me. He wants my land, my horses, any money he can wring out of me, and I'm not sure how much longer I can hold out. I don't like the way he looks at my Esmeralda either, she's only sixteen." Another sigh escaped the man as a large hand stubbly gray beard. "Word of advice for you, sweet girl: you and your master should do what you're here to do quickly, then take that pup of yours and leave. Crystella isn't a good place to be any longer."
With that, Torsten Tinsen spun around and started to head toward his own stable while grumbling to himself, but Belle was quick to grab him by the elbow and draw him back.
"What if we could help you?" She asked the dark-skinned man only for the two men to share a look of confusion.
"How? Why?"
"Rumple is an exceptionally powerful mage, he could change things around here. And as for why: well, it's the right thing to do."
"Belle, I don't take kindly to my powers being loaned out for me."
She didn't miss a beat and quickly shot back, "Then make one of your deals."
Rumple scoffed. "He likely has nothing worth giving."
"I bet you came here looking for a horse, yes?" Wasn't exactly a hard puzzle to work out. "I might have a smaller stable, but I'm a damn fine horse breeder. Miss Belle said you make deals, so how about this: If you put a stop to Sumner Cem's tyranny, make him answer for his crimes instead of just throwing some more money around and worming out of it, then I'll give you my best stallion. Worth seven gold coins he is." The stubbled man peered around as if checking nobody would hear what he had to say next. "He's not entirely horse, there's some kelpie in him."
Rumple thought the offer over for a few moments and, having been told repeatedly by Belle how expensive but reliable these horses were, he quickly decided it was a good deal. Doing as Torsten asked would mean they could keep the gold accumulated to pay for a Crystellan horse – gods he missed just being able to make gold.
"All right, you have a deal, dearie." A deal was a deal and this one seemed to be in everybody's benefit. He scooted around Azzy, who'd been more interested in watching the horses, and came to a stop right in front of the taller man. "Where is the nearest inn?"
That question actually seemed to surprise Torsten for a second, the confusion evident on his face. "Oh, em, that would be the Luscious Leaf, it's about a half mile that way." He gestured off to their left. "Just go back the way you came until you hit the market, then walk along the road with the butcher's shop and it's on the corner. You can't miss it, whole building is bright green."
"Thank you muchly." Said Rumple dismissively while Belle gave a polite yet quick goodbye and hurried to catch up with Rumple and Azzy.
"Thank you for agreeing to help him, Rumple."
He brushed her gratitude off nonchalantly instead being more focused on getting to the inn. "A decent horse was being offered."
Their walk wasn't all that long and beyond a second set of children asking to pet Azzy, nothing of note happened. Rumple did make sure to make a mental note of where the Watch House was though, because surely that would become useful sooner or later.
Upon reaching the Luscious Leaf, Rumple recoiled because Torsten's warning had not quite prepared him for the alarming shade of green the inn had been painted in. For the second time that day he was unfortunately reminded of the Wicked Witch. Much to their relieve the interior had a significantly more muted color palette of natural wood and plastered walls. The pair sat at a table furthest away from the bar while Azzy sat at Belle's feet with his tail wagging – wasn't every day a waheela got to experience a normal human day – and soon a red-haired dwarf marched up to them."
"I don't let dogs in 'ere." He announced in a booming voice. "Had enough of 'em pissin' on me floors."
Out from his coin purse came a silver coin and Rumple waved it in front of the scruffy dwarf's face. "How about you forgive the dog if he promises to be polite and I give you this shiny coin?"
The Luscious Leaf's owner didn't even pause to think, just yanked the coin from Rumple's hand and pocketed it.
"I guess an exception can be made fer such a … polite mutt. Want anythin' else? I got fresh mead, brew it meself. Outta hammer boar stew but I got some good night deer."
They weren't there to indulge, they had a deal to uphold and a horse to claim.
"Tea for the girl and I, bowl of water for the pup. Oh, and we'll need a room for until I get my horse."
"Sure," the dwarf nodded. "Rooms are eight coppers a night but it'll be extra if ya want that dog up there. Should 'ave guessed ya wanted a 'orse, most do."
"Are Sumner Cem's as good as he claims?" Rumple enquired casually and Belle made sure to listen intently to the dwarf's answer.
"They're good, but they were great when his ol' man ran the stable."
"Not a fan then." Surmised the Dark One.
"Look," began the dwarf with the inn's hubbub as a backdrop. "I don't wanna speak poorly o' folk-" Rumple held up a second silver coin which was pocketed even more quickly than the first, then the redhead leaned on the table with both fists. "Sumner thinks himself king o' this city. Been bullyin' competitors outta business since the second his ol' man kicked the bucket, an' now he's started stickin' his nose in with me an' the other taverns."
Rumple let out a long hum. "King indeed."
"Mark me words, he's a bad one who don't take kindly to the word 'no', so ya better not say it to him if ya want this girl o' yours safe. Specially since Sumner and the Earl's son got all chummy."
The gruff dwarf was called to the other side of the Luscious Leaf then by another patron leaving Belle and Rumple alone while Azzy indulged in a scratch.
Belle appeared dubious. "This man doesn't sound like a very nice one."
"Possibly something of an understatement, Belle."
"You aren't just going to kill him, are you?"
Rumple shrugged. "Originally I was, but that Tinsen fellow was smart and worded his deal well. He didn't just ask for revenge or to get rid of Cem, he wanted the man to 'answer for his crimes'. Had he said 'pay' instead then I'd have snapped Cem's neck and collected my horse."
Belle smiled softly at him and a piece of himself Rumple had long thought dead flushed.
"You really don't ever go back on your deals, do you?"
"Once." Shock splashed across his face as two cups of tea were plonked down before them and a bowl on the floor. Rumple couldn't quite believe he'd just admitted that, but Belle looked at him so inquisitively and somehow he found he could trust Belle with that little nugget. "I did it once and I have regretted it every day since."
"What happened?"
For a moment she'd thought she'd actually get an answer but getting details out of Rumple was like pulling teeth, and he just never replied. Belle wouldn't push. She supposed that if he ever felt like telling her what had to be a painful story, he'd tell her without prompting. At the very start she'd feared asking questions of the Dark One, but Rumple had become her friend, a prickly one but still a friend, and she'd not force him to do something he wasn't comfortable with. So, for a time they sipped their hot tea while Azzy lapped his cool water and Belle chastised herself. Azzy had been in that snare a long time, he had to have been not only thirsty but hungry as well.
"Em, Rumple?" A non-committal noise was her only acknowledgement. "You remember how you said I earned some of the money from our quests? Can I use some too buy a bit of night deer for Azzy? He's hungry."
Rumple shrugged. "Your money, buy what you want."
That was good enough for Belle and hardly three minutes later Azzy had a big plate of night deer beside his water bowl. The dwarf had commented that it was wasted on the dog and Belle had almost pointed out Azzy was actually a waheela, but she'd managed to avoid that awkwardness. It was while Azzy ate with gusto that Rumple spoke again.
"I want to learn more about the Earl and his son the dwarf mentioned. You know them?"
"No." She shook her head. "I think it's the Xaver family, but that is all I can remember. I don't know all that much about Cylveran noble families because Avonlea doesn't have much to do with them. I memorized all the Avonlean noble families, most of the Vellan and Dorovothi ones as well."
"Lovely, so we're clueless."
"You could always go ask a annalist, I'm sure they'd know."
"A valid suggestion." Belle flashed him a smile, she enjoyed being helpful. "Unfortunately, I doubt that's a current option. We have a basic plan, a deal to complete and a problem I've found a solution to already."
"Problem?"
"The morning tea at the Teapott Inn is terrible, I've been looking for somewhere which serves a more palatable tea."
"The reason the morning tea is so bad is because Chip makes it. I'll ask Missus Potts to make your tea from now on when we get back. Besides, the only reason we think it is so bad is because we're used to more expensive blends."
"Terrible tea is terrible tea, Belle."
She chuckled to herself because a princess and the Dark One sipping tea in an inn with a waheela at their feet sounded like the start to a joke.