The arrival of King Gasper and Vera Lilyfay sent the castle into a flurry of chaos, maids rushed about ensuring everything was perfect for their stay while footmen saw to getting things set in place for the upcoming wedding. Neither Belle nor Rumple desired a bold wedding, just something small suited them fine, but Belle was a princess and he a demon lord so a quiet affair wasn't really in the cards for them. Normally royals wed at the Church on the other side of the city – for obvious reasons that wasn't in the cards either. So, alternate arrangements had been made. Vita Tree weddings traditionally took place outside among nature, therefore the choice had been made to hold the wedding on the expansive balcony where Maurice gave public speeches from, and allow the city's residents to whitness. Annoyingly publicized, but another way of improving Rumple's image with the people of Avonlea.

Shortly after night had swept over the sky, dinner had begun for what King Gasper had happily referred to as 'the whole family' and consisted of both kings, Belle, Rumple, all the children, Phria and little Lorrimer who'd finally recovered enough to leave his chambers. Honestly the boy seemed like an entirely new person without the constant pain and exhaustion. Maurice might have still held some reservations about Rumple, but he'd always be grateful to him for saving his son.

"I've been wondering," began King Gasper as he took a sip of the freshly opened Red Dove wine. "You're the Dark One, but how is it that you are not the man who came to our realm before?"

Maurice's brow furrowed deeply with confusion as did Renner's – he'd been tucked in a corner pretending he wasn't there – but it was Belle who spoke first.

"How do you know that, Uncle Gasper?"

Gasper, a man with brunet hair that brushed his shoulders and inordinately long ears, chuckled. "Oh, sweet niece, we elves live long lives and remember the stories told before the Drazvans edited them. That Dark One was described as tall and unwavering, the sort of man who cut down anything in his path unless one was useful to him." He waggled a finger at Rumple. "But you're not like that. You're slight and reasonable – a touch dramatic and insane, but that seems true of all demon lords. That Dark One slaughtered dozens of lesser black dragons then vanished like he'd never been there, it's why those poor dragons are so rare now."

Was that it?! Was that how the other Dark One had escaped Dreymyr? He'd sacrificed a plethora of darkness dragons to power the spell. Unfortunately, that sounded like it was unlikely to work again.

"You might as well tell him, Papa." Said Bae after a moment of silence. The boy sat at the other end of the dining table with his three sisters and had a reassuring smile on his face; Bae was always so strong. "No point hiding it when Belle and Phria already know."

"Yes, do tell." Gasper encouraged as he leaned forward in his chair.

Rumple sighed. "The Dark One isn't a person, it is a curse. A curse which can pass from one person to another if certain criteria is met. Some take on the curse willingly to gain power or wealth, others are tricked into it when they try to do something noble."

"And which are you?" Maurice asked from his place at the head of the table.

"I'm not sure how noble I was being, but it is the latter. The Dark One before me wanted to die so he tricked me into killing him. That's how the curse is passed, you see, the old must be killed by the new."

"Aren't you immortal, Papa?"

Rumple flashed a smile to his sweet girl. "Yes, Amicia, I am. There is a way to kill me but it is not possible in this realm." Brown eyes flicked to the two kings. "I don't suggest you try, it will not work."

"Oh don't worry about that, you're family now. I shan't be killing the husband of my darling niece. Although, if this mysterious only way is impossible in Dreymyr, does that mean your curse cannot be broken?"

"In an odd way it already has. The evil that comes with my curse doesn't speak to me as long as I am here. I am free of its machinations."

Part of him wanted to deny everything and say nothing about his curse, but for Bae's sake he told them. These people were his family and he didn't want to be a monster. The people of St. Claes had slowly begun to accept him and it felt nice – felt so nice, and a glance to Bae told him he'd made the correct choice. Confirming to the rest of the realm that Lorrimer was well and had been officially recognized as Maurice's heir had also eased concerns that Rumple was after Avonlea's throne; being king was the last thing Rumple cared about. For the first time in all his life, Rumple had a family that loved him and a safe place for his children. He didn't need to keep his secrets so close to his chest now, not when his paranoia had waned somewhat.

Dinner went on a little longer until plates were cleared and wine bottles emptied. Valdis and Semiramis had eventually started to nod off which had prompt Renner to carry them back to their room while Phria and Belle saw to putting Amicia and Lorrimer to bed respectively. While it hadn't been said aloud, most assumed Maurice and Gasper had headed off to some dark room lit only by a fireplace to crack open some ancient brandy and ruminate about kingly duty. That had left Rumple and Bae alone on their slow wanderings through the hall. Bae did most of the talking, had sensed his papa's nerves at his upcoming wedding and did his very best to ease them. The boy only had one brief memory of his parents being happy together, they'd been laying in a clearing with a little shared lunch and laughter; there had been times when Bae had thought it a false memory. Milah must have loved him and his papa at least a little once upon a time, but she was gone and come the next evening he'd have a step-mother; then another one the night after that. Suffering was behind them now. With Belle, Phria and his three new sisters, they'd finally have some joy in their lives and be a proper family again. 'The whole family' that was what King Gasper had called them and Bae rather liked the sound of it. So, he encouraged his papa and eased his nerves, then retired to his chambers for some sleep knowing a royal wedding would be a busy day for all involved.

~X~

The day was warm and golden, the perfect day for a wedding, but Rumple had passed through the morning in a sort of daze. A princess, a genuine princess had agreed to be his wife without ploy or deal. Amicia, Semiramis and Valdis had been dressed in matching lilac gowns of silk and wore delicate flowers in their hair, the trio radiated glee just as girls their age should have at a wedding and Rumple found it sustained his shadowy heart. Seeing Bae dressed in a fine suit had been a surprise but an exceedingly welcome one, he made quite the handsome young man. As he stood there awaiting Belle's arrival with the hubbub of St. Claes' citizens far below the balcony, Rumple spotted Phria. She'd insisted on standing at the back by Renner – who had actually combed his scruffy hair back for the occasion – like little more than a bodyguard rather than with the children and Prince Lorrimer. Had insisted that, as his secondary, she should have been as far removed from the wedding as was physically possible despite Belle's insistence that she was there. Traditionally, Phria never would have been allowed to attend as her presence would have been seen as rude and arrogant above all else. So, at the very back with Renner and Demiurge she stayed.

This wedding wouldn't suddenly convince the last of the suspicious that the Dark One was a good man or not a threat, but the party thrown throughout the city afterwards would surely do wonders for all after the hardships Gaston and Tvon had placed on them all. Pontiff Buchanan had gone so far as to personally send a letter to King Maurice low-key threatening him into casting Rumple out. He'd claimed it to be for the good of the realm and his duty as a Drazvan, but Maurice had ignored it. Colette had made him wary of the Church and Belle had chosen Rumple as her husband of her own volition.

When Belle had exited onto the balcony, Rumple's breath had abandoned him. That coward inside his soul had urged him to simply run away but no, he couldn't abandon his beautiful Belle. While the lilac dresses his daughters wore were elegant, they didn't hold a candle to Belle's wedding gown. A striking but also understated dress which had once belonged to her mother. Sleeves and a trail made from intricate lace, a golden corset and skirt embroidered with golden leaves. So beautiful, so wonderful, and somehow all his. Rumple hadn't spotted it, but Maurice had shed a tear seeing his sweet daughter wearing his late wife's dress; Colette would have been proud.

Vera conducted the wedding with class and determination to show love was its cause rather than contracts or threats. Perhaps, with this wedding ceremony, the mortal races could finally start to set aside fear of a past they didn't fully understand and embrace a future where there wasn't a need to order the races into a hierarchy. True love was the most powerful magic of all, and hopefully it would save Dreymyr.

Eventually the kiss binding them came and for that moment nothing else mattered; not politics or superstitions, nor power and the fact he still didn't know how to open the portal for Jefferson. Married – Rumple was married after so many years of loneliness and isolation, of depression and pain. A wife, a beautiful, kind and compassionate one at that. Vera presented them to the crowd as husband and wife and a cheer erupted. They seemed positive and pleased, though that may have had something to do with Rumple killing the Jotunn scorpion that had somehow found its way into Rosewater Harbor frightening the life out of the locals. Not that anybody else knew, but Rumple had only done so because Semiramis had spotted it after the screaming began from the castle and flashed back to her mother's death that cold, dark night.

Though trepidation continued to linger, the city celebrated their princess' wedding long into the night while the castle did the same with a great banquet; which had included a whole roasted hammer boar. Not even the Church and Pontiff could take away the day's joy. Yet, long after the day had turned to night, Renner had shuffled the children off to their beds and Gasper had allowed himself to drink himself into a stupor, Rumple and Belle fell into bed together to consummate their marriage. Many husbands would have expected their new wives to be quiet and hold still so they could do with them as they pleased, as was their so-called right, but not Rumple. No, Rumple basked in the wondrous sounds Belle made for him as though they provided sustenance. He had no need nor want for a compliant puppet, Rumple wanted Belle for who she was and adored her as a woman rather than some doll conditioned to be nothing beyond a pretty broodmare. Their lips locked as warm hands caressed one another with a bubbling wanton desire. Though they'd known one another before, this was so very different as this was the lovemaking of newlyweds. Belle cried out as he filled her, her nails scraped against his heated golden skin marking him as hers much as the fresh lovebites on her neck marked her as his. Many had probably expected the Dark One's skin to be rough like that of a snake, but Belle knew the truth, felt its softness as his kisses lavished her. Rumple was warm and strong, knew just how to touch her and flooded with animalistic pride when she mewed and moaned for him. They rushed to the precipice with speed and more desperation that either had been willing to expect, then tumbled suddenly from that steep cliff into the blissful waters below; Rumple with a deep grunt and Belle with a gasped scream of her husband's name. Euphoria tingled through the couple as Rumple's arms gave out and he was forced to roll onto his side beside Belle while they panted.

For Rumple, arriving in Dreymyr had once been a curse, but slowly he'd come to realize it to be a blessing in disguise. Had he not been summoned both Amicia and Semiramis would certainly have been killed, Belle surely would have been forced to marry Gaston and witness the horrific war he'd start in his search for power, Bae would have remained lost, Phria alone and quietly ridiculed by those under her command, even Renner would have continued to suffer. Rumple knew he wasn't a hero by any stretch of the word, but he'd finally been able to do some good with his curse just as he'd wished at the very start. Not a saint, though maybe not a sinner anymore.

~X~

Phria wasn't quite sure what to do with herself. She'd witnessed the man she loved marry his primary wife then sat through the feast while well wishes were tossed around the great hall. Jealousy wasn't what she felt, uncertainty would have been a better word for Phria couldn't silence that little voice in the back of her head that said Rumple would change his mind. Their wedding was set for the next evening, a much smaller and less public affair than his one with Belle, but Phria honestly preferred less fanfare. That was how she'd wandered into the small room her dress had been stored in. A beautiful gown that Rumple had yet to see. While Belle's had been detailed with lace and golden embroidery, Phria's had been delicately embellished with numerous white, green and golden beads. Not the sort of dress one would likely associate with Phria Federlord, but she'd adored the intricacy of it and hoped Rumple would as well. Despite the gown's beauty, that voice continued to worry her. He loved the white-haired pantherian, of course he'd marry her, but still the voice went on.

Determined not to give that voice a moment more, Phria had retired to bed in anticipation of her wedding the following day. Rumple wasn't a perfect man, no one had claimed him to be, but he was the one she'd given her heart to and she loved him dearly.

As all others had, that day came and saw Phria's hands shake like they never had before. She'd fought monsters and seen comrades die without ever shaking the way she had as Vera had begun the wedding ceremony. Having wives support one another was an exceptionally rare thing for those sharing a husband, normally the primary was the only one of any import, but Belle had truly been a rock for a nervous Phria. It had dawned on her then that this must have been even more bizarre for Rumple himself since having more than one bride just wasn't done where he came from, add to that the fact his new wife stood smiling while he married another woman and he surely must have stumbled into quite the state of ambivalence too.

When Phria had officially joined the Valkyries, she'd mentally resigned herself to remaining unwed all her life and focusing only on her duty. Many Valkyries had married, there wasn't a rule forbidding it, but Phria had been forced to work twice as hard for her place among the cobalt-clad warriors. It hadn't bothered her, or maybe it had bothered her and Phria had just done a good job of lying to herself, either way marriage had been the last thing on her mind when she'd first encountered Rumple in Demeer's office. Much like Cynthia, she'd thought it better to cut him down than work with him at first, but he'd soon shown himself to be a strangely kind man who doted on children without meaning to. He'd treated Phria with such kindness and respect when even the supposedly good people hadn't bothered. Was it really any wonder she'd fallen in love with him? He seemed to think he was the lucky one who didn't deserve her nor Belle, but Phria felt she was the lucky one. She'd found someone who loved her for who she was rather than what she was or what her position could do for them. It was only in that moment that Phria finally understood why Rumple hadn't ever referred to her as his secondary bride, because she wasn't a pawn or a backup plan to him, she was simply his wife.

The Dark One's wife, and she hoped to be for many years to come.

~X~

Renner had been the one to alert Rumple and his wives to the fact Semiramis was hiding something. At first all they'd done was lift eyebrows and wait to hear whatever childish thing it was, but Renner had seemed honestly vexed by the whole thing. That had been what had gotten Rumple, Belle and Phria to really pay attention. Semiramis hadn't been with them very long and, while delighted with her new legs and siblings, she'd been through an ungodly amount of trauma. If the blue-haired girl had chosen to hide something it was for a reason and likely something which needed to be addressed. So, one early afternoon, Renner had allowed Semiramis to think she'd slipped away from him and her siblings knowing Rumple and his two wives would follow her. She'd done her best to be stealthy but, being only eight, most of that skilful stealth only existed inside her head. Slowly, to avoid stumbling, she'd made her way down to the small building with a pool Rumple had constructed for her and slipped inside. The trio had waited a few moments before they followed the blue-haired girl inside, and when they did they found Semiramis crouched on the floor in the corner with her back to them clearly holding something. Semiramis feared water, anything bigger than a bathtub caused her to shy away or panic, so her willingly returning to the spacious pool of ocean water didn't quite make sense.

Rumple cleared his throat only for Semiramis to yelp and spin around as she did her best to hide whatever it was behind her back. Though logically she knew they'd never hurt her, Semiramis' eyes still grew wide and her heart raced.

"What do you have hidden there, Mira?" Belle asked sweetly, a charming smile on her face as she crouched beside the child.

"Nothing." Semiramis insisted in that way only children could as her face paled.

Of course they all knew 'nothing' to be a lie, so Rumple crouched down before her and offered what he hoped was a reassuring smile; comforting or not, Semiramis didn't seem all that reassured.

"Mira," he started softly. "Please show us what you've got."

Clearly worried and hesitant the blue-haired girl shook her head but Rumple's expression didn't let up, and Semiramis soon cracked.

"Please don't kill him."

That comment only caused more confusion and had the three adults to frown in puzzlement. Out from behind the girl came a small blue smile only just beg enough to fill Semiramis' cupped hands. The slimes he'd encountered in his travels had all been adult slimes, this one was hardly bigger than a large orange; to be perfectly honest it was fairly cute.

"A baby slime."

Rumple glanced up to his new pantherian wife. "Baby? Actually, how do these things reproduce?"

While a little taken aback by the odd question, Phria didn't argue, just explained. "They divide. Not always perfectly in half either, those smaller ones we call baby slimes."

Well, one learned something new every day it seemed. The strange creatures that inhabited Dreymyr never ceased to amaze him.

"Will it get bigger?"

"Yeah, as long as it keeps eating, it'll grow to full size."

Belle pulled their attentions back to young Semiramis and the slime when she crouched as well. "Where did you get the slime from?"

Mira worried her lip. "Em, when Renner took us on a walk of the gardens Bubble was by the fountain."

Oh Gods, she'd already named the damn thing. Bubble, a name almost disturbing in its lack of imagination, though admittedly fitting for the blue ball in Semiramis' hands. Ball was the best description a slime could hope for what with it having no other notable features such as limbs or horns, just a round ball of blue with two darker blue spots that acted as eyes.

"Don't get rid of him. Let me keep him?" Semiramis pleaded as she pulled Bubble closer to her chest. "At least I think he's a him." As a sentient gelatinous mass, Bubble was technically more of an it than a he, but who was Rumple to argue? "I don't know what he eats yet, he turned down everything I brought him, but I'll find out. He drinks so I brought him here." She gestured to the pool.

Mira had seen her mother slaughtered, had been through enough separation and pain. So, flanked by both of his wives, Rumple knew he'd cave. Oh, how different he was without the Darkness whispering to him.

He held up two fingers. "You can keep it on two conditions." Semiramis nodded frantically. "You have too take care of the thing properly, that means preventing it from dissolving whatever it pleases." Another frantic nod. "The other is that you have to let Belle form a bond between you and Bubble just as she has with Azzy and Albedo."

In less than a heartbeat Semiramis had agreed and lit up. Their issue with Semiramis' secretiveness solved, Belle took her to begin a bond while Phria reported to Renner so he didn't worry. Out of curiosity, Rumple had headed for the gardens to investigate the fountain Semiramis had mentioned, and he'd soon discovered a small patch of alsuprotea growing there. Alsuprotea were no rare sight, they grew just about everywhere and had a pastel pink color which made them easily visible. No, what had Rumple's interest was the small crescent where they'd clearly been eaten away. Was it possible that Bubble only had a taste for these medicinal herbs?

More curiosity was what had Rumple tug a few from the ground and teleport into Belle's room knowing that was where he'd find the blue ball. Sure enough, when Rumple tossed the clump of alsuprotea onto the table, Bubble quickly absorbed the pink plant and began to dissolve them. From Phria, Rumple had learned slimes were what they ate, some consumed only poisonous mushrooms and became poisonous themselves while there was that one at the Arcane University that had eaten so much metal it had developed its own exoskeleton. If Bubble ate herbs used for healing, then perhaps Rumple could put the slime to good use in future. Oh, what it was to have a plethora of new research avenues for him to stroll down, things had gotten boring back in the Enchanted Forest.