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If Emma had thought about it, she would have known it made sense that breaking the curse would send everyone back to their own world and her with them (since technically it was her world too). If she’d thought about it. If she’d even been trying to break the curse, which, realistically, she hadn’t been. She’d been saving Henry.
She’d succeeded. Henry was standing next to her, awake, alive, and staring around them with wide eyes.
Emma briefly wondered if her expression mirrored his. Wherever they were, it sure as hell wasn’t Storybrooke.
For one thing, Storybrooke hadn’t looked much like the main hall of some fairy tale castle. For another everyone had worn normal looking clothes (thank God she still was, and so was Henry), here, wherever here was, Emma was in a crowd of people wearing clothes of various descriptions, none of which would fit under the category of normal.
The general noise level was also significantly higher than Storybrooke, even on a bad day.
Emma grabbed Henry’s hand, trying to catch sight of David and Mary Margaret (her parents?!) and Major Mills, because if her curse had really been broken (and Emma found it somewhat disturbing that she couldn’t think of a better explanation) then the Mayor was not going to be happy.
There they were, across the room. David and Mary Margaret, dressed just like the pictures in Henry’s book. Emma stepped forward, trying to push through the crowds, wondering if she had any authority left as Sheriff…
‘What did you do?!’
The demand, almost a screech really, reverberated through the silence that followed it. Emma swung around, her nerves screaming danger and stared in surprise, down the unbelievably (unnecessarily) long hall. A man stood there, clad in leather and taking up far more space than his small frame should have allowed.
Everything had stopped, there wasn’t a single head in the room that hadn’t turned at his entrance, and then he started to move forward. People were scattering, throwing themselves out of his path and pressing themselves against the walls as he strode down the middle of the room.
Emma didn’t move, and she would have loved to say it was just pure stubbornness, except she’d noticed the man’s face; his skin, his eyes. Whoever he was, he wasn’t human. And she was in another world, so it shouldn’t have matter, but it did. The man – creature – was making a beeline for Regina Mills (no longer the Mayor come to think of it, now the Evil Queen, score one for Henry).
‘What did you do?’ The creature asked again, its voice a good octave too high and Emma imagined she could see the fury coming off him in waves.
He was probably picking on the wrong person, though. Emma didn’t know much (anything, really) about the land she’d ended up in, but she did know that the Evil Queen was not someone to be crossed lightly. She had cursed everyone, after all.
That was why the fear on the May- the Evil- on Regina’s face derailed any chance Emma had of trying to do something.
To Regina’s credit, she did try to rally, pasting on a mask of disdain that kept slipping. ‘What are you talking about?’
Emma leapt back in shock as an invisible force picked Regina up and hurled her into the wall, where she stayed, held up in mid-air.
‘You changed it!’ The creature had one hand raised and Emma realised a beat too late that he was doing that. ‘This is wrong, wrong, and you changed it! I will crush you for this; I will snap your pretty little neck!’
Regina was struggling, hands clawing at her own throat. Emma shook herself out of the shock and looked around the room, searching for anyone who could stop… whatever was happening. Surely David could, wasn’t he supposed to be a king? Or Mary Margaret, since Snow White had not been a helpless princess in Henry’s book.
Henry.
Emma whirled around, forgetting Regina for a moment, and saw her son had retreated with everyone else and was staring at Regina with horrified eyes. Oh God. His mother, his adoptive mother and the Evil Queen, but his mother all the same. The creature was preoccupied with said mother so Emma rushed over to Henry, lest he try and be a hero himself. Well the room was full of heroes and surely one of them…! But no, no one moved forward.
Okay, Emma got that the creature lifted Regina high into the air without so much as touching her, but wasn’t magic supposed to be the norm now?
‘Mom,’ Henry said, low and horrified, grabbing hold of her arm as Emma reached him. ‘Mom, someone has to stop him.’
‘I don’t… know what you’re talking about,’ Regina managed to say, and unless it was Emma’s imagination, there was a fireball forming in her right hand.
The creature closed his hand and she cut off with a wheeze.
‘You brought us here!’ he (it?) snarled and he must have released the force on her throat again, if only a little.
‘Are you mad?’ Regina demanded. ‘I brought us there!’
That was clearly the wrong thing to say because his face twisted up and her head snapped back against the wall, hard. The fireball, which Emma hadn’t been imagining after all, flew from her hand but it dissipated around the creature… and he didn’t even blink.
‘And you changed it so we’d COME BACK HERE!’ he roared and he was going to kill Regina if someone didn’t stop it. Emma was certain of it.
‘It’s okay Henry,’ Emma whispered. ‘You just stay here.’
Ignoring Henry’s forceful whisper, ‘no, don’t’, she stood up and ran forward. ‘Hey! Leave her alone!’
Nothing. Not a twitch, no recognition that she was challenging him. David, however, immediately took a step forward, heading for her not the creature. That was it, they were supposed to be heroes and yet Emma was the only one who didn’t seem to be able to stand back and watch Regina (Evil Queen or not) be murdered.
Emma rushed the creature, because surely a body tackle would be enough to break his concentration and hopefully release Regina. She launched herself for the tackle, but instead of flying towards him, she went away and hit the ground ass first, skidding backwards. What the…?
‘We can offer you a deal!’ To Emma’s surprise, the announcement came from Mary Margaret. ‘There must be something you want.’
‘Oh there is, dearie.’ The creature’s voice dropped in volume but only momentarily. ‘But she took it!’
Yeah, well, who offered a deal to a pissed off magical being anyway? Belatedly, Emma remembered she still had her gun and drew it, levelling it at the creature and preparing to fire…
‘Rumplestiltskin wait!’ shouted a new voice, bursting it the same doors which the creature had arrived from.
Emma had just enough time to process that, hey, Rumplestiltskin wasn’t three foot tall after all, and apparently a tiny slip of a girl with wild hair wearing a hospital gown was enough to make him freeze. He didn’t release the force on Regina, though, and the girl crossed the hall until she was standing next to him. She wasn’t flung away by an invisible force. Emma held her fire.
Rumplestiltskin turned and glanced down at her. ‘She has to die.’
The girl – woman, Emma realised – standing next to him shook her head firmly. ‘She doesn’t. She will pay, she will be locked up, but she doesn’t have to die. Not by your hand.’
‘You don’t understand,’ Rumplestiltskin hissed, and this time Emma detected a slight whine in his tone. Was he, clearly the most powerful person in the room, trying to justify himself?
Still, it sounded like he might be reconsidering.
Emma took a deep breath, unable to believe the words that were about to come out of her mouth, and said; ‘Rumplestiltskin! Put the Evil Queen down or I’ll have to shoot.’
Emma winced.
‘Very brave, Saviour, but also very stupid. You should be thankful I know this isn’t your doing.’
What wasn’t her doing? It occurred to Emma that she actually didn’t know what Rumplestiltskin’s problem was.
‘Please, Rumple,’ said the woman, grabbing hold of his arm.
Emma kept her gun levelled but wished she’d take a step back; she didn’t want to risk hitting the woman.
It was almost confusion, the way the creature – Rumplestiltskin – reacted to the contact and Emma was shocked he didn’t brush her off. The nickname was kinda a shock as well.
Rumplestiltskin turned to face the woman, and Regina slide down the wall with a soft groan. ‘I may still come back for her,’ he warned the woman quietly and she gave a shaky nod. He turned abruptly back to Regina, who was now on all fours on the ground, trying to get her breath back.
She shrunk away as he approached.
‘You may still have information, dearie, and believe me I’ll be back for it.’ Rumplestiltskin snapped his fingers and something appeared in his hand, he darted forward and seized Regina’s wrist before Emma could so much as blink. It was a black wrist cuff, and Regina was now wearing it. His eyes narrowed. ‘Don’t worry,’ he said in a sing song voice that lacked any amusement. ‘I’ll know where you are.’
With that ominous promise (threat), he straightened again and Emma couldn’t help flinching back as a column of red smoke billowed around him… and the woman.
When it cleared, they were nowhere to be seen.
________________________
Henry was safe, but by the time Emma had got him and pushed her way through the now very panicky crowd back to Regina, David and Mary Margaret, Regina was wearing handcuffs and arguing fiercely about something or other. She seemed okay, though, so Emma was calling it a win.
‘You can’t lock me up here! Did you not see that?’ Regina tried to pull of the black cuff without any success. If Emma had to guess what it was, she would have said it was stopping Regina from making any more fireballs, or something.
‘Yeah, I saw that,’ said Emma, ‘Who was that and what the hell was his problem?’
Both David and Mary Margaret turned to Regina expectantly.
‘I have no idea what his problem was,’ snapped Regina and then sneered at Emma. ‘And that was Rumplestiltskin. You’re lucky he didn’t turn you into a bug, but then, I think he actually likes you. Can’t imagine why.
If there was one thing Emma was sure of, it was that she’d never seen that guy before in her life.
‘What do you mean he likes me? I don’t know him.’ Emma folded her arms. ‘And you do know what he was talking about, don’t you?’
To her surprise, Regina laughed.
‘Oh, you’ve met him. Rumplestiltskin spent most of his time working with you to break my curse and then throws a fit that it’s been broken. So no, I don’t know what’s wrong with him and I really don’t want to find out.’
‘Working with…?’ Emma blinked at her.
‘He was Mr Gold,’ David supplied, exchanging a glance with Mary Margaret.
‘No.’ The denial was out before Emma had really thought about it. Not that it wasn’t a perfectly valid response. David was messing with her, he had to be, because… well, just no. Gold had worn immaculate suits and had been pretty self-controlled (except for that one time) and just generally could not have been the creature that just scared the crap out of everyone.
Except… Gold had frightened people as well. Gold had been short. Gold had had shoulder length hair and….
‘No,’ Emma repeated. ‘That was Gold? Damn.’
‘Mom!’ Henry tugged urgently on her sleeve. ‘Oh no, Mom, you owe him a favour!’
Mary Margaret stepped forward, looking uncertain. ‘Emma?’
‘You owe Rumplestiltskin a favour?’ Regina laughed. ‘And I thought I was in trouble.’
‘You are,’ said David, and suddenly Emma could see the King he was. His indecisiveness from Storybrooke had just melted away like it was never there. ‘But not from Rumplestiltskin.’
He motioned to a pair of guards nearby, who immediately moved forward and grabbed Regina’s arms. She tried to tug out of the hold.
‘Get off me!’
Neither man let go, instead they started marching Regina towards a nearby exit. Emma watched her go, wondering what the penalty was for casting dark curses.
‘Emma,’ Mary Margaret said, taking a step forward, and the look on her face was that of a mother.
Emma took a step back. ‘Listen, I-‘
‘That was my daughter! I will not lose to that creature again!’ Moe French came bustling up to them. He bowed to David and Mary Margaret. ‘Your Majesty, that imp has taken my daughter. I can’t find enough of my men to go after her, but I cannot leave her with him. Please, I request volunteers to retrieve my daughter from the Dark One.’
‘The Dark One?’ Emma wondered out loud.
‘Rumplestiltskin,’ Henry told her softly, still staring around them in amazement.
‘Sir Maurice,’ David said. ‘You understand what you’re asking? Particularly now, coming back from the a cursed land. I can’t spare the men.’
‘I do understand.’ Moe – Sir Maurice – met David’s eyes squarely. ‘She’s my daughter, and the beast’s captive. Perhaps now, before everyone has settled back down, is my only chance of retrieving her.’
‘We’ll find you some men,’ said Mary Margaret.
‘Snow…’ David said in a low voice.
‘His daughter,’ she replied in the same tone, and Emma tried to ignore how Mary Margaret’s eyes flicked briefly towards her.
David (King James, Emma supposed…) seemed to have got the same message and she caught the tiny nod he offered Mary Margaret. It grated on her nerves.
‘I’ll ask my people,’ David promised. ‘But volunteers only. This is Rumplestiltskin we’re talking about, and I hope you realise that the curse won’t have changed anything. He is still the Dark One and the most powerful sorcerer anyone has ever known.’
‘But…’ Henry started to say, then he looked up at Emma. ‘She looked like Belle, from my book.’
‘Yes!’ said Sir Maurice. ‘Belle is my daughter’s name. How did you know that, young man?’
Weeks of dealing with Henry’s fairy tale talk had given Emma plenty of practice at keeping up with him, and she didn’t think Mo – Sir Maurice – would like what Henry had to say. Luckily she had a perfectly good way of changing the subject.
‘I’ll go with you to find your daughter,’ Emma said, she turned to David and Mary Margaret. ‘If you guys promise me you can keep Henry safe.’
Mary Margaret stared at her. ‘No, Emma. You’re not from here, you don’t understand who Rumplestiltskin is. It will be much better if you stay here and allow us to tell you, and Henry, about our home.’
And wear dresses and act like a princess, Emma thought. Mary Margaret didn’t need to know the real reason Emma wanted to see Rumplestiltskin, the ‘most powerful sorcerer any has ever known’ and so Emma reigned in her temper.
‘I think I just saw what Rumplestiltskin can do,’ she said. ‘And I don’t think we should just leave anyone with him. I’m the Saviour-‘ Emma still struggled to say that un-ironically ‘-there must be something I can do to help.’
‘I don’t know, Emma.’ David looked genuinely concerned. ‘Snow’s right. This is Rumplestiltskin we’re talking about and, well, you saw that he’s not exactly the same as Mr Gold.’
‘You can say that again,’ Emma muttered.
‘But he is really,’ Henry chimed in and everyone turned to look at him. ‘Well, he knew, didn’t he? He remembered, he must have because he told Mom about the dragon.’
‘And stole that potion,’ said Emma darkly, thinking that maybe Henry had a point. It just made her more determined. Gold could be reasoned with, so it made sense that Rumplestiltskin could too.
‘He was the same man alright,’ snapped Sir Maurice. ‘And my Belle is with him!’
‘And we will ask people to join you to get her back,’ David promised, but Emma caught the doubt in Mary Margaret’s eyes.
‘And I’m going with them,’ Emma repeated.
‘No, Emma,’ Mary Margaret –Snow – said, and Emma had had just about enough.
‘Yes. I am going. I can do something to help there, I can’t do anything here. I get that you have a lot of stuff to fix, but I don’t know how to fix any of it. Now can you look after Henry or not?’
‘We can look after Henry,’ said David.
‘Or I could go with them,’ Henry said hopefully.
‘No,’ Emma said firmly, at the same time as both David and Mary Margaret.
________________________
Emma got her way, and went with Sir Maurice the pretty small group of volunteers to find Rumplestiltskin, who apparently lived in the Dark Castle. As much as she hated leaving Henry for the 6 day round journey (and God knew how long it would take to talk to Rumplestiltskin), Emma felt she had to. She needed to talk to the sorcerer and quickly and it seemed the best way to know it.
Gold had seemed to know about everything in Storybrooke and so if anyone could help her it was Rumplestiltskin. Not that David and Mary Margaret hadn’t tried to convince her that Rumplestiltskin was not safe to go and see, had described him as evil, as someone who made deals that ended up screwing you over. They didn’t think Belle would leave the Dark Castle unless Rumplestiltskin thought it would benefit him.
They also thought approaching Rumplestiltskin when he was in a bad mood was suicide. Neither of them had put it that directly, and definitely not in front of Moe French (Sir Maurice), but it had been pretty clear.
By the time the three day long journey was over, Emma was pissed off, worried about Henry and wishing to hell this land, world, whatever, had thought up cars.
Emma’s first impression was that Dark Castle certainty lived up to its name, her second was that there was a woman sitting with her back against the main doors, reading a book.
‘Belle!’ yelled Sir Maurice, and Emma did a double take.
It was the same woman, once Belle looked up and Emma saw her face, it was just that she looked so different in a pretty dress with her hair combed and neatly pined back.
‘Papa!’ Belle came running over and Emma glanced away as they embraced.
Was that it? They came, they collected Belle from the front gate, and they left? Emma doubted it, not after everything she’d heard about the Dark One. Rumplestiltskin. Mr Gold. Whoever. Still, she’d given father and daughter a moment before she suggested they get prepared for attack, in as much as they could prepare for attack by Rumplestiltskin.
Part of her hoped it wasn’t that easy, because otherwise she was going to have to go in anyway and Sir Maurice would not like that. Well screw him.
‘If you’re here to see him,’ Belle said suddenly, shooting a worried look back towards the castle. ‘It’s really not a good time.’
Maurice put both hands on her shoulders. ‘But… Belle, we’re here to rescue you.’
Belle stared at him like the idea had never occurred to her. ‘But Papa, I’m choosing to be here. I know it wasn’t like that at first, but now-‘
‘No.’ Sir Maurice had gone chalk white. ‘No, Belle, you don’t want to stay here. The Dark One has put an enchantment on you. You must come back with us.’
Belle pulled away. ‘There’s no enchantment on me, and am staying here. He let me go, Papa, he let me go but then the Evil Queen found me. It’s a long story, but I’m choosing to stay here now. You don’t have to worry about me.’
‘Belle…’ Maurice stepped towards her, and two of his men advanced. ‘I can’t leave you here, Belle. You’ve got to see reason, no one would want to stay here with, with him.’
The men moved to try and flank Belle and Emma decided it was a good time to step in.
‘Hey.’ She put herself between Belle and her father. ‘She said she didn’t want to go.’
Sir Maurice glared at Emma. ‘She doesn’t know what she’s saying; he’s done something to her.’
‘He hasn’t done anything,’ Belle argued, steel in her tone. ‘This is my choice.’
‘No,’ said Sir Maurice, ‘it isn’t. You’ll thank me for this one day.’
He motioned to his men and they moved forward. Emma tried to stop one of them, but realised she didn’t need to; Belle was already running (faster than Emma would have expected, given the heals Belle was wearing). She was also running back towards the Dark Castle and the Sir Maurice’s men hesitated.
Belle flung open the door and vanished inside before anyone could reach her. Emma was in after her before the door closed, she went to grab Belle’s arm, to stop her, to get her to explain and instead stopped.
‘Whoa,’ Emma breathed, taking in the extent of the destruction around her. Broken china, smashed cupboards, shards of glass, torn down curtains, an upturned table and a single untouched spinning wheel in the corner. ‘What the hell happened here?’
Belle turned around in surprise and her mouth twisted into an unhappy line. ‘Rumple happened. I don’t know…’ She shook her head. ‘I thought I’d seen him angry, I thought I’d seen him very angry…’ Belle shrugged. ‘Guess I hadn’t.’
‘Guess I hadn’t either.’ Emma thought Gold had been angry when he’d been beating Moe French – Maurice – but apparently not. She held out a hand. ‘I’m Emma Swan, by the way.’
Belle folded her arms. ‘Listen, I’m not a prisoner here, I could leave if I wanted to.’
Emma eyed the destruction pointedly. ‘You sure you don’t want to?’
‘Yes,’ said Belle firmly. She sighed, expression softening. ‘I might eventually, I’m certainly not spending every hour of my life here I just… I need to talk to him. I need him to know I’m not leaving for good.’
‘Why don’t you?’ Emma surveyed the room to make sure he wasn’t lurking in a corner somewhere. ‘You seemed to get through to him when he was hell bent on killing Regina.’
‘Yeah, maybe.’ Belle turned to face the main doors again. ‘They can’t get in, by the way, so you should probably go out and let them know I’m alright. If I step outside papa will try and make me leave again, he won’t listen to me; he’ll never understand that I want to stay.’
Emma shifted uncomfortable. ‘Actually, Belle… I didn’t just come here to rescue you. I want… I want to speak to Gold.’
Belle blinked. ‘Who? I’m sorry, there’s only me and Rumple here.’
‘Rumplestiltskin.’ Emma grimaced, the spinning wheel catching her attention again. ‘I meant Rumplestiltskin, Mr Gold was his cursed name.’
‘Oh, right, yeah, I remember. That’s… a bit obvious don’t you think?’
‘I don’t know, it’s a little more subtle then Mr Dark One and he seems to be better known as that then the guy who spins straw into gold.’
Belle laughed. ‘Yeah, but he does that too, all the time.’
Emma frowned. ‘Doesn’t he have enough already?’
‘Apparently not.’ Belle brushed off the comment and Emma wondered if there was a story there. ‘I don’t think you can see him, though. It might be better if you just leave.’
That wasn’t an option so Emma moved further into the room. ‘No. I get it, he’s angry, and I don’t care. Where can I find him?’
Belle shifted uncomfortably. ‘I don’t know.’
She wasn’t lying, Emma knew that much.
‘But he’s in the castle?’
‘Yes…’
Emma started to stride off out of the main hall, but Belle darted in front of her.
‘This isn’t a good idea, Emma. It’s not just I don’t know where he is, I can’t find him, and I’ve searched.’ Belle looked sad. ‘I don’t know where he is, and I don’t know what’s wrong with him and I don’t think you should go looking.’
‘I knew him in my world,’ Emma argued, ‘and what that told me is he’s the only one who’s likely to help me. I don’t care where he’s hiding, I’ll find him.’
She tried to stride past Belle, and this time found the other woman had grabbed hold of her arm.
‘I’ve heard that so many times. He makes deals, Emma, for people in exactly your situation, for people for think only he can help and don’t think about the consequences.’
‘Yeah, all magic comes with a price,’ Emma muttered. ‘I heard and I heard about him stealing first borns and whatever’s most valuable to you but I already owe him a favour so I figure I don’t have much to lose.’
‘I’ll make a deal with you,’ Belle replied. ‘You search the castle for a day, if you find him, ask him whatever you want and I won’t try and get in your way. If you don’t, you leave and you don’t come back looking to get yourself further into debt with Rumple.’
Emma pulled free from her and walked out of the room. ‘No deal. I’ve spent three long days trekking here and I’m not leaving before I see Rumplestiltskin.’ She pursed her lips. ‘Hey, isn’t that meant to summon him? Rumplestiltskin. Rumplestiltskin. Rumplestiltskin.’
‘Only if he chooses to be summoned.’ Belle kept up easily with Emma’s brisk pace. ‘Which he doesn’t, I told you; I can’t find him.’
Emma picked her way over the debris of what could have once been a chair. ‘And I told you I’m going to speak with him. Rumplestiltskin! Gold, get down here, I want answers!’
Belle stopped walking. ‘Fine. You try and find him. When you give up, I’ll be in the main hall reading. Try not to touch anything, I can’t guarantee it won’t explode. Or turn you into a snail.’
‘Charming,’ Emma said under her breath and she didn’t stop Belle walking off. It was a big castle, but she’d search every inch of it if she had to. She’d find Gold, wherever he was hiding.
Two hours later, Emma was beginning to doubt her conviction. The place was silent, massive and utterly torn to pieces. If she hadn’t known better, she’d have said a tornado had gone through; with the sole exception of the library, which was fine.
Frankly, Emma was beginning to doubt Gold was there at all. Maybe he’d just trashed the place and left. She was also doubting the whole call-his-name-and-he-hears rumour, despite everyone claiming it was true.
‘Rumplestiltskin!’ Emma yelled, wondering if she was going to wake up in a strait jacket any moment. ‘Rumplestiltskin! Rumplestiltskin!’
Nothing, just like every other time.
‘Rumplestiltskin! Rumplestiltskin! Rumpleschiltspin – damn it – Rumplestiltskin!’ Emma reached down for her water flask and took a drink. ‘Gold if you can hear me, get your ass here right now!’
She’d left Henry for too long already. How much longer was she going to spend yelling a ridiculous name to an empty castle?
‘Rumplestiltspin, I mean, Rumpleskiltstin, no, Rumpleschiltskin. Gold!’ Emma aimed a savage kick at a fallen suit of armour. ‘Really Gold, I don’t have time for your games!’
If he was even playing games. The state of his castle and the whole nearly killing Regina thing did throw some doubt on that theory. Or that could just be what Gold did for fun now he was all gold and glittery with weird reptile eyes. Was that weirder than her mom being Snow White? Emma really couldn’t say for sure.
She walked through one door, turned left… and was back in the library.
‘For God’s sake,’ Emma said loudly. ‘Gold! I can’t spend a week playing hide and seek, I left Henry with… I guess I left Henry with my parents… Rumplestiltskin! Rumplestiltskin! Rumplestiltskin!’ Emma rubbed a hand over her face. ‘Fuck this, I need a drink.’
It took her another half hour to make her way back to the main hall, and sure enough, there was Belle, reading a book in a pile of blankets. Emma went over and sat down next to her.
‘Hey.’
Belle placed her book in her lap. ‘I’m sorry. He’s not going to turn up.’
‘But why…?’ Emma pulled a face. ‘Isn’t he supposed to want to make deals?’
‘Usually.’ Belle traced the spine of her book with a fingernail. ‘I sent a note out to papa, I said you’d send another when you knew when you’d meet them.’
Emma sighed. ‘I really need to speak to him, Belle. If there’s anything you can do…’
Belle was already shaking her head. ‘I can’t. I tried. He’s here, I’m sure he’s here, but he’s not answering.’ She looked up. ‘He’ll probably show up eventually, so I can pass on a message if you like, but he’ll already know you’re looking for him.’
Should she tell Belle? Emma thought she probably could, given that Belle had no ties to her and wasn’t likely to stop her. Her instincts screamed at her not to give up; to keep searching until she dragged Gold from whatever hiding spot he’d found, except there was Henry waiting for her.
‘Okay. Just keep in mind no one else knows this; I don’t think they’d like it and I need to know my options before I bring it up with them.’
Belle eyed her doubtfully, but nodded.
‘I don’t want to be here,’ Emma said in a rush. And it felt good to say the words, to finally get it off her chest.
‘Not many people want to be in the Dark One’s castle,’ Belle replied, a hint of impatience in her voice.
Emma glared. ‘Not here. Here as in this… I don’t know, world. It’s not mine. Everyone’s acting like I’m a princess, like I should go to balls and wear pretty dresses and they’re wrong. I don’t belong here and I don’t think it’s safe for Henry to be here. He’s not used to it either. I need to know if I can get back. That’s what I need to ask Gold. I need to know if I can get home.’
‘Oh.’ Belle chewed on her lip. ‘But you’re from the land without magic.’
‘Yes.’ Emma ran a hand through her hair. ‘The land without magic and crazy talk about ogres and evil sorcerers – no offense – where I can drive my car and use a washing machine and not have to worry about the Evil Queen getting loose!’
‘No offence taken,’ Belle said and Emma didn’t like the look on her face, not one bit. ‘But… the land without magic… I’ve read about portals between worlds. Rumple has loads of books on the subject and… your world’s one of the hardest to get to. Places like Wonderland are much easier.’ As Belle drummed her fingers on the book in her lap, Emma pretended that she hadn’t just heard that. ‘I think the only ways to get to your world would be a magic bean – and everyone knows how hard they are to get- and the Curse the Evil Queen used.'
That wasn’t too bad, Emma thought, there were options. Even if one of them was a magic bean.
‘Great. So I get someone to caste the curse for me, just without the whole memory issue and I get back to my world.’
It wasn’t going to be that easy; Emma knew there had to be a catch. Maybe she had to lose her memory, at least temporarily, maybe that was why it was a curse.
‘If it’s even possible to escape the cursed area and get to the wider world,’ Belle said immediately, then sent Emma a sidelong glance. ‘If you can find someone to sacrifice the heart of the thing they love most.’
‘What?’ Emma actually recoiled back from Belle. ‘That’s-‘
‘The price,’ Belle said quietly. ‘It’s a curse, Emma, and a pretty bad one, it has a steep price.’
‘That’s nuts.’ Emma could feel herself getting a headache. ‘I don’t know why I’m surprised. Everything here is nuts. I mean, you’re sitting reading a book in the main hall of the evil Dark One Rumplestiltskin’s castle, who apparently spins gold from straw after all, but hey, not as often as he makes deals. Do you guys have whiskey here?’
When Belle shook her head, Emma knew she had to get back to her world.
‘I’m really sorry, Emma, but I have been through all the books here on portals. It’s a fascinating subject.’
‘Fascinating,’ Emma said, feeling tired in a way she hadn’t for a long time. ‘Yeah. Okay. I won’t stop looking and I would appreciate it if you can pass my message on to Gol- to Rumplestiltskin.’
‘Sure.’ Belle looked towards the door like it might bite. ‘Please don’t let them in, okay? I really am fine here.’
Fine was not the word Emma would have used for Belle, alone in a broken castle where she insisted Gold was hiding. Still, it was her choice so Emma offered a smile and went to try and convince Belle’s dad that his daughter was fine. Not that she managed to open the door.
‘Giving up that easily, dearie?’
Emma swung around and there he was, the man who’d let her run around all day shouting herself hoarse. Standing there in his fancy red leather and glittering skin and, yes, if she squinted, Emma could admit that he and Mr Gold were actually one and the same.
‘Rumple!’ Belle leapt up from the floor, her book tumbling out of her lap.
He offered her a wane smile. ‘In a moment, dear, I have some business with Miss Swan.’
Emma scowled. ‘Actually, I’m not sure you do. Since you weren’t around, I asked Belle, and I’m guessing you don’t have a lot to add to that.’
There was something off about the whole situation, and Emma didn’t like it one bit, so she reached for the door handle. The door wouldn’t open.
‘Ah, ah, you’re forgetting one important detail.’
Emma hadn’t seen him move, but somehow Gold was standing right next to her. In her personal space, actually. Emma stood her ground. ‘What’s that?’
‘You,’ He lifted a hand to point squarely at her chest, ‘owe me a favour.’
‘You… have claws,’ Emma replied, unable to stop herself from staring. They weren’t quiet claws, but they weren’t exactly normal fingernails either.
He pulled his hand back like he’d been burned. ‘Noticed that did you?’
He gave a giggle that made Emma step back. Gold had appeared sane; Rumplestiltskin was anything but.
‘Lots of things are different here, Swan princess, such as… oh yes, I have magic.’ His arm raised again and Emma lifted with it, her back thudding against the door.
There was nothing holding her up, no sensible way she could be above the floor (just like the Mayor) but she was. Emma struggled.
‘Put me down!’
‘No need to shout, your highness.’ He lowered her again and Emma staggered as her feet hit the floor.
And that, that, was why she had to take her son and leave. Everything around her had descended into madness and the man in front of her was the living embodiment of it. The smart thing probably would have been to run, but Emma never had liked running from threats (other things, sure, but not threats).
‘I’m not a princess,’ she snapped.
‘Of course you are. The Swan princess.’ He giggled again and Emma couldn’t help staring again.
‘What the hell happened to you?’
He scowled. ‘My business. Not telling.’
‘Stop it. I don’t think you’re going to scare her into agreeing.’ Belle’s voice made Emma jump; she’d managed to forget the other woman was there.
Rumplestiltskin paused and shifted, almost uncomfortably. Emma looked between the two of them, eyes narrowed.
‘And what’s with you two?’ She looked at Rumplestiltskin accusingly.
The constant movement stopped and Emma hadn’t even realised it had been there, the unconscious energy that surrounded him, until it was gone. He turned to look at Belle, Belle met his eyes and something passed between them.
‘She’s free to go,’ Rumplestiltskin said, his voice lowering, his eyes fixed on Belle and there was Gold; hiding beneath the monster, ‘If she wants.’
‘And I’m free to stay,’ Belle countered, her eyes never leaving his, ‘If I want.’
The moment stretched out and Emma really felt like she was interrupting something. ‘Great. But the big question is; am I free to go home… If I want?’
‘That is the question!’ Rumplestiltskin turned so rapidly it was almost a pirouette.
‘So answer it.’ Emma made sure there was a challenge in her voice. ‘And you don’t have to say there’s a price, because I know, because I’ve been told about ten times a day ever since I got here. I should warn you though, I’m not giving you my firstborn and I’m not planning on having a second.’
‘No matter; I’ve already eaten.’
Emma couldn’t stop her jaw from dropping, and she only realised she’d been had when she heard a soft giggle from Belle.
‘Are you going to help me or not?’
Rumplestiltskin raised a hand. ‘Actually, your highness, you’re going to help me. That’s the usual meaning of owing someone a favour.’
‘Or you could help me and I’d owe you two favours.’ Emma now had more than enough information to know it was a bad idea, but the words escaped her mouth anyway.
‘Um…’ said Belle worriedly.
‘No deal!’ Rumplestiltskin righted his table with a wave of his hand and sat down on the chair that had just repaired itself. ‘Don’t worry, your highness-‘
‘Don’t call me that!’ snapped Emma, eyeing the table warily.
‘Don’t worry, princess,’ Rumplestiltskin said and Emma glared at him. ‘I’m not after Henry, what I want is quite simple. You’re looking for a way back to your world. When you find something, if you find something, you contact me and you don’t use it until I’m there with you.’
Emma actually took a step back. ‘You want to go back?’
‘I never wanted to leave.’ He stood so abruptly that the chair hit the floor. He fluttered his fingers in the air in front of his face. ‘This is wrong, all wrong, it wasn’t supposed to happen like this.’ He wasn’t looking at her, in fact, his eyes were glazed and she wasn’t even sure he was really present. ‘It’s all foggy now, not enough pieces… too vague, oh yes, much too vague, and I need to know!’
Emma was just wondering if that was normal behaviour for Rumplestiltskin when she caught sight of Belle’s face. Not normal then, even for him.
‘The land without magic,’ said Belle slowly, a frown creasing her forehead.
Rumplestiltskin’s head snapped back up again. ‘Yes! The land without,’ He drew a finger across the air as if underlining the word, ‘magic. Very important.’
Belle was biting her lip, and her eyes flickered briefly between Rumplestiltskin and Emma.
‘What?’ asked Emma.
‘Nothing. It doesn’t matter.’ Belle looked at him and they were doing it again, some message passing between them that Emma couldn’t read.
Emma let it go, one important part of the conversation sticking in her mind. She turned to Rumplestiltskin. ‘You don’t know how to get there.’
‘I did know how to get there!’ Rumplestiltskin’s voice raised in both pitch and volume. ‘I did get there! And now everything’s in ruins!’
The ground had started to shake, the draws on a broken cabinet in the corner started to rattle, Emma wondered whether she should grab Belle and run.
Belle crossed the room in quick confident strides and grabbed Rumplestiltskin by the shoulders. ‘Rumple, there’s got to be a way back there. We can find a magic bean, they can’t all be gone.’
‘Oh no, not all gone,’ Rumplestiltskin sneered and Belle winced. The shaking only increased, a wind started whipping around them. ‘Never all gone. Always there to turn up and rip people apart. Given to those who need them least. Shall we go to Neverland, wouldn’t that be nice? No cowards there. Oooh, no, what about the land without magic, without curses, that’ll make everything so much better!’
‘Belle…’ Emma said, in a low voice, but the name was torn away in the wind. What’s worse was that Belle didn’t move, didn’t even try to put any distance between herself and the creature that was surely going to rip her apart. So Emma yelled the only thing she could think of; ‘Rumplestiltskin! I accept your terms!’
The shaking stopped and around them objects fell to the ground; released from the unnatural wind.
‘I should think so, dearie,’ Rumplestiltskin said and was gone in a cloud of red smoke.
‘Damn,’ Emma said, with feeling, and sat down hard.
In the middle of the room, Belle reached out to the now empty space in front of her and some part of Emma registered that she was glad she wasn’t the only shaken one. There was silence (blessed, peaceful silence), during which all Emma could hear was the thudding of her heart.
‘I have to go to him.’
It was such a bizarre thing to say that it took a while for the words to make sense to Emma. It took her even longer to realise that Belle was talking about the madman who’d just (thankfully) disappeared.
‘Are you crazy?’ Emma demanded. ‘He was going to kill you!’
Belle was shaking her head before Emma had even finished speaking. ‘No. He wouldn’t hurt me, he wasn’t even angry at me. I’m not sure he was actually angry at all and that’s why I need to find him.’
‘Are you kidding me?’ Emma knew her eyes were wide. ‘I’ve never seen anyone that fucking angry! Don’t follow him, Belle.’
Belle was already half-way out the hall. ‘I’m sorry, Emma.’ She hesitated. ‘There’s food in the kitchen, if you wanted to eat before you leave.’
A dismissal. So much of a blatant dismissal that Emma missed most the directions to the kitchen Belle rattled off before she ran from the room.
‘Everyone is mad here,’ Emma told the chaos around her. ‘Everyone. I can’t live here. I can’t let Henry live here.’
Still, she didn’t leave, she couldn’t abandon Belle to the monster (the Beast and that was almost enough to send her into hysterics). Instead Emma picked herself up from the floor and went in search of the kitchen.
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There was food in the kitchen, normal looking food that she hoped wasn’t off. Time had been frozen in Storybrooke for twenty-eight years, but had it been frozen in that world for the whole time? It didn’t look off, so Emma tried to find something that looked at least vaguely familiar while she considered her new plan of action.
Belle didn’t want to go, which was fine, except that Rumplestiltskin was throwing an all-mighty tantrum and Emma doubted anyone nearby was safe. So she’d try and convince Belle to go with her father. Then…
Well then Emma needed to find a way back, to her world, to a world where she knew the rules. A world where she could protect Henry. And she had to do it preferably without bringing Rumplestiltskin with her.
Somehow she doubted anywhere he was would be safe, and if the whole point was keeping Henry safe…
It should be easy enough. She’d promised him and, as she’d been reminded too many times, no one broke a deal with Rumplestiltskin, but it didn’t matter. He didn’t have a way back to her world, so if Emma broke her word, then there would be nothing he could do about it. Rumplestiltskin would stay in his own magical world, far away from Henry.
Emma nodded to herself, grabbed some food, and headed back to the main hall.
She only made it half way through her meal before the shouting started up again. The shouting and the shaking, as if the house was the epicentre of an earthquake. Rumplestiltskin’s voice was too far away to hear exactly what he was saying, but there was only one other person in the castle for him to be shouting at.
As she leapt to her feet, not as easy as it could have been with the trembling floor, Emma reflected that she should have stopped Belle from going looking for him. Rumplestiltskin is dangerous, she’d been told repeatedly and she’d seen that it was the truth (and really didn’t need to see anything like that every again).
Forget stopping her from going after him, Emma decided she should have grabbed Belle and dragged her back out to her father. She hadn’t and now she could only hope to reach Belle in time.
Emma ran from room to room, trying to follow the noise, furious at herself for taking a wrong turn somewhere, wishing the castle was just a little bit smaller, straining to hear the raised voices so she could find them…
But they’d stopped.
So had the earthquake, come to think of it.
Shit, Emma thought, a cold hand gripping her heart (metaphorically, and how had her life ended up so crazy that she had to clarify that?). I’m too late.
There was nothing to it but to keeping looking. Maybe Belle was just injured, maybe Emma could still save her. Wasn’t that what she was supposed to do? As the Saviour? Save everyone? Hadn’t she already done that? And why was it that that had made everything more complicated?
Why couldn’t Belle have just stayed away from the Beast?
She’d opened so many doors, walked into so many rooms and halls, that when Emma actually found them, she almost walked right past. Almost. When she did see them, standing far too close, Rumplestiltskin with his back to her, something made Emma hesitate, just for a moment, before she called out…
In that moment, two things happened.
Firstly, she heard Belle whisper, very softly, ‘Oh, Rumple.’
Secondly, Rumplestiltskin, the Dark One, feared sorcerer, slumped forward and rested his head on Belle’s shoulder.
Emma froze.
She’d jumped to conclusions and apparently there was nothing wrong with Belle’s reasoning. I don’t think he’s angry, Belle had said, not really. Emma had felt like an outsider from the second the curse had broken (maybe even, okay definitely even, before that) but she had never felt quite as much like an intruder as she did then. She took a halting step backwards, out of the room.
Rumplestiltskin was visibly shaking, and Belle’s arms had gone around him, one hand rubbing soothing circles on his back while the other stroked his hair. Neither of them had seen her and Emma was glad. This was not something they’d want an outsider to see, this was private.
Emma took another step back, then another, before creeping quietly out of the room again. Numb legs taking her back down to the main hall (how exactly she found her way back there was a mystery).
Belle was safe in the Dark Castle. Despite everything that had been said to her, despite the power and fury Rumplestiltskin had demonstrated, Emma had never been so sure of anything in her life. Belle didn’t need rescuing, not from him, and that meant there was no further reason to stay. No. She would go out those doors, she would convince Sir Maurice that his daughter was fine and then she would look for a way back to her own world.
Of course, Emma knew she might never find it (not something she wanted to examine too closely), but she owed it to Henry to give him the option, to give him a safer place to grow up. She owed it to herself as well, even if it did feel just a little too much like trying to run again.
And if she did find a way, she owed Rumplestiltskin a favour, made an agreement with him, and whatever he’d done, whatever his reasons…
She was damn well going to honour it.
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